chapter 3

Upon arriving at the camp under a starry sky, a crowd greeted us with anxious looks. Before the question about the food could arise among the murmurs, Bellamy made his way through the people, his face darkened by anger. "What the hell happened to Octavia, damn it?" he barked with a voice that cut through the cold night air.

"It wasn't her fault, brother. I was careless, and Logan saved me," Octavia intervened, leaning on my arm. Bellamy's tension eased slightly upon hearing her voice.

"She was attacked by a giant snake, and Logan was the only one who jumped into the river to rescue her," Clarke explained, her voice clear and calm like a soothing balm to the frayed nerves.

Bellamy's demeanor softened, and without further words, he took Octavia from my arms to tend to her wounds. Exhausted by the day's events, I headed to rest, passing by the campfire where a new discussion was brewing.

"Don't take off your bracelets. You don't understand that we are humanity's hope. If you deactivate them, not only do you condemn yourselves, but all of us," Wells argued fervently, facing the growing rebellion.

"That's not our concern, Wells. Forget about saving humanity; it's a stupid idea. Besides, it's very likely we're not alone on this planet," I said aloud, capturing everyone's attention, including Morphy, who was about to counter.

"How can you be so sure we're not alone? This planet has been deserted for over 100 years," Morphy challenged skeptically.

"When we explored, I noticed human footprints. They weren't visible to the naked eye, but I distinguished them in the earth," I explained, eliciting surprised murmurs from the crowd.

Before anyone else could respond, I added determinedly, "Tomorrow we'll try again to reach Mount Weather, and if the chaos persists upon our return, I'll start expelling those who don't contribute."

"What the hell are you saying? Just because you saved my sister doesn't make you the leader. I'm the leader here," Bellamy replied, with Murphy nodding in agreement beside him.

"Look who's talking, the self-proclaimed leader who thinks he's superior just because he has a weapon," I retorted, my tone dripping with sarcasm that made Bellamy's blood boil. In an instant, he drew his weapon and aimed it at me.

"What, are you going to shoot me? How scary, Bellamy," I said, maintaining my sarcastic tone but shifting to a cold, piercing gaze. "Don't play with me, Bellamy. Your sister isn't here to stop me this time. Go ahead, shoot, and the one standing at the end will be me, wounded but alive."

Bellamy remained silent, the tension palpable, but instead of shooting me, he raised his weapon slightly and fired into the air, shouting, "EVERYONE TO BED!"

The crowd dispersed quickly, seeking refuge in their tents. I walked past Bellamy and warned him quietly, "You'd better think twice before aiming at me again, because next time you won't get away so easily."

I found a comfortable spot and lay down, reflecting on the day as the night closed in around me. Before attempting to sleep, I mentally activated the 'system.'

"What's up, host?" a voice responded in my mind.

"Explain to me how it works," I requested, intrigued by the possibilities.

"I AM A SYSTEM THAT WILL REWARD YOU BASED ON YOUR ACTIONS. YOU HAVE A LOYALTY SECTION THAT IS DIVIDED INTO 'SUBORDINATES' AND 'LOVERS.' MISSIONS ARE HIDDEN, EACH MISSION YOU COMPLETE WILL REVEAL NEW REWARDS," the system explained, adding a layer of mystery and anticipation to my future adventures.

With my mind full of possibilities, I yawned and closed my eyes, letting myself be carried away by fatigue and curiosity about what the next day would bring.

----

At dawn, a sudden instinct woke me up. With a quick movement, I grabbed the arm reaching towards me, turned the person over, and immobilized them.

"L-Logan, calm down, it's me," the voice beneath me babbled.

Just regaining consciousness, I recognized who it was.

"Clarke, what are you doing here? I almost killed you!" I exclaimed, although I didn't let go of her. Inside, I thought this could be fun.

"I just came to wake you up so we could go look for Mount Weather. Could you get off me?" she asked.

"I see, but why don't we stay like this for a while? I'm comfortable," I replied with a mischievous smile.

"Mhm, get off me, Logan," she replied, visibly annoyed. 'How cute,' I thought.

I just smiled and didn't answer. I snuggled closer to her and closed my eyes.

"Hey, move," Clarke insisted, trying to wriggle free, and when she couldn't, she tried to bite my ear. I quickly pulled my head away and said,

"Well, what do we have here? A naughty girl, and naughty girls must be punished."

"Let me go already!" she yelled.

"Fine, but first, you'll get your punishment."

"What punishment?"

"This," I said, and I kissed her. It was a deep kiss, but brief, because as soon as I felt her responding to the kiss, I pulled away.

"Damn it, what are you doing?" she yelled after a few seconds, recovering from the kiss.

"Giving you your punishment. Or maybe it was a reward, since you seemed to enjoy it," I replied with a teasing smile.

"Ugh, you'd better come, we're leaving," she said, her face blushing, and she turned around to leave.

---

"No, you can't go, Octavia. You haven't healed yet," Bellamy said just as Clarke and I arrived. Upon seeing me arrive, Octavia said to me,

"Logan, tell him I'm fine, look," and she walked towards me, but her leg weakened and she fell.

I managed to catch her and said,

"You're still not healed, Octavia. You'd better stay and rest. Make sure your brother doesn't do anything stupid," and after that, I kissed her on the forehead.

"Mmm," Octavia replied shyly, and I gave her to her brother.

"Take care of her," I said. He just nodded, and I went to talk to the exploration group.

I saw Monty, Jasper, Finn, Wells, and Clarke waiting for me, and I said,

"Not all of us will go. Monty, you stay to try to communicate with the Ark. Jasper, you're weak; if something or someone attacks us, you'd be a burden. Wells, you're good at exploring, you're coming. Finn, I hope you know how to fight in case something attacks us. And Clarke, you're not going, you're the only doctor here; we can't afford to lose you."

Everyone agreed with what I said, except Clarke.

"I'll go too. I can't just sit here and do nothing, let's go," Clarke said, and without giving me a chance to reply, she walked towards the forest.

---

As we walked towards the forest, Wells approached to talk to Clarke, but she ignored him and walked faster. As a precaution, I followed her, and when I caught up with her, I asked,

"What's wrong? It's dangerous to walk alone in the forest."

"What's it to you?" she said, annoyed.

"What happened with Wells? As far as I remember, you two were very close before I was locked up," I replied.

She stopped and faced me.

"How did you know me before? I never saw you on the Ark."

"That's because I didn't go out much. And how could I not know the most beautiful privileged girl on the Ark?" I replied.

She blushed a little. Ignoring my comment about her beauty, she asked me,

"Why didn't you go out of your house?"

"My father was always sick, and since my mother was floated when I was five, I took care of him," I replied. Clarke's expression changed from blush to one of sorrow.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I know how you feel, since my father was also floated unjustly."

"It seems we have something in common, but I don't think you share my hatred for Jaha," I said, with some resentment in my voice.

"I know you hate the Chancellor. I also hate him a little, but not enough to kill him. After all, I've known him since I was little," she replied.

"Well, let's not talk about him anymore," I said as I moved closer, and we could feel each other's breath. I put my hands on her hips.

"What are you doing, pervert?" she said, embarrassed.

"Just finishing what I started this morning," I replied and kissed her, longer than that morning's kiss. After a while of surrendering to the kiss, she pulled away, embarrassed, and said,

"The others are coming, move away."

I smiled at her embarrassment and turned around; as she said, Wells and Finn had caught up with us. They watched Clarke's embarrassed behavior and then looked at me. I smiled blatantly at them. Seeing both of us, Wells ran towards me and shouted,

"What did you do to Clarke, you bastard!?"

"You better lower your tone, Wells," I warned him with a cold look. "And if you want to know what happened, why don't you ask Clarke?" I added with a smirk. Clarke, upon hearing my words, turned to me with some anger and a slight blush. Then, she looked at Wells, who was staring at her.

"What happened here, Clarke?" Wells asked, approaching her. Clarke looked embarrassed, but then she remembered her resentment towards Wells and replied, "It's none of your business, Wells. We're not friends anymore."

"But, Clarke..." Wells tried to fix things, but Clarke didn't give him a chance and retorted, "What, Wells? What are you going to say after having my father floated? No matter what excuse you give, it doesn't change anything."

I followed Clarke as she walked away. When I passed by Wells, I whispered to him, "If you're not going to tell her the truth, don't go near her. Don't hurt her anymore." He looked at me in astonishment, speechless. I left him behind, and Finn approached him to cheer him up a bit.