My Own Devices

The Reapers looked different, they looked worse than they did before. How was that even possible? Their eyes were bloodshot and sweat was cascading down their freaky masks. They were obviously more riled up than before and the tension in the air had grown heavier, they felt more dangerous. What had happened? This wasn't normal even for them. This couldn't be good. Monty's nerves were climbing and when the whistle blew signalling the start of the second half everything went haywire.

The structure of The Reapers team fell apart almost instantly and all went for the ball with such ferocity and hunger it shocked Monty. It had obviously shocked Bellamy as well as they had managed to swipe the ball away from his stick landing at the stick of a particularly bulky and dangerous looking Reaper who snarled and shouted charging his way down the court straight into Jasper.

"Jasper?!" The word had left his mouth in a frightened scream before he could hold it back, he was on his feet in seconds looking for signs that he was alright.

A hand shot into the air waving a little "I'm alright!" Jasper shouted back. Thank goodness.

Whilst Jasper had been down the bulky guy had been able to score and was cheering in a deranged manner with his other teammates. Shit. Everybody had been occupied by Jasper's fall and making sure he was ok. If they lost…it would be devastating, Monty knew how much his team valued this sport, how much they enjoyed it, how good winning felt after beating the odds. It's his responsibility to get them there.

Each member had returned to their beginning space and prepared for the whistle, a few exchanged glances let Monty know that they had confidence they good win a point back. He hoped so. Clarke was taking the ball this time, she had a powerful swing, Monty had felt the force of it when he had walked into her room and flopped onto her bed thinking it was his own. He had been drunk and definitely out of sorts, who could blame him? It was an easy mistake. But letting his team down was not, it wasn't even an option.

The whistle blew and Bellamy was running backed up by Jasper and Octavia with Drew on their left offering a vantage point from the side if needed. Clarke hit the ball with a resounding smack and it landed at Bellamy's stick as he took a quick glance around him. He shot the ball to Drew moving quickly to get into a space away from the Reapers. They were snarling and following the ball like a cat to a mouse but they weren't guarding or defending individual players when needed.

That was their mistake. Drew shot the ball to Jasper - he was serious, the tension between his eyebrows visible as they furrowed and the quirk of his lips when The Reapers came running at him, it was mischievous and beckoning...not now Monty, focus. Jasper passed to Octavia with ease who simply used her stick to change the balls direction back to Bellamy. The Reapers were still trying to keep track but weren't doing such a great job. The quickness of his team's passes was impressive – it was something that they had been working on recently, quick thinking, and quick passing to give them a brief advantage. Bellamy caught their defenders and keeper off guard and shot the ball into the goal before they had time to react. Yes!

A series of cheers, high fives, hugs and shoulder pats escalated through his team. But Monty couldn't escape his anxiousness, there were 15 minutes of the game left and they were currently tying. Sure it was better than losing but victory was what he wanted for his team, he only wanted the best for them. Monty wanted to see glittering grins plastered on their faces and their cockiness to be expressed over celebratory drinks that night.

Monty often didn't get what he wanted, he couldn't get the guy, he couldn't get his mother's approval and he couldn't get his team victory, even after all their preparation and hard work. The game had finished with a tie. There were smiles but no glittering grins on their faces. The 100 had done their best but had just come short and that sucked the life out of them. There were no offers to go out and celebrate, no attempt to gloss over their almost loss, just acceptance that they could've done better but hadn't. Monty felt ill, he thought any minute he was going to hurl and cry alongside that which would only make him convulse and vomit more.

He said that they'd leave the meeting for tomorrow and with a small smile and a wave he left, glancing back once to catch a glimpse of Jasper's handsome face slicked in sweat and smile that never reached his eyes. Monty had let them down. He should've done something. He could've better prepared them, tried more training techniques, he could've supported them more if only he hadn't been such a sickly kid he would've tried to become better at sports. If only he was able to be a benefit to them. The tears were running freely now, the words "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" blaring in his mind.

Monty had made his way home, to his ridiculously small apartment, it was a mess – he hadn't realised how bad it had gotten. He would tidy it tonight when he got home but first he had something to do. After they lost a match against the grounders a couple of months ago Monty had decided that it was a time to change. To change himself. He kept it hidden from his friends knowing they wouldn't approve, they would say that he's fine the way he is, that he didn't need to do this but Monty couldn't accept it. It was his duty to his teammates to help them and save them from the chill of losing.

Monty had changed into more comfortable clothing – grey jogging bottoms and a t-shirt and his usual trainers. He grabbed his coat hurrying to put it on as he walked out the door, locking it behind him. Monty walked at a brisk pace; he had managed to find a hockey court near his house that was always unoccupied after 4pm which he gratefully took advantage of.

Monty hated the fact that he had been sickly as a kid, he had spent a lot of time in the hospital; it had damaged his immune system and made him a lot weaker in fitness. Until he became the manager of The 100 he had never considered trying to improve it since it hadn't been a priority but now it was important. He never thought he would love being their manager so much, they had started out as friends but now they were more. They were a team and would fight for each other on the battlefield. It brought out new things in everyone and the determination to see what had started out as a joke over some beers was at full capacity.

Monty reached the court. Terror shot through him, burning him from the inside. His mouth fell open and the cruel eyes staring spears into him.

Grounders.