Casey woke up within an hour of lying down, unable to sleep from the anxiety that trickled into her mind through the pain in her hand. She lay on the opposite side of the cave from Bellamy and Charlotte. She watched them for a while before becoming bored and decided to check outside to see if the fog had cleared. Once she wasn't sure she would boil from the toxic air, she sat at the mouth of the cave.

Hours later, Bellamy found Casey looking worse for wear. The bags under her eyes had turned purple as she laid her head back against the rock, lazily staring in front of her. Then, slowly, her eyes raised to meet his, waiting for him to say something.

And Bellamy wanted to. He wanted to show his concern for her, tell her not to worry, but she wouldn't listen even if he did. She was too goddamn stubborn and defiant of anything he said to listen.

"Anybody out here?" Bellamy yelled into the woods instead. "Jones?"

"We're here!" Jones called back, a group of shuffling feet heading down toward them.

Bellamy turned to Casey, holding his hand out for her. She took a moment to debate in her head whether she should take it or not, but when his hand shook wildly out of impatience in front of her face, she decided just to take it.

Bellamy pulled Casey to her feet, letting go of her hand immediately and set off to greet Jones.

"Lost you in the stew. Where'd you go?" Bellamy asked him.

"Made it to a cave down there," Jones explained, pointing behind him.

"The hell was that?" Bellamy asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't know," Jones shrugged, just as confused.

Bellamy looked over Jones and then the other two with him, his eyes running over the three and realizing someone was missing.

"Where's Atom?"

Jones looked at Bellamy, then to Charlotte (who Casey hadn't realized was there) and Casey. Jones' eyebrows folded down the middle of his forehead, confused about where Casey had come from and Atom not with them.

"I thought he was with you," Jones admitted.

The group hoped that Atom had made it to shelter before the fog got to him. They had no idea what the fog was except for deadly or the horn that preceded it, but they knew that it wasn't good if Atom had gotten caught in it.

Casey stood at the back of the group, feeling misplaced and uncomfortable among the boys she barely knew. She just wanted to get moving so she could make sure Murphy had made it out alive.

Then, the familiar piercing scream of Charlotte broke through the forest, interrupting any further conversation.

Bellamy was sprinting before Casey could even recognize the noise. The others followed behind, and Casey trailed after. She could barely move her legs from exhaustion, let alone run toward Charlotte. But, if anything was really wrong, Casey had no doubt Bellamy could handle it.

Casey arrived a few minutes later, where they stood around a small hill, and at the bottom, Atom lay. He was bright red with blisters worse than the ones on Casey's hand. Casey looked to Charlotte, looking down at him, her face contorted into fear wavering between choked sobs.

Casey returned to the horrifying sight of Atom that stitched its way into Casey's head right next to the image of the two-faced deer that would stay there forever. She wanted to throw up and cry just at the sight of him but took a deep breath and held it. She tapped her left arm in rows of four to try and soothe her mind.

"I... can't... breathe..." Atom shuttered beneath the pain, turning in the general direction of Bellamy, staring through unseeing eyes.

Charlotte walked into the pit and stood beside Bellamy. All previous sorrow escaped and now was replaced with an odd calmness. It sent chills down Casey's spine as Charlotte held the knife he had given her.

"Don't be afraid," Charlotte whispered.

Bellamy turned to look at Charlotte, his eyes wary and despair coated his expression. He took the knife hesitantly in a vice-like grip and realized what he needed to do.

"Go back to camp," Bellamy told the group huddling around them. Jones and his group left almost immediately, leaving only two. "Charlotte, you too," he whispered.

And so, she did. Slipping past Casey with a slight glance.

Bellamy hadn't noticed Casey standing over them as he bent down. Atom begged him for the pain to go away, for Bellamy to kill him with the knife in his hands, to have the blood of his friend soaked on him for the rest of his life.

Bellamy's hands were shaking, eyes wide with tears beginning, but he wouldn't let them fall. He couldn't kill Atom. How could he kill him? Atom was a good, honest and brave young man that had put up with Bellamy even after he had punished him for kissing his sister. It all seemed so unfair now that Atom would die for nothing while Bellamy kept on living.

Bellamy jumped at the feeling of Casey's hand resting over his.

"It's okay," Casey assured him as she took the knife and dropped it beside Atom's head. She smiled at Atom, wondering if he could still see beyond those murky eyes.

"It's all going to be okay, Atom," Casey whispered to him, her hands resting on his cheeks. Atom's eyes closed at the cool feeling of her palms, from both the comfort and the pain. "In peace, may you leave the shore. In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels until our final journey to the ground," she recited, a small laugh clogging her throat as she noticed the irony in her words. "May we meet again."

Casey lifted Atom's head from the ground, and in half a second, his head snapped with a sickening crack. She laid his head back onto the ground, tears streaming down her face. She sighed loudly, taking her shaking hands to Atom's face and closing his eyes so he could rest.

She pulled away from Atom, smiling sadly as she wiped her hands obsessively along with her pants as she felt Atom's life seep into her skin. She couldn't stop, counting in fours under her breath, quickly trying to banish the negative thoughts from her mind.

Beside her, Bellamy moved into a crouch and pulled himself closer to Casey. She wouldn't look at him, only at Atom's body and mumbled numbers under her breath. Bellamy worried she was losing it, in all honesty. Maybe he was starting to lose it, too, because watching someone you know die doesn't typically bring out the best in people.

Bellamy stared at Casey, sad eyes on her before he pulled her into a tight hug and held her there. His hand cradled the back of her head while his head rested on her shoulder. She was in his arms but no longer looking at Atom, with Bellamy's body blocking the way. She was still muttering numbers into his ear, but the longer they sat together, the mutters faded from her tongue until she was silent. Then, in a strange moment among strangers, she hugged him back.

Casey was still crying, and she was sure he could feel it against his neck, but she didn't care. She needed this, feeling safe.

Then, the shock left like a blanket torn off, leaving you cold as she realized they needed to get back to camp, reassure their siblings they were okay, and bury Atom.

Casey patted Bellamy's back four times to tell him she was okay. His arms slackened against her before pulling back, his mouth opened just barely to ask if she was alright, but he didn't have the heart to ask.

"We need to get him back to camp," Casey whispered, turning to Atom and moving to her feet. "Get his head."

Casey squatted, scooping Atom's ankles into her arms, and waited for Bellamy.

"Bellamy?" she called, no bite in her tone for once.

Bellamy nodded and stepped over to Atom's head and lifted him.

Bellamy and Casey made it halfway to camp before their arms started to tire from the dead weight. As they rested, a twig in the forest snapped, and both grew on edge for fear of the Grounders. When Clarke appeared behind the brush, they let out a relieved breath. Finn and Wells followed behind her as well.

The three rested with them. The boys didn't question Atom lying dead by a tree, but Clarke felt the need to ask every question under the moon about what happened. She was tending to Casey's blistered hand simultaneously, so it was hard for Casey to ignore her. However, she and Bellamy didn't answer. It didn't matter now. He was dead.

Finn rested his jacket over Atom's face for some peace. Sitting next to Casey, Wells noticed her shivering under the cool night air and the shock from killing Atom. He removed his jacket and set it over her shoulders.

Casey looked down at it, then turned to Wells, whispering, "Thank you."

"What are cellmates for?" Well assured her lightheartedly, allowing Casey a place to let out a small laugh under her breath. Wells smiled back.

They continued after that, Wells assuring Casey that he'd take her job of carrying Atom back to camp. However, she didn't relent and let them move on towards camp.

The camp chattered with life, and the noise became deafening as they walked in. Casey wanted to run to her tent and hide, but she could barely move as she stood beside Bellamy. Octavia ran across camp to them and started talking to Clarke when she glanced their way.

"For fuck's sake," Casey whispered under her breath.

"Octavia, just stay there. Please, stay back," Bellamy called to her as she broke from Clarke's hold and shouldered her way through the crowd towards them. She was caught in her pursuit by Casey and Bellamy, trying to push her back.

"Stop!" she shouted at them, pushing Bellamy's arm out of her way and walking to the body resting on the ground. With shaking hands, Octavia pulled the jacket away from his face and heartbreakingly whispered, "Atom."

"There was nothing I could do," Bellamy told her.

"Don't," Octavia stopped him, covering Atom's face as she cried over him. Octavia stood and tried to leave, but Bellamy blocked her.

"O... O, please," Bellamy begged. Octavia tore herself away from him and ran to the dropship.

Then, Murphy walked through the crowd, pulling Casey into a tight hug.

"I was so worried," Murphy muttered.

Casey nodded, adjusting her chin to rest on top of his shoulder.

"Yeah, me too," she told him.

"Lose anyone here?" Bellamy asked Murphy.

"No," Murphy assured him, pulling away from Casey and squaring his shoulders like a dutiful soldier as he spoke to Bellamy.

"Jasper?"

"Still breathing," Murphy said like it was a pain in his side. "I tried to take him out, but your psycho sister—"

His words cut deep. Bellamy lunged forward and shoved Murphy back, his hands tangling into his jacket to keep him in place.

"Bellamy..." Murphy said hoarsely, his blue eyes dancing between him and Casey, who barely moved a muscle in response. Atom's death and lack of sleep had her feeling exhausted and vacant.

"My what? My what?" Bellamy seethed, holding Murphy close.

"Your little sister," Murphy corrected himself, shoving Bellamy away from him.

"Yeah, that's right. My little sister. Got anything else you want to say about her?" Bellamy pressed.

Casey turned to Bellamy. She could see the rage bubbling inside him because of John Murphy. She could see the pain that had washed over him when Octavia had looked at him and saw a murderer. She could see that he believed that it was his fault Atom died. From there, Casey knew what she needed to do.

Author's Note

Season 1, Episode 3: Earth Kills

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.