CHAPTER 11

HELL HATH NO WRATH compared to the blazing inferno rising inside her chest. Jinny felt the fury consuming her, the echo of the girl's body hitting the surface of the water was like ignition fuel. Clarke had rushed towards the edge, peering over the cliff face while continuing to cry out in dismay.

Bellamy looked at Jinny, saw the heated glare in her eyes as she slowly turned around. "Jin..." he called coaxingly but he may as well be talking to the wind. She balled her hands into tight fists, skin stretching taut over white knuckles. Her dark gaze met with Murphy's and he stared back at her in mild surprise. It turned into full fledge terror when she took a step in his direction.

"J-Jinny..." he started nervously before she lunged at him, throwing her body in the air and slamming against his. They toppled to the ground with flailing limbs and a feral scream tore through her throat. Her rage was vehement; the product of years and years of pent up emotion.

The sickening crunch of bone against bone tore through the night as she fumed and cursed at the boy beneath her. Clarke shouting for her to stop was just background noise, then she felt a pair of brawny arms circle around her waist. They pulled her away but she continued to lash out, managing to get a last good kick at Murphy's leg. Bellamy held her tightly against his chest, enveloping her slim frame entirely in a full body lock.

"LET ME GO!" she screamed, her voice pitching at the end. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Jin, stop," Bellamy said, his voice wavered slightly with fear at her violent outburst. "Let me handle this."

"No!" Clarke cried sharply, stepping in between them and the writhing boy still on the ground. "We don't get to decide who gets to live and die!"

"Screw you, princess!" Jinny shrieked.

"He deserves to die, Clarke!" Bellamy retorted forcefully.

"We don't make that call, not down here!" the blonde yelled.

The man paused but his grip around the frantically livid girl in his arms remained firm. All Jinny could think about was how harrowingly familiar Charlotte's death had been. Those words she repeated before she jumped weren't just empty words to Jinny, they were a mantra that had kept her alive. They were the last words her mother had spoken to her before she was floated, and now they were tainted.

"So help me, Clarke, if you say that the people have a right to decide—" Bellamy started.

"No!" She shook her head fervently. "No. I was wrong before, okay? You were right." It felt good to hear the girl admit it out loud but Jinny wasn't in the mood for any victory dances as Clarke continued, "Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live with whatever the hell we want. We need rules."

"And who makes those rules, huh?" Bellamy asked as Jinny calmed down, though her breathing was still ragged. "You?"

"For now, we make the rules. Okay?" She looked between the two of them for agreement.

"So what now?" Jinny's lips curled with derision. "Pretend that none of this happened? That we didn't almost hang him for something he didn't do, and a little girl didn't just commit suicide after she murdered someone?"

"We can't just take him back and do that." Bellamy clenched his jaw.

"No." Clarke paused, frowning with uncertainty before turning to look down at Murphy. Fresh blood covered his face yet again, flowing freely from his nose and wounds. His lip was split and purple bruises were starting to bloom across his cheekbones. Jinny could still feel the force of her knuckles against his skin and she wished she could do more than just beat the crap out of the boy.

Clarke turned back to them with new resolve in her eyes. "We banish him."

Jinny scoffed but Bellamy let go of her, almost throwing her to the side in his haste. He stomped forwards and roughly hauled Murphy off the ground, dragging the boy towards the edge of the cliff. Clarke cried out in surprise, her first instinct to stop him from whatever he was trying to do at that moment. Jinny turned around and watched as Bellamy gripped the boy's collar tightly. Their faces were merely inches apart as the older man's face twisted into a nasty scowl. "If I ever catch you in camp," he said. "We'll be back here. Understand?"

Murphy nodded weakly before Bellamy threw him back down onto the ground. He turned to the three other boys that had been with him. "As for the rest of you, you can come back and follow us... or go off with him to die. Your choice."

From the expressions on their faces, the decision seemed pretty clear. Bellamy grabbed Jinny's arm and gently guided her away from the cliff, back into the forest. "Come on, Jin. We're done here."

But to Jinny, it felt like only the beginning.

The dropship had started to smell of mildew and rust. The table in front of them was strewn with gadgets, tools and various equipment. The wristband was currently its centrepiece.

"But will we be able to talk to them?" Clarke asked.

"No, more like Morse Code." Monty looked up, his eyes meeting with Jinny. She bit the nail of her thumb in agitation, her nerves still riled up from the day's previous events.

Everyone was standing anxiously around the boy as he tinkered with the mechanics that were hooked up to the working wristband. Jinny's eyes continued to flicker as she tried to find a single flaw in their hardware. It was crude, hastily thrown together, and theoretically, it should work.

"Wanna do the honours?" Monty looked around for his friend.

Jasper shuffled forwards, his dark hair messily framing his face. Monty handed him a red wire and gestured towards the wristband. "That port right there."

The boy had an almost excited smile on his face, and Jinny could feel her heart stuttering in her chest. With a surprisingly steady hand, Jasper fastened the wire to the port and there was a small spark accompanying the connection. Suddenly, all their wristbands started to flare and fizzle out. Cries of surprise and pain rang throughout the camp from outside and Jinny picked up a piece of metal from the table to fling it against the wall.

"God damn it!" she shouted in frustration.

"What happened?" Clarke asked.

"It didn't work." Monty leaned in to inspect the damage. "I think... we fried all the wristbands."

"Transmission terminated," Jinny stated dully before sulking out of the dropship. Finn went after her, with Clarke following, going off in different directions.

Jinny veered right, heading towards the outer perimeter of the camp before stopping by the wall. The wristbands had been the only thing that they had to reach the Ark and now it was gone. There must have been a faulty component, or a split wire that she missed. It wasn't good enough, nothing she did was ever good enough.

"Hey."

Jinny whirled around, her eyes landing on Bellamy's bare chest before correcting her gaze to his face. He looked concerned, but mostly confused.

"What happened?" he asked, cocking his head upwards in question.

"We killed our only connection to the Ark." She shrugged as if it didn't bother her, but the sinking pit in her chest stated otherwise.

"Oh," Bellamy frowned slightly. "Well, we knew it would be a long shot anyway. I'd have eaten my boots if it actually worked."

She smirked. "I'd have loved to see that."

He shrugged his broad shoulders, muscles rippling with the small movement. Jinny sighed and turned away, heading towards her usual spot under a tree near the camp fire. Bellamy followed after her, like a shadow on the prowl. "Jin," he started. "It's okay, you know. We don't need help from the Ark. We can survive down here on our own."

"It's not us that I'm worried about, Bell." She stopped, feeling a knot wrestling itself inside her. She bit her lip. "It's them up there that I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I—" she hesitated. "My dad is still up there too, you know. I give him a lot of shit but he's my dad. I promised—"

Jinny suddenly lapsed into silence, her brows knitted tightly together. There was a flash of indiscernible emotion in her eyes as she thought back to those memories she tried desperately to keep hidden away. Lying had always been her preferred method of choice, and the words on the tip of her tongue tasted of poison.

"I promised myself that I'd give him hell on earth, and well, I don't wanna blow that chance."

Bellamy sighed, but whether or not he believed her wasn't something she could tell from his passive expression. Eventually, she retreated once again and he followed after her. "What do you want?" She threw him an annoyed glance.

"I can tell when you're lying, Jin," he said. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing, okay?" she snapped back, feeling heat rising in her chest. She still hated how he knew her so well.

He stared at her, the flickering light from the flames nearby dancing in his dark eyes. They seemed to be able to look through the shrouds she wrapped herself up in, tearing them apart with his unwavering gaze.

"Look, it's nothing." She looked away. "I just hate being wrong."

"Jin—"

"Whoa, look!" she exclaimed, taking the opportunity to divert his attention. There was a shooting star streaking across the sky, a singular golden fleck that seemed lost in time. She couldn't help but smile at it, burning incandescence that would soon be lost in the endless void of space, disintegrating into stardust.

"What is that?" Bellamy frowned.

"It's a shooting star."

"No..." They continued to watch as the fleck grew larger, dropping quickly through their atmosphere. There was a loud sound, like engines tearing apart, before landing ruthlessly against the ground in the distance. "It's a pod falling from the Ark."