Chapter 4
"They're back!" a voice called out and Kane turned to watch the screen.
"Is he…?" Monty asked, unable to finish the sentence. He looked on fearfully.
"He's alive," Clarke said. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandages." Monty nodded, took one last look at Jasper and left to find the required items. Finn and Wells carried Jasper to the dropship and took him inside. Clarke turned back to Bellamy and Murphy when she heard whoops of joy and cries of yes. She saw Bellamy and Murphy place their burden on the ground and unwrapped it, showing them the panther.
"Who's hungry!?" Bellamy called out. The delinquents all whooped in joy and cheered Bellamy for getting them some food. Clarke was disgusted by Bellamy's obvious ploy to get the kids on his side by pretending he was a good provider. She moved into the ship to tend to Jasper.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Any ideas?" Kane asked Abby who was standing beside him watching Jasper through Clarke's eyes. She saw everything Clarke did.
"For now, he's okay, but I think they need to find some kind of antibiotic for the wounds. Who knows what he was exposed to!"
"Clarke did think he had some kind of poultice on him," Kane said.
"Yes, but we don't know what it was for. Is it to counteract bacteria and germs, or was it a slow release poison of some kind? We have no idea who did it or why." Kane thought about everything the kids had been through in their first four days on the ground. The ground was probably as deadly as they thought it was - it was just deadly in a different way. The radiation may not kill them but it seemed everything else was trying to!
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Clarke walked down the ramp and over to Finn who was watching as the food was handed out.
"He's stable for now, but without medication…" Clarke stopped when she noticed Finn wasn't really listening to her. She turned to see what held his attention. "They're taking off their wristbands for food?" she said in surprise and disgust. "I…I won't do it."
"You won't have to," Finn said, still watching the scene. He walked over to the cooked meat and took one.
"Whoa, whoa, wait wait, wait!" Murphy said, trying to stop him. "What? You think you play by different rules?" Murphy asked him. Finn looked at him.
"I thought there were no rules," Finn said. Murphy was stunned and Finn walked off with the meat. Bellamy watched. Now he had a problem. When another guy walked up and took a piece of meat, Bellamy punched him down and took the meat back. He had to restore his version of order.
"You want to eat, you take off your wristbands!"
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"This is serious," Jaha said. Kane nodded.
"There's nothing we can do though. It's down to the others to stop Bellamy's reign of chaos."
"Those kids will starve to death if they don't take their wristbands off," Abby said.
"Luckily, we don't need the wristbands to know they are alive," Jaha points out.
"No, but they don't know that, Sir," Kane said. "Some of those kids may starve rather than have their parents think they died."
"What can we do?" Abby asked.
"Nothing. We have to be prepared to rescue starving kids when we go down."
"I'll start researching starvation and recovery techniques," Abby said.
"I'll make sure that the weapons are in good condition, especially the tranq guns."
"Then I'll do an inventory of those medicines. We have been using some of them for operations, but we had loads of them when we all joined together. We have plenty to tranq all of the kids." Jaha nodded.
"Good. Also keep an eye on Jasper. If Clarke can find medicines for him we may need them as well at some point." Abby nodded and the meeting broke up. Abby turmed back to see Clarke and Finn enjoying the meat they were sharing.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Atom!" Bellamy shouted to the other boy. Abby turned her attention to Atom's monitor. She watched as several guys grabbed Atom and they tied him up and strung him up into a tree.
"Come on, we're on first watch," Bellamy said to the others and they started walking off. Atom was struggling to get down, but with his arms held tight to his sides, he couldn't get himself free.
"Guys! You're not just gonna leave me here!" Atom called out after them. Bellamy turned to him.
"No, Atom. I won't be disobeyed!" They walked away to Atom's pleas to get him down.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
That evening, Clarke was cleaning Jasper. Jasper was moaning in pain and Clarke didn't know what to do about it. If the Ark had sent down some meds, she could give him a painkiller.
"Pulse is three eighty," Clarke said out loud, more to herself. She carried on cleaning him and wiping him down with cool water in an attempt to keep his temperature down.
Delinquents started calling out in anger, frustration and lack of sleep.
"Go back to sleep!"
"Quiet!"
"Don't listen to them," Clarke told Jasper. "You're gonna make it through this, okay? Promise."
"Can he just die already?!" called out another angry kid.
"I'm gonna get clean water. Keep an eye on him," Clarke said to the others.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"What can we do?" Jasper's mom asked his dad.
"There's nothing we can do other than pray." They looked back to see Monty with his best friend. They could see him whispering to Jasper, but what he was saying was drowned out by the kids shouting to Jasper to die.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke walked out of the dropship. She was standing on the ramp, playing with her watch when she heard a scream. She turned and headed in that direction. She saw a young girl.
"No! No! No!" the young girl screamed.
"Hey, wake up. It's okay, it's okay. It's just a dream. You're Charlotte, right? I'm Clarke. It's okay to be scared. Do you want to talk about it?" Charlotte sat up, hugging her knees. Charlotte looked around and then at Clarke.
"It's… my parents. They were floated and they- I see it in my dreams and I just…" Charlotte couldn't continue. Her voice cracked with the pain of her loss.
"I understand. My dad was floated too." Clarke stopped and looked around, trying to think of something else to say. "So, how did you end up here?"
"They were taking my parents' things to the redistribution centre and…I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard."
"I can't say I blame you. See that bright star up there?" Clarke said, pointing upwards. "That's the Ark orbiting above us. I think whatever happened up there, you know, the pain… maybe we can move past that now. Maybe being on the ground is our second chance." Charlotte looked at her.
"Do you really believe that?"
"I'm trying to," Clarke said, holding Charlotte close and looking up at the Ark. They stayed like that for a while.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the ship, the night staff did their jobs and watched over the kids, often watching one feed or another, depending on who was awake.
"Hey, Mike, where are those two?" Jenna asked her fellow technician.
"Which two?" Mike asked, looking around at her. Jenna pulled up the two feeds.
"Pascal and Trina. They've been missing from camp for a couple of days now." Mike looked at the two of them.
ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"I think this is north, come on," Trina said to Pascal.
"Really? Because we've just come from that way, Miss I-can-navigate-with-the-stars," Pascal said facetiously.
"It's your fault we've been lost for two days," Trina said to Pascal. "Never should have gone off by ourselves." Pascal gently pulled on Trina's arm.
"Come on, we'll find the dropship tomorrow."
"That's what you said last night. And I'm hungry," Trina said.
"Trina, relax, we're fine." Pascal kissed Trina and she reciprocated.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Wow, guess we know why they went off together!" Mike said. Jenna tutted at his attitude and turned back to their screens.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Trina pulled back.
"Did you feel that?" Trina asked, looking around them. They heard noises all around them. They turned and saw a large yellow fog coming towards them.
"What is that?" Trina asked at the exact same time as Jenna did on the Ark.
"I don't know," Pascal answered. They started backing away from it but it was quicker and it started to engulf them.
"I can't see!" Trina exclaimed, panicking.
"Let's get out of here!" Pascal shouted.
"Oh my God, it burns!" Trina yelled. Both of them were screaming in agony.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Mike smashed his hand down on the emergency button and the council members were awoken by it.
"What's happening?!" Jaha yelled over the intercom to Command Central.
"There's some kind of fog down there, Chancellor. Two of the kids were caught up in it. They said it burns and they are screaming in agony!" He told Jaha.
"On my way. I want to see it for myself. See if you can track that fog!"
"Yes, Sir!" Mike said and he and Jenna got to work checking for the fog.
Less than a minute later, council members began to arrive. Kane first, followed by Abby.
"What's happening?" Kane asked. Jenna relayed what they'd told Jaha.
"Is this an acid fog?" Abby asked.
"Unknown, Doctor," Jenna said, "but it burns their skin. I don't know of any other fog that does that."
"It could be an unknown chemical fog," Abby suggested.
"From where?" Kane asked.
"Unknown, Sir, but it came from the direction of Mount Weather. We don't know if that is the source or if it rolled over that mountain as well," Mike said. Kane nodded just as Jaha and the rest of the councillors came in.
"Alright, show us what happened," Jaha said. Mike nodded and pressed play on the repeated portion of the recording. They watched in horror as the fog engulfed and burned them.
"Are they alright?" asked one of the other councillors. Jenna shook her head and brought up the now dead tiles displaying their non-existant biosigns.
"Whatever it did, it killed them." Kane brought up the family profiles of both young people.
"I'll inform their parents," he said with a heavy sigh. Jaha nodded. It wasn't a job he wanted to do.
"How far has it spread?"
"It's still going and I'm afraid it's heading towards the camp."
"Were those two kids near the camp?"
"No, they were quite far away. They were almost at Mount Weather."
"How long until it reaches the kids?" Abby asked.
"It depends. At the rate it's going, it will dissipate before it reaches there unless there's more fog coming behind it to sustain it. We don't have a way of ascertaining that, though, Doctor," Jenna said in an apologetic tone.
"If it does have more fog coming behind it, when would it reach the camp?"
"Sometime tomorrow."
"We'd better get more people up here to track it and keep an eye on the kids," Jaha said, worried about his son.
"Hopefully, they haven't destroyed the integrity of the dropship, they can use that to shelter in," Kane said.
"Good point," Jaha said, hoping to hell his kid thought of it and got inside where it would be safer.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The next morning, Murphy and Bellamy were practising throwing their knives. They were trying to get them to stick into the tree trunks. Murphy threw his knife and it bounced off the tree. In the background, they could hear Jasper moaning in pain.
"That damn kid, always messing with my head!" Murphy said in frustration.
"He's not gonna last much longer. Better think of a new excuse," Bellamy said, realising that Murphy was one to blame anything else for his bad luck or choices. Bellamy hauled back his axe and threw it at the tree. The axe bit into the trunk and stuck there. "That's how it's done!" Bellamy crowed. Atom walked towards them.
"We searched a half-mile in all directions. No sign of Trina or Pascal." Murphy smirked.
"Visit your special tree when you were out there?" he asked Atom, referring to the tree he'd been hoisted into as punishment for dating Bellamy's sister.
"Atom took his punishment. Let it go," Bellamy told Murphy.
"Could be grounders," Atom said.
"Yeah, or they could be in pound town," Murphy said, crudely. "Lot of that going around recently." Murphy couldn't help getting one more dig in at Atom. Atom was unhappy at Murphy's digs but knew he could do nothing about it with Bellamy having Murphy as one of his sidekicks. Bellamy went and pulled his axe from the trees and turned to see Octavia. Atom saw her too and turned towards Bellamy.
"Look, Bellamy, people are scared, and that dying kid is not helping morale around here."
"Morale will go up when I find them more food," Bellamy told him.
"And what do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal?" asked Jones.
"Now? Nothing. It's possible they're just lost," Bellamy said. "We'll keep an eye out when we go hunting later." Murphy listened to Jasper moaning once more.
"Let's go kill something," he said, turning to follow Bellamy.
"You're not going," Bellamy told him, stopping him with a hand to his chest. "I need you to stay here. If the grounders are circling, we can't leave this place unprotected."
"Fine. Somebody better tell goggle boy to keep it shut!" Murphy was fuming underneath. He wanted to destroy something - or someone. He needed to hurt something. He took one more throw at the tree - which didn't stick - and walked away, leaving the knife on the ground.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
There was silence in the control room as everyone watched and heard the callous talk about Jasper. Each of them knew that if Murphy got the chance, he'd probably kill Jasper just for some peace and quiet. The boy was fighting for his life and Murphy was not a considerate person except where he himself was involved. Why the kids wanted him dead was beyond the comprehension of the adults - even though those same kids would have been killed on their 18th birthdays anyway.
"This could get ugly real fast!" Mike said.
"Yup," Jenna said, yawning. They'd been on duty for a double shift now and were tired. They were due to be replaced within the hour and both of them knew they would crash as soon as they were off duty. Both had to be back on duty for the night shift, because of the potential of the acid fog and neither one was looking forward to it.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"The Grounders cauterised his wound. Saved his life," Clarke told the others.
"Saved his life to string him up as live bait. Garden of Eden this ain't," Finn said.
"This is infected. He could be septic." Abby nodded along with Clarke's diagnosis. Clarke turned towards Monty.
"Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" When Monty didn't answer, Clarke called his name again. Monty turned to her.
"That would be a firm no," he said, grimly. Clarke was frustrated.
"My mother would know what to do," she said, wishing her mother was there to provide medical aid.
"How's he doing?" Wells asked.
"How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" Clarke said sharply to him.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Wells said, calmly.
"Alright, you want to help? Hold him down," Clarke said. Wells held Jasper down and Finn looked on. Clarke gave a quick glance at Monty before placing a knife into the fire to heat up. Monty looked at it.
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" he said. Jasper continued to moan.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"What's she going to do?" Kane asked.
"The only thing she can do right now," Abby said. Everyone in the room looked at Abby. "She needs to cut away the infected tissue otherwise he will develop sepsis or gangrene and both those are fatal if left untreated."
"What's the treatment?"
"Antibiotics."
"They don't have any," Jaha pointed out.
"And that's why Clarke is doing everything she can to save him, but it may not be enough." Everyone turned back to the screen and watched whatever they could. It was down to Clarke and her friends to try to save Jasper. With four already dead, they didn't want another one to die if they could be saved.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Kane noted Octavia with Atom and watched as Atom ignored Octavia's entreaties to get him to go outside with her. He watched as Octavia stormed over to Bellamy's tent and walked in. He listened as Octavia told Bellamy to leave her out of any power trips Bellamy felt like going on while Bellamy told her that Atom paid the price of disobeying him and they were all good. Octavia wanted to know why Atom was ignoring her, but a scream from Jasper sent her running back to the dropship. Kane returned to the top deck where Jasper was.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Hold him still!" Clarke said loudly over Jaspers' increased screams. "I need to cut away the infected flesh."
"Stop it! You're killing him!" Octavia said, rushing in.
"She's trying to save his life," Finn told her.
"She can't," Bellamy said. They all turned to him.
"Back off," Wells told Bellamy, standing up to him.
"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die," Clarke said.
"Kid's a goner. If you can't see that, you're deluded," Bellamy told Clarke. "He's making people crazy."
"I'm sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you but this isn't the Ark!" Clarke shot back at him, pissed he wanted Jasper dead. "Down here, every life matters."
"Take a look at him, he's a lost cause," Bellamy said. No-one said anything, but Clarke looked at the worry on Octavia's face.
"Octavia, I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there's hope, there's hope."
"This isn't about hope, it's about guts. You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." Everyone was silent at his announcement. Bellamy turned to walk out. "Octavia, let's go," he said.
"I'm staying here," Octavia said, defying her brother. Once Bellamy had left, Monty spoke up.
"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass!" Monty said. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself." He looked across at Octavia. "No offence," he said. Octavia shook her head. Finn looked around.
"Yeah, Bellamy is all that, but he also happens to be right." Clarke looked at Finn like she couldn't believe he just said that.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Shit!" Mike said, just as his replacement arrived. Jenna nodded as she ceded her position to her replacement. They left the room and walked along the corridors back to their respective stations.
"That kid's a gonner if he carries out his threat," Mike said.
"He's a murderer if he does," Jenna said, grimly.
"There's no rules down there, remember?" Mike said to her.
"Rules or no, that's murder." Mike nodded but said nothing. The laws of the ground were completely different from the laws of the Ark, and yet the outcome was still the same. Those in charge decided who died and when.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke was playing with the red substance found on Jasper's wound. She was trying to figure out what it was and what it did. Finn walked up to her.
"Are you mad?" he asked.
"I'm not mad," Clarke said, not entirely truthful. "You want to think Jasper's a lost cause, go ahead. You're wrong."
"I hope I am," Finn said quietly. Clarke changed the subject.
"Whatever this stuff is, it has to have antibiotic properties." Finn squatted beside but before he could say anything, Wells walked towards them.
"Let me look," he said. "Before you refuse my help, just remember who aced botany in Earth Skills." Clarke was still pissed at him for betraying her trust and getting her dad floated, but she also knew she needed help if she wanted to save Jasper. She reluctantly talked to Wells.
"The Grounders used it as a poultice." she turned to Finn. "I'm thinking a tea might be more effective if we can figure out what it is." Finn looked away slightly. He knew Wells loved Clarke and that he was a rival for her affections.
"I know what it is," Wells said. "Seaweed. Look, no root structure."
"Right then, there must be a water source nearby," Clarke said to Finn.
"Yeah, it would have a slow current, lots of rocks. The water would probably be more red than green." Both Finn and Clarke looked away from Wells, trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.
"I know just the place," Finn said, smiling now he could show Clarke the place to find it.
"Alright, let's go," Clarke said, getting up. Wells watched Finn and Clarke walk away.
"Hey. I know what this stuff looks like. Do you?" Clarke and Finn slow down and then stop, reluctant to want him along but knowing he was right.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Would a tea work?" Kane asked.
"Possibly," Abby said. "It depends on the seaweed's properties. If she can find it, make the tea and get it down him, it should work."
"But you're not certain."
"Nothing's certain about this scenario, Kane. Even up here, all we can do is give the patient the meds needed and hope they recover. Some people are more resistant to antibiotics than others. We don't know which one Jasper is. It's hope and pray he lives."
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"You know you should…err… really rethink this whole hating me thing," Wells said as they walked through the woods looking for the seaweed. "It's not just the Grounders. We're surrounded by criminals. We need each other. We're gonna be friends again."
"You got my dad killed! Not possible!" Clarke told him, not slowing down.
"This is Earth, Clarke, anything's possible," Wells said.
"I'd let it go," Finn said, passing him. Wells sighed.
"Yeah," he said, not meaning it. "Well I've known Clarke her whole life, better than you ever will, so I'll decide when to let it go."
"Yeah, I can tell you guys are close." Finn said and then stood on something that banged. He stopped and tested it again. Both times it banged.
"What is it?" Clarke asked. Finn knelt and began brushing away the leaves. He uncovered a red metallic object. He found a handle and pulled it up and the door swung open.
"Ha! It's an automobile!" Finn said.
"Come on guys, this thing's been there a hundred years, all right? It can wait. Jasper can't." Clarke told them, anxious to get the seaweed for Jasper. Finn hesitated for a moment and looked in the vehicle before closing the door and running after the other two.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"I hope they hurry, that acid fog's still heading their way," Kane said. Abby kept quiet, too anxious to say anything.
"Who else is out?" Jaha asked.
"Bellamy took a group out hunting," Kane said.
"Anyone else?"
"Not that we know. Octavia and Monty are looking out for Jasper but it's down to the others to get the medicine he needs."
"Then let's hope they get back in time," Jaha said, returning to the monitors.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
A boar snorted in the woods and Bellamy watched it.
"Sh, sh-sh. She's mine," Bellamy whispered to the others. Bellamy stalked the boar and raised his axe, ready to throw when a twig snapped behind them. Bellamy spun and threw the axe towards the sound. The axe embedded itself into the tree beside a very frightened Charlottle. The boar ran.
"Get her!" another delinquent said and the others ran after the boar, not wanting their supper to get away.
Bellamy walked up to the girl, Atom trailing behind.
"Who the hell are you?" Bellamy asked the girl.
"Charlotte," she replied.
"I almost killed you," Bellamy told her, reaching past her to get his axe. "Why aren't you back at camp?"
"Well, what with the guy who was dying, I just…I couldn't listen anymore."
"There's Grounders out here. It's too dangerous for a little girl," Atom said.
"I'm not little!" Charlotte insisted.
"Okay then," Bellamy said, smirking. "But you can't hunt without a weapon." Bellamy hands Charlotte a small knife with a blue handle.
"Ever killed something before?" Bellamy asked her. Charlotte shook her head.
"Who knows? Maybe you're good at it," he tells her. Charlotte follows the two youths back towards the hunt.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
"Is he serious?" Abby said. Kane nodded, shocked at the attitude of the oldest of the prisoners.
"I'm afraid so. He doesn't seem to have learned any lessons. Lessons he should have learned on the Ark already."
"He does seem to be a bit cavalier," Abby said, watching Clarke and Wells and Finn as they stepped onto a small pebbled beach.
"He'll lose the leadership if he carries on like that."
"Maybe he should before too many more get killed," Abby said. She turned back to watch Clarke.