chapter six | death & acid fog
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Three days had passed since they found Jasper. His pain had become unbearable, so they moved him to the second floor of the dropship. Up there, Hunter, Clarke, and Monty attended to him. Monty continued to work on finding a way to communicate with the Ark, while Clarke and Hunter took care of Jasper. Hunter had a wet cloth that she used to gently pat down Jasper's forehead, which was constantly covered in sweat.

Down below, the rest of the group had grown increasingly impatient with Jasper's constant moaning of pain. They shouted at him to "shut up" or "finish him off already," which infuriated Hunter, but she kept her anger to herself.

"Don't pay them any mind. You're going to make it through this, alright?" Hunter kissed Jasper's forehead gently. Clarke observed the scene before getting up.

"I'm going to fetch some clean water. Keep an eye on him," Clarke instructed Hunter, who nodded in response.

Hunter sat up and continued to soothe Jasper, patting his forehead with the damp cloth. Monty came over and sat beside her.

"Are you okay?" Monty asked, concern in his voice.

"It's him you should be worried about," Hunter replied, her gaze still fixed on Jasper.

"I know, but you've barely slept since we brought him here," Monty pointed out.

"I'm worried, and it doesn't help that everyone keeps wanting to end his suffering," Hunter admitted. She took a deep breath. "I just want him to get better, and then I'll rest." She rested her head on Monty's shoulder.

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The entire group was on edge, especially after two of their fellow delinquents, Trina and Pascall, disappeared the previous night. They had searched for them but found no trace. The frustration was palpable as everyone was eager to build the wall, but Jasper's continuous moans of pain only added to their irritation.

Clarke took a closer look at Jasper's wound after removing the poultice. Finn and Hunter stood nearby, watching attentively, while Monty continued working on communication.

"The grounders cauterized the wound; it saved his life," Clarke explained.

"They saved his life just to string him up as bait," Finn remarked as he approached and leaned against the wall. "This is far from a Garden of Eden."

"This wound is infected; he could be septic," Clarke continued. She turned to Monty. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" Clarke inquired, but Monty remained silent, still focused on his friend. "Monty?"

"That's a solid 'no,'" he replied with a sigh.

Clarke sighed in response. "My mother would know what to do," Wells, who had joined the group, sat down beside Clarke.

"How's he doing?" Wells asked.

"How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" Clarke snapped.

"I'm just trying to help," Wells replied. Hunter glanced at the exchange before turning her attention back to Jasper.

"Right. You want to help? Hold him down," Clarke said firmly. Wells and Finn held down Jasper's legs, while Hunter and Clarke restrained his arms and shoulders.

"I probably won't like this, will I?" Hunter asked. Clarke heated a knife in the fire and, with a determined expression, began to cut away the infected flesh. Jasper screamed out in pain, struggling to break free.

"Keep him still! I need to remove the infected tissue!" Clarke said as she worked. Eventually, Jasper passed out from the pain.

Octavia rushed up the ladder. "Stop it! You're killing him!"

"She's trying to save his life," Finn remarked.

Bellamy climbed up the ladder. "She can't."

Wells stepped in front of Bellamy. "Back off."

"We didn't haul him through miles of woods just to let him die," Clarke asserted.

"The kid's a goner; if you can't see that, you're deluded," Bellamy retorted.

Hunter rose to her feet, standing squarely in front of Bellamy. "You'll be a goner if you don't shut your mouth," she said coldly.

"He's driving people crazy—"

"Sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Ark. Down here, every life matters," Clarke interjected.

"Take a look at him; he's a lost cause," Bellamy stated. His words hung heavily in the air, causing the entire group to pause. Octavia sat there, anxiously contemplating Jasper's fate.

"Octavia, I've spent my whole life watching my mom heal people. If I say there's hope, there's hope," Clarke reassured her.

"This isn't about hope; this is 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 take matters into my own hands and end it," Bellamy declared. He moved to go back down the ladder, but Hunter grabbed his wrist.

"If you so much as lay a finger on him or even glance in his direction, I will take a knife and..." Hunter's threat was cut short as Finn stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hunter, don't. He's not worth it," Finn advised. Bellamy glanced at Hunter before turning to Octavia.

"Octavia, let's go," Bellamy urged.

"I'm staying here," Octavia snapped back. Bellamy sighed and descended the ladder.

"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass," Monty spat. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself." He glanced at Octavia. "No offense," she shrugged.

"He might be all that, but he also happens to be right," Finn remarked, causing the group to collectively direct their attention toward him.

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Finn, Wells, and Clarke set off to find herbal medicine, specifically seaweed to make tea for Jasper. Bellamy and his group went hunting for food, and he made it clear that he didn't want Hunter to join them.

About an hour later, people rushed into the dropship, coughing uncontrollably, and hurriedly closed all the shutter windows.

"What's going on?" Monty inquired.

"The air became thick, and everyone's skin started burning," a girl explained.

"Hunter, my brother is out there," Octavia said, looking at her with worry.

"He'll be fine, and we'll all be fine," Hunter assured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

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As the night wore on, everyone settled inside the dropship to rest. Monty and Hunter remained downstairs, sneaking a few sips of alcohol, while Octavia stayed upstairs with Jasper.

Monty and Hunter overheard Murphy waking up and planning to harm Jasper. Monty quickly ascended the ladder, with Murphy following closely behind, but Hunter intervened, grabbing Murphy's arm and pulling him away. Murphy retaliated by shoving her, attempting to go up the ladder, but Monty swiftly closed it.

"Let me in!" Murphy yelled.

"Murphy!" Hunter grabbed his leg and yanked him down, causing him to fall. "Don't even think about it." Monty and Octavia eventually figured out how to lock the hatch door. Murphy retrieved his knife and tried to go back up the ladder, but Hunter seized his arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him to drop the weapon.

"Let me go!" Murphy shouted. Hunter flung Murphy to the floor.

"You're lucky I didn't throw you outside," she spat.

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Later that night, the acid fog dissipated, and the rest of the group ventured outside. Clarke, Finn, Wells, Bellamy, and Charlotte, the youngest member of the delinquents, all returned.

Bellamy and Wells carried a stretcher with a body on it—Atom, Octavia's lover. Octavia, Monty, and Hunter went outside, drawn by the commotion.

"It's about time; they were going to kill Jasper," Octavia said to Clarke. "Did you get the medicine?"

"Yeah, I got it," Clarke replied, somewhat unsteady on her feet. She attempted to lead Octavia away for a private conversation, but Octavia brushed past her after glimpsing the body.

"Octavia, please stay back," Bellamy tried to stop her. Octavia ignored him, knelt down next to Atom's body, and removed the jacket covering it.

"Atom," she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"There was nothing I could do," Bellamy tried to explain

"Don't," Octavia told them. She approached the body, knelt down beside it, and gently removed the jacket covering it.

"Atom," she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"There was nothing I could do," Bellamy tried to explain.

"Don't," Octavia said, raising her hand to stop him. She placed the jacket back over Atom's body, got up, and walked away. Octavia grabbed Hunter's hand, and the two of them entered the dropship.

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Clarke, Finn, Octavia, Monty, and Hunter all sat around Jasper. Clarke prepared Jasper's tea and fed it to him gently. Octavia cradled Jasper's head in her lap, using a cloth to wipe away his sweat. Clarke glanced at Octavia.

"I'm really sorry about Atom," she said sympathetically.

"I guess we're going to have to get used to people dying around here," Octavia replied sadly.

"But not you. You hear me? You're not allowed to die," Clarke insisted.

Clarke stepped out of the room for a moment to talk to Wells, while Monty, Finn, Octavia, and Hunter remained with Jasper. Monty and Hunter shared a bottle of bourbon they had found.

"Smooth," Monty remarked after taking a sip.

"Disgusting, I like it," Octavia said as she took a sip.

"I could get used to this," Hunter added with a smirk.

"Hey, can I... get a hit of that?" Jasper spoke softly. The entire group rushed to his side.

"Jasper!" they exclaimed, smiling. Finn handed Jasper some water.

"Let's start with the easy stuff first," Finn suggested, giving Jasper some water. "Welcome back, buddy."

Jasper reached for Hunter's hand, and she held it tightly, smiling at him.

"Was that a dream, or did I get speared?" Jasper asked with a faint smile. Clarke returned to the room.

"Well, you'll have a hell of a scar to prove it," she said, smiling back at him.

"My savior," Jasper said with gratitude.

"Thank you for not dying. I don't think I could have handled that today," Clarke said sincerely.

"Well, I'll try not to die tomorrow either, if that's cool," Jasper replied, smiling, before looking at Octavia. "Oh, hello." They all chuckled softly as Jasper drifted back to sleep

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