Chapter Eleven: Wounded Soldiers
"What do we do?" Octavia asked, fear in her voice. Monty and Jasper fidgeted nervously beside Jamie, paler than usual as they watched Clarke freak out about their best friend.
Clarke started pushing on Jamie's chest, several times, before turning to her mouth and breathing air into Jamie. "Come on, come on!" She continued the CPR a few more times, each time her breaths became shakier and shakier. Monty moved in to help but Clarke just shook him off, she needed to do this for Jamie. She felt the overwhelming need to protect her cousin rise in her and knew she had to be the one to bring her back, to take care of her.
"Clarke! Come in, Clarke!" Her mother's voice announced once again, panic in her voice.
"Jamie isn't breathing!" Clarke yelled back, tears streaming down her face. The room full of delinquents were now silent as they waited to see what would happen.
Jasper grabbed Octavia's hand as they both watched with tearful eyes as Clarke tried to revive Jamie.
"What?! What happened?" Abby's voice sounded completely panicked now as she asked about Jamie. "Clarke! Tell me what's going on!"
Clarke shook her head, frantically pumping Jamie's chest when the girl finally took in a staggered breath. Clarke cried out and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Oh my God you scared me Jaymes." She mumbled in Jamie's ear. Pressing a rough kiss to Jamie's temple, she continued to hold the girl tightly. "She's fine mom, she's breathing again." She took a deep breath before releasing Jamie. "I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a Grounder." Clarke went to Finn's side then, ready to get to work. She wiped the tears off of her face and took another stuttering breath, glancing at Jamie as she did. Octavia held one of Jamie's hands while Jasper held the other, fear coursing through them at the thought of losing her after what just happened.
"Clarke, this is the Chancellor. Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?"
"Yes, the Earth is survivable. We're not alone." Clarke's eyes focused on Jamie while she replied, her heart still pounding in her chest. Jamie was taking slow breaths but her eyes were closed and her hand was tightly clamped onto Jasper's and Octavia's. Clarke's eyes went to Finn once more and she took in a staggered breath. "Mom, he's dying. The knife is still in his chest."
"Clarke, is my son with you?"
Clarke sighed and ran a hand down her tired face. "No, I'm so sorry Wells is...Wells is dead."
There was a scream from the top floor where Bellamy took the grounder and Octavia immediately ran up the ladder. Monty moved closer to Jamie, taking Octavia's spot.
"Clarke, I'm going to talk you through it, step by step."
Clarke nodded, ready to start.
"Clarke...just...find..."
Clarke looked up at Raven with a frown as the storm raged on outside. "What? Raven, what's wrong?"
"It's not the radio, it's the storm." Raven shook her head and shrugged, trying to mess with the radio's frequency.
"Clarke, we need to hurry!" Abby's voice thundered through the dropship and Clarke felt anxious because of it.
Octavia dropped two canisters to the floor before climbing down the ladder, holding one out to Clarke. Clarke smelled it and her breath caught in her throat. "Monty's moonshine?"
"You need something to sterilize and I'm pretty sure no germ could survive it." Octavia replied with a forced grin at Monty.
He snickered nervously, a blush coloring his cheeks. "Damn right nothing can survive it." His voice trembled as he gripped Jamie's hand tightly in his own, trying not to think about her. He frowned and squeezed her hand, grimacing as he did. The temperature of her skin started to really bother him and he couldn't help the pit of worry forming in his stomach. Octavia patted Monty's back lightly before climbing the ladder once again.
Clarke washed her hands with the moonshine before turning her attention back to the makeshift radio. "Mom, the blade is at a sharp upward angle. Between his sixth and seventh rib."
"Okay, how deep?" Abby's voice was calm as she spoke, completely professional as Clarke tried not to panic.
"Well, I can't tell how deep it goes."
Abby replied immediately, still calm although it took everything in her power not to ask about Jamie. "That's alright, just don't remove the knife yet."
Raven, Monty, and Jasper all rinsed their hands with the moonshine, ready to help.
"Clarke, do you see any fluid?"
Clarke glanced down at Finn before her eyes flickered around the dropship at the room full of delinquents. "What?" She asked, looking up at the radio. "Damn it!" She looked up at Raven with an angry glint in her eye. "Clear the room!"
"Everyone! Upstairs, now! Let's go!" Raven yelled out over the delinquents milling about, seeking shelter from the storm.
Clarke felt Finn's forehead, looking back at the radio. "He feels a little warm."
"That's alright, fever sometimes accompanies a trauma. Clarke, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound."
Clarke looks around the knife and sighs with relief. "No."
"That's good, that's actually really good. You got lucky." Abby replied with a breath of relief.
"Hear that? You got lucky." Raven mumbled to Finn, a smile on her face.
The wind rocked the dropship and caused Jamie to moan again.
"Is that Jamie?" Abby's voice cracked as she asked and Clarke knew her mother's eyes were tearing up.
"Yeah, it is. She was poisoned but I think she's going to be okay. Jasper and Monty are in here with her too." Clarke added the last part with a small smile at the boys. "The sooner I can fix him, the sooner I can get to Jamie."
Abby cleared her throat before continuing. "Okay, Clarke, firm grip on the knife. You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left very slightly as it exits the rib cage."
"How very slightly?"
They waited a few seconds before Abby replied.
"Any less, too."
Clarke's brow furrowed in confusion and she shook her head. "Wait, what was that? You dropped out."
"Three millimeters. Got it?" Abby replied quickly, an anxious waver in her tone.
"Okay, I got it. Here goes." Clarke mumbled, grasping the knife tightly.
"Steady hand Clarke. You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once that knife is out the hard part is over." Abby spoke quickly, scared they were going to lose connection before Clarke got the knife out.
"Extracting now." Clarke worked on gathering the courage she needed just as Finn started to stir.
Raven's eyes widened in panic as she quickly move her hands to Finn's chest. "He's waking up! Hold him still!"
Jasper and Monty both moved to hold Finn down and Clarke smiled down at the boy. "I'm going to get that knife out of you, okay Finn? Just hold still."
"Good plan." He mumbled quietly.
"Finn, you can't move." Raven reiterated.
Finn groaned and glanced at Jamie beside him, his eyes going wide. "Jamie?" He mumbled, moving his hand to grasp hers.
"She's fine, don't worry about her." Raven added, smiling at him again.
"Nice and slow Clarke." Abby commented, hoping to bring the girl back to the topic at hand.
Clarke nodded, glancing at Finn before returning to the knife. "Finn, do not move. Almost got it."
The wind shook the dropship, causing the girls and Jasper and Monty to fall to the ground.
"Clarke? What's happening? Clarke, can you hear us?"
Abby's voice continually looped through the dropship although it was full of static.
Clarke looked down at the blade in her hand and smiled. "It's out." Clarke replied from the floor.
"She did it." Raven added with a smile.
A low groan caught their attention and they noticed Finn on the ground. Clarke, Raven, Monty and Jasper pulled Finn back onto the table and Clarke wiped her hands on a towel. "I'm done."
"Good, do you have anything to cover the wound?" Abby replied.
Clarke glanced around before replying as Octavia ran back into the room. "We'll make do, like always."
"Should he be this pale? He's warm too." Raven asked, worry creasing her brow.
Abby sighed, the sound echoing through the dropship. "He's lost a lot of blood, Raven. But if your boyfriend's anywhere near as tough as you I'm sure he'll be fine. Okay, now Jamie..."
Clarke frowned after feeling Finn's forehead. "Wait, mom, she's right. He's feverish and his breathing is uneven."
"You need to give him some time to recover." Abby stated before continuing. "Let me know if he gets any worse but I think he might just be out of the woods."
Clarke let out a nervous chuckle. "There's nothing down here but woods."
"Okay again, now onto Jamie. How is she?" Abby asked, her voice wavering on Jamie's name. "Please tell me she's okay."
"She's hot, really hot and just like Finn her breathing isn't even but she um...she has blood pooling in her eyes..." Clarke trailed off as she moved closer to Jamie, pushing Monty and Jasper out of the way.
"What?" The alarm in Abby's voice was clear and it had all of them on edge.
Clarke pulled back Jamie's eyelids and covered one then quickly removed it. "Mom, she's not reacting to light." The panic in Clarke's voice drew Octavia, Jasper and Monty's attention as they all moved in closer to the trembling blonde.
"You mentioned an infection, right? Could there still be poison in her body?"
Octavia immediately started nodding. "Yes, he was going to give her an antidote or something but then Bellamy and you guys showed up."
"You need to get the poison out of her, Clarke. Get someone to get the antidote and maybe we can talk for a minute?" Abby called out.
"No, I need a break." Clarke replied heading to the ladder to go find the antidote.
"Clarke? Wait, Clarke!" Abby called out. "Raven, could you give us a few minutes?"
Raven nodded, removing her hand from Finn's. "Sure."
"No! No. Stay with Finn." Clarke announced before climbing the ladder, ignoring her mother's calls for her.
One of Bellamy's men blocked her entrance to the room they were in and she quickly became irritated at him. "Get the hell out of my way."
Bellamy turned to look at her and nodded to the kid. "It's okay, let her through."
"Well, if he didn't hate us before he does now." Clarke stated, looking at the grounder strung up.
"Who cares? How's Jamie and Finn?" Bellamy asked with a hint of anger in his tone.
Clarke turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Alive for now and I'm pretty sure his people will care. How long until they figure out where he is? And what happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him?"
Bellamy shook his head but Clarke continued talking. "They will, Bellamy."
"Relax princess. No one saw us take him." His eyes shifted to the grounder before returning to Clarke. "He was chained up in that cave the entire time and thanks to the storm we didn't see a soul on the way back. And in case you missed it, his people are already killing us."
"How many more of our people need to die until you realize we're fighting a war? We're not soldiers, Bellamy. Look at him, we can't win."
He shook his head and his eyes flickered back to the grounder. "You're right. We can't. Not if we don't fight."
Raven's voice broke through their conversation then, "Clarke! He's seizing!"
Clarke's eyes widened and she ran back to the ladder momentarily forgetting about the antidote for Jamie. "On my way!"
The second her foot hit the floor Raven made her way to Clarke's side. "He was fine!"
"Get my mother on the radio, now!"
"The radio's dead. Interference from the storm." Raven replied. "Please don't let him die." Raven pleaded with Clarke. Jasper and Monty still stood by Jamie's side, worry clear on their faces. "Did you get the antidote?" Monty asked nervously.
Clarke quickly dismissed him before turning back to Finn. "It stopped. Quick, help me get him on his side."
Clarke and Raven pushed Finn over on his side and Clarke leaned in to listen to him breathe. "There's fluid in his lungs." The fluid dripped out of Finn's mouth and Clarke dabbed her finger in it to look at it closer.
"Does that mean the knife hit something?"
"This isn't blood. It's something else." Clarke mumbled looking at the liquid pooling out on Finn's chest. "I did everything she told me." She paused and tilted her head, looking from Jamie back to Finn. "Shortness of breath, fever, seizing. Oh my God, I should have seen it before! It's poison. Finn was poisoned too. Octavia, you said the grounder gave Jamie something right?"
Octavia quickly nodded and Clarke's eyes drifted back down to Jamie. "It's moving slower in her because of what he gave her but they've both been poisoned!"
"You sterilized everything, I watched you do it." Raven told Clarke, confusion crossing her features.
"Not everything, stay here." Clarke went up the ladder and started pounding on the hatch. It hadn't been locked a minute ago...Miller pulled the hatch up and Clarke quickly crossed the short distance and shoved the knife in the grounder's face. "What's on this?"
"What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked, stepping up beside her.
"He poisoned the blade." She turned back to the grounder and took a step closer. "All this time you knew they were going to die no matter what we did." She shook her head angrily and narrowed her eyes at him. "What is it? Is there an antidote? We know you gave Jamie something in the cave to slow it down. Please, just help us. Help her."
"Clarke, he doesn't understand you." Octavia mumbled with a fearful expression.
Clarke searched the grounder's belongings that were scattered across the floor. "Vials. It's gotta be here. You'd have to be stupid to have a poison around this long without an antidote." Clarke held up the case of vials and looked at the grounder. "Which one?"
"Answer the question! Show us!" Bellamy yelled at the grounder.
Clarke took a step closer. "Please? You already helped Jamie, don't let that be for nothing. She will die without the antidote. Please, which one?"
At the grounder's silence Bellamy released a big breath of air. "I'll get him talk."
"Bellamy, no." Clarke replied immediately, shooting Bellamy a warning glance.
Bellamy angrily shook his head at the blonde. "He wants Jamie and Finn to die!" His eyes shifted to the grounder then. "Why can't you see that?" His eyes went back to Clarke's and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you want them to live or not? Clarke, you even said it yourself."
"This is not who we are! He was protecting me!" Octavia rushed forward with a plea in her eyes. "He saved my life! He saved Jamie's life!"
"Yeah, and now we're talking about Jamie and Finn's life!" Bellamy yelled back at Octavia.
"Do it." Clarke said, looking at Bellamy.
Octavia gasped and pushed closer to the grounder. "Just tell us!"
"You're gonna show us the antidote or you're gonna wish you had!" Bellamy yelled at the grounder.
"Bellamy, no!" Octavia pleaded seconds before Bellamy had Miller drag her out of the room. Bellamy grabbed a folded up seatbelt and twisted it around his hand.
"Clarke! They're getting worse!" Raven's voice called into the room. "We're running out of time!"
Clarke flinched and her eyes went to the belt in Bellamy's hand. She nodded and he shook his head as he pulled back and hit the grounder, leaving a large gash on his chest.
"Please tell us which one it is and he'll stop this." Clarke begged the grounder, his gaze on hers the entire time.
"Clarke, you don't have to be here for this." Bellamy stated, preparing to hit him again.
She shook her head and her eyes briefly met his. "I'm not leaving until I get that antidote."
Ten minutes passed by as Bellamy hit the grounder but he refused to speak.
"He won't tell us anything." Clarke mumbled, tears in her eyes. "He's just going to let them die." Her voice cracked and Bellamy looked up at her as Raven shouted up again. "Clarke! Jamie's seizing now!"
Bellamy nearly growled as he picked up two cables.
"What are you doing?" Clarke asked him.
He glanced at her before stepping closer to the grounder. "Showing him something new." He electrocuted the grounder for a few seconds before pulling back. "Tell us! Which one is it?"
Clarke moved to the grounder's line of sight. "Please, they're all I have. You can't just let them die."
A few more minutes passed of Bellamy shocking the grounder with nothing in response. "What's taking so long? Why won't you tell us something?" Clarke asked worriedly.
Bellamy was standing back watching the grounder as he replied. "He stopped breathing."
"What?" Clarke's brow creased in fear as she took a step closer.
"He started again but next time he might not."
"No more!" Octavia rushed into the room and ran right to the vials, by the blade.
"Octavia, no!" Bellamy called out just as Octavia plunged the poisoned blade into her arm.
She shook her head at Bellamy but her eyes watched the grounder. "No, he won't let me die. If he won't save Jamie then I will."
"Octavia, what the hell did you do?" Clarke asked with a panicked voice.
"Clarke!"
"Clarke! We need your help!"
Monty and Jasper were the ones to shout out now and Clarke felt the urgency of their situation hit her at full force. "Turn her on her side! Don't let her choke on anything!" She called down to the boys.
Her eyes returned to the scene in front of her to see Octavia gesturing to the vials with an arch in her brow. Bellamy was distantly gazing at the hatch as the boys continued to scream from down below. Clarke met his gaze and they both looked back at Octavia. The grounder grunted a response when Octavia picked up one of the vials. "Thank you." She whispered, climbing to her feet and rushing towards the ladder. Bellamy tried to stop her but she pulled back away from him. "Don't touch me."
She made her way down the ladder and Clarke scurried after her. Octavia rushed to Jamie's side and helped Jasper and Monty hold her down while her body continued seizing. Jasper's eyes were as wide as saucers and filled with fear as he tried to hold Jamie's head still. After Clarke poured half the vial down Finn's throat she waited until Jamie's body stilled and poured the rest down her's.
"How do we know if it works?" Jasper asked, squeezing Jamie's hand tightly.
"We'll know when they wake up." Clarke replied quietly.
Raven nodded and sat back, looking up at Jasper and Monty as they sat down beside Jamie.
Twenty minutes had passed and the boys were fast asleep when Bellamy made his way to the table. He watched Jamie with a cautious gaze before turning and walking out of the dropship without a word.
About an hour after that Clarke glanced up at Raven. "They'll need some water when they wake up."
"I'll get some."
"You sure?" Clarke asked, hoping the girl would give her a moment.
Raven nodded and quickly made her way out of the dropship.
"Hello? Clarke? Clarke, can you hear me?"
Abby's voice brought her out of her trance but her eyes didn't leave Finn. "I'm here."
"Oh, thank God. The storm is passing." Abby paused but when Clarke didn't say anything she continued. "How's Jamie and Finn?"
"I think they'll be okay."
Abby breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's thanks to you. I'm so proud of you. Your father would be so proud of you too."
"Don't talk about him." Clarke replied, suddenly hostile.
"Clarke baby, I know something is wrong. Please tell me what it is."
Clarke shifted in her seat and tears pooled in her eyes. "Dad's dead because of you. You turned him in. I know it and so does Jamie." Clarke dropped her head into her hands and took a deep, staggering breath. "Wells told me everything before he..." She choked on a sob and shook her head, eyes looking up at Jamie, wishing she'd wake up. "He let me believe that he did it so I'd hate him instead of you. How...how could you do that to us?"
Abby sighed before replying. "Clarke, I want you to listen to me. That was never supposed to happen. Jaha was supposed to talk him out of it."
"You know Jamie could have died today and she would have died hating you! I'm done talking to you!" Clarke yelled out, ending the transmission.
The static filled the silence and Clarke dropped to the ground with her head in her hands. Sobs wracked her body and she jumped when a hand dropped to her hair. She looked up to see Finn watching her with gentle eyes and she quickly leaned up and smiled at him. "Hey, you're awake."
"What's wrong?" He whispered.
Clarke staggered to her feet and her eyes scanned Finn's face and chest before flickering to the hand he had curled around one of Jamie's hands.
"My mom, it's nothing. I'm just so happy you're awake." Her voice broke from the sobs lodged in her throat.
He smiled lightly and nodded to her. "Me too. Thanks for fixing me."
She blushed and shrugged lightly. "I can't do this without you Finn."
"Yes you can. You're stronger than you think you are Clarke." He glanced at Jamie before returning his gaze to Clarke. "She going to be okay?"
"Yeah, she should be."
"Good. She looked terrible when we found her, had me worried." Finn grimaced when he moved and his eyes looked back at Jamie, only to skim over her and land on Monty and Jasper. "And apparently I wasn't the only one."
"Yeah, they've always been together and they need each other now." Clarke replied, watching Finn closely.
He turned back to her and smiled softly. "Good save."
"It wasn't just me. She needs you, Finn." Clarke frowned and stood up, walking out as Raven walked in. "Raven, he's awake. He was asking for you."
Clarke made her way over to Bellamy, who was standing in front of his tent, watching as everyone cleaned up the mess from the storm. "We'll get it cleaned up." He mumbled the second she was close enough.
"I wish this was our only mess."
Bellamy sighed and turned to the blonde. "Clarke, who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things."
She shook her head and her eyes drifted to the dropship. "What are we gonna do with him? We can't keep him locked up forever. If we let him go, he'll be back, and not alone next time."
Bellamy smirked, his eyes also going to the dropship. "It's not easy being in charge, is it?"
She rolled her eyes at him and glanced around. "Okay, well I'm going back in to stay with Jamie. I'll see you later."
He nodded to her and continued watching over the camp as Clarke walked back into the dropship. She hovered over Jamie and brushed the hair from her forehead. "You have to wake up." She whispered, trying to ignore Raven and Finn right beside her.
"She will, give her time."
Clarke's eyes drifted to Monty and she nodded. "I know. I know, I'm just not used to her being the one that's...that's not here. She always just bounces right back up."
Monty nodded and moved closer to Jamie, grabbing her hand tightly. "She's always been there for us hasn't she?" He glanced up to see Clarke nod before continuing. "Well, she'll wake up because you fixed her. She still needs you, after everything that's happened she still relies on you like she used to."
He grinned at her and she found herself smiling back at him. "I'm glad you guys have remained close over the years. I'm sorry that I didn't put more of an effort in when we were younger Monty."
He shrugged, his light smile still on his face. "It's okay. We knew you were busy with your mother."
She sighed and looked down. "And yet Jamie found time to train with my father, hang out with you guys, and learn the basics about nursing."
"That's Jamie. You guys are different. You can't compare yourself to her. Haven't we had this discussion?" He smirked and arched an eyebrow at her and she blushed before nodding.
"Yeah, we have." She rolled her eyes and dropped her head in her hands. She moved to check on Jamie's wounds and Monty shifted uncomfortably behind her. "Have you talked to her about what happened before Charlotte? I mean...what you said about your father." He nearly mumbled the words but upon seeing Clarke freeze he knew she heard him.
"Yes, I did. Before Jasper broke her nose."
"Good. That really hurt her Clarke and much more than that broken nose. And you know that. Especially after how she reacted with the fever. Everyone here saw it and saw how...how messed up she was. And more importantly you know how she felt when he died so for you to say what you did..." He shook his head and his eyes flickered down to Jamie. "She may want to protect everyone because she's strong but that doesn't mean we can intentionally hurt her." His tone was stern as he spoke and Clarke couldn't help but admire him for that.
She nodded before turning to face him. "I'm sorry, you're right. I take her for granted sometimes and days like today, when we didn't know if she was going to make it... I can't go through that again. Not with her." She exhaled deeply before turning to him. "She stopped breathing, Monty."
Monty nodded and patted her shoulder. "I know she did but she pulled through because of you. Because you helped her. I told you earlier Clarke, she needs you. And you're doing better with her than you think. You don't have to worry about forgiveness with her; she's pretty easy like that."
A low groan brought their attention to Jamie and Monty smirked when he found her glaring at him. "I am not easy." She mumbled with narrowed eyes.
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