❝ 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰,
𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁,
𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 ❞
- 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗔𝘃𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩

Bellamy kneels down on the other side of Atom with the knife in hand as Atom begs Bellamy to kill him, but Bellamy just sits there in complete silence.

I see the emotional back and forth his brain does as he hesitates whether to put his friend out of his misery or not.

"You should go, Ava" I hear him say.

"I'm not going anywhere" I reply sternly and he clenches his jaw tight.

"Atom" I say softly to the dying boy.

"I'm going to take the pain away" I assure him, pasting on a smile and he coughs up more blood but nods softly.

I run my fingers through his hair and I find myself humming a familiar tune, the same song my mother would sing to me when I was a child.

I continue to hum softly and I wrap my free hand around Bellamy's hand that is holding the knife. Bellamy hesitates to give me the knife but I look up at him.

"Let me help him" I whisper and Bellamy nods, letting go of the knife.

I start humming once more and put the knife to the side of his neck, knowing if I puncture the right spot he'll bleed out so quick that it will be almost painless.

Running my fingers through his hair, I push the knife into his neck and take it back out, watching the blood pour out of his neck like water coming out of a tap. I feel Bellamy's eyes on me but I don't stop humming as I push Atom's hair out his face.

"You didn't have to do that, Ava" Bellamy tells me, trying to stop his voice from cracking but I hear the sadness behind the statement.

"What are friends for?" I ask rhetorically, using his earlier words and he smiles.

i'll bare it so he doesn't have to

Clarke, Finn and Wells find us and help us carry Atom back to camp. We make a stretcher that Wells and Bellamy carry.

Once we reach camp, Clarke and Finn head straight to the drop ship leaving Wells, Bellamy and I with Atom.

"Get Clarke whatever she needs" Bellamy tells a girl who nods.

"I better go get this grave dug" Wells whispers and walks away.

"It's about time. They're gonna kill Jasper!" Octavia snaps, rushing out of the drop ship.

"Did you get the medicine?" She asks Clarke.

"Yeah. I-I got it" Clarke nods and Octavia sighs in relief.

"Come on. Let's go talk" Clarke says, trying to pull Octavia into the drop ship with her but she sees us and pushes past Clarke.

"Octavia, just stay there. Please, stay back" Bellamy pleads with his sister, holding her as she tries to fight her way past him.

"Stop!" Octavia snaps, pushing him away.

She walks up to the stretcher and kneels down next to it. I gulp as she pulls his jacket off him to reveal his bloodied dead body.

"Atom" She gasps, a tear running down her face.

"There's nothing I could do" Bellamy tries to tell her.

"Don't!" She growls.

She looks down, more tears running down her face and I feel a tear run down my own as she places the jacket back over his face.

"O! O, please! Don't" Bellamy begs trying to grab hold of his sister but she runs past him.

I run after her, catching up to her inside the drop ship and grabbing her arm.

"I'm so sorry, O" I sympathise, my eyes watering.

"Stop it" She snaps, trying to push me away.

"Just let it out" I whisper and she fights me but eventually I hear a sob leave her lips.

She cries into my shoulder, clinging onto me and I hold her tight, knowing that right now she needs me.

Once her sobs turn into sniffles I pull away and hold her at arms length.

"I got you" I assure her, repeating the words I told her the day I pulled her from the river.

"Always" I promise and she nods, wiping her face on her sleeves.

"Right back at you" She promises and pulls me in for another short hug.

"Let's go help Jasper" I tell her and she agrees.

I climb up the ladders all the way to the top and I see Clarke mixing red seaweed with hot water.

"Will that help him?" I question.

"It should" Finn replies, stirring the concoction.

I kneel by Jasper, moving his head into my lap and Octavia grips his hand in hers. Clarke fills a cup with the seaweed tea and I hold Jasper's head in my hands as she tips the cup to his lips.

He swallows the stuff and I run my fingers through his messy hair. I look up at Octavia and the guilt inside me eats away at my conscience.

"O, there's something you should know" I tell Octavia and the dark haired girl looks up at me.

"You shouldn't blame Bellamy for Atom. It wasn't his fault" I start.

"I don't want to hear it, A" She huffs.

"I'm serious. Bellamy didn't kill Atom. I did" I admit and she looks at me in surprise.

"When we found him he was in bad shape. He couldn't move or breathe. His eyes were pure white and he was covered in horrible red blisters. He begged Bellamy to kill him but your brother couldn't do it" I explain to her.

"You killed him so Bellamy wouldn't have to" She says in realisation and I nod.

"I'm so sorry, O. I know how much he meant to you" I apologise and she shakes her head.

"It's okay. I guess we're gonna have to get used to people dying down here, aren't we?" She asks rhetorically and my heart sinks at her words.

"But not you. You hear me? You're not allowed to die" She tells Jasper and I smile down at the boy, wiping his head with a cold wet cloth.

"We won't let you" I add in a quiet voice.

Clarke leaves to get some fresh air and the rest of us move to sit down. I take a seat in between Monty and Finn with a sigh.

Finn pulls out a bottle of what he says is whiskey before passing it around the semi circle we've made. Finn passes the bottle to me and I take a mouthful.

"Jeez, that's strong" I cough.

I then pass the bottle to Monty and he takes a sip.

"Smooth" He says before coughing and handing the bottle to Octavia.

She takes a swig and a grimace spreads across her face.

"Disgusting. Love it" She says and I snort in amusement.

She hands the bottle to Finn and just as he raises the bottle to his lips a voice makes us all perk up.

"Can I, uh, get a hit of that?" Jasper asks.

"Jasper!" Monty shouts and we all rush towards him.

"Let's start with the soft stuff" Finn states picking up the water bottle.

Jasper drinks the water Finn gives him and I shoot Monty a happy grin that he returns.

"Welcome back, buddy" Finn greets him.

Jasper puts out his hand and Monty grabs it with both of his, giving his best friend a grin.

"Was that a dream or did I get speared?" Jasper asks and I smile.

"You'll have a very impressive scar to prove it" Clarke says from the hatch.

"My saviour" Jasper chirps.

"Thank you for not dying. I don't think I could have taken that today" Clarke thanks him.

"I'll try not to die tomorrow too, if that's cool" He grins.

He looks around the room and his eyes land on Octavia and I.

"Oh, hello!" He exclaims and we all laugh.

"I think these belong to you" I speak up, taking off his goggles and holding them out to him with a smile.

"Thanks, Ava" He grins, taking the goggles from my grasp.

His head hits the pillow and he shuts his eyes, falling asleep within seconds. I look at Octavia who grins at me, grabbing my hand in hers.