Something is missing.
Something is missing.
Something is—
Jason's eyes snapped open as a thunderous sound shook the air. His hand immediately reached for the knife beside his cot, instincts flaring awake like fire to oil. For a second, his half-asleep mind screamed one word 'Grounders'.
Then it came again.
Another boom. Followed by a deep, echoing rumble that rolled through the night air like a storm crawling over the mountains.
Jason froze, his senses sharpening. That wasn't war drums or a grounder ambush. That was something else, something falling.
He threw on his pants and stepped out of his tent, the night wind hitting his bare chest as he scanned the horizon. Then he heard the shrill, ripping sound of atmosphere being torn apart.
Jason's eyes darted upward just in time to see a streak of orange fire cutting across the stars.
A drop pod.
For a brief second, the entire camp seemed to hold its breath. Then, one by one, heads began to peek out of tents, sleepy eyes widening as the flaming object shot over them, parachutes deploying in a brilliant flash before the pod vanished behind the ridge.
Silence reigned.
Then came the cheering.
The 100 erupted into shouts of joy. Some cried. Others laughed. The idea of hope the raw, human hope that they hadn't been abandoned spread like wildfire through the camp.
Supplies. Weapons. Maybe even people.
Maybe they weren't alone after all.
Jason stood still, his lips tugging into a faint grin as he murmured, "Alright."
But his smile faltered when he caught sight of Bellamy stepping out of his tent shirtless, hair messy, face tight with unease. The crowd's joy didn't reach him. Instead of relief, there was panic in Bellamy's eyes.
Jason frowned. 'What the hell's his problem'?
Whatever it was, Bellamy didn't look like a man who'd just seen salvation falling from the sky. He looked like a man who'd just seen a ghost.
Jason was about to speak, maybe call for a quick meeting, when a familiar voice broke his focus.
"What do you think?"
Octavia stood beside him, arms crossed, a faint smile on her lips as she looked toward the ridge.
Jason turned to her with a small smirk. "I think our odds just got a lot better."
Octavia mirrored his grin, eyes bright. "Hell yeah, they did."
Jason nodded, though his gaze slid past her toward Bellamy's tent. "You seen Finn or Clarke?"
Octavia hesitated. "Um… no. Haven't seen them."
Jason's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't press. Not yet.
————————-
Half an hour later, Jason was fully dressed with his combat knife strapped to his thigh, bag slung across his shoulder. He packed light but smart: flint, a med kit, a few sharpened stakes, and a pouch of red powder made from that strange plant by the river. The makeshift medicine had saved more than one life already.
He approached the patrol squad posted near the gate, seven of them.
"Gear up," Jason ordered, his voice calm and commanding. "We're heading out."
The guys exchanged glances, and one of them shifted uneasily before saying, "Bellamy said we should stay put for now."
Jason's expression darkened. "What?"
"He said we wait till morning," the guy explained nervously. "But… we're ready when you are."
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Stay sharp."
The men nodded.
Jason turned away, jaw tight, and made his way toward Bellamy's tent but stopped short when he overheard Octavia's voice from inside.
"That pod must've been seen from a hundred miles away. Bellamy, what if the Grounders get to it first?"
"I said we wait," Bellamy's voice snapped back, sharp and final. "End of discussion."
Jason stepped back before Bellamy stormed out, moving fast into the darkness. He waited a few beats, then muttered under his breath, "What the fuck…"
Just as he was about to move, pain stabbed through his skull like a lightning bolt. His vision blurred and suddenly he wasn't in the forest anymore.
He saw water.
A woman's face smeared with blood. Her eyes half-open. A pod smoke. Metal groaning.
Raven.
Jason gasped and stumbled, grabbing a tree to steady himself. "Shit…"
His heart pounded as fragmented memories came back flashing in his mind. But something deeper unnerved him.
'Why did I forget'?
It wasn't just confusion, it was dread. Someone or something was toying with his memories. 'Is that bastard… inside my head again'?
He clenched his jaw. "Not now," he muttered, shaking the thought away.
Movement caught his eye and he Bellamy sprinting into the woods.
Jason exhaled sharply. 'Of course, he's going for Raven'.
He moved immediately, vaulting up a nearby tree and moving silently across the branches above the ground, his eyes locked on Bellamy's figure below.
Then, he froze.
A few yards to his left, another figure slipped through the trees.
Octavia.
He nearly cursed aloud.
—————-
Back in camp, Clarke and Finn emerged from the forest, both looking slightly disheveled.
"Looks like everyone's up," he said dryly.
Before Clarke could reply, a girl approached them hurriedly. "Where have you two been?" she asked, suspicion in her tone. Clarke and Finn shared a brief glance before Clarke looked away.
"Have you seen the dropship?" the girl continued.
Clarke's eyes lit up. "We should go find out who it is," she said, scanning the camp. "Did Jason and Bellamy already leave?"
The girl's expression fell. "No one left," she said flatly. "Bellamy said we wait till morning."
Clarke frowned. "In the morning? Why?"
The girl shrugged helplessly.
"Where is he and where's Jason?" Clarke pressed, her tone rising.
The girl shook her head and walked off, leaving Clarke staring after her.
"Worried about something?" Finn asked lightly.
Clarke shot him a look, her mind racing. Jason wouldn't wait till morning. He's smarter than that.
They hurried to Jason's tent and found it empty. His gear was gone.
They shared a glance before heading for Bellamy's.
The second they stepped in, Roma groaned. "Ever heard of knocking, bitch?" she sneered, clutching a blanket to her chest.
"Where's Bellamy?" Clarke demanded.
Roma blinked. "He took off a while ago."
Clarke's stomach dropped.
"Gear's gone too," Finn muttered, scanning the tent.
"He told everyone to stay," Clarke said, realization dawning on her. "Whatever's in that pod, he wants it."
She turned sharply toward Finn. "We've got to get there before he does."
Outside, Finn tried to calm her. "This isn't your fault, Clarke."
"I should've known he'd go after that radio," she muttered, half to herself.
Finn frowned. "What radio?"
Clarke hesitated. "That pod… it's too small to be another dropship. Maybe there's a radio or supplies in that ship but more importantly the radio. We could contact the Ark."
Finn's expression shifted from concern to hope.
"Then we let them know," Clarke said, her voice steady but urgent. "We tell them we're alive."
——————-
Jason's boots pounded against the forest floor as he pushed himself harder, moving faster toward the pod. His breath came in steady. 'What the hell is he doing?' Jason wondered, but his focus snapped back to the present. His eyes stayed locked on Bellamy as the man sprinted ahead with Octavia hot on his heels.
Suddenly, Bellamy halted as Octavia called out to him.
"What are you doing?" she asked, breathless from the chase.
Bellamy turned, sweat dripping down his face. His eyes flashed with panic. "Go back to camp. It isn't safe."
Octavia, not having any of it, pushed past him. "You lied to us. You just want whatever's in that pod."
Jason couldn't help but roll his eyes from his position behind them. 'Duh, why else would he run after the pod without telling anyone?' His thoughts were sharp, but he didn't let himself get distracted.
Bellamy, frustrated, snapped at his sister. "Just go home!"
Octavia's voice grew heated as she responded, "You always want to play big brother, huh? Well guess what? Joke's on me because you're just a selfish dick."
Jason felt a heavy sigh build up in his chest. He had seen this coming from miles away. 'Of course he would protect her, but at what cost?' It wasn't until Bellamy's next words that Jason's thoughts truly sharpened.
"I did this for you! To protect you," Bellamy said, but there was no conviction in his voice. Only guilt.
Jason watched as Bellamy's eyes dropped, a flicker of shame crossing his face. "If the Ark finds out we're still alive, they will come down and when they do… I'm dead."
'What the hell did he do?'
"What did you do?" Octavia asked, her voice trembling with concern.
"I shot him," Bellamy confessed, his voice small now, as if the weight of the truth had finally sunk in. "I shot Jaha."
Jason's blank stare deepened. 'Ohhhhh'. A memory hit him like a hammer, and his mind reeled at the gravity of the admission. 'He shot Jaha?' But the worst part is he couldn't remember the details. His memories felt like pieces of a puzzle scattered all over the floor right now, a jumbled mess that was impossible to put back together. What mattered, though, was Raven. He pushed the nagging doubt out of his mind and focused on the task at hand.
"What?" Octavia asked, her face paling. Her emotions were all over the place, but disbelief and fear dominated.
"I found out they were sending you to Earth. I couldn't let you go alone. Someone came to me with a deal to do this, kill him, and they would get me on the Drop Ship. And I did it."
"You killed the Chancellor?" Octavia asked, her voice breaking.
"He floated our mother. He locked you up. He deserved it." Bellamy said, his voice laced with anger.
Octavia shook her head, eyes wet with tears. "I didn't ask you to do that."
Jason felt a knot form in his chest. Bellamy was consumed by his own guilt, and Octavia, despite her anger, couldn't fight against her brother's choices. It was a messy situation, and Jason didn't envy either of them.
Bellamy swallowed hard. "You're right, I made a choice. This is on me. Whatever they send down, I'll take care of it."
Octavia, not wanting to hear any more, turned and ran back toward camp. Jason remained still, his eyes following her retreating figure.
'Damn it'.
With a heavy sigh, Jason shifted his attention to the pod. 'I can't waste any more time on this'.
In one fluid motion, Jason leaped ahead of Bellamy, breaking into a sprint toward the pod. He moved quickly, easily cutting through the woods. But just as he was about to get closer, he heard something—a low groan from the ground below. He halted, his instincts flaring.
'What the hell was that?'
Jason's eyes scanned the area, and he adjusted his route, still intent on getting to Raven. But as he neared the source of the noise, his foot hit a trap. His eyes widened, and his heart raced as he jerked back just in time to avoid being caught. But the trap wasn't the worst of it.
An arrow shot at him, nearly grazing his eye. Instinctively, he caught it just before it could strike him. His grip tightened on the shaft, and his body tensed. Grounders.
Before he could react further, a roar echoed through the trees. A massive figure, his face and body covered in piercings and a terrifying red attire, lunged at him. Jason quickly recognized the madness in the man's eyes. This wasn't just any grounder, no this was something far worse.
Reaper.
Jason dodged the huge blade that came at him, narrowly avoiding the strike
'Shit, I don't have time for this'.
Another arrow shot toward him, and without missing a beat, Jason threw his knife at the archer. He grabbed the arrow mid-flight, spun it in the air, and stabbed the assailant through the neck, killing both at once. Jason didn't even stop to look at the bodies, continuing his sprint forward, until another Reaper appeared, blocking his path.
Tch.
———————
Bellamy
Bellamy had been running for what felt like hours. His lungs burned, but he didn't stop. He needed to get to the pod. And now, after what felt like an eternity, he saw it. The charred and broken remnants of the Drop Pod were barely intact but still standing.
He moved cautiously, opening the door and peering inside. One passenger. She was unconscious, moaning softly.
Bellamy's gaze flickered over the dashboard, where a still-operating radio repeated its message over and over. He looked at the unconscious woman, his arm trembling slightly. He was reminded of the acid fog, of all the decisions that led them here. His hand shook as he gripped the shiv, but the decision was made. He cut the radio from its dash and stepped back, feeling a deep regret wash over him.
The pod door slammed shut behind him as Bellamy made his way to the nearby stream that fed into the lake. He glanced down at the radio one last time before he tossed it into the water. The sound of it sinking was drowned out by the thoughts racing through his head.
——————
Jason
Jason stood over the bodies of twelve men—no, they weren't men, just animals. He could feel the rage bubbling inside him, trying to escape, but he fought it.
Breathing heavily, Jason turned away from the carnage and sprinted through the tree line, sloshing through ankle-deep water as he reached the other shore. He pushed forward, his eyes locked on the ship.
There.
As he approached, his breath caught in his throat. He popped the door open, struggling against the debris from the crashed pod, and finally came face-to-face with the woman inside. Raven.
Blood streaked down from her hairline, but it seemed dry now. She looked confused, unsure whether he was a friend or foe. Jason offered a small smile.
"You don't have to be scared. I'm not an enemy," he said gently, trying to reassure her.
Raven's eyes flickered with uncertainty. She had been around the hundred criminals long enough to know trust was earned in the ark.
Jason couldn't help himself. "Well, you came down with a revelation from above."
Raven actually laughed at that, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Jason," he replied, offering his hand. She hesitated but took it, introducing herself in return.
Jason glanced at the medical supplies in his bag and then looked back at her. "Let me clean that wound up. Looks pretty nasty."
Raven nodded, sitting up slowly and peeling the suit off her body. Jason cleaned the blood away, applying gauze to her head. He moved quickly but gently, his hands steady as he finished the job.
As Raven stepped out of the pod, a bright smile lit her face as she took in the Earth. "This is it… this is real."
Jason smiled softly, but as he glanced down, he saw the tracks leading off into the distance. 'Bellamy'. He had to move quickly, and Raven was still in awe, not noticing his hesitation.
"Ha! I dreamed it would smell like this," Raven said, laughing softly, trying to push the thoughts away.
Raven, beaming, looked back at him. "Is this rain?"
Jason, still smiling, nodded. "Welcome home."
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