Raven's words broke the tension like a spark hitting dry tinder.
"We need to launch flares up for them to see."
Jason's head turned toward her, his lips curving into a grin. "Now that's a beautiful idea. Let's do it."
Raven smirked, her eyes gleaming with determination. "We need to get back to the pod," she said, already moving toward the riverbank. "We're going to build rockets."
Clarke blinked in disbelief as she followed her. "Can that actually work?"
Raven nodded firmly. "We just have to be quick."
Jason's grin widened. He turned toward the others, his voice loud and commanding, the tone of someone who'd led people before. "Alright, you heard her! Move it, people! We've got three hundred lives depending on us, so for God's sake, MOVE!"
——————
Back at the Crash Site
Raven immediately took charge, her voice cutting through the chaos as people carried, dragged, and pushed pieces of wreckage across the dirt.
"We need to launch those flares ASAP if we have any hope of saving those people," Raven shouted. "Finn, get that control panel to camp!"
"On it!" Finn called back, rushing toward the pod.
"You," she pointed at Jason, "pull out those firing circuits in one piece or they won't work!"
Jason crouched beside the wreckage, grabbing a tangle of wires and pulling them free a little too hard. Sparks flew. "Oops. My bad," he muttered, shaking his hand.
"Clarke, can I have a hand here?" Raven called, gesturing toward a panel. "Work these bolts gently."
The two girls knelt side by side as Raven guided her. "Rocket fuel likes to go boom," she said dryly.
Jason looked over his shoulder, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Better it explodes the way we want it to."
Raven just rolled her eyes. "Let's hope your version of 'want it to' doesn't include us dying."
As the group worked, the forest around them was alive with the sounds of scraping metal, clanking tools, and low murmurs of fear and hope. The sun dipped lower, painting the sky in hues of gold and blood-red as the tension hung thick between them.
Jason carried a crate by himself, easily lifting it off the ground despite the strain it would've taken two others. He set it down near Raven and cracked a small smile. "One hopeful guy, one mechanic genius, one doctor, one reckless hero… yeah, we might actually pull this off."
"Don't jinx it," Raven said without looking up.
——————————
Nightfall
The night descended like a heavy curtain, cloaking the camp in cool darkness. The faint flicker of firelight danced across faces filled with exhaustion and purpose. They had been hauling scraps from the pod for hours, piecing together their desperate hope.
Jason helped secure a stand for the makeshift rockets, steadying the poles as Clarke fastened them in place. Sweat streaked down his face, but for the first time since his reincarnation, he felt… proud.
He looked around at everyone, the 100, these kids who had been thrown to the ground like unwanted debris and saw unity. Again, they weren't fighting or dividing. They were building something together.
He turned toward Bellamy, who stood off to the side watching them. "You see this?" Jason asked, his voice calm but firm. "This… this is what makes it worth it. People working side by side, not for power, not for control but for each other. For those they love."
Bellamy didn't reply. He just stared at Jason, unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that told Jason his words had struck a chord.
The truth was simple: three hundred twenty people were preparing to die so that the others could live. The thought weighed heavily on everyone's mind, though no one dared to voice it.
Raven's voice finally broke through. "That's the last one!"
The makeshift rockets stood in a row, gleaming faintly under the firelight.
Jason stepped back, his chest swelling with cautious hope. "Then let's light the stars."
With a deep breath, Raven ignited the first one. The rocket hissed, its pink-purple flames bursting to life and tearing into the night sky. Then another, and another and soon five brilliant streaks of light cut through the darkness, soaring upward, painting the heavens with color.
Cheers erupted around the camp. Clarke, Finn, and the others smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. But Jason… he couldn't shake the weight pressing against his chest. His eyes lingered on the fading lights as his smile faltered.
Something inside him whispered that hope had come too late.
The Ark
Far above, aboard the dying station, the reality of sacrifice was unfolding. Chancellor Jaha stood solemnly in front of a sealed door. Beyond it, 320 souls waited for their air to run out and for their lives to end so that others might live.
He took a steadying breath, his face pale but resolute.
"And we hereby commit these souls to the deep," Jaha began, his voice carrying the sorrow of a man burdened by impossible duty. "Who at their last gave all to the world of the living. May they be remembered forever, until there is no more pain, no more suffering, and the abyss itself shall give up her dead and return them to us."
A hiss filled the air as the locks disengaged. Then… silence.
The sacrifice had begun.
When the doors opened later, the sight inside was haunting. Bodies of still figures, peaceful and terrible in their final rest.
Abby's breath caught in her throat as she stepped in, hand trembling. The sound of her heartbeat drowned out the murmurs around her. Her eyes fell to a small pink object on the ground.
A child's toy.
She bent down and picked it up, her vision blurring as a tear slid down her cheek. "They didn't have to die," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "They didn't have to…"
Back on the Ground
Another set of rockets pierced the night sky, their trails blazing upward toward the unseen heavens. Jason stood silently, his hands clasped together, his jaw tight. The camp had gone quiet again, all eyes fixed on the brilliant display.
Behind him, Bellamy spoke, his voice low. "You think they can see it from up there?"
"I don't know," Clarke replied softly. "I hope so. Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?"
"Forget it," she added quickly, shaking her head.
Jason glanced at her, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe not. But sometimes, it's not about wishing. It's about believing that somewhere, someone's looking back and they know you tried."
Clarke's lips parted as if to respond, but no words came. She swallowed hard, her eyes shimmering faintly before she turned away, blinking back the emotion.
Jason looked up again, watching the final rocket fade into the night. His heart ached with questions he couldn't answer, what came next, what they'd have to face, and whether any of this truly mattered.
Still, he hoped.
He had to hope.
Elsewhere
Deep in the forest, far from the cheers and the firelight, Octavia stirred. Her face was streaked with blood, dried against her pale skin. Her head pounded, and as she blinked her eyes open, the world spun.
When her vision cleared, she froze.
A figure crouched in front of her. It a young man, dirty, wild, his eyes sharp and wary. He wore strange armor, his skin marked with paint and scars.
Octavia's breath hitched.
A Grounder.
And she was alone.
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