Sleep never came easy for Jason that night. He had turned on his side a dozen times, it wasn't just the Exodus crash that kept him awake. No, that was just half of it. The real problem was Anya.
He sat up, staring through the thin fabric of his tent at the faint light of the dying campfires outside.
'They could hit us anytime,' he thought grimly. 'And when they do, we'll never see it coming.'
Frustrated, Jason pushed himself to his feet and stepped out into the cold night air. The forest was still. The only sound came from the faint rustle of trees and the whisper of the river in the distance.
That's when he noticed movement by the edge of the camp.
Raven.
She was sitting on a makeshift bench near the fire pit, staring at the stars like she was trying to make sense of them. Jason walked over quietly, his footsteps light against the dirt.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
"Jesus—!" Raven jumped, spinning toward him.
Jason raised his hands and smirked. "Nah, you've got the wrong J. I'm Jason."
That earned him a small smile, the first genuine one he'd seen from her today. "Yeah… I couldn't sleep either."
"Wanna talk about it?"
Raven hesitated, then exhaled. "No… I mean—yeah, maybe." Her voice cracked slightly. "The Exodus… it was supposed to be our hope. Our people's second chance. Their new home. Our home." She paused, her shoulders tense. "And now it's just gone."
Jason didn't interrupt. He just listened, arms crossed, letting her speak.
"Why does this keep happening?" she whispered, glancing at him with eyes that glistened in the faint light.
Jason looked back at her, his voice quiet. "I don't know."
"It's always one thing after another, huh?" she said with a weak chuckle.
He sighed. "That's life I guess. A collection of probabilities. Nothing ever goes exactly how we plan it. The Ark, the Exodus, us being down here and every decision came with a chance. Sometimes you win, sometimes it falls apart before you even understand why." He paused, his tone softening. "But even then, the point isn't to stop trying. Because as long as we're still breathing, there's always another probability waiting and it could be one that might just work."
Raven blinked at him, caught off guard by the way he said it. He glanced toward the horizon. "Besides… there's still a chance not all of them died. Maybe some made it. Maybe some are still up there, waiting."
"I hope so," she said quietly, looking down at her hands.
Jason tilted his head slightly. "And yet… that's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"
Raven looked at him, a flicker of surprise on her face.
"Clarke and Finn?" Jason said calmly.
She scoffed. "So, everyone's noticed too, huh? Guess he's not even hiding it well anymore."
Jason hesitated before saying, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" she asked. "It's not your fault he couldn't wait for me, is it?"
Jason shook his head slowly. "No. But… in his own twisted way, he probably didn't mean to hurt you."
Raven let out a bitter laugh. "I don't care."
Jason wanted to respond, but then he noticed her shiver. Without saying a word, he slipped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She started to protest, but he just smiled faintly. "Don't argue. You'll catch a cold before morning."
She moved closer as he adjusted the jacket, her eyes flicking up to meet his. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The distance between them shrank.
Her eyes dropped to his lips once. Twice.
Then she moved and kissed him.
Jason froze for a heartbeat, caught completely off guard. The jacket slid from his hand to the ground as his instincts took over and one hand found the back of her neck, the other her waist, pulling her closer. The kiss was warm, he pulled her in tight to his muscular form and kissed her starry eyed, stoked her passion in a way it had been too sweet to let go and caused her to wrap her hand around him. As she was kissed she regained enough equilibrium and she finally pulled away, her breath trembled. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Jason blinked, still dazed. "Raven, I—"
"Good night," she said softly before walking away into the shadows.
Jason stood there for a long moment, staring after her, his fingers brushing his lips.
"That was…" he murmured to himself, still processing. "Yeah… that was definitely something."
The night wind blew past him, carrying the faint scent of her hair and for the first time in hours, his mind went completely silent, unable to think like a high school nerd who just got kissed by the hot cheerleader.
———————-
Morning came, but Jason's mind hadn't stopped spinning since the night before.
He'd barely closed his eyes. Every time he did, the kiss replayed in his mind. Raven's lips, her breath against his, and the sudden shock that came with it. Now the memory looped like a broken record and he smiled like a moron.
And there she was. Standing among Bellamy, Clarke, Finn, and a few others prepping for the trip to the Exodus crash site. Jason slowed his stride as he approached, his gaze colliding with Raven's. For a second, neither of them looked away… then she broke the contact first.
'Well, that's not awkward at all,' he thought dryly.
Shaking off the thought, Jason walked over to Bellamy and Clarke as they sorted through their supplies. Bellamy was strapping a rifle to his shoulder while Clarke checked a pack for med supplies.
"Formation," Jason said as they began to move. "No one strays away from the group unless you want to die without knowing the cause."
His tone left no room for jokes.
Jason adjusted the rifle on his back, scanning their surroundings as they headed through the dense forest. He glanced back; Bellamy gave him a curt nod and when he looked to Raven again avoided his eyes.
Jason exhaled through his nose. 'This is ridiculous.'
Clarke fell in beside him, her breathing shallow. Her steps were uneven, and her hands trembled slightly.
"Try to calm down," Jason murmured.
Clarke blinked. "What?"
"Your body's shaking," he said, not unkindly. "You're anxious. You need to breathe. Fear clouds judgment, and we can't afford that out here."
She tried. It didn't work causing Jason to sigh, muttering something under his breath about people never listening, but he kept his eyes forward.
When they broke through the treeline, the sight froze everyone in their tracks.
"Holy shit…" Jason whispered.
The crash site was a smoldering crater wide, blackened, and jagged. Pieces of the Exodus ship jutted out like broken bones. Smoke curled from the twisted metal, and the smell of scorched flesh hung in the air.
They stepped closer. Burned fragments of the ship creaked as they moved. Jason tightened his grip on his gun, scanning for movements human or otherwise.
Bodies or what was left of them lay scattered. Charred skeletons. Torn uniforms and helmets.
Finn muttered, "Clarke shouldn't be here."
Raven shot him a look. "Her mom was on that ship. She's looking for answers."
Jason nodded slightly. "She deserves that much." His words made Raven glance his way, if only for a moment.
"Anything specific you're looking for?" he asked, gesturing at the ruins.
"Black box, hard drives," Raven replied, her voice all business now. "Anything that explains why the ship went down."
"Alright," Jason said. "You heard her. Spread out but not too far."
"Stay sharp," Bellamy echoed. "Grounder retaliation for the bridge is coming. It's just a matter of when."
Finn frowned. "You blame them?"
Jason turned his head toward him, his tone laced with dry sarcasm. "There's a very thin line between being optimistic and just being stupid, Finn. Guess which side you're on."
Bellamy smirked faintly and added, "And I blame you."
"Maybe if you didn't bring guns—" Finn started.
Raven cut in sharply. "If we didn't, we'd all be dead!"
Jason's patience snapped. "Maybe that's what it'll take before your eyes finally open Finn, when one of us dies. But somehow, I doubt even that'll do it."
Bellamy growled, "Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that we need to be ready. We're on our own now."
Jason shook his head, muttering, "Yeah… tell me something I don't know."
He caught Raven's eyes again just long enough to see where she was looking. Finn. And Finn was looking at Clarke.
Jason sighed internally. 'And that, folks, is not good.'
"Clarke, stop!" Raven suddenly shouted.
Clarke froze mid-step, staring at a viscous red liquid dripping from a broken metal panel. She backed away quickly.
"Rocket fuel," Clarke said.
"Hydrazine," Raven corrected. "Highly unstable in liquid form. If it meets fire, we're all stains on the ground."
Jason watched as Raven crouched, dipping a small pebble into the puddle before tossing it toward another flaming piece of wreckage.
"Fire in the hole!"
The explosion that followed roared through the clearing, sending everyone ducking for cover. Debris flew. Smoke filled the air.
"Holy shit!" someone yelled.
"Did you see that?" another muttered.
Raven straightened up, brushing soot from her cheek. "We need to clear the area."
Jason nodded. "Move carefully. Avoid any suspicious-looking fluids, and for the love of God, don't touch anythingwithout being told."
Bellamy raised his voice. "You heard the man! Formation! No straggling! Weapons hot, we move out and get back before dark!"
Jason gave one last look at the hydrazine puddle, the faint shimmer reflecting off his eyes. 'Now that,' he thought, 'can be useful later.'
Later — Camp
The sun dipped low, shadows creeping long and cold. Guards made their rounds, setting traps and reinforcing barriers, unease spreading like infection. The group that had gone to the crash site still hadn't returned.
Octavia climbed the lookout, eyes fixed on the treeline.
"No sign of your brother or the others yet," Monty said, joining her.
"Hey, I don't care," Octavia shot back too quickly. Her voice softened slightly when she spotted a white flower tucked into a branch. Lincoln's signal.
Below, Harper was chatting with Jasper, her tone curious.
"That's not even his line," Octavia muttered. "Finn said that."
She and Monty tuned in.
"I saw the Grounder in the tree," Jasper said dramatically. "It was like nothing I ever felt. Pure animal instinct took over. One pull of the trigger, two Grounders dead."
"'Pure animal instinct'? More like pure pants-wetting panic," Octavia quipped, earning a chuckle from Monty.
Then she scowled. "Okay, this has to stop."
"Come on, let us have this," Monty said, catching her sleeve.
"'Us'?" she echoed.
"Look at him," Monty said, nodding toward Jasper. "My boy's a folk hero now. They even gave us a bigger tent."
Before Octavia could reply, a sharp clatter echoed through camp.
"Somebody hit the tripwire!" Connor shouted.
Instant chaos. Kids grabbed weapons, eyes darting, adrenaline rising.
Rustling in the bushes. Then silence.
"Lincoln…" Octavia whispered, heart pounding.
She followed the others outside the gates. The night air was tense, every sound amplified.
There, a body sprawled in the dirt looking bloodied.
The group raised their weapons, ready to shoot if it moved. Octavia knelt cautiously, hand trembling as she reached out.
The figure jerked violently, rolling to the side.
The torchlight caught his face.
Blood. Dirt. Bruises.
Octavia's eyes widened. "Murphy…?"
John Murphy stared back at her looking battered, half-dead, but unmistakably alive.
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