The air still smelled faintly of burned metal and ash from the Exodus crash site, Jason walked beside Bellamy, both men silent for a time, until Jason finally spoke.
"Finn needs to be watched."
Bellamy looked over, brow furrowing. "What?"
Jason kept his gaze straight ahead. "If we're not careful, he's going to jeopardize everything we're trying to build. He's got this… sense of righteousness. The kind that blinds people into doing something stupid."
Bellamy let out a quiet grunt. "Yeah, I know. But still he's not the type to turn on us."
Jason exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be."
"What wasn't?" Bellamy asked.
"The Exodus ship," Jason replied, his tone quieter now. "It wasn't supposed to have crashed. That ship was our second chance."
Bellamy shook his head. "System failure. Or maybe bad luck. Doesn't matter now. All I know is we're on our own."
Jason opened his mouth to respond but the sound of distant gunfire ripped through the trees.
"What the hell?" Clarke's voice called from ahead.
"That's back at the camp!" Raven shouted, alarmed.
"Shit," Jason cursed. "Move faster!"
The group broke into a run, branches whipping against their arms as they tore through the forest. Adrenaline took over and their heartbeats pounding. The sound of chaos grew louder the closer they got.
When they reached the gates, one of the patrols shouted, "They're back!"
The makeshift barrier was pulled open, and Monty came running toward them, breathless and wide-eyed.
"Thank God you're back," he said.
Jason didn't slow down. "We heard gunshots. What the hell happened, Monty?"
Monty hesitated, glancing toward the dropship. "You're… not gonna believe this."
Bellamy's tone went flat. "Try us."
———————
Inside the dropship, the air was thick with unease.
Murphy sat slumped against the wall, blood-streaked, trembling. His once-cocky smirk was gone, replaced by raw fear. Around him, several kids stood guard, weapons in hand, tension coiled in every muscle.
When the hatch creaked open, everyone turned.
Jason, Bellamy, and Clarke stepped inside, the rest of the camp parting instinctively to make way.
Jason took in the sight of Murphy, bloodied face, ripped shirt, haunted eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Well, don't you look like hell warmed over," he quipped.
Finn shot him a look of disbelief, but Jason ignored it. He stepped closer, and Murphy flinched, pressing himself tighter against the wall.
"Long time no see, Murphy," Jason said quietly.
Bellamy's patience, however, was nonexistent. "Everyone but Connor and Derek out. Now!"
The crowd hesitated only a moment before filing out, murmuring. The metal hatch shut behind them.
"He claims he was with the Grounders," Derek explained.
"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp," Connor added.
Murphy's voice was shaky. "I wasn't sneaking. I was running from the Grounders."
Jason tilted his head. "Is that so? And how many Grounders were after you, exactly?"
"I— I don't know!" Murphy stammered. "I was running for my life."
Jason looked over to Bellamy.
"Anyone see Grounders?" Bellamy barked.
The guards exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Well, in that case…" Bellamy raised his gun. "Jason, move."
Jason didn't.
Finn shoved the weapon down. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
"We were clear what would happen if he came back," Bellamy snapped, pulling it up again.
"No." Clarke stepped forward. "If he was with the Grounders, then he might know things that can help us."
"Help us?" Bellamy scoffed. "We hanged him, Clarke. We banished him. And now you want to let him live? Move, Finn."
Jason exhaled deeply and finally spoke, his voice low but commanding. "Wait."
Bellamy glared at him.
"That whole mess was exactly that, a mess," Jason continued. "We didn't handle it right. We punished a guy for a crime he didn't commit. Sure, he was a dick, but that doesn't mean he deserved what he got."
He looked at Clarke, his tone softening just slightly. "Besides, he might have information we can use. If the Grounders had him, he's seen things we haven't."
"Finn and Jason are right," Clarke added firmly. She moved closer to Murphy, scanning the bruises on his arms and the deep gashes along his face.
Bellamy's jaw tightened. "Yeah, well, I don't trust him one bit. If you hadn't been there, Charlotte would've been dead."
Jason's eyes narrowed. "But she isn't, is she?"
Silence fell. Bellamy said nothing.
Clarke crouched beside Murphy, inspecting his hands. Her expression hardened. "He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."
Finn muttered bitterly, "You and the Grounders should compare notes."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Real helpful, Finn."
Bellamy leaned closer to Murphy. "The Grounders know we're at war now. What did you tell them about us?"
Murphy lifted his head, his voice hoarse. "Everything."
A heavy pause settled.
Jason sighed. "Well… at least you're honest. Though, next time, maybe don't gift-wrap our survival plan for the enemy."
Bellamy's finger twitched on the trigger, but Jason cut him off with a look.
"Now," Jason continued, "since you've already sung like a bird for them, you're gonna balance it out. You'll tell us everything you learned about them. Their camp, their weapons, their routines, I want to know every single thing you picked up while they were patching you up."
Murphy hesitated, trembling.
Jason crouched down to his level, voice quiet but sharp. "You want to stay alive, Murphy? Then make yourself useful."
Bellamy's gaze flicked between them, still tense, but Jason didn't break eye contact with Murphy.
Finally, Murphy nodded slowly. "Fine."
Jason stood, dusting his hands off. "Good."
"Jason's right. Once he's better, we find out what he knows and then he's out of here, okay?" Clarke said, stepping past Bellamy.
Bellamy's jaw tensed. "What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?"
"Then we kill him," Clarke replied softly.
Bellamy's eyes flicked to Jason, who met his gaze with the same calm intensity he always carried. Bellamy gestured with his head toward the door, and they stepped out into the cool air outside the dropship.
Jason ran a hand through his hair, letting out a slow sigh. "You know… it'd be smarter to keep him here. Not in the camp exactly, but somewhere close and under watch."
Bellamy shot him a look like he'd grown a second head. "You're serious? After everything he's done? Murphy can't be trusted, Jason. The guy's volatile."
"I know that," Jason replied evenly. "I'm not saying we trust him. But think about it. He's angry, sure but who wouldn't be? We banished him for something he didn't do. That kind of thing doesn't just disappear."
Bellamy crossed his arms. "So what? You want us to babysit him?"
Jason shook his head. "He'll be placed under guard. If he cooperates, maybe he earns a place back here again slowly. If not…"
"Then we kill him," Bellamy finished flatly.
Jason nodded once. "Exactly."
Bellamy exhaled, glaring down at the dirt for a moment before saying, "Fine. We'll do it your way."
Jason gave a small, grateful nod. "Thank you."
——————————
Morning came grey and heavy. Jason was already out, doing his usual patrol, checking fortifications, sentries, and food stores.
Everything seemed in order, but his mind wasn't.
He stopped mid-step, muttering to himself, "Fuck…"
His thoughts drifted —to Raven.
"Ah, screw it," he said aloud and turned toward the workshop tent.
Before he could reach it, Raven's voice cut through the camp. "Clarke! Clarke!"
Jason quickened his pace and found her near the firepit, with Clarke and Connor hovering close. Clarke was pale, her hand pressed to her temple and then Jason saw it.
Blood. Thin lines of red dripping from Clarke's eyes.
"What's happening?" Jason demanded, stepping forward.
Raven looked up, panic setting in. "I don't know! One second she was fine, then—"
Jason's attention snapped toward the coughing sound behind them. Derek was by the firepit, doubled over, hacking violently.
"Raven, Jason get away from us," Clarke ordered sharply.
"What?" Raven asked, confused.
"They're the ones who brought Murphy in," Clarke said, realization dawning in her tone. She turned and ran toward the dropship.
"What the hell is going on?" Raven called after her.
Jason's expression hardened. "If it's what I'm thinking… we're under attack. Whatever you do, don't touch anyone unnecessarily."
Then he was gone, moving fast toward the dropship.
—————————-
"I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped the Grounders. What happened?" Clarke demanded, her tone sharp but shaking.
Murphy sat near the center, his face pale and sweating, hands shaking as he gripped his abdomen. "I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off."
Jason's voice cut through from behind them. "And you didn't find that suspicious, huh?"
Murphy flinched as Jason stepped closer, his tone rising. "Damn it, you didn't escape you fool, they let you go!"
"Bellamy, stay back," Clarke warned as Bellamy entered the dropship.
"Did he do something to you guys?" Bellamy asked, looking between them. Clarke shook her head.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded.
"Biological warfare," Jason said grimly.
Clarke nodded, voice trembling but steady. "You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon."
Murphy's eyes widened. "What? No! I didn't know—"
"Is this your revenge?" Bellamy snarled. "Helping the Grounders kill us?"
"I didn't know about this, okay?! I swear!" Murphy gasped, gripping his stomach tighter.
"Stop lying!" Bellamy yelled.
Jason stepped between them, palm on Bellamy's chest. "Calm down. You think he'd volunteer to be their carrier?" He turned toward Murphy, voice low. "You didn't, did you?"
Murphy shook his head violently.
Bellamy's jaw clenched. "Then when are they coming?"
Clarke leaned forward. "Murphy, think. What can you tell us? Anything useful?"
"They're vicious. Cruel," Murphy muttered, shaking.
"You want to see vicious?" Bellamy started forward again, but Jason shoved him back.
"Stop. This thing spreads through contact, it looks like that's how it moves."
"Clarke?" Finn's voice came from the entrance.
"Finn, you shouldn't be in here! No one should!" Clarke warned, her voice cracking.
"I heard you were sick, what is this?" Finn ignored her warning and stepped closer.
"I don't know. Some kind of hemorrhagic fever," Clarke said quickly. "We just need to contain it before"
Before she could finish, Derek started convulsing near the corner. His body shook violently, and blood spattered across the metal floor.
"Hey!" Clarke ran to him.
Finn reached out, but she snapped, "Don't touch me! You could get sick, wash your hands now!"
The boy's coughing stopped suddenly. His body went limp.
Bellamy swallowed hard. "Is he—"
"He's dead," Clarke whispered.
Jason's gaze flicked to Murphy, who sat trembling against the wall.
"Here." Clarke grabbed a bottle. "Alcohol. Hold out your hands." She poured it over Finn's palms, her own shaking.
Jason stepped back, scanning the others. "We need to quarantine them now before this spreads to the rest of the camp."
Clarke nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. We need to round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here."
"And everyone they had contact with?" Bellamy asked.
Jason nodded. "We have to start somewhere."
"Connor," Clarke snapped, "who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in? Think!"
Connor looked terrified, guilt washing over his face.
Jason noticed his trembling hands, the pale skin, the bloodshot eyes. He looked between Derek's body and Connor, his mind racing.
'Both of them got infected at the same time… so why the delay?'
Connor finally muttered, "The first one out there was Octavia."
Bellamy's eyes widened instantly.
———————
Jason burst out of the dropship moments later, his voice cutting through the camp.
"Listen up!" he shouted, commanding everyone's attention. "Anyone coughing, bleeding, or feeling faint move to the dropship now!"
He didn't yell in panic but just loud enough to be heard, calm enough to make them obey.
"Now!" he repeated, and people began to move, confusion turning into fear as the symptoms spread among them.
Jason's eyes scanned the crowd and then he saw her.
"Charlotte," he said, moving toward the young girl. She looked pale, sweating, her breathing shallow.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded weakly.
Jason frowned. "No, you're not."
Her knees buckled before she could respond. Jason caught her, lowering her gently to the ground.
"Shit…" he muttered, he then noticed another girl collapse to the left.
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