{CURRENTLY EDITING/SLIGHT REWRITE.}
Ainsley Ashter was a freak-show. A psychopath. An absolute and utter maniac.... Or so they thought.
She was imprisoned at the age of thirteen when she murdered her parents using nothing but the metal leg of her b...
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* * *
ENTERING medical, Ainsley was flabbergasted at the sight before her. Grounders were sick and dying, including children. Her heartbeat picked up speed as she surveyed the scene, but she continued on until she was inside, greeting Jackson with a firm nod. Ainsley stood beside of the grounder girl, Luna and the small child. She felt sorry for the suffering of them all, but children were something different entirely.
Maybe it had something to do with how children are innocent. Maybe it deep down had more to do with how she had been treated by her parents as a child. Either way, children were a way to soften her attitude by just a little.
“May I?” Ainsley asked Luna, gesturing towards the child. Luna nodded, standing beside of Adria instead which the spot next to her on the cot available. “What's your name?”
Luna had to gently tell Adria it was okay, before the girl looked up at Ainsley with big wide eyes, coughing and spluttering. “A..Adria,” the girl mumbled as she almost shyly asked what her name was.
“Adria,” Ainsley smiled. “Thats a pretty name. I'm Ainsley,” she told the girl in the softest voice she could muster, surprising Jackson, but she ignored him to focus her sole attention on the dying girl.
Abby entered medical, looking both exhausted and upset. Ainsley was conflicted, as Abby sat in a chair in the middle of the room with her head in her hands. Ainsley didn't really like Abby, well, she had a hard time liking anyone of authority from the ark, but something was changing in the psychotic girl. She could feel it, and she wasn't too sure how she felt about it.
“I'll be back, okay?” Ainsley whispered to the girl, acknowledging Luna’s grateful smile with a smaller smile of her own. She stood up awkwardly, heading towards the despondent woman.
The awkwardness was clear with every step she took. It was clear that she was way out of her element, even as she placed what she hoped was a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. Abby glanced up in surprise at the touch, the look not going away even after she realized who it was. The older woman hesitantly placed her own hand on Ainsley's in appreciation, which seemed to equally surprise herself and Ainsley.
“You're doing everything you can,” Ainsley said, perhaps the most genuine thing she's told anyone besides John and Emori. “It's not —”
“Hey,” John said, interrupting to stand beside of Abby as he entered, holding some type of pill bottle in his hands. “You looking for these?”
Abby stood up, gently taking the bottle from John. “Where did you g- Nevermind,” she said, Jackson coming over to stand next to them.
“I didn't know how much you needed so I took it all,” John explained. “What are you waiting for? Go. Be doctors.”
Abby told Jackson to give it to Adria first and if it worked, they'd distribute it to them all. Jackson left with the medicine, but Abby turned her attention towards John and Ainsley.
“I'm glad you two are back,” she said, surprising Ainsley by the genuine tone. “I was worried about you both.”
When she walked away, Ainsley was taken aback by the forcefulness in which John hugged her. It was like he was conveying how much he didn't want to lose her, which was confusing, because as far as Ainsley knew, they were finally safe. There were no more threats. She hugged him back just as tight. He pulled away only slightly, but kept his arms around her waist, avoiding looking at her in the eyes directly. Ainsley frowned, noticing how troubled he looked, but if John didn't want to tell her then she wouldn't push the issue.
“She's been treated like a basket case her entire time on the ground, and his father got floated for stealing medicine for him,” Ainsley overheard Jackson speaking softly to Abby. “Who knew they had it in them?”
“I did.”
* * *
ADRIA was dying. The medicine hadn't helped. Luna held the girl closer to her, muttering words of what Ainsley assumed was encouragement. Ainsley stood beside of them, her eyes filling with tears that she won't let fall. She held Adria’s fearful gaze for only a moment, before a familiar voice demanded to know what the hell John was doing here. Ainsley spun around, quickly moving to stand beside John. If the situation were better, Ainsley would have pulled Raven in for a hug, but the tan-skinned girls anger showed that would be a bad idea.
Raven pushed past John, grabbing the food sticking out of his bag. “Once a cockroach, always a cockroach, huh?”
Abby came towards the confrontation, holding out the pills for Raven. “We only wasted one dose.” The older woman said, turning on her heels and walking away.
Ainsley placed one hand on Raven's shoulder, before she followed John out the door.
Short chapter, I know, but next one will be longer I promise!
