The hunting trip started off alright, which Madi was immensely grateful for: Fox had rejoined the land of the living and went along with then, Monroe and Miller stayed behind to help Octavia keep things working at camp, Clarke was safely behind the walls taking care of Jasper and Monty was trying to fix the communication issue with the Ark.
All in all it was a pretty good and productive start to the day, way better than having to stop Murphy from killing Jasper like the morning before. Or having to stop Bellamy from doing the same like the afternoon before, before they had their little talk.
"Hey, Bellamy." Madi greeted as she made her way to walk besides the man who had been in the very front of their group, leaving Fox to flirt with a blonde boy in the back.
"Madi." He nodded, eyes looking at their surroundings searching for food. "How you doing?"
"Pretty good." She shrugged, Madi appreciated how the boy was apparently making an effort but was still slightly wary of him. "So, I noticed some of our people didn't have wristbands today."
"And?" Bellamy tensed up, looking at her from side of his eyes.
"And... You didn't happen to have anything to do with that, right?" The blonde raised a brow.
"What's in it for you if I did?" The former guard glared. "You said you didn't want them to come down either." He whispered the last part.
"I don't." Madi agreed. "I just... I don't want to be the reason little children died either."
"You won't be." Bellamy caught her eye, the look in his being the most serious Madi had ever seen him.
"Okay."
"Okay." He nodded.
"Which one is Atom?" Madi asked after a few minutes of walking in silence, listening to the sounds of nature in hopes of bumping into their next meal.
"What?" Bellamy looked at her once more, this time with an incredulous air about him. "We don't have to do this, you know? The, uh, awkward talk and stuff we can just... not hate each other."
"I don't hate you." Madi said simply. "And I don't feel awkward talking."
"You should, you're the most awkward person I know." He smirked.
"Ha. Ha. Ha." The girl deadpanned. "Seriously though, which on is Atom? I was hoping to have a talk of my own with him."
"And just what would you like to talk about with him?" The man sighed with a roll of his eyes. "He's a punk who thinks himself good enough for my baby sister."
"She might be your younger sister, but she isn't a baby." Madi tripped over a tree root, Bellamy's quick reflex managing to catch her arm.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Octavia is tough, she can make her own choices."
"Clearly she can't." The former guard huffed.
"That's not your call to make. She's been through a lot, she gets to kiss a guy and have her heart broken as long as it's her call."
"What do you know about it?" He glared.
"Really? What do I know?" She looked up incredulous. "I know what it feels like to have all choices stripped away from you simply because you were born, Bellamy Blake. I know what its like to spend your life confined and isolated from everyone. I know what it's like to finally have some freedom and want to explore it."
"Right." He had the decency to look somewhat sheepish. "It's just..."
"You want her to be okay?" Madi suggested.
"Yeah."
"She'll be. Maybe this guy is even going to help her be okay?" Madi smiled.
"I don't think so." He scoffed.
"And why not?"
"I didn't know they were together until Octavia screamed it at me last night because the idiot broke up with her."
"Wait, but O said he started ignoring her after you talked to him."
"About the fact he was nicking food to Mbege even when he didn't work. I was making sure he followed your dumb rules after our talk yesterday. You help me, I help you." He said pointedly. "I didn't know what my sister was doing or who she was doing it with until she told me last night."
"Oh. But then why did he... Oh. He lost interest?" Madi looked at Bellamy shocked. "He really lost interest on Octavia Blake? I mean, you sister is pretty, bold, funny and fierce, how can someone just lose interest?"
"Should I be worried?" Bellamy sent her a side eye the longer she went on about how great his sister was.
"No." She chuckled. "But I really need you to point out who this Atom is so I can knock some sense into the idiot."
"... He chose not to come." Bellamy said flatly after a beat, looking everywhere but at her.
"Right... And y-" Before she could finish her sentence Bellamy raised his finger to his lips and pointed with his axe to where a boar was just a few feet in front of them. It didn't take long for the rest of the group to notice the boar as well and a hush to befell them, unfortunately it also didn't take long for the boar to notice them and take off in the woods.
"Go, go!" Bellamy yelled, running after the boar and fully expecting to be followed.
They ran for a few minutes when a sudden sound came from behind them. Not even thinking about his actions and fully expecting the boar to have somehow managed to circle on them, Bellamy threw his axe, hitting a tree with enough strength to lodge the axe into it and scare the living hell put of a little blonde girl who froze upon the action.
"Who the hell are you?" Bellamy asked the girl as the rest pf the delinquents, sans Madi and Fox, lost interest and resumed their pursuit of the boar.
"Charlotte." The blonde little girl mumbled.
"What are you doing here?" Madi asked. "You could've been hurt."
"Well, what with that guy who was dying, I just... I couldn't listen anymore." Charlotte said, looking up at them.
"He is not dying." Madi said.
"There's Grounders out here. It's too dangerous for a little girl." Her best friend said at the same time.
"I'm not little." Charlotte huffed, her chin up and a glare on her face.
"Okay, then..." Bellamy sent the girl a little smile. "But you can't hunt without a weapon. Ever killed something before?" At the head shake the girl sent him he shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it."
"Are you seriously giving a child a weapon?" Madi asked incredulously, even Fox looked at him as if he was insane.
"You heard her, she's not little." Bellamy smiled simply. "Trust me, it's easier to deal with them like this." He whispered the last so only Madi and Fox would hear. "Now come on, Charlotte, I'll teach you how to throw that." Bellamy slip his arm around the child's shoulders and started guiding her ahead of the girls.
"So, what are the odds of this blowing in our faces?" Fox asked with a roll of her eyes.
"What giving weapons to children?" Madi checked. "Well, Bellamy has had a gun for like four days and we're still alive, what's one more kid?"
"I heard that!" Bellamy called out.
"You were supposed to." Madi and Fox yelled back, sharing a giggle at the boy's expanse.
Bellamy turned around to say something, but before he could open his mouth he saw a thick yellow fog creeping up behind the girls.
"Run!" He yelled at the same time a horn sounded in the distance.
"What is goin-" Madi started but as soon as she turned around and saw the creepy mass closing in on them she pulled her best friend's arm and took off in the woods. "Run!"
They ran until their lungs started to burn and then they ran some more. No one wanted to see, or worse feel, what that gas could do and so they kept trudging forward, Madi taking the back of the group so she could keep an eye on them, she simply refused to lose anyone.
"I... Can't..." Fox panted out after a few more minutes of running through the forest.
"Keep. Going." Madi barked out, taking notice of how her friend's steps were slowing down the longer they ran.
"There's... a... cave..." Bellamy yelled back at them, not bothering to turn around, since he already had his hands full practically carrying Charlotte by then.
"Where?" Fox asked, her steps slowing further.
"Not... far!" He promised.
As soon as he said that, Madi saw the cave, it was about a hundred feet in front of them and she made sure to point that out for the group. Charlotte and Bellamy took that as one last incentive to push harder, Fox on the other hand couldn't seem to make her legs collaborate to make the home run to safety.
Not even half way trough and the ginger fell over a log that was lying on the ground. With a heavy heart Madi looked behind them and saw how close the fog got to them, stopping to help now would most likely be a death sentence, she realized. But then again, she reasoned, wouldn't it be worse to live like this?
With a nod to herself she bent over and all but dragged Fox to her feet, pulling the shorter girl with her with all her might towards the cave. Unfortunately, the mist had other plans and suddenly she felt a burning sensation on the back of her hand and realized they had ran out of time. The burning sensation spread through her arm felt like liquid fire spreading in her veins, and from the pained scream coming from Fox's mouth she was caught into it.
Without thinking twice about her moment decision, Madi gathered all her strength and with both arm grabbed her best friend and all but threw her across the last remaining feet to the cave.
"Bellamy!" Madi yelled out, this time the man did turn around, probably noticing the desperation in her tone. "Get her!" She screamed in pain, the fog was starting to burn her throat and lungs, making everything seem fuzzy.
The last thing she saw before toppling over was Bellamy dragging Charlotte and Fox into the cave.
A few seconds later, when the man tried to go back out for her, the blonde girl was nowhere in sight.
———
"Ouch." Madi mumbled as she came to and felt a pulling sensation on her back. The longer she remained awake the more agonizing her back felt until she started trashing about on the furs she was lying in.
"Be still." Koda hissed at the girl. "I need to peel the bad skin off or you'll die."
"What?" Madi asked, attempting to turn around only to have her face roughly shoved against the furs.
"Stay still." The grounder grumbled once more, before giving her a tired sigh as it only made Madi attempt to turn all that harder. "The fog got you, if I don't peel out the skin where it touched you, you'll die. I've seen warrior stronger than you pass from burns much smaller before, simply because they decided not to care to their wounds properly."
"Wow. I think this is the longer I've seen you talk in, like, ever." Madi smiled through the pain, but made no move to turn around.
"We've met four days ago, Skai Veida." Koda huffed, going back to peel her skin with a shake of her head. Madi, for her part, did her best not to cry out, she got the feeling Koda wouldn't appreciate her crying, but she was only mildly successful and by the time the older girl had managed to peel off her burned skin and apply a soothing salve she had a pool of tears branded into the furs where her face used to rest. "We're done."
"Thank you." Madi whispered roughly, her voice almost breaking at the pain she was still feeling spreading across her back and left hand.
"Here." The grounder grumbled, helping her into a sitting position and shoving a cup into her face. "Drink it."
"What is it?" Madi asked, taking the offered cup and taking a sniff, the offending smell making her want to vomit. "This isn't some very shitty, mean joke, right? Where you peel off my skin and make me drink gross stuff just for fun? 'Cause I've lived my whole life with criminals and this wouldn't be the weirdest-"
"I saved your life." Koda glared at her as if she was an idiot. Which maybe she was so she wouldn't hold it against the grounder.
"Right. Sorry." Madi smiled sheepishly. "I have trust issues."
"Drink it." The grounder repeated impatiently. "If I wanted you dead I'd have left you in the fog."
Madi just took a deep breath to gather her courage and sipped the drink. It tasted as foul as it smelled, but from the look on the other woman's face she was supposed to finish it, so she braced herself and gulped down the rest of the drink.
"Thanks." Madi said once more as she finished her drink, handling the cup back. "So... do you live here?" She asked once Koda took the cup and walked away to the edge of the cave, back against one wall and eyes focused on the girl lying on the furs.
"No."
"Okay... Care to elaborate?"
"No."
"Look, I'm in a lot of pain right now so it would be very helpful if you'd distract me for a little while." Madi sighed once she realized the woman wouldn't budge. "Please? My back feels like it's on fire and my hand is not much better."
"The herbs will start working soon, you won't be in pain anymore." Koda said simply, eyes still unwavering on Madi.
"Okay." Madi said defeatedly, moving to lie back on her front on the cot as the pain got more unbearable.
"I do not live here." Koda said again.
"Uh huh." Madi closed her eyes.
"I live in a village not too far away." The older woman said, causing the blonde's eyes to shot open.
"Oh. How is it like at your village?" The blonde asked curiously.
"I'll not give you information so you can destroy my home, skai veida." Koda scoffed.
"Why would I want to destroy your home?"
"Because you are an invader."
"I didn't know I was invading."
"I thought I was supposed to talk and you listen?"
"Right, I just- ARGH" Madi yelled as she suddenly felt something wet and slippery slide across her face, her eyes followed the movement to see a huge beast with its teeth bared to her and its tongue lolling out of its mouth.
If it wasn't for the choked laughter coming from the edge of the cave, Madi would have taken longer to stare at the monster looming over her. As it was the sight awaiting for her at the entrance of the cave was much more enchanting and interesting than the beast about to tear into her. Koda had her head bent down in a futile attempt at hiding her smile and the sounds slipping out of her mouth were simply divine in Madi's opinion. Or maybe it was whatever Koda had given her speaking.
"Your laugh is pretty." She said with a dopey smile, immediately making the pretty sound stop and a frown to replace it.
"Flattery will not get information out of me, skai veida." The grounder glared.
"I wasn't- Geez, you really don't know how to take a compliment, do you?" Madi asked, but the beast wasn't one to be ignored and once more jumped into her, this time it's huge paws falling onto her back. "Aaaaaargh, it hurts!" The sky girl wailed, almost expecting the grounder to laugh again. Instead the other woman simply barked off something to the beast who immediately backed off and plopped down on the ground with a whine. "What the fuck is that thing?" Madi asked once the beast was no longer on top of her.
"A pakstoka." Koda answered simply. Honestly she did not understand why Indra was so worried about these skai kru, they were like little goufas, the lot of them. Still, seeing the pout come back to the sky girl's face did something she did not enjoy to bloom in her stomach, so she trudged on. "I found it four seasons ago, I believe it was born just before winter and his mother was killed by hunters. I fed it and it has followed me ever since."
"You have a puppy?!" Madi squealed, just when she thought the other girl couldn't get any cooler she said something like that.
"It is not a puppy. It's a wolf." Koda frowned.
"Still! It was a puppy when you got it." Madi attempted to shrug but the pain didn't allow. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A pakstoka." Koda repeated once more, this timer slower. Honestly, these sky people were being led by an idiot.
"I know that." Madi let out a little snort. "What I meant is, is it a female wolf or a male wolf? What's their name?"
"It's a wolf, it has no name."
"What?" Madi gasped. "You can't just not give it a name! Look at it!" She pouted looking at the puppy and, yep, the herbs were definitely starting to work.
"You were yelling at it seconds ago." Koda looked at her incredulously.
"That was before I knew it was yours." Madi said as if it was obvious. "Now I know it won't rip off my face or anything."
"It will if I tell it to." Koda glared threateningly, not fond of how at ease this sky girl was with her. She was a warrior, a hunter, trained by the chief of her village since she could walk! How dare this girl treat her as one of her weak friends?
"Well, don't tell it to then." Madi looked up with a cheeky smile, completely missing the threatening tone and offering her hand to the wolf who sniffed it gingerly before giving it a lick. "So fluffy." The teen mumbled, gently petting the beast head.
"It's a male." Koda sighed defeatedly after a minute of watching the invader pet. "In my village having it around is enough to keep people away." She grumbled.
"But why?" Madi gaped up her. "He's so soft."
"It's a hunting tool." Koda frowned. "It has a good nose and is fast. It's a dangerous beast."
Of course the effects of her words were diminished greatly from the way the wolf's tail was wiggling back and forth, falling loudly on the floor as the blonde petted it's belly.
"No." Madi whined. "Don't listen to the grounder meanie, Fish, you're a good wolfie. Yes, yes, you are."
"It's. A. Wolf." Koda said once more. She had half a mind to just throw the sky girl out the cave and let the fog have her, clearly she was already too damaged by her earlier encounter with it to be saved if she couldn't grasp such simple concepts.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I know. But his name is Fish now."
"Wolves don't have names, they are wolves."
"But he isn't just a wolf, he is your wolf."
"That doesn't even- Okay, fine." Koda huffed, realizing by the determined glint in the girl's eyes she wouldn't let it go anytime soon. "He once dismembered a deer in minutes." She grumbled after a beat, hoping in vain to install fear into the girl. Honestly, he was a dangerous beast!
Unfortunately her words didn't have the intended effect, and for the next few minutes until she passed out, all Madi did was pet and coo at the wolf. Which was a good thing, Koda decided, because it meant she wasn't focused on her and on finding her people's secrets. It was a good thing.
———
This time, when Madi woke up, the pain on her back and left hand were more of a distant ache than anything.
She gingerly popped up on her elbows and was thankful when the pain didn't worsen anyhow. With a tired yawn she sat up and stretched, causing the discomfort on her back to increase slightly but not to the point it was earlier. It was only then she took notice of the two pair of eyes staring her down.
"Wow, he looked way fluffier and cuter earlier." Madi gulped as she noticed the wolf sat by the grounders feet, who apparently hadn't left her spot leaning against the cave wall since the girl fell asleep.
"It's a pakstoka." The grounder said once more. "It is not fluffy or cute."
"Sure is. And so are you, deal with it grumpy pants." Madi rolled her eyes. Clearly whatever she drank was still in effect on her body.
"I'm unbeaten in battle, I'm the very best hunter my village has, I am-"
"Very cute." Madi interrupted Koda increasingly frustrated rant. "I particularly like your eyes. They are a very pretty tone of brown."
"You- I- I told you, skai veida, flattery will not help you get information on my people." Koda glared.
"Maybe I just want information on you?" Madi offered. "Lie what's your favorite color? Or your favorite food? Did you always want to be a hunter? Did y-"
"None of these questions will help you find weaknesses to attack my people." Koda scoffed.
"I just said I don't want to find weaknesses or attack your people." Madi looked up earnestly. "Maybe I just want a new friend."
"I'm not your friend." Koda informed curtly.
"Then why did you save my life?" Madi demanded, getting up from the furs and approaching the bulky woman until the wolf's growling stopped her in her tracks.
The grounder said something to the wolf in the odd language she spoke earlier and he ceased his growls, getting back into a sitting position after having got himself ready to attack.
"You should go back to your people." Koda informed simply. "The fog just dissipated."
"I... How am I supposed to find them? I don't even know where I am."
"He will take you." Koda pointed with her head to the wolf.
"How?" Came the incredulous question.
"I told you he is a good hunter. And he'll just follow my smell up in the trees."
"Wait, has he been close all the times we've met? Within biting distance?!"
"Let's go, skai veida." Koda said simply with a little smirk on her face, quickly leaving the cave with a whispered order to the wolf and jumping up a tree.
The walk was quicker than Madi expected and by the time she started to recognize her surroundings she was surprised how she and her group had missed that cave in the first place. Sure, it was partially hidden by vegetation, but still!
She'd make a point to let her people know of it, in case the fog ever came back. Or, well, maybe she wouldn't. It wouldn't be right to tattle on Koda's spot after all.
Suddenly, her people's loud sounds reached her ears. There's someone wailing, a boy if her ears didn't deceive her, and she didn't think twice before breaking through the bushed and into the bizarre scenario that awaited for her, leaving behind the wolf who somehow sensed it was best not to follow.
Tied to a tree was a blue eyed boy with dark hair and no skin. Or at least that's what it looked like from what Madi could see through the gaps between the people in front of him.
"What the fuck is that?!" Madi demanded of Bellamy, Fox and Charlotte who were surrounding the boy.
"I, he just, I didn't mean to-" Bellamy attempted to say, his hands covering Charlotte's eyes, only for Fox to interrupt him.
"When we got here he was like that." The ginger explained. "Do you think the grounders did it?"
"Who else would- Bellamy?" Madi asked as she caught the boy's flinch.
"It wasn't supposed to go like this, I swear! I never meant to-"
"Shut up!" Madi barked once she realized this must be Atom, and this must be what Bellamy meant when he said the boy had 'decided no to go' on their hunting trip. "I'll cut the ropes, help me get him down." She demanded, but Fox was the only one who moved to help.
She made quick work of cutting his bindings but that didn't see to help at all on Atom's pain as the boys wails only got louder and louder. Maid did her very best to use her mom's 'I know this hurts but it'll be okay voice' but if his tears and desperation were anything to go by, she was failing spectacularly.
Just as soon as she had gotten the boy flat on the ground, making a point to pull his head on her lap, the sound of more people running into the scene from two different directions caught her attention.
"Madi?" Clarke panicky voice reached her ears first. "Thank God, you're okay! I was worried si- What happened to him?"
"I'm assuming he was caught by the fog. It's not pleasant." Madi said gravely. She'd handle Bellamy later, for now all she needed was to know if Clarke could help. "Can you..."
Clarke crouched down on the boy's right side, tilting her head and studying his bloodied body, before sharing a glance with her sister and shaking her head sadly. At that moment a few gasps were heard coming from the rest of the hunting team, who had finally joined them, as well as the boys who had come with Clarke.
"Please. Please." Atom begged, his voice now faint as his lungs could no longer produce the air to feed his screams.
At that Bellamy made a point to pull his gun out and ordered Charlotte to turn around, which she did promptly alongside half of the delinquents present on the scene.
Though Madi quickly realized there's no reason for them to turn as Bellamy had no inclination to actually pull the trigger.
"Would you prefer if we moved away?" Madi offered dryly, fierce glare on her face.
"I... I..." The brunette stammered.
"Give me your knife, Madi." Clarke said with a wavering voice once she reached the same conclusion as her sister regarding Bellamy's disposition to take the boy out of his misery.
"No." Madi said simply. No way she'd ever let Clarke do that, and she'd argued a more compelling argument than a simple 'no' if the boy hadn't resumed his whimpering pleas to the two girls.
"Madi, he's suffering." Clarke looked at her little sister.
"I know. And I'll take him out of it." Madi took her knife from the back of her jeans. "He deserves to die looking at the cuter twin." She attempted a joke, as she was prone to do at inappropriate moments, but this time it payed off as the dying delinquent choked out a breath of air that could've been mistaken by a laugh. Gently, she pushed the boys hair from his face and with the hand not holding the knife, she held his. "It's going to be okay. I'll make the pain stop now." She looked deep into his eyes as she craved the knife into his neck, hoping to have caught the aorta as to lessen his suffering.
"In peace you may leave the shore. In love may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels until our final journey on the ground. May we meet again." Clarke's teary voice sounded in the forest as Atom took his last dying breath, but Madi refused to look up until the light had completely left his eyes, he deserved at least that.
"We have to go." Clarke whispered after a while where they all just stayed there dumbfounded at what just happened.
"I... I killed him." Madi mumbled, looking down at her bloodied hands.
"He was already dead." Clarke peeled her fingers form Atom hand and took in into hers. "Come on." She tugged her. "We've got to go, Jasper needs water."
"We can't leave him here." Madi said refusing to budge.
"We won't." Bellamy said. "We'll take him, c'mom." He started giving out orders to his guys until Atom was safely atop the stretcher meant for the game they're hoping to catch and they were on their way back to camp.
The walk back was a somber and solemn affair, in which everyone was too preoccupied and sad to do much more than trudge on. Atom was the first true casualty caused by the ground and the impact of it showed on their faces.
In the back of her mind, Madi realized he probably wasn't the first casualty, as there was a couple who went missing on their first day down there. At first they assumed they just took off on their own and would be back when they felt like it, but little by little that illusion of a safe ground where people could go and come back just like that was being diminished and in it's place was the cold hard reality that this place was not a second chance, but an elaborate death sentence. Regardless, Madi would do anything in her power to ensure Atom would be the last of her people to suffer such a fate. And that was already one too many.
———
Arriving at camp left a bitter taste in the groups mouths.
As soon as they broke through the forest line and made their way to the almost complete gate, their people gathered to see what the caught. Clearly they didn't seem to sense the unease feeling encompassing the hunting party and excited yells could be heard. Things like 'look how big it is' and 'we won't need to hunt for days' were heard, all the while the delinquents pointed to the covered body on the makeshift scratcher.
"ENOUGH!" Madi yelled suddenly, realizing no one in the group seemed inclined to do so. With shaky hands she moved out from her best friend's arms and from her sister's supporting hand on her back and pulled away the jackets covering Atom's body.
"Atom!" A cry was heard seconds before Octavia launched herself on the flood besides the boy. "Wha- How- What did you do?!" She screamed at her brother, hands shakily hovering over Atom's body.
"There's a fog." Madi answered her question loud enough for everyone in the now silent camp to hear. "It was toxic and it got Atom, when we found him he was like this, barely alive. I took him out of his misery."
"You killed him?" A male voice called from the mass, shocked.
"Yeah. And I'd do it for you too, if you ever found yourself in a situation like Atom's." Madi wasn't aware it was possible for her voice to sound that steady when she felt anything but.
"Bullshit." Another boy called out, whom she immediately recognized to be Mbege. "She did it on purpose. She probably caught Atom slipping me food yesterday."
"She did him a favor!" Bellamy's angry voice shocked everyone, he was the last person anyone would expect to come to Madi's defense after they public squabble the other day. That also meant he was the one most likely to be heard at the moment. "He was begging to death when we found him. He changed his mind about going hunting and decided to come back to camp before we could even start, he... must have gotten lost and when the fog started he didn't stand a chance."
"Was this what happened?" Octavia looked up at Madi with sorrowful eyes.
All the blonde could do was look between the Blake siblings' eyes. In the end, Bellamy's begging look and Octavia wet face made the choice for her. She couldn't handle that right then.
"From now on no one leaves camp after dark, and during the day we go out in groups. Earth is not safe." She said and for the first time since they got there no one questioned her decision. But then again, between Clarke's and Bellamy's glares and the disfigured body lying by her feet she didn't think any of them would. "I'll dig a grave for Atom, anyone who wants to be there for his burial should show up by sunset." With that she turned on her heels and with strength she wasn't aware she possessed, she took the stretcher and dragged the boy's body to the makeshift graveyard they had started when those two boys died upon landing.
Madi didn't pay any mind to the small procession of people following her around, or to her sister's whispered words of support. Even her best friend's fingers lacing with hers didn't properly register in her mind, all her brain could process at the moment was the need to give Atom a proper burial.
Madi started working using her hands only to dig up into the earth, paying no mind to how that aggravated her burn injuries from the fog the longer it went on. At some point someone gave her a shovel made out of the drop ship metal, which helped her progress, even more so when a few more people got shovels for themselves and started to help.
She worked in silence, despite the few conversation attempts coming from the kids helping her dig the grave and from Fox. At some point they got the memo and left her alone with her thoughts.
It wasn't until past sunset, when Atom's body had finally being put to rest on the ground and a few words had been said by his friends that she allowed herself to break down.
Alone, she fell to her knees by his grave and started to beg for forgiveness to a boy that would never be able to give it.
That's how Octavia found her when she went searching for the leader to say a second hunting party had arrived with food for the night (and to force an explanation out of the blonde).
With a sigh, the shorter girl kneeled besides Madi and put her arms around her shoulders, pulling the blonde into herself.
"You did what you had to do. Fox told me how they found him... It was brutal." Octavia said softly, not sure how she felt about comforting the woman who killed the boy she liked.
"I killed him. He is dead, Octavia." Madi choked out between sobs. "He is dead."
"He is dead." Octavia whispered back as if the words were only now sinking in. Seeing Atom's body, listen people at camp talk about his death the whole afternoon, seeing his body be dropped into the ground and covered with the wet sand, none of it made the reality sink in as much as hearing those words come out of his killer's mouth. It didn't take long for her to join Madi's sobbing.
It took them longer than either would want to admit to stop the tears. And even longer until they managed to get out pf each other's arms without breaking down.
"Do you want me to get your sister?" Octavia asked only then noticing how bad Madi's hand looked.
"No." Madi's voice was rough from a the crying and screaming she did that day. "I asked her and Fox to leave me alone."
"And they did?" Octavia raised a brow unconvinced.
"I promised I wouldn't be long." Madi shrugged, a hiss leaving her lips as the movement jostled her back.
"Are you okay?"
"The fog got me too."
"Oh... Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'm mad at you." Octavia said, raising her hand when she saw Madi open her mouth. "If everyone who was there is to be believed, you did what you had to do. And I can see you didn't like it, but... It kinda helps to know you're in pain after you killed him."
"I'm sorry." Madi all but whimpered the words
"I know." O sighed. "I just don't get it. He should know the way back to camp, we've being going to the butterfly field together since out second day down here and he never got lost once... How could this happen?"
"Octavia..." Madi whispered, looking at the girl's eyes. "I don't think this was an accident."
"What?! What do you mean?" The brunette all demanded.
"I... I can't tell you right now." Madi said at last.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because I don't think you want to know." Madi looked into her eyes. "I wouldn't if I were in your shoes."
"What does that... oh."
"Yeah."
"But..."
"Yeah... He wasn't supposed to die, I don't think. It was an accident in that sense I guess, but... Atom wasn't lost and caught in the fog, he was tied up."
"Bellamy did this." Octavia sunk her fingers into the ground in a swirl of emotion, anger seemly coming victorious if her flushing frown was anything to go by.
"I don't think he did it alone." Madi confessed.
"But he still did it!" Octavia cried out, moving to go back to camp.
"You can't tell our people." Madi grabbed her arm, still kneeling on the ground, and looked up at the girl.
"Fucking watch me." O attempted to escape her grip.
"They'll kill him." Madi said flatly.
"Good!" Came the hissed response, as the brunette got ready to punch Madi in the face.
"These people, they won't take lightly the fact that a man in a guard's uniform killed one of them. And Bellamy couldn't have done this on his own, so I doubt he'll go down alone. Before we know it, this will escalate into a full riot or something." Madi whispered, and she could see how with every word Octavia anger increased.
"So what? I let him get away with it just so you can keep your precious power over the camp?" Octavia attempted to push the blonde away, which backfired as Madi took the chance to pull other girl onto the ground with her and pinned her down.
"You think I give a shit about who 'has the power' in camp?" Madi glared, doing her very best to pay no mind to the pain Octavia's nails were currently causing on her injured back. "He is your brother and they'll kill him! So take a fucking minute to think about this and when that time's up, if you still want to be the reason your brother died, I'll let you go."
"He has to pay." Octavia said after a minute, going limp on Madi's hold.
"If you kill him, he won't pay, you will." Madi looked into her eyes earnestly.
"Are you threatening me?" The brunette asked incredulously.
"What? No!" The blonde shook her head. "It's just... If he dies, that's it, it's done. He is gone and you'll be the one left here to handle with the aftermath. You'll have to face the guilt of losing your brother and the boy you liked while he escaped all that by dying."
"So I do nothing?" Octavia asked through gritted teeth.
"My mom killed my dad, you know?" Madi sighed, lowering her foreheads into Octavia's as exhaustion started to overtake her body. "And I kinda want her to die for that, so I'll never have to see her face again. But... If I do kill her, if I take off my bracelet and force everyone to do the same and I kill her, then I'll have to deal with the pain of losing my dad and murdering my mom while she gets scat free from all this crap by dying just like that."
"... So?"
"So, I want her to die. And I know she's my mom but I'm so, so pissed at her, Octavia, that I truly hope something terrible happens and she dies an awful, painful death." Madi took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving the girl beneath her. "But at the same time..."
"She's your mom." Octavia complemented.
"Yeah." Madi nodded a bit. "And he is your brother. It's okay to be pissed and want to make him pay, but I don't think actually murdering him will make you feel any better."
"How do you know? You didn't kill your mom."
"I didn't but today Bellamy told me he got a few more bracelets taken out and I said nothing about it, because a part of me longs for those assholes to die up there." Madi closed her eyes painfully. "But also, she's my mom... And part of me doesn't want to deal with the fact I killed her."
"So what? You get her down here and move on?"
"No." The teen opened her eyes. "If she gets down here, I make her pay. I scream and I yell and maybe punch her in the face and I make sure she understands she has to earn my forgiveness, no matter how impossible it seems that I'll ever actually give it to her, because in the end of the day I think living with the pain I'll put her through is going to be harder than just dying up there."
"Wow." Octavia was looking at her wide eyed. "You are seriously fucked in the head, you know?"
"Yeah." Madi gave her a watery laugh.
"But I like the way you think." Octavia nodded. "I'll make him pay."
"I'll help." At Octavia curious look Madi finished saying in a shaky voice. "He took something away from me today too."
The two girls just stayed there, Madi lying on top of the other, each lost in their own thoughts at the last, loaded admission.
"Is this the part where you kiss me? Because I just lost my boyfriend and I'm still kinda pissed at you." Octavia said after a while, shifting uncomfortably under Madi.
"What?" The older girl asked dumbfounded.
"You have been lying on top of me, staring into my eyes for a while now..."
"So, what?" Madi tilted her head, adorably confused. She'd never understand how weird teenagers were. Sure, she was a teenager herself, but she wasn't like that.
"So- You know what? Never mind, just move." Octavia was still looking at her oddly, causing Madi to comply with her order and follow her up as she started to move back towards the camp. "What are you going to do about Bellamy and the bracelets?" The Blake girl asked on the walk back.
"Nothing." Madi earned herself an raised brow for that. "I won't help him, but I won't stand in his way either. It's their bodies and if our people don't feel like having those damned things attached to them, I won't force them."
"But that could kill your mom." Octavia said in a matter of factly tone.
"Yes." Madi shrugged, "It could also kill hundreds of innocent children who are up there and that would suck, but I'm not the council. I won't make choices for our people and expect them to follow me for no reason other than because I say so."
"Right now I don't really like you." Octavia said, shooting out her hand to stop Madi form walking through the gates and into the camp. "And I really feel like punching you in the face. But... You're not that bad, you know?"
"Thanks." Madi sent her a little smile that didn't truly reach her eyes. "And Octavia?" She waited for the girl's hum of understanding before going on. "You can punch me if you think it'll help." The blonde hadn't even finished talking when she suddenly found herself on her back on the floor with the taste of blood pooling in her mouth. Damn, Octavia could punch.
"What's going on here?" Fox pissed off voice was heard as she hurried to her best friends side, pulling her to her feet and sending Octavia a nasty glare.
"Nothing." Madi said with a pained smile. "I told her to do it."
"You told her to punch you?" Fox double checked.
"Yep." Octavia answered this time, a satisfied and vindictive smile spreading across her face. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find my brother." And just like that she disappeared into camp without another glance at the bleeding leader.
"I'll get Clarke." Fox said as she guided her roommate across camp towards her tent. "I can't believe you told her to punch you."
"Really? You really can't believe I'd do that?" Madi raised a playful brow, though her merry facade wasn't mirrored in her face.
"I mean, you're the same girl who once bribed Murphy with jello to kick your ass, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Fox teased, before adopting a more serious tone. "Madi, about earlier-"
"No."
"Madi-"
"No!" Madi snapped, finally arriving at her tent entrance. "I don't want to talk about how I murdered someone, okay?!"
"Mads, it wasn't your fault." Fox tried.
"Please." The blue eyed blonde begged. "Please, don't."
"Okay." Fox sighed after studying her face for a ling second. "We'll talk whenever you are ready. Get in I'll get Clarke."
With a heavy sigh, Madi did as she was told and entered her tent. She gingerly peeled of her jacked from her skin, hissing in pain as the leather brushed against her back and hand in an agonizing way.
Dropping her jacket to the floor she heard a muffled thud, a bit too loud to be that of synthetic leather jacket falling from such small height, and stiffly bent down to retrieve the cloth, carefully inspecting it until she found a lump in her pocket. Gingerly, she searched the pocket until she pulled out a glass vial, roughly the size and thickness of her thumb, with a reddish brown powder inside.
Madi pulled the cap open and brought the vial to her nose, all it took was one sniff for her to recognize the smell of the foul tea from earlier and realize this was probably some dried mix of the the concoction.
She was partially thankful and partially disgruntled from the discovery. Thankful because it meant that to some extent she was breaking down Koda's walls. Disgruntled because it meant she'd have to drink that disgusting thing again. Then again, with the pain she was currently in, drinking it wouldn't be that bad.
As soon as she heard the tents flap open, though, she quickly shoved the vial in her jeans pocket and turned around.
"Hey, Madi." Clarke whispered, as if afraid that a louder tone would break her. "How are you?"
"Fine."
"Fox said you didn't want to talk about..."
"I don't."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah." Clarke offered her a little smile. "Now, I hear you got punched in the face by Octavia. Why don't you sit down so I can take a look at the damage?"
"There's no damage, just a busted lip." Madi grumbled but followed her sister's order.
"Really? Because from what I heard you were stuck outside when the fog hit." Clarke raised a brow.
"I managed to escape before it got me." Madi didn't know why she was lying, but the truth didn't seen appropriate anyhow at the moment. "Crawled into a cave."
"Lucky." Clarke said in a tone of voice that implied she didn't quite believe her sister, but didn't insist, which Madi was thankful for. Then again Clarke probably thought that if Madi got caught by the fog she'd be dead, so...
Regardless, the younger Griffin allowed Clarke to fuss over her split lip for a little while, until the older girl was satisfied with her work of applying the antibiotic seaweed on her face and moved onto her upper arms to check the snake's bite, Madi being careful to hide her injured hand as best as she could.
"Thanks." She said flatly as soon as her sister finished up.
"You're welcome." Clarke smiled at her before plopping down besides her baby sister on the cot. "So, I talked to Wells today." Her sister informed after a moment of hesitation.
"Is that what you were doing out there?" Madi asked, thankful for the distraction and for not having to talk about what happened. She might not be as close to Clarke as she'd like, but in that moment she realized how much she really loved her sister.
"No, I went to get Jasper more seaweed and water." Clarke informed. "He's getting better, but I wanted to eer on side of caution after Bellamy's ultimatum last afternoon."
"Oh." Madi nodded, slowly plopping her head on her sister's shoulder, causing Clarke to lay her own head on top of hers. "I don't think Bellamy will follow through with his threat after what happened today."
"I don't either." The shorter blonde admitted. "But better be safe than sorry. Anyone who walks into a med bay with a threat to kill a patient is someone we have to keep an eye on."
Madi thought Clarke didn't know how truthful her affirmation was, but decided against saying anything in that regard. She didn't think her sister would take the news much better than Octavia.
"We came to an understanding after we talked yesterday." Madi offered simply.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you how that went. And to thank you for dragging him away before he could actually make good on his threat yesterday."
"It went okay." Maid shrugged, struggling to keep her pain in check after the small movement hurt her back. "He's a bit of a arrogant jerk, but he cares about his sister."
"I guess I can sympathize with that last past." Clarke shoved her little on the shoulder, unaware of the pain it caused the younger.
"Yeah, me too." Madi agreed, hiding her whimper of pain behind a clearing of her throat. "So, are we done stalling, now? Will you tell me about Wells?" She teased.
"He followed me and Finn out to get the seaweed." Clarke sighed. "Then the fog started coming at us out of nowhere and we had to wait it out in a old world car Finn found."
"Cool, do you know the model?" At that Clarke shot her a weird look.
"Right, I forgot how much of a nerd you truly are." Clarke rolled her eyes fondly. "You're like a well of useless information." She teased.
"Hey, between a lot of free time and a pretty good memory does it really surprises you that I know old world car models?"
"Oddly, it does not." Clarke snickers. "Ms. We Have Flowers and Bees and a Healthy Ecosystem."
"Shut up." It was Madi turn to shove Clarke.
"Anyway, we got stuck there for hours and Wells wouldn't quit talking to me, so I drank some alcohol Finn found and-"
"You drank alcohol?" Madi asked. "How rebellious."
"You know I could just not tell you the story, right?"
"I'll behave." Madi promised with an amused smile.
"So, I was there drinking and he just wouldn't stop begging for forgiveness." Clarke frowned. "Then I yelled at him he was liar and that I hated him and that he should've just told me the truth." Her voice got quieter the more she spoke.
"Clarkey!" Madi's head snapped up as she gaped at her sister.
"I know." Clarke groaned. "I was an asshole, I know it, Finn knows it and Wells certainly knows it. It's just..."
"Still not ready to not be angry?"
"Nope."
"Clarkey, I killed a boy today-"
"Madi..."
"No, listen! I killed a boy today and that boy could've been Wells. Earth isn't as safe as we first thought, Clarkey, do you really want him to die without talking to him because of pettiness?" Madi asked.
"I... no, I don't." Clarke admitted. "But Wells won't die! I mean, it's Wells."
"Everyone dies."
"I know."
"Yeah." They both stared off in the distance at that.
"Madi?"
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry you had to kill him- I know you don't want to talk about it, but just let me say this, okay? I'm sorry. I'm your big sister, I shouldn't have-"
"Bullshit." Madi interrupted with a roll of her eyes.
"Excuse me?" Clarke's voice rose and octave at her sister's nonchalance.
"So what you are my big sister? You're older by all of a minute, Clarke. Let's not let that minute define our lives more than it already has." The taller blonde huffed. "Don't try and protect me because you're older, just... Be my sister and I'll be yours and we'll protect each other. Alright?"
"Alright." Clarke nodded shakily. "I'm still sorry you had to do that though."
"So am I." Madi admitted, before changing the subject. "You really should talk to Wells though."
"Ugh, fine." It was Clarke's turn to roll her eyes. "I'll go looking for him. You sure you're good to be alone?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Madi nodded curtly. Each second passed by and each movement she made, made the pain on her back increase and she really needed Clarke to leave so she could take the powder without any uncomfortable questions being answered.
"Okay." Clarke stared at her for a long second before nodding. "There's food by the pit, another hunting party left after you guys came empty handed. Eat."
"Yes, Ma'am." Madi fake saluted with her right hand.
"I'm serious." Her big sister glared, hands on her hips as she stopped at the tent flap with a warning glare.
"I'll go soon, Clarke. Promise." Madi did her best to seem earnest as her sister studied her. Thankfully, the blonde nodded once after a moment and left the tent.
As soon as the flaps closed after Clarke, Madi made quick work of pulling out the powder vial and slipped some into the water pouch Clarke had brought earlier and made quick work of gulping it down.
She finished as quickly as possible, gulping down the drink fast in hope of avoiding the foul taste for penetrating her mouth. Alas, it didn't work, and the taste made her shiver in disgust.
The blonde lied down on her front to await for a moment for the moment the pain would finally fade. It finally did so a few minutes later and that was when she made to leave the tent and move to the pit.
Her arrival was followed by hushed whisper and avoidance by a good percentage of the delinquents, though she was thankful to notice that most of it had to do with the punch rather than the killing. Small mercies, she reckoned, as she couldn't deal with talking about Atom, not yet, not now.
Madi gingerly sat herself at her best friend's side on a log nearby the fire and stole a piece of deer meat from her plate.
"So, is that the new flavor of the night?" She asked tilting her head to the boy on Fox's other side with a teasing smile.
"Why? Wanna join?" Her best friend shot back.
Madi gave the boy a once over, in which he puffed put his chest in a attempt to make himself look less scrawny, clearly missing the teasing tone of the girls, before shaking her head.
"Think I'll pass." She snorted. "No offense." She added to the boy, before engaging in a play insult fight with her best friend.
Yeah, she killed a person. Yeah, Bellamy was going around camp convincing people to take off their bracelets. Yeah, she was punched in the face and skinned alive all in one day.
But as long as she kept smiling she could pretend that her life wasn't a complete shit show.
——
A/N: Okay, so this chapter I started inserting some more changes to the original the 100 plot (such as how Atom died and stuff) and I have my reasons for that, that'll make more sense later on, so don't worry it wasn't a mistake or anything.
Also, let me know what you're thinking of the story so far, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see and I'll see what I can do to make that happen.
Lastly, votes and comments keep me motivated to keep writing, so... :)