00:00 |───────── 26:12
JINNY SMIRKED IN AMUSEMENT, crossing her arms with hip cocked to the side as she observed the scene in front of her. She had just returned from patrolling the perimeter of Arkadia. They had finally erected walls around the camp that surrounded the towering wreckage of Alpha Station. The training room had quickly become one of Jinny's regular haunts and the grunts of exertion resonating from the hall had undeniably piqued her interest.
She watched as Bellamy threw a punch at Lincoln, sweat glistening over his olive skin as it was stretched taut over coiled muscles. The Grounder reeled back from the impact and brushed his lip, blood smearing against the split skin. He then swiftly caught hold of Bellamy's arm, using his momentum to throw him over the shoulder. Bellamy landed on the ground with a loud grunt, one arm locked outwards in Lincoln's grip while his other fist halted inches over Bellamy's throat. The victor had been decided.
Lincoln let out an exhale of air as he released Bellamy and turned to the cadets that were grouped along the sidewall. "He had me," he told them, "but he was too aggressive."
"Whatever you say," Bellamy retorted as he got to his feet and shuffled towards the bench to retrieve his shirt.
"No need to be a sore loser, Bell," Jinny quipped out loud and everyone diverted their gazes to her. The cadets started to grin widely when she strode over and stood in front of Lincoln challengingly. "Why don't we show them a real fight, huh?"
"Walk away, Lincoln," Bellamy said with a cock of his head. "You don't know what you're up against."
The Grounder glanced at him with a brow raised in disbelief before nodding towards Jinny. "No hitting pressure points. We spar fair and square."
She held her hands up in a gesture of goodwill. "Commander's honour. Whatever little that's worth anyway," she added with a devilish smirk.
Harper let out a laugh. "You're gonna regret it, man."
Jinny took off her Guard's jacket and shock baton, tossing them onto the bench before rolling her sleeves up to the elbows. Her dark hair was already secured in a ponytail and she took a defensive stance in front of the much taller man. "Come at me, bro."
Lincoln rolled his eyes at her cockiness before preparing himself to go in for a quick jab to her head. Jinny sidestepped to dodge him, grabbing his wrist and turning it at an awkward angle. His face twisted into a grimace from the sudden jolt of pain through his nerves before she let go, swinging her arm out so that she caught him below the chin with a knife-hand.
The man stumbled back but regained his composure quickly, using his heel to spur himself at her. He clipped her on the shoulder and she recoiled defensively, dropping herself to the ground before he could take an opportunity for another blow. Jinny thought that whether it was in space or on the ground—fighting was the same and so was surviving.
She swung her leg out to swipe his ankles, springing back up to a stand as Lincoln fell over. He expertly recovered himself, however, and went in for an opening at her side. But she was already expecting it and grabbed his forearm. She yanked hard while stepping around him, causing Lincoln to lurch forward as he lost his balance yet again. Taking the opportunity to hook her leg behind his knee, she then locked his arm behind his back as his chin was run onto the floor.
Lincoln groaned in defeat. "Fine, I concede."
"Told you," Harper said with a grin as Jinny threw her hands up in triumph.
"Well, that's the Commander for you," Monroe added as she indulged along with applause.
Bellamy shook his head with disapproval. "It's not even fair how she gets into all your weak points."
Jinny bent down to help Lincoln up and the man rubbed his sore chin. "I know what you mean," he said in response to Bellamy before turning back to Jinny. "You know who'd match well against you?"
"If you say that snake's name, I will beat you up," she hissed threateningly.
"Lexa is actually—" His words were lost to a surprised shout when Jinny grabbed hold of his arm and tossed him over her back. He crashed onto the ground once more with another groan, "That was uncalled for."
"I warned you," she stated with a dirty scowl.
Bellamy darted forward with apprehension. "Whoa, Jinny, calm down. Lincoln, you—"
"I know, I'm sorry," Lincoln interjected as he stood back up, but his eyes glistened with silent reproach at Jinny's behaviour. She turned away coldly to retrieve her things and the air in the hall was suddenly thick with discomfort.
"Bellamy," Harper called before tossing a duffel bag towards him.
The man caught it easily with a nod of thanks and then handed it towards Lincoln. "Here. Council wanted you to have this."
Lincoln reached into the bag and pulled out a Guard's jacket with the Ark's insignia emblazoned on its rough woven material. He looked up to Bellamy and Jinny with a deep frown. "I'm Trikru," he said.
"A uniform doesn't change that," Bellamy coaxed. "This is our home now, Lincoln. We fought for it. Too many of our friends died for it. On the Ark, the uniform meant something different. Down here, it means what we make it mean. Together." He walked over and patted Lincoln on the arm. "My sister will understand that eventually," he added lowly.
"Octavia is gonna love this," Jinny muttered under her breath, then raised her voice to Bellamy. "Come on, Sector Seven awaits."
He nodded towards her and went to grab his equipment. Lincoln turned to the cadets and ordered them into pairs to spar. He then moved back to the two senior Guards with a lowered voice, "Sector Seven? That puts you right at the Ice Nation border."
"Yeah, I wanted to get some ice," Jinny responded jokingly.
Lincoln ignored her and went on, "Just because Azgeda is part of the Commander's Coalition doesn't mean they respect the ceasefire. I should be on that scout too."
"And have your head cut off?" Jinny looked at him in bemusement. "No way. I don't need Octavia to go all samurai on my ass."
"She's right," Bellamy agreed with a sigh. "Until Lexa agrees to lift the kill order on you, you're more trouble than you're worth."
"You're good where you are," Jinny said, clapping him on the arm before moving towards the door with Bellamy. They dropped by the Operations room, finding Kane analysing their patrol board with a marker in hand. The rudimentary drawn map was littered with circles on various points of interest. Water, fertile land and danger zones stood out to them.
Abby was asleep on the couch and Kane raised a finger to his lips when he spotted them. "It's been the first sleep she's had in two days," he whispered.
"Lucky her," Jinny muttered with little feeling as she was tempted to slam her stuff on the table.
"It's been three months since an attack after Mount Weather," Kane reminded them. "Our people believe that this is real peace. Try not to screw that up, please." He sent a significant glance towards Jinny who simply averted her gaze in response.
"Hey, you know I'm a huge advocate for peace," she said sarcastically, grabbing some extra gear before walking back to the door. It was no secret that Jinny loathed Lexa's existence since the Grounder Commander's betrayal at the mountain. The fact that they still hadn't found Clarke was simply a stark reminder of that fact—a reminder of what they had done because Lexa abandoned them. Jinny had vowed never to trust or rely on anyone else but herself after that, building a thick wall of ice that separated her from everyone.
They ran into David on the way to the hangar and he raised his hand in a casual salute to Jinny. "Commander," he addressed. "We got three clicks on the secured channel."
She exchanged glances with Bellamy. "We're headed out on a map run into Sector Seven. I think Kane can handle this."
"Yes, Ma'am." David nodded and continued on his way to Operations.
"What could she possibly want?" Bellamy asked quietly.
Jinny shrugged. "Not my problem right now."
They entered the mess hall and caught sight of a familiar figure by the bar. Bellamy frowned as he called out, "Hey, Monty, why aren't you ready yet?"
The boy swivelled around to look at them with a pronounced sigh. "I am." He then looked pointedly to the floor. "He's not."
They moved around the counter until Jinny and Bellamy got a better sight of Jasper lying on the ground with his mouth wide open and soft snores escaping his throat. An empty cup sat on the middle of his chest and he reeked of alcohol. "When was the last time he had a shower?" Jinny asked, wrinkling her nose in obvious disgust.
"No idea," Monty responded automatically. "What should we do?"
"We should leave him this time," Bellamy suggested.
"He's not getting any better," Monty argued. "Maya's death broke him. He needs this."
Jinny felt a pang of guilt slice through her chest at the mention of the girl's name and her nails dug deep into her palm. With a stony expression on her face, she walked towards the bar and filled up a large glass with water. A moment later, she rounded the counter once more and emptied its contents onto Jasper's face without remorse. The boy instantly sputtered awake, blinking rapidly as he looked around in confusion. "Pick him up and get him ready in five," she ordered sternly before continuing on her way.
The Sky Commander trudged down the ramp that led into the main section of the hangar and the rover. She could already see Nathan waiting for her. A familiar voice caught Jinny's attention and she turned to find Gina berating one of the kids from her earlier run to Mount Weather. "Zeke, I said produce first, art doesn't go bad!"
"Yeah, but art's easier on the eyes," Jinny called out to her.
Gina walked over and leaned against the side of the rover. "Sure, if you can eat turpentine and canvas. Be my guest."
"Ouch," Jinny responded, breaking into a small smile just as Bellamy came over and heavily dropped a bag of rifles onto the top of the vehicle.
"Hey! Take it easy!" A yell resounded below them and Raven pushed herself out from the bottom of the undercarriage.
"Oh, there you are," Jinny greeted as the girl stood up and wiped her hands clean of grease.
"Miss me already, baby?" Raven winked back.
"Thinkin' of you every second," Jinny replied while blowing her a kiss.
"Not again," Bellamy muttered while shaking his head in amusement.
"By the way, got you guys a present," Gina said, holding a book up in her hand. The large capital letters on its fading bronze cover read 'THE ILLIAD' and Bellamy's eyes grew wide with a spark of excitement.
He took the book from her and gushed appreciatively, "Wow, thanks, Gina."
"Yeah, whatever, nerd," Gina responded with an impish grin before heading back to unload her truck of supplies. "Zeke, did you hear what I just said?!"
"She's been spending way too much time with you," Bellamy sighed, nudging Jinny in the ribs. "I swear she was a lot nicer in the beginning."
"I'm offended," she retorted then flinched away when Monty splashed another bucket of water onto Jasper who had been leaning heavily in a daze against the side of the rover.
"Sorry, was that too cold for you?" Monty snapped in frustration.
Jasper let out a furious yell as he grabbed the front of Monty's jacket and slammed his back against the rover. They glared heatedly at one another before Jasper let go, stepping towards the bag of rifles on the hood. Bellamy rushed to intercept him, "No gun for you, not until you're sober."
"Didn't want one," Jasper said with a scowl and sloppy salute that he used to lash out at Bellamy's head. The man inhaled slowly as he summoned every ounce of patience he had left while Jinny could only watch the entire debacle with a morose stare.
"So what's the point of guns if we can't shoot any of them?" Nathan asked beside her.
"We can, we just can't kill them," she replied.
"That's not what you're supposed to say," Bellamy chastised before looking around. "Has anyone seen Octavia?"
"We're going outside the wall. You honestly think she'd miss that?" Nathan responded with a shrug.
"Okay, everyone, hop in," Jinny called, knocking her knuckles on the side of the rover before climbing into the front seat. Raven went in after her on the other side and the others loaded into the back.
"Alright, we're ready," Bellamy informed. "Raven, take us out."
Raven broke out in a grin, starting the engines and flipping the switch to activate the automated doors of the hangar. Blue skies and golden sunlight burst through the opening, warmth filtering into the enclosed space like starburst. The sound of hooves drew close as Octavia galloped up to the entrance to meet them. She'd already been waiting outside.
"What a showoff," Jinny commented.
"Try to keep up!" Octavia shouted at them and Raven revved the engine in response.
"Raven, no..." Bellamy started but she had already shifted gears and stepped on the pedal.
"Raven, yes!" Jinny cheered as they shot across Arkadia's compound to the main gate. They raced past the gardens, the meat houses and the Guard post into the green wilderness beyond. Where the prospect of death lurked in wait to greet them.
00:00 |───────── -26:12
AUTHOR'S NOTE (06.01.2024). hello and happy new year!! i've just been so surprised and appreciative that people are still reading this fic! it's been a long while but i did promise that i would continue updating what i have on hand ( though it might take a while as i'm also editing previous chapters and other stories ).
i also just wanted to warn everyone that this season may not be what you expect. i hope jinny doesn't come off as too annoying as she's going through this phase of reconciliation with her grief, rage and trauma. it's gonna be pretty rough but i've always envisioned jinny as an antihero.
i hope you enjoy what's in store, please leave a vote and comment what you think! it always makes my day to know what you guys think of the story and it motivates me to continue updating! don't forget to drink water and i hope you have a great day and year ahead! <33