Jasper was on the brink of survival and he hadn't stopped his incessant moaning all throughout the night. Between his constant cries of pain and the death threats being shouted at him, Tessa was barely able to get an hours worth of sleep. With heavy eyelids, she lifted her head from the cold ground and took a sip from her almost empty water canteen.
She could see Eden's flaming red hair in the distance, spread across the abdomen of another random boy that she had developed a new infatuation with ever since Atom had been publicly reprimanded by Bellamy for kissing Octavia while he was away.
A sigh passed between Tessa's lips as she tried to run her fingers through her tangled hair. Oh, what she would do to properly wash it. The faint memory of her mother's strawberry shampoo drifted around in her mind.
The scent had faded from her memory over time, but she still remembered that it smelt wonderful. Her thick tresses felt heavy and fell onto her shoulders uncomfortably. Deciding to get it out of her face, Tessa began to braid it.
Her mother had taught her when she was young, and Tessa carefully copied the hand movements that she had shown her. Starting at her hairline she separated three little pieces of her blonde hair and started to braid. Over, under, grab, over under, grab.
As she was tying the small elastic at the bottom of the newly tied braid, a scream erupted from the far side of the camp. Tessa immediately whipped her head around to find the source of the noise just as Cam sat up groggily.
"What the hell?" He murmured. "Would you stop screaming, I'm trying to sleep." He re-positioned himself on the grass and shut his eyes with a huff of dissatisfaction.
Less apt to return to sleep, Tessa moved from her spot on the grass and ventured over to the source of the horrible noise. It came in the form of a girl named Charlotte whom Tessa had only seen once when they dragged the little girl kicking and screaming into the cell across from her own in the sky box.
Charlotte was nestled between two fallen trees, thrashing about with her eyes closed. Aware that the girl was asleep, Tessa carefully placed a soft hand onto her arm. The young girl's eyes opened with a terrified jolt.
"It's okay." Tessa said softly as Charlotte sat up with a shaky demeanor. "You're okay. It was just a nightmare. My name's Tessa."
The younger girl took in a deep breath and nodded her head slowly. "It's my parents. They were floated and they-- I see it in my dreams all the time and I just..."
Tessa placed a hand on each of the younger girl's shoulders with a light smile. "It's okay. I know how you feel. My parents were floated too." She said, her mind wandering to how young Charlotte was. She herself wasn't much younger when she was arrested. "How did you end up here?" Tessa asked.
Charlotte sighed, nervously running her fingers over the two dutch braids that fell just a bit past her shoulders. "They were taking my parents things to the redistribution center and -- I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard."
With a frown, Tessa pulled the younger girl into a hug. "I was about your age when I was arrested." She said slowly.
"Really?" Charlotte asked pulling away from the hug with wide eyes.
Tessa nodded pointing up at the sky above them. "See those stars?" She asked and Charlotte nodded looking up at the sky above them. "They're the souls of all of the people we love. Our parents are up there, watching over us. I think they would be proud."
Charlotte nodded.
When Jasper's screaming had almost driven her to the point of insanity, Tessa headed to the inside of the drop ship with the hope that she could be of any assistance. Clarke had been beside him all night, using her little doctoring skills to fix him to the best of her ability.
Monty was nearby using his rare knowledge of technology to try and get in contact with the ark. So far, they didn't have much success.
She climbed the ladder to the top floor of the drop ship and was greeted by Finn with an appreciative smile while Clarke acknowledged her presence with a simple nod. "The grounders cauterized the wound." Clarke said sounding confused. "Saved his life."
"Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait." Finn ejected crossing his arms over his chest with a frown. "Garden of Eden this ain't."
Clarke sighed, rubbing a clean cloth across the wound on Jasper's chest. "This is infected. "He could be septic." She said, looking over at Monty to see if he had any good news that could defer from their current situation with Jasper. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the ark?"
He didn't speak for a moment, his gaze focused on Jasper who continued to moan in excruciating pain. He looked up at Clarke looking grim. "That would be a firm no."
"My mother would know what to do." Clarke said with a sigh, shaking her head.
Wells appeared beside her, crouching down so he could be level with the blonde. "How is he doing?" He asked casually.
"How does it look like he's doing Wells?" Clarke snapped angrily. Tessa didn't know why, but that girl certainly had a rather large chip on her shoulder when it came to him.
Wells kept his composure and looked at Clarke with a frown. "Hey, I'm just trying to help."
She took a deep breath, looking down at Jasper who looked like he was struggling to keep breathing. "Right. You want to help?" She asked looking at Wells, then to Finn, then Tessa. "Hold him down."
While Clark grabbed a knife and sanitized it in the flames, Finn and Wells held down both of Jasper's feet. Tessa placed a hand on each of his shoulders and used her weight to push them against the makeshift table.
There was a moment of unsure silence as Clarke held the scorching knife up to Jasper's wound. She took a deep breath and Tessa gave her a nod of encouragement.
Clarke hesitated for a moment before cutting away at Jasper's wounds, sawing off any of the infected flesh. His moans turned into screams and Tessa tried to block them out as Octavia rushed into the room.
"Stop it! You're killing him!"
Tessa looked over at Octavia and shook her head softly. "She's trying to save him."
"She can't." Came from Bellamy who had climbed up after his sister.
Wells stood from his position next to Jasper and edged closer to Bellamy's face trying to intimidate the older boy. "Back off."
"Come on Bellamy." Tessa said lightly. "We didn't trudge him through miles of woods just to let him die here."
Bellamy looked over at her but looked away after a moment facing Clarke again. "Kids a goner. If you can't see that you're deluded. He's making people crazy."
Clarke looked up at him, annoyed. "Sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the ark. Down here every life matters."
"Take a look at him." Bellamy said, his voice dropping lower. "He's a lost cause."
Tessa looked down at Jasper. His face drenched with sweat as he used all of his energy to fight the infected flesh. Maybe he was a lost cause. Maybe he couldn't be saved.
"Octavia," Clarke said. "I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there's hope, there's hope."
"This isn't about hope." Bellamy argued. "It's about guts. You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." He walked toward the ladder, turning around again. "Octavia, lets go."
She looked over at her brother before looking down at Jasper. "I'm staying here."
He looked at his sister for a moment before shifting his gaze to Tessa. She diverted her eyes as Bellamy climbed back down the ladder.
"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass." Monty said once Bellamy was gone. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself." The asian looked over at Octavia who looked down at the floor. Monty frowned. "No offense."
Tessa gripped Jasper's hand as Clarke continued to work. "He may be all of those things." She said. "But he's also right."
Although still angry about his threats earlier, Tessa joined Bellamy and the rest of his friends on the hunting expedition. The older boy had no mention of Jasper, only that Tessa was a natural shot and he assumed she'd be the same with any other weapon she had.
So with a spear gripped in hand, she followed closely behind Bellamy as they hunted down a fat warthog. Although it wasn't what she imagined to be eating, it was better than nothing and she followed in silence.
The sound of breaking branches was distracting enough for Bellamy to throw his ace in the direction of which the sound came. The blade lodged itself in a tree just as Charlotte peeked her head out from behind its bark.
"Who the hell are you?" He asked.
"Charlotte!" Tessa exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing? He almost killed you."
She looked around timidly. "It's that guy that's dying. I-I just couldn't listen anymore."
Atom appeared next to Bellamy as the rest of the guys chased after the pig who had been scared off by Charlotte. "There's grounders out here. It's too dangerous for a little girl."
"I'm not little." She snapped back defensively looking over at Tessa who offered her a light smile of encouragement.
Bellamy smirked reaching into the pocket of his jacket. "Okay then, but you can't can't without a weapon." He handed her a knife. "Ever killed something before?" He asked and Charlotte shook her head.
"Who knows? Maybe you're good at it."
Tessa wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder as they continued walking.
A sudden noise echoed through the trees and Tessa looked over at Bellamy in confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking as lost as she was. It sounded like a horn being blown. Maybe it was a grounder war cry, or perhaps a warning that something was happening.
The latter found true when a massive fog of yellow smoke descended on them. Thinking it was not something natural, Tessa broke off into a run dragging Charlotte with her.
Bellamy was right behind them, bellowing about the caves that would appear if they ran just a little further. As the fog curled around them, Bellamy pulled Tessa and Charlotte out of the way and into the safety of the cave.
As they ran inside, Tessa could hear the faint voice of Atom screaming for Bellamy. He had been caught in the fog, but there was nothing they could do for him now.
Night had fallen upon them, and the fog had yet to cease. The three of them were confined to the walls of the cave, but Charlotte had long since fallen asleep. Bellamy had decided to keep watch, but Tessa couldn't fall asleep anyway. Something about the acid fog put an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Do you think this mean that the air is toxic?" She asked Bellamy in a quiet voice so she wouldn't wake Charlotte.
Bellamy shrugged. "If the air was toxic we'd be dead already. That fog was different."
Before Tessa could ask any more questions, a sharp "No!" Came from Charlotte as she gripped the cave wall with sense of urgency. Tessa was immediately beside her, waking her up from her nightmare.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly once her eyes had opened and she was once again awake.
Bellamy looked at her with a look of concern. "Does that happen often?" He asked. She sighed, slightly nodding her head to answer his question with a yes. Bellamy frowned. "What are you scared of?"
Charlotte looked over at Tessa, and the older blonde gripped her hand reassuringly.
"You know what," Bellamy said slowly. "It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you do about it."
"But I'm asleep." Charlotte said quietly.
Bellamy shrugged. "Fears are fears. Slay your demons when your awake and they won't be there to get you when you sleep."
"Yeah, but how?"
He shook his head with conviction. "You can't afford to be weak." He said. "Down here, weakness is death. Fear is death. --Let me see that knife I gave you."
She pulled it from her pocket, handing it to him. He turned it over in the palm of his hand, curling his fingers around the hilt. "Now when you feel afraid, you hold tight to this knife and you say, Screw you. I'm not afraid."
Charlotte took the knife into her own hands, gripping the steel blade between her small fingers. "Screw you. I'm not afraid. --Screw you. I'm not afraid."
Bellamy smiled. "Slay your demons kid. Then you'll be able to sleep."
As Charlotte laid back down to rest, Tessa looked over at Bellamy. He raised his eyebrows at her before laying down on the hard floor. Tessa looked over at Charlotte who had fallen asleep, and then back to Bellamy.
Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
The fog was cleared by the next morning. Tessa hadn't remembered falling asleep, but Bellamy had woken her up by shaking her shoulders. They exited the cave and found three others who had managed to make it into a cave.
A low scream from Charlotte interrupted the group from walking back to the camp and Tessa rushed to her side immediately, Bellamy following shortly after. Charlotte stood over a body and after a few moments Tessa realized that the body was Atom.
His body had been covered with welts, and his eyes turned white from the acid. He was still alive, but he was suffering.
He muttered something incoherent and both Bellamy and Tessa rushed toward him. He repeated his words, this time more audible. "Kill me." He pleaded. "Please."
Bellamy looked up from Atom as the others approached behind them. "Go back to camp." He ordered. "Charlotte, Tessa, you too."
Tessa sent Charlotte along with the others, but stayed beside Bellamy as he struggled to end Atom's life. No matter how much he was pleading, Bellamy still couldn't kill.
She placed her hand over his and he looked up at her with a broken face. "It's okay." She whispered, pulling the blade from his hand. She looked down at Atom as he suffered, and placed a hand in his tousled hair.
"You'll be okay Atom." Tessa promised as she dug the blade into his carotid artery. She continued to run her fingers through his hair as he took his final ragged breaths.
They returned to camp with Atom's body and met Clarke and Finn who had returned with the medicinal seaweed required to finally heal Jasper from his wounds.
While the others drank the whiskey Finn had found, Tessa sat by Cam and Eden by the fire. The hunting party had failed in their attempts to kill the warthog, so they instead feasted on the dried remains of the puma.
While Cam and Eden laughed over something or other, Tessa's mind wandered to Atom. He didn't deserve to die, yet he was buried six feet under in a tomb of forgotten memories and acid fog. He didn't deserve to die, yet she had killed him. She had moved the knife to pierce Atom's skin and because of it, he would never wake up. Did that make her a murderer?
She didn't have time to dwell on it forever, for Octavia bounded out of the drop ship and informed the crowd that Jasper was in fact alive and was going to stay that way.
A cheer spread among the crowd, whether it be for the fact that Jasper was alive or that he would no longer be moaning throughout the night Tessa didn't know.
But Jasper was alive, and that was enough to make her smile.