010.
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"This is Raven Reyes calling Ark station. Come in, Ark station. This is Raven Reyes calling Ark station. Please come in," the girl repeated, using the radio she rebuilt to try and contact the people back up in the sky. Magnolia stood behind her, massaging the girl's shoulders in attempt to calm her down. She was on-edge— not only because nobody was responding, but because the whirling storm outside was causing chaos around camp.
"You sure you have the right frequency?" Monroe tested, and Maggie knew that that was a bad move.
"Yeah, I'm sure!" Raven shot back, making Zoe throw her hands up in defense, realizing she had struck a nerve.
"Raven?" the blonde leader placed a hand on the girl's forearm. "You can do this— okay?"
Maggie continued to listen as her sister persisted, not giving up. Maybe it was the storm, or maybe there was an error with the radio, but they were met with complete silence on the other end.
Clarke couldn't tend to Finn's stab wound without the assistance of her mother, Abby Griffin. The knife was in a critical spot, and it didn't take an educated doctor to know that if one wrong move was made, the boy would be done for. That was the last thing they needed on their hands. Another one dead— how many was it now? Magnolia had lost count.
Maybe what he did to the two girl's was shitty and low, but it didn't make him a bad enough person to deserve death. He might've been a liar, but what was the Gray girl to expect? That was nothing foreign to her— it was okay.
Only, it wasn't. She was too lenient, getting her feelings hurt and then deciding she was overreacting. Maybe she was a badass, but that was a facade that even the strongest could only put up for so long.
After countless attempts, a faint response was heard. "This is a restricted channel. Who is this? Please identify yourself."
Maggie's eyes grew to the size of small planets as commotion erupted through the first level of the drop ship. "This is Raven Reyes— I'm from Mecha station. I-I'm transmitting from the ground. The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get doctor Abby Griffin. Dr. Abby Griffin, now!"
A few beats of silence dragged on, until another voice made its way to the radio. "Raven. Are you there?"
Raven and Magnolia's eyes rested on Clarke, who let her jaw drop slightly upon hearing her mother's voice.
Must be nice.
"Mom?" the girl finally let out. "Mom, it's me."
"—Clarke?"
"Mom, I need your help. One of our people got stabbed by a Grounder," her daughter explained, although none of them had the slightest clue as to who a 'Grounder' was, but that was besides the point.
Another voice joined in, and within milliseconds, Maggie knew that voice from anywhere; Jaha. "Clarke? This is the chancellor. Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?"
"Yes," she confirmed stiffly. "The Earth is survivable. We're not alone. Mom, he's dying. The knife's still in his chest."
Knowing that Jaha was there, Maggie could only imagine the question that was coming up inevitably. He'd want to talk to his son. The problem was— he was brutally stabbed in the neck by a twelve year old to avenge her parents.
—Oh, and she chopped off his fingers too. To be forthright, it wasn't the most glorious way to go out.
"Clarke—" Thelonious continued. "Is my son with you?"
The word's hit hard, despite knowing that they were coming from miles away. He didn't even die in honor or anything like that— his death was pitiful. Pathetic. He died because his father; Charlotte got the next best person.
"I'm so sorry. Wells is—" she paused, the words getting stuck in her throat on the way up. "Wells is dead."
Quietness filled on the other end, and that was enough to make Maggie bite the inside of her mouth, awaiting an answer from the chancellor. However, he never said another word, and the sympathetic girl couldn't imagine what he was feeling. It would only pain him more if he were to find out that Wells was killed in place of him.
"I'm gonna talk you through it, step by step," Abby's voice replied after a minute or so, making Clarke shuffle her way over towards the unconscious Finn. "Clarke— give five— to medical— medic—" the radio cut off, undoubtedly from the roaring storm that was passing them by. Maggie couldn't help but worry about Bellamy and the others that went out; hopefully they were able to find shelter.
"What?" the girl inquired impatiently, "Raven, what's wrong?"
"It's not the radio. It's the storm," she stated, unable to fix anything, quite frankly because nothing was actually broken. Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie watched as Octavia made her way in with two containers in hand.
"Monroe, close the doors," Clarke ordered, setting the cups onto a small table beside the stabbed boy.
The girl's eyeballs grew. "We still have people out there."
"Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet," Octavia chimed in, but they were smart. They'd make it back— Magnolia was positive. What is was they went out for was unknown, but that was of no importance at the moment. The knife needed to be removed from Finn's body. "Neither is Bellamy."
"Look— one suture needle," Raven handed it to Clarke as she sent a thankful smile in return. It was surprising how Clarke was holding up with the whole Finn-Raven mess. As far as Maggie knew, it was still a secret from her best friend.
"Right. I still need something to close the wound."
"There's some wire on the second level. I used it for the tents."
"Let's see it," Clarke nodded, knowing that was the closest thing to any proper medical supplies. It would've been nice if Raven brought down more medical supplies.
"Stay away from the blue wires that run through the ceiling. I rigged it to the solar cells in the roof. That means they're hot, you got that?" Raven's voice raised, instructing Octavia strictly as she climbed up the stairs to the second level of the drop ship.
"Yeah, I got that."
"Hey, they're back!" someone's voice shouted amongst the crowd, causing Maggie's eyes to shift towards the drop ship entrance. She almost made her way to Bellamy, who was soaked from head to toe, but the Grounder that was with Octavia was being carried— unconscious and blindfolded.
They placed the man on the floor of the drop ship harshly. "What the hell are you doing?" Octavia rushed forward, and Magnolia couldn't help but think the same thing. That Grounder hadn't done a thing wrong— at least that's what the Blake girl told them. Why would she lie?
"It's time to get some answers," Bellamy stated, but those weren't going to come easily. It was only imaginable what would be done to get them.
"Oh, you mean revenge?" Octavia shot back— she wasn't letting anything happen to him if she could help it. Maggie, or anyone for that matter, didn't know what had gone down between the two out there, but perhaps it wasn't as bad as Bellamy believed.
"I mean intel. Get him upstairs."
"Bellamy, she's right," Clarke stepped forward, siding with Octavia.
"Clarke, honey, we're ready," Abby's voice spoke through the radio, and Maggie noticed Bellamy's eyes widening upon realizing they had made contact with the Ark. Everything he did— turning on everyone to prohibit the delinquents from talking to them— it didn't matter. "Can you hear me?"
"Bellamy," Maggie chimed in as Clarke hurried back towards Finn. "Look, this is not who we are."
After a brief second of the two eyeing one another, Bellamy spoke. "It is now."
Arguing would do no good, so Magnolia accompanied Raven and Clarke as they awaited Abby's instructions.
"How is the knife positioned, Clarke?" her mom inquired as the girl paced back and forth.
"The blade is at a sharp, upward angle, between the sixth and seventh ribs."
"Okay, how deep?" Abby wondered, making the three look at the wound— there wasn't any way they could see how long the blade of the weapon actually was.
"We can't tell how deep it goes," Clarke answered as Maggie let out a small nod.
"That's alright, just don't remove the knife yet."
"Hey, here," Clarke handed Raven the container of moonshine, "Both of you, sterilize your hands." Removing her fingerless gloves, Reyes took a swig of the liquor before pouring a few ounces generously onto her hands.
"Here Nols," her best friend held out the moonshine, and Magnolia followed suit, sipping some of the strong whiskey and then distinfecting her dirty hands.
"Clarke, can you see any fluid?" Mrs. Griffin questioned, just as two of the delinquents began to scream and fight, causing a distraction.
"Damnit!" Clarke muttered, gesturing towards the two girls that stood across from her on the other side of the wounded boy. "Clear the room."
"Guys, for god's sake, can you shut the hell up?" Maggie shouted, causing a few of their focuses to shift towards her.
"Who's that?" Abby inquired, but the girl failed to notice.
"Maggie Gray, she's helping us," Clarke replied.
"Everyone! Upstairs, now! Let's go!" Raven added loudly, pounding her fist on her opposite hand. With that, people slowly began filing upstairs, but they were still causing noise.
"I'll take care of them," Magnolia placed a gentle, dampened hand (from the moonshine) onto Raven's bare shoulder. "Go, take care of Finn."
The girl sent Maggie a small smile, assuring her as she turned on her heels, listening to the information that Abby was spitting out at them.
"What, are you trying to decide who's the line-leader?" Maggie's impatience spoke out at the teenagers that weren't cooperating with her. "Just fuckin' go!" That was enough to snap them all out of their dazes and to go to the upper levels of the drop ship.
"Okay Clarke, firm grip on the knife," Abby continued as the girls listened closely, making sure to not miss a single word. "You're gonna need to angle it upward, and to the left. Very slightly to the left as it exits the rib cage."
"How very slightly?"
"Three milli— Clarke?" her voice broke up. The storm. If they lost connection with Doctor Griffin, they'd be left on their own to eyeball it. The chances weren't the best if that were the scenario.
"Wait, what was that? You dropped out," Clarke commented, fixing her sleeves so they weren't in her way.
"Clarke?" Abby's voice came through, this time much clearer. "Three millimeters, got it?"
"Yeah, I got it," she held her hands out, "Here goes."
"Steady hand Clarke. You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once that knife is out, the hard part is over."
The drop ship rumbled and shook as a result of the storm, making Maggie let out a deep breath. "Alright. Extracting now." Clarke placed her left hand firmly around the knife, and the other one was pressed against Finn's chest, keeping herself stable. Magnolia witnessed as an inch of the bloodied knife rose out of his abdomen, and her thoughts were disrupted when the painful screams from Finn made her jolt.
"He's waking up!" Raven exclaimed with worry as Finn's forehead creased in agony. Perfect timing.
"Guys, hold him still!" Clarke advised as the two others kept him in place. "Finn, I'm gonna get that knife out of you, okay?"
"Good plan," he managed to reply through clenched teeth.
"Finn, you can't move— you got it?" Clarke asked as his breaths quickened. Maggie's eyes flickered around the drop ship, soon settling on a small pile of wood. She grabbed one of the top pieces— a thick, sturdy piece of bark and ran back to the boy.
"You wanna bite down on this?" Magnolia suggested as Finn let out the tiniest nod. The wood was slipped in between his top and bottom teeth as he bit on it.
"Okay. Here it goes."
"Nice and slow, Clarke," her mother's voice suddenly chimed in, making Maggie ease up, her voice full of comfort, but still being of authority.
"Finn, do not move," Clarke repeated, but he couldn't really help that his heart was thumping out of his skin, and his chest was rising with each pained breath. "Almost got it. Hold still."
Raven and Maggie held the boy arthritically as the knife was being extracted. At the last second, a large bang caught everyone off-guard, sending them to the floor with all of the force.
"Clarke! Clarke. Clarke? What's happening? Can you hear us?" Mrs. Griffin's voice echoed, and as Maggie rubbed the back of her head, she noticed Clarke standing in the middle of the room— the knife in her hand. "Clarke?"
"It's out," Raven finally answered, and Magnolia couldn't help but smile. "She did it."
The three's faces all made their way towards Finn, who had his head held up, and had his hand placed on the knife's incision.
Magnolia, Raven, and Clarke were all quick to be of his aid, lifting his body fully off the floor and positioning Finn on the table again. The blonde grabbed the thread and suture needle from the table beside and began to sew up his wound.
"Okay, I'm done," she finally huffed after a few minutes of closing it up.
"Good. Do you have anything to cover the wound?"
"We'll make do. Like always," Clarke's expression softened as she wiped the grime off of her hands.
"Should he be this warm? Pale too?" Raven butted in, concern sweeping over.
"He's lost a lot of blood, Raven. But if your boyfriend's anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure he'll be fine," Abby explained, and Maggie couldn't help but cringe at the situation. But when Clarke and Raven glared at each other with a strange look, the Gray girl was curious if there was something that had happened that she was unaware of.
Clarke placed her hand at the top of his chest, and her eyes grew to the size of small planets upon noticing just how hot he was. "Wait Mom, she's right. He's feverish, and his breathing is uneven."
"You need to give him some time to recover. Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think— I think he might just be out of the woods."
"Well down here, there's nothing but woods," Clarke retorted, seemingly tired. "I need a break."
"Clarke? Clarke, wait," Abby insisted. "Raven, Maggie? Can you give us a few minutes?"
"Sure," Raven answered.
"Of course," Magnolia added.
"No, no. Stay with Finn," Clarke gestured towards the passed out teenager, and Maggie couldn't help but be bewildered at the girl's sudden mood change. Why wouldn't she want to talk to her mother, even for just a second?
The blonde left Maggie and Raven, and the mechanic made her way to the radio, taking notice of it being dead.
"Is something wrong?" Magnolia questioned the girl— she was curious as to why she still seemed on-edge, despite Finn being alright.
When Raven turned around, tears brimmed her eyes. "Did you know?"
"Did I know what?" Maggie questioned further, it taking a second for her to catch on. "Finn and Clarke."
With her arms falling to her sides dramatically, Raven's lip quivered at knowing that her best friend had kept such a thing from her. "Why would you do that, to me?"
"I didn't know!" Magnolia defended.
"—What do you mean?"
"I saw him flirting with Clarke often, so I pulled him aside and asked if you two were still dating. He said no! That you two were on good terms! So I believed him."
Raven soon sat down next to her sister figure, calming down at the revelation. "I would've told you, but I wanted—" Maggie continued.
"—To protect me," Raven nodded, an understanding smile pricking at her lips. "I know. I'm sorry it came out like that, I just—"
All of a sudden, Finn's body began to shake violently; he was convulsing. "Clarke, he's seizing!" Raven shouted through fresh tears. It didn't take long for her to rush down, worry seeping through her sweaty facial features.
"He was fine, and then—"
"Get my mother on the radio, now! Raven now!" Clarke yelled as she stood, frozen in place.
"The radio's dead!" Maggie huffed as the two gathered around the seizing boy.
"Inference from the storm," Raven explained as she came closer to his body. "Please don't let him die."
As Finn's seizure continued, all the three could do was watch as he suffered. Without Abby's assistance, or the necessary medical supplies, what were they to do to stop it?
"Okay. It stopped," Clarke acknowledged as white foamed at his mouth. "Quick, help me get him to his side." Magnolia attempted to do so, but at the angle she was at, she couldn't do so on her own. Raven wasn't helping— just standing there like a lost puppy. "Raven! There's fluid in his lungs. He could choke. Quick."
That was enough to spring her back into action as the three girls shifted him onto his right side. "Oh god, he's burning up!"
"Fluid in his lungs? Does that mean the knife hit something?" Raven guessed, her cluelessness around medical knowledge really showing itself off. But Maggie knew the basics— or at least enough to determine that this all meant something.
"No, this isn't blood— it's something else!" Clarke responded, using a cloth to wipe the foam from his lips. "I— I did everything she told me. I've seen this before. Shortness of breath. Fever. Seizing. It's poison."
"Clarke, you sterilized everything!" Raven exclaimed, but Magnolia was quick to pick up the knife with crimson coating it. "I watched you do it."
"Not everything," Clarke's eyes met Maggie's, and the two made their way up to the upper levels of the drop ship. "Stay here Raven."
The two made it to the second level, where a majority of the delinquents were. "They locked the hatch," Octavia sighed, but the two weren't going to give up that easily. Maggie was on the railing under Clarke, catching her breath as the Griffin girl knocked on it to grab their attention. What were they doing up there?
After a couple attempts at banging on the hatch, it lifted up, and the three girls made their way onto the third level of the drop ship. Maggie's heart sunk upon noticing what Bellamy had been doing. In reality, why was she surprised?
They were torturing the Grounder.
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