Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 40

The acting Chancellor, Abby Griffin, finds herself storming across Camp Jaha's courtyard to approach Raven, clearly knowing something she didn't want to know if the look on her face was anything to go by.

Raven was just trying to enjoy her drink. Keyword: Trying. 

Abby slams a note down on the barrel being used as a table and crosses her arms.

"Did you know about this?"

Raven glances at it.

- Mum, I hope you understand we had to do this.

The upper half of the note says, Clarke's name scribbled next to it, and underneath, in messier handwriting known to be Ethan's,
                                                                                  - Sorry, Mum.

"No." Shit, Raven thinks, cursing the two of them for leaving evidence behind.

But she's calm when she looks back up, watching Abby sit in the chair across from her.

"Sure, take a seat."

"Tell me where they went and you won't be in trouble," Abby demands.

"Listen, I-"

"Someone," Abby stands abruptly, chair scooting back with a screech to tower over the girl, "got them through the fence. Someone gave them guns."

Raven clears her throat, "I don't know what you're talk-"

No one expected this from Abby, the Chancellor, Clarke's mother. The leader that was supposed to be better than them. She didn't seem the physical kind, but in front of their very eyes, bystanders are there to witness Abby slapping Raven hard across the face.

Raven swallows, her head snapped to the side. She tilts her head to meet eyes with Abby and stares in shock, the tears already threatening to gather.

And with a deep breath, Abby realises what she had done. She slowly sits back down, head in her hands. 

"Woah, Abby? What's going on?" Of course, it's at this moment that Lorelai, Ethan's mother, chooses to join them. Her eyes are wide in surprise, but not pity. She barely looks at Raven.

Wordlessly, Abby slides the note across the table towards her.

Sitting down without permission beside Raven, Lorelai frowns, fingers dragging the paper towards her. Her eyes skim, quickly, then go over it again.

The angry lines between her brows worsen, "That little-" She huffs out a breath and looks up calmly, "Rest assured he will be grounded when he gets back. This is unbelievable."

But Abby is barely listening, tracing the cracks in the barrel with glazed eyes and Raven can only wish she was in the mood to scoff at Lorelai's words. To anyone else, it'd sound like she was talking about a young child, not a full-fledged teenager.

Raven buries her own emotions to slide the moonshine over the table to Abby.

"She thinks that because of what she's been through, she's changed." Abby's lips tremble, "But she's still just a kid." She glances at Lorelai, "They all are."

"The last time I saw Ethan he was willing to follow every order under the sun. Now he's stubborn." Lorelai grumbles. "It must've been those blasted kids he was sent down with."

Despite her worries, Lorelai doesn't doubt he'll be back, if it's stubbornness he's grown to have. Stubborn people are often the hardest to kick down.

Willing to hold back on the Ethan slander for now - about how he was probably worse than those blasted kids, in Raven's eyes - she shakes her head, and for the first time, she defends him, on top of Clarke.

"You're wrong," Raven says, with a crease between her brow. "Both of you."

Then, voice heavy, "They stopped being kids the day you sent them down here to die."

...

"Which way to the village, O.?"

Ethan kneels on the wet grass, taking a break and sliding his bag off his shoulder. His arm aches, and he finds himself losing breath quicker with the pain.

He glances up at the large statue down the hill, the other three standing tall behind him. The stone is covered in moss and surrounded completely by trees, birds taking refuge on its head.

It's a priceless sight.

"O.?"

Ethan finally turns.

Octavia's face is screwed up tight. Lips trembling, she points at the statue, "The Reapers came from that way. . . I couldn't stop them." She whispers, the sword slipping from her fingers like it weighed a ton. Tears escape, slipping down her face as soon as Bellamy pulls her around, "I couldn't save him, Bell."

She collapses into her brother's arms, crying like she'd never cried before.

"It's okay." Bellamy whispers, a hand against the back of her head. "It's okay."

Ethan's heart shatters a little more.

The gunfire breaks off their unfinished condolences. With no choice in the matter, they run towards it, not away. Coming and going in bursts, every shot causes panic to flare in Ethan. Finn and Murphy are the only ones armed, he knows that and he runs ahead of the other three without meaning to, twin blades fastened to his belt.

He pushes through to the edge of the forest, eyes landing on Finn, flinching back when the gun jolts towards him. Then he sees Murphy behind the brunette, grabbing desperately at his jumper to stop him, yanking him back from the. . .

the massacre.

The floor feels like it's dropped out from underneath Ethan. Innocent grounders, innocent children, dead by the hands of Finn Collins. He staggers a step back, a hand clasped over his parted lips. 

Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia circle around him to take it in, stopping simultaneously. It hits them all at once. Varying levels of shock and horror.

Ethan uses the closest tree to steady himself. 

He can hear the cries of mother's who've lost their sons, daughters who've lost their fathers - the list goes on. Ethan can't go down there. But he watches Clarke, her chest rising and falling quickly the moment she looks at Finn.

"I found you." Finn whispers, the look on his face can only be described as insane.

Clarke shakes her head, jerking a step back. His eyes burn against hers.

Murphy's shoulders are slumped, his face void of colour when he meets Ethan by the treeline. He looks out across the village, eyes hooded, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Murphy. . ." Ethan's struggles to find his words, lips parted. He looks down at the massacre, wide-eyed. "Did you-?"

"No," Murphy realises what he's asking, "No." He repeats, firmly, turning his body to face him head-on. "I tried to stop him. I swear."

He'd yelled out Finn's name, begged for him to stop. Begged for them to leave while they still could.

"Okay," Ethan nods, meeting desperate eyes.

Murphy continues as though he hadn't heard him, shaking hands releasing the gun.

It hasn't been fired, not like Finn's.

"He wanted revenge on the village. The grounder we took." He clarifies, "But Finn couldn't see that when he found the jackets."

"Okay." Ethan nods, more firmly. He believes him.

"There were kids. They were just-" Murphy looks sick, breathing hard, "They were just trying to get away."

Ethan takes a shaky breath. There are small, unmoving bodies among the rest, he knows but he won't look. He can't.

Murphy turns around, ducks behind the closest tree in silence.

Ethan hears him dry-heaving.

He feels dizzy.