Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 95

Pike is putting Lincoln on display.

Pike knows they're watching. 

Ethan gasps for air, ragged in his chest, straight from exhausted pain to I'm about to have the fifth panic attack of the week the moment he witnesses Lincoln being forced to his knees.

Desperate, he cups his hands around his mouth, stumbling closer to the edge of the mountain. "Hey!" He has to stop this, but his voice doesn't make it far enough. "Hey!"

"Ethan." Harley warns, moving close enough to place an arm around the boy's front, tugging him back.

Ethan fights against him, shaking off the hold and tearing away to jab him in the chest, "You said-" He sucks in a breath, "you said we could go back for him." 

Feeling more useless than he ever has, Harley tightens his expression, lips parted but no excuse on the tongue.

They watch Ethan turn back around, "Pike!"

Kane glances around frantically, cautious for the consequence to Ethan's yelling. Eventually, he looks at Harley, and nods his head pointedly towards the blond risking their safety.

Grimacing, Harley clamps his palm over Ethan's mouth, forcefully dragging him back against his front. "Stop. It's over, Ethan." His voice shakes. "I'm sorry."

Half-conscious and aware enough to hear Ethan struggling, Octavia shoves herself off of the horse's saddle. She crawls desperately across the mud, bumping into Ethan and Harley when she finally stands.

Their eyes - one panicked, already bleary and the other, mournful - set on something below.

Lincoln's head turns.

As if he can see them from all the way down there.

Octavia shouldn't be seeing this. But nobody is stopping her. Why is nobody stopping her? Ethan tries to argue that past Harley's hand, but only gets a few quiet shush's in response.

Pike frees his gun -

A hot tear slides down Octavia's pale cheek.

Ethan claws uselessly at the arm holding him back.

- and lifts it to Lincoln's head.

The bullet punches its way through bone, echoing with a sickening bang that has Octavia collapsing into herself. 

Entirely unable to process the loss before her, begging that it was nothing more than a nightmare, she sobs out a single, desperate "no".

Ethan slumps bonelessly against Harley. His gut churns. Salty tears burn when they escape his eyes.

He thinks he may pass out.

Harley's shoulders fall, tired eyes slipping shut.

Beside them, Octavia's expression flattens into silent rage, resolution clear to see. She needed Pike dead. Could see clearly why Ethan was trying so hard for it to be his ending.

And it was going to happen by her hands.

Harley grunts, forced back a step to catch Ethan's full weight. Eyes wide, he quickly feels for his pulse and sighs his relief. 

It would seem his body had finally caught up with him.

When Ethan comes to, lying on the floor of another dark cave, curled up beside the fire, it's to Octavia's voice. 

"-the only thing that matters now is killing Pike."

Ethan blinks, blearily, "Octavia's right." He rasps. "Especially now."