Saviors ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥

115. ꕥ Life And Death

All of the sick Grounders were going to die.

Abby had returned with the devastating news that Raven denied her the delactivene. Even after Abby had asked for only one dose for the child, Raven still refused to give the medicine, so the Grounders were going to die.

I didn't think it was possible, but the atmosphere in Medical had gotten more upsetting, knowing that all these people were going to die today. It was only Abby, Jackson, and I that knew, the older of us deciding that we didn't need to put more devastation on them by telling them. Sitting next to Abby, I watched her, the older woman having her head in her hands, sighing in dismay.

"Abby, we're doing everything we can to help them. You can't beat yourself up for something you can't control." I placed a comforting hand on Abby's knee, attempting to give assurance. 

"I could be doing more." Abby replied, lifting her head from her hands to look at me. Her eyes were tired and more pained than ever; her whole facade showed how drained she really was. "I could've gotten them that medicine."

"Raven's the head of rationing. She's not going to allow it. You've done everything you can." I rehearsed, a frown tugging at my lips as Abby returned to her previous position, resulting in me removing my hand from her knee. I hated feeling helpless when I knew there was a possible way to make the situation better.

The sound of approaching footsteps and pills rattling in a bottle had my head turning to the door to see my brother walking through. Even though I had told John he needed to come back at some point, I would have never expected it to be this soon. But here he was, a backpack around his shoulder and a pill bottle in his hand. Now a smile twitched at my lips, looking at him as I stood up, observing him as he walked up behind Abby after passing me a look.

"You looking for these?" He asked, holding out the pill bottle in front of Abby.

She turned, examining the bottle for a few seconds before looking up at John, taking the pills from his hand as she stood up. "Where did you g—" she paused as Jackson joined us. "Never mind."

"I didn't know how many you needed, so I took it all." John said, the smile on my face growing into one of recognition — this was very similar to when our Father stole medicine to save us. This was the silver lining we needed, and it came from my brother, and it had my smile directing itself at Abby. "What are you waiting for? Go. Be doctors."

"Give it to the child first, and if it works, you give it to the others." Abby handed the pill bottle off to Jackson, who wasted no time moving to do as told. With the smile still plastered on my face, I looked back to my brother as Abby said, "I'm glad you're back, John. I was worried about you."

"Thanks." John nodded, a small smile tugging his lips up as Abby walked away, leaving the two of us. While John watched her go, I kept my eyes on him, still standing in amazement that quickly evolved into proudness at his courageous gesture. When he finally looked back at me, the accomplished look he once wore slipped away. "Hey."

"'Hey'? That's all I get?" I chuckled quietly, turning to face him.

"What did you want? Some grand gesture with Miller announcing my presence?" He remarked, a laugh only escaping his lips when one escaped mine.

"Nah. Miller wouldn't do that for you. He'd rather you shoot him in the leg." I retorted, my eyes cast down, leaving room for him to laugh before my eyes went back up to him, slight seriousness taking over my features. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

"Yeah, neither did I. But Emori and I needed some stuff." He nodded towards his backpack, skepticism coming over his face when a look of realization flashed across mine. "You're not gonna tell Raven, are you?"