Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 99

Raven always was the tech-savvy one. 

The only downfall is not knowing what the EMP she'd thought up could do to her head.

On Sinclair's orders, Monty and Octavia headed out to find an electromagnet - one not found sparingly. It was either the Ark, or the dropship. They decided quickly on the latter.

Ethan would've joined them if he wasn't concerned about Bellamy, Seria, and Niylah being in the same vicinity. He feels sick for not telling them in the first place and knows for a fact it'll only make Niylah's trust in them whither further if she finds out.

Raven's already managed to get inside everyone's heads. Scratch that, ALIE has. She injured Raven to get to them, but her attempt ended when Clarke threatened the second AI, a chip that was passed down from Commander to Commander.

Then she weaseled her way into Clarke's head, blaming her for Finn, for Lexa, for Wells, for her own Dad - the list went on.

Bellamy had to physically rip her away from Raven's vessel of a body.

"I let her get to me," Clarke whispers, lidded eyes watching Bellamy wrap a bandage around her wound. ALIE went to the extreme and bit her like a rabid dog.

Ethan glances over, sitting on the counter with Seria beside him despite Niylah's warning glare. "ALIE gets to everyone." He says, the tone of his voice leaving no room for question.

Bellamy finishes up and takes a step back, "Take a break. I'll see how Harley's doing, and let her beat me up for a while."

Watching him go, Ethan almost hopes he gets a bit of a beating. Perhaps it'd help clear his head, and turn him into the same guy people used to follow without question.

"Truth hurts, huh?" Jasper pipes up from the other side of the room. The candle's flame turns his face into sharp angles of shadow and light.

Clarke looks up, slowly, with a shudder of a breath. She stands up though and moves in front of him, ". . .I'm sorry."

Watching the interaction like it's a ticking time bomb, Ethan and Seria try their very best to sit still and blend into the counter. They'd made their own disturbances earlier by moving Niylah's arranged goods to sit their backsides, and decided it might be best to lay low for a bit.

Jasper looks put out of place by her apology, with wide eyes and parted lips. "What?"

"I never wanted to hurt Maya." Clarke's chin trembles and she shakes her head, "I never wanted any of this. . . I had to save our people."

Ethan blinks a few times and looks down at his fingers. If he was there, would he have done the same? To save Murphy? To save them?

"I was going to save everyone," Jasper replies shakily, tears gathered in his eyes.

Clarke stares at him for a moment, searching his eyes. And then, with more truth than he can handle, she admits, "I wish you could've."

Jasper doesn't know what to do with that. He steps back, "Shove your regret up your ass." And knocks into her as he goes.

Clarke lowers her head, her shoulders shaking.

So much of what she's done has been for them.

And Ethan can't just sit there and watch her get mistreated as though they wouldn't have done the same thing in her place. He's made a shit tonne of his own reckless decisions in the name of love, and though less fatal, it'd be unfair to label Clarke as something monstrous for making a choice that could've cost them everything.