this side of paradise [jasper jordan x fem! oc]

fog of war

its been two days since the breach, and today is the day i am being released from medical. jasper has spent the past two days by my side, majority of the time. i told him he didnt have to stay, but he said that he didnt have anything better to do, so we played cards, and read to each other as i stayed in medical puking my guts out. 

as im walking out of medical, i'm holding the box of things i have been gifted by the people of mount weather, for saving maya's life. as i walk down the hall, i am handed more stuff along the way, i smile at and thank everyone as best as possible. 

president wallace approaches me from the other side of the hall, "artemus. i hoped to catch you before you were discharged. i see im not the only person impressed by your courage." 

"yeah, but its honestly no big deal. i would have done it for any of my friends."

"i hope to believe thats true. can i walk with you?" the president asks, i nod and continue my walk to the elevator, he walks beside me. 

"after what happened to maya.. im sure it wont come as a surprise to you to learn... that were not entirely safe here. mount weather wasnt built to last this long. over time, trace amounts of radiation seep inside. the breach in the dorm is an extreme example. we have methods for dealing with this. but frankly, those methods pale compared to what we saw with you and maya." we approach the elevator as he pauses, 

"sir.. i- i dont think i can do that everyone, i mean im only one person." i chuckle awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to meet my love. 

"of course not, but if you could inspire your friends to follow your example.. imagine the difference you could make here." 

i nod, 

"anyway, i must be going now. thank you, artemus." he turns on his heel and walks down the hall. i press the up button on the elevator, and it doesnt take long for it to stop. the doors open, and on the other side, is the face of cage wallace. my body tenses as i step into the elevator. 

cage clears his throat, "i was hoping to catch you. i have your ipod, i added some radiohead, and a few new bands." 

i look back as he hands me the ipod, i smile, "thank you." 

the elevator dings and he steps out first, "by the way, im very inspired by your bravery." he winks at me, and walks towards the dining hall. 

i walked into the dorms to find my boyfriend reading a book on our bed. i walk up to him, and he stands up, "hey!" he pulls me into a hug. "hey jas" 

i pull away, "look, we can talk soon, but i have to take care of something real quick." 

"wha-"

"hey everyone, we need to talk!" everyone goes quiet and turns their attention to me, "president wallace approached me and asked me to gather a few volunteers to filter blood like i did, and if we  help them, think of the difference we could make here." no one says anything, but jasper catches onto what im saying, "guys, think about everything they've done for us. they gave us shelter, clean clothes, they kept us safe from the grounders..." no one seems to agree with us, "...miller? they saved your life." 

"dude, she puked for three days." miller stands by our bunk, "that was different. the standard treatment wouldnt be as bad." i try harder to convince them. 

miller shakes his head "and what? im only puking for one day? no, im out." 

"sorry guys, i'm out too." harper says, sitting beside monty on his bed. 

everybody starts going on doing their normal activities, and i sit on my bed, feeling absolutely defeated. "what are you doing? when did you two start working for them?" 

i call over to him "monty, we're not worki-" 

"you know what? never mind. now that she's better we're going after clarke." monty brushes me off. 

i hear foot steps approach and a "hey guys!", i turn to see maya, then get up and walk over to them. "artemus, im so glad to see your feeling better." i look down, and see maya holding a note pad, the page saying "act normal. they're listening!!!" 

"thanks maya. i am." i act casual. she flips the page, it says, "the breach wasn't an accident. follow me!"

"you look, uh, rested." i converse more, as both of the boys have gone quiet. 

"hey, its pizza day, heh. whose hungry?" mays spins around and walks out of the dorms, i grab jaspers hand, and we follow closely behind, with monty on my other side. 

we run down the halls, and she opens a cement door, then walks inside. i lead jasper into the room. 

"we dont have much time, but we can talk freely here." maya says, on the verge of tears. 

"maya, what is going on?" i ask, putting my hand on her arm. she starts to cry, "im sorry." 

"for what? what do you mean, it wasnt an accident?" jasper asks, leaning over my shoulder. 

"she means they exposed her to radiation on purpose. i'm betting it was to get you or jones to agree to be her blood brother." monty speaks harshly. 

maya looks at me and shakes her head, her tears spilling, i pull her into a brief hug. "why would they do that to you?" i ask as i pull away, "because the standard treatment sucks compared to you." 

"thats what dante said." i whisper. 

"whats the standard treatment?" monty asks, 

"maya points behind her, "through there"

we follow her to the back of the room, and i lift up the blind divider, jasper and monty doing the same. when i look through, i see rows and decks of grounders, locked in cages. i shiver at the sight, "oh my god. are those all grounders?" jasper sounds nervous, almost as if he's never seen so many grounders.

 "wait.. why are you showing us this?" monty asks suspiciously. 

"because im afraid" 

"of what?" i ask, my stomach curling.

"that your next" maya's voice cracks through tears.

"who else knows about this?"  

"everyone" maya answers, "nobody talks about it. we learn not to ask questions." 

we all go quiet, "look, without the treatments we die. what are we supposed to do?" 

"die" monty says, still looking in on the grounders, he pulls away, "we need to get out of here. dante said we could leave, right?" 

"he was lying." jasper scoffs, "he knew we'd be to scared to leave. just like he knew artemus would do what had to be done save maya."

"if clarke got out, we can too." 

"you'll never make it. ever since clarke disappeared, security all around the mountain has been increased."

"we have to try!" monty pushes again.

i sigh, "mont, we're not leaving. we cant leave the others behind, not if it means they end up in there. what would clarke do? remember?"

"what choice do we have?" he asks, 

i pipe up, "we volunteer. the longer they are focused on the blood, the more time we have to figure out a way out of here." 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

we had gotten harper, miller and a few others to volunteer, as well as jasper and monty. right now, i am sitting beside my boyfriends bed as the anesthesia starts to kick in. he holds my hand, keeping our fingers interlocked as he watches me read the book in front of me, "your so pretty" he says with a goofy giggle. i smile and look up from my book, "how high are you right now?" 

"i almost dont care that there is a six inch spike in my neck." 

i laugh and kiss his forehead, laying my head on his stomach, and slowly falling asleep, thinking of the struggles tomorrow could bring.