Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 110

"How-?" Emori's voice shakily drifts into hearing distance, and the two of them pull apart to see her frowning at her hands. Her eyes snap up, wide, and a bit red. "I'm sorry." She whispers, before barreling into them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't-"

They hold her close, not entirely sure how to react. Ethan's brows knit together at the tremble in her embrace. "Emori." He pulls back to look her in the eyes, "Nothing you did was you. I promise. Right?" He looks at Murphy.

Murphy nods, holding a firm hand on Emori's shoulder.

"I- I remember it. . ." Emori whispers an answer to their shared glance. "All of it."

Remembering the things you did to friends and family, to the innocent with your own bare hands. It would haunt you.

"Emori!"

Three heads swivel across the room of swaying bodies, and land on Otan of all people. After all her searching, he ended up here. Air is forced out of her lungs in a surprised exhale and her eyes lose the stressed crinkle in the corners.

"Otan!" She swivels from their grip and jumps over unconscious bodies in order to get to her brother.

Ethan's shoulders slump in relief. At the reminder of siblings, he glances over the crowd for the Blake's. Last time he saw them, they were getting brought down by different people.

Kane is being comforted by Abby, Miller is helping a wounded Bryan into a chair, and Clarke is holding a serious conversation with Bellamy.

Pike is standing in front of Octavia.

Ethan holds his breath. 

His heart skips an erratic beat. His focus singles onto them and only them, the room fazing out into silence.

He barely reacts when she slides her sword through his middle, one of the only few not to gasp in shock when Pike drops to the ground.

But the pain of being tortured and contained, the pain of losing Lincoln, the pain of three hundred murdered grounders. . . none of it goes away when Ethan spots the final rise of Pike's chest.

Octavia looks up, blankly. Her eyes pass over Ethan, and Ethan only, before she exits the room.

It's done. But Ethan's chest is still tight.

He takes a step back and stumbles, right into Murphy's chest. 

"Breathe," Murphy says quietly, reaching a hand around to splay it across his ribs. "It's over." He's warm, like sitting beside a campfire, and Ethan leans further into him.

A body blocks the ray of sun peaking through the curtains, "Ethan-"

"Don't." Ethan shoots Lorelai down immediately, "I-" He holds up a finger, then closes his eyes. His face hurts. "No. I can't deal with you."

Surprisingly, she leaves.

Fuck. How long has it been since he's seen his mother? Heard her voice? At some point in ALIE's basement, or maybe it was in the cave, he remembers wanting her. Begging for his mother's company. But not the one he has now. The one he remembers when he was young.

She's gone now, and will always be gone. Perhaps she wasn't there in the first place.

Clarke clears her throat, gaining their attention. And Ethan's churning gut threatens to make him neausious when she tells them.

It's not over.

The reason Clarke didn't look victorious is because they didn't win.

Decaying nuclear plants made to last a hundred years are breaking down. And just like the radiation that kicked them out into space, it's going to burn them all. Sky people and grounders alike.