Book 1: We are grounders - The 100 (Raven Reyes x reader)

Episode 10 - I am become death

The night before, the sky had been lit up by a fiery descent—the exodus ship, the very one meant to carry Abby and Marcus safely to the ground, had crashed. A symbol of hope, now twisted metal and broken dreams. The wreckage was everywhere, strewn across the clearing like a violent reminder of their fragile existence. Clarke was a mess, her face streaked with tears and dirt, her grief overwhelming, while Bellamy stood beside her, silent but steady. Riley, torn between her own sorrow and the need to support Clarke, had stayed close, lost in the void of what could have been. She had been waiting for this—finally seeing her dad after over a year of separation. Now that hope was shattered.

The next morning, with the cold light of dawn creeping over the horizon, Riley wandered near the crash site, her boots crunching over scorched earth and shards of twisted metal. She moved like a ghost, her expression hollow. The bodies scattered across the scene were barely recognizable—charred, mangled, some reduced to mere fragments of what they once were. It wasn't just debris. It was devastation.

Raven, ever-focused, sifted through the wreckage, methodically looking for anything salvageable. Riley approached her slowly, her eyes drifting over Raven's work as she stepped around jagged scraps of metal and twisted limbs. Clarke stood a short distance away, frozen in her search for answers, her mind racing, yet her body exhausted. Riley moved beside her, placing a hand on her back, a small, silent offering of comfort amidst the chaos.

"Clarke shouldn't be out here," Finn commented, breaking the silence with a voice edged in concern.

Raven didn't even look up. "Riley shouldn't either, but their parents were on that ship. Clarke's looking for answers. Do you want to help? Find me the black box, hard drives, anything that might explain why this ship crashed," she said, her eyes darting to a piece of scorched electronics before continuing her search.

Finn's gaze stayed locked on Clarke, his expression conflicted. But Clarke was somewhere far away, staring at the remains of a body burnt down to the skeleton, a haunting silhouette barely held together, as if a gust of wind could turn it to dust. The sight hit her like a punch to the gut.

Bellamy's voice cut through the heavy air, firm and full of warning. "Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming—just a matter of when." His rifle rested ready in his hands, every muscle in his body tense.

Finn's frustration bubbled to the surface. "Can you blame them?" he snapped, his tone bitter. The anger was palpable—he believed the crash and the looming danger could've been avoided if not for Jasper and Riley's decision to shoot.

Bellamy turned on him, his voice low but heated. "No. I blame you."

Finn coughed, his temper flaring. "Maybe if you hadn't brought guns—"

Raven cut in sharply, "If we didn't bring guns, we'd all be dead," she said, throwing a glance at Finn that could have sliced through steel.

Finn turned his head, but there was nothing left to say. Riley had been crouching by another body, inspecting the gruesome remains with a hardened expression. She rose slowly, brushing dirt from her hands, and looked between them. "Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. We just have to be ready when they do. We're on our own," she said, her voice steady but heavy with resignation.

As Riley glanced over to Clarke, she noticed her poking around the ship's wreckage where a strange, oily liquid trickled down the metal, pooling at her feet. The smell hit Clarke first, her face scrunching in disgust. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.

Raven saw it too. Her eyes widened, and she bolted towards Clarke. "Clarke, stop!" she yelled, her voice cutting through the stillness like a whip. She skidded to a stop next to Clarke, eyes glued to the substance.