nepenthe

Chapter 7

          The next morning before the sun had fully risen, Katherine convinced herself to go see Jasper. His painful moans of agony were heard all through the night. With that and the irritated complaints shouted back, it was a miracle she slept at all. Sliding on a change of clothes and her boots, she left for the drop ship. She entered and climbed up the ladder to the second floor where he was. Jasper laid bundled up in a pile of blankets. Katherine's heart ached. As of two days ago, Jasper looked bright and cheerful like his usual self. Now, his pale skin was clammy and dull, even more than before.

         Monty sat slouched over a dismantled wristband, meticulously working. Clarke sat beside Jasper examining him. Katherine walked over beside her and sat. "Hey," she said lowly. Clarke stayed concentrated on counting Jasper's pulse, holding her watch in one hand and his wrist in the other. "His pulse is thready," she sighed. Realizing Katherine had spoken to her, she lightly smiled. "Hey." Once again, the boy let out a groan. A disgusted remark sounded from below them. "Don't listen to them. You're gonna make it through this, okay? Promise," The blonde consulted, stroking Jasper's sweaty forehead. "Hell yeah he will," Katherine smiled, ruffling his matted hair.

            As another insult entered her ears, Katherine scoffed. "I'm gonna get clean water. Keep an eye on him," Clarke said, standing and climbing down the ladder. Monty crawled over to his best friends, resting a hand on Jasper's shoulder. Katherine leaned her head on Monty's shoulder, looking down. "Fuck, Monts. What are we gonna do?," she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. She had suppressed her fear but now as she saw how terrible Jasper looked; it seemed to tumble out. "I don't know", Monty answered simply, putting an arm around her shoulder. He was right, there was no way to know what to do. Especially with Jasper's life hanging in the balance. Katherine's stifled sobs filled the room, mixed with Jaspers whimpers. Monty held his best friends as everything felt as if it had fallen apart.

            Sometime later, Clarke returned and continued to examine Jasper's wound. "The Grounders cauterized the wound. Saved his life." Clarke muttered with confusion. "Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait." Finn walked to a corner. "Garden of Eden this ain't," he crossed his arms. "This is infected. He could be septic," Clarke continued. Monty looked up from his work and locked concerned eyes with Katherine. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" Clarke asked Monty, his eyes locked on Katherine. "Monty?" Clarke said, more insistent. Monty looked at her, defeated. "That would be a firm no," he replied. "Dammit," Katherine cursed. "My mother would know what to do," Clarke looked back at the frail boy.

          "How's he doing?" Wells crouched behind Clarke, attempting to lighten the mood. "How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" Clarke snapped, clearly tired and frustrated. "Hey, I'm just trying to help," Wells said, the room filled with tension. As Clarke felt around his wound, Jasper winced. "Alright. You wanna help?" Clarke asked, still bothered by Wells' presence. "Hold him down," she instructed. Wells moved to push down Jasper's legs whilst Finn did the same with his arms. Katherine moved to his head and held it firmly still.

           Clarke held a pocket knife into a makeshift candle until the blade heated up. Knowing what she was about to do, Katherine didn't bother to look away. After all that she had seen, blood and gore failed to faze her. Monty on the other hand, gulped and assumed, "I'm not gonna like this, am I?" "Neither will he," Katherine breathed out, looking down sadly at Jasper. Swiftly, Clarke pressed the hot blade to the wound. Jasper's body was held down through his agonizing wail, loud enough to be heard through the whole camp. "Hold him still. I need to cut away the infected flesh," Clarke said. Jasper's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he seemed to pass out. "Clarke?" Katherine uttered as she stared, increasingly worried. Clarke held a hand to the boys pulse. A set of clanks came from the ladder. "Stop it! You're killing him!" Octavia bolted up, instantly sitting beside Jasper. "She's trying to save his life," Finn disagreed.