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

Episode 12 - Rubicon

Hours had slipped by in suffocating silence, and the dorm felt like a prison all on its own. Restless murmurs filled the room as anxious eyes darted from one grim face to another.

"We've been locked up for hours," a boy muttered, a sentiment echoed by everyone around him. Riley could see the exhaustion, the hopelessness setting in. Her own patience was frayed, but she forced a small smile, searching for something to hold on to.

"Apparently, Bellamy's here too," someone whispered. Riley's heart skipped. If Bellamy had made it inside the mountain, then Clarke must be out there, fighting, keeping her promise. That sliver of hope sparked something in her, a fragile ember she clung to.

"That means Clarke is alive," she said, her voice steady but soft. "We're going to be fine, everyone. It's just a matter of when."

Her words settled over the group like a warm blanket, though her own confidence wavered. They were trapped inside the heart of Mount Weather, and Riley knew too well how close they were to being drained, turned into nothing more than a resource. But right now, she had to be strong—for them.

Beside her, Monty leaned in toward Jasper, his brow furrowed. "It doesn't make sense," he whispered.

Jasper clenched his fists, eyes burning. "I know what I saw." His voice was barely more than a hiss, raw with determination and dread. Suddenly, the blaring wail of the alarm cut through the room, echoing off the walls. It was like a knife, slicing through the fragile calm.

"Oh, God, not again," Fox whispered, pressing herself against the wall.

The doors flew open, and guards marched in, faces obscured behind helmets, rifles raised and ready. Dr. Tsing strode in behind them with cold, mechanical precision. She scanned the room, her eyes like ice. Every inch of Riley recoiled at the sight of her—a woman so composed, so controlled, who could condone such horror without a hint of remorse. Riley's stomach twisted with a sick fury, but she bit her lip, staying silent.

The guards zeroed in on Harper, who was still recovering from her last "treatment." Tsing's voice cut through the room, cold and clinical. "No, not her. She needs time to recover." She turned her gaze to a boy with shaggy hair and a thin beard, her mouth curling into a slight, twisted smile. "This one."

The guards seized the boy, dragging him forward as he struggled, his pleas falling on deaf ears. Riley's heart pounded as she watched the terror spread across his face, knowing there was nothing he could do.

"Stop!" she shouted, her voice carrying across the room. Every head turned toward her, and Tsing raised an eyebrow, a spark of amusement dancing in her eyes. Riley took a shaky breath and stepped forward.

"You can't keep doing this to us," she said, her voice shaking but determined. "If we worked together—maybe we could find a solution. Something that doesn't involve... this."

The delinquents around her murmured in agreement, their eyes full of a desperate hope. Monty, Jasper, Harper—all of them looked at her with a mixture of admiration and doubt, uncertain but clinging to the thread she'd cast out. Riley's pulse hammered in her ears as Tsing took a step toward her, the woman's eyes narrowing.

"President Wallace promised we could leave," Riley said, forcing herself to stand tall. She looked Tsing dead in the eye, hoping to show no sign of fear, no hint of the way her hands were trembling at her sides.

Tsing's face hardened, and she spoke with a chilling calm. "President Wallace is no longer in command," she replied, her voice like a knife. "He had to step down for... health reasons."

Riley scoffed, anger flickering through her. Health reasons? She could see the lie in Tsing's eyes. Wallace had been usurped—she could feel it. Cage and Tsing were running things now, steering the mountain into even darker waters.