𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓/𝟏.𝟔.
☆ ACID FOG ☆
"𝓓𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼."

☆꧁*꧂☆

   JASPER'S PAINFUL MOANS echoed through the thick walls of the drop ship. His whines were irritating teenagers outside who couldn't rest properly since his loud groans full of ache were keeping them all restless, unable to fall asleep because of the noise. Allaia was crouching next to the injured boy, using a watch to admeasure seconds in order to establish his pulse.

"His pulse is thready." She muttered to herself.

"Shut that kid up." Someone yelled, annoyed, when Jasper's cries even intensified.

"Quiet!" Another voice hissed.

"Don't listen to them." Allaia leaned over him, whispering tenderly. "You're gonna make it through this, okay?" She caressed his hair gently. "I promise."

"Would you just die already?" The other guy shouted, clearly pissed off.

   Allaia sighed heavily, tired of lack of compassion and sympathy from criminals towards wounded Jasper. The gazes of Allaia and Monty, who was sitting on the other side of the room, working on something, have met.

"I'm gonna get clean water. Keep an eye on him, okay?" She asked Monty and he nodded sadly.

   Despite the injuries on her right thigh caused by the river monster from yesterday, Allaia climbed down the ladder rather quickly. Earlier, she cleansed the wound and changed a dressing. Her gashes were healing already and didn't hurt as much as before. 

   She exited the drop ship and before she could pour some fresh water into the container, she heard a childlike shriek which immediately caught her attention. It sounded like the voice belonged to a little girl. Without hesitation, she followed small whimpers of pain, and found a young girl, just like she had suspected. The child was jerking around violently; her face of delicate features was contorted in distress.

"Hey, wake up." Allaia spoke in a gentle tone.

   Carefully, Allaia reached for the girl, softly placing a hand on her shoulder. She woke up with an erratic gasp, sitting upright. Her breathing was uneven as she stared widely at concerned Allaia.

"It's okay. It's okay." She soothed quietly, trying to comfort the child. "It was just a dream."

   The small girl hugged her knees tightly, rocking back and in front.

"What's your name?" Allaia attempted to distract her attention by asking a simple question.

"I'm Charlotte." She whispered.

"Hi, Lottie. I'm Allaia." She introduced herself. "It's okay to be scared, you know? Do you wanna talk about it?" She sat next to Charlotte, smiling slightly.

"It's... my parents." Charlotte sobbed sadly. "They were floated and I... And I see it in my dreams and I just-"

"Yeah, I understand." Allaia replied, nodding slightly. "My mom was floated too, but... I was much younger than you and I don't remember it. I don't even remember how she looked like." She told Charlotte, sadness gleaming in her irises. "So how'd you end up here, huh?" Allaia asked with a soft voice, looking at Lottie curiously.

"Em... They were taking my parents' things to the Redistribution Center and... I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard." Charlotte responded sorrowfully.

"I can't say I blame you." Allaia mumbled, shrugging.

   Unintentionally, her thoughts wandered to the guard, whose harm towards her left an agonizing mark on her psyche. Alle quickly snapped out of it, not wanting to bring back bad memories. Earth was her chance to finally obliviate all the flashbacks of her painful past, and focus on the future. Allaia wasn't going to waste that opportunity and let it haunt her along the way.

"What'd you do to end up here, Allaia?" Charlotte asked with a timid voice.

Allaia smiled sadly.

"I was born, Lottie." She fulfilled the girl's curiosity with sorrow shimmering in her eyes. "As a second child."

"You have a sibling?" Charlotte lightened up. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, it is." Allaia laughed quietly, smiling at the memory of her and Finn, reuniting after all these years.

Both girls stayed silent for a few seconds, immersed in their own thoughts.

"You see that bright star up there?" Allaia pointed at the sky. "That's the Ark, orbiting above us. Their rules... Their weren't fair, but I think... whatever happened up there... you know, the pain... Maybe we can move past that now and forget about all the bad things that remind us of that place. Like... maybe being on the ground is our second chance. Our chance to finally live without those stupid rules and do better down here, on Earth."

"Do you really believe that?" Charlotte implied shyly.

"I'm trying to." Allaia said.

   She placed her head on Lottie's shoulder reassuringly, looking at the sky and the stars shining above them.

☆꧁*꧂☆

   BELLAMY AND MURPHY were practicing throwing knives. While Bellamy's toss of an axe easily resulted in it sticking against the trunk stably, Murphy was struggling; his blade only managed to hit a tree and pathetically fall to the ground afterwards.

"It's that damn kid. Always messing with my head." Murphy blamed Jasper's groans of his lack of skill, outraged.

"He's not gonna last much longer. Better think of a new excuse." Bellamy rolled his eyes.

Bellamy threw his axe and it impaled itself onto the tree. "That's how it's done."

Then, Atom and Jones emerged from the trees, approaching the two.

"We searched a half mile, all directions. No signs of Trina or Pascal." Atom reported.

"Visit your special tree when you were out there?" Murphy taunted mockingly. "You're lucky you didn't kiss Allaia. If that was the case, Bellamy'd leave you hanging there way longer than for just one night." He sneered, chuckling.

"Atom took his punishment. Let it go." Bellamy demanded in a stern voice.

"It could be Grounders." Atom prompted.

"Yeah, or they could be in Pound Town" Murphy snickered. "Lot of that going around recently."

   Bellamy approached the trunk and grabbed the axe himself. He noticed Octavia standing near, pouring water from the bucket. His gaze shifted to Atom who also spotted his sister. Bellamy carefully observed his reaction, and very much to Bellamy's approval, Atom obediently looked away from Octavia and faced him.

"Look, Bellamy, people are scared. And that dying kid, he's not helping the morale around here." Atom avowed.

"Morale will go up when I find them food." Bellamy affirmed.

"And what do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal?" Jones asked.

"Now? Nothing. It's possible they're just lost. We'll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting." Bellamy declared.

"Let's go kill something." Murphy looked towards the drop ship where Jasper's moaning was coming from.

"You're not going." Bellamy stated, stopping him. "I need you to stay here. If Grounders are circling, I can't leave this place unprotected."

"Fine." Murphy reluctantly agreed. "But somebody better tell Goggle Boy to keep it shut."

☆꧁*꧂☆

"THE GROUNDERS CAUTERIZED the wound." Allaia announced, carefully examining the wound on Jasper's chest. He was still groaning painfully, making everyone uneasy and irritated. "Saved his life."

"Saved his life so they could string him up as a bait." Finn replied sassily. "Garden of Eden this ain't."

"This is infected." Allaia pointed out. "He could be septic."

"Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" Clarke asked Monty who was watching Jasper with misery. "Monty?" She implied impatiently after realizing he wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

"That would be a firm no." Monty responded dryly.

Allaia sighed heavily, staring at Jasper with concern.

"How's he doing?" Wells asked, climbing the ladder and entering the upper level of the drop ship.

"How does it look like he's doing?" Clarke snapped with annoyed tone.

"Just trying to help." Wells defended himself.

"Alright, you wanna help?" Allaia spoke suddenly, tearing her glimpse away from Jasper's face contorted in ache. "Hold him down, please."

   Wells and Finn firmly held down Jasper's limbs, keeping him in place. Allaia gripped a blade and put it into the fire inflamed near to heat it up. She did it with a heavy heart, knowing how agonizing pain it would cause to poor Jasper who'd already suffered enough.

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Monty blurted with fear.

"That would be a firm no." Allaia repeated Clarke's previous words in a muffled voice.

   Allaia removed the blade from the sparkling flame. Its metal tip was glowing with burning red as she quickly placed the knife on Jasper's chest and began to cut at the injury.

☆꧁*꧂☆

   OCTAVIA STORMED INTO Bellamy's tent with furious expression on her face. Her brother was discussing tactics with Murphy, drawing a diagram in a dirt with a stick.

"What did you do to Atom?" She hissed, enraged.

   Bellamy glanced at Murphy and nodded his head towards the exit of the tent, gesturing him to leave. He waited until he was gone to start the conversation.

"Atom's fine." He shrugged.

"Then why did he blow me off?" She inquired bitterly, obviously aware that he had something to do with Atom's strange behavior.

Bellamy had to fight a smirk. "Maybe he's just not interested."

"You can't keep everyone away from me." Octavia protested angrily.

"Atom had to learn. Disobey me, pay the price." His voice was firm. "He paid the price. Now we're good."

"Now I'm paying the price." She snapped. "So next time you decide to go on a power trip, leave me out of it."

   Then, Jasper released yet the most painful moan which ended their argument, causing both of them to run towards the drop ship.

☆꧁*꧂☆

"HOLD HIM STILL!" Allaia yelled.

   Half-conscious Jasper was screaming painfully. He was squirming terribly, hindering Alle from doing her job. Finn glanced at Allaia with concern, wondering how his sister could remain this calm in such a stressful situation. Monty quickly approached and held Jasper as well, trying to keep him unmoving.

"I need to cut away the infected flesh." Alle claimed.

   Jasper passed out, tilting his head aside unconsciously as Octavia and Bellamy climbed up the ladder. Allaia quickly checked Jasper's pulse in distress, breathing in relief when she sensed it.

"Stop it. You're killing him." Octavia accused her as kneeled beside Allaia.

"Allaia is trying to save his life." Finn defended his sister.

"She can't." Bellamy stated confidently.

"Back off." Wells spat and stood up, facing Bellamy with gritted teeth.

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die." Clarke hissed, sending Bellamy a heated glare.

"Kid's a goner." Bellamy deadpanned, pointing at Jasper. "If you can't see that, you're deluded. He's making people crazy."

"Sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Ark. Down here every life matters." Allaia snapped.

"Take a look at him, Allaia." Bellamy insisted. "He's a lost cause."

"I don't mean to brag, Bellamy, but I am basically a training doctor. And do you happen to have any medical experience since you're acting like such a pro? Didn't think so." She grunted when he didn't respond. "Tavy, Clarke's mother has been training me for two years. And before I was assigned to practice, Abby helped me prepare to pass all the exams which means I know some things. If I say there's hope, there's hope." She promised.

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts, love." Bellamy stated. "You don't have the guts to make the hard choices, angel. I do."

"Could you be so fucking kind and stop undermining my abilities?" Allaia demanded angrily. "This isn't about guts, either, Bellamy. It's about facts. I know I can save him. And you really insult me by doubting that." Allaia emphasized.

   Bellamy clenched his jaw, quite mad with himself. He never intended to offend Allaia. It's just came out accidentally when he was trying to prove his point. Their fight was draining energy of Bellamy. He wanted to be on good terms with Allaia, yet he always miraculously managed to piss her off with his actions and take a step back in their barely existing relationship.

"He's been like this for three days." Bellamy prompted.

"It takes some time to heal, especially without any medicine, you idiot." Allaia interrupted, annoyance leaking out of her voice.

"If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." Bellamy announced.

   Although his voice was strong and certain, he uttered those words with a heavy heart. And a glimpse full of hatred which Allaia sent him made him feel even worse.

"Octavia, let's go." Bellamy called.

"I'm staying here." She decided.

Bellamy nodded and climbed down the ladder, exiting the drop ship.

"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass." Monty muttered angrily. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself. No offence." He added, when he saw Octavia's sour look.

"Yeah. Bellamy is all that." Finn confirmed. "But he also happens to be right." He carefully glimpsed at his sister whose head snapped in his direction, sending him a disappointed glance.

"I need some air. Keep an eye on him, please." Allaia exhaled and quickly exited the drop ship.

   It pained her that everyone seemed to question her capability of rescuing Jasper. Maybe they didn't exactly doubt her skills, but they certainly believed it was impossible to save him, considering his serious condition. Allaia was determined to help him get through this. Abby taught her not to give up on people; even when it appeared they couldn't be saved because of their life-threatening state. Abby always told her not to be fooled by the definition of impossible and search for ways to save the patient no matter what. Allaia knew it was her duty to protect lives as a training doctor. She wasn't going to abandon that obligation because of the lack of everyone's faith.

   Allaia was immensely overwhelmed by everything that had happened over the last few days. Rest was foreign to her since she was always needed somewhere. Her eyelids were heavy and her whole body was drained of energy, though she didn't feel like falling asleep. Allaia feared that her nightmares would haunt her in her dreams which would exhaust her even more. She often dreamt about the guard who kept beating her up and harassing her on the Ark all over again. His evil face frightened her and obsessed her in her nightmares almost every night, keeping her awake and dragged out.

   Bellamy swiftly noticed Allaia standing nearby. A tired expression on her face and the fatigue glimmering in her eyes concerned him. He quickly made his way towards her, wanting to apologize her for his previous words and make sure she was alright.

"Hey, angel. What's up?"

She only glared at him.

Bellamy pursed his lips anxiously, unsure how to approach her.

"Look... I'm sorry, okay? I acted like an asshole."

"At least we can agree on that one." Allaia mumbled.

"It's just..." He continued. "People can't stand his moaning anymore. I'd had to do something, otherwise they would've rebelled. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings doing so." He looked at her genuinely, placing his hand on her shoulder and caressing it gently.

"This isn't about my feelings, Bellamy. It's about someone's life. Quite sad you don't give a shit about that. Your crown's much more important, right?" She scoffed, crossing her arms on her chest. His touch burnt her like a living fire.

   Bellamy clenched his jaw. Her perception of him was making him downcast.

"I don't want you to see me as a bad guy, love." He whispered, putting a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, angel."

"Fine, I forgive you." Allaia sighed. "But the next time you pull off shit like that, I won't let it go this easily. Besides, I'm too tired to argue with you." She admitted.

"Yeah, you look really pale, sweetheart." Bellamy stated worriedly. "If you want, you can go to my tent and sleep for a while. No one will bother you there." He assured.

"I don't really feel like going to sleep." Allaia lied, hoping Bellamy wouldn't notice. "I just need a break."

   Bellamy obviously realized she wasn't telling the truth. Her exhausted eyes immediately betrayed her. Seeing Allaia like this; so whacked out and aweary made him feel exasperated. He was distraught at the sight of her, so tired she could barely stand on her own.

"Bellamy! Let's go!" Atom called out.

   Allaia glanced in the direction where his voice came from. She saw a group of boys gathered at the edge of the camp, holding knives and spears.

"Where are you going, Bellamy?" She asked inquisitively, brightening up.

"Hunting. Wanna tag along, angel?" He asked with a smirk.

"I would love to." Allaia replied, smiling slightly.

"I wasn't being serious, love." Bellamy glared at her, shocked she actually agreed to his proposal which was nothing but a joke. "You're not going."

"And why is that?" Allaia scoffed.

"You need rest." Bellamy urged. "I don't think I have to remind you that it's dangerous out there. Besides, do you have any idea how to hunt? Use a knife? Kill something?" He recited, trying to prove his point.

"Isn't my company enough?" Allaia grinned. "Oh, come on, Bellamy. Hunting sounds like fun and I need a break. Besides, it's not like you can stop me. I'll just sneak out if you try to stop me from going. Your choice." She shrugged.

   Bellamy clenched his fists out of annoyance. He didn't want Allaia to put herself at risk. Camp was their safe haven; a zone free of Grounders who were lurking in the shadows, wanting to slaughter them all. She should stay here, protected and safe from any possible harm. However, Bellamy knew he had no right to control her, so he tightened his jaw and reluctantly agreed.

   Allaia's sincere smile made his anger vanish instantly. They approached the gate, but before they left the camp, a voice called out.

"Allaia!" Finn shouted, catching up with them. "Where are you going?"

"Hunting." She responded. "Look, Finn, I really need a break or I'm gonna go crazy in there. I'm not used to being around so many people." Allaia explained when she noticed disapproval written on her brother's face. "Please?" She added in sweet voice, sending him a pleading stare.

"Fine." Finn sighed, knowing he couldn't resist his little sister's puppy eyes. 

"If even a hair falls off her head, you're going to pay, you hear me, Blake? And that's not an empty threat. Something happens to her and I promise you I'll hurt you, is that clear?" Finn hissed to Bellamy.

"Be safe, sunshine." Finn kissed Allaia's forehead tenderly and after sending a warning look towards Bellamy, he turned away and headed to the drop ship.

   Bellamy's eyes were balefully drilling a hole in Finn as he was walking away. Bellamy was trying to set him on fire with his gaze for touching Allaia in a way he didn't like. His blood boiled at the sight of Finn's lips placing an affectionate kiss on her head. Bellamy needed to restrain himself from lunging at him. His fists clenched at the thought of Finn and Allaia getting