We’d been trading ideas for hours between his experiments with the wristbands, but nothing had come to fruition thus far. If anything, it simply made me realise how thankful I was that he had been part of our crew. Combining the knowledge of his parents with his technical expertise, he was likely the most valuable member of our camp.

“I’ve seen my parents do it with some pretty basic ingredients, but not anything that we could find in the wilderness.” He sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes after hours of shared brainstorming. “Not unless someone snuck a bottle of vinegar in their clothes.” He added, forcing a weak smile as he peered up at me and I chuckled.

“I’m not sure that I would put anything past them at this point.” I remarked, turning back to examine Jasper. “I remember reading something about Myrrh having antibacterial benefits once.” I muttered as I checked each of his wounds with a grimace, noticing that they were steadily getting worse rather than better.

“Myrrh? Like in the bible?” Monty questioned in a sceptical tone, gaining little more than a thoughtful hum in response. “I hate to burst your bubble, Cas, but I think that we might be on the wrong continent for Myrrh.” He teased, as I rubbed at my temples in frustration.

“Right. Stupid Earth.” I grumbled, already tiring of the challenges of our new life.

Although supplies had been limited and carefully rationed on the Ark, there were usually multiple treatment options at our fingertips. No amount of studying would have prepared for me the reality of living on a planet that had changed exponentially since any of our textbooks were written. It was frustrating to know that a few weeks ago, Jasper’s wounds which were now life threatening would have been an easy fix.

“The grounders cauterised this wound and applied a poultice.” I explained, feeling uncomfortable at the thought that they had done more for him than I could. “That means there is something useful in these woods. They’ve found a way to survive for all this time. They just have dealt with worse ailments than this without antibiotics or medical equipment. We just have to figure it out too.” I theorised, rubbing at my face in an effort to wake myself.

“What if we can’t?”

The question emerged in such a faint, terrified voice that I could practically feel my heart breaking for Monty. In all of the time that I’d spent training to work in Medical, there was little I dreaded more than having to tell a family member that we couldn’t save their loved one. Even the very thought of telling Monty that his best friend would suffer a slow and painful death from sepsis made my legs tremble with terror. Instead, I resolved not to allow this to happen, whatever I had to do.

“That’s not an option.” I asserted, turning to face him with a determined expression. “We’re not going to lose him.” I started firmly, earning the first genuine smile that I had seen from Monty since we arrived.

The hours seemed to drag as we sat in a silence that was only comfortable thanks to our familiarity. Occasionally, Jasper would stir awake and cry out in pain. In these moments, Monty would hold his hand and whisper soothing words whilst I did my best to make him more comfortable. It was strenuous for the both of us, but we kept each other strong.

The rosiness that usually filled Jasper’s cheeks was missing, replaced by a pallid grey skin tone that began to resemble that of a corpse. Despite my best efforts to keep his wounds clean, the edges were becoming swollen and red. Without antibiotics, there was little that I could do to prevent an infection from developing and I knew all too well that if this were to happen, it would only be a matter of time until we lost him.

As the night went on his screaming only increased in frequency, being met with wicked comments from campers who seemed annoyed by his will to survive. Their cruelty only worsened my already frazzled nerves. A newfound anger settled alongside my stress as I passed the time imagining ways to punish those without enough compassion to understand that they could easily find themselves in his shoes.

With no awareness of the time it was impossible to know how long we had managed to pass, but I could feel my eyelids growing heavy. My head bobbed as I struggled to remain upright, rubbing at my face with exhaustion.

“Hey. Thought I would check up on you.” Clarke announced as she climbed from the ladder onto our floor, her energy allowing me a boost. “How’s he doing?” She asked, nervously glancing between us as if she dreaded the answer and I ushered her closer.

“I actually wanted your opinion on something.” I offered, waiting for her to settle by my side before I put my plan into motion. “Shit. Monty, could you grab us some more water please?” I called over my shoulder, feeling a wave of relief wash over me when he immediately accepted the request.

Although I couldn’t shelter him from much, it seemed morbid to allow him to overhear our panicked conversations about the prognosis of his best friend. It was almost impossible to get him to leave Jasper’s side, but I would do anything necessary to shelter him from the worst.

Once he had reached the bottom of the ladder, I pulled back the dressing that covered the spear wound for Clarke to examine.

“The infection is spreading. His fever keeps rising and I think he’s becoming septic. If we don’t think of something soon, he won’t make it through another night.” I revealed in a hushed voice, leaning on her for some level of emotional support in the face of such unpleasant news.

“Damn! Isn’t there anything we could do?” She enquired, glancing down at him with a sadness that reflected my own.

“It’s already been cauterised, but the surrounding area is still dying.” I sighed, running my hands through my hair in a gesture of stress. “We could cut back the skin, but it’s an extreme treatment. It might not even help. We need to treat the problem, not the symptoms.” I explained, repeating one of the golden rules that Abby had drilled into me throughout my time shadowing her.

“Doesn’t sound like we have many other options.” She commented, stroking his hair back from his face tenderly and it was clear that she felt as guilty for even considering this as I did. “We’ll wait a bit longer. I’m sure you and Monty will come up with something better.” She decided, flashing me a hopeful smile that made me gulp down my nerves.

By now, Monty had arrived with the water and I refreshed the cloth to cool Jasper’s face. I held it to his forehead, then his cheeks, hoping to reduce his temperature even just slightly and he mumbled in his sleep. Even without glancing up from my patient, I could sense Monty smiling at me with appreciation.

Clarke returned to her night off, attempting to get some much needed sleep after numerous nights of the exact soul destroying exhaustion we were fighting at this moment. In spite of how awful we both felt, we remained vigilant at Jasper’s side. In the time that he had been incapacitated, I’d come to realise how important the vibrant boy was to me. If nothing else, being evicted from our home had given me a new sense of clarity.

It was exhausting to keep my mind constantly occupied throughout the night, but I couldn’t give up on finding a solution. Scanning through my memories, I recalled every time that I’d seen anyone deal with an infection in the clinic in the hope that I might find something useful. There were multiple ways of managing this kind of issue with the right tools, but I couldn’t remember a single time that we’d worked with natural treatments.

By the time that the sun rose, I’d still had no luck and sat despairingly with my face in my hands.

“Morning, crew.” Finn announced as he entered the space and I could only manage a groan in response. “Sounds like it’s been a long night. You two should get some air. Clarke will be here in a minute to watch him with me. I can hold the fort for a few.” He offered as Monty and I glanced at each other with uncertainty.

Realising that he had no intention of leaving his friend, I took the opportunity to rise to my feet to stretch out. A deep yawn escaped my lips, forcing me to acknowledge that I might actually need a break to wake my brain. I smiled gratefully at Finn for thinking of us, before making my way outside.

The fresh breeze on my skin was wonderfully refreshing as I took a deep breath of the fresh scent of nature. For a few moments, I simply stood and watched the activity in camp, allowing my mind to relax after a night that felt as if it had lasted for years. I listened to the lull of conversation, birds chirping in the distance and the wind rustling the trees at the edge of camp, until I noticed that Murphy was standing amongst them.

Confused at the idea of him taking time for some quiet self reflection, I made my way in his direction. I’d almost reached him by the time that I noted he wasn’t alone. Bellamy, Atom and Jones were deep into a hushed conversation with him and curiosity motivated me to continue approaching them to investigate. They appeared to be either practicing their weapon throwing skills, or simply indulging in some pointless show of masculinity which for a change didn’t require the audience of the entire camp.

“Look, Bellamy. People are scared.” Atom began as I crept into the bushes to avoid catching their attention, when a particularly loud scream from Jasper interrupted their conversation and left me feeling conflicted on whether I should put aside my nosiness to check whether he needed me.

“And that dying kid! He’s not helping the morale around here.” Atom continued, causing my stomach to lurch with dread as I resolved that I needed to remain here to assess this potential threat to my patient.

“Morale will go up again when I find them more food.” Bellamy answered firmly, seeming intent on maintaining his status as the leader of our camp, much to my disdain.

“And what do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal?” Jones enquired in a manner that was surprisingly firm considering that he’d been seriously injured barely days ago.

The names they were discussing were unfamiliar to me, but that wasn’t uncommon. I’d hardly bothered to learn the names of anyone here, keeping my distance for my own safety. However, it seemed that there was something significant happening that they were suppressing from public knowledge. I listened carefully, keen to gain any leverage that I could use to protect Jasper if necessary.

“For now? Nothing.” Bellamy answered carelessly. “It’s possible they’re just lost. We’ll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later.”

Pleased to have overheard something that could be beneficial in future, I began to creep further from the conversation before I could be noticed. I couldn’t help feeling somewhat alarmed at the thought that they would be venturing out again already, but was more significantly distracted by the negative attitude they had shown toward Jasper, and the willingness Bellamy showed to simply ignore the fact that another two members of our camp might have been taken.

“Let’s go kill something.” Murphy muttered, sending a bolt of alarm through me at the realisation that he would be joining them.

“You’re not going.” Bellamy announced as he blocked him from following the two who had already departed. “I need you to stay here. If the grounders are circling, we can’t leave this place unprotected.” He ordered, somewhat recovering some of my respect that he’d just lost by showing at least some limited awareness of the implications of more missing campers.

“Fine.” Murphy muttered in a bitter tone, like a child denied a well-earned treat. “Somebody better tell Goggle Boy to keep it shut.” He added, turning on his heel to launch his dagger at a nearby tree.

Despite the anger that he’d used to throw it, the blade simply bounced off the trunk with practically no impact. I barely managed to wait until Bellamy had left Murphy alone before I stepped out from my hiding place. With a sour expression, I stooped to pick up the weapon and crossed my arms at him, allowing him to feel the full force of my disapproval.

“Goggle Boy?” I repeated, allowing my tone to reveal exactly how disgusted I was with his comment. “When we first arrived, you said he was with you. Now you can’t even call him by his name?” I questioned, watching him squirm under my scrutiny.

“That was when he was useful. At this point, he’s just an inconvenience.” He defended as I thinned my eyes at him with a renewed anger burning in my stomach. “You can’t tell me that noise isn’t driving you crazy?” He spat, glancing up at the dropship furiously as if this were a reasonable justification for behaving like a selfish asshole.

“No. Actually, it’s not. The only thing driving me crazy right now is the amount of people who think it’s acceptable to tell him to hurry up and die when he is fighting for his life.” I growled, noticing that he returned his attention to me with a confused look that indicated a complete lack of understanding about my furious voice. “Seems like the Ark really did send down all of its worst people.” I added, clenching my jaw bitterly.

Murphy cleared his throat and shuffled his feet, seeming lost for words at my reaction. It was the first time that I’d been genuinely upset with him to a degree that he couldn’t sweet talk his way out of. Usually, he could make excuses to avoid an apology, or distract me until he could make up for his mistakes, but now everything that he said only made the situation worse.

“You including me in that category?” He asked, running his thumb along his bottom lip with a smouldering expression in a poor attempt to soften my attitude.

“That depends.” I breathed with a shrug, noticing that he tilted his head at me curiously. “Do you forget the name of everyone you claim to care about if they stop being useful? Or just those that you pretend to care about?”

“Come on, Cassie.” He chuckled in a nonchalant manner which felt entirely meaningless.

His lack of compassion was disappointing, but the flat response to my accusation that whatever relationship we had was artificial was absolutely hurtful. Hesitant to allow him to see that his unreasonable behaviour had upset me, I buried my pain. Instead, I felt myself channeling the mocking attitude that I often witnessed him using whenever someone found a sensitive point in him.

I held out the dagger to him wordlessly, ensuring that my expression was entirely controlled. He glanced down at it warily and seemed to take a few moments to decide whether to respond. His gaze slowly moved to my face, heavy with suspicion before he finally reached out to accept my offer.

Just as his fingers were about to make contact with the handle, I whipped my hand from his grasp. Raising the blade behind my head, I focused my aim on the tree. Thanks to the years of practice keeping my hands steady during delicate procedures, I could balance it with surgical accuracy. Releasing the dagger with a controlled flick, it tore through the air and embedded itself firmly within the bark.

Murphy flinched at the sudden movement and when I turned back to face him, he was staring at me with wide eyed shock.

“It’s all in the wrist. You’d think someone with your insane hunting skills would know that.” I drawled in a low voice, turning on my heel to leave him frozen to the spot.

Although my cutting remark had satisfied some of my temper, I didn’t feel ready to return to the main area of camp where I might be approached. Wandering into the overgrowth at the edge of camp, I decided to collect a fresh cutting of aloe vera to use on Jasper’s wound. Though I was doubtful that it Luckily, I stumbled across a small bushel of it rather quickly and I enjoyed the peace of being alone for a while before aiming for the dropship.

I hadn’t quite made it to the campfire when I noticed Zoey approaching me with a little girl at her side.

“Hey, Sage. My friend Charlotte needs your clever hands.” She announced, her hand on the child's shoulder as she encouraged her toward me.

It was the first time that I had registered such a small resident of our encampment. She couldn’t have been more than 12 years old and it seemed ridiculous to think of her as a criminal. I noticed a small cut on her forehead which seemed to be bothering her, but she managed it remarkably well. With a sigh, I directed them to some seats nearby where I could get a better look.

“I’m surprised you have time to keep an eye on anyone else with Octavia on your plate.” I muttered quietly as Charlotte nervously settled herself into place and Zoey chuckled.

“Hey. Just call me Mother Theresa.” She breathed, holding her hands up as if awaiting someone to revere her and I shook my head in amusement. “Honestly, I needed a break from watching her chasing boys. This morning I caught her trying to make eyeliner out of charcoal to impress Atom. That’s when I knew I’d hit my limit for being a supportive friend.” She added with a grimace, taking a seat beside Charlotte for comfort.

Something about her words resonated with me, pausing in place as I followed the little thread that she had prompted in my mind. I could practically feel the lightbulb above my head as a long forgotten memory popped back into existence. It was baffling that I hadn’t considered it before, but during a study session with the interns, Jackson had presented a case study on the uses of activated charcoal for wounds.

“Zoey. You’re a genius!” I gasped, staring at her with wide eyes and she shrugged as if this was not a revelation for her. “Here. Get started on cleaning it and I’ll be right out with some supplies when I’m done with Jasper.” I ordered as I handed her the aloe cutting and hurried away before she could object.

Ducking down to scoop a few pieces of charcoal into a pot I carried them toward the dropship with renewed enthusiasm. Even from outside I could hear Jasper’s screams increasing to a new level of agony and I climbed the ladder in a frantic state.

The room was bustling with people as I entered, all of which were engaged in a heated argument between the cries of pain that overwhelmed their words.

Wells appeared to be holding Jasper down as he squirmed, whilst Clarke was bent over him holding a dagger that glowed orange with heat. Finn wore a traumatised expression in the corner of the room, tears ran down Monty’s cheeks as he pleaded with Clarke to stop what she was doing to his friend and Octavia was already deep into a verbal attack.

“What the hell is going on?” I yelled as I stepped onto the top floor with disbelief, the sharpness of my voice causing them all to turn to face me.

“His blood pressure was exploding, breathing shallow and he wouldn’t stop screaming. I’m cutting back the infection, like you said.” Clarke gasped, glancing over her shoulder at me with terror in her eyes. “I’ve seen my mom do it before. I can do it.”

“And you didn’t think to call for help first?” I queried in disbelief as I practically fell forward in shock, my eyes widening at the badly inflamed wound.

“We thought we were going to lose him.” Finn interjected defensively, jumping to her aid as he did in every situation and I felt the last of my patience crumble. “Clarke did what she had to.” He elaborated, but I cut him off before he could crawl any further up her ass.

“Well the only thing she achieved is more pain and unnecessary damage.” I argued as I pushed people out of my way to kneel at Jasper’s side and dumped my supplies on the ground.

“There wasn’t any time.” Clarke stuttered nervously as I glowered at her over our unconscious friend. “I wanted to help.”

“You’ve helped enough!” I snapped, flooded with a confidence that was only accessible to me in times of medical emergencies, when there was no time for manners.

“You’re not a doctor, Clarke! You are an inexperienced scrub nurse at best and I’m just a trainee that didn’t even finish my studies. We can't afford to get things wrong with impulsive decisions and ruthless treatments. We only get one shot to save people and you just blew yours. Now, get away from my patient.” I scolded impatiently as I rolled up my sleeves to begin working on fixing her mistakes.

Clarke's face scrunched up into a clear display of hurt, but she didn’t argue as she slowly rose to her feet. I grabbed a bottle of water to clean my hands and grimaced at the state of Jasper’s chest. Regardless of her intentions, Clarke’s technique had been overly aggressive for such a sensitive injury. It was difficult to even imagine how painful it had been to endure, causing an ache of guilt in my chest for leaving him.

“Monty, I need some moonshine to sterilise the area. Wells, grab the aloe and some dressings from storage. Finn, I need clean water. There's a pot by the fire you can use to boil some.” I instructed, keeping my gaze firmly on Jasper as I checked his temperature and pulse. “Octavia, I’ll need an assistant. He’s calmer when you’re around. Think you can stomach it?” I asked as I glanced up at her to catch a surprised smile on her lips as she nodded.

People rushed out of the room to complete their assigned tasks, leaving only Clarke standing in the corner with a remorseful expression. Rather than waste time comforting her bruised ego, I focused on clearing the area of anything unnecessary to reduce the risk of any further contamination.

“I’m really sorry, Cassidy. I didn’t-” Clarke began, knitting her hands together anxiously, but I waved her off.

“Save it, Clarke. We can kiss and make up later. Right now, we’ve got work to do.” I stated abruptly, determined that I wouldn’t be distracted from the needs of my patient.

In little time at all, the others returned with my requested supplies and I organised them around Jasper so that the boys could step out of my work space. Pouring moonshine over mine and Octavia’s hands to ensure that we were clean, I noticed that hers trembled with nerves.

“Hey.” I whispered, prompting her to meet my eyes. “You’ve got this.” I asserted, flashing her a supportive smile before handing her the bottle to clean the wound.

Adding the water from Finn into the container with the crushed charcoal, I patiently stirred them together, hoping against all hope that this experiment would be successful. It wasn’t a method that I had ever actually seen used, meaning that I had to rely purely on theory, but at this point I was desperate enough to try anything. Noticing that my audience was watching in silent confusion, I decided to explain myself.

“The grounders used some kind of poultice on the area and it was working. Without knowing the ingredients I can’t recreate it, but I can do something similar.” I explained, tilting down the container for them to see the thick paste that had begun to form.

“The tiny grains that don’t dissolve will act like sandpaper, picking out anything in the wound that shouldn’t be there. Then, the paste will clean and absorb toxins, bacteria and any dead tissue. It's a gentler way of removing the infected areas. It won’t fix everything, but it's definitely a start.” I elaborated, noticing the surprise that spread through the group.

“Activated charcoal!” Monty breathed. “Of course. It’s a micro-sponge.” He clarified, studying me with an impressed expression and I nodded.

“You can thank Zoey for the inspiration.” I muttered, causing Octavia to raise her brows as if she wasn’t aware that her friend had this kind of knowledge.

“What the hell are you doing up here? Torturing him?”

Bellamy’s authoritative voice interrupted as his head popped through the hatch and I avoided looking at him in order to prevent another outburst. My focus might have allowed me to take control of this situation, but there was no amount of confidence in my own ability that would enable me to confront someone who was a threat to me.

Sensing that this could easily escalate, Wells sighed loudly before raising to his feet and blocking Bellamy from coming any closer.

“Back off.” He warned as he took his position standing guard over us, earning him an impatient expression from the camp leader.

Clarke caught my eye, immediately recognising that my comfortable attitude had rapidly disintegrated with his arrival. The change in my demeanour seemed to pull her from the moping that had previously consumed her. If anything, Bellamy’s interference had provided her a way to contribute to Jasper’s treatment and she turned to face Bellamy confidently.

“We didn’t drag him through miles of woods just to let him die.” She pointed out whilst I silently guided Octavia to apply a cold compress, then some aloe gel to the areas that had been burned by the blade.

“Kids a goner.” Bellamy asserted, prompting me to roll my eyes and tut under my breath in annoyance. “If you can’t see that, you’re deluded. He’s making people crazy.” He insisted as if it were obvious, making his allegiances to those who called out insults all too clear.

“Sorry if Jasper’s an inconvenience to you, but this isn’t the Ark. Down here, every life matters.” Clarke affirmed, somehow expressing the exact sentiment that I would have liked to say myself as Bellamy glanced between us all with exasperation.

“Take a look at him. He’s a lost cause.” He instructed, his voice dropping even lower as if he couldn’t believe that we had the audacity to argue with him.

Something about Bellamy caused an undeniable sense of distrust in my gut, churning in a way that it hadn’t since Cian. I hadn’t figured out exactly what about him was manufactured yet, as many of the traits that he openly displayed were already enough to provide a negative impression. However, I felt instinctively that something more sinister lay beneath the leader persona that he insisted on maintaining.

Meeting Octavia’s fearful eyes, I shook my head fervently to indicate that he was wrong about Jasper. I subtly glanced down at the bowl of charcoal to silently remind her that all hope was not yet lost. Sensing her gaze on me, I looked up to lock eyes with Clarke and without a single word spoken between us, we both agreed that we were willing to die on this hill if needed.

“Cassidy is a doctor. I’m a nurse. You’ll have to understand if we don’t take our medical advice from you.” Clarke jibed aggressively as she dug her heels in, refusing to be intimidated by him. “We have a plan and that doesn’t include giving up on Jasper. There’s still hope for him.” She contended, crossing her arms as an indication of her stubbornness that clearly irked him.

“This isn’t about hope, or education. It’s about guts. You don’t have the guts to make the hard choices. I do.” Bellamy declared, basking in his own self importance and I felt my hands trembling from the power of my outrage.

“He’s been like this for three days. If he’s not better by tomorrow, I’ll kill him myself.” He threatened, taking one last opportunity to fix each of us with a disapproving glare before he turned his attention to his sister.

“Octavia. Let’s go.” He ordered with an entitlement that would’ve caused me to scream in her shoes and I was pleased to notice that her jaw had clenched in anger.

“No.” She growled, her attitude forcing his shoulders to tense in a manner that indicated she had never spoken to him this way before. “I’m staying here to help Cassidy do the right thing.”

Octavia’s remark left Bellamy speechless as he stared at the back of her head in shock. For several moments, it seemed that he couldn’t decide how to respond to this display of rebellion until he finally climbed down the ladder, restoring a sense of peace in the small room. I nodded at Clarke to subtly indicate that she’d redeemed herself. Mentally, I made a note to express my gratitude for her protection once this mess was resolved.

“Power hungry, self serving jackass.” Monty spat as he marched over to drop himself at my side, waiting to be given a task that he could assist with. “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” He added bitterly, before his gaze landed on Octavia. “No offense.”

“Yeah. Bellamy is all that. But he also happens to be right.” Finn commented, causing me to shoot a stunned look at him over my shoulder. “You said yourself that this stuff wouldn’t solve the problem. We could be keeping him alive just so that he can suffer for longer.” He argued, careful to ensure that he justified his points in an effort to differentiate himself from Bellamy.

It took barely a few moments of debate for voices to raise and an argument to break out again, leaving me struggling to concentrate on the task at hand.

“Enough!” I exclaimed, furrowing my brows in annoyance as I addressed them.

“Unless any of you have something useful to contribute to our next step, you can butt horns outside. We still have work to do and your noise isn’t helping Jasper.” I scolded, growing impatient with their drama and after appearing incredibly sorry for themselves, they quietly made their way out of the dropship to undoubtedly continue their conversation.

Only Octavia, Monty and I remained in the room as I carefully applied the thick paste to the area whilst they watched. Their observation gave me the sensation of having students, as if I’d stepped into the shoes of the doctors who used to teach myself and the other interns. It was a strange feeling and certainly not something that I had expected to experience for many years, if ever, but I was glad to find that there were others who were interested in learning to help others, even if it was simply because of their love for Jasper.

Once I’d spread it generously across the spear wound on Jasper’s chest, I covered it with dressings to keep it in place and silently prayed that it would buy us enough time to form another plan.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to let anyone hurt him.” I stated in an effort to reassure the nervous pair, but they seemed unconvinced. “I’m a doctor. I know how to get rid of people and make it look like an accident.” I added, my tone emerging more serious than intended as they both stared at me in shock.

“That was a joke. Albeit a bad one. Sorry.” I clarified with a sheepish smile, embarrassed at my consistent social blunders.

After a few minutes of tense silence, they began to awkwardly chuckle, gradually growing until we were all laughing uncontrollably. For the first time since Jasper was taken, things felt almost normal.

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