undertow | bellamy blake (book one)

7 | facade

It was the sound of Jasper screaming that awoke Jovie. She rolled over to see that Octavia was already gone and by the sound of everyone moving around outside, she figured she had slept way later than she had intended to. She also got back a lot later in the night than she meant to though.

"Someone shut him up!" One of the delinquents yelled. Jovie quickly jumped out of bed and threw on her jacket over her tank top and slid into her boots before making her way to the drop ship. By the time she entered they were already working on Jasper's wound.

"What's going on?" Jovie asked. Monty, Finn, and Clarke were hovering over Jasper, who looked to be in extreme pain.

"Hold him still. I need to cut away the infected flesh," Clarke said. It wasn't a direct answer to Jovie's question, but she could infer what they were doing based on Clarke's instruction.

"Grab his other arm, Blondie," Finn said. Jovie nodded and made her way over to Jasper's left side to help Monty hold him down. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he groaned, a single tear dripping down his cheek before he passed out.

"Stop it! You're killing him!" Octavia yelled as she rushed in.

"She's trying to save his life," Finn told her.

"She can't." Bellamy entered shortly after Octavia, making Jovie internally groan.

"Great, let's get the whole camp in here," Jovie mumbled under her breath, leaning back from holding onto Jasper now that he was passed out and not moving anymore. Wells immediately stood up and faced Bellamy.

"Back off," he said. It wasn't as much of a warning as it was a plea. It was obvious Jasper's condition was making them uneasy, especially Monty. The only thing left they had was hope. Or doubt, for some people.

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die," Clarke said.

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

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

"Take a look at him. He's a lost cause," Bellamy stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Jovie looked over and saw Monty hanging his head, so she reached over and placed a comforting hand on his arm. He looked over at her and forced a smile. It was inevitable that they were going to lose people down here, but this was the first real experience with dying that they've had and had to feel it too. Jasper was too goofy, too happy-go-lucky to suffer like this.

"You don't know that," Jovie said softly, casting a side glance at Bellamy. "Jasper will be okay." He looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face. It was almost like he wanted to believe her but was refusing to let himself.

"Octavia, I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there's hope, there's hope," Clarke insisted. If there was one Blake sibling that she could get to believe she could fix Jasper, it was Octavia.

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts. You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself," Bellamy said before starting to make his way out. He turned back, looking at his sister. "Octavia, let's go."

"I'm staying here," Octavia said without even bothering to really acknowledge her brother. Jovie wanted to smile. Her entire life Octavia felt like she was never in control. Even these small acts of defiance were giving her her power back.

"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass. He doesn't care about anyone but himself," Monty spat out. He looked over at Octavia, seeing that she looked slightly upset at his comment. "No offense." She just shrugged as if she knew that he was right even if she didn't want to admit it.