THIRTEEN.   intense love leads to mourning

      The sky was crying. The peaceful day of sunshine was now a mass of harsh winds and crying howls of wind. It shouted Tatum's name, the rain crying for her to wake up. It was Tatum Adler personified. She wasn't a summer day or an orchid. While Bellamy thought she was Persephone, she was every bit of Oya. She created chaos wherever she went, a commanded of storms.

But the world made her that way. All girls are born glass until someone comes alone and breaks her, and then she becomes sharp.

The storm made it damn near impossible to reach a signal to the Ark. "This is Raven Reyes calling Ark station. Please come in." Raven said into the headset.

Octavia stared at Tatum with tears in her eyes. She wasn't used to seeing her look so lifeless. So helpless. Tatum was strong. She was tenacious. But now she barely looked alive.

"Can anyone hear me?" Raven repeated into the headset.

"Sure you have the right frequency?" Someone from the group of delinquents questioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She snapped.

"Raven," Clarke spoke softly. "You can do this. I know you can. Just stay calm, alright?" She encouraged her.

Raven nodded before turning her focus back to the device. "Ark station, please come in. I'm on the ground with the hundred."

"This is a restricted channel. Who is this? Please, identify yourself," a voice said into the headset.

The three girls immediately looked at each other and back at the radio. Raven instantly replied, "This is Raven Reyes. I'm from Mecha station. I'm transmitting from the ground. The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get doctor Abby Griffin. Doctor Abby Griffin, now!" She instructed clearly and impatiently.

"Hang on, Raven. We're trying to boost your signal."

Octavia sighed, equally as impatient. "Well, hurry the hell up."

"Raven, are you there?" Abby Griffin's voice said weakly through the device.

Clarke quickly took the device. "Mom? Mom, it's me."

"Clarke?"

"Mom, I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a grounder." She explained desperately.

"Clarke, this is Chancellor Jaha," Jaha's voice took over the headset. "Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?"

"Yes. The earth is survivable. We're not alone. Mom, please, Tatum's dying. The knife's still in her abdomen."

"Tatum? As in Tatum Adler?"

"Yes!"

"Clarke, is my son with you?" Asked Jaha.

Clarke froze at the question. The topic of Wells was still a tender one. She tried her hardest not to think about him since what happened. "I'm so sorry. Wells is. . . Wells is dead." She hesitated and swallowed harshly.

It went silent over the device and they knew it was because he was in shock. She stared at the floor, feeling guilty.

Abby returned to the device. "I'm going to talk you
through it step by step. Clarke, give five—" the sound cut out. "To medical. Medic. . ." 

"What?" Asked Clarke quickly. She looked at the Raven. "Raven, what's wrong?"

She shook the head and she looked at the radio device in front of her. "It's not the radio. It's the storm."

Octavia reentered the drop ship with a couple of jars in her hold. "What's this?"

"Monty's moonshine," she answered with a huff. "Pretty sure no germ can survive it."

Clarke took one of the jars and opened the lid. She brought it to her nose and sniffed, immediately backtracking with a grimace. "Smells like—" she was cut off by a a roar of thunder coming from outside.  "The storm's getting worse,"

Octavia stoked Tatum's hair. "You see the chaos you create?"

"Monroe, close the doors."

"We still have people out there." Monroe mentioned to her.

"Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet," said Octavia and then she paused. "Neither is Bellamy."

"It's alright. They'll find somewhere to ride it out." Clarke reassured her.

She looked down at her friend again. "You should've seen Bell when he saw her. He looked like he wanted to kill somebody."

Clarke half smiled. "You'll do anything for the people you love. She did for Finn."

Raven rushed over with a needle in her hand. "Look, one suture needle." She announced with a growing smile.

Clarke instantly took it. "Right. I still need something to close the wound." She realized.

"There's some wire on the second level. I use it for tents." Octavia informed them.

"Let's see it."

She stepped back and made her way hastily to the ladder to the second floor.

"Stay away from the blue wires that run through the ceiling," Raven notified. "I rigged it to the solar cells in the roof. That means they're hot. You got that?"

"Yeah, I got that." Octavia said back and climbed up the ladder.

Raven looked at Tatum again, an upset frown on her face. "Tell me you can do this." She said to Clarke.

Clarke glanced at her as well. "For her? I'll do my best."

"Hey! They're back!" Someone in the room announced.

Bellamy, Miller, and Drew came into the drop ship soaking wet from the rain. With them was the grounder that stabbed Tatum with the knife, tied up and blindfolded. "Bellamy!" Octavia exclaimed and climbed down the ladder.

"Is that a grounder?" One of the delinquents asked perplexingly.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Bellamy ignored his sister and walked around her. "How is she?" He asked the girls.

"She's still breathing. We just have to remove the knife." Clarke informed him.

"Bellamy, what is going on?" Octavia asked again, referring to the grounder.

Bellamy brushed the strands Tatum's hair away from her face. Seeing her in the state she was in only made him feel more angry. "It's time to get some answers."

"Oh, you mean revenge." She hissed.

"I mean intel. Get him upstairs." He ordered the others.

Clarke walked up to him. "Bellamy, she's right—"

"Clarke, honey, we're ready," Abby's voice said into the device. "Can you hear me?"

She looked at the radio and quickly back at him. "Look, this is not who we are." She tried to remind him.

But Bellamy was settled on his decision. He looked at Tatum again, her eyes still closed. Seeing her now was different than seeing her when she was asleep. When she was asleep, she looked so peaceful. It was like you could stare at her for hours and never get tired. But Tatum did not look peaceful. His blood sizzled and burned his insides, setting him on fire, and they knew when Bellamy was angry, he could set the world on fire. "It is now." He declared. Without another word, he climbed up the ladder to the second floor.

Clarke ran back to the radio. "The blade is at a sharp, upward angle between her ribs and her stomach," she vocalized to her mom.

"Okay, how deep?"

She exclaimed the wound and narrowed her eyes. "I can't tell how deep it goes."

"That's alright. Just don't remove the knife yet."

Clarke retrieved Monty's jar of moonshine and handed it to Raven. "Hey, here, sterilize your hands." She instructed.

Raven takes a big swig before pouring it over her hands. "You know she would want some right now." She tried to joke and looked at her friend.

Clarke grinned. "She definitely would."

"Clarke, can you see any fluid?" Asked Abby, but her voice was drowned out by the noise and chaos of the others in the a a fight suddenly broke out.

"Damn it! Clear the room!" Clarke demanded with a frustrated groan.

Raven immediately stomped over to them. "Everyone, upstairs! Now! Let's go!" She shouted roughly.

They all followed orders and headed upstairs. Clarke pressed her hand to Tatum's forehead. She felt very warm. "She feels warm." She said loud enough for her mom to hear.

"Okay, that's alright. Fever sometimes accompanies
trauma," Abby explained. "Clarke, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound."

She bent down and looked around the wound. "Um, no, it's just a lot of blood." She observed.

"Pleural membrane's intact. That's good. Actually, really good. She got lucky."

"She's like a damn cat with nine lives." Raven exhaled with a chuckle. "Hear that, Tater? You're lucky." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Okay, Clarke, firm grip on the knife," Abby instructed. "You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left. Very slightly to the left as it exits the ribcage."

"How very slightly?"

"Three mil—Clarke?" The sound cuts out again.

"Wait, what was that? You dropped out." Clarke panicked.

"Clarke, three millimeters. Got it?"

She quickly nodded. "Yeah, okay. I got it." She gripped the blade and her eyes wondered to Tatum's face. "Here goes nothing."

"Steady hand, Clarke. You've assisted me in trickier procedures than this. Once that knife is out, the hard part is over."

"Alright, extracting now," the daughter reported. She slowly started to move the knife, resulting in a groan from the girl on the table.

"She's waking up!" Raven gasped

"Hold her still."

She rushed to the opposite side of the table and held down the side of her body. "Tate, if you can hear me, we're going to get the knife out of you, okay?" 
Raven spoke to her.

There was no response but her head moved, signaling she was still alert.

"You can't move, Tate. Okay?" Clarke instructed.  Tatum gave a weak nod, indicating that she understood. "Okay, here it goes."

"Nice and slow, Clarke."

"Don't move, Tate." She slowly started taking the knife out. A painful groan slipped from Tatum's mouth. "Almost there, Tate. You're doing great." Clarke assured her.

The more the knife moved, the more Tatum stated to cry in pain. Raven squeezed her hand. "I know it hurts,  Tatum. I'm sorry." She said and more tears came.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the second floor,  causing the drop ship to jerk harshly. Clarke stumbling back and Tatum cried out torturously when she felt the knife extract from her abdomen.

"Clarke, Clarke? What's happening? Clarke, can you hear us?"

Raven sighed with relief at the sight of the knife in Clarke's hand. "It's out. She did it." She confirmed to the woman. Tatum's breathing was heavy and shaky. "What a champ, this one." She praised with a large smile.

Clarke began to stitch the wound. "First the back, now the stomach. Where else is there?"

"Just not the face." Tatum spoke for the first time but it was very weak.

The girls laughed. She cut the thread of the last stitch. "Okay, i'm done." She announced, feeling satisfied.

"Good. Do you have anything to cover the wound?"

"We'll make do, like always."

"Should she be this pale? Warm, too?" Raven asked, feeling Tatum's head.

"She's lost a lot of blood, Raven. But that girl is so strong. She's been through so much. She'll be just fine."

Clarke touched her skin, feeling how hot she was. "Wait, mom, she's right. She's feverish and her breathing's uneven." She informed with concern.

"You need to give her some time to recover. Let me know if she gets any worse, but I think she might just be out of the woods."

"Well, down here, there's nothing but woods." She said sarcastically and sighed. "I need a break."

From upstairs, Bellamy and the others had tied up the grounder and were trying to get information out of him. His head was so full of different emotions that he didn't know how to feel. He was terrified, angry, and upset. "If she dies, you're really going to regret it." He said to the grounder with a dark voice. 

"Bellamy, she's going to be okay." Finn vocalized from where he stood in the corner of the room.

"Okay, how?" He spat and turned to face him. "This word has fucked with her so many times and she never gets a god damn break."

They watched him pace back and forth. "I've known her my whole life, Bellamy," said the spacewalker.  "She's overcome a lot. She's stronger than everyone here."

"I just don't want there to be a day when she's not okay." He whispered to himself.

Tatum suddenly started convulsing. "Clarke. Clarke, what's happening?" Raven shouted.

Seeing her seizing, Clarke's eyes widened. "She's seizing. Help me turn her on her side." She ordered frantically. When Raven didn't budge, she shouted again, "Raven! There's fluid in her lungs. She will die if we don't turn her over."

She snapped out of it and helped Clarke turn the seizing girl on her side. "Fluid in her lungs. Does that mean the knife hit something?" She questioned when they saw a white substance escape from Tatum's open mouth.

"No, this isn't blood. It's something else." Clarke gasped. She began racking her brain. "Wait, i've heard about this before. Shortness of breath, fever,  seizing. . ." She named off and came to a realization.  "It's poison."

"Clarke, you sterilized everything. I watched you."  Raven claimed. 

Her eyes land on the knife that was stuck once stuck Tatum's flesh. "Not everything." She muttered shaking. She ran to the ladder and climbed up,  banging on the closer hatch. "Hey, open the door!"  She demanded. When she got no response, she banged on it again. "It's about Tatum!"

Hearing her name, Bellamy turned his focus to Miller.  "Let her up." He demanded.

Miller listened and opened the hatch. Clarke entered the room and immediately stormed up to the grounder with the knife in her hand. "What on this?" She demanded and held it in front of his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"He poisoned the blade. He knew Tatum was going to die no matter what we did." She moved in front of the grounder. "What is it? Is there an antidote?"

"Clarke, he doesn't understand you." Octavia cut in.

Bellamy started rushing around the room. "Vials. It's gotta be here." He spoke frantically.

The two of them found the cloths of vials and spread them out in front of the grounder. "Which one?" She asked in a frenzy.

When the grounder didn't say anything, Bellamy snapped, "Answer the question!" He shouted angrily, his face turning red.

"Show us, please." Octavia begged and her eyes filled with overwhelming tears.

"Which one?"

"Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that!" Finn shouted this time.

But still, they got nothing and the group began to grow agitated. Bellamy's head racked back and forth before his face fell into a glare. "I'll get him to talk." 

Octavia quickly grabbed his arm. "Bellamy, no." She pleaded.

"He wants Tatum to die! Why can't you see that? She's your best friend. She's all our friend. Do you want that to happen?"

Her jaw wavered, not knowing what to say. "Clarke, you said it yourself. This is not who we are. He was protecting me. He saved my life!" She tried to get through to her.

"Yeah, and Tatum saved mine," Finn stepped in, voice darkening like Bellamy's. "The knife was supposed to be for me but she pushed me out of the way. This is her life we're talking about."

"Do it." Clarke answered.

"Clarke!" Octavia gasped. Before Bellamy could do anything, she stopped him and stepped in front of him to the unknown grounder. "Just tell us!" She begged.

When he still didn't say anything, Bellamy lightly pushed his sister out of the way and pulled a knife from his belt. He cut through the fabric of the grounder's shirt. "You're going to show us the antidote or you're going to wish you had." He threatened once again.

Octavia looked down to see a red belt clutched in his hand. He was going to whip him. "Wait, Bellamy, please. Tatum wouldn't want this." She told him with a shaky voice.

Ignoring her and ignoring the guilty feeling that started to rise in his chest, Bellamy brought the belt back and slapped it against the grounder's exposed skin with such force, the sound rang through the room. It made everyone flinch. 

Tears slipped past Octavia's eyes and she covered her ears with her hands. The constant sound of the belt splitting on the man's skin made her visibly start shaking and she wondered what Tatum would say or if she found out what he was going. 

Clarke shifted uncomfortably in her spot as she watched Bellamy repeatedly hit the belt over the grounder's body. Blood dripped down his open wounds. She looked at him and stepped forward.  "Please, which one is the antidote?" She begged with guilt.

There was no answer.

"Just tell them." Octavia voiced again.

When he still didn't answer, Bellamy continued to whip him. The more silent the grounder was, the angry he grew at the thought of the girl he loved dying on the lower level of the ship. 

"Clarke, she's getting worse!" Shouted Raven from the lower level.

The statement made Bellamy nearly scream as he whipped the grounder harder. Octavia couldn't handle it anymore and she rushed forward, pulling his arm back and she crouched in front of the bloody grounder. "Please, which one? She's our friend. Which one is the antidote? If you tell us, they'll stop. I promise." She pleaded with watery eyes.

But the grounder was too weak to say anything. His body slouched over in pain and exhaustion.

"If that doesn't work, maybe this will," Bellamy declared and gripped a large, metal nail. "Clarke, Finn, you don't have to be here for this." He told the pair.

"I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." Clarke declared.

"Neither am I." Finn agreed.

"Bellamy. . ." Octavia whimpered.

He looked at his sister.  "Do you want to save her or not?"  He questioned. When she didn't say anything,  he took that as his answer and turned back to the grounder. "Last chance." He affirmed. 

Clarke and Finn shut their eyes when the nail embedded itself into the grounder's hand. Octavia looked away, not being able to handle it much longer.

"What's taking so long?" Raven poked her head into the room. "She stopped breathing."

"What?" They all shouted back. 

"She's going in and out of consciousness. She doesn't have much longer and I'm not letting her die!"

"He won't tell us anything." Bellamy expressed angrily.

She climbed up to the second floor and stormed over.  "Want a bet?" She jeered.

They all watched her rush toward a set of wires in the back and detached two of them. Sparks shunted from the tops of them. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Showing him something new," she responded and rubbed the two sparked ends together. She shoved them forward at the grounder, making him shake his head in fear and try to get away. "Which one is it?"

She hit the sparks to his chest and the others to jump back in shock. "Come on!" Raven shouted and continued to electrocute him. When he didn't answer, she started crying again. "She's my best friend!"

Octavia took the poisoned blade from Clarke. "No more!" Her shout was firm.

"He's letting Tatum die!"

The younger Blake cut her arm with the blade and Bellamy's eyes widen. "Octavia, no—"

"He won't let me die." She exhaled and crouched in front of the grounder. She started pointing to the vials.

They watched the grounder slightly shake his head at the vials she pointed to until she got to the final one and he nodded silently. Octavia quickly took the vial and gave it to Clarke. "Here."

"Thank you." Said Clarke and she and Raven ran back downstairs.

Bellamy looked down at his sister with guilt and touched her shoulder. "O—"

She slapped his hand away and glared. "Don't touch me. She would be so disappointed." She sneered at him.

There was deep frown on his face.