the damned → the 100 ¹

[ 004 ] earth kills.

— CHAPTER FOUR,
earth kills.

IN HER UNCONSCIOUS STATE, RUBY FINDS A PEACE SHE WON'T FIND FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

When she finally comes to, the first thing she sees is a bowl. Her eyes squint in confusion. Her brows bunch together. She lets out a groan that causes the two people beside her to jump.

"Ruby!" Someone gasps. It's River. "Hey, are you okay? Are you in any pain?"

River's mother is a doctor. She works alongside Abby Griffin and Eric Jackson. That's how River knows so much about medical things.

Ruby props herself up ok her elbows. She looks between River and Ryland. "Are you guys gonna tell me what they hell happened?"

"Well, first of all, Clarke says you need to rest. Let your body heal," Ryland tells her. He shoves her back down so she's laying flat on her back. "And second of all, you were attacked by a panther. Wells saved your life."

"A panther?" Ruby looks at him.

Then she remembers.

She and several others went searching for Jasper Jordan in the woods. She'd been paired with Murphy, the every annoying and mysterious boy. They found Jasper alive, thank God. But his would was horrible and he was tied to a tree. Finn and Murphy went to cut him down but as they did, the others on the ground were attacked by a panther. Ruby was the only one physically attacked by the beast. She remembered Bellamy panicking over her.

"Jasper." Ruby's eyes widen. She starts to panic. "Is he okay? Is he alive?"

River and Ryland share a look, both scared for their friend they've know since they were only ten years old. "He's alive. . . but, Clarke says—"

River finishes Ryland's sentence with a snap. "Clarke says he might not make it."

Horror settles in the pit of her stomach. Jasper can't die. He can't. He's too kind, too funny. She won't let it happen.

"Where is he?" Ruby questions.

"Upstairs." River answers her.

Ruby starts to sit up. This time when Ryland moves to push her back down, she knocks his hand away. "No." She mumbles. "I wanna see Jasper."

River and Ryland do nothing to stop her as she stands to her feet. She lets out a wince as jolts of pain run through her body. She sends a glare at the ladder. "Okay," she puts her hands on the ladder. "Let's do this thing."

"Hey." Says a sudden new voice. Ruby knows who it is immediately. She drops her head, groaning in irritation.

She whirls around to face him. "What do you want, Blake?"

He stands at the entrance of the drop ship with one hand on his hip and in the other hand is  a piece of meat on a stuck. Her eyebrows raise at the sight. He looks like a mother scolding her child.

"Here," he walks forward, stopping right in front of her. Ruby's best friends watch on in caution. "You should eat." He even sounds like a mom. "Others are taking off their wrists bands for it but you don't have to."

At his words, Ruby's brown eyes snap down to her wrist where he wristband no longer rests. Her eyes shoot before to Bellamy, flaring with rage. "What the fuck?" She nearly shouts.

Bellamy's eyes widen. He quickly defends himself. "It wasn't my idea!"

"Then who's was it?" She moves away from the ladder, looking Bellamy directly in the eyes.