Chapter 9
The sun had just crested over the tips of the trees surrounding the camp when Clarke stepped out of the dropship. She’d been up for a few hours already, having seen off the day’s hunting and gathering groups and already checked on Monty. The boy was in some pain, but all things considered, he was doing remarkably well. Clarke wished that she had some morphine to offer him, but such luxuries weren’t available on the ground. She wondered if there was maybe some sort of plant that alleviated pain and made a mental note to look into gathering roots and herbs for medical use once the winter had passed. Monty would actually probably be the perfect person to help her when the time came. He certainly knew his way around plants after growing up working in Argo Station on the Ark.
Clarke had stitched up the incision on his neck and now all that was left to do was allow his body time to rest and heal. Sam had watched her suture with rapt attention. It seemed that her assessment in his interest in medicine has been spot on. When she’d mentioned that she was going to be conducting a class for the next few days the younger boy had eagerly confirmed that he would be attending. She’d left him to eat breakfast with Monty after letting him know to meet her outside her tent in about an hour.
Bellamy had, of course, left with the hunting group, but he had been surprisingly supportive of Clarke’s plan for the next few days. He agreed that it would be good to have others in the camp know how to assist with minor injuries and had helped Clarke find someone else dependable to lead the gathering group for the week.
Murphy hadn’t been able to completely mask his surprise when Clarke had sought him out in line for breakfast and asked him to attend. She tried to keep her invite as nonchalant as possible, sensing that the typically standoffish boy probably wouldn’t respond well to excessive enthusiasm. Clarke hid her smile when he shrugged indifferently in response before turning to grab his food and walk away. He hadn’t outright declined, and in her mind, that was as close to a ‘yes’ as she would get from him.
Now Clarke made her way from the dropship back to her tent. She contemplated what the best methods would be to demonstrate practical medical skills and allow her students to practice without wasting their limited supplies. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to know how to stitch a wound or splint a break if all the materials used for those procedures were wasted in training. Clarke nervously chewed at her lower lip as she ducked into her tent, wondering if maybe it would have been better to wait until tomorrow to start the classes. But an extra day spent planning wouldn’t magically increase the number of available medical supplies she had in the camp. Raven was tinkering with something on her cot and looked up when her friend entered, immediately noticing the stress on her face.
“What’s up, Princess? Did everyone turn you down on coming?”
“No, both Sam and Murphy are in. And I’m pretty sure a few others who heard me talking about it may wander over. Which just exacerbates the problem.”
“Problem? I like problems. And I happen to be something of a genius. Whatcha got for me?”
Despite her mounting nerves and stress, Clarke couldn’t help but smile at the young mechanic. Her ego was enormous but well earned, and her heart was even bigger.
“How am I supposed to teach people how to perform first aid without any supplies? I can’t justify wasting the little we have for practice.”
“Hmm, I see. Well, what sort of supplies are we talking about?”
“Suture needles and thread, bandages, gauze.”
“What would you do if you needed to go all doctor on someone, say, in the middle of the forest, but didn’t have a kit with you?” Raven’s words were accompanied by a sly grin.
“Monty was different. He needed an airway and it was dumb luck that I had an old pen. And I did have a mini kit with me.” Clarke paused, “But I see your point. Monty was an exception of circumstances, but I suppose if you tripped out in the woods because your head’s too big and then ended up bleeding, I’d use whatever I had available to me in the moment. A scrap of cloth, my knife, hell maybe even some absorbent vegetation.”
“Okay, rude. I do not have a big head and it’s not nice to insult the brilliant best friend who’s helping you.”
Clarke laughed and pushed the brunette over on her bed enough to lay down on her stomach beside her. She propped herself up on an elbow and grinned at the girl. Her smile widened at the slight flush that covered Raven’s cheeks at their suddenly close proximity.
“Alright Miss-Youngest-Zero-G, do you think you have enough scraps laying around to make a few makeshift needles? They don’t have to be pretty. Just sharp enough to use as practice for stitches.”
Raven pretended to think hard, scrunching up her face and counting on her fingers. Clarke rolled her eyes and poked the girl in the stomach.
“Ow, hey alright, yes yes, I can build you some damn needles. Keep poking me though and I’ll test just how sharp they are on you!”
Clarke flung herself on top of the older girl, pulling her into a clumsy hug.
“Thank you! You’re literally the best!”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don’t know.”
While her words were her go-to confident sass, Raven’s smile at Clarke’s exclamation and hug was soft and unseen. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, returning the gesture and letting her eyes fall closed as she absorbed the feeling of holding the younger girl. Raven knew that Clarke loved her, but she wasn’t sure if it was in the same way she was beginning to feel about her.
Surviving the freefall to the ground had been like pressing the reset button for Raven. She had thought that maybe she’d find Finn alive and in love with her, but instead, he’d shown his true colors and broke her heart. Or at least, her heart should have felt broken. But a certain blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl had crashed into her life right when things should have felt like they were falling apart, and instead Raven felt like everything was suddenly falling into place. Deep down she knew that the bond that she and Clarke formed came at a time of extreme vulnerability for both of them. Raven lost the boy she thought she loved and Clarke had just lost the boy who had all but been her brother. They became each other’s friend and family in the space of one conversation. The constant danger that being on the ground posed drove them to latch onto each other. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor did Raven feel that the circumstances invalidated their relationship. She had no doubt in her mind that she and Clarke both truly did care and genuinely hold a place in each other’s hearts. But the mechanic was a certified genius and she couldn’t ignore that her feelings for Clarke that went beyond friendship probably weren’t rooted in the healthiest frame of mind. And even if they were true, it wouldn’t be fair of her to hold it against the blonde if she didn’t feel the same way.
Raven knew all of this deep down. Of course, knowing something to be true and accepting it as the truth are two very different things. And so the brunette let herself be selfish. She held Clarke in her arms just a little longer than normal for a hug between two friends and buried her face in her friend’s neck, letting herself believe that they could be more.
The two girls lay together just holding each other for a few more moments.
Clarke had never had a friend who she was so comfortable sharing physical contact with. Wells had been her best friend for her entire life, but the pair hadn’t been the type to spontaneously hug or hold hands. The person who had held her most often had been her father. He would give her a hug each day before he left their family quarters for work and each night when he returned. The friendship and easy proximity that she’d developed with Raven brought Clarke comfort and she was so grateful that the mechanic had joined the group of delinquents on the ground.
Clarke finally pulled back from the hug, rolling off the edge and onto her feet. She needed to gather up any odds and ends that she could use as substitutions for actual medical supplies for the class. Raven sat up as well. She grabbed her bag that held an assortment of makeshift tools and scrap she’d been collecting since her arrival on the ground.
“I’m gonna go add some more logs to our fire. I’m gonna probably need to heat some bits of metal in the process of making you some needles.”
“Sounds good! And hey, if you burn yourself we can always use you as a live dummy patient in today’s class!”
Raven flipped Clarke the bird as she exited their tent, mumbling under her breath about who the dummy really was as the blonde’s laughter echoed behind her.
Out of habit, Clarke looked at her father’s watch on her wrist to check the time. The hands were frozen in the same position they had been in since they’d landed on the ground. She sighed to herself, knowing that the piece was useless, but refusing to stop wearing it.
Grabbing everything she could carry that she thought would be helpful for today’s class, she ducked out of the tent and joined Raven by the fire. Glancing up at the sky, she judged by the position of the sun now well above the trees that anyone who was going to be attending would be making their way over any minute now. Nerves flared up in her stomach. She’d never been the one teaching medical practices.
Up on the Ark she joined her mother in medbay to learn from her and assist where she could, but she’d never been the one in charge of educating others. It suddenly felt like a lot of responsibility. Clarke knew that technically speaking this was nothing compared to the weight she carried leading the group or when actually treating those who were hurt, but something about being the one responsible for teaching others how to properly attend to injuries was psyching her out.
“Morning Clarke!”
Sam’s cheerful greeting pulled the blonde from her spiraling thoughts. Despite her nerves, she smiled at the younger boy as he approached.
“Hey Sam. How’s Monty doing?”
“He’s good! Made sure he ate some breakfast and left him with plenty of water. Harper is sitting with him for a bit.”
“Awesome! Well, I’m glad that you’ve decided to join us today. You were great with helping me yesterday, and we need people like you who can keep calm in stressful situations.”
Sam ducked his head at her praise. The tips of his ears turned red and he became suddenly very interested in kicking at a rock on the ground. Raven, who’d been sitting by the fire quietly so far, snorted at the boy’s reaction.
Before anyone could comment further, more kids wandered over to join them. Clarke couldn’t quite mask her shocked expression at the turnout. She greeted everyone and started instructing some of the group to grab extra logs and buckets to be used as seats for everyone. She hadn’t anticipated more than three or four people to attend and so extra seating for the eight that had turned up so far was needed.
Just as she was about to call everyone’s attention to her and start things off Murphy walked over. He bypassed the rest of the group who were talking amongst themselves and moved to sit directly next to Clarke. He didn’t say anything, but when she gave him a smile he returned it with a small one of his own. Clarke turned to Raven who was seated on her other side and grinned at the look of shock on her friend’s face. She clearly hadn’t fully believed Clarke when she’d told her that Murphy would be coming.
With Murphy’s arrival, that brought the total number of attendees to nine. Ten counting Raven. Clarke cleared her throat. The butterflies had returned to her stomach, but she put on her best poker face and addressed the group with a confidence she didn’t feel.
“Hey everyone! I’m so glad to see so many of you decided to come today.”
The chatter that had been ongoing dropped off as Clarke started to speak. She studied the group before her. Sam and Murphy she had been counting on. Kyle wasn’t altogether a surprise either. She was happy to see Megan as well. She’d been there yesterday but had been more preoccupied with Chloe than helping with Monty. The other four she hadn’t been anticipating. Drew and Avery specifically were a surprise. The two boys seemed more interested in making spears and knives most days and sleeping with different girls each night. She was fairly certain that they were supposed to be on kitchen duty today which probably explained why they were here. She decided she’d give them today to see if they were actually interested in learning some first aid, but if it turned out that they were just using the class as an excuse to skip out on their assigned duties she’d make sure they’d regret it.
“So as you know I’m holding this class to teach some of the basics in treating minor injuries. We’ve all seen firsthand how dangerous the ground is proving to be and I can’t be everywhere at once. At some point one of us is going to wind up hurt and I won’t be available to help. With that in mind, my main goal is to teach you guys how to deal with some injuries so that you can help to make sure we don’t lose anyone else.”
Heads nodded as she spoke and Clarke took a steadying breath before continuing. Her nerves were still present, but medicine had always been a happy place for her. She settled her mind and pushed on.
“Obviously we don’t have an unlimited source of supplies, so for this class we’re going to improvise and use props in place of actual medical equipment. Not only is this a way to not waste resources, but it is also good training on how to treat injuries when you don’t have a medkit available. To start off, I’m going to go over how to assess a patient. Major bleeding, airway, breathing, and circulation are going to be our focuses for today.”
Raven watched as Clarke fell into a groove. Sam volunteered to be the first patient and Clarke demonstrated how to perform a preliminary assessment. Raven studied the group. She stayed off to the side working on fashioning the needles that Clarke would need for the coming day’s lesson. Most of those in attendance seemed to be listening and dedicated to actually learning something from the young medic.
Once Clarke had walked through the process twice she had everyone partner up and perform assessments on each other while she walked around and helped where needed. The odd number left Murphy without someone to work with. Before Clarke could say anything, Raven stood up and volunteered to work with the boy. She’d been watching him and was surprised to see how he had been asking questions throughout the demonstration. It seemed Clarke had been right about him having a genuine interest in learning this stuff. Clarke gave Raven a grateful smile before turning her attention to Drew and Avery who clearly had not been paying as much attention to her demonstration.
Murphy stood up from where he’d been seated as Raven came to his side. He gave a silent jerk of his head as a greeting but didn’t say anything. Raven internally rolled her eyes. Of course she was going to have to be the one to try to make their partnering less awkward.
“Upfront disclaimer, I’m here as the free help trying to craft materials you all can use to play doctor on each other. I was only partially listening to Clarke’s demonstration so it’s probably best if I just play the role of the injured person and you practice the actual techniques.”
“I didn’t take you as a damsel in distress type, but hey whatever floats your boat.”
The smirk that accompanied Murphy’s words was more playful than sarcastic. Raven grinned in response, letting out a dramatic sigh as she laid down on the ground next to where he stood. She closed her eyes and attempted to feign unconsciousness.
“Oh trust me, this is going to be as much of an exercise in acting for me as it’s going to be one in doctoring for you.”
Murphy’s lips tugged up into almost a real smile as he took his place kneeling next to the mechanic.
“I’m sure the hardest part of this for you is going not talking because you’re supposed to be kinda dying and all.”
Raven flipped him the bird in an intentionally silent response. The younger boy rolled his eyes before slipping into a suddenly more serious mode. He mimicked the steps that Clarke had demonstrated. Raven did her best to relax her muscles and allow him to gently reposition her head in order to open up her airway. She noted that despite his brash personality and calloused hands that Murphy was being firm yet gentle in his ministrations. It seemed her blonde friend had been right about seeing medical potential in him.
The other groups worked through their role-playing, each taking turns as the patient and caregiver. Clarke walked between the pairs watching carefully. She noted that both Sam and Kyle had picked up on the process with ease and were on their second time of switching off without her prompting them to keep running through the exercise. She smiled to herself as she observed the serious nature of both boys. It was clear that they both were genuinely trying to take away knowledge from the class, and though she hoped it was knowledge they would never truly need to test, the ground had already proven that they may just need it to one day save a friend’s life.
Clarke turned from the boys and sighed as her eyes fell again on Drew and Avery. She had immediately assessed the pair at the beginning of the exercise and it had been clear that neither of them had been listening to a word that she had said during her explanation and demonstration. She had tried the patient route, feigning ignorance to their disinterest and instead reexplaining it to them. But now the pair were past pushing their luck and her patience. Rather than even attempt to look as though they were completing the exercise, the two were practically wrestling on the ground. Neither even noticed her approach until she was standing over them and cleared her throat.
“Tell me, why did you even bother to come to this class today?”
Avery averted his eyes as he scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off, but Drew just sneered at Clarke as he stood up. The blonde arched an eyebrow at him, waiting for a response.
“Wanted to learn how to save some lives of course, your majesty.”
Clarke could hear the others in the group around them react to Drew’s sarcastic jibe at her nickname, but she didn’t give him the satisfaction he was looking for in her own reaction. Instead, she smiled and took a step forward into his personal space.
“Let’s be honest for a moment now, Drew. You’re here because you thought that this would be a way for you to duck your assigned duties for the day. You’re lazy. Incompetent. And self-centered to your core. You’re not here to learn anything. Which is why you won’t be continuing with today’s lesson or any others. I’d say you would be missed, but you won’t because there isn’t a single person in this camp who would actually ever want to count on you to be the one to save their life. Report back to the kitchen detail. Now!
Drew’s face burned red and his fists clenched in anger. Clarke thought for a moment he might actually take a swing at her. But his eyes darted past her for a moment before he spun around and stormed off. Avery darted after him without looking back. Clarke shook her head as she watched the pair move away and released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.
“Well damn, Princess.”
Clarke jumped and turned at how close Murphy’s voice was. He, Sam, and Kyle were all flanked right behind her. She understood then why Drew’s eyes had scanned behind her before he moved away. Apparently, while she had been verbally taking the boy down a peg or four, her friends had silently moved to provide her some backup. Her friends. It was strange how naturally the words had flowed into her mind. Particularly in regard to Murphy. But the dark-haired boy had been the one standing closest to her when she had turned. And she had no doubt that out of the three, he had been the one Drew was not looking to start something with. Murphy had her back today. Different from how he had been there for her with Monty in the forest. But there again nonetheless.
“Well, now that that’s done, why don’t we get back to today’s lesson?”
The group settled back into its rhythm. Clarke was pleased that with the distraction of Drew and Avery removed, the others were able to pick up on the different first aid basics she taught them quickly. The class continued without incident until the sun began to sink and the ruckus of the hunting party returning could be heard. Clarke smiled at everyone as she dismissed them for the day, letting them know that they were all welcome back at the same time and place tomorrow. Once the last of the group had wandered away, the blonde collapsed to the ground next to the fire that Raven was still sitting by. There was an impressive number of makeshift needles in a haphazard pile next to the mechanic’s leg. No one would need to worry about not having something to practice with for tomorrow’s lesson.
“You know, next time you’re gonna go all sweetly savage on someone's ass, the least you could do is give me some warning. I would have loved to have prepared myself to have mentally recorded that for history’s sake.”
Clarke rolled her eyes. She supposed she just should be grateful that Raven had waited until after the lesson had ended to share her commentary on the incident with Drew and Avery.
“Sweetly savage? What does that even mean, Reyes?”
“Sweetly was the way you said it. You didn’t raise your voice. You didn’t yell or fly off the handle the way Blakey-boy does. But man-oh-man, savage was what you said, Princess. You ripped Drew a new one and you looked good doing it too.”
The wink that accompanied her last comment earned Raven a shove from the blonde, but the older girl just laughed and fake jabbed at her with the needle she was holding. Clarke felt herself grinning despite herself. She always found herself smiling with Raven. The day may not have gone exactly as she had planned it, but overall, lesson one could probably be counted as a success. People who really did want to learn had shown up and Clarke knew that if they could remember even just a little bit of what she had taught them and would continue to teach them, then there was a good chance that more of their people could be helped. She was the closest thing that the group had to a doctor, but she was only one person. Now there would be a few more in the camp who could be counted on to help out.
“You hungry, Ray?”
“Can muscle mass decrease as fast as 5% a week in zero-g baby?!”
“Umm…?”
Raven feigned an exasperated sigh as she carefully climbed to her feet, mindful of her ankle. She shook her head in mock disappointment at Clarke who just stood up next to her, resigned to the fact that the mechanic was being her usual dramatic, pain-in-the-ass self.
“Yes, Princess. I am hungry. And you would think that for someone who was born in a tin can in space, and who clearly has brains not just beauty, you would know at least some of the basics of how life in space actually affects a human.”
“How is it that you continually manage to say things to me that seem like compliments yet insults at the same time?”
“Talent. Brilliance. Genius. Take your pick because they all describe yours truly.”
The pair walked over to join the line for tonight’s dinner. Clarke subtly adjusted her pace to keep it slow and measured so as to not overstrain Raven’s ankle. The girl seemed to be moving without much of a limp, but Clarke knew that the injury was still sore and would take weeks more until it was fully healed. She had learned that if she let Raven do some simple things on her own, it was easier to get her to stay still and rest. But she wasn’t fooling herself into believing that the feisty brunette was really going to continue the slow recovery process for as long as her ankle really needed, so Clarke was just taking what she could get.
There weren’t many makeshift tables left open once they’d received their portion of food. The girls were about to make their way back to their tent instead when Clarke heard a familiar voice calling her name from behind them. The blonde turned to see Bellamy waving them over to where he sat alone with his half-eaten dinner. Raven muttered something under her breath but Clarke was already moving towards the older boy and didn’t hear her.
“Hey Bell, how was today’s hunt?”
Clarke was all smiles. She sat down and pulled out the overturned bucket for Raven to sit down next to her on. But one look at Bellamy’s expression had her slipping into serious, leader mode.
“The lake to the north of here is freezing over. We got some small game but saw nothing else. We ventured further than we ever have gone before, Clarke. Today we went north. We’ll try a different direction tomorrow. But Clarke, we went over the top of a hill today and could see quite a ways and in the distance there was white stuff over everything. Snow. And it’s only a matter of time before that weather reaches us.”
Clarke could practically see the stress radiating off of the older boy. Frozen lakes and snow. That meant cold. Extreme cold. Cold like none of them had ever experienced. They weren’t ready for winter. They didn’t have the food stockpiled that they would need to survive it. Clarke wasn’t even sure that they would make it even if they did have enough to eat. No one had warm enough clothes and their shelters weren’t going to withstand frigid weather.
“How long do you think we have until the weather turns?”
It was Raven that spoke. Both leaders turned to face her. She had asked the question so simply yet seriously, and it was such a drastic shift from her normal joking self that Bellamy seemed to find himself answering without thought.
“A week. Maybe two.”
“Double the parties. Two hunting parties a day. In two different directions. One gathering party for food. Another for resources. Firewood. Anything that can be used to reinforce our structures or our clothing.”
Bellamy looked ready to argue with the mechanic, but Clarke held up her hand to stop him, her gaze fixed on Raven.
“That’s a lot of us going out into the forest. With the grounders out there and the masked attackers.”
“We’ve reached that point. Either they kill us or winter will. I don’t know about you guys, but a slow painful death of starvation and hypothermia isn’t really the way that I want to go.”
“Who would lead the groups? It would need to be people that we trust. Bellamy normally leads the hunting parties and I normally lead the gathering parties.”
“Bell-boy can still lead one of them. He can pick one of his trusted hunters to lead the other. You already have someone leading the gathering group while you teach medical stuff. Shouldn’t be hard to find another.”
“Another? You think the classes should still be happening?”
“At least two more days, yes. You’re amazing Clarke, but you’re only one person. If we’re going to survive this we need you to share some of your medical genius with others. After that then you can rejoin the groups.”
Bellamy watched the back and forth between the two girls as though he wasn’t even there. It was almost as though Clarke was in Raven’s head, asking just the questions that the brunette wanted her to so that the plan could come together further. As they ping-ponged back and forth they seemed to unconsciously draw closer together. Bellamy swallowed hard and cleared his throat. Clarke was his counterpart in the leadership team of the group on the ground after all. The pair before him jumped at the sound and turned to look at him.
“I think Reyes may be right about us needing to double our efforts. We’re not ready for this winter. I’ll leave it up to you Clarke on if you want to continue the class or jump back into gathering right away.” Bellamy took a deep breath before he turned to focus his gaze on Raven. He needed to put his emotions aside for a moment and think like a leader. Like Clarke would want him to. “Raven, I know your ankle is still pretty messed up. But thankfully what we need you for doesn’t require too much movement. We need your brain, Reyes.”
Clarke didn’t know where Bellamy was going with his little speech, but he was certainly picking the right route in appealing to Raven. She watched the spark ignite in her best friend’s eyes at his words.
“What are you thinking, Blake?”
“The dropship got us down here. It kept up safe when the masked freaks attacked us. But it’s made of metal and not great for lighting fires inside of. We still need it, but we also need better, reliable shelter for when this winter hits. You say you’re a genius, so please, figure something out that’s gonna keep us all alive.”
His words could have been harsh or snarky if they hadn’t been delivered so sincerely. Bellamy wasn’t exactly pleading, but it was clear that he was genuinely asking Raven for her help in trying to keep everyone alive through the winter that was fast approaching. The mechanic nodded and that was seemingly that. Clarke couldn’t help but feel invigorated by the night’s turn of events. The outlook was not great. It wasn’t even good. But she had her best friend and her co-leader by her side. They had a plan. And in the back of her mind, she hadn’t forgotten her other mission of getting the rest of their people back. She still vowed to check out the scene of the apparent fight between the masked enemies and grounders in the hopes of uncovering some clues before the winter truly hit. Clarke couldn’t explain why, but after tonight’s dinner and conversation, she just had a feeling that something was finally going to go their way.
As she helped Raven ease her boot off her foot that night, Clarke had no idea it would be the last night she shared a tent with her best friend.