Jason ripped his sword free without so much as any resistance.
The grounder spasmed once then went limp.
Jason didn't even look at the body as it collapsed behind him. His arm snapped forward with enough force as the sword was thrown.
It punched through the air and the blade tore straight through a charging grounder's chest, kept going, and buried itself hilt-deep into the skull of another man just a step behind Bellamy and Finn. The second grounder dropped mid-stride, eyes still wide in shock as he hit the dirt.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then Jason jumped.
He vaulted over debris and bodies, until he came down slamming into the ground as he landed directly in front of Bellamy and Finn. Blood streaked his arms, his clothes were soaked and torn, sweat cutting clean paths through the grime on his face. His chest rose and fell steadily from the excessive… work out as one might want to put it.
He looked at them and tilted his head.
"…Damn," he said casually. "You guys look horrible."
Bellamy stared at him and then to his whole body that was caked in dried blood.
Then he scoffed, breathless. "You're late."
Jason wiped blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, glanced over his shoulder at the chaos between the grounders fighting Reapers. Then, he looked back at Bellamy with a crooked grin.
"Yeah," he said. "I got held up."
He gestured vaguely toward the forest. "But I brought a party didn't I, those are the reapers. They are hated by the grounders because their cannibalism."
Finn blinked. "You're joking."
Jason snorted. "I wish."
He rolled his neck once then, his eyes snapped back open with a clarity as another wave of grounders broke through the smoke. "On the bright side? You're welcome."
Bellamy exhaled a shaky laugh. "What? You want a special thank you for escalating the whole situation now?"
Jason's smile widened into a more feral and unapologetic one as he got ready to move back into the fight.
"Oh, don't worry I don't want the thank you from you," he corrected.
Behind them, the screams grew louder as the battlefield tore itself apart from behind the drop ship.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's clean this up."
—————
It stopped being a battle and became more of a massacre.
Grounders and Reapers crashed into one another with no tactics, no order just
blades and raw hatred. They tore at each other like starving beasts, and anyone unlucky enough to be caught between them paid for it in blood. Campers screamed as their bodies collided, as the fight spilled past the traps and into the camp itself.
The defenses were almost all spent now.
Most of the traps had already been triggered. A few still claimed lives here and there, but they were no longer enough to stop the flood of invaders now that the number has increased because of Jason. The forest itself seemed to recoil as the fighting spread and the firelight flickering wildly against the trees.
"Get back!" someone shouted.
Another scream cut it short. Clarke turned just in time to see a Reaper burst through the smoke.
He was fast with spittle trailing down his mouth, his eyes were wild and unfocused as he locked onto her like prey. The world narrowed to the sound of his feet pounding the ground.
"Clarke!" someone yelled.
She didn't wait to see who had yelled her name as she ran. Her boot caught on something, was it a root or a body, she didn't know and the ground rushed up to meet her. She hit the ground hard as the air was suffering knocked clean out of her lungs. Panic flared as she tried to scramble backward.
The Reaper was already upon her.
He stood over her with his shadow swallowing her whole, raising whatever crude weapon he held but he never got the chance to swing.
Something slammed into him from the side causing the babarian to crash down beside Clarke . He snarled as he tried to push himself back up.
Clarke seeing the down man didn't think for a second or even hesitate.
Her hand tightened around the knife on her hand, and she drove it forward with everything she had straight through his eye.
The blade slid in with sickening ease.
The Reaper's body jerked a few times and she didn't let go as she pushed in deeper until she felt him go slack.
Clarke froze, breathing hard and staring at what she'd done. Blood dripped down her hand. Her reflection stared back at her from the glassy eye she had just destroyed.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be.
This, this wasn't salvation.
This wasn't the future she had imagined when they came down from the sky, clinging to the hope that humanity could start over, that people could help one another and build something better from the ashes.
Instead, she was here.
Kneeling in the dirt and ending lives.
Humans reduced to animals. Barbarians fighting for survival just as desperately as she was.
————
Clarke's hands wouldn't stop shaking. What would her mother think if she saw her now?
The image came uninvited as Abby's face looked tight with worry and disappointment, the way she used to look at Clarke when she pushed too hard, when she crossed lines for what she believed was right. Would she understand? Would she see that there had been no choice?
And her father…
She could almost see him too, Jake Griffin, kneeling to her height with his ever so gentle voice, eyes full of faith in his little girl. What would he say if he saw her now, blood on her hands, a knife buried in another human's skull? Would he still recognize her? Would he still be proud?
Her chest tightened but she never finished the thought as a voice screamed at her.
"Clarke, get up!" Octavia shouted, grabbing her arm. "We have to move!"
Clarke sucked in a breath and scrambled to her feet, the sound rushing back in all at once.
"What are you doing here?" Clarke asked as they moved. "Where's Lincoln?"
Octavia's looked back in a hurry, "He's fighting Tristan."
Clarke felt a chill run through her. "We need to end this," she said, breathless. "Now. Before more of us die."
As if summoned by the thought, Raven's voice cut through the noise shouting at them.
"Clarke! Octavia! Up here… now!"
They climbed to the sentry post, and the moment Clarke looked out across the far perimeter, her breath caught.
Someone was moving through the battlefield like a blade through water.
Jason.
He didn't stay in one place long enough to be surrounded. One heartbeat he was there, the next he wasn't. His sword spun in a brutal arc, steel whistling as it took two enemies at once, one Grounder and a Reaper both collapsing before their bodies even seemed to understand they were dead.
Another rushed him. Jason ducked low, his blade flashing sideways to slice through the tendons at the back of the man's leg. The Grounder fell with a scream, and before he could hit the ground fully, Jason stepped in and drove the sword up through the chin, out the skull.
He ripped it free and was already gone.
Octavia stared, horror and awe twisting together in her chest. "Oh my god…"
Her gaze snapped to the edge of the fight, where Bellamy and Finn were holding the line, barely. They had their backs almost touching, bloodied, exhausted and surrounded by enemies from all sides.
"We need an edge," Octavia said. "Now."
Raven stiffened suddenly. Her eyes tracked the battlefield, then snapped to Jasper. She didn't say a word and just nodded at the boy.
Clarke caught it. "What?" she demanded. "What is it?"
Raven's looked at her and said "They're all pushing toward the back now."
Clarke followed her gaze. The realization hit hard. "That's bad," she said. "The back is less defended and the line of fire's gone."
Raven straightened. "Good."
She turned and bolted down the ladder.
Octavia stared after her. "Good?" she echoed. "How is that good?"
"We've got a way to end this," Raven called back over her shoulder. "Quick and fast."
Clarke turned to Jasper and Monty. "What is she talking about?"
Jasper swallowed. "We checked the drop ship engine a while back. There's still a substantial amount of hydrazine left in the tanks."
Octavia's eyes widened. "So?" she snapped. "That stuff is highly unstable. Is she planning to blow us all up?!"
"No," Monty said quickly. "She's not blowing it up." He hesitated, then added, "She's going to turn on the engine."
Clarke's blood ran cold.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "She's going to—"
"Yeah," Jasper said grimly. "She's going to end it."
Octavia shook her head. "But that'll affect us too."
"It will," Jasper admitted. "Raven knows that. She's taking a risk. This was supposed to be the very last resort."
He looked back toward the battlefield. "Even with Jason here, we're still outnumbered. The only reason we're alive is the traps and the guns."
Clarke's heart pounded. "We have to warn them."
She leaned over the edge, shouting until her throat burned. "Fall back! Everyone, fall back!"
Below, the fight raged on, but some heads turned and looked at her before some started moving back.
Octavia didn't wait for all of them. She was already running straight into the battlefield, and towards her brother because if this was going to end, Bellamy needed to know and get everyone away from the danger zone.