Nothing Gold Can Stay [1]

Four

Murphy's Law

   Nova was incredibly surprised when Blondie approached her and demanded her to take off her wristband.

   "You sure, Blondie?" Nova furrowed her eyebrows. "Once it's off, it's off. There's no way it's going back on."

   "I know," Blondie nodded, determined. "Now take it off."

   Nova was hesitant. Clarke had been one of the few people who encouraged people to keep the wristband on, and was pissed when they started to take them off.

   "Why don't we ask Monty?" Nova suggested. "He thinks he's found a way to take them off without disarming them."

   Inside the drop ship, Monty was bent over discarded wristbands, wires covering the workbench. He looked up when Clarke and Nova entered, immediately clearing his workspace.

   After a few minutes of tinkering, Monty breathed out heavily. "Yes! I did it. It's still operational."

   Clarke smiled.

   "Good job, Monty," Nova said.

   "We'll be talking to the Ark by nightfall," Monty announced.

☢☢☢

   Nova, Clarke, Bellamy, Jasper and Octavia were in one of the spare tents, surrounding the table between them. In the middle of the table was a knife and two severed fingers.

   Clarke picked the blade up. "This knife was made with metal from the drop ship."

   Jasper looked horrified. "What do you mean?"

   Nova stayed quiet. As did Clarke.

   "Who else knows about this?" Bellamy asked, immediately thinking similar to Nova. If word that one of the hundred had killed another, things would become even more chaotic than they already are.

   Octavia shook her head slightly. "No one. We brought it straight here."

   Jasper looked around, unsure of what to say. "Clarke?"

   "It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells. It was one of us."

   The others were silent, thinking about this revelation. The only way they were going to survive on Earth against the Grounders was if they worked together, and having a murderer of one of their own in their midst would not be beneficial.

   "So there's a murderer in the camp?" Jasper sounded worried. Ever since he had been attacked, he was on edge all the time, as if he was expecting someone to hurt him right there and then.

   "There's a lot of murderers in this camp, Jasper," Nova rolled her eyes. "This is nothing new."

   "That's not helpful, Nova. But we need to keep it quiet."

   Looking down at the knife, Clarke's eyes widened, as if she had realised something. She headed to the exit immediately, knife in hand.

   Nova was annoyed. There was no way that if this information could get out, it would be treated fairly and properly. Blondie going out there to announce it would cause a disaster.

   Both Bellamy and Nova went to block the exit, stopping Clarke from leaving.

   "Get out of my way." Her tone was hard and fierce.

   "Be smart about this, Blondie," Nova said. "Look at what we've achieved. The wall, the patrols."

   "Like it or not, Clarke," Bellamy chimed in, "Thinking the Grounders killed Wells is good for us."