You and Me

Chapter 9

"Really?" Murphy scoffed and looked over her shoulder. "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?

"You threatened to kill him," interjected Clarke. "We all heard you. You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor that locked us up."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who got in a knife fight with him."

"Yeah, I didn't kill him then, either."

"Tried to kill Jasper," piped up Octavia from behind Bellamy.

This reminder from Bellamy's sister caused a ripple to go through the assembled crowd, many of whom Murphy had been using Bellamy's backing to bully.

"Come on. This is ridiculous," argued Murphy, feeling the shift too. "I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone!" Murphy shouted at the crowd.

But then.

"Come again?"

Clarke and Murphy turned to see Bellamy, arms crossed, watching. He didn't approve, but she knew he wouldn't let Murphy undermine his power. And he certainly wasn't going to stop Clarke from getting justice for Wells.

Murphy's confidence dropped. He was just one of Bellamy's followers, walking up to the leader in supplication. "Bellamy, look, I'm telling you, man. I didn't do this."

"They found his fingers on the ground with your knife," Bellamy spoke low.

"Is this the kind of society that we want?" Clarke asked the crowd that moved in closer. "You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without punishment?"

"I already told you. I didn't kill anyone,"

"I say we float him."

"Yeah!" a chorus came up. Murphy, Octavia, Clarke, and Bellamy's faces paled as the crowd transitioned into a mob with one sentence.

"That's not what I'm saying," Clarke backtracked.

"Why not? He deserves to float. It's justice."

"Revenge isn't justice," Clarke pushed the approaching boy back, but the mob stepped closer.

"It's justice. Float him!

The chant got picked up. Clarke turned and met Bellamy's eye over Murphy's frozen form. Bellamy was too far away to calm everyone down. Murphy tried to make a run for it as the crowd surged in, nearly reaching Clarke before people started grabbing at the both of them.

"No!" Clarke shouted. Everyone was pushing, kicking, grabbing, and attacking Murphy, at the same time trying to pull Clarke away while she fought them off. "Get off him!" Murphy got taken to the ground with a kick, but his arm shot out and grabbed Clarke, pulling her down with him. "No!"

"Clarke!"

BANG!

Hands, feet and limbs let go of Murphy and Clarke, the crowd turning to Bellamy, whose gun was raised up to the sky.

"Anyone touches her again, the gun gets aimed closer to the ground," threatened Bellamy, bringing the gun back down and stepping forward, offering his hand to pull Clarke back to her feet. "Alright, Princess?"

"Bellamy, that's it." A guy grabbed Murphy and had three others restrain him between them, a rope gagged around his mouth. "Float him."