Slowly, my eyelids fluttered open, making me aware of a figure beside me. My vision was blurry for a moment, causing the person to look fuzzy, until I blinked rapidly and it cleared.
"Hey," Bellamy's larger hand let go of mine and he reached over to get some water. He passed the cup to me. "You okay?"
"What are you doing in here?" I groaned, taking the cup into my shaking hands.
"Looking after you."
I took a sip of my water, trying not to spill it down me. "I'm fine." All of a sudden, the air in my throat started to feel restricted and I began to cough.
"You sure?"
"I'm fine," I insisted. I felt my own eyes widen as I remembered the plan to bomb the bridge. "Did the bomb- did I work?"
"Yeah," Bellamy said with a gentle nod. "They did it."
I sighed in relief, feeling my whole body relax. "The grounders? Are they coming?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
I started to lay back down but hesitated. "Where's Clarke?"
"Hunting with Finn," Bellamy replied nonchalantly. He then placed his hand on my forehead, checking my temperature. "You should get some more rest."
I nodded, not needing to be told twice. My eyelids still felt heavy, despite probably having slept for hours, and my head was swimming. Not to mention that my whole body practically screamed to be rested. I shifted into a more comfortable position, closing my eyes and letting sleep take me away.
~
When I woke up again, I felt a lot better. The dizziness hadn't fully subsided but I was okay. My limbs still felt heavy and weak but it was nothing I couldn't deal with.
Jasper had come to check on me and helped me out of bed, filling me in on what was happening in camp. Quite frankly, I wished I'd stayed asleep.
Clarke, Monty and Finn were missing. That sentence wouldn't have alarmed me so much if it hadn't been so long since they'd been gone. I knew they could all defend themselves and they would look out for each other, but it couldn't help me worrying.
When we headed down to the ground level of the dropship, Bellamy was stood alone, leaning over a table, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He noticed our presence and turned around with a sigh. "Billie, you should be resting."
"I think we have more important things to discuss."
He sighed again, standing up completely and looking between Jasper and I. "Don't you think I want to go after them, too?"
"If it was you out there you think Monty, Clarke, or Finn would hide behind these walls?" Jasper asked.
"No. They'd go after me. Then they'd be dead, too," He said. I went to open my mouth to protest but he cut me off. "I am only doing what I think is right for the group."
I crossed my arms, tilting my head to the side. "It's funny you didn't think that way when Octavia went missing."
Jasper shook his head, already starting to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Bellamy asked.
"More gunpowder for your minefield sir," He said sarcastically, saluting him before climbing up the ladder to the next floor.
Bellamy turned to face me but I altered my gaze. I was completely angered by the fact that Clarke, Finn and Monty seemed to mean absolutely nothing to him now. I understood where he was coming from but I just couldn't help thinking back to all those times Octavia was in trouble. Those three risked their lives for her, and to help Bellamy, and he didn't seem to want repay that.
Shaking my head in disappointment, I proceeded to step up the ladder, climbing the metal rungs and meeting Jasper at the top.
"I promise you, when I'm one hundred percent better and you wanna go out there and look for them, I will go with you," I told him.
"It doesn't matter," He dismissed, turning around and starting to pour gunpowder into a tin.
"Jas, it matters."
He ignored me and headed back to the ladder, climbing down. I sighed, following him down, dropping my feet on the floor. When I glanced around, Murphy, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights, was stood over Myles - the boy with Clarke and Finn that had returned back to camp without them.
"He stopped breathing," Murphy stated, his voice shaking slightly. "I was-I was trying to help him."
I watched as he eyed the gun on the table nearby and, already predicting his next move, I dived for it. Unfortunately, with Murphy being the closest, he managed to grab it before Jasper or I could.
I held my hand out in front of me, trying to control my breathing as panic rose inside me. "Murphy, just put the gun down."
Murphy looked back at Myles before turning to us. "H-he tried to kill me."
Jasper and I shared a look and he grabbed my hand, pulling me backwards slightly.
"Hey, don't-" Murphy pointed the gun at us, his finger brushing over the trigger. "Move."
"Ok. Ok," Jasper said quietly, glancing at me again. "It's cool."
Murphy shook his head. "No it's not. You know what'll happen to me if you tell Bellamy."
A crackling sound came through on a walkie talkie, grabbing my attention. Then Bellamy's voice came through, strangely giving me some kind of comfort to know that he was around and we weren't going to be alone in this. "Tell Bellamy what?"
"Give me the radio, Jasper."
Jasper slowly reached for the walkie in his pocket, before pressing the button and speaking quickly. "Murphy has a gun. He killed Myles-"
Murphy stormed over, knocking Jasper to the floor and the radio out of his hands. "Jasper!" I exclaimed, immediately kneeling next to my friend.
"Murphy, what the hell are you doing?" I heard Bellamy ask through the radio.
The dropship door suddenly started to close shut and I glanced up, swallowing the lump in my throat. We were stuck in here. With Murphy. In the crossfire.
"Murphy! Murphy! Open the damn door!" I heard Bellamy yelling from outside. His panic only seemed to fuel mine.
"You try to be a hero, Jasper dies," Murphy shouted back.
"Don't do this," I spoke up as Murphy grabbed some ropes, probably ready to tie Jasper and I up.
"Shut up!"
I looked around the room for some sort of weapon but there was nothing. We were here defenceless with absolutely no plan at all. Someone wasn't going to make it out of here alive.
"Murphy!" I heard Octavia scream from outside. "Murphy, if you even touch Billie or Jasper I swear to god you're dead!"
"Murphy-" I started.
"You," He pointed the gun at me, whilst holding another bound of rope in the other hand. "Shut up and go over there or I will shoot you."
"Honestly, Murphy, your threats terrify me," I said sarcastically, almost rolling my eyes. I saw his face twist into an angered expression but Bellamy's voice cut him off before he could do anything.
"Murphy, I know you can hear me." I heard him say through the walkie, causing Murphy to head back over to the table where the radio was. "All our ammo and food is in the middle level. You know that. You're leaving us vulnerable to an attack. I can't let that happen."
"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in control right now," Murphy snapped back.
"Come on, Murphy. You don't want to hurt Billie and Jasper. You want to hurt me," I closed my eyes, praying that he wasn't about to do what I thought he was. "So what do you say? How about you trade them for me?"
"Bellamy don't!" I yelled at the same time as Murphy answered "How?" He then whipped around, facing me. "Be quiet!"
"Simple," Bellamy answered through the radio. "You open the door, I walk in, they walk out."
Murphy drummed his hands against the walkie, looking at Jasper, whose eyes were wide with fear. Then he looked at me, a smirk tugging on his cruel lips.
"How about this," He started. "I open the door, you walk in, Jasper walks out. But Billie stays."
"No."
"Bellamy!" I shouted, desperately hoping he could hear me. If staying in here meant Jasper could walk free then I was willing to oblige. Plus, I knew Bellamy would get us out of this somehow. He always finds a way. "Bellamy do it!"
"No deal, then," Murphy shot me a patronising grin. "I guess he does care about you, sweetheart."
There was a long pause that seemed to drag on forever until Bellamy finally spoke again. "Fine."
I sighed in relief as Murphy laughed half heartedly, facing me again. "Or not."
"Fuck you, Murphy."
I watched as he pressed the lever, allowing the door to open again. "Just you, Bellamy!" Murphy shouted. "Unarmed! Ten seconds or I'll put one in Jasper's leg!" He pulled Jasper up roughly, preparing to either shoot him or send him out. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five."
"I'm here." Bellamy's voice was incredibly calm as he stepped into the dropship. I looked over, meeting his brown eyes.
Murphy tossed Jasper out and then stepped away, turning to me. "You." He held up the bound of rope again and stormed over. I looked up, narrowing my eyes at him as I stepped backwards. Harshly, he grabbed my wrists, pulling me towards him as he wrapped the rope around them. I winced as he tightened the knot, the material cutting roughly into my skin Bellamy's eyes found mine again and I gave him a weak smile, nodding. "I give you an order, you do it," Murphy instructed both of us. "Right?"
"Fine," I said, every fibre of my body burning with hatred for the boy in front of me.
"Yeah," Bellamy replied with a nod, his uncertain eyes still on me.
"Billie, stand against the wall and don't move from there," I nodded with a sigh, moving backwards but still keeping my eye on Murphy. I didn't trust him enough to turn my back. "Bellamy, tie a noose."
My heart seemed to drop into my stomach as I realised what Murphy was trying to do and I paused. "Murphy-"
"Do it!" Murphy snapped.
Bellamy didn't move so Murphy fired a shot up at at the ceiling, making my ears ring from the loud sound. "Okay," Bellamy answered. "I got it."
"That's good," Murphy said. "Then do what I said."
"Bellamy?" I heard Octavia's panicked voice over the walkie. "Bellamy! Are you ok?"
"You want her to know you're alive?Start tying."
"Bellamy! Do you copy?" Octavia asked frantically.
Bellamy bent down as Murphy held the button on the walkie talkie. I watched, feeling like I was going to be sick as he started to tie the material into a noose.
"I'm fine. Just a misfire. Now stop worrying about me and get back to work, all of you," He replied, hesitating before adding. "And tell Raven to hurry her ass up."
Murphy tucked the device back in his pocket. "All right, that's long enough. Tie those two ends together." Bellamy did so and then looked up at Murphy for more instructions. "All right. Now get up and toss it over."
Murphy aimed his gun on Bellamy, who slowly stood up and tied the material over a piece of metal.
"What do you want me to say?" Bellamy asked. "You want me to apologize?" He took a step forwards. "I'm-" Murphy quickly repositioned his gun, making Bellamy retract his steps. "I'm sorry."
Murphy grinned. "You got it all wrong, Bellamy. I don't want you to say anything. I want you to feel what I felt, and then-" he cut off. "Then I want you to die."
I made eye contact with Bellamy, who had been looking up at the daunting noose. Murphy turned around, realising that Bellamy was looking at me. He then trained the gun on me instead.
"If you don't do it," Murphy's eyes flickered back at Bellamy and then once again at me. "I'll kill her."
I felt my eyes sting with tears and I tried to blink them away. I didn't want Bellamy to do this for me. "It's okay," I managed to choke out, much to Murphy's amusement.
"Drag that stool over here," Murphy ordered. I watched as Bellamy complied, the tears still burning in my eyes. "Stand on it."
"Bellamy-" I started. But he'd already stepped onto the stool.
Murphy motioned to the noose. "Put it over your head."
"Stop it," I snapped. "This is going too far!"
"I told you to shut up!" Murphy yelled, waving the gun threateningly in front of me.
With a pained expression, Bellamy slowly started to pull the rope around his neck. I gulped, watching him in complete fear. How far was Murphy going to let this go? "Happy now?"
Murphy yanked the chord down, causing the rope to tighten around Bellamy's neck. Instinctively, Bellamy grabbed it, trying to stop it from blocking his airways.
"You're so brave, aren't you," Murphy taunted. "I mean, you came in here thinking you were just gonna turn this whole thing around, that you were stronger than me, and maybe one of your friends would come and help you."
He pulled the rope down again and Bellamy stood on his tiptoes, trying not to be pulled up any higher.
"Please," I begged, feeling the weakness in my voice. "Murphy, please," I desperately tugged at the material binding my hands together, trying to break away to help Bellamy.
He shook his head and began to pace backwards and forwards. "You know, I got to hand it to you, Bellamy. You got 'em all fooled. They actually look up to you, almost as much as they look up to Clarke. Yeah, well, we know the truth, don't we? You're a coward." Bellamy glared at him, eyes burning with rage. "I learned that the day you kicked out the crate from beneath me. Isn't that what you said? That you were just giving the people what they wanted, right?"
"I should have stopped them," Bellamy stated, remorse clear in his voice.
"Yeah, it's a little late for that now," Murphy sneered.
"You think they're just gonna let you walk out of here?" Bellamy asked.
"Well, I think the princess is dead," My breath caught in my throat. What really happened to my best friend whilst I was out? "I know the king's about to die. So who's really gonna lead these people, huh? Me, that's who. And yeah, maybe I'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister."
Bellamy kicked his leg out at Murphy, who only jumped back and grabbed the rope, tightening it again. Bellamy's hands flew to his throat and I could see his eyes widening in fear.
I furiously pulled against the restraints again, my cries becoming desperate. "Stop!" I screamed. "Stop it, Murphy! Please!"
I moved forwards again but the gun was pointed at me again. He looked livid. "And you know who else I'll have to kill? That's right, your precious little princess over here. This is your last warning Billie, you move one more time and the next bullet is going in your head!"
"Don't!" Bellamy choked out.
I heard a yell from below us and Murphy stopped in his tracks. "I'm guessing that's Octavia right now." He snapped, tying the rope on the ladder before grabbing the gun and firing it on the floor rapidly. Shot after shot.
"No!" Bellamy and I yelled in unison. I could feel sobs rising in my throat as Murphy continued to click the gun...but the bullets were duds.
Bellamy started to yank on the rope again but Murphy noticed and kicked the stool from underneath him. I watched in horror, wanting to scream as Bellamy's legs started to thrash beneath him and his choking sounds filled the room.
"No!" I cried out, pulling at the bounds again as they finally began to loosen up. "Bellamy! Bellamy!"
"Using your hands is a cheat," Murphy sneered. "Mine were bound, remember?"
He went to grab Bellamy's hands, yanking them away from the belt. Bellamy threw his fist out and it collided with Murphy's face, knocking him to the ground. I cried out in frustration, still trying to break the bounds. Murphy slammed the gun into Bellamy's gut, causing his hands to completely drop from the noose.
The restraints suddenly slipped from my wrists and I dived forwards, just as the door to the dropship opened.
Murphy fled up the ladder and I ran towards it, quickly untying the rope. Bellamy's body fell to the ground as the door to the floor above was shut. I wasn't at all bothered about Murphy anymore, I was more concerned about Bellamy, who was lay helplessly on the floor.
I dropped down beside him, loosening the rope from his neck, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Breathe," I choked out. "Come on, Breathe."
He sucked in a pained breath as the others flooded into the dropship. "Bell!" Octavia screamed as she ran over. The two of us helped pull him up and steady him, but he moved out of our grips.
"Murphy!" He bellowed, his voice deeper than I'd ever heard it before. "Murphy! It's over!" He furiously started to climb the ladder, pushing on the door of the third floor. "Murphy!" I watched as he gritted his teeth, trying to use his body to push open the door. "There's only one way out of this for you now!"
A loud explosion ripped through the air and my eyes widened. Bellamy let out one final grunt before finally pushing the door open. Jasper and I immediately climbed up after him as black smoke began to billow out. Soon, the smoke cleared to reveal a large hole in the wall.
"Guy knows how to make an exit," Jasper commented. "Should we go after him?"
"No. Grounders will take care of Murphy," Bellamy assured. "We're going after Clarke, Finn, and Monty. You two were right. We don't abandon our own," He said. "Three guns you two and me. That's it. Raven stays here to build up defences," He ordered. "We lost a day because of this, and our gunpowder. Raven!" He yelled down to the lower floor.
"Bellamy, wait," Jasper called. "Look, I just-" he walked over, throwing his arms around him. "Thank you," He whispered. "Long way from 'whatever the hell you want.'"
A watery smile formed on my lips as I shared a glance with Bellamy, who seemed to have calmed down enough by now to actually remember what had just happened.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. I wasn't really okay, truthfully. I was completely shaken up by the whole ordeal and I just wanted to cry or scream at the top of my lungs. I felt so helpless, so weak. It was the worst feeling in the world. "I think I should be the one asking you that question."
"All gunners! We got movement outside the south wall!" Someone exclaimed through the radio.
Without hesitation, Bellamy climbed down the ladder, with Jasper and I following behind. We ran through the dropship and outside, where the camp doors were being opened.
Clarke and Finn ran through, only stopping to look around at everyone. "Hey, we heard an explosion," Clarke said, slightly breathless.
I ran over, flinging my arms around her. Clarke was alive. She was okay. Bellamy almost died. But he's okay. I almost died. But I'm okay. Everyone is okay now. She stumbled backwards slightly before wrapping her arms around me. "Hey, what happened?"
"Murphy happened," I replied as I pulled away.
"Thank God!" Jasper exclaimed, also engulfing her in a hug. "Where have you been? Where's Monty?"
I forgot about Monty. He wasn't with them. And he wasn't in camp either.
"Monty's gone?" Clarke frowned, eyes widening in fear.
"Clarke, we need to leave, now," Finn said before looking up at the rest of us. "All of us do. There's an army of grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now. We need to pack what we can and run."
"Like hell we do. We knew this was coming," Bellamy replied.
"Bell, we're not prepared," Octavia reminded.
"And they're not here yet. We still have time to get ready!" He argued. "Besides, where would we go? Where would we be safer than behind these walls?"
"There's an ocean to the east. People there will help us," Finn answered.
"You saw Lincoln?" Octavia asked, obviously having once been told the same thing by the grounder.
"Yeah."
"You expect us to trust a grounder?" Bellamy questioned. "This is our home now. We built this from nothing with our bare hands! Our dead are buried behind that wall in this ground! Our ground!" He yelled, turning around to address everyone. "The grounders think they can take that away. They think that because we came from the sky, we don't belong here. But they're yet to realize one very important fact. We are on the ground now and that means that we are grounders!"
A chorus of yeah's erupted, causing me to smile slightly. Bellamy was right. This was our home and we weren't gonna just leave it. It was more dangerous out in the open. We could get attacked just as easily. We had to fight.
"Grounders with guns!" Someone shouted.
Bellamy turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Damn right! I say let 'em come!"
"Bellamy's right," Clarke stepped forwards. "If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this. And God knows in this world we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact that if we stay here, we will die tonight. So pack your things. Just take what you can carry, now."
The crowd, some obviously changing their minds, started disperse until a voice sounded over the top of everyone else's. "Help me!" I looked over to see Raven stumbling towards the crowd, holding her side.
"Raven!" I breathed out, running over to her, along with the others.
"Murphy shot her," Bellamy concluded.
Finn picked her up and she winced in pain. "Get her onto the dropship," Clarke ordered.
Finn started to head there and Clarke went to follow but Bellamy stopped her. "Clarke, leaving here is a mistake."
"The decision's been made."
"Crowds make bad decisions," Bellamy argued. "Just ask Murphy. Leaders do what they think is right."
"I am."
Clarke headed to the dropship leaving Bellamy and I alone. I looked around camp, watching people collect their things, before turning to him.
"We can't leave."
"Don't worry," Determination hardened on his face, replacing the brief worried expression I had witnessed. "We won't."