Songs:
Run Boy Run - Woodkid
Sick - Zebra and Giraffe
No Good - Kaleo
As soon as the camp was in sight I knew I was in trouble. There were two guards standing outside the gates, grim expressions painted onto their faces. They seemed to be talking to each other, their low whispers going unheard from where our group was. But the worried looks that passed between the two didn't go unnoticed, and as soon as we were in earshot Bellamy called over to them. "Why aren't you two at your posts?" he snapped, his brows furrowed.
I recognized Miller as one of the guards, and his reluctant expression as he opened his mouth to speak. "Someone tripped the wire around an hour ago," he told us, and the Blake boy stiffened.
Back straighter than a rod, he acknowledged the information stiffly. "Alright," he responded slowly, clearly trying not to seem too excited or angry. "Was it taken care of right away?"
Miller bit his lip, seeming unsure of how to answer. Taking a deep breath, his gaze flickered to the camp. "It was Murphy..." he began.
If it was possible, I swear Bellamy stiffened even more than he already was. Fists clenched at his sides, he pressed his lips in a thin line. "Murphy? You sent him away, right?"
The two guards exchanged wary glances before both returning their eyes to their leader, who was staring down at the ferociously. "Um..."
Bellamy breathed out heavily through his nose. "You sent him away, right?"
The other guard, a short blonde haired boy, gulped before he pointed to the camp nervously. "He's in the drop ship," he squeaked.
Bellamy's nostrils flared and he pushed past the two boys, storming into the camp. He stomped past everyone that was outside and they all stared at him as if they knew where he was headed and what he was probably about to do. Most likely, they did know. Clarke, Finn, Raven and I quickly followed as he ripped back the curtain and burst into the drop ship. "Where is he?" Bellamy practically growled, and the small crowd that had gathered parted like the red sea for their leader.
As soon as I saw Murphy, I sucked in a sharp breath. Every inch of his body was covered in blood. Some of it dried, some of it fresh. His clothes were soiled and ripped and his hair was hard and sticking out in various places, most likely because of dried blood caked there. His right eye was purple and swollen, almost to the point of complete closer. His hands were shaking, and when he saw Bellamy I swear I saw him push himself further into the wall he was currently leaning against. "Everyone but Connor and Derek out, NOW!" Bellamy shouted the order, and soon the room was cleared.
"He claims he was with the grounders," Connor told Bellamy, his gaze flickering to me for a split second. I narrowed my eyes at him as Derek continued.
"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp."
Murphy let out a burbling cough, his eyes slowly making their way towards Derek. "I wasn't sneaking," he weakly defended himself. "I was running, from the grounders."
Bellamy clearly didn't believe him. "Anyone see grounders?"
"Nope," Derek sighed, shaking his head. I noticed his grip on his gun was awfully tight.
Bellamy didn't even stop consider what he was doing as he raised up his gun and aimed it at Murphy, who flinched wildly. "Well, in that case-"
Finn was quick to stop him, shoving the gun towards the floor and away from Murphy. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped, his eyes narrowed.
Bellamy sneered at Finn. "We were clear what would happen if he came back," he snapped, raising the gun again.
Finn stepped in front of the weapon this time, his hand over the hole. "No!" Finn gave back bravely. "If he was with the grounders, then he knows things that can help us."
"Help us?" Bellamy scoffed. "We hanged him. We banished him, and now were gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way."
"No," Clarke said suddenly, stepping up to Bellamy as well. "Finn is right." She began to make her way over to Murphy, crouching down in front of him.
"Like hell he is!" Bellamy retorted angrily. "Clarke, think about Charlotte!"
Clarke's head whipped around in an instant. "I am!" she snapped. "But what happened to Charlotte was as much our fault as his." Carefully taking his trembling hands in hers, Clarke motioned for me to join her at his side. "He's not lying," she spoke. "His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."
Kneeling down, I took Murphy's hand from Clarke gently and turned it over, examining it. Fingernails torn, possibly more than once, cuts and scars up his arm, on his palms. I was no stranger to this."This is definitely Anya's work," I concluded, glancing back at Bellamy. Shaking my head, I let out a short sigh. "She always goes too far."
Finn scoffed and turned to Bellamy. "You and the grounders should compare notes," he snapped, his eyebrows raised as if he were issuing a challenge.
"The grounders know we're at war," Bellamy shot back. Then turning to Murphy, "What did you tell them about us?"
Murphy coughed again, his terrified gaze making it's way to Bellamy. "Everything," he breathed out.
Everyone looked up at each other, lips pursed. Standing up, Clarke made her way over to Bellamy. "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's gone. Okay?"
Bellamy still looked reluctant. "What if he refuses to leave?" he asked, his gaze drifting to where Murphy and I were, the former pressed into the wall as I crouched next to him.
Clarke didn't even pause. "Then we kill him," she said. Nodding to Bellamy as the rest of us looked on in slight shock, she began to make her way out of the drop ship.
"Clarke!" I called after her, scrambling up and jogging after the blonde. "Clarke, wait!"
"What?" she asked, turning around.
My eyebrows furrowed, I gave her an odd look. "I thought you didn't want to kill anyone. And Murphy's not a grounder. He isn't the enemy."
"Well he's certainly not a friend, either," Clarke spat back, and I took a step away from her cautiously.
"Yeah, but you don't seriously want to kill him, right?"
Clarke scoffed. "I never thought I'd torture someone either, but I guess I was wrong there too."
My eyebrows drawing together, I put a hand on her shoulder. "Lincoln isn't your fault."
Clarke shook her head. "No, but you are."
I sighed, my lips pressing together. "You couldn't have known, you thought you were saving Finn's life."
The blonde in front of me grabbed my arm and gently pushed it away, taking my hand off of her shoulder. "You should hate me," she said, sounding confused. "Why is it that all you seem to want to do is help me?"
I shrugged. "Finn is my friend. He cares about you. I'm not about to let you get yourself killed." Backing away, I sent her a small, half-hearted smiled. "Besides, when you're not torturing people you're pretty nice."
Clarke looked shocked but returned the nod I gave her, before we both turned and walked in different directions, me heading back into the drop ship while she wandered off into the camp.
* * * * *
"Hey," I mumbled as I walked up to the wall, hands shoved deep into my pockets. I watched as Jasper turned around, his gun never moving from its position as he glanced at me. He sent me an awkward smile, before he turned around. "How are you doing?" I asked him carefully.
Jasper sucked in a short breath. "Better," he answered. His voice was strained and I knew it was because he didn't want me here, I made him uncomfortable. I was getting a lot of that. For a moment it was silent, before Jasper cleared his throat. "How are you?"
I rolled my shoulder out of instinct, the soreness sending a dull ache throughout my left shoulder. "Better," I winced. Glancing at the gun, I sighed. "Um, I just wanted to thank you."
Jasper scoffed, raising his eyebrows. "For what?"
"For the bridge," I told him, and suddenly he went quiet. "I knew Anya was planning something, I just didn't know how to stop it. I guess all we had to do was bring you along."
Jasper nodded, seeming a bit shocked. "Uh, you're welcome. But I didn't do it for you."
I nodded along. "You did it for Octavia," I remembered, my fingers tapping against the side of my leg.
"Yeah," Jasper coughed, a pained smile showing on his face. "That didn't turn out too well. She thinks I ruined any chance at peace."
"You did," I told him. When he turned to glare at me, I simply shrugged my shoulders. "At least, you would have if there was any chance to begin with. Anya is shoot first, ask questions later. She would have you all killed before she even considered a treaty."
"So you think I did the right thing?" Jasper asked.
I rolled my eyes, giving him a playful look. "Don't think I haven't seen you gloating. You think you did the right thing, too."
"Not everyone agrees with that, I think."
I nodded my head. "And not everyone will. But that's how it's gotta be."
Jasper nodded slowly, letting out a long breath. He seemed a bit more relaxed now, something that made me happy. I hated the fact that people around here assumed I was the enemy, as if I hadn't helped them enough to prove I wasn't. But then again, I couldn't blame them. They'd been through a lot. "Hey," Jasper's voice cut through my mind, preventing me from wandering off into a reverie. "I know you're the one who patched me up. When I was speared, and stuff."
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, sending him an awkward smile. "Yeah."
"Well I guess I should maybe thank you for that," he admitted, his gaze not leaving the forest ahead of us. "So, um, thank you."
My smile grew just a bit. "No problem."
I expected him to smile back, but instead he sent me a serious look. "So I know you helped me, but who speared me?"
I pushed down the guilty look and instead sent him a sympathetic one. "I don't know," I lied, knowing that if they found out I was the one to spear Jasper I would lose the little trust I had managed to gain. "But I don't think they were trying to hurt you. At least, definitely not fatally."
Jasper scoffed, and he turned to the side so he could give me a look. "Then why did they attack at all if they didn't want to kill me?"
I pursed my lips. "The mountain is a boundary. No one's allowed past it."
Jasper frowned, curious. "Why not?"
I sighed, bowing my head. "It's a dangerous place. Grounders are terrible and the Reapers are worse. But the Mountain Men are a force to be reckoned with. It's best to just avoid them."
"There are people on the mountain?" I nodded. "Why, though?" Jasper continued asking questions. "I mean, why are they so horrible?"
I sent Jasper a cautious look. "Some things are better left unsaid," I told him softly. "And I only know that the grounders who pass the river never come back. Something happens to them. I don't know what. And if I'm honest, I'd like to keep it that way."
"Right," Jasper sighed. Suddenly his eyes widened and he took a step back, looking at me in horror. "Oh my god, your eyes," he muttered. Confused, I frowned and brought a hand up to swipe under my eyes. When I pulled it away, I saw blood smeared across my fingers.
"What the hell," I gaped, wiping underneath my other eye, only to find more blood.
"Oh God," Jasper murmured, and he took yet another step back. After another moment of silence, he opened his mouth as if he were about to say something else when suddenly a terrified voice tore through the previously still air.
"Wes!" Clarke shouted, fear laced in her voice. "Get to the drop ship, now!"
I looked at Jasper, giving him a look a fear before turning and racing towards the drop ship, towards Clarke. Pushing my way through the curtain, I rubbed my sleeve underneath my eyes before glancing over at Clarke, who had bloody tear tracks just like me. I must have still had some blood underneath my eyes, because Clarke's eyes widened and she looked at me with a sick-sounding gasp for air. "What's happening?" she asked me.
I shook my head, the feeling in the back of my throat to cough taking away my ability to speak. Burying my face into my arm, I let out a string of raspy coughs. The coughs were big and powerful and my whole body shook with every jolt, and it felt like the lining of my throat was being scraped off as I choked on what seemed like nothing. But when I was finally done, I pulled my arm back only to be met with a patch of blood on my sleeve that made my vision swim with disgust. I pulled the end of my sleeve up over my hand and wiped my mouth, getting rid of the excess blood before glancing at Clarke. I tried to act like nothing had happened, like it was fine. But I knew that she could see the fear in my eyes.
"I have no idea what the hell this is," I mumbled, realizing that for the first time in my life I was unfamiliar with what I was faced with. Normally I had some idea off what I was getting myself into. But here, I wasn't trained, and no amount of fight or knowledge was going to cure me or help me.
Clarke was pale and her eyes already had a sunken look to them, and I guessed I looked the same way. She collapsed onto the ground beside Murphy, who was seemingly staring off into space with blood running down his chin. Pressing my back against the wall, I slid down to join her on the floor. As soon as I did, Bellamy came bursting into the drop ship, gun in hand.
"Bellamy, stay back," Clarke ordered him, putting a hand out in protest.
Immediately concern washed over the Blake's features. "Did he do something to you?" he asked, worried.
"No," Clarke sighed, looking up at him. I did the same, and I watched as the brown eyes of the boy in front of me glided over to stare at me, accusation swimming in his eyes.
"What the hell is this?" he asked me.
I shook my head weakly, lips pursing as I felt another urge to cough. I spluttered and coughed a bit with a closed mouth, earning the attention of Clarke. I could feel a bit of the blood make it's way through my lips, dribbling down my chin and I quickly wiped at it. I held out a hand and shook my head, telling her silently I was alright. The blonde turned to Bellamy with a look of realization. "Biological Warfare," she told him. "You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon."
Bellamy's gaze shifted to me. "If the grounders are retaliating against us, how come she's sick too?"
I wiped at my mouth before sending him an unenthusiastic glare. "I told you, they don't care about me." When Bellamy opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off. "I don't care about them, either."
His eyes narrowed. "How do we know you don't feel that way about us? How can we be sure you actually care?"
I gave him a look. "What more do I have to do for you people to trust me? I've been tortured, shot at, actually shot in the shoulder, and attacked. I'm on your side."
Bellamy looked like he wanted to press on the subject, but he surprised me by sighing an turning angrily towards Murphy. "Is this your revenge, helping the grounders kill us?"
In the time we had been talking, Clarke had moved over to Murphy and had begun to dab at the blood on his face with a wet rag. "I swear I didn't know about this," the boy moaned.
"Stop lying!" Bellamy shouted. "When are they coming?"
"Murphy, think, alright?" Clarke pleaded desperately. "What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything."
Murphy shook his head. "They are vicious, cruel."
Bellamy scoffed. "You want to see vicious?" he snapped, coming towards the boy. Suddenly I put a hand out, and he paused, looking at me again. "What now?" he spat.
I sent him a half-hearted glare, one that was more telling him to be patient than out of anger. "He's right," I said meekly. "Anya will strike when we're at our lowest. She'll wait for some of us to die, then when the sick are left picking up the pieces she'll attack."
"Well thank you for those words of wisdom," Bellamy sneered at me. "I was looking for a time frame, not a go-through of the mind of a grounder."
"No, no, that could help," Clarke put in, glaring at the boy. Turning to me, she added, "Thank you. Whatever helps." I nodded in return.
Suddenly, another person entered the drop ship. Finn. "Clarke? Wes?" he called, jogging towards us.
"Finn, you shouldn't be here," Clarke worried, and I sighed, nodding in agreement. "No one should."
"I heard you were sick," he said, ignoring the warning. He glanced at Bellamy, worried, but he only received a grim look in return. "Clarke, what is this?"
"I don't know," Clarke muttered. "Some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-"
Suddenly, one of the boys from earlier began to cough and retch violently on the floor, twitching and jerking and writhing around as blood spurted from his mouth. Clarke and I immediately went to him, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Jerking away, I stepped back from Finn after giving him a guilty look. "Don't touch me," I warned. "You might get sick."
Clarke nodded in agreement from her position next to the coughing boy. "Wash your hands, now!" she ordered Finn, and he stepped back to find some water.
"What the hell is happening to him?" Murphy gasped.
Clarke shook her head in a frenzy. "I don't know!"
Suddenly the coughing stopped and the struggling boy collapsed to the ground in a heap. Clarke and I shared a look before the blonde reached forwards and placed two fingers on the boy's neck. Bellamy sucked in a loud breath. "Is he-"
"Dead," Clarke finished for him, the fear in her eyes not going unnoticed.
Finn looked at me, then at Bellamy. Then his eyes went to Clarke. "What do we do?" he asked.
Clarke always had an answer. "Quarantine," she concluded, looking to Bellamy for confirmation. He nodded. "Round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here."
Finn nodded and set off to find them while Bellamy seemed a bit unsure. "And everyone they had contact with?" he asked, doubting that they could keep this contained.
"We have to start somewhere," Clarke reminded him, seeming desperate for just a bit of hope. "Connor, who was with you when you found him?" she asked, turning to the boy.
"Who carried him in?" Bellamy asked after her. "Think, Connor."
Connor looked up, his eyes red and puffy and surrounded by blood. "The first one there was Octavia."
A/N: AAAAAAAH JASPER AND WES ARE ADORABLE I STILL DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE HER FOR JASPER OR BELLAMY IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE PLEASE TELL ME. BUT SERIOUSLY THOUGH SHE BE TALKING WITH THEM PEOPLE. ALSO I DECIDED TO MAKE HER SICK OOPS. But honestly though I feel horrible like I put her through so much poop I'm a horrible person. Okay well goodbye my children and have a wonderful day (or night since it's 11:24 here right now oops and a school night?!?)
P.S. SOrry there isn't a gif rn I'll add one later because my school chromebook doesn't let me add gifs ew