Elizabeth POV:
I sat in my clearing staring blankly at the trees in front of me. A group had left earlier to go search the crash site of the Exodus Ship. I pleaded for Bellamy to let me come. To find Matt. To bury him. But Bellamy wouldn't let me. I felt anger build up in my stomach. I was angry at Jaha. Angry at father. Angry at Bellamy. But I was angry at myself. I should've told Matt to wait. I should've done something. I slammed my fist into the ground in frustration.
"Liz?" I voice calls out carefully.
I turn my head slightly to find Octavia behind me.
"What do you want?" I ask coldly. "I came out here to be on my own."
"I just wanted to see how you were, if you were okay," she replied softly.
"Okay? I just lost the person I care about the most and you think I'm gonna be okay?" I snarl at her.
"Hey, I'm just trying to-" Before she could finish a clattering came from the trees in front of us.
"Somebody hit the trip wire!" Connor yelled from the dropship.
Octavia and I scrambled to our feet and ran towards the sound.
Behind us I can hear feet running towards us.
"Was it a grounder?" someone yells.
"I don't see anything!" someone shouts back.
I hear the rattling again and I ran straight towards it. I come to an abrupt stop as I see someone cowering on the floor. I crouch down and look at the men on the ground. He lifts his head and looks right at me.
I gasp as I recognize the man before me. "Murphy?"
I reach out to move his hair out of his face, but before I can he flinches away from my touch. "Hey, hey I'm not going to hurt you. I gonna take you back to camp and clean you up okay?" I tell him gently, holding my hands out in front me. Behind me I hear the others come towards us. "Get back," I growl at them.
"Murphy?" Octavia gasps.
"No one touches him but me. We're taking him back to camp and helping him. Got it?" I snap at others behind me, not breaking eye contact with Murphy.
"But Bellamy-" Connor starts.
"I don't care what Bellamy wants. I'm helping him," I say as I gently place my hands on Murphy's arm and help him off the ground. Murphy grunts in pain and I put his arm over my shoulder and start to walk towards camp. I take a few steps before, someone steps in front of me. "You better move, or I can't promise what will happen to you." I watch the delinquent hesitate before moving out of the way.
I reposition Murphy and begin the trek back to camp.
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As I walk towards the dropship, I hear people whispering to each other. I glare at anyone who looks at Murphy or me. We slowly make out way into the dropship and I gently place Murphy down against the wall.
"I'll be right back, I'm just gonna get something to clean you up," I say as I walk quickly over to the table of medical supplies
"I tried, Liv, I tried," Murphy cried softly. I looked through the supplies in front of me and found a cloth. I grabbed the bowl of water on the bench and quickly made my way back to Murphy.
"What did you try, Murphy?" I ask softly as I dampen the cloth.
"You told me to survive. I tried Liz, but they were- I couldn't do anything," Murphy whimpered.
"Hey, you okay. The Grounders did this didn't they?" I tell him, gently tilting his head up to look at me. He slowly nods in response. "I'm gonna make it better okay? They had me too and I still here, so you can be too." I slowly start to wipe the mud and blood off Murphy's face.
"Where is he?!" I hear Bellamy yell from outside the dropship. I see Murphy in front of me shrink away from the sound. Behind me Bellamy storms into the dropship with a group of people behind him. His eyes dart around the room until they land on Murphy's form in front of me. "Everyone but Connor and Derek out." The people behind him hesitate, staring at Murphy. "Now," he yells and people quickly exit the dropship. His eyes dart over to me. "Angel, out of the way. Now."
"I'm not going anywhere," I growl looking back at Murphy and start cleaning his face again.
"He claims he was with the grounders," Derek explained to Bellamy. I glanced down at Murphy's hands and seem them covered in blood and the nails missing.
"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp," Connor added.
"I wasn't sneaking. I was running from the Grounders," Murphy snapped softly.
"Anyone see Grounders?" Bellamy asked. I scoffed, "The grounders won't be seen if they don't want to be, genius." Bellamy ignored me and look sharply at Murphy.
"Well in that case-" Bellamy said raising his gun to point at Murphy. At the same time I stood up so I was in front of Murphy. The barrel of Bellamy's gun pointed right at my chest.
"Liz, get out of the way," Bellamy ordered.
"No. You can take your gun and go fuck yourself, Bellamy," I sneer.
"We were clear what would happen if he came back," Bellamy warned, lowering the gun.
"No, you said that. I never agreed to it," I spat.
I hear someone else entered the dropship, but I don't dare break eye contact with Bellamy. "What's the hell is going on?" Finn asks as he and Clarke enter the drophip.
"Murphy's back. He claims he was with the grounders," Bellamy informed him, still looking at me.
"Well, if he was with the grounders, then he might know something that can help us," Finn commented.
"Help us?" Bellamy asked breaking eye contact and looking at Finn. "We hanged him. We banished him, and now we're gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way," he ordered me.
"We didn't do anything, Bellamy. It wasn't me who kicked that box from underneath Murphy's feet that was you. And it was you who banished him."
"Elizabeth. Move," Bellamy growled.
"Make me," I retort stepping towards him.
"Liz, think about Charlotte," Clarke, pleaded softly.
My eyes snap to hers. "I am thinking about her. I think about her everyday, but it wasn't me or Murphy who killed her. That was Charlotte's choice. No one else's." I watch Clarke look down in shame. "No one touches a hair on Murphy's head, or I will kill them. I promise," I snap, staring at Clarke. "And I never break a promise."
I turn back to Murphy and resume cleaning his wounds as they others slowly back away and leave the dropship.
"Thank you," Murphy says to me softly.
"You're one of us Murphy, you deserve to be here. To live, to survive with us," I reply softly, gently cleaning the blood from his cheek. "There's nothing to thank me for. Now, you need to rest. I'm going to take care of you, okay?" I tell him softly. He looks up at me with a strange look in his eyes. "Sleep, Murphy, you need it," I whisper to him gently, pushing him to lie down. "I'll be here when you wake up."
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I had been a few hours since Murphy had arrived in camp and the entire time I sat with him, making sure no one tried anything. I strip off my jacket, feeling the dropship warm up.
"Liz, I don't feel so good," Murphy moaned. I quickly look at Murphy, taking in his pale complexion. I place my hand on his forehead and gasp when I feel the how hot he is.
"Shit, Murphy. Ok, you've got a fever. What else are you feeling?" I ask him urgently, trying to figure out what was wrong. Murphy opens his mouth to respond but instead of words coming out, blood does. Murphy heavily coughs up blood onto my hands.
"Breathe, Murphy, you gotta breathe," I tell him gently, rubbing his back.
He shudders violently as he vomits up blood. "Shhh, you're okay. You're gonna be fine," I murmur to him. I turn my head away and softly cough.
Clarke rushes into the dropship and my head snaps up. "Murphy, I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the Grounders. What happened?" Clarke demanded.
"Clarke what-" I start but I'm cut off by Clarke repeating her question.
"I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off."
They don't forget to lock the cages ever.
"You didn't escape, Murphy, they let you go," I tell him, swearing under my breath realising what was happening.
I look away from Clarke as Bellamy enters the dropship.
"Bellamy, stay back," Clarke warns.
"Did he do something to you?" Bellamy asks, coming towards us.
"Bellamy, don't. He didn't do anything. The grounders did. You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge. This is it. Murphy is the weapon," I tell Bellamy, coughing into my hand.
"Is this your revenge, helping the grounders kill us?" Bellamy snaps at Murphy.
"This wasn't Murphy, Bellamy!" I yell, standing up and stalking towards him. "He didn't do anything, okay? It was the grounders. Can you get that through your thick-" I cut off my a wave of coughing that brings me to the floor.
"Angel! Clarke help!" Bellamy yells, gently laying me on the flood.
With a painful lurch I vomit up blood, and the world around me becomes muted. I can hear Bellamy call out my name, but can only focus on the pain in my stomach. I can feel someone lay me on my side and relieve some of the pain in my stomach. I whimper softly at the sensation rising in my throat.
"You're okay, Angel. You're gonna be just fine," Bellamy whispers softly to me as he places a cold cloth on my forehead. "Just close your eyes and rest."
I really hope that true I think as I close my eyes and fall into a dreamless sleep.
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Hey guys,
Here's the next chapter. It's a little shorter than usual cause I wanted to upload something today, without having to stay up to 3 to write something.
The next chapter's coming soon, but I've got a big SAC this week so it might be on the weekend, I'm not sure yet.
Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter,
See you next time,
Em