─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
SIGHING, JUNE PULLED HER HAND OUT OF CLARKE'S GRIP. She had tried to act like a nurse and observe the bruises, worried that bones may have been broken after she socked Murphy in the face, but she was only ignored in the end. June didn't care about her well-being, not now. What Clarke did caused a mob and what Bellamy did to Murphy caused one angry, bloody male. He wanted what the mob had wanted before, for the killer to pay. While a large part of her agreed, she remembered Wells when he was alive, and everything that he believed in. June couldn't kill Charlotte, just like she couldn't have killed Murphy, and she knew it.
"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy questioned in a plea, squatting to be in front of the small girl. He was quick to push her into a tent, while Clarke, Finn, and June were right behind him to shield her from Murphy's wrath. June was holding her head in her hands, unable to even process what they were being put through. None of this was how she pictured Earth being, not for a second.
"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me," Charlotte explained in her tiny, childlike voice.
Disgusted, June looked up to meet Bellamy's face, who was hit with a sense of familiarity at the words. "Demons?" She repeated. "Wells wasn't a demon. What the hell is she talking about?" She demanded to know.
"She misunderstood me," Bellamy shortly explained before grasping Charlotte's arms, trying to get her to understand. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."
From outside the tent, Murphy's rough voice echoed. "Bring the girl out, now!"
"Please don't let them hurt me!" Charlotte begged, tears welling in her eyes.
Bellamy leaned forward towards the three on the other side of the tent, outstretching his empty hands, waiting for a suggestion. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up," he requested. June looked to the ground, knowing she had nothing. Her mind was whirling too much to think, and there were no good options. Clarke and Finn remained just as quiet, unable to come up with a plan either. Bellamy scoffed. "Now you stay quiet."
"Those are yours boys out there," Finn pointed out.
"This is not my fault," Bellamy uselessly defended. "If she had listened to me-" He pointed to Clarke. "Those idiots would still be building a wall."
Angry from the blame, June nearly lurched forward but opted for stepping closer. "This is your fault!" She accused loudly. "If you controlled those 'idiots' like you think you can, you would have stopped them. You kicked the crate out from Murphy." She paused to forcibly jab a finger in his chest. "This is all your fault!"
"Like you're so innocent," Bellamy shot back, puffing his burly chest. "You didn't have a problem in hanging him too!"
At first, June did. But at least she could see her wrongdoing. Before she could retaliate, Murphy's bellowing from outside continued, interrupting her slacked open jaw. "You want to build a society, princess?!" He called. Finn lifted the opening of the tent, and for a split second, June could see the rage Murphy was sporting under all his blood and injuries. "Let's build a society! Bring her out!"
It caused Charlotte to cry again, shaking her head. "No! Please, Bellamy," she cried in a plea.
The sound of her crying made Bellamy crouch and put his hands back on her shoulders. "Charlotte, hey," he spoke softly, beginning to assure her. "It's gonna be okay. Just stay with them." He nodded towards the three. "Can you get her somewhere safe?"
June bit her lower lip, unsure if there was a safe spot somewhere on this damn planet, but Finn said otherwise. "I have a place in mind," he stated, making Bellamy nod and shove the small, frightened girl towards them.
Clarke immediately put her hand on her back to guide her as Finn lifted the back of the tent, motioning for them to follow him out. Clarke paused, looking over her shoulder to glance towards June. She didn't have to say anything. It was a silent way of asking her to come, hopeful that she would, and June couldn't crush her like so. She was torn for a second, looking towards the outside before back to Clarke and nodded.
As June followed the others out of the opening, she wasn't thinking about Charlotte's safety. She was only thinking of Wells, and how she owed him this for not protecting him when he needed her. Finn led them through an open spot of the gate and June squeezed through. She tore across the graves quickly, glancing longingly towards Wells resting place one last time while they headed for the woods.
Meanwhile, Murphy's scream from behind didn't go unheard. "Charlotte! Charlotte, I know you can hear me! And when I find you, you are gonna pay!"
━━━━━━━━
A killer. June wasn't traveling through the woods with just a killer, but Wells killer. She tried to remain quiet, with her hands hanging loosely by her sides. She felt sick to her stomach and even had a headache beginning to sprout. She tried not to hate herself for protecting Wells killer, telling herself again and again that Charlotte was just a messed up kid. Yet, it was no excuse, and the only thing keeping June from giving her the same treatment she had given to Murphy was the thought of Wells's memory.
"It's gonna be night soon, Finn," Clarke informed him tiredly. "Where are we going? At least tell me you have a plan and we're not just wandering aimlessly through the woods."
"I have a plan," Finn answered simply.
Suddenly, June was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a little hand attempt to grasp her own. She knew straight away who it was, and ripped her hand out of the hold, whirling around to glare at Charlotte darkly. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" She shouted, stopping the other two. June didn't see the hurt, saddened look on Charlotte's face. She could only see the small hands, mercilessly taking Wells's life away. "We saved you, but you are nowhere near being pardoned!"
"June," Finn spoke up in disappointment. "She's just a kid. Give her a break-"
Incredulous, June felt her jaw drop. A break was the last thing Charlotte deserved. God, she wasn't a child. Not anymore. "A break?!" She repeated, shouting before grasping Charlotte's shoulder and forcing her to look at her. "You're a killer, Charlotte! You killed someone, someone innocent! He never did anything to you. Did you stop and think about that for a second?!" She demanded to know. She didn't feel guilty when seeing Charlotte's face scrunch up, fighting back tears from the harshness. "So don't touch me! Don't even - "
"June!" Clarke exclaimed, marching back to grasp her wrist and pull her back, forcing her to look at her. It made June be brought back to the unfortunate reality they were in, and she could hear Murphy shouting in the distance. "We need to run."
"That's one way to go," Finn replied. "But I like my plan better." Confused, June watched as he knelt down and pulling open a door in the ground she hadn't noticed before he was waving the girl's over. "Get in."
Charlotte went first, crawling in and down the ladder. Clarke pushed June's shoulder forward, silently telling her to go next. She slipped her feet in first, catching the bar of the ladder before climbing down carefully. She hopped off at the last one, barely given a chance to glance around as Clarke and Finn followed and the hatch was shut. It made the mysterious place be enveloped into a black darkness, leaving June to sigh. "Okay, a light would be nice."
Responding to June's request, Clarke flicked on the light made with parts from the dropship, illuminating the room. She grew quiet, scanning the area while stumbling forward. There was a table, furniture, a stand with food, some children toys, and a few other things. June breathed out slowly, feeling herself calm when seeing that this was a place that she could only assume was where a family might have taken shelter when the nuclear bombs went off. It was easy to guess that they didn't make it, or last long.
'Finn, what is this place?" Clarke questioned.
Finn shrugged, holding his hands up in defense as Clarke shone the light on him. "For now, it's home."
It took a while, but when they worked together, they managed to pick out candles from some of the cupboards and light them so they had an orange glow as the light source. Finn had covered up Charlotte as she made herself comfortable on the bed in the corner before an argument broke out. Unaware that Charlotte was awake and listening, nor caring to know, June tried to stay out of it and instead look around the bunker.
There clearly wasn't anything much useful, to Clarke's dismay. The food has been expired for over ninety years, which could be harmful if consumed and there were no weapons that could help them defend themselves against the grounders. It was a bit irritating that the only thing that made this thing useful was shielding a killer, June thought, but she shrugged it off.
By the time June joined the others, Finn was snoring softly in one of the chairs, his jacket draped over him and Clarke was sitting on the long couch, shifting through a jar of colored pencils. June shrugged off her jacket, balling it up and seating next to her. "So, any plan on what to do with her?" She questioned, referring to Charlotte.
Clarke swallowed a lump in her throat before replying. "We aren't sure yet. Can't stay down here forever, though."
"Hm," June hummed, loosely shrugging. "I don't know. This is a nice place."
The joke made Clarke let out a small sound of a chortling laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure," she responded, almost jokingly before it went quiet. June could hear her clear her throat before speaking again with a tone as if she was walking on eggshells. "You were sort of harsh on Charlotte earlier."
"Hardly," June stated curtly in disagreement with a snort. "She killed Wells. She's lucky I didn't hit her."
"I thought for a minute you might," Clarke said honestly. "But you didn't. For Wells, right?"
June grew quiet at Clarke's question. Wells's death still broke her, tore apart her feelings and replacing them with dreadful sorrow. Even the sound of his name felt like a knife slicing into her chest. She dropped her head, resting it on the open palm of her hand. "I miss him," she said softly, her voice cracking. "It's only been three days, but I - I couldn't protect him. I told him I would."
It only took a few seconds of silence before June was bursting into tears. She couldn't help it, trying to stifle it before Clarke heard or she woke up Charlotte and Finn, but it wasn't easy. The tears streamed down her cheeks, endless ones that couldn't stop. She let out a choked sob and felt Clarke leaning over, lacing her arms around her and pulling her close. At the feeling of attempted comfort, June cried harder, beginning to leave wet spots on her gray shirt. She was sure she could feel wet drops landing on her skin from Clarke.
"You can let your guard down, June," she heard Clarke mumble quietly. "You don't always have to be so tough. Sometimes, you need to be protected too."
Shaking her head, June tried to deny it. "I don't deserve it," she whispered. "I just, I wanted to protect him, and I couldn't, and - " Her babbling was ceased when she felt Clarke thread a hand through her blonde hair.
It didn't help, at first, but soon June's crying faded into a soft, heavy breathing as she fell asleep with her head on Clarke's shoulder and nothing but the last memory she had and would always cherish; hugging Wells. She wondered why she ever let go.