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"Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy screamed, his voice echoing through the clearing.
Clarke, Bellamy, and Finn were all gathered inside a small canvas tent, staring uneasily at Charlotte. The little murderer was currently huddled beside Bellamy, eyes wide with fear. Spotting a small tear in the tent's canvas, Clarke angled her head towards the rip and cautiously peered out at the massive crowd.
Murphy was prowling at the front of the group, boots scraping the forest floor as he paced ten feet away from the tent. His expression was pure fury; blood was smeared all over his face, mixing with several purpling bruises. The rest of the crowd stood behind him silently, not daring to challenge Murphy in this state. As Finn took Clarke's position at the rip, Bellamy turned to face the little girl.
"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy asked, his expression full of confusion.
"I was just trying to slay my demons like you told me," she cried, looking nervously towards Clarke and Finn.
Clarke turned her angry stare towards Bellamy. "What the hell is she talking about?"
Bellamy turned towards Clarke, shaking his head slightly with disbelief. "She misunderstood me," he said, turning his gaze back towards the little girl. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."
"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy's voice echoed again, making Bellamy turn his worried gaze towards Clarke and Finn.
"If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up."
Clarke sighed and pressed her hands against her face before slowly dropping them. "Okay," she hesitated, sighing softly. "Okay, I'll distract Murphy. Take her out the back before anyone notices."
"I said bright ideas, Princess," Bellamy growled, "not self-sacrificing ones."
"Okay, then, what's your idea? Because unless you can think of a better one, Charlotte will end up killed."
Bellamy gazed at Clarke mistrustfully. "Why would you help her? She killed Wells."
"Because killing her won't fix anything. Not that I'll forgive what she did," Clarke stated firmly.
Bellamy nodded slowly, newfound respect towards Clarke growing in his mind. "Okay," he said, "but don't die."
Clarke nodded, a wry grin forming on her face. "I won't." Clarke turned towards Finn, who was staring at her as though she had lost her mind. "What?"
"I won't let you sacrifice yourself, Clarke," he said, stepping closer to her.
Clarke glanced at Finn, annoyance lining her gaze. "I'm not sacrificing myself, and I'll be fine. Murphy won't risk killing someone he could use as leverage." Finn nodded slowly, but his face was still lined with unhappiness. "Bellamy, take Finn with you."
Bellamy and Finn stared at each other in horror and then turned towards Clarke in absolute shock.
"Me? Go with Bellamy?! Why?" Finn asked Clarke, clearly in disbelief over her choice.
"I'll be fine, Princess," Bellamy said, "I don't need Spacewalker."
"You may not need him,' Clarke warned, "but Charlotte will. Murphy will hunt her down." Bellamy nodded slowly, and Finn apprehensively went to stand beside him. "Okay, as soon as I start talking, leave."
"Be careful, Clarke," Bellamy warned.
Nodding, she slowly exited the tent and walked towards Murphy. He turned his bloodshot eyes towards her and stalked forwards. "Well, well. Look who decided to join us," Murphy spat; his voice was raspy and hoarse, most likely from the impromptu hanging earlier.
Clarke stopped before him, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Murphy, stop."
He snickered and moved closer to her, pressing his jacket against hers. "Or what? What are you going to do, Clarke, hang me?"
"I was trying to stop it."
"After falsely accusing me in the first place," Murphy roared, turning back to face the crowd.
"So, who wants to see the real murderer hung up?" He turned towards the crowd and yelled, "all in favor?" Immediately the hands of Murphy's four friends went up, but the rest of the group stood there silently, hands by their sides. "I see," Murphy chuckled, an insane tinge to his voice. "So, it's okay to string me up for nothing," he turned to point back at the tent, “but when this little bitch confesses, you wanna let her walk? Cowards! All of you are cowards!"
"Hey, Murphy! Murphy," Clarke said, firm and controlling. "It's over."
Murphy moved backwards, arms raised in compliance. "Whatever you say, Clarke."
Clarke turned her back to Murphy and began to stride towards the tent. Behind her, Murphy grabbed a large piece of wood and smashed it into the back of her head; Clarke crumpled to the ground in front of the tent, rendered unconscious.
"Son of a bitch! Hey!" Octavia cried out in shock as Murphy and his friends stepped over Clarke towards the tent's entrance.
"Come on," Murphy laughed, "Let's get the girl." He flung open the canvas door and screamed with pure rage when he saw it was empty. "Charlotte!" Murphy called, loud enough that Bellamy and Finn could hear it from where they were sneaking Charlotte out. "Charlotte, I know you can hear me! And when I find you, you’re gonna pay!"
Finn was striding through the forest, knocking aside bushes and branches. Charlotte and Bellamy followed ten feet behind, Charlotte's hand clasped tight in Bellamy's grip. It was getting dark, and the forest floor was becoming a shadowy maze of roots and logs. It was too risky to use their flashlights, though, so they were confined to stumbling through the dark.
"Tell me you have a plan, and we're not just wandering through the woods," Bellamy called out to Finn, knocking aside another low-hanging branch.
"I have a plan," Finn called, and then he glanced backwards at Bellamy. "What the hell are you doing?" he said, gazing at Bellamy and Charlotte's joined hands.
"What, Finn?" Bellamy replied, glaring at him with contempt in his eyes.
"She's a killer. She killed someone. Ended his life. Did she even think about that for one second?" Finn yelled, glaring at Charlotte. "And, because of her, Clarke might be suffering."
Bellamy averted his eyes at the mention of Clarke. Of course, in Bellamy's mind, Clarke had no real reason to be helping Charlotte; she was responsible for killing Clarke's best friend, after all. But, on the other hand, it was making Bellamy realize that the side of Clarke he had seen when Atom died wasn't a rare occasion. Perhaps she really was genuine and caring, and she helped people simply because it was the right thing to do; his stubbornness had been getting in the way of him seeing that.
I'll thank her later, he thought.
"Charlotte," Murphy's voice boomed through the trees, "Bellamy and Finn can't save you."
Bellamy could see the faint flicker of torches beginning to pierce through the dark woods. "We should run," Bellamy called quietly to Finn.
"Yeah, that's one way to go," Finn whispered, "but I like my plan better." He reached down and grabbed a hidden metal hatch, pulling open a bunker door. "Get in." Bellamy led Charlotte to the hatch, letting her climb slowly down the stairs. "Get in, get in," Finn whispered more frantically as the torches crept closer and closer. Bellamy quickly jumped inside, and Finn clambered down after, firmly closing the door.
Raising his flashlight, Bellamy gazed around the cylindrical concrete room, taking in the metal bunk beds, tables, and other supplies. "What is this place," Bellamy asked, "some kind of bunker?"
"You tell me," Finn called, and he turned to guide Charlotte over to one of the metal bunk beds leaning against the concrete walls. Then, after making sure she was settled in, Finn made his way back towards Bellamy. "I found it; I didn't build it," he snickered.
Rolling his eyes, Bellamy sat in one of the metal chairs. He turned his gaze to Charlotte's form, glad to see that she was sleeping soundly.
"What are we gonna do about her," Finn's obnoxious voice echoed next to his ear.
"Right now, all that matters is keeping her far away from Murphy."
Finn looked at him in annoyance. "You do remember that she killed someone because of your advice."
"I already told you and Clarke this morning," Bellamy snarled, "that she misinterpreted what I said."
"Well, whatever the reason," Finn said, "if Clarke dies because she tried to help you…." Finn broke off and stared at the floor.
Bellamy frowned at the mention of Clarke, trying to keep the worry out of his expression. "Clarke helped Charlotte, not me. And she'll be fine. She always is," Bellamy muttered softly.
"Well, we should also figure out how to stop Murphy from killing us for helping Charlotte," Finn warned as he walked over to another bunk bed.
"He's not really the forgive and forget type, Finn," Bellamy cautioned, lying on the couch instead. As the both of them drifted off to sleep, they hadn't noticed that Charlotte had been very much awake during their entire conversation. Quietly rising to her feet, she tip-toed over to the ladder that led to the exit hatch. Placing her hands on the worn iron, Charlotte scaled the ladder and opened the hatch, cringing when it squeaked. Then, when the quiet sounds of breathing continued from below, she slowly crawled out and shut the hatch. I won't let them die for helping me, Charlotte thought before running off into the woods.
Bellamy awoke to the squeaking of metal. Keeping his breathing even, he listened as a person scaled the ladder and slowly opened the door. As soon as the hatch closed with a soft bang, Bellamy leapt out of bed and ran over to Finn, shaking him awake.
"Finn, get up. Charlotte's gone." He grabbed his flashlight from his belt and turned it on, shining it toward Finn.
Finn rubbed his eyes, blinking rapidly from the sudden brightness. "Okay," he said, quickly jumping out of bed. "Let's go get her."
Bellamy dashed towards the ladder, scaling it rapidly before throwing open the hatch. Rain was pouring down, causing a deep pattering sound throughout the forest. Finn crawled out of the hatch and promptly shined his light towards the ground. Small, child-size footsteps were imprinted in the mud, leading off into the dark trees. The two of them switched off their lights and started to run, chasing after Charlotte. A few minutes later, Bellamy could see a short, small form up ahead in the darkness; he ran up and grabbed them from behind, causing them to scream.
Bellamy whispered a hasty "Shhh," as the person continued to scream. Then, "Charlotte, it's me."
"Charlotte!" Murphy shouted in the distance, "you can't hide forever!"
"Let me go!" Charlotte screamed, causing Finn to look worriedly towards the incoming torches. "I'm over here!"
"Hey," Bellamy shushed sharply, "are you trying to get us all killed?"
"Just go, okay? I'm the one they want," Charlotte said softly, prompting Bellamy to whisper, "Okay, Charlotte, listen to me. I won't leave you."
"Bellamy, we need to go," Finn said, words laced with urgency.
Charlotte screamed even louder, words echoing through the clearing, "Murphy, I'm over here!"
Bellamy flipped Charlotte over his shoulder and gestured towards Finn. Finn nodded, and they both started sprinting off through the forest again, Charlotte still screaming for Murphy. A couple minutes later, they broke through the tree line, and the sight before them caused them both to halt in shock. A small, muddy clearing lay before them; however, the edges of the clearing all dropped away into a sheer cliff, except directly behind them, where the forest was. The cliff dropped too far to see the bottom, and a cold mist rose from the depths. The rain slicked the jagged rock, making it an impossible climb even if it wasn't already a deadly drop.
Torchlight shone through the trees, prompting Bellamy to back near the cliff's edge. Bellamy carefully set Charlotte on the ground beside him, making sure she wasn't going to slip over the edge. Finn stayed back over by the trees, cautiously watching the scene unfold. Murphy burst through the tree line, with four friends following behind. Bellamy's eyes widened in shock when he saw Clarke being dragged by two of them, her feet trailing limply across the ground. Pieces of her blonde hair were matted with blood, and she had bloody scrapes up her arms. Clarke raised her head and locked eyes with Bellamy across the clearing. The rain continued to patter down, drenching everyone's hair.
"Bellamy!" called Murphy, "you can’t fight all of us. Give her up."
"Maybe not," Bellamy snarled, "but I guarantee I'll take a few of you with me."
"Bellamy! Stop!" Clarke yelled, her voice still strong and commanding. "This has gone too far."
Murphy turned around towards Clarke and sharply pulled her against him, placing his knife to her throat; he angled himself towards Bellamy, keeping Clarke locked in his grasp. Bellamy felt his heart stop. His hands began to tighten at his sides.
"I'm sick of listening to you talk," Murphy said against Clark's ear, causing her to shudder with disgust.
"Let her go!" Finn yelled, appearing from the tree line.
"I will slit her throat," Murphy spat, looking in Bellamy's direction.
Charlotte's eyes welled up with tears, looking fearfully in Clarke's direction. "No, please. Please don't hurt her."
"Don't hurt her?" Murphy turned towards Charlotte, "Okay, I'll make you a deal." He pressed his knife harder against Clarke's throat, and blood started trickling down her neck. "You come with me right now, and I will let her go."
"Don't do it, Charlotte," Clarke wheezed, struggling against Murphy's grip. Charlotte stared at Clarke before trying to walk towards her, only to be stopped by Bellamy. "Don't do it, Charlotte!" Clarke cried, rain dripping down her face like teardrops.
Charlotte screamed, fighting against Bellamy's grip. "No! No, I have to!" Bellamy raised his eyes to Clarkes and saw the determination there. Bellamy knew Clarke would kill him if he allowed her to be exchanged for Charlotte.
"Murphy," Bellamy warned, "this is not happening."
"I can't let any of you get hurt anymore," Charlotte sniffled, eyes growing cold. "Not because of me. Not after what I did." She turned away towards the cliff.
"Charlotte!" Clarke screamed, shoving Murphy away as Charlotte leapt off the cliff. Bellamy turned too late, reaching into the air as Charlotte fell. Clarke ran to the edge, dropping to her knees beside Bellamy. "No, no, no!" she cried, "no!" She buried her face in Bellamy's shoulder, and he was too shocked to do anything besides grip her tightly, pressing his face against her hair.
After a minute, Bellamy slowly rose to his feet, leaving Clarke crouched at the cliff's edge. He turned his gaze on Murphy, who was gaping at the spot where Charlotte had jumped.
Noticing Bellamy's glare, Murphy slowly looked at him. "Bellamy," he said, looking at Bellamy in fear. Bellamy started towards him, fury filling his entire face. "Bellamy," Murphy said one more before Bellamy crashed into him, punching him in the face. They both crashed to the ground, causing Clarke to look up in shock. She darted to her feet, trying to get near them both.
"Bellamy, stop! You'll kill him!" Clarke yelled, watching in horror as Bellamy landed punch after punch on Murphy's face. Finn ran over and grabbed Bellamy, pulling him off of Murphy.
"Get off me!" Bellamy yelled, breaking free from Finn's grip. Clarke moved between him and Murphy, causing Bellamy to glare fiercely at her. "He deserves to die," Bellamy shouted, pointing towards Murphy's prone form.
"No!" Clarke said, locking her deep blue eyes with Bellamy's. "We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here."
Bellamy's face contorted with anger. "So help me, God, if you say the people have a right to decide…."
"No!" Clarke said, cutting him off, "I was wrong before, okay? You were right." She stared up at him, face full of anguish over Charlotte. "Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules."
"And who makes those rules, huh? You?" Bellamy sneered, gazing at Clarke with pain and anger.
"For now, we make the rules," Clarke said softly, "Okay?"
Bellamy raised his voice, shouting at Clarke in a fury. "What, then? We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?" He knew that the situation was Murphy's fault, not hers and that getting angry at Clarke wouldn't solve anything. Still, he had always been bad at expressing his emotions.
"No," Clarke stated, "we banish him." Bellamy stood staring at Clarke before shoving past her, grabbing Murphy by the jacket.
"Get up," he yelled, dragging Murphy over to the cliff's edge.
"Bellamy!" Clarke shouted, "Stop!"
Bellamy put his face close to Murphy's, eyes full of rage. "If I ever catch you near the camp, we'll be back here." Bellamy shook Murphy slightly, causing him to cough softly. "Understand?"
He dropped Murphy to his knees and stormed back towards the others, glaring at Murphy's four friends. "As for the four of you, you can come back and follow me or go off with him to die." He moved to stand next to Clarke and Finn, crossing his arms over his chest. "Your choice."
They gazed at Bellamy nervously before starting off through the woods towards camp, torches flickering through the trees. Finn turned towards Clarke, a questioning look on his face.
"You go first. I just… need a minute," Clarke said softly, gazing towards the cliff.
Finn gave Bellamy a suspicious look before nodding at Clarke; he turned and slowly began walking towards camp with the others. Clarke stared at the cliff's edge, tears tracking their way down her face. Bellamy stood silently by her side, gazing off into the distance.
"We should get going," Bellamy said softly. He kept his gaze trained on Murphy's body, laying limply on the ground. Clarke nodded and started walking towards the woods, Bellamy following close on her heels.
They began walking side-by-side through the woods, raindrops breaking the silence with occasional plinking noises. Finally, Clarke went to step over a root and stumbled, falling against a tree. A muffled cry left her lips, and Bellamy immediately ran over.
"Clarke?" he whispered, "what's wrong?"
"Murphy decided to hit me with a piece of wood." She pressed her hand against her head, eyes screwed tight. Bellamy clenched his hands into fists, turning back in the direction where they had left Murphy. Bellamy was about to storm off to where Murphy was -probably to beat him to death- when a hand stopped him in his tracks. In shock, he turned back to face Clarke, who had gently caught his hand with her own.
"Don't," she whispered. "No more death tonight. Please." He sighed softly and nodded, lifting Clarke lightly to her feet.
Bellamy’s dark eyes rose to meet Clarkes. “By the way… thank you. For helping Charlotte.” Bellamy slowly looked away from her face, gazing off into the dark trees. “And I'm sorry that I couldn't save her."
Clarke nodded, a sad ghost of a smile alighting on her face. "We should get going."
Bellamy nodded, and together they started the slow trek back to camp.