Midnight Ghost

The moon was full.

The sky was clear.

Murphy loved nights like this.

Midnight hit, and it was his birthday.

I sat on watch by the gate, holding the spear I'd made — his knife lashed to the shaft so I'd have a piece of him with me. I was still in camp. I didn't know where else to go anymore.

Something moved at the wall.

"I can't see what it is," one of the guards whispered.

I could. I knew that shape instantly.

"It's Murphy. Open the damn gate!"

They hesitated.

"It could be a trap," Octavia warned.

"I don't care."

The gate opened and I ran.

He collapsed forward into me.

"Oh God. John..." My voice cracked.

He'd been tortured worse than Jasper. Bruises, swelling, dried blood. One eye nearly swollen shut. His breathing was ragged, shallow.

I dragged his arm over my shoulders and took his weight. Octavia rushed to help me and together we got him inside the dropship. Bellamy saw us from across camp and ran.

We laid Murphy down. Octavia grabbed water, cloth, whatever we had left that wasn't already stained red.

"What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

He tried to speak. It hurt him.

"After Bellamy exiled me..." He coughed. "Two minutes later, the Grounders grabbed me."

I froze.

"Wait. Exiled?" My jaw clenched. "He exiled you?"

Murphy nodded, barely. "Clarke decided it."

Octavia came back. I stood.

"Stay with him," I told her.

She frowned. "Where are you going?"

I met her eyes. Then I glanced at Murphy. "To cause problems."

I didn't walk out of the dropship. I stormed.

I found Bellamy in Clarke's tent.

They were kissing.

I went still.

"That's how she got into your head," I said quietly.

Bellamy spun around, guilt written all over him. I turned and walked out.

He followed. "Katerina, listen—"

I didn't. I hit him. Hard. My knuckles cracked against his face again and again until he dropped.

"Listen to me very carefully," I said, breathing hard. "You stay away from me and you stay away from John until he can stand on his own again. Got it?"

He nodded.

I kicked him once more, just to be sure, and left him in the dirt.

When I went back into the dropship, my hands were bloody. There was blood on my face.

"Whose blood is that?" Octavia asked.

"Your brother's."

She nodded once. "Yeah. Murphy already told me everything."

"I told Bellamy to leave us alone until John can move," I said, rinsing my hands. "After that, we're gone."

Octavia swallowed. "I want to come with you."

I shook my head. "We need someone here. In case we ever come back."

Her eyes softened. "You'll always have a friend here."

I felt my chest loosen. "Thanks, O. That means everything."

She gave me a quick hug and slipped out.

Murphy watched me from the cot. His face was wrecked, but his eyes were still his.

"You beat Bellamy up for me?" he asked, voice raw.

I let out a breathy laugh. "I don't get why nobody figured it out. I always knew it wasn't you."

"You did?" His voice dipped, almost hopeful.

I nodded. "Why would you kill Wells? We had it good here. And that girl — she used your knife. I still don't know how she even got it."

He smirked. "I told the Grounders where camp is."

I blinked. "You what."

"That's why I came back," he said quietly. "To get you out."

Heat spread through me. Anger. Fear. Relief. Love, maybe.

Bellamy burst through the door.

"Did you tell them where we are?" he demanded.

Murphy lifted his head and glared. "I was tortured for three months. I don't owe you anything, you coward."

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"He's not the coward," I said, looking straight at Bellamy. "I know why you turned on us. Clarke got you on a leash."

Murphy pushed himself upright, pain twisting his mouth. "Yeah? 'Motherfucking Clarke,' right?"

"John. Lie down." I pressed him back with a hand to his chest.

He ignored me long enough to limp over to Bellamy. "Just so you know," he said quietly, "I'm happier with my decision every second."

Then he shouldered past him and left him standing there.

Murphy laughed under his breath. I laughed with him.

I dipped a cloth, sat beside him, and began cleaning the blood off his face.

"So," he said softly. "What's the plan?"

I smiled. "Mount Weather."

He smiled back. "Good."

"It's not a one-day walk," I warned him. "We move quiet. We avoid the obvious paths. But we're going."

He huffed a tired laugh. "Three months ago we had everything. Now we're planning an escape route."

"Yeah," I said, refreshing the cloth. "And I've spent those three months staring up at the night sky. At the moon. You love the moon. So I guess... it felt like you were still with me."

His hand found mine.

"You're the only reason I stayed alive," he whispered. "Without you, I had nothing to come back to."

My breath caught.

I leaned in.

We kissed.

Soft. Careful. Real.

We pulled apart and he tried to smile through the pain. "So... you hungry?"

That actually made me laugh. "I'll get you something."

I slipped out, and Octavia slipped in behind me.