Run

When I came back with water, John was standing.

On his feet.

Octavia was with him, grinning like the sun. She'd thrown her arms around him and he'd actually hugged her back. I stopped in the doorway, stunned.

"John," I breathed. "You're walking."

He looked at me and that smile — that real one I'd only ever seen when it was just us — broke across his face. He walked over, lifted me clean off the ground and spun me, and I laughed. He laughed too.

"It's like I'm healing faster this time," he said, proud and a little surprised.

Then he kissed me. Properly. Not desperate, not scared, not dying. Just us.

When we finally came up for air, Octavia was just... standing there, watching us with her whole heart in her eyes.

"Well," she said softly. "I guess you two are really leaving."

I went to her and pulled her into a hug. "We're heading for Mount Weather. We'll use caves on the way. We'll try to keep you updated. We'll be out there, O. We'll still be out there."

A tear slid down her cheek. One slid down mine too.

We started toward the gate. Clarke was nearby. The cuts and bruises on her face hadn't made her ugly. Honestly, that almost annoyed me more. She didn't deserve to still look that soft.

"Leaving already?" Bellamy asked.

Murphy turned to face him. His voice was calm. Dangerous. "Kill your demons, Bellamy."

It was what he'd told Charlotte the night she killed Wells. Bellamy heard it. You could see it hit him.

I gave Bellamy a cold smile and shook my head. I was done talking to him.

Octavia followed us all the way to the main gate. She hugged Murphy first, holding on tight. "I'm gonna miss you, Murphy."

"Same, Octavia," he said quietly. "More than you know."

Then she turned to me and clung to me like she didn't want to let go. "What am I supposed to do when you're not here?"

"Be my eyes. Be my ears," I whispered. "We'll come back one day. And when we do, we'll need you on our side."

She looked at Murphy. He nodded. She nodded back. That was our pact.

We both smiled at her.

"May we meet again," she said softly.

"May we meet again," we answered, and stepped through the gate.

The camp fell behind us. We didn't look back