Confessions

3046 words

I tossed down a large piece of wood into a pile where I had previously repeated the action about 10 times. Bellamy wanted the foundation of the wall to be made up of hard wood from the bases of trees so I volunteered to help. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, placing my hands on my hips as Octavia walked over to me with an impressed smile, "Hey, teen outlander." She handed me a pouch of water.

I rolled my eyes playfully, accepting the pouch, "Hilarious." I tilted my head back while I drank the cooling refreshment. I took a deep breath, looking around at all the campers that were working together to built the barrier.

"You know you can work in nursing with me and Clarke, right?" She offered, causing me to turn to her. "Plenty of people have gotten hurt just from working on the camp." She informed with a tilted head. I watched as her long brown hair flowed to the side flawlessly.

I shrugged, crossing my arms, "I don't mind." I glanced around the camp, eyes setting on Bellamy who stood conversing with Murphy. His face was tense, as always. I then wondered if he'd ever experienced any actual fun and if it would change the way he acted towards people.

Octavia chuckled, "Oh, I see."

I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to her with confusion, "What?" I asked innocently.

"You're doing this for Bellamy." She theorized and I scoffed shaking my head immediately while she grinned with a knowing expression.

"I don't do anything for anybody." I denied, looking back to the brown-haired boy who was making his way over in our direction.

Octavia gave me a look that she wasn't buying what I was saying but I shook it off. "Whatever you say, Claudia." She teased, watching her brother's movements until he stood before us.

"Claudia, I need to speak with you. Alone. Sorry, O." He glanced over to Octavia apologetically who didn't seem to mind at all, looking over to me but I pretended I didn't see it.

She shrugged, "I guess I should head back to the dropship anyway." She nodded slowly before glancing between the both of us, "I'll just.. be on my way." She nudged me before spinning around and jogging over to the dropship.

I took a deep breath with my eyes shut in annoyance at her behavior but I expected nothing less from Octavia Blake. I turned to Bellamy awkwardly, "Ignore that." I told him.

He nodded slowly, not knowing what just happened but I would never explain it to him. I cleared my throat, changing the subject at hand, "What did you need?" I questioned him and he seemed to snap out of his trance of processing what had just happened.

"I want you to train the other campers." He told me, standing with his arms crossed, "You know, in combat." He stared me down, waiting for an answer.

I sighed, shaking my head, "I don't know, Bellamy. I mean, what if I can't help them?" I hinted at the trauma I had gained from my training, thanks to Shumway. I wasn't sure if I was capable of helping others in that way.

He shrugged, unfolding his arms, "Start with me."

I rose an eyebrow, turning my ear to him slightly, not sure if I had heard him correctly. I let out a stutter, "I-I'm sorry, what?" I questioned.

He nodded, putting up his hands, "You heard me." He said as I laughed dryly, "Come on, Hensley. Don't be shy." He smirked.

I stared at him for a while as he stood in position. I shook my head once again, setting down the pouch of water. "I'm not going to fight you, Bellamy-"

His right arm threw out a punch that I dodged immediately like second nature. I glanced over at him with a glare but he only flashed a half-smile before throwing out his left arm that I then again dodged like I did with his right.

I swung my arm, missing when he ducked, going over his head before he grabbed my hand, twisting me around with his grip locked onto my skin. I could feel his chest on my back while he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Or maybe I should be training you." I could practically hear his cocky smirk.

I was frozen in my position, knowing I usually wouldn't be so vulnerable- distracted. But this time I was, and I didn't know why.

Bellamy released his hold on me so I could turn around to face him. His brown eyes were staring into mine while his grin never left his face. I scoffed with a smile, "What, you think you can take me now because of one little victory?" I rose my eyebrows.

He shrugged with his hands raised, "You said it, not me."

My attention was divided when I overheard the familiar tone of hostility yelling at an overworked camper, "You think the grounders are just gonna sit around and wait for us to finish the wall?" Murphy lectured the poor boy.

"I just need some water, okay? Then I'll be fine." He spoke tiredly.

I was about to intervene but Bellamy did it for me, marching over and pushing Murphy's shoulder, telling him to not be so hard on the campers. Ever since I've told Bellamy about my past, his behavior towards Murphy changed. He defended me when he called me crazy and got on his case whenever he found another victim to bully. At first I was in awe at his progression but then I realized it was out of pity- and that I didn't want it anymore.

I grabbed the water pouch that Octavia gave me earlier, walking over to where the three boys stood, placing my arm on the camper's arm and handing him the water, "Here. Take as much as you need."

"Thank you so much." He thanked me before downing the drink while Murphy glared at us.

I turned to him with an angry expression, "You can't keep overworking them in the scorching heat and then deny them water, it's cruel." I said sternly while he stared at me like he didn't give a shit. Which he probably didn't. "Maybe they won't stand up to you, but I will."

He stepped forward with his jaw clenched, "You think just because you're sleeping with Bellamy you're untouchable? Huh?"

I furrowed my eyebrows shaking my head rapidly. Sleeping with Bellamy? We had barely just become friends. I was about to come back just as hard when Bellamy stepped forward, grabbing his arm, "Knock it off, Murphy-"

"Stop." I told the brown haired boy who turned to me with confusion. He saw it as defending me but he was just making it worse. If Murphy thought we were sleeping together, that meant the whole camp did, too. Him coming to my rescue these past few days was only making it worse. I just wished I had realized it sooner. "I don't need you to.. protect me!" I snapped.

"Claudia-" He began but I didn't wait to hear the rest, spinning on my heel and walking away.

...

"Hey, Monty." I greeted the boy who was busy working on a wristband, trying to find a way to turn it into a radio to communicate with the ark. At first, I objected, thinking the ark didn't deserve to know how we were doing after they sent us here to die. But after a week, I began thinking that maybe I wasn't making the right decision holding a grudge against Jaha. It wasn't his fault Shumway manipulated him. Manipulated me.

"Hey, Claudia." He greeted back, his eyes not leaving the device in front of him as he held it close to his face. "What's going on out there?"

I huffed, "Oh you know, Murphy being a dick-"

"The usual, then?" He joked and I cracked a smile, nudging his shoulder with a chuckle.

"Yeah," I nodded. "The usual."

I glanced around at the dropship noticing that Octavia wasn't in here with Clarke like she had said even though there were a few campers gathered, waiting to be attended to. "Hey, where's Octavia?" I asked him.

He looked around him as well before turning to me with a small shrug, "Last I heard, she was out with Jasper."

I got up from my position, climbing down the ladder and walking through camp, still seeing workers being bossed around by Murphy, rolling my eyes. I continued strolling until I saw Octavia, and as Monty told me, Jasper trailed behind her with his eyes widened like he just saw a ghost.

"What's wrong?" I asked the two in concern. Neither of them said anything, all Octavia did was grab my wrist, leading the way to-where?- I didn't know. "Octavia?" I questioned her but she stayed quiet until we reached Bellamy's tent, strolling inside casually where he stood with Clarke.

Bellamy's eyes noticed me first, confused, but all I could do was shrug without a clue. He quickly turned to Octavia who seems just as freaked out as Jasper, walking over to the table and setting down her discovery.

I walked over, along with Clarke and Bellamy, seeing that what the two had been so speechless of was the finding of two human fingers- Wells' to be exact. I gasped, looking away immediately, "Oh my god." I mumbled.

Clarke picked up the knife that lay next to the fingers, examining it closely with squinted eyes. She looked over to the four of us, "This knife was made of metal from the dropship."

"What do you mean?" Jasper finally spoke up after the revelation. "Clarke?" He called the girl in curiosity, waiting for her to finish.

She frowned, "It means the grounders didn't kill Wells. It was one of us."

I ran a hand through my hair, biting at my nail in anxiousness. A killer in our own camp- the thought was enough to send chills down your spine. What if they were to come for one of us next? It was scary being in the unknown.

Jasper sighed, looking around frantically, "So there's a murderer in the camp?" He asked frightfully. 

"Who else knows about this?" Bellamy asked Octavia, ignoring Jasper's concerns. 

Octavia looked up at him with a shake of her head, "No one. We brought it straight here." She answered, looking to him for an answer, "What do we do?"

"There's more than one murderer in this camp. This isn't news." He glanced over at me slightly and I scoffed at the gesture that pained me more than I realized. "We need to keep this quiet."

I glanced at the knife in Clarke's hands, beginning to analyze it. "Wait a minute.." I trailed off, taking the weapon from the blonde and studying its features. I turned it over, checking the side where it spelled out two letters. 

Clarke headed for the entrance of the tent where Bellamy stopped her, holding his hand up, "Get out of the way, Bellamy." She spoke with a clenched jaw, to which I didn't blame her. Finding out that someone in this very camp murdered your best friend- I would want justice too.

"What are you gonna do? Ask the killer to step forward?" He questioned her with a raised brow, "Be smart about this. Besides, we don't even know who's knife it is."

"Oh really?" I spoke up, walking over and showcasing the initials that read, "J.M." I said aloud, pointing to the engraved symbols, "John Murphy."

Clarke turned to me, taking the knife and reading it for herself before turning back to Bellamy who stood silenced. "The people have a right to know." She muttered before rushing out of the tent while we followed behind in close second.

 The blonde marched with a mission, heading towards Murphy who's back was faced towards us while he yelled at the campers around him. "You son of a bitch!" She pushed him forward, causing him to stumble and turn around with a clueless expression.

"What's your problem?" He asked her, brushing off his jacket before raising his arms in defense.

"Recognize this?" She held up the weapon that was used to kill Wells. The scene had drawn attention, creating a circle around the two.

Murphy stared at the knife, stunned, "It's my knife. Where'd you find it?" He continued to question cluelessly, reaching for the knife but Clarke drew it back.

"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells." I chimed in, stepping forward and standing next to Clarke.

His eyebrows knitted together, taken aback at our accusation, "Where I what?" He said in disbelief, "The grounders killed Wells, not me." He glanced around at the circle formed around us to see if anybody believed him. He looked over our shoulder at Bellamy, "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?"

Bellamy only stood with his arms crossed, staring down at the boy silently. "You hated Wells." I continued with a shake of my head, "We all knew it."

"Plenty of people hated Wells." He retorted, staring me down, "His father was the chancellor that locked us up- even you had a vendetta against Jaha-"

"Yeah, but, you were the only one that got in a knife fight with him!" I argued with a yell.

Murphy stood still for a while before scoffing, "Yeah, I didn't kill him then either."

"Tried to kill Jasper, too." Octavia shouted, defending our case leading to the murmurs and whisperings to stir around us.

He froze in his spot, seeing that the crowd was beginning to buy into what we were saying. He shook his head, throwing his hands up, "Come on, this is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you- I don't have to answer to anyone!" He tried to walk out of the circle but was stopped by Bellamy.

"Come again?" Bellamy interrogated him with a raised brow.

"I say we float him!" Somebody yelled from the crowd, capturing my attention. Several voices began to agree in unison.

I shook my head, raising a hand, "Absolutely not." I objected immediately. Of course, there should be punishment- a damn good one- but death is unacceptable.

"Why not?" The same guy from earlier questioned with his eyebrows knitted together, "He deserves to float. It's justice."

"Yeah!" People in the crowd began to agree, getting more violent by the second.

"Revenge isn't justice." Clarke disagreed, chiming into the argument.

I nodded, adding, "If we kill Murphy, we are just as bad as he is."

"It's justice." He ignored our protests, beginning to chant, "Float him! Float him!"

Before we knew it, the crowd began attacking Murphy, throwing him to the ground and thrusting kicks and punches. 

"Hey!" I tried pushing through the mob, tugging on the arms of others but there were too many of them. They held his arms back, wrapping a rag around his mouth, using it as a gag. "Stop!"

Members of the group began to pick him up, carrying him into the woods. I went after them to stop them but a strong hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me back tightly. I turned, seeing it was Bellamy. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

"Don't get caught up in this." He warned, and I jerked my arm away, ignoring him and chasing after the group, pushing people away to get closer to the boy but they had already rolled him down a muddy hill.

A few waited at the end of the hill for his arrival, pulling him up while others threw a rope around a tall tree branch. My mouth fell open when I connected the dots. Using all my strength, I pushed through the bodies, inching closer and closer to where the scene layout.

"You can't do this!" I yelled while they wrapped the rope around his neck, setting him up on a stool where he stood until it would be removed. One of them held me back tightly while I fought against his strong hold.

Clarke ran forward but a man grabbed her as well while she kicked and screamed.

I elbowed the guy who contained me in the stomach, pushing him back and breaking free against his hold. I turned to Bellamy who only watched with wide eyes, "You can stop this!" I told him, grabbing onto his jacket. "Stop this, Bellamy!"

He glanced between me and the suspect who stood on the stool on the tip of his toes. An angry camper who took part in the fallout glanced over to Bellamy, encouraging him to be the one who did the honors.

The crowd began to chant his name, motivating him. I looked over to him with a pleading look, "Don't do this." I shook my head, "You're not a killer." He was too caught up in what was going on around him to even listen to me. I grabbed both sides of his face so he would turn to me, "Bellamy- don't. Please." I pleaded while his eyes stared into mine.

He broke our glance, removing my hands from his face and pushing past me, heading over where Murphy's muddy body awaited while I shouted his name in protest. He paused- making me think my words had gotten to him- until he gave a hard kick to the stool Murphy stood on, sending it backwards, causing his body to drop as the rope around his neck tightened.

I shoved Bellamy, cursing at him angrily and with disappointment to which he screamed, "This is on you, Claudia! You should've kept your mouth shut!"

I shook my head, doing a double-take when I saw Charlotte- rushing over to her. "Charlotte, you need to go." I grabbed her arm but she tugged it away.

"Stop! Okay?" She called out, barely audible through the yells of rage and demanding of  justice. "Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did!" She confessed causing my mouth to fall open before rushing over to Murphy. I grabbed Bellamy's pickaxe, cutting the rope tied to the tree, watching as Murphy's body dropped- gasping for air.

-

A/N:

This chapter was really long, I hope you guys don't mind?