Murphy's Return

2,889 words

"Hey," I approached Octavia who was crouched down on a rock, staring through the cracks in the wall surrounding the camp, "any sign of your brother?" I asked her after Bellamy, Clarke, Finn, Raven, and a few others had gone investigating the crash of the Exodus ship. None of us know why they came earlier than planned, and it was making us anxious.

"Hey," She mumbled back, clearly not focused on the conversation, "don't know. Don't care." 

I furrowed my eyebrows, following her stare, seeing a white flower stuck in the bark of a tree straight ahead. A small smile formed on my face as I turned to her, "Is your grounder boyfriend treating you nicely?"

This caught her attention as she turned to me, I raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk before she rolled her eyes playfully, pushing my shoulder, "Don't tell Bellamy."

I brought my finger up to my sealed lips, giving her a wink, "Your secret's safe with me."

She shook her head with a scoff, "You are way too cool to be dating my brother."

"Fear is only a problem if you let it stop you, right?" I overheard Jasper telling his version of the night Clarke met with the grounders. Turns out it didn't go so well and if we hadn't declared war before, we definitely did now.

Octavia turned to the boy next to the fire with an apparent fan club surrounding him. She rolled her eyes for real, "That's not even his line, Finn said that."

I smirked as I listened to him continue, "I saw the grounders in the trees, it was like nothing I ever felt. You know, pure animal instinct took over. One pull of the trigger, two grounders dead."

I snorted at his choice of words while Octavia commented with annoyance, "'pure animal instinct?'" She quoted with a squint of her eyes, "More like pure pants-wetting panic."

"Oh come on, O, just let him have this." I watched as the girls looked at him with admiration and he wore a proud smile. "He's a folk hero." I teased.

There was a loud eruption of clattering as everyone soon became on their guard in a matter of seconds. 

"Someone hit the trip wire!" A voice yelled out as campers held up their guns, aiming at where the noise came from.

"Was it a grounder?" They began to panic.

I glanced around to the campers guarding different areas of the campus until they began to inform the rest of us, "I got nothing." Derek said with his gun pointed.

"Nothing." Connor spoke from a different area.

"Something moved!"

I looked around, grabbing an abandoned rifle, searching for any signs of danger until I saw a moving figure, reacting instantly by pulling the trigger, letting out a loud bang. 

It went silent, and the moving figure had come to a stop, and all that was heard was the deep and anxious breaths of the campers.

"Somebody grab a torch, I'm gonna check it out." I announced as I walked over to the exit of the camp, pushing open the wooden doors, keeping my gun aimed as I walked slowly.

Some campers followed behind in a close second, including Octavia who placed her hand on my shoulder, stopping me with a point, "There. Behind that bush."

I nodded, walking over alone as someone yelled out, "Be careful, Claudia!"

I crouched down, pushing back the plant that covered the suspect, seeing a body laid faced down.

I reached over, tapping the body on the shoulder before it jolted instantly, springing to its feet in fear. I reacted similarly, standing up quickly, aiming my gun once again.

"Oh my god, no way." Connor mumbled as the man held up his hands in surrender, his arms fully covered in blood, his face scarred and beaten up.

"Murphy?"

...

"What the hell do we do?" Octavia whispered to me as I stood in the dropship before Murphy with my arms crossed, watching as he trembled in fear.

Others surrounded me, standing guard of him as his hands were tied together while he sat in a corner, looking around occasionally but keeping to himself.

I was just about to answer her, to tell her I had no idea what to do, until Bellamy barged in the dropship, along with Clarke and Finn, "Where is he?" Was the first question he asked.

Nobody got the chance to answer as he pushed through the large crowd of curious eyes that had heard the whisperings. He stared down at Murphy for a while until he spoke, "Everyone but Connor and Derek out, now!" He demanded.

Bodies began to scramble quickly, not wanting to get on Bellamy's bad side. He looked over to Octavia where she stood by my side, "You too, Octavia."

She looked at him in disbelief before scoffing, leaving the dropship.

"He claims he was with the grounders." Derek informed, standing over Murphy with a rifle in hand.

"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor added.

"I wasn't sneaking." Murphy let out in a tired voice, glancing up at us, "I was running from the grounders."

"Anyone see grounders?" Bellamy asked deeply, looking around the room that only consisted of Clarke, Finn, Connor, Derek, and I.

Connor only shook his head.

"Well in that case-" Bellamy lifted his gun, aiming it at Murphy before I stopped him, placing my hand on the gun with knitted eyebrows.

"What the hell, Bellamy?" I questioned him angrily.

"I told him what would happen if he came back." He lifted the gun again until I grabbed it from him, much to his dismay, nodding over to a corner of the dropship before walking over to it.

I heard him sigh, but his footsteps followed behind me until we were away from the others, "Listen," I began, "John Murphy is a lot of things, a liar being one of them. And I'm not his biggest fan but you really think he did that to himself?" I pointed over to the beaten up man.

"Claudia, I don't trust him for a second-"

"-And neither do I. But I think he's telling the truth." I told him as he tilted his head with a 'really' look. I sighed, "All I'm saying is, if he was with the grounders, then he knows things that can help us."

"Help us?" He repeated with a raised brow, "We hanged him up, we banished him, and now we're gonna kill him." He spoke with certainty, turning on his heel to walk back to the others that were not-so-secretly listening in to our conversation.

 I grabbed his arm, stopping him, "I wasn't done talking."

"Yeah? Well I was." He snapped, pulling his arm away, and walking over to Finn and Clarke.

I took a deep breath of frustration, still holding the rifle I had taken from him, before walking over as well.

"Claudia's right, Bellamy." Clarke agreed, walking over to Murphy.

"Clarke! Think about Charlotte!" Bellamy exclaimed and then it clicked for me why he was so passionate about this. He was still feeling guilt about her death. I should've realized it from the start.

"I am thinking about Charlotte!" She responded, "But what happened to her was as much our fault as it is his." She grabbed Murphy's hand, lifting it up to examine it closely. "He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

"You and the grounders should compare notes." Finn commented snarkily to Bellamy, clearly standing against everything he was for.

"The grounders know we're at war." Bellamy began to speak, ignoring Finn's jab, "What did you tell them about us?" He asked Murphy angrily as his voice echoed through the dropship.

It was quiet for a while as Murphy swallowed, shaking in the slightest, glancing up at him, "Everything." He whispered.

"Damn it." I mumbled in frustration, running a hand through my hair, pulling at the ends slightly in stress.

Clarke stood up, turning over to the three of us, "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here."

"What if he refuses to leave?" Bellamy questioned, "What do we do with him then?"

"Then we kill him."

...

"Hey." I grabbed Bellamy's arm as the both of us headed out of the dropship.

He turned around, face softening when he saw it was me, "Hey." He said back as I placed my hands in the pockets of my jacket, "I'm sorry about snapping at you in there."

I waved it off with one hand before putting it back into my pocket, "Don't stress it." I told him as he nodded, looking down at the ground, "I just wanna make sure everything's okay." 

He looked up from the ground, "What do you mean?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear, stepping forward, "Well I know you've been beating yourself up about Charlotte. And I want you to know it wasn't your fault."

Bellamy scoffed, shaking his head, "You don't understand, Claudia. You would never understand."

I furrowed my eyebrows, feeling hurt from his harshness, "I'm trying to, Bell. I'm trying to be here for you-"

"Well just stop!" He cut me off causing me to jump slightly at his abruptness. He noticed this and sighed, "I'm sorry-"

"Yeah. I know." I said coldly before walking past him, brushing his shoulder before Connor stumbled out of his tent in a fit of coughs, collapsing into me as I caught him with concern.

"Connor?" I asked in worry once I saw his bleeding from his eyes.

"It won't stop." He muttered in a weak voice.

"Clarke!" I called out, looking around and seeing campers hanging around a fire but not seeing the blonde in sight, "Clarke!"

After a few moments, the girl came rushing out of a nearby tent, running up to us, "What's going on?"

I glanced over at her, doing a double take when I saw her similar bloody eyes, leaving a streak down her cheeks, "What the hell?" I mumbled with wide eyes.

She glanced over at Connor, seeing he had the same as she did until other campers erupted into coughing fits, getting bloody noses and eyes.

"Claudia, get away from us." Clarke warned, taking Connor from my arms as I backed away slightly, "They're the ones who brought Murphy in."

"Oh god." 

...

"They let him go." I commented from the back of the dropship with Bellamy a few feet across from me as Clarke was yards ahead of us, applying a cold towel around Murphy's face after he coughed up a puddle amount of blood. "That has to be it. This is their retaliation from the bridge."

"Is this your revenge?" Bellamy called out, "Helping the grounders kill us?" He interrogated from a distance after Clarke insisted we stay back.

"I didn't know about this." Murphy grumbled weakly, "Okay? I swear."

"Stop lying!" Bellamy yelled, "When are they coming?"

"Murphy, think," Clarke said softly, "What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?"

Murphy shook his head, recalling his torturous night, I could see the trauma in his eyes, "They are vicious. Cruel."

"You wanna see vicious-" Bellamy walked forward until I stopped him, pulling him towards me.

"Don't." I told him, "Okay, whatever this thing is, it spreads through contact."

Derek began to jerk rapidly near Clarke, hunching over as he began to cough up blood in a painful retch.

Bellamy placed a protective arm out in front of me, keeping me back. 

Just then, Finn walked in, eyes widening at his surroundings, turning to us for answers immediately, "What the hell is going on? What's happening to him?"

"I don't know." Clarke answered truthfully, yet scared. "It's not safe for you to be here, wash your hands. Now." She demanded as Finn did just that with a bottle of alcohol.

Derek's coughing and jolting came to a stop and his body lay still as Clarke walked over, checking his pulse.

"Is he-?" I asked her in concern.

She looked back with worried eyes, "He's dead."

I covered my mouth with my hand in shock, looking away in fear of that being the fate of anyone else who obtained the virus, "What do we do?" I asked quietly.

"Quarantine." She answered, "We need to round up everyone who's had contact with Murphy." 

"On it." Finn nodded once, running out of the dropship.

Clarke turned to Connor who lay limp, "Connor, who else was there when you captured Murphy?"

He was silent, not finding the power to speak until Clarke spoke again, losing patience, "Think! Who helped carry him in?"

"The first ones there.." He began, glancing over to me, "were Claudia and Octavia."

Bellamy and Clarke glanced over to me as my eyes widened, shaking my head, "I don't understand, I'm completely fine."

"I'll get Octavia." Bellamy ran out of the dropship to retrieve his younger sister.

"Claudia, sit in this chair. I need to examine you." Clarke washed off her hands as I nodded, sitting down and tucking my hair behind my ears to stay out of the way. She grabbed a rag, covering her face with it before she grabbed a light. "Open your mouth."

I did as she said as she shined the light, looking inside my mouth for any signs of infection.

Other sick campers began walking into the dropship, Bellamy and Octavia following soon after, grabbing rags immediately and doing the same as Clarke.

Bellamy walked over, glancing at Clarke, "Is she okay?" He asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah she is." She turned off the light before I stood up, standing next to Bellamy. 

Clarke quickly did the same with Octavia, shocked, before she turned off the light again, "Octavia, too. No visible signs of swelling or bleeding."

"So, what, you're saying we don't have it?" Octavia asked in curiosity, glancing around at the other who weren't so lucky.

"I'm saying you don't have any symptoms. That could change. You should stay here just in case." She explained as I nodded, turning to Bellamy who removed his rag.

He shook his head, "No way. Look at this place." He disagreed, "They'll get sick just being here."

"Claudia's been here the whole time and she doesn't have a single symptom." Clarke pointed out but it wasn't good enough for Bellamy. She sighed, "I'll keep them on the third level with the people who aren't symptomatic yet."

Bellamy nodded, agreeing with her this time. He turned to me, placing a kiss on the top of my head, "I'll check up on you, okay?"

I nodded before he left the dropship.

I turned to Clarke and Octavia, "Okay, guys, listen. Now that Bellamy's gone, our best option is to have Octavia sneak out to see that grounder. Maybe he can help us before more people start dying."

Clarke looked over to Octavia before the brunette nodded, "I'll do everything I can."

...

"We're losing them." I bit my lip, standing behind Clarke as campers carried out another that had been overcome by the virus. 

Clarke whipped around quickly, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw me, "You're supposed to be on the third floor. Where you're safe."

I shook my head, "No, Clarke. I need to be out here. With my people, doing as much as I can." I told her and she closed her mouth, "Besides, clearly I'm immune so don't try to fight me on this."

My attention was diverted when there was an outbreak of startled screams and the cocking of guns as campers began to drop to the ground with bloodied eyes.

An infected camper was on their way to the dropship until he fell into the arms of another that had the instant reaction of catching him until he sneezed in his face, releasing a bloody spray.

"Oh my god, it's on me!" He yelled out in a panic, holding out his bloody hands after wiping his face.

"Get back!" 

Their was a unison of rifles being aimed, as they each turned on one another, threatening to shoot.

"Put your guns down!" Finn yelled, trying to get everyone to relax.

"Calm down!" I heard Bellamy yell.

I ducked down, along with everyone else, covering my ears when a rifle had gone off, firing into the air multiple times before it came to a stop.

Clarke stood, walking down from the ramp of the dropship, gun in hand, "This is exactly what the grounders want, don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first."

I got up slowly from my crouched position, uncovering my ears.

One of the campers ran in front of me, holding a gun to Clarke threateningly, "They wont have to kill us if we all catch the virus, get back in the damn dropship!"

I grabbed his gun, elbowing him in the stomach causing him to hunch over before I hit him in the face with the butt of the gun as he fell back onto the ground with a groan of pain.

"Not to state the obvious," I began with a sigh, "but your quarantine isn't working."

Clarke didn't respond for a while until her eyes began to flutter close as her legs gave out. She was just about to fall to the ground before Finn rushed over, scooping her into his arms.

"I'm fine.. I'm fine.." She insisted tiredly, "Octavia will come back with a cure."

"There is no cure."

Our heads turned simultaneously at Octavia's voice as she walked through the crowd, "But the grounder's don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really?" Bellamy questioned her with a raised brow, "Tell that to them." He pointed over to the deceased bodies that were lost to the virus. "I warned you about seeing that grounder again."

"Yeah, well, I have a warning for you, too." She looked around before announcing, "The grounders are coming."

Panicked whispers began to break out through the crowd, echoing as I could literally feel their anxiousness.

"And they're attacking at first light."

-

A/N:

Okay so I made one chapter from this episode and I'm not even halfway through it lol so it's gonna be split into two chapters

But anywayss, I don't want this story to endd but it's coming up so fast ): I'm still trying to figure out how season two is gonna play out & Claudia's role etc. Esp since as we get further and further into the seasons Bellarke starts to happen soo I gotta figure that out. Anyways, enjoy.