"Wait,"said Octavia and Clarke was surprised to note that the girl and a few others had moved closer while she was speaking with Monty.
"You're the reason Bellamy died?"questioned Octavia with more than a touch of anger as she looked angrily at Clarke.
"Bellamy's what?"said Clarke as she felt dread and denial well up inside her,"There's no way he's dead. No reapers had followed him after I sent him in the woods and I know I killed all of the ones in the camp."
Octavia's voice rose as she said,"Well, you must have missed some. Those monsters killed him. The other delinquents were all there in those monsters nest except for Finn. They hadn't seen anyone matching his description yet. He'll probably pop up dead sooner or later. You did leave him with the enemy after all."
Clarke felt as if her chest was closing in as she listened to Octavia's onslaught. The fear that Octavia's face had shown back at the dropship was gone and was replaced with pure anger. Clarke knew that she should have sent Bellamy inside the dropship, but she couldn't leave the escapees without anyone to protect them.
"The Grounders aren't our enemies. Anya and I made a deal and if Bellamy's dead,"said Clarke emphatically as she stared at Octavia, "It's not my fault. I sent him away knowing he could handle himself and we would go look for him. I didn't expect for all of us to get gassed and when I tried to fight the gas, I got shot with a tranquilising dart and ended up abducted to some bunker inside a mountain. "
"Well, well, well, Princess,"said a vaguely familiar voice that practically dripped with sarcasm,"You getting cozy with those savages. I don't know or care whether it's your fault or not, but what I do know it that he's dead."
Clarke turned to the voice and she was surprised to see Murphy in better health than she had ever seen him in. The others– all seemed surprised at his sudden appearance and Clarke voiced her disbelief as she looked at a person she had thought long dead.
"Murphy?"said Clarke as she eyed the beige uniform he was wearing,"What are you doing here?"
"Well,"said Murphy sardonically,"After you guys framed me for murder, tried to hang me and then exiled me for beating up the person who tried to kill me, I wandered the forests for a bit and I got attacked by the fucking Grounders and they kept me in some shitty outhouse where they tortured me for three days before knocking me out."
The looks of horror on the delinquents and surrounding citizens' faces either didn't register or matter to Murphy as he said, "Yeah, they were really welcoming especially that Anya lady. Ripping off my finger nails. Cutting me with a knife, constant whipping and my personal favourite getting hung by my arms from a tree. Anyways, after they knocked me out and I found myself laying outside the doors to here. Apparently, I was being used as bait to lure the guards in here out, but that didn't work out since there was a cell of reapers that attacked and in the confusion, I got taken inside here."
Clarke – along with the other delinquents – were horrified to hear what had to Murphy supposedly under the orders of Anya. It was only now that Clarke could see the faded bruises and scars that littered Murphy's arms and face. She imagined they must have continued beneath his uniform. The uniform in itself raised even more questions.
"You're a guard?"said Miller as if he read the mind of Clarke,"Why the hell would they want you as a guard?"
Murphy smiled wryly and said,"In case you forgot, we all got shots from the Ark. I don't want to get into it too much ,but let's just say that we all have our skills and leave it at that."
Clarke's brow furrowed at that and she realised that in all the time she's been awake not once did the Mountain Men ever mention anything about their powers. If they were at war with the reapers and Grounders then they would definitely know about the powers and considering the fact that they knew about Murphy's powers then well–
"To answer your question, "said Murphy and Clarke made eye contact with him for the first time ,"Bellamy's dead. I was sent out to help with the reapers that were still lingering and trust me I'd recognise that face anywhere. He put up a decent fight, but it didn't last. It's a shame he would have probably been safer in the camp, but you're pretty comfortable sending people out of it. We found another camp and they were all killed by Reapers too. I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"
Clarke ignored the pang of guilt and instead focused on Octavia. The girl was glaring at Clarke and there was a blend of anger, grief and pain in the girl's eyes.
"Look Octavia, "said Clarke in a placating manner, "I doubt Bellamy's dead. Murphy must have been mistaken or something. There's something off about this place and we need to get out of here and look for the survivors from the Ark."
"Why should we?"said Octavia and it seemed as though Clarke's comforting words had done nothing to curb the girl's anger,"They sent us down here to die. We were all going to get floated once we turned 18 and now we should go look for whoever survived that crash? I hope the Reapers and Grounders kill whoever made it out alive if anyone. That's what they deserve."
Clarke's hand clenched into a fist at Octavia's cruel words and despite knowing that the girl was projecting her anger and grief at Bellamy's supposed death onto everyone else that didn't excuse the things she was saying. She sounded a lot more like Mbege or Murphy rather than the smart girl she actually was.
"That's not who we are,"said Clarke calmly to the younger girl,"We're not monsters. They're innocent people on the Ark and they had nothing to do with us getting sent down here. Coming down to Earth was a chance for us to be better and do better. They can't survive Reaper attacks or clashes with the Grounders for long. We need to get them inside here as soon as we can or they'll all die."
Her words only seemed to affect the more level-headed delinquents like Monty and Miller and so it was easy for Clarke to see that the delinquents weren't buying into what she was saying especially as Octavia spoke up just as Clarke decided to walk away from Murphy and everyone to get some food and clear her thoughts.
"You know if you hadn't killed all those Reapers maybe that speech would have had more impact. "
Clarke had grabbed onto a glass to pour juice in, but Octavia's words struck chord deep within Clarke and she crushed the entire glass in her left hand.
The shards dug deep into her hand and the pain she felt radiating through her body made her remember Darah's warning about using her powers. So once, dark red, almost crimson, blood began to ooze from the various cuts that Clarke had inflicted on herself ,she had to consciously stop her healing powers from activating as Maya rushed to her side in a hurry from the opposite end of the dining hall as she moved through the crowd that had gathered at the argument.
"Oh my gosh,"said Maya as she took in the shredded form of Clarke's hand,"We need to get you to Medical. Keep pressure right at your wrist to–"
"Slow the bleeding,"said Clarke as she did as instructed and she walked through the crowd of delinquents that had gathered during her and Octavia's argument as she heard Maya speak into a radio she had.
There were looks of disgust and concern as they took in the state of Clarke's hand, but Clarke ignored them all.
"You good, Clarke?"said another voice and Clarke was greeted by the sight of Raven who looked just as clean as the other delinquents and was decked out in new clothes as well.
However, when Clarke looked at Raven , the mechanic had flinched back just slightly. It must have been no more than an inch at the absolute most and yet it drove a spike straight through Clarke's heart.
"I'm fine,"said Clarke brusquely.
Clarke was guided into a wheelchair with an IV attached by two nurses who must have been summoned from Medical by Maya. She ignored the looks she was being sent by the delinquents as the IV was hooked up to her and zoned out because Darah's words were ringing in her head.
"Hatred and scorn will be the only payment we will receive for saving everyone.
"
At the time, Clarke had thought the woman to be jaded and wrong, but maybe Clarke had been the one who was wrong.
Perhaps, she would fade into the shadows now that all of her work was done. It's not like anyone would miss her.
Maya had caught up to Clarke and she began to speak,"Hey, we have to knock you out for the surgery we'll do on your hand. Those shards are in there pretty deep so it might take a while."
Clarke nodded slowly as she began to feel drowsy from the blood loss. As she was falling unconscious she listened a conversation between the two nurses and Maya.
"Her blood is getting everywhere. We may need to hook her up for a transfusion. "
"Yeah, she's definitely nicked a couple of veins and maybe even an artery. Maya, why don't you go pick out our donor. Prep one of the universal donors. President Wallace and Lorelei would grill us if we let something happen to her."
"This girl must be made of stern stuff. I'd be in absolute agony if I were her, but there's just one tear leaking from her eye. Talk about hardcore."
A slap and a laugh was the last thing Clarke heard before she fell unconscious yet again for what was the third time in two days.