They don't ask him any questions. They don't ask him any questions until they arrive at the Grounder capital, which is the tallest tower. Emori has talked about it. She says it's fantastic. He doesn't think it's all that great when they shove him up two flights of stairs and torture him for information about Clarke Griffin.
He hasn't seen her in six months. The last time was after Finn's death. On the hill; at night; in the dark, only the torches lighting the gathering. Clarke had talked to the Commander and then to Finn: she had taken Raven's glass and instead of murdering the Grounders, she mercy-killed Finn instead. In the wake of Raven's scream, he felt a surge of inexplicable pride well within him.
He tried to talk to her, after. "That was good," he said. "What you did for Finn. You shouldn't feel guilty."
She had taken him by the collar and slammed him against the wall of the Ark. "Don't tell me how I should feel, Murphy." He let himself tremble underneath her. He had always trusted Clarke to be gentle with him: if not because of her heart, then because of her guilt over letting him hang.
"I'm just trying to help," he says, and keeps his voice even, cool.
"I didn't ask for it," snarls Clarke, shaking him a little. Her voice comes out rough this time, like she's been sleeping on it. She makes a noise to herself, and then she pulls off and lets him go.
She's gone down the hallway. He thinks about her hands on his shoulders - enough to hold, not to hurt.
He doesn't reveal any of this under torture. Then he's asked about Jaha's bluechip, and, well, he doesn't even know anything about that.
He passes out eventually; from blood loss or from pain, he doesn't know. It doesn't really matter. Maybe it's from exhaustion. That would almost be healthy.
He wakes up trapped in a box. Wooden. His hands are cuffed behind him. He's blindfolded. He sleeps it off.
The only thing that matters / is not putting me in a cage.
Cage is lookin' pretty nice right now.
"What is this?" It's Clarke's voice outside. His box is set down.
"A consolation prize, if you will," says the voice of the guy who last tortured him. Jesus Christ.
The box is opened from the top. He doesn't move.
"Oh my God," he hears Clarke say. "Murphy."
The Commander says something in her chopped language.
They've taken him to the Commanders.