Clarke snuck out of the troop on its way back to camp. She waited until she couldn't hear them to double back to where they'd left Murphy. He was still there, standing under a tree, fingers caressing his neck. When she stepped into the moonlight, he snorted.
"What the fuck do you want?"
"I wasn't wrong that there have to be rules. And I stopped Bellamy from killing you the only way I knew how. But if I banish you for real, you'll be susceptible to the grounders. I can't have that." Clarke stepped under the tree, showing him that she didn't fear him, knowing that he could easily throw her off the cliff Charlotte leapt. "I have someplace you can stay. You're about to spend a lot of time there alone, and isolation does terrible things to the mind. But it's more comfortable than camp or the ground. I'll even spend time with you whenever I can, help stave off the isolation crazies. Please come with me… John."
"I didn't think you knew my first name." Murphy threw out his arms. "So where is this isolated paradise?"
"This way." She walked off toward the art supply store. She didn't make conversation, so it was Murphy that broke the silence.
"Why do you care what happens to me? I thought I was a monster."
"Everyone deserves a second chance. And if the grounders get you, that's on my head. I swore to do no harm. I'm making sure I keep that oath. It isn't much farther." Clarke stopped and turned to him. "Let's be clear, I'm doing this on the promise that you keep away from camp and don't tell anyone you may run into in the forest that I'm helping you. And you bring no one to where I'm taking you. That remains a secret only three people will know. You, me, and Finn, but I'll keep him away. I know how you feel about him."
"Agreed, but can we get there so I can stop my nosebleed?"
Clarke bent down and pulled the hatch open. "It's here."
Murphy went down first. It was pitch down here, but Clarke lit a lantern appearing out of nowhere. "Christ!"
"Sorry. But let me take a look at you." She took him by the wrist and guided him to the couch. "Let me get the first aid kit that's down here."
He watched as she found a large box with a big red plus sign on it. "That stuff's been down here for a century. You sure it won't kill me?"
"I'm positive." Supplies on the table, she knelt in front of him. With gentle hands she cleaned his wounds with peroxide.
John watched her face as her fingers touched the rope burn on his neck. Guilt and lots of it. "You didn't hang me. You cut me down."
"This is still my fault." Now finished tending his wounds, she rose to her feet. "The canned food is no good, but the dry stuff should be OK. Rice, powdered products, beans. And there's a lot of water that should be fine."
When she put a hand on the ladder he said, "Clarke? You saved my life twice today."
"I'm sorry I put it in danger in the first place." And she was gone.
Clarke went into camp through the back where the forest was dense and there were no prying eyes. The first person she ran into was Finn.
"Where'd you disappear to?"
"I had to drop something off at the art supply store."
They fell into step. "What did you have to drop off there?"
"Who do you have on the Ark? I mean you decided not to take your bracelet off, so what family or friends do you have?" She stopped when he did.
"My parents and um a friend. Why?"
"Tell me about them, what's your friend like?" Clarke sat down, so he did too.
"Raven? She's amazing, you'd like her. Strong and confidant. Loves space and walking in it." He cocked his head back and looked at the sky lightening. "What did you drop off at the art supply store?"
Clarke saw the look on his face and surmised that Raven was more than a friend. "Steer clear for a while. I'm using it as solitary at the moment. Until I can find something a bit farther away, but still habitable."
"Ah, Murphy. You know if the grounders get a hold of him, they'll know everything about us. Given what they did to Jasper, I don't think they'd be above torture. Good thinking."
"Exactly. Now if you don't mind, I've got to get some sleep before searching for a new place for him. He's too close to here, and I don't trust him to not try to stay in touch with some of his pals."
Murphy looked around the bunker, bored and in too much pain to get any sleep. He found the food she talked about and fiddled with the kitchenette until he figured out how to turn the stove on. Must be some kind of long term power source attached to everything in here. They had them on the Ark, but without maintenance, he was surprised everything still worked here.
The instructions to make rice seemed easy enough. Some water, some flame, wait and watch.
"Is this shit ever going to boil?" The water had been on for less than a minute at that point. "We never learned how to fucking cook. Out of all the Earth Skills they shoved down our throats, cooking wasn't one of them. I hate the fucking Ark! Hope they all suffocate, worthless idiots."
He tapped his foot as he watched the water do nothing. "If I weren't so damn hungry, I'd… I don't even know what. And I've been alone for less than twenty minutes and I'm already talking to myself. FUCK!"
He paced. He banged the other pots and pans together. He tried to eat a dried bean and hurt his teeth. He took out box after box, poking around looking for anything useful, and found plenty. "So Clarke's not as generous as she makes herself out to be."
He found clothes, bolts of fabric, a sewing machine, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, an entire bin of floss, and dried fruit. Murphy risked hurting his teeth again and popped a dried strawberry in his mouth. Not only was it edible, but it was the best thing he'd ever put in his mouth. And finally the water boiled, and he made the rice, surprising himself by not burning it.
"Ooh this is good." He picked the rice up with his fingers and shoved it into his mouth barely chewing before swallowing. Despite the messiness of the food, he didn't drop a single grain.
He brushed his teeth right after, basking in the feeling of clean teeth for the first time since leaving the Ark.
"I think I might like banishment."