Clarke woke up to near silence. She could hear the wind rustle the leaves in the trees and nothing else. She fell trying to get out of the hammock, and her thump triggered noise from the second level followed by Murphy jumping from the hatch.
"Oh good you're awake. We need to meet up with the others." He didn't wait for her to respond before walking out of the drop ship.
One glance told her that everyone else died from the virus sent in with Murphy. Jasper's body and Miller's were propped against each other blood crusted on their ashen faces. Turning her head to the other side she saw Bellamy, his eyes crusted shut with blood and his mouth wide open and tongue lax.
She found Murphy waiting for her outside the door, almost invisible in the dark moonless night. "We need to bury everyone."
"The Grounders attack at first light. That's in about an hour, we need to get out of here, Clarke. Now." He pulled her along by her wrist until she kept up of her own volition.
"You stayed with me?"
"I'm the only one that knows how to get to the place we're meeting the others. Well, Lincoln knows but he can get the others to safety, I can't. Now hurry cause if we don't get there soon, they'll leave without us." He ran, and she did her best to keep up with him but she still felt drained from being sick.
When the forest spun into black, her last bit of consciousness included being lifted off the ground.
A crackling fire and murmured conversations were the first of Clarke's awareness. She feigned sleep to listen to those around her. Monty kept saying something to Raven about how she needed to find a new reason to live. Octavia and Lincoln were strategizing about the best way to get them all through the Dead Zone in one piece. Sterling and Monroe were arguing about whether they should trust a Grounder with their lives. Monroe felt that trust had been earned while Sterling disagreed, loudly.
An arm rested across her stomach, holding her close to the body beside her. She opened her eyes to see Murphy as he twitched in his sleep. Before getting sick, Clarke had treated his wounds the best she could, and Lincoln helped with medicine for him. But Murphy wouldn't let anyone touch him other than Clarke. She didn't understand why he'd be like that. Wasn't she the reason he got hung and banished?
"Hey, look who's awake," Harper said. "We risked a lot waiting for you and Murphy to show up."
"The rest of Anya's tribe will search for us," Lincoln said. "We need to keep moving, but Murphy wouldn't let anyone touch you. And he needed rest. We should go before it gets light again."
"How long was I out?" Clarke asked as she pulled herself up to sitting.
"You've been in and out for a few days." Lincoln dropped a bucket of water on the fire, and it hissed while throwing off wafts of smoke. "Murphy shouldn't have been strong enough to carry himself let alone someone else, but love can sometimes make us capable of more than we otherwise would be."
"I heard you, and it's not love." Murphy groaned as he sat up.
No one argued with him, but Clarke pushed his dirty blood crusted hair out of his face. "Thank you for saving me."
"We need a medic." Murphy pushed himself to his feet. "Can you walk? Or do I need to carry you again?"
Clarke got to her feet. "I think I can manage." Now that she got a look around she could see that the forest was sparse here and the ground sandy. "Where are we going?"
Lincoln pointed toward the desert. "Through the Dead Zone. We need to find the City of Light. By now all Trigedakru will know of our betrayal. No one will take us, so our only hope is to find the City of Light."
"How much water do we have?" Clarke asked.
"Two canteens per person," Octavia said. "Lincoln says carrying more would weigh us down too much."
"Have you been to this city before?" Clarke asked.
"No. But people say that all are welcome there. That it's a peaceful place if you can find it." Lincoln's eyes were dark. "But there are more than a few traps between here and there, not to mention thieves and murderers."
"We should have staffs then. Something to stab the ground before every step. And we need someone to volunteer to walk point." Monty looked scared.
"I'll walk point." Raven's head was high, but she sounded like she'd welcome death.
"I've got your six, Raven." Clarke picked up two long sturdy but thin fallen branches and handed her one. "Don't step anywhere you don't test with this."
Murphy got his own stick and walked behind Clarke. "We shouldn't meander. Walk a straight line."
Monty picked up his staff. "Don't forget to compensate for automatic steering. One leg is shorter than the other, and we'll go in a circle if you don't keep that in mind."
"Lincoln? Any advice?" Raven asked.
"Cover your faces. Sand is enemy to breathing." Lincoln pulled his mask up to cover his nose and mouth.
Everyone followed suit, and Raven took the first step into the sandy darkness.