A/N: Hey guys sorry for the super late update! So happy to finally have gotten a review (And also very happy about the people following and favoriting my story. You guys rock!). As an answer to the review that asks when you're going to find out the story between Clarke and Casady...you will in a couple of chapters. Right now, Clarke doesn't even know the story behind it so we have to wait until Clarke and/or Casady come in contact with Abby. But you'll find out soon enough! Hope you guys are liking it.
Disclaimer: I only own Casady.
When I wake up I see people are gathered to one side of the wall. They try looking over it as they talk in whispers. Finn runs past me but I grab his arm and ask him what's going on.
"They got Wells just outside the wall," He explains.
"What do you mean 'they got wells'?" I ask.
Finn stays silent, but the answer is in his eyes. My heart drops to my stomach as I think about Wells actually being dead. I mean…I knew a lot of people wanted this, but never did I think someone would actually do it. Finn shakes his head in sorrow.
"Where's Clarke?" I ask.
"Cass…"
"Where's Clarke!" I demand. Last I found out, Wells and Clarke had forgiven each other.
Finn sighs and points to the drop ship. I sprint through the door and find her crying on the seat in the corner. She watches me walk towards her and breaks down harder.
I sit down next to her and let her cry into my shoulder, just like Octavia let me do to her yesterday.
"I treated him like crap," She cries. "I thought he was the reason that my father was floated, but he wasn't. It was my mom's fault. And Wells let me hate him to protect my relationship with my mother."
"Clarke, he didn't pass thinking you hated him." I say. "You guys have been best friends all your lives. One secret doesn't take away your past memories."
"Casady, there's something I have to tell you…"
Before she can tell me, and before I can ask her what it is, Finn walks into the drop ship.
"Ah, sorry…I didn't…." He stutters.
"No, its okay." I stand up to leave.
Clarke grabs my hand, "No, wait! Please, stay."
I make eye contact with Finn and nod my head slowly. I don't know why she wanted me to stay when she was obviously a lot closer to Finn. I guess she just wanted more people around for comfort. "Okay."
Finn walks over. In his hand his is a silver necklace made out of metal. On the necklace is a hand-made origami bird made out of metal. It was quite impressive, really.
"Where'd you get this?" Clarke takes the necklace.
"The art supply store," he responds.
Clarke thinks back on a memory, "I know when we were kids… Wells was always giving me ink, charcoal, just anything I could draw with, really. I found out later that he was trading his own stuff to give it to me. He didn't want me to know that, either. He let me hate him so that I wouldn't hate my mother."
"I know," Finn says soothingly.
I really feel that I need to get out of this drop ship so that the two of them can have their moment. Watching Finn look at Clarke, I can see the love in his eyes towards her. He really likes her.
"My mother killed my father. Just wish there was something I could do. To tell her I know. Make her feel what I'm…"
Clarke gets up from her seat and grabs a nearby knife.
"Where are you going?" I say loudly.
"To make her feel it," Clarke says.
She slides the knife up her bracelet and lifts up forcefully. The bracelet sparks and drops to the ground, cutting off all vital signals to the ark.
Clarke's jaw clenches in anger and lets the knife fall out of her hand.
I tilt my head and give her a pointed look. Clarke says, "What? Monty needed a working wristband."
"And you needed to punish your mother," Finn says.
"Look, they're running out of air, and we need their help. My mother thinking I'm dead is only temporary."
"Not if I can't patch it through the drop ship mainframe. I can do it. We'll be talking to The Ark by nightfall," Monty walks through the dropship at a great time. He leans down and picks up Clarke's bracelet.
"Casady," Octavia runs through the doors. "Can you help me assist Jasper in walking? He's too afraid to step outside the walls."
I nod, "Yeah sure," I glance one more time at Clarke and follow Octavia out the door.
Octavia goes on one side of Jasper and I on the other side. He's hesitant to walk further outside of camp. And I don't blame him either. If I were to get a spear through the chest I would never leave my safety zone. But Jasper will never survive if he stays in isolation.
"Look, we're already there. Just a few steps, okay? One foot in front of the other." I say.
Jasper jolts back at the hawk of a bird.
Octavia sees this, sighs, and stands in front of Jasper. "Jasper, it's been a week, okay? You've been given a second chance. You gotta use it."
Something fast runs towards Octavia and pushes her behind bushes. She lets out a small yelp and Jasper freaks the freak out.
"Octavia? Octavia? Octavia! Octavia, are you okay?" He screams.
"Hey, jerk! Get the hell out of here." Octavia hops into sight. A boy jogs back to camp, laughing at his own prank. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Octavia rolls her eyes and shakes the dirt off of her pants. "Jasper, come on. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Except for Grounders," Jasper says. "Can—Can I sit down?"
"Yeah, sure," Octavia sighs. "I've got some questions for you anyway," She points at me.
I raise my eyebrows. "Me? What did I do?"
"You said Bellamy stopped you from saving Atom?" Octavia says. His name has me look away. Which name? I don't know. Is that bad? "So, you must have been hiding from the fog with him."
"Bellamy, Charlotte, and I found a cave. We camped out…why? What's the big deal?"
Octavia shrugs, "There is no deal but ever since, Bellamy hasn't been giving you the stink eye."
"Really?" I sit up straighter.
"Yeah, what did you say to him?"
I run my tongue over the top of my teeth. I didn't say much to Bellamy but it was more than what I've ever said to Octavia. In the skybox, I was only known as 'killer'. And I just let it happen. Octavia never talked about it, and I never asked about her brother. But was it because I didn't want to tell her or because the topic of discussion never came up?
"Cass?" Octavia says. "Whatever you told him, you can certainly tell me…right?"
"I…"
"Casady?" Jasper now looks at me questioningly.
"We talked about you," I said to Octavia. She raised her eyebrows shocked. "I respect him when it comes to protecting you. But I wanted him to know that he has nothing to be afraid of when it comes to me and you."
"And why would he be concerned?" O asks innocently.
My head falls. Maybe she really doesn't know. I mean, she was confined in a different area of the skybox. It's a good chance she never asked because she was being polite.
Jasper knows. I can tell as he watches me search for an answer.
I stand up ready to start a rant when the sun catches something. I narrow my eyes and walks towards the light.
"Cass?" Octavia stands.
"Oh my god," I whisper.
"What happened?" Bellamy walks through the main tent, pissed that we interrupted him from his daily tasks.
Finn, Monty, Jasper, Clarke, Octavia, I, and now Bellamy gather around a table that stands in the middle of the tent. On the table were my new findings. A blood soaked knife and two amputated fingers.
"This knife was made of metal from the dropship," Clarke explains.
"What do you mean?" Octavia asks.
"Who else knows about this?" Clarke asks me.
"No one," I shake my head. "We brought it straight here."
"Clarke?" Bellamy looks to her for an answer.
""It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells," Clarke states. "It was one of us."
"So, there's a murderer in the camp?" Octavia looks around for an answer.
Out of my peripheral vision, I see Bellamy glance my way.
"There's more than one murderer in this camp." He says. My mouth opens agape. Did he really just call me out? After the conversation we had. I guess he didn't believe me. Just like the rest of them. "This isn't news. We need to keep it quiet."
Clarke picks up the knife and examines it again. Her fingers lightly run over the handle.
Then, she tries pushing past us, "Get out of my way, Bellamy."
"Clarke, be smart about this. Look at what we've achieved… the wall, the patrols. Like it or not, thinking the Grounders killed Wells is good for us."
I glare, "Oh, good for you, you mean. What… keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it?"
Bellamy glares back at me, "Yeah. That's it." He turns to the rest of the group. "But it's good for all of us. Fear of the Grounders is building that wall. And besides, what are you gonna do… just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."
"Oh, really?" Clarke holds the knife to Bellamy's face. "J.M. John Murphy. The people have a right to know."
I knew he was no good. But I also knew storming out of the tent and starting a fight with Murphy was no good either.
"No water till this section is up!" Murphy yells at the people around him. "What are you staring at, huh?"
"You son of a bitch!" Clarke shoves Murphy.
"What's your problem!" Murphy demands.
"Recognize this?" She holds up the knife.
Murphy nods his head, "It's my knife. Where'd you find it?" He tries to snipe the knife back.
"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells," Clarke glares.
"Clarke," I warn as other by standers gather around.
"Where I what?" Murphy is taken back. "The Grounders killed Wells, not me."
"I know what you did, and you're gonna pay for it," Clarke threatens.
"Really?" Murphy says. He turns to Bellamy for some help. "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?"
Bellamy shrugs his shoulders.
"You threatened to kill him. We all heard you. You hated Wells!" Clarke accuses.
Murphy shrugs, "Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor that locked us up."
"Yeah, but you're the only one who got in a fight with him."
"Yeah, I didn't kill him then, either."
"Tried to kill Jasper, too," Octavia adds.
"Come on." Murphy looks around. "This is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone."
"Come again?" Bellamy's arms are crossed and his eyebrows are raised. Wow, he really takes this leadership position seriously.
Murphy bites his lips, "Bellamy, look, I'm telling you, man. I didn't do this." Murphy looks at me and narrows his eyes. "Why don't we accuse the bitch that killed her own mother!"
My heart stops.
"What!" Octavia shouts, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to look at her.
"I—I"
"Bitch can't even come up with an excuse. If she lies to her own best friend, who the hell else is shy lying to!" Murphy yells.
"They found his fingers on the ground with your knife!" Tears threaten to pour from my eyes.
"Is this the kind of society that we want? You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without… without punishment?" Clarke announces the hundred.
"I already told you. I didn't kill anyone!" Murphy says.
"I say we float him!" A boy named Connor shouts and raises his fist.
"Yeah!" The hundred agrees.
"That's not what I'm saying," Clarke shakes her head.
"Why not? He deserves to float," Octavia says. "It's justice!"
"O…" I say.
"No," She points her fingers at my chest. Her face is red from rage. "You do not get to talk to me right now."
"Revenge isn't justice," I say through clenched teeth.
"It's justice," Octavia glares. "Float him!"
The crowd gathers around Murphy and begins beating him, listening to Octavia's protest to execute him. No one realizes that when we do that, we are no better than the Council from the Ark.
"No! Get off him! Get off of him! Let him go! You can't do this! Get off me. No! No!" Clarke shouts through the tears that threaten to fall. She tries pushing past the crowd to help Murphy but Bellamy's men hold her back.
I snap towards Bellamy and point to Murphy's beaten body. "You can stop this!" I clutch his arm when he tries turning away from me. "They'll listen to you!"
The crowd kicks Murphy down a hill. His mouth is gagged and his hands are tied. He has no way to defend himself. Never had I thought I would feel bad for Murphy.
Three men start tying a noose with loose rope and hang it around a tree. My heart halts at the picture.
They lift Murphy's bruised and bloody body and shove his head through the noose.
"Bellamy! You should do it!" Myles says, indicating towards the box that needs to be pushed away from Murphy to hang.
"Bel-la-my!" The crowd cheers and repeats.
"I saw you in the woods with Atom. I know you're not a killer!" Clarke tries pleading with Bellamy.
"Bellamy, don't do this. Don't…" Murphy begs.
I burst my way through the crowd until I feel someone's arms wrapped around me, stopping me from trying to free Murphy.
"Don't do this Bellamy!" I shout and fight against the arms.
"Don't Bellamy. You can't do this, Bellamy." Clarke cries. Bellamy shrugs his jacket off and moves to Murphy with a glare. "No, Bellamy, no!"
"This is on you, princess." Bellamy points at Clarke. "You should've kept your mouth shut!"
I feel tears slide down my cheek.
Bellamy kicks the box away from Murphy. Murphy drops and claws at the rope that strangles him.
"What the hell are you doing? Cut him down! Cut him down! Get out of my way." Finn screams, coming from the trees and looking at the crowd with a pissed off expression.
"Let me go," I elbow the guy holding me restraint.
"Stop!" A little girl steps out of the crowd. It's Charlotte. "Okay? Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did!"
"Oh my god," I feel the grip around my waist loosen. Everyone comes to a stop.
I run to Charlotte and grasp her arm forcefully. I do the only thing I can think of doing. I shove through the crowd and bring us into Bellamy's tent where I know no one will intrude.
Clarke, Bellamy, and Finn file into the tent a couple minutes later. I don't say a word. I can only stare at her with a stone cold glare. At first I thought she was young, but now that she has murder on her hands, she deserves to be treated as the rest of us.
"Bring out the girl Bellamy!" Murphy shouts outside.
"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy asks. I hope he is feeling guilt and regret right about now. He deserves it.
"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me," Charlotte explains.
"Way to go," I mumble under my breath.
"You shut up," Bellamy points.
"What the hell is she talking about?" Clarke asks.
"She misunderstood me," Bellamy stutters, "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."
"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy screams.
"Please, don't let them hurt me," Charlotte begs.
"If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." Bellamy says. No one says a word. "Now you stay quiet."
"Those are your boys out there," Clarke says.
"This is not my fault." Bellamy turns to the rest of us, "If she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building the wall."
"You want to build a society princess? Let's build a society. Bring her out!" Murphy says.
"No! Please, Bellamy!" Charlotte cries.
Bellamy takes a deep breath, "Charlotte, hey, it's gonna be okay." I groan, annoyed by the suspense. I rip the tent flap open and walk out. I heard Bellamy tell them, "Just stay with them."
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us," Murphy says. Bellamy comes out behind me. "Ah, now I'm speaking to two killers. Why don't you guys just do yourselves a favor and bring out the third."
"I didn't kill you," Bellamy said.
"Yeah to your infortune," Murphy scoffs.
"Dial it down and back off," Bellamy says.
"Or what? What are you gonna do about it? Hang me?"
"I was just giving the people what they wanted," Bellamy says.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't we do that right now? So, who here wants to see the real murderer hung up? All in favor?" Murphy raises his hand. Out of his crowd of 50+, only four raise their hands. "I see. So, it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this little bitch confesses, you all let her walk? Cowards! All of you are cowards!"
"Hey, Murphy! Murphy. It's over."
"Whatever you say, boss." Murphy says. Bellamy turns around and when he does, Murphy hits him over the head with a log, knocking him out.
"Bellamy!" I scream.
"Son of a bitch! Hey! Come on. Let's get the girl. Charlotte! Charlotte, I know you can hear me! And when I find you, you are gonna pay! Come on."
Murphy rips open the tent. I watch in horror but luckily no one is in there. Thank god.
Murphy leads his team of killers into the woods. I can't believe I am doing this but I stay with Bellamy and check the back of his head for extensive trauma.
Luckily there is nothing too significant, but if anyone can stop these people, it's Bellamy.
I dash towards the food supply tent and pick up a tin of water. I race back to Bellamy and kneel down next to him.
"Bellamy," I tap his face, bringing his head onto my lap. Still no response. "I am so not sorry for this," I say to myself. I take the tin of water and splash it in his face. He jolts awake. "Good morning sleeping beauty." I stand up, and his head hits the ground again. He groans, bringing his hand to rub his injuries. "Get up."
"What…"
"Murphy and his people are on the lookout for Charlotte and they're going to kill her unless you can stop him before he finds her."
Bellamy stumbles to walk faster with me, heading into the woods. "Where'd they go?"
"I don't know. They couldn't have gone that far. Just listen."
"You're mad at me." He states the obvious.
"You're an idiot."
"I was doing what I thought was right for the camp," Bellamy continues to defend himself.
"No, you were doing what was good for your ego. Because you knew that if you didn't do what your people wanted you to do, they would look upon you as a coward. Well guess what Bellamy Blake, you are." He stays quiet. "And just when I was starting to think you were a decent human being…"
"I—"
"Defending yourself right now is useless so don't bother wasting your breath," I snap.
Bellamy lets out a sigh and changes the subject, "Its too dark. Grounders are most likely prowling the area looking for their next victim. Its not safe out here."
"Then go back to camp if you're scared," I say, annoyed.
"We should rest."
"We don't have time," I argue.
"Casady," Bellamy's voice is desperate which makes me stop in my tracks to look at him. The bags under his eyes are evident and his breathing has become uneven. He probably has a pounding headache from Murphy's hit. "Please."
I reluctantly give in because despite what other people may say about me, I am a good person. "Fine."
My back is now resting on a tall tree. Its bark digs deep into my skin, but not drawing any blood. Fatigue runs through my bones and I slide myself to the ground.
Bellamy takes this as a sign to sit down too. "Octavia didn't know about your mother, I assume?"
I glare his way, "Do you ever shut up?"
"I could say the same for you," He says. "Look, I am sorry for the way things went down."
"Things have got to change around here, Bellamy. Listen, I am only going to say this once and I can't believe I am saying this, but you're a good leader. People actually listen to you because you're intimidating." Bellamy opens his mouth to say something but I hold up my index finger, "But I think you need help. Obviously, 'giving the people what they wanted' was not the right thing to do."
Bellamy nods his head, "And I can't believe I am saying this," he repeats after me, "but you're right."
"Hell yeah, I'm right." I say. "I think Clarke should help you."
"No—"
"She has the leadership skills, medical knowledge, and good judgment…other than what just happened an hour ago." I look pointedly at him, "And she's reasonable."
"Fine," he says. "Are you and I civil again?"
"We'll find out after we see what happens to Charlotte."
I feel a hand on my shoulder, shaking me slightly. My eyes that feel glued shut are ripped open. I make eye contact with Bellamy's brown colored eyes. I'm about to speak but he puts a hand over my mouth.
"Shh," he says, "I heard something."
I listen closely to what he is listening to and hear the crunching of leaves coming our way. The sky is a light orange meaning it's almost morning.
He keeps his hand over my mouth as if I have no self-control over my voice. He presses himself against me to hide behind the tree I am currently leaning on. And I have to say, if he wasn't such an ass, I wouldn't mind being in this position right now.
The footsteps pass us and Bellamy leaps away grabbing the person. I whip my head around to see he has grabbed Charlotte and thrown her over his shoulders. I get nervous because she is supposed to be with Clarke and Finn. So where the hell are they?
"Let me go!" She yells and hits Bellamy's back with her fists.
"I'm trying," Bellamy groans, "hey, hey. I'm trying to help you."
"I'm not your sister! Just stop helping me!" She arches her back and raises her head to the sky, screaming, "I'm over here!"
"Are you trying to get us killed?" Bellamy motions for me to follow.
"Just go, okay? I'm the one they want."
"Okay, Charlotte, listen to me. I wont leave you." Bellamy promises.
"Please Bellamy," Charlotte begs. Bell shakes his head. "Murphy! I'm over here!"
"Come on out, Charlotte! Come on out!" I hear Murphy's mocking tone of voice in the distance. He's close which means he can definitely hear her.
Bellamy and I run with Charlotte bouncing on Bellamy's shoulders. Murphy and his crowd find us sprinting and follow after us. It's three against fifty. We were going to die.
We reach a dead end. If we went any further we would run off of a cliff. A very very steep cliff that would have us tumbling into rocks and kill us instantly.
"What do we do?" I ask Bellamy.
He's lost in his own mind, searching for answers that we do not have. Murphy is the first one to show his face from behind the trees.
"Charlotte!" He says, "Dammit. Bellamy! You cannot fight all of us. Giver her up."
"Maybe not," Bellamy says, releasing Charlotte. "But I guarantee I'll take a few of you with me."
Clarke and Finn move their way to the front of the crowd. Panic is written on both of their faces. I silently breathe out a sigh of relief when I see that they're okay.
"Murphy, stop!" I step closer to him. "This has gone on too far. Just calm down and we can talk about this."
"I am so sick of listening to you talk," Murphy steps forward and grabs me by my wrists. I am so caught off guard, not expecting that at all, that by the time I can react he has a knife pressed against my throat. And I do not hesitate to think he will use it on me.
"Let her go!" Bellamy demands.
"Murphy, stop!" Clarke screams.
"No, please. Please, don't hurt her," Charlotte cries.
Murphy nods his head, "Don't hurt her? Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, I will let her go." He shrugs, "What do you say? Killer for a killer? Sounds even to me."
"I will break every bone in your body, " I threaten.
"You won't be able to by the time I'm finished with you," He pressed the knife harder into my neck, breaking skin.
Charlotte sees the blood and cries even harder.
"Don't do it Charlotte," I tell her. No. I demand of her.
"No! No, I have to! Murphy, this is not happening. I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did." Charlotte starts taking slow steps backwards.
I didn't realize what she was doing before it was too late.
"Charlotte! No! No, no, no! No!" Clarke cries.
Charlotte jumps to her death off of the cliff, plummeting to the rocks that kill her instantly.
Left in shock, I don't even feel Murphy's embrace loosen until Finn pulls me safely into him.
Bellamy charges at Murphy, knocking him to the ground and punching him endlessly. A beating that is worse than the one Murphy had before he was hung.
"Bellamy, stop!" Clarke walks over and grabs his raised fist. "You'll kill him!"
"Get off of me," Bellamy orders. "He deserves to die."
"No!" Clarke yells. "We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here."
"So help me god, if you say the people have a right to decide…"
"No, I was wrong before, okay? You were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules."
"And who makes the rules, huh? You?" Bellamy scoffs.
"For now, we make the rules, okay?" she says. Bellamy looks at me for confirmation. This is literally what I said last night. The plan was falling into the right place.
He nods and stops Murphy's beating, "So, what, then? We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?"
"No!" Clarke thinks, "We banish him."
Bellamy nods and grabs Murphy by the collar of his jacket, "Get up," he says, hauling him to the side of the cliff. One slip of his hand, and Murphy was going down with Charlotte.
"Bellamy! Stop!"
"If I ever catch you near camp, we'll be back here. Understand? As for the four of you, you can come back and follow me, or go off with him to die. Your choice."
Murphy is the only one who leaves.
When we get back to the dropship, Clarke explains what happened to Jasper, Monty, and Octavia. "We have to know the truth. That's why we've decided to banish… Anybody got a problem with that?"
I look around to see if anyone was going to raise their hand and object. As soon as I make eye contact with Octavia, she looks away from me, disgusted. My heart breaks in two. It was weird to have Bellamy talk to me and not Octavia.
"Good. Monty how far have you gotten to reaching the Ark?"
"Will we be able to talk to them?" Jasper asks.
"No," Monty shakes his head. "More like morse code. You want to do the honors?" He asks Jasper. Jasper nods his head. "That port right there."
Jasper moves to stick something into a small port on the bottom of the dropship. I hold my breath, thinking we were just about to make contact with the Chancellor, but nothing happens. The connection between wires just spark.
"What the hell?" Octavia says.
"What happened?" Jasper asks.
"It didn't work," Monty looks down disappointed. "I think we fried all the wristbands."
"Great," Octavia brushes past me, hitting my shoulder with hers on the way out.
Never have Octavia and I gotten into a fight. Now, I know what a terrible feeling it is.
