Seven

It was dark before Clarke returned to camp, medicine in hand.

Melody and Octavia heard the shouts from outside as people welcomed her back. Figuring that it was safe to open the hatch now, the two girls rushed out of the dropship to greet Clarke, leaving Jasper in Monty's capable hands. After Melody's altercation with Murphy earlier in the day no one had dared to even complain about Jasper. The chance of someone trying to put him out of his misery was slim. And if they tried, well, Melody still had her knife.

The three of them had spent the entire day locked up in the upper level of the dropship. It seemed like hours before Murphy stopped trying to force his way through the hatch. For a while they'd feared that the metal might give way and let him in. Luckily, as soon as the fog had cleared he'd left the dropship, probably to sulk and tend to his injured leg and plot all of their untimely deaths. Things had been peaceful since then, but Melody highly doubted she'd make it through the night. Not when Murphy told Bellamy what had gone down between the two of them.

Murphy was out for blood. Melody's blood.

"It's about time! They were going to kill Jasper." Octavia all but pounced on Clarke the moment they saw her.

"Did you get the medicine?" Wondered Melody anxiously, her mind flickering to the image of Jasper's worsening condition.

"Yeah, I got it." Clarke replied, her voice low. "Come on, let's go talk."

Clarke wrapped an arm around Octavia and tried to steer her in the direction of the dropship. There was something in her gaze, the way it nervously flickered towards the ground, that made Melody's stomach drop.

Something was wrong.

Octavia seemed to realize it, too. She pulled away from Clarke and continued on, heading towards where Bellamy stood near the entrance to the camp. Melody could see the outline of whatever Bellamy had dragged behind him on a make-shift cot. It only took a few moments for her to realize it was a body. And judging by Clarke's desperate attempt to divert their attention, it was the body of someone Octavia knew. Or, had known.

"Octavia, just stay there please." Bellamy pleaded. He held out one hand in the universal 'stay there' sign, as if that could somehow keep her from approaching. "Just stay back."

Octavia was having none of it. When did she ever listen to him? She continued forward as if she hadn't heard him, not stopping until she was kneeling beside the body. Melody watched from a few feet away, her stomach in knots at the thought of what Octavia might find beneath the jacket that was covering the dead kid.

The horrified expression on Octavia's face as she lifted the material away was gut-wrenching enough to cause Melody to step forward. She wanted to reach out, but she didn't know how. What could she say? What could she do?

"Octavia…" Bellamy tried to explain to Octavia that there was nothing he could do to save the boy, but words seemed to be failing him.

Melody recognized the one laying on the cot now; Atom.He'd been one of Bellamy's right-hand men. The one that had been instructed to stay behind and watch camp while the rest of them had gone out searching for Jasper. She hadn't really known him, so while she mourned his loss there was no real emotional attachment there. But it was obvious that he had meant something to Octavia, even if just for a couple of days.

"Don't." Octavia raised one hand and glared at Bellamy as she spoke. "Just don't."

It was heart-wrenching to watch as Octavia slowly bent down and covered Atom's body once more. There was no mistaking the wetness that had begun to form in the girl's eyes. She was hurting and angry as she sat there, looking down at Atom as if she didn't quite know what to do. Melody could sympathize. Loss was always hard. And having to look into the dead eyes of someone you'd once cared about…there was nothing else like that sort of pain.

Melody was across the camp in a few long strides, putting both hands on Octavia's shoulders in an attempt to provide some sort of comfort. She was getting better at this. Better at interacting with people, and better at sensing what they needed from her. Melody wasn't heartless. She'd never been Octavia's biggest fan, but no one deserved to go through something like this alone. Melody knew first hand. She'd done it alone, and it had completely destroyed her. She wasn't about to watch that happen to someone else.

"Octavia, you should go help with Jasper." Instructed Melody, using a soothing yet authoritative voice that she didn't even know she possessed.

Octavia nodded her head reluctantly at Melody's words. She stood up and angrily made her way around Bellamy, who Melody suspected Octavia blamed for Atom's death. There was definitely more to that story than what she knew, but right now Melody didn't care to find out all of the gory details. Instead, she went to follow after Octavia, intent on finding Clarke and seeing how the medicine was affecting Jasper's recovery.

Before she even made it ten steps, a strong hand came out of nowhere and gripped her by the arm. Melody didn't even have time to react before she was being spun around and yanked forward like she was nothing more than a limp rag doll. She stumbled along for a few steps, tripping over her own two feet as she tried to straighten up and pull away.

Murphy yanked Melody to a hard stop as they stood before their unofficial leader's feet, presenting her proudly to Bellamy. "We've got a problem."

Bellamy looked between the two of them wearily and it was clear that he didn't want to deal with whatever trouble they had at the moment. He never wanted to deal with Melody, but she somehow always seemed to be at the center of said trouble.

"And what's that?"

Melody tried to pull her arm free of Murphy's grasp, but he just sunk his nails into her arm in response, hard enough to break the skin. Melody resisted the urge to cry out in pain as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Instead, she clenched her jaw and stopped struggling as she stood before Bellamy.

"She managed to get her hands on a knife." Murphy said angrily, giving Melody's arm a rough shake in the process. "She tried to kill me."

A mixture of emotions flitted across Bellamy's face. First and foremost was surprise, as if he couldn't possibly imagine that Melody possessed the courage -and stupidity- that it took to stand up to Murphy. His gaze trailed over her heavily, from head to toe and then back again. His brows were furrowed and his lips pursed as he watched her, studying her closely as if he had missed something the first time around.

"She tried to kill you." Repeated Bellamy flatly.

"In cold blood." Murphy's vice-like grip tightened even further, to the point that Melody was unable to stop herself from crying out.

The sound seemed to spark something in Bellamy. His gaze flickered towards Melody's face, where cheeks were flushed and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Their gazes clashed for several seconds before Bellamy looked away. His brown eyes grew impossibly darker as they took in the sight of Murphy's grip on Melody's forearm.

"Let her go." Bellamy's voice was overflowing with authority and yet somehow still remained soft, as if he were simply trying to persuade Murphy rather than flat-out demanding of him.

The request couldn't have been more out-of-character. Melody's gaze snapped to Bellamy's face and she stared at him long and hard, taking a few beats of silence to process his words. Was he actually defending her?

"What?" Murphy practically snarled the word beneath his breath. He was glaring at Melody with enough hatred that if looks could kill, she'd be six feet under. "Bellamy, she tried to kill me."

"I said," Bellamy's voice was louder now, commanding. "Let her go. Now, Murphy. Don't make me repeat myself again."

Without waiting for Murphy to comply, Bellamy reached out and gripped Melody gently by the shoulder. He tugged her towards him and Murphy's hand fell away limply, leaving Melody free to cross the distance and stand by Bellamy's side.

"You're just going to let this go unpunished?" Asked Murphy in disbelief.

"Of course not." Bellamy's darkened gaze swung towards Melody. "Did you try to kill him, sweetheart?"

"No." Melody shook her head firmly. Now that she was out of Murphy's reach, she felt somehow safer than she had before, and therefore bolder. "I didn't try to do anything. If I wanted him dead, he would be."

Something new flickered across Bellamy's face then. Melody thought that it might be along the lines of admiration. There was nothing about his body language that suggested he was even remotely angry about her response. His lips quirked slightly at the corners, but his arms stayed crossed tightly over his chest as he watched her. Maybe she should feel repulsed by the glint in Bellamy's eyes, but she almost felt proud. Proud that she had successfully stood up for herself. Proud that it hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I thought I was going to bleed out. I can barely walk on the damn thing." Murphy exaggerated, his glare never faltering. It wasn't exactly clear who he was glaring at now, probably both of them, but his eyes were deep and dark and full of promise; a promise to get revenge. "She needs to be punished for this."

"Melody wouldn't have just stabbed you for no reason, Murphy." Bellamy said, surprising them both as he defended Melody for the second time in one sitting. "She's too…good." He said the word like it was dirty and left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Bellamy's statement appalled Murphy. He looked between the two of them with narrowed eyes, unable to hide his confusion. He had every right to be confused. Melody was confused, too. She was just too surprised and engrossed in their conversation to voice it aloud or give them much of a reaction. Murphy, on the other hand, looked at Bellamy as if he had just murdered a dozen puppies and then bathed in their blood while listening to nursery rhymes.

"You're honestly taking her side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm just saying that if she stabbed you, you must have done a helluva job pissing her off." Bellamy said, the corner of his mouth curving into the ghost of a smile.

"This isn't funny." Murphy's tone was furious and he looked as if he were already plotting ways to kill the both of them in his mind.

"Do you want to know what's not funny?" Bellamy asked, his tone hardening. A scowl replaced the smile on his face as he turned his attention fully upon Murphy. "The fact that I trusted you to protect all of these people in my absence, and instead you let some little girl get the jump on you. That's not funny."

"Hey!" Snapped Melody.

The fact that Bellamy and Murphy were talking about her as if she wasn't even there made Melody grind her teeth together in frustration. Little girl? Who were they calling a little girl? The last time she checked, she was the one on the winning end of the spectrum.

"It's not my fault." Murphy completely ignored Melody's protest, and instead began to defend himself to Bellamy. "All I wanted to do was shut that kid up."

"Jasper?" Bellamy looked sharply at Melody.

Mel nodded.

"He's still breathing." Murphy informed Bellamy, somehow slipping right back into the role of right-hand man. "I tried to take him out, but Melody and your psycho little sister-"

Murphy didn't get to finish his sentence. Bellamy had shoved him backwards, hard, a fire in his eyes unlike any that Melody had seen before. It was fierce and blazing, a fire that could only be sparked by someone insulting Octavia. Melody saw the look in his eyes and it prompted her to take two steps back, because the last thing she wanted to be was in arms' length of the two of them.

"My what?" Bellamy grabbed Murphy by the collar of his shirt and shook him roughly, their faces practically touching as Bellamy bore down on him. "My what?"

Murphy had flipped a switch and was suddenly as composed as ever. The confusion and anger he'd been expressing was gone, replaced by an eerie sort of calm as he stared blankly up at Bellamy. It was the type of calm that was so out of place that it seemed almost sinister. The deadened look in his eyes caused Melody to shiver.

Murphy shoved Bellamy away from him with one hand, gaze never wavering. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "Your little sister."

"Yeah, that's right." Replied Bellamy. "My little sister."

Their gazes remained locked, cool steel clashing with raging fire. They were both too proud to tear their gaze away first. The amount of testosterone in the vicinity was threatening to suffocate her once again, but Melody found herself to engrossed in their little power struggle to even consider leaving.

The show-down ended with Murphy apologizing reluctantly. Bellamy didn't even acknowledge the apology, much less accept it. He simply looked away and barked out an order for someone to take care of Atom's body, which was still laying near the entrance. Without casting a second look in Murphy's direction, Bellamy effectively dismissed them and took off in the general direction of his tent.

Melody watched as the two of them went their separate ways. She'd been expecting the confrontation with Bellamy, but she hadn't been expecting it to go down quite like that. What was his angle? There had to be a reason that he'd chosen Melody over Murphy, but she couldn't figure it out for the life of her. Guilt, maybe? The removal of her wristband was still fresh in Melody's mind. She hadn't forgiven him for that. She would never forgive such a selfish, immoral act. Bellamy Blake could stand up for her every single day for the rest of their lives, and it still wouldn't be enough to make her forget what he'd done.

"Melody." Bellamy had paused a few yards away. He was standing there expectantly, watching her as she tried to piece together his motive.

When Melody looked up at him, Bellamy simply crooked a finger and gestured her forward.

There were a million reasons why Melody didn't want to be alone with him. For starters, he was kind of a shitty person. She was barely able to tolerate her presence when it was required of her, especially in light of recent events. The whole thing with the bracelets and with Jasper had just opened her eyes to what kind of person he truly was. And he wasn't the kind of person she had any sort of respect for. Spending time with Bellamy after hours was about as high up on her 'recreational activities' list as was gnawing off her own foot.

"I…uh, Jasper." She blurted out, unthinkingly. "I should go back and check on him."

That was a lie. She wanted to go back and check on him, but they both knew that he was perfectly safe in Clarke's capable hands. The excuse was more for her benefit than Jasper's. The last thing Melody wanted was to be stuck in a tent with Bellamy Blake, who was just about her least favorite person on the planet. Right below the grounders, of course.

"Clarke can manage."

"She might need some more water."

"I've got people supplying whatever she needs."

"Jasper could wake up, Clarke's already given him the medicine."

"Not likely."

"I told Monty that I would-"

"Enough, Melody." Bellamy closed the distance between the two of them with just a few strides. He went to reach for her, but then thought better of it, his fingers twitching at his sides as he stared her down. "I said follow me."

Melody wasn't afraid of him, not directly. But she was very afraid of his influence, in more ways than one. Although she hated to admit it, most of the delinquents were already his people. Crossing Bellamy Blake would ensure that she stood alone. Always.

Was that really what she wanted?

"Fine." Melody gave a stiff nod.

They walked back to his tent in silence.

Melody was unsurprised to find that he had claimed the best tent as his own. It was easily the size of several of the smaller tents put together, and about a hundred times nicer. Unlike the others, his tent was sturdy and erected in a way that suggested it wasn't lacking any of the required pieces. Most of the others had been rigged up with string and supported by tree branches. Now Melody knew why. Bellamy even had a mattress laying in one corner of the tent, while most of the others were left sleeping on blankets. If they were lucky.

Who's the privileged now?

She walked into the tent, her irritation towards Bellamy spiking once more. She was irritated at him for a lot of things, but mostly because he could just take whatever he wanted and could do whatever he damn well pleased without any consequences. And they were all just expected to follow after him like lost little puppies, lest they wanted to be beaten or ostracized or worse. It wasn't fair.

"You can't just stab people, sweetheart." Bellamy's lecture began the moment the tent flap swung shut behind them.

He sat down on the edge of one of those cheap, folding card tables that was apparently being put to use as household furniture. A few extra articles of clothing littered the table top, along with a handful of nutrition packets and a ball of twine. There was no other furniture in the tent aside from his bed. Melody stood in the middle of the enclosed space, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she turned to face Bellamy.

"Why's that?"

"Because that's how you make enemies." Explained Bellamy slowly, his words heavy. "And trust me, you don't want any enemies here."

"I'm not here to make friends or enemies, Bellamy." Even as she said the words, Melody couldn't quite bring herself to believe them. Hadn't she already made some of both? "I'm here to prove that Earth is habitable. Or at least I was."

Her fingertips brushed once more against the spot where her wristband had been just a few days prior. The area was still sore, but the bruises had already faded. The only trace that remained was the puncture marks on the underside of Melody's wrist, where the sensors had been imbedded in her flesh. Otherwise, it was like the band had never even been there.

"Don't give me that, Melody. To hell with the Chancellor and his 'mission.' You're here to live." Bellamy gave her another quick once-over. "But not if you don't play your cards right."

"Why not?" Melody knew that she was about to be treading in dangerous waters, but she couldn't keep the taunting edge out of her voice as she threw his own words back at him once again. "Are you going to kill me, Bellamy?"

"Not me, sweetheart. Them." Bellamy swept his arm out, gesturing towards the rest of the camp and its inhabitants. "The people get what they want. It's always been that way. I'm the one that has to deliver. They want Jasper dead; Ihave to be the one to kill him if he doesn't recover. If you go around sticking your knife into anyone that pisses you off…I'll have no choice but to do something about it."

"You have a mind of your own, Bellamy." Melody wondered why everyone down here had forgotten that little fact. "You don't have to do anything."

"That's where you're wrong, Melody." Bellamy gave a slow shake of his head. "I have to do a lot of things. I have to provide for these people. I haveto try and keep peace between everyone. I haveto decide what's best in the long run. I have to leadthem."

It was the first time that Melody had ever taken Bellamy's view on things into consideration. Their views couldn't have been more conflicting. She could see where Bellamy's train of thought stemmed form, and she supposed that he did have to do all of those things. But wasn't it his own fault? Bellamy was the one who had stepped up and announced himself as their leader. If he couldn't handle the heat, he should stay out of the kitchen.

"I can't always protect you like I did tonight." Bellamy said quietly. His tone had lost most of its edge. Somehow, the gentleness in his voice had the opposite of the desired effect.

"I never asked you to!" Melody snapped out, unable to control her flaring temper. His sudden desire to protect her was infuriating. "I can handle myself, Bellamy."

"You can't, Melody." He let out an exasperated breath. "You're small. Weak. Untrained. You let your emotions control you. You're nothing compared to Murphy or the others, even on your best day."

The words sparked a hatred like none other in Melody's heart. The words hit far too close to home for her liking. For as long as she could remember, she'd been told the same things. She was too dainty. She was too fragile. She was too vulnerable. All her life people had been treating Melody like she was some sort of delicate little bird that needed saving. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, even her prison guards. And now Bellamy Blake.They all wrote her off as nothing more than a little slip of a girl who couldn't take care of herself.

Well, no more.

"Screw you, Bellamy!" She glared up at him, pure loathing shining in her cold, green eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the one that got herself stabbed today, now am I? Maybe we should go ask Murphy how weak I am."

"Damn it, Melody." Bellamy was quickly losing his own patience. "Don't you get it? These guys are criminals.They were in prison for a reason."

Bellamy acted as if he had her best interests at heart, but Melody didn't believe him for a second. He didn't care about what happened to her. All he cared about was himself and his image. If Melody went around defying him at every turn and sticking her nose where it didn't belong, then people would begin to question Bellamy's authority. He was doing all of this for his own selfish reasons, even if he refused to admit it. It was always an angle with him, a way to make himself appear more powerful than he really was.

Melody wasn't going to just sit by and watch bad things happen to good people. She'd never done it before and she wasn't going to start now.

"So was I." Melody's voice wavered slightly. She wanted to sound tough and mysterious, but it wasn't really working out for her. "Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to handle myself."

It just didn't seem possible that Bellamy was looking out for her. Up until now, all of his actions had fueled by self-centered motives. He and Melody had been at each other's throats from the very beginning. Everything she did seemed to just piss him off even further. And everything he did definitelypissed her off to no end. They had no common ground, aside from their stubbornness. Why in the world would Bellamy suddenly flip his switch and decide that he wanted to bury the hatchet?

Sure, he had been nothing but good to her since he'd gotten back…but it had only been, what, thirty minutes? If that? Maybe he had pulled her away from that psychopath Murphy and his murderous tendencies, but that didn't mean anything. Did it?

For a moment, Melody allowed herself to wonder what if? What if Bellamy was being sincere? Maybe he really did want to look out for her. Maybe somewhere deep down he had a weakness for little girls with big attitudes and fire in their souls. Maybe she was just making an ass out of herself by constantly rebuffing him and questioning everything he said to her.

No sooner than Melody had wondered all of these things, something between them seemed to shift.

Bellamy's gaze darkened and a smug smirk spread across his face. The look he was giving her, like she was a fly caught in the spider's web, caused Melody to take an involuntary step back. The man that had stood in front of her, the one who had almost seemed human in his attempts to advise her, was gone. In his place was the Bellamy that Melody knew all too well. The snarky, arrogant boy that knew how to get exactly what he wanted.

"Oh, I know, Melody." Bellamy's voice was soft. It had almost a sinister edge. "I know exactlywhy you were thrown into the Sky Box."

|oOo|

It felt like she was suffocating.

Melody's chest constricted painfully, the tightness there rendering her breathless. She drew in ragged lungfuls of air, but nothing could ease the wildfire that was quickly taking over in her chest. There was a fire in her heart and ice in her veins, the pain unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Mel placed a palm against her heart in an attempt to calm its sporadic beating, but if anything that just seemed to spur it on even further.

This can't be happening.

It was like she was drowning, with no hope of ever reaching the surface. She was trying to run for her life, but she couldn't. The panic that flowed through her veins was all-consuming. It felt like she needed to get out, like she needed to run, and if she didn't she was surely going to die. But get out of where? Her own body? How could she run away from herself? And if death was coming to take all of these feelings away, she would almost welcome it.

Melody had no idea how Bellamy could have gotten knowledge of her crimes against the Ark. She hadn't told a soul what she'd done to get admitted to the Sky Box. The only people to have access to those records were council members, guardsmen, and the Chancellor himself. Unless he was there that day…

No. No one had been there. Melody remembered the day as clearly as if it had been yesterday.

The door to the examination room slowly slid open as the doctor entered, clipboard in hand.

"Melody. So good to see you." Doctor Jason Evans had greeted her as familiarly as any other day, with an all-too wide smile and a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Good afternoon, Doctor." Melody had replied, her tone a little less than friendly. A little too stiff. "I trust you're doing well."

Melody had always been a peculiar thirteen year old. She was much more mature than the other children her age. Having been raised only by her intelligent and well-mannered mother had turned Melody into an almost carbon copy. Most people found it adorable and endearing that she acted like a miniature adult. Melody found it to be normal. This was how proper young ladies were supposed to behave. This was all she had ever known.

"Very well. Are you ill, Melody?" The doctor's tone had gone from good-natured to full of concern in a matter of moments.

His hand reached for her then, and Melody forced herself not to cringe away from the touch that was far too personal for her liking. She felt his hand run through her hair, parting the reddish-orange strands and twirling them around in his fingers.

"I'm not ill." Melody had replied, leaning out of his reach. "It's my mother."

The doctor no longer looked as concerned, which irritated Melody. For as long as she could remember the Good Doctor had been slipping into their quarters in the evening and leaving before the sun rose the next day. He and her mother had been involved in a relationship that Melody knew little about. What she saw with her own two eyes was very different from what had happened behind closed doors.

"Oh. What does your mother need?" The doctor wondered, sounding slightly impatient now. "More sleeping pills? Extra food rations? I told her we'd have to be careful now. I cannot keep indulging her in such things."

Melody's discomfort and irritation only continued to grow with each word that the doctor spoke. He'd provided her and her mother with so much over the years that they had grown to depend on him. Alone they could not provide for themselves. That was why he'd been allowed into their lives in the first place. It had been a mistake to allow him to have so much power over their lives, over them.

Melody was intent on rectifying that mistake.

"Actually, she says she no longer needs your food rations or sleeping pills. I'm old enough to work in the factory now." Melody said boldly, swinging her small legs that didn't quite reach the floor back and forth. "Mother says I can pay for my own rations and sleep no longer troubles her."

The words were a lie. Melody's mother hadn't told her to tell the doctor anything of the sort. In fact, Melody's mother was currently at home sleeping off the previous over-night shift in the factory. It had been her own idea to come down and settle things. It was something she'd been thinking about for a while, ever since she'd become old enough to realize the reality of their unique situation. Of course, her mother had never said anything about not wanting the doctor in their lives. But she hadn't needed to.

Melody saw the bruises. She noticed the way her mother flinched at the smallest of things, such as a door closing too loudly or a book falling off of a shelf. Melody's mother had never been strong. She'd always been weak; submissive, even. She'd allowed the doctor to rule their lives for too long and Melody was beginning to catch on now. She couldn't let it continue.

Melody felt that it was her duty to change things. After all, she'd failed to protect her mother from this sinister man for so many years. She wouldn't let even one more day go by without standing up for the only person she had ever truly loved. Maybe she was small, and maybe she was weak, but she was determined.

To Melody's surprise the doctor looked angry after she had spoken. She'd expected him to be relieved. He no longer had to take care of them as he had been doing for the last few years. He didn't have to risk his job and his life to sneak them the extra little things that they'd required over the years to survive. He was finally free of them, the burden that he'd shouldered for so many years.

"She thinks she can just get rid of me?" Doctor Evans practically snarled the words as he grabbed Melody by the shoulder. His good-naturedness had disappeared completely, and was replaced with pure rage. The look in his eyes terrified Melody, who up until this point had never been involved in any sort of confrontation.

"I-I don't know." Stammered the small girl, looking up at the male with wide eyes.

"Well I'll show her. I'll show the both of you. I've done an awful lot for you, Melody Pond. An awful lot." He said again, to emphasize his words. "And I think it's about time I get something in return.

Melody was confused. She didn't have anything to offer the doctor. So, she tried to reason with him. "I don't have anything. Mother just told me to-"

Her head roughly snapped to one side then, causing a sickening crack to echo throughout the room. There was a sharp ringing noise resonating in the small space; or perhaps it was only in her ears. It took Melody a few moments to realize that the Doctor had actually slapped her.

The young girl pressed one hand to her cheek which was quickly growing warm as it throbbed beneath her tentative fingers. To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. Melody was surprised, but most of all she was afraid, very afraid, and disgusted. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she stared over at him, her image of the man completely changing in a matter of moments.

What kind of man preyed on children?

Melody never got her answer.

All she got in return to her silent question was the sound of his belt falling to the floor.

And she was were never the same after that.

"Melody?"

A hand on Melody's shoulder caused her to lash out blindly. She was still lost in a dream-like state as she recalled memories that she had forced herself to bury many years ago. Memories that were better left untouched.

The sound of skin-on-skin contact made her look up with wide eyes. Mel could see the red mark already beginning to form on Bellamy's face. He'd grabbed her wrist with one hand and now held it, suspended in mid-air.

Bellamy looked furious and it caused Melody take a hasty step backwards. This obviously surprised Bellamy; Melody had never backed away from confrontation, not with him. She'd always seemed to embrace it. That was something that he had always admired about her, although he would never admit it out loud. The girl in front of him was anything but admirable; she was almost a puddle at his feet.

Something resembling concern flickered in his eyes for a moment before Bellamy let go of Melody's wrist and stepped backwards himself. He didn't know how to process seeing this side of her. So weak and vulnerable.

Melody's voice was hoarse when she spoke. "How did you find out?" There was an urgency present in her tone; she sounded desperate. She felt desperate, as if her whole world was caving in around her.

"I was training to be a guard back then. There was news about some kid that had killed a doctor in cold blood. A little girl that was only thirteen years old…Her name was Melody. Melody Pond." Bellamy explained, crossing his arms over his chest almost defensively. As if he was the one who should be defensive. "You talked about being sent to the Sky Box when you were young. You said you hadn't talked to another human being in years. You're always the first one ready to stand up and fight, even if the odds are stacked against you, because you know you can handle yourself when it comes down to it. You've done it before and you can do it again."

Bellamy's assessment of her made Melody's blood run cold. Bellamy Blake was the last person that she wanted to know about her deep, dark secret. Melody suddenly felt like she had when she was a child; weak, defenseless, and terrified. The tough outer shell that she had tried to build up over the last few years and especially over the last few days was slowly crumbling into dust. Bellamy somehow saw through it, and that thought alone was terrifying.

"I was a different person back then." She wanted to sound strong and secure, but her voice broke in the middle of her sentence. Melody cleared her throat. "I don't make it a habit of just going around and killing people."

"Just stabbing them, right?" Asked Bellamy. The words were meant to be a joke, but the severity of the situation was dire. It wasn't something that Melody could take lightly, and so she didn't even so much as crack a smile.

"Bellamy…" Melody trailed off, not knowing what to say. Every instinct told her to get on her knees and beg him not to tell anyone. But Melody was not the begging type. She never had been and never would be. Not if she could help it.

"I won't tell anyone, Melody." Bellamy said suddenly, surprising her. "We all have our secrets, don't we?"

Why the hell would he make it a point to let her know that he knew her secret if he didn't plan on using it against her?

An odd look had clouded over his face. It was as if he understood her urgency to keep this between the two of them and was rethinking his gameplan. Melody wondered for a moment what Bellamy was hiding, but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it. She couldn't.

"Yes." Melody nodded slowly, not fully trusting him to keep his word. "We do. And I'd like for my skeletons to stay in the closet. After all, I've been pardoned, right?"

Bellamy smiled slightly at Melody's comment, which held just the slightest hint of sarcasm. She was beginning to sound a bit like her old self again. For a few moments she had scared him, which was not an easy thing to do. Melody was a pain in his ass, but Bellamy respected her. She knew what she want and she went for it, even if the odds weren't in her favor. That was admirable. Seeing her so vulnerable had unsettled him in ways he didn't know to be possible. Just as Melody was certain he had a deep dark secret, Bellamy was certain that her story had more to it than she let on.

"Right. Pardoned." Bellamy agreed, nodding his head and looking at her once more. It was a relief to see that she had managed to compose herself once more. "Now run along and check on goggle boy."

Melody was eager to do just that. The fact that she had let her guard down like that around Bellamy was mortifying. He'd nearly seen her fall apart at the seams as those horrid memories assaulted her mind. Luckily, Melody had managed to pick herself back up again before she'd been reduced to the frightened, sniveling little girl that she had been so many years ago. Just barely, though.

She all but ran to the dropship. It had been nearly half an hour since Clarke had returned with the medicine. Melody knew that by now she would have brewed the tea that could potentially save Jasper's life. While they'd been busy helping Jasper, she'd been trapped in her own personal hell; her own mind. Assaulted by memories that should have been left in the dark. That would have been left there, if not for Bellamy.

Mel climbed the ladder with an urgency to forget the event that had just taken place in Bellamy's tent. She wanted nothing more than to bury those memories away again and lock them up, just as she had managed to do before. But Melody knew that it would never happen. Tonight her dreams would be nightmares. The face of Doctor Evans would haunt her dreams for the first time in years.

You wouldn't be worth the guilt.

Melody recalled saying those words to Bellamy when they'd been fighting a few days earlier. He had probably brushed them off as meaningless, but they held a lot of meaning for Melody. The guilt never really went away. She had managed to stop thinking about the night she'd killed Jason Evans, but it was always lingering in the background.

And Bellamy had brought it to light.

"There she is." Monty's friendly voice was warm and welcoming as Melody entered the upper level of the dropship. "Clarke just made the tea."

Melody looked around the room that was filled with people she was slowly beginning to care about. They all looked at her with wide smiles, eager to update her on Jasper's progress. There wasn't much progress of course, but nevertheless they filled her in with every little detail. They cared enough to keep her informed. They cared enough to make her feel like a part of every little step towards Jasper's recovery; the bottom line was, they cared about her.

Bonds formed quickly on Earth. Everyone was beginning to realize that this was it; they were all each other had. Melody had realized this herself just before joining her friends in the dropship. She had to let go of her grudges and move on; there was no time to be petty.

"I hear you stabbed Murphy in the leg." Finn said, grinning at Melody. There was just a hint of pride in his voice. Melody returned the smile and shrugged one shoulder in response.

The memory of what she had done to Murphy made her think of the conversation she'd just had with Bellamy. His warnings and his revelations…None of which sat well with her. It was all she could think about. It wasn't all-consuming as it had been. She wasn't physically brought to the point of pain by her panic anymore. She'd composed herself slightly. Just enough to pick herself up and make it through the rest of the night.

"She totally kicked ass." Monty said, smiling as he moved forward to wrap one arm around Melody's shoulder. "She's the reason Jasper's alive right now."

The words caused Melody to pause.

She looked down at the boy who was already beginning to regain a bit of his color. The tea wasn't working quickly, but it was working. Had Melody not been there to stop Murphy, Jasper may not have made it long enough to stand a chance at fighting whatever was slowly taking over his body. Shewas the reason he was still fighting. Shewas the reason Jasper would live another day. This should have made her happy.

"You did a good job, Melody." Clarke praised her, offering one of her small, pleasant smiles. "You saved his life."

The words were meant to make Melody feel good, but all they did was make her feel even worse than before. The one thing about your past is that you can never escape it; Melody was no exception to the rule.

And while they cheered her on for saving a life, Melody couldn't help but wonder how they would react if they knew she had ended one just as easily.