A Quiet Moment
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them. Nikki :)
Part Fourteen
Clarke walked around the camp; her eyes trained on all the people she thought she knew so well. Who could the traitor or traitor's be? She didn't like to think about it, the very thought that one of their own could perpetrate such an act sickened her. She hated to think that she couldn't trust those closest to her. As of now everyone was a suspect. Clarke saw Bellamy in the distance, as he too walked around the outskirts of the camp, his eyes wary as he looked at one person than another. As if an invisible thread was holding them together, he glanced over in her direction, almost at the same time she looked over toward him. He smiled slowly when he saw her and Clarke felt her own lips curving up into an answering smile. Memories of their shared kisses brought a tinge of red to her cheeks. She wondered if Bellamy was thinking the same. He raised his hand in greeting before his attention was torn away from her when one of his friends called out to him. Clarke reluctantly watched him turn away from her before continuing on her journey.
"Can we talk?" Finn's soft voice startled Clarke. She spun round and stared at him. Finn was looking at her expectantly, obviously expecting her to say something.
Clarke cleared her throat. "If you are just going to lecture me about going outside the camp then..."
Finn reached out and caught hold of her arm. Clarke stared down at his fingers which were clutching the material of her jacket tightly. It was only then that she noticed how edgy he seemed. "This is urgent. Please Clarke, I know I have been an ass...but can we go somewhere private?"
Clarke bit her lip for a moment before complying. She nodded and followed after Finn as he led the way to the back of the camp and pulled her behind the drop ship. "What is it?" She asked testily, annoyed at the way he kept trying to place his hands on her, she was sure he was doing it deliberately.
Finn leaned in close and whispered in her ear. Clarke felt uncomfortable, he was invading her personal space again, but she held herself steady as she listened to his words. "I went outside and checked the place where you said you had encountered Murphy and killed him."
"And?"
"And..." Finn paused as if for dramatic effect. "His body is gone, Clarke. I found the dried pool of blood, but Murphy himself was not there."
"That is impossible." Clarke staggered back in her shock. Finn reached out and steadied her, he tried to put his arm around her but Clarke shook him off. "He was dead...I checked...I..."
"Maybe you were so stressed about what happened you got it wrong." Finn replied.
"I stabbed him." Clarke said incredulously. She was having trouble believing that Murphy had survived that, let alone getting back on his feet and heading off somewhere without help. Unless...unless he was aided in some way. Clarke felt nauseous. Someone from within the camp must have rescued Murphy.
"Clarke you look pale? I'm worried about you." Finn stepped forward and put his arms around her before Clarke had a chance to back away. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
"I need to tell Bellamy." She whispered.
"Bellamy?" Finn's voice hardened. "No we can deal with this together. He will just act irrationally. I don't want him involved."
Clarke pushed Finn away from her again, annoyed by his constant criticism toward Bellamy. "He needs to be told. Stop maligning him."
"He really has messed with your head, hasn't he?" Finn snapped. "You can't trust him, Clarke. He is reckless and..."
"And has saved your butt on more than one occasion." Clarke retorted.
"By torturing Lincoln." Finn frowned and shook his head stubbornly.
"You would be dead right now if he hadn't. I was complicit in that too." Clarke reminded him.
"Only because of your concern for me." Finn's eyes softened as he tried to take her hand.
"Will you stop turning everything back to you and me. We are not together, Finn." Clarke said angrily.
"We could be if you would just let me in. But you insist on holding onto your anger because of Raven. She and I are no longer together." Finn pleaded.
"But you kept her a secret from me." Clarke felt like she was in ground hog day, going over the same old arguments.
"I thought I was never going to see Raven again when we landed here." Finn tried to reach for her again but Clarke sidestepped him.
"We were down here ten days when we slept together, Finn. You had been away from Raven for barely two weeks. What does that say about you?" Clarke said bitterly. "Anyway this is all irrelevant. I need to see Bellamy and tell him."
"NO." Finn spat. "Keep him out of it."
"I don't think I know you at all." Clarke looked at him in disgust as she saw the blatant jealousy written all over Finn's handsome face. She turned her back on him and strode away, not once looking back.
It took a while to find Bellamy. She scouted around his usual haunts but couldn't trace him. Clarke was getting increasingly frustrated with her lack of progress. Where was he? She marched out of his tent and headed toward the food tent, hoping that he may be in there. No luck. She came back out into the light and for the second time that day was taken unawares. A hand grabbed hold of her arm and spun her round; before Clarke could speak, Bellamy crashed his lips to hers and kissed her, stealing her breath away. He had a smug grin on his face when the kiss ended, obviously pleased at her flustered reaction.
"We have to stop meeting like this." He quipped.
Clarke took a moment to let her heart rate go back to normal. She felt a surge of relief flood through her now that he was here. She flung herself into his arms and held on tight, this time taking Bellamy by surprise. He hugged her to him as she hid her face in his shoulder, trying to compose herself a little before she broke the news about Murphy's possible survival. As if he could sense Clarke's ambivalence, Bellamy's expression became serious. He waited for her to gather herself together, then he stepped back and examined her face.
"What is it?"
"Murphy." Clarke said in a low tone.
"What about him?" Bellamy lowered his head so he could peer into her expressive blue eyes.
"Finn just told me he went to investigate and check that Muprhy was really dead. His body is gone, Bellamy. I was so sure he was dead. I was sure..." Clarke's voice tailed off as she tried to understand how she could have made such a major error.
"Calm down, princess." Bellamy put his hands on her shoulders. "You were under a lot of duress. It was a mistake anyone could have made."
"But I shouldn't have. Because of my carelessness he is still out there." Clarke would not be reassured.
"From what you said he is badly injured." Bellamy pointed out. "He might have been able to move, but that doesn't mean he will survive."
"Unless he had help." Clarke pointed out.
Bellamy became still as he took in the possibility. They both knew they had traitors in the camp. Perhaps Murphy hadn't been out that day alone after all, and when Clarke stabbed him, Murphy's cohort had rescued him. "Dammit this just gets worse and worse." He ran a hand agitatedly through his thick, black hair. "I have been trying to work out for most of the day who it could be."
"Me too." Clarke sighed as she glanced over toward the center of the camp. It was horrible to think that someone could do something so awful. "What are we going to do?"
"What did Finn say?" Bellamy asked suddenly.
Clarke dropped her eyes to the floor. "You know Finn." She mumbled.
"He didn't want you to tell me, did he?"
"No." She admitted.
"He is unbelievable. We have a major crisis on our hands and that fool can think of nothing else but trying to get you back. He is a f..."
"Bellamy." Clarke warned him before he could curse anymore, they were beginning to attract attention now he had raised his voice.
Bellamy swallowed thickly, his eyes glowing fiercely as he thought about Finn trying to sink his hooks back into Clarke. It was time that he was told where he stood, which was nowhere. Clarke could almost read the thoughts going through his mind. She put a calming hand on his chest.
"Finn doesn't matter right now. We have to find out who the traitor is."
"I know. It's just..." Bellamy didn't finish what he was about to say, he just gazed at Clarke. She felt he could see right into the depths of her soul.
"Come on we need to make a start. Call a meeting or something." Clarke hated breaking the connection between them, but the atmosphere was getting intense. She smiled at him weakly before turning to lead the way back to the main drop ship.
"Princess..." Bellamy said huskily.
Clarke glanced over her shoulder at him, an indefinable light shining in her eyes. "I know, Bellamy. I know." She whispered before continuing on her way.
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think. Reviews inspire me to update quicker. Drop me a line if you have any ideas for this story. Nikki :)