Chapter Twenty-Five

Quarantine was very unpleasant.

Everyone who had brought Murphy into camp -save Octavia- had immediately come down with the fever. And the majority of the people who had been in contact with those who brought Murphy in were also showing symptoms of the illness. It seemed that everywhere you looked there was someone bleeding profusely from their eyes, their nose, their ears, or their mouths. One person, Derek, had already died from it.

Clarke had sent Octavia out to find the cure, because the younger Blake seemed immune to the virus. It'd been an hour or two since Octavia had left camp and things were only getting worse. More and more people had become sick. The tension around camp was growing thicker with each passing moment. Death loomed just above their heads, the danger more present now than ever before. They were vulnerable now in a way that they never had been before. With the majority of their people succumbing to the illness, they were weak. They were at the will of the grounders. And all they could do was sit and wait, because half of the campers were in no condition to put up any sort of fight.

Clarke did everything in her power to take care of the infected, but it was hard because she had also come down with the virus. That meant that Melody had to step up her game and do her best to keep the campers who were under quarantine as safe and as happy as possible. Which also wasn't easy, considering the fact that she had the amplified version of the virus due to the fact that her immune system was being pushed beyond its capacity.

Everyone who was sick got put on the first floor so that Clarke could keep an eye on them. All of those who had been in contact with someone who was sick but failed to show the symptoms got put up on the third floor. All of the healthy campers were told to give the dropship a wide radius and they did so gladly. Everyone outside was terrified of catching this "hemorrhagic fever", as Clarke was calling it. And those who had caught it were terrified of what might happen next.

Now, the body count was already up to three.

"Hey." Melody's voice was soft as she sat down on the floor of the dropship, right next to the one and only John Murphy. "Do you need some more water?"

Right now, Melody's approach was the old "kill them with kindness." Yeah, Murphy may have done some bad things but they all had done some bad things. Melody was bound and determined to be the bigger person here. She was willing to let bygones be bygones even though no one else had been so forgiving. Murphy had suffered enough over the last few months. His torture had been drawn out and it had been painful. His suffering didn't erase the things he had done, but karma was a real bitch.

"No." Murphy shook his head slightly. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine." Argued Melody with a small frown. None of them were really fine, but they were doing the best they could. "Drink," said Melody as she handed Murphy the bottle that had been hooked to her belt.

"Thank you." Murphy muttered as he took the aluminum bottle and slowly began to unscrew the top off of it. His hands were still shaking slightly, but Melody guessed that it was a side-effect of the fever. There seemed to be lots of side-effects.

"Don't mention it." She leaned back against the wall with a soft sigh, allowing her eyes to slip shut for a moment or two.

Sleep had been nearly impossible this morning, despite the fact that Melody was completely exhausted. Although she had agreed to stay in bed, Melody had quickly been forced to go back on her word in order to help Clarke. There were just so many patients and not enough people willing to help out. She had given up her bed for one of the sick campers when the outbreak had first happened, and since then Melody had been on her feet non-stop.

"Think it'll pass soon?" Murphy asked. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve before capping the bottle once more and handing it back to Melody.

"Maybe." She shrugged her shoulders slightly and fastened the water bottle to her belt. "How do you feel?"

"I feel…better. Stopped coughing up blood about fifteen minutes ago." Murphy informed her, mimicking her actions and shrugging his shoulders. "Not much, but it's a start."

"That's good. Really good. If the virus can spread quickly, maybe it can run its course quickly. Maybe we have a chance of actually putting up a decent fight." Melody was hopeful.

"Yeah, maybe." Said Murphy, who sounded less than convinced.

They sat there, side-by-side, thinking about the fever and how much trouble it was causing them. At least half of the campers had already been infected or exposed. The other half stood outside, most of them armed to the teeth, waiting for an attack that may or may not come. If the grounders had let an infected Murphy escape in order to cause panic among the 100, then they had succeeded.

There was the sound of shouting.

The body count was up to four now.

"How do you feel?" Asked Murphy after a few beats of silence. "Clarke said you've got it bad."

"Oh, I'm fine." Melody replied immediately, out of habit. "The fever is just a little harder on my body because it's still trying to heal from the last grounder attack."

"I heard about that. You got shot?"

"With an arrow." Melody pulled up her shirt and revealed her injured side. A fine line of stitches ran diagonally across her ivory skin.

"Holy shit." He sounded impressed as he stared at her wound for a few moments. His reaction would be priceless if he could see how it looked that first day. "How are you still functioning?"

"Like I said, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Well I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You need to rest, Melody." Murphy advised as he watched her carefully. "Bellamy's going to have an aneurism when he finds out that you're not in bed."

"You need to shut up, Murphy, before I change my mind and sit somewhere else." She replied, rolling her eyes at him and his unnecessary advice. If she wanted a lecture than she would talk to Bellamy or Clarke.

"Just saying…the queen's the most valuable player, right? The queen is the one who protects the king." He said, giving her a rather knowing look that made Melody antsy. "In other words, you die and shit's going to get ten times worse."

"First of all, this isn't a game of chess and I'm not the queen." Corrected Melody. "Besides, I have no intention of dying today."

"Yeah, well, neither did Derek."

Melody scowled at Murphy, crossing both arms tightly over her chest, definitely re-thinking this whole "second chance" thing. Deep down, she knew that Murphy was right. Melody could use a little time for herself. But how was she supposed to relax when things were so crazy? Yesterday morning she had been itching for an excuse to get up and help out around camp. And she had certainly gotten her wish, even if the circumstances were a bit different than what she had in mind.

"Four of my people have died so far." Melody said, shaking her head remorsefully as she thought about Derek and the others. "And there's nothing I can do to stop it. How do you expect me to rest at a time like this, Murphy?"

"Don't worry about it. Your king and the princess will sort this whole mess out. The good guys always win." Murphy assured her. The words sounded more mocking than comforting, but Melody had come to learn that Murphy had only two settings; sassy and sassier.

"If you ask me, there are no good guys. Only bad guys and worse guys." She said, turning her head slightly so that they were face-to-face.

This thought was one that had been bothering Melody for a while now, ever since the day Bellamy had brought Lincoln into camp with the intention to torture him for information. How could they call themselves the "good guys" after something like that? And less than a week ago they'd gone to that bridge on a mission to kill. And they did kill. Melody herself had killed several grounders. Several human beings. Did she still qualify as a "good guy" despite all of the blood on her hands?

Hell, was she ever a good guy? Were any of them?

It seemed that the good guys -who were, in all sense of the world, delinquents- were slowly crossing that invisible line that separated them from the rest of the world. Each day brought more death and destruction and it was beginning to take its toll. Some of them had killed. A lot of them carried guns or knives. Most of them were willing to do whatever it took to live another day. Those who weren't had yet to cross that line, but they would get there.

The good guys were evolving. They were turning into people that they didn't even recognize. Melody just hoped that no matter how bad it got, they would be able to tell the difference between good and bad, between right and wrong. She hoped that if anything, they all kept what little common decency they might have.

"Oh yeah?" Murphy smirked at Melody, seemingly amused by her words. "And what am I? Bad guy or worse guy?"

"You're undetermined." She said with a small shrug. Melody was surprised by how honest her answer was. It was hard to place John Murphy in one category or the other, especially when she had seen what he was capable of.

"Well if you ask me," He began, sarcastically quoting Melody's earlier words, "there's no questioning what category I belong in. I'm one of the worse guys and no little "heart-to-heart" between the two of us is going to change that. Everyone knows what kind of guy I am."

No, thought Melody. We know what kind of guy you've been.

But, as always, she couldn't say this aloud.

"Well, then it's a good thing I didn't ask you." Melody gave him a rather cheeky grin and slowly pushed herself up, so that she was standing on unsteady legs once more. "It's been a nice "heart-to-heart", Murphy, but I've got work to do."

Murphy stared up at her for a long while, saying nothing. He just watched her with those untrusting blue eyes, as if he were trying to figure her out. And it made Melody kind of sad that he thought everyone had to have an ulterior motive.

"Yeah. See ya." Murphy said finally, his gaze dropping once more as he settled back in his corner and closed his eyes.

Melody turned away from him and slowly made her way towards the dropship door. As she walked by, Mel saw several campers who were in various states of distress. It pained her to see everyone like this, but there was nothing she could do to help ease their suffering. All she could do was walk around and offer a few kind words, which were not nearly as effective as actual medicine would have been.

She pushed open the curtain-like door and squinted against the sudden onslaught of light. Melody only managed to stumble another step or two before she was forced to lean heavily against the doorframe. Her green eyes surveyed the area closely for a few moments and she was glad to see that the rest of camp was functioning properly despite all of the crazy that was going down inside of the dropship. The guards were still guarding, the survivors were still surviving, and even the leaders were still leading.

"Everything alright in there, Melody?" Asked Clarke, once she noticed that she was no longer alone on the dropship's platform, which was the cut-off area for the sick people. They weren't allowed to venture any further into camp.

"Things are good." She nodded and managed a weak smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Called Bellamy, who was standing a few feet away from them, just to be safe. "You need anything?"

"I'm good, Bellamy." Melody flashed him a thumbs-up.

He nodded his head and then his gaze shifted. Suddenly he was looking past Melody, towards the entrance to the dropship. After a second or two he called, "Octavia, you okay?"

Melody and Clarke exchanged a worried look. No one had informed Bellamy of Octavia's departure because they knew that he wouldn't approve. He hated the fact that she was so wrapped up in Lincoln. But there really was no one else that could go and ask him for such favors. It had to be Octavia.

"Bellamy, wait." Said Clarke as the elder Blake began to approach the dropship. "She's not here. I sent her to see Lincoln."

His gaze darkened with anger and there was that familiar fire in his eyes as he looked between the two of them slowly. Melody knew that he was on the verge of losing his shit. The last few days had been an emotional roller-coaster. All he wanted was for his sister to be safe and secure, right where he'd left her. But things never really went the way Bellamy wanted them to. Especially if Melody and Clarke were involved.

"He's our only chance." Pointed out Melody softly.

"If there's a cure, he has it." Clarke added.

It seemed like an eternity before Bellamy spoke. He just stood there, jaw clenched, looking like he was ready to let both of them have it. And he probably was, but his common sense kept him from lashing out towards either one of them.

"If anything happens to her, you and me are going to have problems." Bellamy warned Clarke seriously, his gruff words holding an unspoken threat that made Melody shiver. Or maybe that was just the fever. She couldn't really tell.

He stormed off then, angry or annoyed, or maybe even both.

"Bellamy." Clarke called after him, her voice a weak protest at best. "Bellamy."

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to wear the firewood was being stored and began barking orders at some kid, who was in his way. When the guy turned around to obey the command he was given, everyone gasped in surprise. Blood was slowly dripping down his face. Somehow, he had caught the fever.

Everything seemed to be happening at once. People were gasping and yelling and guns were being pointed towards the sick kid. No one wanted to catch his fever, but it wasn't his fault. The poor guy looked terrified as he just stood there, wiping the blood from his eyes in a confused manner. Bellamy was urging him towards the dropship, and the kid was going willingly.

But suddenly, one infected camper turned into two. A girl began to fall, and at the same time she managed to upheave a bunch of blood, which splattered onto the face of the camper next to her. He was screaming and walking towards the other campers, desperate for help. Guns were suddenly pointed in his direction and the panic was only growing stronger.

"It's on me!"

"Oh my god! Oh my god, it touched me!"

"Get back! Stay back."

"Calm down!"

It was absolute chaos. Those who had guns pointed them in every direction, trying to ward of the sick. Those who didn't have guns covered their faces and huddled up with one another, looking around desperately. Finn and Raven moved among the crowd, trying to get people to lower their weapons, but it was no use. Everyone was shouting and shrieking and freaking out in a way that Melody had never seen.

"Clarke…what're you doing?" Melody asked, watching in confusion as the doctor turned around and headed into the dropship. "Clarke?"

It was only a matter of moments before she emerged once more, gun in hand. Melody's eyes widened slightly as she watched Clarke stride forward with a determined look on her face. She held the gun up in one hand as she walked slowly, sluggishly.

Clarke fired into the air once, then twice, then three times. The sound of the gunshots stopped the screaming and instead it caused all of the campers to turn their wide-eyed stares towards the girl with the gun. Clarke walked forward, each step small and calculated, but sloppy. It was like she was doing her best just to get from point A to point B.

Melody trailed behind hesitantly, not wanting to be left behind. It wasn't as difficult for her now. Her limbs no longer felt so heavy and her body was no longer sluggish. In fact, she felt a little bit better than she had all morning. Maybe it was a good sign, or maybe it was just her adrenaline going into over-drive.

"This is exactly what the grounders want." Said Clarke slowly, looking at the group with a serious, no-nonsense expression written across her face. "Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first."

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus." Shouted an angry-looking guy. He stepped forward, gun aimed for Clarke's head. "Get back in the damn dropship!"

Bellamy came up from behind and grabbed the gun out of the guy's hand. He gripped it tightly and thrust it backwards, causing the gun to slam into the guy's throat. The guy stumbled backwards, gasping and trying to catch his breath as he retreated into the safety of the crowd.

Bellamy then turned his attention to Clarke and frowned before speaking softly. "Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working."

Clarke didn't respond.

At that moment she began to fall backwards, blue eyes fluttering shut. The sickness was finally taking its toll and she was too weak to carry on. Melody let out a soft cry, thinking that the other girl was going to collapse and hit the ground. But at the last minute Finn swooped in and caught Clarke, picking her up in his arms and holding her, consequences be damned.

"Hey, I'm okay." Protested Clarke softly as she looked up at Finn. She had a disapproving frown on her face when she realized exactly what he was doing. He was holding her, touching her, and by doing so he was subjecting himself to the virus.

"You're not okay." Finn whispered, shaking his head.

"Octavia will bring back the cure." Clarke sounded so sure of herself.

Melody watched the two of them for a moment, and then her gaze flickered towards the crowd. Dozens of frightened kids stared back at her with wide-eyed, worried expressions on their faces. None of them knew what was going to happen next. They didn't know how they were going to make it through this dark period. All they knew was that they were putting all of their faith on a curse that may or may not exist.

But they didn't give up.

They're so brave, she admired silently, watching them with a newfound fascination. Brave little soldiers. Wielding their guns proudly and wearing their game-faces boldly. They're prepared to fight a war that they cannot possible win. Yet they don't complain.

She was proud of them all. Proud of their ability to carry on and proud of their spirit. Even in times like this, times when there seemed to be no light at the end of this everlasting tunnel, they did their best. They had momentary lapses -like that crazy scene that went down just minutes prior- but in the end they were united. One front, standing against whatever danger may lay outside of the camp's walls. One people, there to support and lean on one another. One Hundred, the kids who had made it. And nothing was going to break them.

Not even Octavia, the bearer of bad news, who arrived just then.

"There is no cure!" Octavia declared breathlessly as she pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered. Her hazel eyes were full of regret and something akin to guilt as she looked around the group slowly. It seemed that Octavia hadn't been successful in getting them their cure. It seemed that they were doomed. Until she spoke again, "But the grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really? Tell that to them." Bellamy swept his arm out, gesturing to the four dead bodies that lay near the entrance to the dropship.

Octavia saw the bodies and she frowned. Swallowing thickly, she closed her hazel eyes for a fraction of a second and then opened them again. She looked squarely at Bellamy, waiting for him to continue.

"I warned you about seeing that grounder again." Bellamy said, stepping closer to Octavia. His voice was hard and threatening as he stared at his younger sister.

"Yeah? Well I have a warning for you, too." Octavia looked back at him for a few moments before her gaze flickered around the small crowd. "The grounders are coming."

There were gasps of surprise and confusion as everyone processed her words. Even Melody suddenly felt a little faint, and she was forced to grip a nearby tree to steady herself. This was it, this was what she had been waiting for. The grounders had sent Murphy in to weaken the playing field and now they were going to swoop in to end things. She had known it would only be a matter of time. War could only end one of two ways, and it was clear that they were fighting a losing battle.

Octavia had one more bit of bad news for everyone to digest; the cherry on top of a horrible day. "And they're attacking at first light."

|oOo|

"Melody, let me help."

"Clarke, you need to rest." Melody insisted, standing at the doctor's bedside with her arms crossed over her chest in a determined manner. She looked down at Clarke seriously, feeling odd now that the roles were reversed.
"Melody." Clarke looked up at her pleadingly from where she sat, half-sitting up in the hammock-style bed. It was killing Clarke to just lay there while everyone else needed to be taken care of, but so far she hadn't been fighting them too hard.

"Don't you Melody me." Replied Mel with a roll of her eyes. "Just get some rest and let us worry about taking care of the other campers. We can handle it."

"I know. I just hate not being able to do anything." Clarke said softly. She slowly lowered herself back down onto the bed and lay there, as she had been instructed to do so many times over the last several hours.

"Trust me, I know the feeling."

Melody was finally starting to feel better after hours upon hours of being sick. The good news was that the virus lasted less than 24 hours. The bad news was that it spread quickly, which meant that at least half of their people were cooped up in the dropship. And out of everyone, only Murphy and Melody had successfully defeated the virus so far. Which meant that they were healthy enough to care for the rest of the sick campers, but not so healthy that they could be re-introduced to the outside world.

It was not very fun.

Octavia was also helping them, because she was somehow immune to the virus. Finn was immune as well, but he was busy working with Raven and Bellamy. They had spent all afternoon and half of the night making as many bullets as they possibly could. Finn had also come and told them the news that Raven was going to make them a bomb to take out the bridge, so that they could at least attempt to delay the inevitable attack. Melody wasn't sure how that was going to go down, but she had faith in Raven. She had to have faith; without her faith, Melody would drive herself crazy with worry.

"Have you heard anything?" Asked Clarke, looking up at Melody with curious, blue eyes.

"Not recently." Melody shook her head slightly. "Last I heard, Raven was in the process of building the bomb."

"Well…camp hasn't blown up yet. That's a plus." Clarke managed a weak laugh, which then triggered an ugly fit of coughing.

"Yeah, that is a plus." Agreed Melody. After a few moments of silence, she continued, "Do you think she can do it?"

"I think so." Clarke nodded firmly. "Raven's smart. You watched her build us that communication system from nothing."

"Yeah, but…a bomb? It's gotta be tricky, and it's extremely dangerous." Melody frowned and shrugged her shoulders, still not very confident about the whole situation.

"Relax, Mel. Raven was trained on the Ark, remember? She knows what she's doing. If anyone can blow up that bridge it's her." Reassured Clarke. "And we need to do our part by getting everyone into fighting shape as soon as possible."

"You're right." Melody nodded, deciding not to voice any more of her concerns for the time being. "We need to focus on taking care of the sick and injured. Although I don't see them being ready to fight any time soon, Clarke. This virus is kicking our asses. Big time."

Clarke frowned and pursed her lips for a moment or two before speaking. "If you and Murphy can beat it, so can the rest of us. We just need a little extra time."

"We're living on borrowed time as it is." Melody said.

"You think I don't know that?" Clarke frowned and slowly ran a hand down her face, as if overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry." Melody hadn't meant to dump all of this on Clarke, especially now.

"It's not you. It's just…everything." Clarke sighed heavily. "We can't catch a freaking break."

"You're telling me." Muttered Melody, who crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "We're losing this war, Clarke. And it's barely begun."

Clarke never seemed to lose hope. "If Raven can make the bomb then it'll buy us the time we need to get back on our feet."

Yeah, if, thought Melody.

But what she said was, "Yeah, maybe. I guess we'll just have to take it one step at a time. Right now, let's just focus on the task at hand."

It was easier said than done.

"Melody." Octavia called to her from where she was tending to a sick camper on the other side of the dropship. "We're going to need more water."

Green eyes flickered towards the water bucket, which was nearly empty now. Keeping everyone hydrated was the number one concern. Clarke had instructed them to administer water regularly since it seemed to be the only thing that they could do. With the number of campers that they currently had in the dropship, the water supply was going quickly.

"Duty calls." Clarke said quietly, blue eyes fluttering shut as she settled back down into her make-shift bed.

"Yeah, okay." Melody nodded, speaking more to herself than to anyone else as she stepped forward and grabbed the bucket. "I'll be right back." Without waiting for a reply, Melody ducked out of the dropship and into the night.

It seemed that the stars and the moon were shining brighter than ever before, cutting through the veil of darkness and shedding some light on their little camp. The air was crisp and cool against her flushed skin, causing Melody to shiver in the most delicious way. The silence that hung over camp was chilling, yet it also instilled a sense of serenity. Melody couldn't recall a more beautiful night on Earth.

Somehow, being outside made her feel ten times better than she had while in the dropship.

Melody wanted nothing more than to prolong her time outside of the tightly-packed ship, but she knew that the water was desperately needed for the sick patients. And if she didn't get it, who would? Octavia was busy trying to take care of everyone in the dropship since she was the only healthy person willing to get within ten feet of the place. Murphy was helping, too, but no one really trusted him with the big things. No one really trusted him at all. So that left Melody, who was just strong enough to take on tasks like this one.

"I'm getting water!" Melody called out, alerting the non-sick campers of her presence since the quarantine was still in effect. The last thing she needed was a trigger-happy camper and a gun pointed at her head. "Don't mind me."

No one so much as batted an eyelash in her direction.

Melody bent over the huge water basin, the one where they stored their main supply. Melody dipped the smaller bucket into it, making sure to fill it most of the way. It took a lot of effort to pick the bucket up once it was full. Normally this wouldn't have bothered her, but with the sickness…Melody's arms shook violently as she tightened her grip on the edges of the bucket. She took a small step forward, and then another. Each step was carefully placed, but Melody still managed to slosh around and spill some of the water.

The walk back to the dropship was slow and steady. Mel regretted not having Murphy do the heavy lifting since he was on the fast road to recovery. The strain was causing her arms and her back to ache painfully, but what was a little more pain on top of everything else? The good news was that she managed to save the majority of the water, and for that Melody was rather proud.

Melody walked into the dropship and set the bucket down on the floor immediately. Leaning heavily against the wall, she sighed and turned her attention towards Octavia. "Next time, ask Murphy to…" She trailed off as she saw whose bedside Octavia was currently kneeling beside.

Bellamy lay on one of the sleeping bags, his chest rapidly rising and falling and his face smeared with blood. His dark hair was messy and disheveled, standing up at odd angles. Familiar brown eyes were void of any spark they may have once held. He looked…weak. Melody had never seen Bellamy in such a vulnerable state before. It chilled her to the bone, leaving her both breathless and anxious.

"Oh my god. He's sick." Melody's voice was soft and shaky as she hesitated near the entrance, her feet firmly rooted to the spot. "He caught the virus."

"You don't miss much." Murphy was suddenly standing beside her. He bent down and picked up the bucket full of water that Melody had on the ground. "He just came down with it. He's only been in here for a few minutes. It'll get better, Melody. It almost always gets better."

Almost always, she thought. Unless you're Derek or Shae or Toby or Johnson. If you're like them, it doesn't get better. You just die.

"This can't be happening." Melody whispered, shaking her head from side to side slowly, as if in a trance. "First Clarke, now Bellamy…"

Two of the strongest people she knew -their leaders- were both lying in bed, defenseless. Melody had been able to handle Clarke succumbing to the illness because they still had Bellamy to look out for them. Now what? If the grounders attacked now, there would be nothing to stop them from slaughtering everyone in camp. Melody's faith was hanging on by a thread now, about ready to fall. It was now that she realized that her faith had never truly been in Raven; the engineer was merely a pawn. Melody had placed her true faith in their king a long time ago.

"Relax, Mel." Octavia turned her head slightly to the side and gave Melody a pointed look that told her to keep herself in check or else. "Everything is going to be alright."

"Octavia…" She trailed off again, shaking her head.

There were no words to describe how utterly helpless Melody felt in that moment. All she could do was sit by and watch as Bellamy wasted away in front of her very eyes. There was no cure for this virus, nor was there any medicine. All they could do was wait.

"Melody?" Bellamy whispered, his voice sounded hoarse and broken; a common side effect of the virus.

Melody drew in a ragged breath and forced herself to close the distance between the two of them. She knelt down by his side and reached out, entwining their fingers. Mel gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and did her best to smile despite the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even if she didn't feel brave, she had to act like she was. Bellamy had been brave for her when she needed it most, and she would be damned if she didn't return the favor.

"I'm here." Mel said quietly, tilting her head to the side as she looked down at him with a less than convincing smile in place. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Go." He shook his head and tried to push her away, but to no avail. He wasn't strong enough to do much more than give her a weak nudge. "You need to get out of here."

"Bellamy, what are you talking about?" She frowned down at him, confused. "I'm not going anywhere." Mel repeated, her words sounding stronger the second time around.

"Melody please. You need to get out of camp." Bellamy insisted, his voice weak but urgent. "I can't protect you."

"Then I guess I'll just have to protect you." Melody was determined. "There's no way I'm leaving you here, Bellamy. Not now, not after everything we've been through."

"But Melody-"

"No." She shook her head. "We're in this together. Always."

He stared up at her, saying nothing for a few moments. And Melody stared right back down at him, unwilling to give up so easily. She couldn't just leave camp and let everyone else suffer. And if Bellamy thought she was going to do something that cowardly, then he obviously didn't know the first thing about her. Melody was going to stay and fight even if it killed her….which it probably would.

But what was the alternative? Earth was a vast, terrifying planet and Melody couldn't handle it all on her own. There was nothing for her outside of this camp, outside of these people. Delinquents or not, they were her friends and her family. This camp was the only home she had ever known. Melody would stay and defend them until the very end.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

"We can do this, okay?" Melody continued, doing her best to be reassuring although it was extremely hard given their current situation. "Raven's plan is kick-ass. She hasn't let us down yet. And if all else fails then it'll be up to me and my mad archery skills."

Bellamy couldn't help but to crack a smile at her words. "You and your mad archery skills." He repeated, nodding his head slowly. "Ain't that the truth?"

"I learned from the best." She reminded him gently with a short shrug. "So…what do you say? Can we tough it out?"

Bellamy watched her for a few more moments before he nodded his head and pierced her with an intense, smoldering stare. "Together. Always."

That was exactly what she needed to hear.

Suddenly, Melody felt strong enough to take on the whole grounder army.