"OK fine," Clarke said as she threw her hands in the air. "When do we start training?"

"Now. We spent our entire lives on a spacestation. And while the genetic engineering will help, it needs some help." Murphy smirked at her.

"I said yes already. This is going to be a tough enough trip if we're in top shape. We'll die if we leave right now. We aren't going to just need muscle, we're going to need fat too. Insulation from the freezing temperatures we'll be facing up north. And callouses to save our hands and feet from the beating we'll be giving them."

"I guess I didn't make that big speech did I?"

"No."

Murphy shrugged. "Should we start with a jog?"

"Sure. Lead the way, in the opposite direction of the dropship."


A month had gone by and the summer faded to autumn. Clarke could carry Murphy and vice versa for over two miles at a clip. Their feet stopped hurting even after forty eight hours on their feet. They were able to scale down and up the cliff face without gear.

They were walking along the river at the bottom of the cliff when they found the half eaten and decayed body of Charlotte. Her hair is how they identified her. Clarke used her folding shovel to start digging a grave, while Murphy fell on his ass next to the body. They hadn't talked to each other unless it was related to surviving in days.

Tears slid down his cheeks. "I was so angry. I didn't think. I didn't even think about what I would do to her when I got my hands on her. I've been asking what if in my head over and over since that night and never came up with a realistic solution. A way I could have and would have acted differently."

Clarke stopped digging. "There's plenty of blame to go around."

"I swear if I ever see the bastards that hung me up again, they'll regret ever touching me." Murphy stood up and unfolded his shovel. "I'm not sure if our digging her grave is respectful or disrespectful."

They didn't talk again until after Charlotte was buried. Then it was a simple, "May we meet again," from each of them.

They climbed back up the cliff face with full packs on their backs and no gear. Once at the top, Clarke let out a huff. "That used to suck. Now I feel great."

"Yeah. Let's get back to the bunker. We need to do some weapons training."

"I've gotten good at the archery. Killed that lion that came after us didn't I?" Clarke pulled her bow from its clip on the side of her pack. Then a handful of arrows. "Who do you think is catching dinner tonight?"

Murphy gripped his spear. "My guess is you, but I'm still gonna try."

A twig snapped behind them and Clarke stopped before killing the person. "Octavia! What the hell?"

Octavia was dressed in full grounder gear complete with war paint. "I came to ask for your help. Lincoln says the two of you have gotten scary good at defending yourselves. Bellamy pissed off the commander and now the entire grounder army is going after skiakru, sky people, if they don't turn him over to the commander to be tortured to death. I have to save him without starting a war."

"Lincoln's the grounder that's been following us around?" Murphy asked.

"He is." Octavia stepped closer to her two banished expatriots. "Please. Clarke things have gone downhill since Bellamy kicked you out. We don't have a doctor, the Ark is dead, our engineer was injured, and Bellamy's willing to let her die rather than ask you for help. Please, come back with me. Save Raven, help me save everyone."

"I'll come back on one condition."

"Name it."

"You and your Lincoln join us on our expedition. We could use the extra hands."

"I'll ask where we're going later. But we need to get to the dropship before Bellamy screws up anything else."

"How bad's Raven?" Clarke asked as she fell into step with Octavia, Murphy on their heels.

"She took an arrow to the leg, but we can't get the bleeding to stop. Lincoln gave her something that slowed it, but there's still a trickle, and she's out cold."

"We need to hurry." Clarke and the other two took off at a run.

When the got to camp Clarke and Murphy were met with a group of angry teenagers and one super pissed of off Bellamy. Clarke spoke first. "We'll leave as soon as we clean up your mess. But Raven will die if I don't stop the bleeding. And you need to make peace with the grounders."

Octavia saw her brother's jaw tick. "Bell, please. We need to fix this. Let her help us fix this."

"Fine. But then her and her kept boy are gone again." Bellamy sneered at Murphy.

Clarke put her arm out to stop Murphy from attacking Bellamy. "We won't be here long."

"Fine. Then let's get a move on it." Murphy's rage was pouring out of every inch of him.

"Raven's this way." Octavia led Clarke and Murphy into the dropship.

"So this is Finn's girlfriend?" Clarke smirked to keep her nerves in check. Raven was awake and sighed in relief at Clarke's comment. If the doctor was joking then it wasn't that bad.

"You must be Clarke." Raven tried to sit up but Clarke put a hand on her chest.

"Stay still." Clarke ripped Raven's pant leg open to get a better look at the gash. "Who took the arrow out?"

"Why?" Octavia asked.

"So I can bitch them out later." Clarke probed the wound just above Raven's knee with gentle calloused fingers. "This is a mess. Broadhead?"

"Yeah." Raven sucked in a lungful of air as Clarke's inspection sent lightening bolts of pain up and down her leg.

"I can fix this but you won't regain full use of this leg. But the only other option is amputation, so Murphy get the kit out." Clarke poured water from her canteen over the wound. Then checked the tourniquet and pulse in the ankle. They had less than hour if she wanted to save Raven's leg. "Scalpel."

Murphy handed her the instrument and watched Clarke debride the wound. Several scraps of flesh were cut away and tossed aside. "Sutures." He offered her what he knew she'd need next. Physical training wasn't the only kind of training they'd been doing the last month.

Clarke sewed together what she could while Raven periodically screamed until she passed out. "Glue."

Murphy handed her the glue. They had precious little of it, but he kept his mouth shut. When the wound was closed and no longer life threatening, Murphy let out a breath. "Good job."

"Get her some of that seaweed tea we used on Jasper and she'll be fine." Clarke got up as she wiped the blood on her pants. "Next step, save the world."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Murphy asked.

"Anya." Clarke had made a deal with the grounder tribe leader to ensure her and Murphy's continued survival. She worked as the tribe's healer and started training another. They couldn't leave until the new healer had been suitably trained, but while they were here, Murphy and Clarke were free to roam and come and go as they pleased.

"She does like you."

"And the commander was her second. She can set up an audience for us." Clarke walked out of the dropship and Bellamy stood in the way of them leaving camp. Clarke stopped Murphy from attacking again. "Bellamy, you screwed up. I got Anya to tolerate your existence but you had to go and piss off the commander? I'll try to get you out of it, but you're going to have to give up the skaikru's autonomy."

"Skaikru? What the hell is that?" Bellamy's anger spit out the words.

"Sky people." Murphy said with barely contained rage.

"I'm not turning my people over to them." Bellamy pointed at the ground as if that finalized his statement and made it truth.

"I'm only going to say this once, so pay attention." Clarke got into Bellamy's face. "The Ark is dead, you saw to that. There's no one coming to help you after this. There aren't enough of you left to take over a single grounder let alone an entire army of them. If you want to survive, you have to stop fighting them. You have to join them. And right now you better hope that they still want you. Killing the commander's second was a bad idea."

"And what do you know about it?" Bellamy asked leaning down so their noses were almost touching.

"Murphy?"

"Yeah, Clarke?"

"Let's get out of here. Octavia? Talk to the remaining skaikru. See if they won't overthrow their leader in order to survive."

"On it, Clarke." Octavia pivoted and started talking to a crowd near the big fire pit.