After my first real night of sleep in a couple of days, I was greeted with devastating news as soon as I woke up. Wells was dead. He had been killed last night, just outside of the camp walls.

As we buried his body, I thought back on all of the memories we had on the Ark. Sometimes it was just the two of us, though most of the time Clarke had been there too. All I wanted right now was to go back there, back to when it was just the three of us taking on the world together.

All of that was just a distant memory now.

"Hey," I felt a light hand on my shoulder, Bellamy quickly coming into my view.

"Sorry, I know I'm slacking-"

"It's alright," His voice was soft, mimicking how he spoke to Charlotte in the cave the other night. "I just wanted to see if you were alright."

My even expression quickly fell into a frown. "I'll be fine. I just can't believe he's really gone. He shouldn't have even been down here."

"None of us should be down here." I turned my head, watching as Murphy passed us. "I'd say he can thank his father for all of this, but..."

I stepped forward, my hands clenched. Bellamy quickly placed his hands on my shoulders, stepping in my way. "Don't listen to him, alright?"

"I really can't wait for someone to kick his ass."

Bellamy chuckled. "I imagine it won't be long before that happens."

Across camp I noticed Clarke, waving the two of us down.

"What does the princess want now?" Bellamy questioned.

Ignoring his comment, I headed over to Clarke who led us into a tent. Jasper and Octavia stood off to the side, their eyes fixated on the ground.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Clarke held up a knife. "Jasper found this just outside of the walls. It was made of metal from the dropship."

Jasper looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Who else knows about this?" Bellamy asked.

Octavia shook her head. "Nobody. We brought it straight here."

"Clarke?" Jasper asked again, holding his hands close to his chest.

Clarke studied the knife for a moment. "It means the grounders didn't kill Wells. It was one of us."

"So there's a murderer in the camp?"

"There's more than one murderer in this camp," Bellamy spoke, folding his arms across his chest. "This isn't new information."

"What do we do?" I asked.

Bellamy sighed. "We need to keep it quiet."

Clarke didn't hesitate, shaking her head and making her way towards the tent exit. Bellamy quickly stepped in front of her.

"Get out of my way, Bellamy."

"Clarke, be smart about this. Look at all we've achieved." Bellamy extended his arms. "Like it or not, thinking the grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Good for you, you mean." Clarke rolled her eyes. "What? Keep people afraid and they'll work for you?"

Bellamy nodded. "Yeah, but it's good for all of us. Fear of the grounders is building that wall out there. Besides, what are you going to do? Walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."

"Oh, really?" Clarke asked, pointing to the initials clearly carved into the knife. "J.M. John Murphy. The people have a right to know."

With that, Clarke pushed past Bellamy and out of the tent. The four of us quickly followed her, leading us all the way to Murphy.

Murphy had slapped a cup of water out of another boy's hand. "No water until this section is finished!"

Clarke pushed through the small crowd, shoving Murphy. "You son of a bitch!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Murphy asked, catching his balance.

"Recognize this?"

Murphy eyed the knife. "That's my knife. Where'd you find it?"

"Where you dropped it after you murdered Wells," I spoke up, earning the eyes of everyone around camp.

"Where I what?" Murphy asked, looking genuinely confused. "The grounders killed Wells, not me."

Clarke moved closer. "I know what you did and you're going to pay."

Murphy scoffed. "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?"

"You threatened to kill him. Everyone heard you. You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells. His father locked us all up."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who got into a knife fight with him."

Murphy shook his head. "I didn't kill him then, either."

"You tried to kill Jasper, too," Octavia said.

Jasper looked at her. "What?"

"Come on, this is ridiculous." Murphy scoffed. "I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone."

"Come again?" Bellamy asked.

Murphy turned, facing Bellamy. His face was pale, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He moved closer, his voice lowered. "Bellamy, I'm telling you. I didn't do this, man."

Bellamy shifted his eyes to the ground.

"Is this the kind of society that we want?" Clarke asked. "You say there should be no rules. Does that mean we can kill each other without punishment?"

"I already told you, I didn't kill anyone."

A boy named Connor stepped forward. "I say we float him!"

Everyone around us began cheering.

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Why not?" Connor questioned. "He deserves to float. It's justice."

"Revenge isn't justice."

"It's justice." He insisted. "Float him!"

Chants spread through the crowd, causing Murphy to start slowly backing away. Clarke's face had now too gone pale.

I shook my head. "This is not the Ark! If we do this, we are no better than them."

My words proved futile, the chanting drowning them out.

Murphy looked to us before springing into action, attempting to run away before being tripped by someone in the crowd. When Murphy fell to the ground, the crowd quickly surrounded him. I watched on in horror as they began kicking and punching him.

"Stop it!" I called out, trying to push my way through.

A few boys held Murphy down while Connor gagged him and tied his hands behind his back. Murphy was then picked up and carried a few feet before being tossed down a small hill.

"You can't do this!" Clarke screamed.

Before I knew it a noose had been strung up on a tree and the same boys were dragging Murphy towards it. They tied the noose around his neck, standing him up on a log.

I watched as Clarke continued to plead for them to stop, finally turning to Bellamy. "You can stop this, they'll listen to you!"

"Bellamy," Connor said. "You should do it."

Everyone began cheering his name.

Shaking my head, I stepped in front of Bellamy, looking him dead in the eyes. "Bellamy, please don't do this. I saw you in the woods with Atom. You're not a killer!"

Bellamy's eyes shifted around for a moment, the cheering only growing louder. Finally, he pushed past me. I tried to hold him back, my attempts failing as he kicked the log out from under Murphy's feet.

Clarke screamed in horror, trying to get to the rope but being held back.

"How could you?" I snapped, shoving Bellamy back.

He looked to Clarke, his face red. "This is on you, Princess. You should've kept your mouth shut!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn had now joined the crowd. "Cut him down, now!"

As Finn fought to get to the rope, more fights broke out among the crowd. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't push past everyone to get to Murphy. I watched as he struggled, the light slowly draining from his eyes.

Finally, someone's voice broke through the crowd.

"Stop it! Murphy didn't kill Wells!" All eyes landed on Charlotte, who stood there with her hands clasped tightly together. "I did it."

With everyone now focused on Charlotte, Clarke pulled away from the boys, grabbing a hatchet hanging from Bellamy's belt. As she cut the rope, Murphy's body fell to the ground, him gasping for air.

Turning away from Murphy, my eyes fell on Charlotte once again.

...

"Holy shit,"

Clarke quickly grabbed the hatchet from Bellamy's belt and rushed over to Murphy. She swung the hatchet, severing the rope and allowing Murphy to fall to the ground. As he gasped for air, everyone moved to surround him; everyone besides Bellamy, Charlotte and myself.

Without saying a word, I matched over to Charlotte, grabbing her arm and dragging her away. Bellamy followed close behind, calling my name. I couldn't respond, only thinking about Wells. What she had done to him.

"Athena, slow down!"

I finally stopped, spinning around as Charlotte tried to wiggle free from my grip. "Do you have any idea what you just did?" I hissed.

Bellamy blinked. "What I just did?"

"Yes! Do you really think Murphy is going to let this go?" I asked. "She murdered somebody, Bellamy! My best friend. You hung Murphy so he's going to come after her and no matter how much I want to let him kill her, I can't!"

Turning back around, I continued to drag Charlotte towards one of the tents. Once all three of us were inside, I let go of her arm, blocking the entrance. Only a few moments later, Clarke and Finn pushed their way into the tent.

"Murphy is leading a mob this way," Finn spoke up.

I placed my head in my hands. "Great."

"What's the plan?" Clarke asked.

"Aren't you usually the one with a plan?"

Clarke threw her hands in the air. "I'm all out of them right now."

Hearing footsteps outside the tent, I knew everyone else was finally here.

"Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy's voice boomed.

Bellamy looked to Charlotte. "Why?"

"I was just trying to slay my demons like you told me."

Clarke's eyes narrowed as she turned to Bellamy. "What the hell is she talking about?"

"She misunderstood me," Bellamy shook his head. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."

"Bring the girl out now!"

Charlotte's eyes began to swell with tears. "Please don't let them hurt me."

Bellamy turned to the rest of us. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." Silence. He rolled his eyes. "Now you stay quiet."

"Those are your boys out there," Finn responded.

"This is not my fault," Bellamy spoke before pointing at Clarke. "If she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building the wall."

"You want to build a society, Princess?" Murphy asked. "Let's build a society, bring her out."

"Bellamy, please!" Charlotte begged.

Bellamy sighed. "It's going to be okay. Just stay with them, alright?"

As Bellamy turned to leave, I grabbed his hand. "What are you going to do?"

Bellamy's eyes travelled to our connected hands before he looked back up at me. "I'm going to try to talk some sense into them."

I watched as Bellamy pushed through the slit of the tent, leaving the four of us behind. Finn shook his head. "There's no way he's going to talk them down."

My eyes landed on the lifted corner of the tent. "We're not sticking around to find out. Come on."

Pushing the material out of the way as carefully as I could as to not make it obvious from the front, I slowly slipped through the small opening. Charlotte, Clarke and Finn were quick to follow.

As we started towards the forest, I stopped in my tracks.

"What are you doing?" Clarke asked.

I shook my head. "You guys go."

"Athena-"

"Bellamy hung him, Clarke," I said. "This isn't going to end well."

Finn shook his head. "Do whatever you want, but we have to go. Now."

Clarke eyed me for another moment before letting out a sigh. "Be careful."

"You too." I smiled slightly.

I watched them run off into the forest before turning back around. Slipping back inside the tent carefully, I eventually made it back to the tent opening, stepping outside. Bellamy's back was towards me, him guarding the tent while Murphy and the others stepped closer.

"Look who decided to show her face," Murphy spat. "Come on, Athena. Wells was your friend, right? Don't you want justice?"

Stepping beside Bellamy, I shook my head and folded my hands over my chest. "Killing her isn't justice for Wells. It's revenge for yourself, and you know it."

Murphy let out a small laugh. "Who here wants to see the real murderer hung up? All in favour?" Everyone went silent, earning a glare from Murphy. "I see. So you all think it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this little bitch confesses you want to let her walk?" Murphy shook his head, his voice booming. "Cowards! All of you are cowards."

"It's over, Murphy," Bellamy spoke up.

Murphy held his hands up, stepping closer. "Whatever you say, Boss."

I watched as Bellamy relaxed his stance. Murphy seemed to have noticed as well, his open right hand turning to a fist as he clocked Bellamy in the jaw.

"Bellamy!" Octavia gasped, rushing to his side.

Knowing that Charlotte, Clarke and Finn were long gone, I let Murphy push past me and instead I joined Octavia on the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Murphy called out, pushing his way back out of the tent. "Where the hell is she, Athena?"

I looked up, my eyes narrowed. "Go to hell, Murphy."

Murphy simply smiled. "Come on, let's find the girl!"

A few of the guys followed Murphy towards the forest, most of the mob having settled down by now. A few stuck around to tend to Bellamy, while most wandered off. How can they just walk away as if nothing happened?

"Where did they go?" Octavia whispered.

I shook my head. "I have no idea."

...

It wasn't long before Bellamy woke up, frantically looking around.

"Where's Murphy?" He asked. "The others?"

"He and a few others ran off to find Charlotte. Pretty much everyone else has gone back to work on the wall." I muttered.

Bellamy pulled himself off the ground. "We have to go find them before Murphy gets his hands on Charlotte."

"We better get going," Octavia responded.

"No," Bellamy shook his head. "I need you to stay here."

"Bellamy-"

"He's right," I said. "Let's face it, these people can't be left alone. We'll find Charlotte, Clarke and Finn."

Octavia went to argue before finally sighing. "Alright. Be careful."

Bellamy and I exchanged glances before heading off into the forest.

...

"We're never going to find them,"

Bellamy sighed. "We will."

"Both groups are already so far ahead of us and it's dark now. Any hope we had of catching up to them is gone."

Bellamy shook his head. "Now you want to give up?"

I stopped, turning around to face him. "I am not giving up."

"Sure sounds like it to me."

"Screw you." I hissed, stepping closer. "This is all your fault."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true, Bellamy. You want so badly to be in charge but you don't have what it takes. You could've stopped it. You could've said no, cut Murphy down and said enough is enough." There was now only inches between us. "Whatever the hell we want, huh? You should've known how that would play out with a bunch of murderers."

Before Bellamy could respond, the sound of footsteps caught our attention. They were soft, ones that could only belong to a child.

"Charlotte."

We both ran after the footsteps, closing in on Charlotte in no time. Bellamy grabbed her first, pulling her off to the side.

"Stop! Let go of me!"

"We're trying to help you," I said, placing myself in her line of view.

Charlotte yanked herself away from Bellamy. "I'm not your sister, alright? Just stop helping me!"

"Charlotte-"

"I'm over here!" She yelled. "Murphy, I'm over here!"

"Are you trying to get all three of us killed?" I hissed.

Charlotte stopped, a frown forming across her face. "Please, just go. I'm the one they want. You don't have to put yourselves in danger for me."

"We're not leaving you, alright?" Bellamy spoke, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You are not dying. We're not going to let that happen."

"Please, Bellamy-" Before she could finish, Bellamy grabbed her, pulling her along. "Stop it! Murphy! Murphy, I'm over here! Murphy!"

I followed close behind while Charlotte continued to scream for Murphy. We finally reached the edge of a cliff, a panicked look appearing across Bellamy's face for just a split second.

"What now?" I asked.

"Charlotte!" Murphy's voice echoed as he pushed through the bushes surrounding us. "You two can't fight all of us. Give her up."

"Maybe not," Bellamy spoke, pushing Charlotte behind him. "But I can guarantee we'll take a few of you with us."

"Bellamy, stop!" Clarke's voice rang out as she found her way beside Murphy. "This has gone too far. Just calm down, alright? Let's talk about this."

"I'm tired of listening to you talk," Murphy said before grabbing Clarke. Before I could jump in, Murphy was holding a knife to her throat.

"Let her go, Murphy."

"I will slit her throat!" Murphy spoke, tightening his grip on the knife.

"No, please! Don't hurt her," Charlotte begged.

Murphy's eyes landed on Charlotte, a small smile creeping across his face. "Don't hurt her? Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, and I'll let her go. How does that sound?"

Charlotte looked up at Bellamy before attempting to head to Murphy. Bellamy quickly grabbed her, Charlotte struggling in his arms. "Let go of me! I have to do this."

"Murphy, this is not happening," I spoke.

"I can't let any more of you get hurt because of me." Charlotte's voice was now soft, as she stepped back a few paces. "Not after what I did."

Before anyone had a chance to react, Charlotte turned around, running for the edge of the cliff.

"Charlotte, no!" I screamed, rushing after her.

It was too late.

Murphy let go of Clarke and she fell to the ground as Bellamy and I reached the edge of the cliff. Staring down, all we could see was black. Charlotte was gone.

"No!" I cried out, tears falling from my eyes.

Bellamy placed his hand on my shoulder for a moment. Finally, I felt his hand drop as he stood from the ground, marching over to Murphy. I watched as his fist connected with Murphy's cheek, both of them falling to the ground.

He continued to hit Murphy, over and over again.

I couldn't stand up. I could hardly move.

"Bellamy!" Clarke yelled. "Stop it, you'll kill him!"

Clarke grabbed onto his shoulders, yanking him away. "Get off of me, Clarke. He deserves to die!"

"No, we don't decide who lives and dies! Not down here."

Bellamy shook his head. "So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide-"

"No," Clarke said. "I was wrong before, you were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth."

"She's right." I finally spoke up, pulling myself up from the ground. "If we're going to survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules."

"And who makes those rules, huh?" Bellamy looked at Clarke. "You?"

Clarke shook her head. "For now, we do. Okay?"

"So, what, then? We just take him back to camp and pretend like this never happened?" My voice was shaking with each word.

"No," Clarke responded. "We banish him."

Bellamy shook his head, walking over and grabbing Murphy. "Get up!"

"Bellamy, stop!"

Holding the collar of Murphy's jacket, Bellamy stared into his eyes. "If I ever catch you near camp, we'll be back here. Understand?" Murphy nodded, and Bellamy let him go. "As for the four of you," Bellamy looked to Murphy's followers. "You can come back and follow me, or stay with him and die. Your choice."

The four of them exchanged glances before nodding and turning to head back to camp.

Bellamy turned back to me, his eyebrows furrowed. Without saying anything, I pushed past him, following behind Clarke and the others, leaving Murphy behind.

...

After finally returning to camp, Bellamy and Clarke delivered the news of Murphy's banishment to the rest of the camp. There were a few whispers, but everyone quickly returned to working on the wall.

I stood by the dropship door, drinking from a makeshift cup. Bellamy made his way across the camp, standing in front of me. His eyes met mine for a few moments before finally, he looked away, clearing his throat.

"Are you okay?"

I kept my eyes on him. "Are any of us okay?"

Bellamy scoffed, a smile quickly appearing on his face, and disappearing just the same. "I guess not."

We were silent for a moment, standing side by side and watching over the rest of the camp. Finally, I turned to face him.

"I'm sorry," I said, earning his attention once again. "For everything I said."

"No," He shook his head. "You were right."

"I could've been nicer about it at least." I smiled slightly for a moment. "I know she killed Wells, but..." I stopped myself.

"She was just a kid."

I nodded. "She was just a kid."

Bellamy took a deep breath. "You can want justice for your friend and also feel awful about what happened last night. It doesn't have to be one or the other."

We stood there for a moment, our eyes locked on each other, neither of us daring to speak. Finally, the sheets covering the dropship door flew up, Octavia poking her head out.

"You guys alright?" She asked, looking between us.

Bellamy nodded. "I should get back to supervising."

As Bellamy walked away, I focused on Octavia. "What's up?"

"Monty is about to test Clarke's wristband, see if we can contact the Ark."

I smiled, following Octavia to the top of the dropship.

Clarke, Jasper, Monty and Finn all stood around the lit wristband.

"Will we be able to talk to them?" Jasper asked.

Monty shook his head. "More like morse code. You want to do the honours?" Jasper nodded excitedly, moving closer. "Just connect this to that port right there." Monty pointed.

Jasper grabbed the wire, slowly moving it towards the wristband. Almost instantly after Jasper let go, the wristband sparked, causing the lights to go off. Everyone still wearing a wristband felt a shock, wincing at the pain.

"What happened?" Jasper asked, his face pale.

"It didn't work." Monty frowned. "I think we fried all the wristbands."

Octavia's eyes widened. "So that means-"

"The Ark thinks we're all dead," I mumbled. "Nobody is coming for us."

AN: I hope you enjoyed chapter four! Please be sure to favourite and follow this story if you did, and feedback is also always appreciated!