An explosion in the middle of the night caught the attention of everyone in camp, including myself. We watched as the shrapnel of the Exodus ship flew through the night sky, the fire of the crash site burning below.

Clarke and I held each other, knowing both of our mothers had been on it. We didn't cry, both of us trying our best to stay strong, in part for each other and in part for our own sanity.

It was now morning and Clarke had run off to search the crash site. I, however, couldn't bring myself to go there just yet. Knowing my mother was dead, I couldn't stop thinking about my father. At this moment I would give anything to talk to him, see his face again, no matter how angry at him I still was.

"Hey," Bellamy spoke, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder. "I thought you could use some water."

I gave him a half-smile, taking the canteen from his hands. "Thank you."

He watched as I took a sip, his face scrunched together. Finally he sat down next to me. "I'm really sorry about your mom."

I could feel my eyes begin to swell with tears, but I fought them back. "I'm just glad it was fast, you know? With losing contact with The Ark…" I stopped myself, swallowing hard. "I'm just glad she didn't suffer."

Bellamy nodded. "A group of us were planning to head out to the crash site; help Clarke look for anything we can use here. If you want to come, you're welcome to. Or, if you'd rather stay here-"

I stood from my seat, my legs wobbling beneath me. "I'll go with you."

Bellamy stared at me for a moment. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"It almost feels unreal, you know? I have to face it. Besides, the more people searching, the more likely we'll find something useful."

Bellamy nodded, standing up as well. "Okay, let's go."

"Clarke shouldn't be out here." Finn whispered to Raven as he searched through some of the debris. "Neither should Athena."

"You suck at whispering, you know that? Besides, I'm fine." I turned to Finn.

He mouthed 'sorry' as Raven let out an exasperated sigh. "Her mom was on the ship. She's looking for answers. You want to help her, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why this ship crashed."

My eyes scanned the area, taking in the charred trees and bushes surrounding the crash site. There were few bodies left intact from the crash, but each one I saw made me think of my mother. Had it been a quick death? Was she among the bodies surrounding you right now? That thought was almost too much to bare.

"Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when." Bellamy called out.

"Can you blame them?" Finn asked.

"No," Bellamy responded. "I blame you."

Late last night, Bellamy had told me all about the secret mission Clarke had pulled him in on. It turns out that Octavia had been seeing the grounder who stabbed Finn, and Finn went to him hoping for a meeting to discuss peace. Unsurprisingly, it hadn't gone according to plan, with both sides firing at each other.

"Maybe if you didn't bring guns-"

"If we didn't bring guns, we all would've been killed." Raven cut Finn off.

Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. It's our job to be ready when they do." Bellamy said, before lowering his voice. "We're on our own now."

Raven's eyes lit up, her quickly jogging towards Clarke. "Clarke, stop!"

We all followed behind Raven.

"Rocket fuel?" Clarke asked.

"Hydrazine... Highly unstable in its non solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist."

"Well, that's great." I quipped.

Raven picked up a rock, dipping it in a bit of the fuel and tossing it away from everyone. "Fire in the hole!"

The rock landed in some burning debris a few feet away from us and a small explosion went off, causing us all to share worried glances.

"We need to clear the area." Raven added.

Bellamy nodded, looking around the crash site. "Okay, then. We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We need to get back before dark."

When we all got back to camp, word had quickly spread that Murphy had been found outside the walls, battered and bloody. Bellamy wasted no time running off towards the dropship.

"Where is he?" Bellamy snapped, pushing his way through the door. "Everyone but Connor and Derek get out now!""

"He claims he was with the Grounders." Derek spoke.

"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor added.

"I wasn't sneaking." Murphy retorted, his voice lower than usual. "I was running from the Grounders."

Bellamy looked between the two boys. "Did anyone see any Grounders?"

They shook their heads.

"Well, in that case-" Bellamy stepped forward, aiming his gun at Murphy.

"Wait a second!" I shouted, stepping between them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Finn asked, standing next to Clarke.

"We were clear what would happen if he came back."

"No." Finn protested. "If he was with the Grounders, then he knows things that can help us."

"Help us? We hanged him. We banished him, and now we're gonna kill him." Bellamy attempted to push past me, but Finn quickly came to my side. "Get the hell out of my way."

"No," Clarke finally spoke up. "Finn is right."

"Like hell he is." Bellamy snapped. "Guys, think about Charlotte."

"I think about her all the time." I responded. "What happened to her was as much our fault as it was his."

Clarke made her way over to Murphy, examining him as Bellamy folded his arms across his chest. "He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

Finn scoffed, eying Bellamy. "You and the grounders should compare notes."

Bellamy stepped closer to Murphy, slowly this time. "The Grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?"

We all looked to Murphy, who was silent for a moment. "Everything." He finally responded.

Clarke pulled Bellamy aside, Finn and I quickly joined them. "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, okay?"

"What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?" Bellamy asked.

"Then we kill him." Clarke responded before walking away.

Bellamy glanced at me, his eyebrow raised.

"What?" I asked.

Bellamy shrugged. "I thought you'd have something to say about it."

"He can't stay here," I conceded. "I just don't feel great about killing him."

"Even after what he did?"

I took a deep breath. "Bellamy, nobody gave him a chance to plead his case. Don't get me wrong, he gave us every reason to believe it was him, but this isn't the Ark."

"He made his choice, Athena." Bellamy responded. "He can make his choice again; leave or die. I know what I'd choose."

With that, Bellamy walked away, exiting the dropship.

I looked over at Murphy, who was still sat in the fetal position against the wall. He looked up at me for a moment, his eyes frail.

I turned to Derek and Connor. "Keep an eye on him at all times and keep anyone besides myself, Clarke or Bellamy out of here."

They both nodded and I made my way out of the dropship.

The morning carried on, all of us around camp working on our daily tasks. I sat by the fire, taking a break from watch duty, my mind wandering to my mother once again. Then, I thought about my father and the possibility that The Ark had finally run out of air. As much as I was angry with him, the idea that I had lost both of my parents in a matter of a day felt heavier than I could've ever imagined.

I felt wetness roll down my cheek, a shock as I hadn't even realized I was starting to cry. I wiped my cheek with my left hand, looking down at my hand to see nothing but red.

Coughing erupted around the camp and I shot up from the log I was sitting on. A few feet away Clarke and Raven exited a tent, running into Connor who was half slumped over.

I did a mini jog towards them, my legs shaking beneath me. "Clarke-" I started, stopping as she turned to face me, blood dripping down her cheeks as well.

"Raven, get away from us." Clarke commanded.

"What?"

Clarke took a deep breath. "They're the ones who brought Murphy in."

I followed Clarke as she darted towards the dropship, heading straight for Murphy who was vomiting blood. Connor and Derek followed right behind us.

Clarke knelt down beside him. "Murphy, hey, look at me." She started. "I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the Grounders. What happened?"

"I don't know." Murphy spoke, struggling for a breath. "I woke up and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there so I took off."

"They let him go." I spoke, Clarke looking back at me.

Footsteps raced into the dropship, Bellamy's face coming into view.

"Bellamy, stay back." Clarke spoke.

Bellamy looked at me, his eyes wide. "Did he do something to you?"

I shook my head.

"Then what the hell is going on?"

"Biological warfare." I responded, my body falling back against the wall.

Clarke stood up. "You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon."

Bellamy's jaw tensed as he stepped slightly closer. "Is this your revenge, helping the Grounders kill us?"

"I didn't know about this, okay?" Murphy shook his head. "I swear."

"Stop lying!" Bellamy yelled. "When are they coming?"

Clarke focused on Murphy. "Think, okay? What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?"

"They are vicious, cruel."

"You want to see vicious?" Bellamy huffed.

"Don't," I pleaded. "Whatever this is, it spreads through contact."

Clarke nodded. "She's right, you can come anywhere near us or him."

Finn entered the room, his eyes immediately locking on Clarke. "Clarke?"

"Finn, you shouldn't be here. Nobody should."

"I heard you were sick." Finn responded. "What is this?"

"I don't know," Clarke shook her head. "some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-"

Derek began coughing, choking on the blood. Clarke and I rushed over, rolling him on his side, but it was too late. Derek's body went still.

Bellamy froze. "Is he-"

Clarke nodded. "He's dead."

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" I asked.

"Quarantine." Clarke responded, looking to Finn. "Round up everyone who has had contact with Murphy and bring them here."

Finn nodded, exiting the dropship.

"And everyone they've had contact with?" Bellamy asked.

"We have to start somewhere." Clarke responded. "Connor, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in?"

"The first one out there was Octavia."

Bellamy's face went pale, his eyes landed on me. In a matter of seconds, he was running out the dropship door.

I stood across from Bellamy as Clarke finished examining Octavia. I knew he was scared and part of me just wanted to comfort him, but I knew I couldn't.

"We're done." Clarke spoke. "No visible signs of swelling or bleeding."

"So you're saying she doesn't have it?" Bellamy asked.

"I'm saying she doesn't have symptoms, but that could change. We need to keep her here just in case."

"No way." Bellamy shook his head. "Look at this place. She'll get sick just being here."

Looking around the room, I couldn't help but agree. There was blood covering at least ⅓ of the floor and sick people scattered everywhere.

"Do you want to stop the spread or not?" Clarke asked. "Look, I'll keep her on the third level with the people who aren't symptomatic yet. Think of it as a way to stop her from sneaking out again."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Screw you, Clarke."

Clarke sighed, turning her attention back to Bellamy. "I'll let you know if her condition changes."

Bellamy nodded as Octavia and Clarke walked away. His eyes then fell on me, an unusual softness to them.

"Hey, if anything changes I'll take care of her, okay?" I spoke, smiling softly. "I promise."

Bellamy took a deep breath, nodding. "I know you will. Thank you, Athena."

My eyes lingered on Bellamy as he left the dropship. When I turned back around, I noticed Octavia hadn't yet gone up to level three.

I headed over to Clarke. "Why isn't she up there yet?"

Clarke was hesitant to respond, but finally he did. "Look, the less you know the better. Just trust me, okay?"

"I just promised Bellamy I'd take care of her. What is she still doing down here?" I pushed.

"I'm sending her to find Lincoln-"

"Are you out of your mind?" I snapped. "For all we know, the Grounders are just outside our walls waiting for the right opportunity to strike. We can't just send her out there, especially when we don't know if she's sick yet."

"Athena, Lincoln might have some sort of cure for this." Clarke explained. "If she doesn't at least try to get it, more of us will die before the Grounders even get here."

I was silent for a moment, fighting the part of me that knew Clarke was right. If it was almost anyone else, I'd be supporting this. I knew Octavia could handle herself, but the thought of losing her too?

"Alright," I finally spoke.

After helping Clarke take care of the others for a while, she had ordered me to take some time to rest. I must have passed right out, because I awoke to the sound of gunshots.

I pulled myself off of the floor, staggering outside where Clarke was standing in front of the entire camp with a gun in her hand.

"This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don't you see that?" Clarke asked. "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." One of the delinquents stepped forward, his gun pointed at Clarke. "Get back in the dropship now!"

Bellamy grabbed the boy's gun, hitting him in the face with it. He then looked at Clarke. "Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't exactly working."

Clarke's legs gave out as she began to fall to the ground. Finn lunged forward, catching her.

"Finn, don't touch her!" Raven called out.

Clarke shook her head. "Hey, let me go. I'm okay."

"No, you're not." Finn protested.

"Octavia will come back with a cure."

"There is no cure!" Octavia's voice rang out through the camp. She stepped forward, just a few paces behind Bellamy. "The Grounders don't use the sickness to kill, though."

"Really?" Bellamy challenged, pointing to a line of bodies. "Tell that to them."

"Bellamy, she was trying-"

He ignored me, continuing on. "I warned you about seeing that Grounder again."

"Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too." Octavia spoke through gritted teeth. "The Grounders are coming and they're attacking at first light."

She pushed past her brother and towards Clarke and Finn, placing a hand on Clarke's forehead.

"Come on," she spoke. "I'll help you get her into the dropship."

The three of them headed inside, everyone finally heading back to work.

Bellamy turned to Raven. "How many bullets can you make by first light?"

Raven thought for a moment. "Time to find out." She replied before heading towards her tent.

Bellamy's eyes landed on me again.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Octavia."

He sighed and shook his head. "I'm guessing it wasn't your idea."

Bellamy didn't wait for an answer before he headed off towards Raven's tent.

While Clarke was resting, Octavia, Finn, Murphy and I were taking care of the other sick delinquents. As much as I felt uneasy in Murphy's presence, I knew how badly we needed any help we could get right now. Bellamy and Raven were working on a bomb, while everyone else still unaffected by the sickness was either on watch duty or taking care of other camp responsibilities.

"How are you feeling?" Octavia asked, placing her hand lightly on my shoulder.

I tried to muster a smile. "I'm feeling okay, considering. I'll feel a lot better when we know that the bomb worked."

Octavia tensed up. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," I frowned. "I know how much you care about Lincoln."

"He asked me to stay with him." Octavia confessed, her voice in a whisper.

"Why didn't you?"

"I couldn't just hide away knowing what was coming. I couldn't do that to you, and even though I'm mad at him, I couldn't do that to Bellamy."

I nodded. "Bellamy will come around eventually. He'll see that Lincoln isn't a bad guy."

Octavia shook her head. "I don't know, Athena. I've never seen him so sure of anything before."

Before I could respond, I saw Bellamy entering the dropship, propped up by two other boys. I barely had time to register his presence when he began coughing up blood.

Octavia spun around. "Bell?" He continued to cough as Octavia and I sprung into action.

"Clear some space and lay him down, now!" I demanded, rushing over to him.

Octavia knelt down, grabbing his hand. "Hey, big brother."

"I'm scared." Bellamy confessed through shallow breaths.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"That's what I said to you the day you were born."

"I know," Octavia smiled. "You've told me that like a thousand times."

I stepped away, letting the two have the first positive moment they'd had in days. A part of me was jealous; I would never feel that kind of love again. My family was gone, and I somehow was the only one left. It felt like some sort of sick joke; I was the expendable one, after all.

It felt wrong to hold onto that now, but there was still a part of me that wished things could be different. I wanted so badly to see my parents again and just let it all go, but that would never happen now.

I continued to help out in the dropship, mostly cleaning up blood and vomit in hopes of possibly minimizing the continuing spread of this sickness. I would tend to people here and there, and this time I was checking on Bellamy.

He had finally sat up, leaning over the side of the cott he had been given earlier.

"How are you holding up?"

His eyes met mine, a small smiling falling across his face. "Better. You?"

I sat down beside him, leaning back into the wall of the dropship. "I can't wait for this day to be over."

"When the day is over, we might all be dead."

I let out a groan. "Right, I'd almost completely forgotten about that."

"Jasper will come through with the shot." Bellamy assured me.

"If he doesn't, it's all over." I whispered. "Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. We should've died on The Ark with everyone else."

Bellamy looked back at me, confusion written all over his face. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"I don't know what I believe anymore." I confessed. "We've fought so hard to still be here-"

"And this isn't the end." Bellamy stopped me. "This is not how our stories end, okay? You were sent down here to die, and you didn't. The ground wasn't meant to be survivable for another hundred years, but here we are. There has to be a reason for that."

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment.

Bellamy leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. Without thinking, I laid my head on his shoulder. He let it happen, even adjusting his body so I would be more comfortable.

On day one, I never would've expected to find comfort in Bellamy Blake. Now, it felt like he was always there when I needed someone. I felt safe with him, something I hadn't felt with anybody in a really long time.

After a few moments, the sound of footsteps caught my attention. I opened my eyes, sitting up straight to find Clarke standing in front of us, a puzzled look across her face for just a second.

"We should start bringing everyone inside." She spoke, looking between the two of us. "There hasn't been an explosion yet and I think it's better if we play it safe."

I nodded, standing up. "Let's do it."

The three of us began rounding up the entire camp, each of them filing into the dropship one by one. Suddenly, there was a ground shaking bang and the sky through the trees lit up a bright orange before fading into a cloud of smoke.

"Holy shit." I muttered.

Bellamy's face lit up. "They did it."

Clarke stood next to us, her face never changing. "I am become death," she began.

I let out a deep breath before continuing, "Destroyer of worlds."

AN: Feedback appreciated as always!