Cobwebs and Flies

Ch4• Shadows in the Dark

Bellamy woke up sore, his shoulder sending a burning pain throughout his body as a whole. He painfully turned over and got up as a loud groan escaped his parted lips. He caught his breath as he put all of his weight on one shoulder, massaging the other with delicacy.

He could already hear the kids up and at it, as they hurried to finish building the wall as the threat of the grounders grew real and dangerous with every second that passed by where they weren't protected.

When Bellamy left his tent, he looked around to find Murphy but the rebel was nowhere to be found. Curious, he asked Atom who was walking by his side. "Haven't seen him since dusk."

He couldn't help but worry about him, but this was not the time. Not until they had assured safety and shelter from the dangers of the Earth. He got a drink of fresh water from what they'd collected this morning before going to see Clarke so she could ensure his shoulder would hold during today's work. When he lifted the tent's flap, he caught Clarke staring at her father's watch around her wrist.

"You blame yourself, don't you?"

Bellamy's words startled her and she turned around, surprised to see him. She pressed the watch against her chest, her beating heart ticking like the watch used to do. "If only I had kept my mouth shut, then maybe, maybe he would still be here."

A tear fell from her cheek and Bellamy rushed to her side, landing a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "It wasn't your fault, Clarke. You can't hold this against yourself or you'll never survive down here."

She didn't respond and he continued, lifting her chin so their eyes met, "We need you here, you're our only doctor. Without you, who would take care of my wounds when I do something stupid and chaotic?"

She laughed and that put a smile on Bellamy's face. She sat him down on her makeshift bed and took a look at his shoulder, "The stitches should hold. Just try and take it easy, okay?"

"Okay, princess."

He left her tent and looked around the camp once again for Murphy but still couldn't see him. Bellamy's mind had a thousand questions and sadly he wasn't getting any answers which only aggravated him further. He distracted himself by helping sort the rations with Jasper and Monty. They had recently discovered an abundance of nuts which tasted delicious and weren't soaked in radiation.

He spent hours going through rations before taking a break and enjoying a few nuts himself. He sat around the campfire with Jasper, Monty, Miller, and Clarke who all enjoyed some of their well-deserved rations. They shared a few laughs and about an hour or so later, Bellamy found himself on the other side of the wall. He looked around, twisting his head from left to right but he couldn't understand how he ended up on the other side of the wall.

He was walking forward, unaware of the path that his feet were taking. When he looked down at his hands he found them covered in blood. Quickly he blinked and jerked his hand up to get a better look but found them to be clean. Seconds later, he found himself holding a gun. Then, out of nowhere, he heard a scream. Somewhere, someone was calling for him. He recognized the voice but his mind couldn't make anything out of it other than an echo in the dark woods.

As he began to run toward the voice, he noticed that all of a sudden, night had fallen and he found himself alone. His breath was shaking but he remained strong and focused on the voice inside his head. He seemed to be running for hours on empty ground, everything blending together, the trees became a big blur and he couldn't focus his eyes on anything. He looked back down at his hands which now held a knife, his fingers wrapped around the handle tightly.

Bellamy's mind was betraying him and he found himself terrified. He dropped to his knees and looked upon the hundred of stars that shined above him. Somehow, he felt comfort in looking at them for it reminded him of his childhood. He remembered spending countless hours counting the stars from the small window at the end of the hall where his flat was. He could recall the way he took mental pictures of the treasures space had to offer in order to describe them to his little sister, Octavia, who was a prisoner in their flat.

A familiar voice screamed for him again, and he turned, now facing the eyes of a bloody boy. The shadow reached for him and Bellamy backed away, throwing himself on the ground and rolling down a small slope. He felt a sudden rush of pain shoot through his arm and his shoulder was leaking blood for he had ripped open his stitches. The shadow followed him until it stood above him, no longer covered in blood but now with black paint across its face. The closer it got, the faster Bellamy's heart was beating until the moonlight shined down on the shadow's face and he recognized Murphy.

"Murphy?"

He was calling his name over and over again, murmuring endlessly as the boy picked him up and carried him back to camp. When they reached their camp, everyone gathered around Murphy who was carrying Bellamy, blood leaking down his arm, dripping onto the ground, as his eyes rolled back behind his head and he kept whispering Murphy's name, calling him as if they were miles apart.

He laid him down on the first bed he found and gave him water before tying a piece of rope around his shoulder to seize the bleeding. Hours went by without a word from Bellamy nor the other few who had fallen victim to the nuts unpredictable side effects. Jasper was paranoid for he swears he could see grounders all over the camp while Monty went on about the moon and the tide while eating a pine cone. Clarke had been talking to herself for hours until she finally fell asleep.

It wasn't until the next morning that they all woke up and their body had burned up all of the Jobi nuts hallucinogenic toxins. The first thing Bellamy saw when he opened his eyes was Murphy, who had fallen asleep on the ground next to his cot. He had spent all night by his side, anxiously waiting for him to wake but exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep on the ground. Bellamy smiled and felt something warm inside of him, a feeling he'd never felt before.