Beautiful Crime | John Murphy

Chapter Twenty Three

Murphy, and I have been sitting here for about an hour when he suddenly starts coughing. He flips around on his stomach, and hold himself up with his hands. I rush to his side, stroking his back in a comforting matter.

Seconds later Clarke rush in, and push me away from Murphy. "Murphy, hey, look at me." She says, and he does as he is told. When he is done coughing he looks at her out of breath. "I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the grounders. What happened?"

"I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off." He was locked in a cage? My heart breaks more and more for him, and I don't even know half of what happened.

"They let you go." She says out loud. Suddenly Bellamy comes into the drop ship with his gun ready. "Bellamy, stay back." Clark orders him holding up her hand.

"Did he do something to you?" Bellamy asks, and I feel myself getting angry that he thinks he would do that. Clarke turns to look at him, and that's when we both notice the blood under her eyes. "What the hell is this?"

"Biological warfare. You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it." Clarke looks over to Murphy slowly, and scared. "Murphy is the weapon."

"Is this your revenge, helping the grounders kill us?" Bellamy asks Murphy pissed. I push Clarke away just like she did with me earlier, and takes the same cloth from before. I dip it in water, and dab it against his sweaty forehead.

"I didn't know about this, ok, I swear." Murphy says while I clean his forehead. He doesn't have to justify himself to me, because I know he isn't lying.

"Stop lying. When are they coming?" Bellamy asks him demanding answers. "Murphy, think, all right? What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?" Clarke asks pressuring him to answer, and I feel myself growing more annoyed by the second.

"They are vicious, cruel." Murphy says the only thing that he actually knows for a fact. "You want to see vicious?" Bellamy says walking closer to us. I am quick to turn around and glare at him. "If you take one more step I will teach you what vicious and cruel is." He steps back, but still looks just as pissed as ever.

"Hey, don't. Whatever this thing is, it spreads through contact." Clarke says ordering us to stay away from each other. It makes we wonder how I haven't gotten sick yet. Maybe some react later then others.

Suddenly Finn walks into the drop ship. "Clarke?" He asks looking around for her, and when he sees her he lets out a breath in relief.

"Finn, you shouldn't be in here. No one should." Clarke says standing up, and walking over to him.

"I heard you were sick. Clarke, what is this?" He asks just as confused as the rest of us.

"I don't know, some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-" Clarke dosen't get to finish her sentence, because Derek suddenly starts shaking. Clarke tries to rush over to him, but Finn stops her. "Hey, don't touch me. You could get sick. Wash your hands now." She walks over to Derek, and he starts coughing up blood, and then he just collapses onto the floor. He is laying completely still so Clarke checks for his pulse.

"Is he-" Bellamy starts asking, but is to afraid to finish his own question.

"He's dead." Clarke answers confirming what everyone was already thinking. Clarke stands up, and picks up a bottle. "Here. Alcohol. Hold out your hand." She pours the alcohol over Finns hands, and he shakes them.

"What do we do?" Finn asks at a complete lost when it comes to this kind of situation.

"Quarantine. Round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here." She orders Everyone around. I have had contact with Murphy, but I haven't been with anyone else, so I haven't passed it on to anyone.

"And everyone they had contact with?" Bellamy asks trying his best to help. "Well, we have to start somewhere. Connor, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in? Think." Clarke rush him.

Conner lets out a cough before opening his mouth. "The first ones there was Octavia, and Mercy." Bellamy's eyes widen from the mention of his little sisters name, and rush out of the drop ship to find her.

He comes back with Octavia seconds later, and Clarke walk up to examen her. She looks at her eyes, and in her mouth. "Ok. We're done. No visible signs of swelling or bleeding." Clarke explains lowering the light she used to examen her.

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

"I'm saying she doesn't have symptoms, but that could change. We need to keep her here just in case." Clarke tells him wanting to be on the safe side.

"No way. Look at this place. She'll get sick just being here." Bellamy says refusing to let his sister get infected with something that can kill her.

"Do you want to stop the spread, or not? 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." Clarke says trying to convince Bellamy to let her stay here.

"Screw you, Clarke." Octavia tells her not feeling the need to be treated like a child.

"I'll let you know if her condition changes." Clarke says, and Bellamy looks at the two of them before he walks out. Octavia moves to the latter ready to climb up to the third level. "Octavia, wait." Clarke says making her stop. "I need you to sneak out again."

"Are you insane? Bellamy will kill you." I tell Clarke leaving Murphy for a second to talk to her.

"We need to know if there is a cure, and Octavia is our best hope getting it." Clarke refuses to let this idea go, and I know there is nothing stopping her. "And you should go up to the third level as well. You aren't showing any symptoms yet. People with bad immune systems have died, and you were shot with an arrow yesterday, making yours very weak."

I feel myself grow a little scared, but I not leaving Murphy down here alone. "I don't care." I tell her before walking back over to Murphy.