Murphy's Law

Nova, Elara, and Clarke stood just outside the camp walls. They were silently standing by the delinquents graves, mourning Wells who was found dead just a few days prior.

"They got Wells just outside the wall." A voice calls from behind them.

The three friends turn to see Finn walking towards them, "Let them come. I'll kill them all." Nova states, glancing one last time at the grave then turning on her heel to walk into the camp.

Elara sighs then follows her, leaving Finn and Clarke alone. "Nov, wait up." She calls after the girl.

Nova stops and waits for her but doesn't turn around, "Are you alright?" Elara asks.

Nova looks at Elara, "I'm pissed off Lara. One of our best friends just got murdered by grounders. And I will do whatever it takes to get justice."

"That's not justice, it's revenge. And it's not healthy." Elara retorts.

Nova scoffs and shakes her head, "Call it what you want but the truth of the matter is that the grounders are going to kill more unless we do something about it. I'm going to start training people one on one. I suggest you start practicing with that bow I gave you."

Without waiting for Elara to reply Nova marches off to find someone to train. "Fox!" Nova calls out.

The girl turns to look at her with wide eyes, "You're with me." Fox, terrified, looks at the people she was helping. They shrug helplessly as they hear Nova call out once more, "Today."

Fox quickly moves to walk beside the petite girl, "What are we doing?" She asks.

"Training. We need to know how to protect ourselves and I promised everyone I would start training you guys. I figured I would start with you."

"O-Okay." She stutters.

"Pick up a knife. We'll start with knife throwing. How to hold it correctly and all of that." Fox nods and does as she's told.

As Nova begins her lesson, Elara is just outside the camp walls practicing with her bow and arrow like Nova said. Despite not wanting to have to use it she knows Nova is right. They need to know how to protect themselves in case the grounders attack.

*_*_*_*_*_*

After about fifteen minutes of practicing Elara hears Octavia calling her name, "Elara! You may want to come here."

She turns around and sees the panicked look on the girls face. She hurriedly collects her arrows and rushes over to Octavia who brings her into a tent which has Jasper, Clarke, and Bellamy.

Elara looks around, "Where's Nova?"

"I don't think we should tell her. She can be a little... Intense." Jasper says, looking at Octavia.

Octavia sighs but before she can respond Bellamy does, "Whatever it is that you need to tell us she should know. She's one of the leaders here. She'll be even more pissed if we leave her out of the loop."

Octavia nods then leaves the tent to find Nova. She returns a minute later with Nova trailing behind, "What's this about?" She asks.

Jasper reaches into his pocket, he pulls out two fingers and a knife built from the dropship. "We found this knife and Wells's fingers not too far from where he died."

"This knife was made of metal from the dropship." Clarke says reaching for the knife. "Who else knows about this?" She asks Octavia and Jasper.

"No one. We brought it straight here." Octavia replies.

"Someone in camp murdered Wells. It wasn't a grounder." Elara says, mouth dropping open.

"We need to keep this quiet." Bellamy states. He looks at Nova for back up as Clarke tries to exit the tent. Nova stays silent, letting the words sink in. "Clarke, be smart about this. Like it or not, thinking the grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Oh, good for you, you mean." Clarke starts to argue.

Elara interrupts, "He's right. We don't even know whose knife it is."

"Oh really? J.M. John Murphy. The people have a right to know."

"John Mbege has the same initials, Clarke. And just because it's his knife doesn't mean he killed him. Someone could have taken his knife to frame him. It's what I would have done." Nova states.

"Are you seriously trying to stick up for him? After you wanted to kill all of the grounders for something you thought they did?" Clarke snaps.

"I'm not sticking up for anyone. All I'm saying is we don't have all the answers. If we are going to confront Murphy we need to do it quietly. All this is going to cause is panic."

Clarke scoffs and shoves her way past Bellamy. "You son of a bitch!" She exclaims, pushing Murphy.

"What's your problem?" He asks.

"Recognize this?" Clarke questions, holding up the knife.

The others are now out of the tent, watching as the delinquents start crowding around to watch Clarke and Murphy's interaction.

"It's my knife. Where'd you find it?"

"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells."

"The grounders killed Wells, not me." He turns away from the blonde to look at Bellamy, "Do you really believe this?"

"You threatened to kill him. We all heard you. You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor that locked us up."

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

"Yeah, and I didn't kill him then either."

Nova loudly scoffs, "Like you had a chance. If I recall he had the knife to your throat. You probably took him by surprise to actually get him."

"He tried to kill Jasper too!" Octavia calls out. This causes Jasper's eyes to widen in horror.

Murphy tries to deny the accusation again, "Come on. This is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you or anyone."

"Excuse me?" Nova narrows her eyes at the boy.

At the same time Bellamy raises an eyebrow, "Come again?"

Murphy looks to Bellamy for help, "I'm telling you, man. I didn't do it."

"They found his fingers on the ground with your knife." Bellamy replies.

Clarke turns her attention to the surrounding delinquents, "Is this the kind of society that we want? You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without punishment?"

"I say we float him!" Connor calls out from the crowd. A chorus of "Yeahs" can be heard from the group.

"That's not what I'm saying." Clarke yells, trying to be heard above the delinquents.

"Why not? He deserves to float. It's justice." Connor yells once more.

"It's not justice! It's revenge!" Elara calls, glancing at Nova who sits back with narrowed eyes and her arms crossed across her chest.

"It's justice!" Connor yells again. Connor, Myles, Derek, and some other delinquents move in to attack Murphy. They punch and kick him making the boy fall to the ground. They grab rope to tie his hands behind his back then drag him outside the camp walls to a tree.

Clarke and Elara chase after the delinquents yelling at them to stop and leave Murphy alone. The delinquents grab a hold of the two girls, making sure they stay back as Connor throws a noose around Murphy's neck and Derek ties the other end to a high branch on the tree.

Myles gets him to stand on top of a log, when everything is ready Connor yells once more, "Bellamy should do it!"

The crowd of delinquents start chanting Bellamy's name, "Bellamy, you can stop this!" Clarke calls out, tears in her eyes.

"Nov do something! Help Murphy." Elara yells at her friend. Nova bites her lips but refuses to look at Elara. Instead her eyes stay locked on Bellamy who turns his attention to her.

He waits for her to say something, anything. Nova gives a slight tilt of her head indicating that he should do it. So Bellamy walks over to Murphy and kicks the log out from under him.

"How could you!" Clarke calls out.

"This is on you princess. You should've kept your mouth shut." Bellamy exclaims.

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn shouts, just walking back to the camp and seeing Murphy hanging from the tree. "Cut him down!" The group holds him back.

Finally, a small voice yells out, "Stop! Okay?" The group turns to see Charlotte, crying. "Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did!"

Finn and Elara shove their way to the front to cut Murphy down, this time nobody stops them.

*_*_*_*_*_*

"Bring the girl out, Bellamy!" Murphy calls from outside the tent.

Choosing to ignore Murphy and his gang, Bellamy eyes the young girl, "Why Charlotte?"

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

Nova scoffs and shakes her head, "Maybe I should have told her my story then, huh?" She looks at Bellamy, eyes burning with hatred.

Bellamy shakes his head and focuses back on Charlotte, "That's not what I meant."

"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy calls again.

"Please don't let them hurt me!" Charlotte says, beginning to cry once more.

Nova rolls her eyes, "Let's just kill her." Clarke, Finn, Bellamy, and Elara all turn to glare at Nova as Charlotte backs away into Elara's side.

"What the hell is wrong with you Nov?" Elara scolds.

"What? She may be the youngest one here but she's old enough to know right from wrong. We almost hanged Murphy for a crime he didn't commit. All I'm saying is the right person should get punished. And Murphy and his gang aren't going to stop until she's dead. The least we can do is deal with her ourselves and kill her humanely and in private rather than letting Murphy do it."

"We are not killing her." Bellamy glares.

Nova rolls her eyes then holds up her hands, "Fine. Whatever. But don't come crying to me when this goes horribly wrong."

Nova pushes by the group, leaving the tent to let them discuss what they are going to do with Charlotte. As the flap of the tent shuts behind Nova, Bellamy turns to the others, "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up."

"Those are your boys out there." Finn reminds him.

"This is not my fault. If she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building the wall."

As Nova steps out of the tent she looks right at Murphy as he asks, "Where's the girl, Angel?"

Nova rolls her eyes at the nickname, "Don't try to patronize me. I said we should kill her. They didn't agree. I'm letting them decide since I was outnumbered."

Murphy looks slightly shocked at her words but quickly recovers as he yells out once more, "You want to build a society, princess? Let's build a society. Bring her out."

Bellamy finally emerges from the tent prompting Murphy to speak once more, "Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us."

"Dial it down and back off." Bellamy scolds.

"Or what? What are you gonna do about me? Hang me?"

"That could be arranged." Nova mutters.

"I thought you were on my side, angel." Murphy says, looking at Nova.

She rolls her eyes once more, "I still think you're an ass and you deserve to die. Just not for this crime."

Bellamy calls out to Murphy, "I was just giving the people what they wanted."

"You know what? That's a great idea. Who wants the real murdered to be hanged for her crime?" Murphy asks, addressing the crowd of delinquents. Murphy, his crew, and Nova are the only people who raise their hands. "So it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this little bitch confesses, you all let her walk? Cowards!"

"Hey, Murphy! It's over." Bellamy states.

"Whatever you say boss." Murphy waits for Bellamy to turn around. Then he quickly grabs a piece of wood from the ground and hits Bellamy over the head with, running into the tent. Murphy sees that Charlotte and the others are no longer there and gestures for his gang to follow him, "Come on. Let's get the girl!"

Nova watches as the group leaves. She makes her way over to Bellamy to check his head. "Miller, Connor! Bring him to his tent. Everyone else back to work. Let me know when he wakes up."

She watches as everyone moves to start working on the camp once more. Her eyes search for someone to start training, "Harper! You're with me."

She waits for the girl to follow her so that she can start training her on how to use a spear properly. She takes her time teaching her, waiting for Bellamy to wake up so they can go after Murphy and his gang.

*_*_*_*_*_*

Elara, Clarke, and Finn snuck Charlotte outside the camp when Bellamy left the tent to deal with Murphy. Elara kept a tight hold on Charlotte's hand as Finn and Clarke walked a little bit ahead.

"It's going to be night soon, Finn. Where are we going?" Clarke asks. When the boy doesn't answer right away she speaks once more, "At least tell me you have a plan and we're not just wandering aimlessly through the woods."

"I have a plan." Finn answers.

Charlotte moves to grab Clarke's hand which ends up with the blonde yelling at the little girl, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Just because we saved you doesn't mean you're forgiven. Got it?"

"Clarke. Knock it off!" Elara scolds, making sure to hold on to Charlotte.

"She's just a kid." Finn continues.

"She's a killer." Clarke retorts, she turns to look Charlotte in the eye, "You killed someone, Charlotte. Ended his life. Did you think about that for even one second."

"Enough!" Elara scolds once more, "He was one of my best friends too. I'm pissed off too. But Charlotte knows what she did was wrong. Yelling at her isn't going to bring him back."

"Charlotte! Elara, Clarke, and Finn can't save you." Murphy yells through the trees.

"We should run." Clarke states.

"Yeah. That's one way to go. I like my plan better." Finn says, reaching down and opening a hidden door. "Get in." He smiles.

Elara gently pushes Charlotte inside. She follows closely behind, Finn and Clarke behind her.

"Finn, what is this place?" Clarke asks.

"For now, it's home."

Elara sat down next to Charlotte on the bottom bunk. She tucked the young girl in and moved to stand up. "Can you tell me a story?" Charlotte asked.

Elara hesitates, "I only know one."

"That's fine. Please?"

Elara nodded and began the story of Robin Hood, "It was a quiet night in Sherwood village. Yet someone was creeping through the dark..."

As she finished up the story she saw that the young girl was fast asleep. She stood up and looked at Clarke and Finn who were having a whispered conversation. She stretched her limbs then climbed up to the top bunk to take a quick nap.

*_*_*_*_*_*

"Elara! Elara wake up!" Clarke shakes Elara awake.

"What? What happened?" Elara sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Charlotte is gone. We need to go." This statement makes Elara shoot out of the bed. They all quickly make their way out of the bunker in search of the young delinquent.

Meanwhile, Bellamy and Nova are also in pursuit of Charlotte. "I don't understand why you're helping me now? What made you change your mind about killing Charlotte?" Bellamy asks Nova.

"Honestly, I still think it would be easier to just kill her. But I also understand why we shouldn't. Plus I'll do anything that goes against what Murphy wants." Nova states.

In the distance the pair hears Murphy yell, "Charlotte! You can't hide forever. Don't worry. We won't hurt you."

Bellamy and Nova exchange a look, just as they see Charlotte running towards them. They each hide behind a tree and when Charlotte passes, Bellamy grabs her. "Let me go!" The young girl yells.

"We're trying to help!" Bellamy says to her.

"I'm not your sister! Just stop helping me! I'm over here!" She calls out, gaining Murphy's attention.

"Shut the fuck up! Are you trying to get us killed?" Nova scolds the delinquent.

"Just go. I'm the one they want."

"We are not leaving you." Bellamy says. Bellamy picks up the young girl as she starts yelling for Murphy once again. Nova and Bellamy run away from the footsteps that are closing in.

In another part of the forest Clarke, Finn, and Elara hear Charlotte's scream. "Murphy has her." Clarke says, taking off to find the group. Finn and Elara follow close behind, also determined to find Charlotte and make sure she's safe.

Bellamy and Nova only stop when they come to a cliff and have nowhere else to run. "Bellamy, Nova. You can't fight us all."

"Is that a challenge, troll?" Nova spits out. Her knife is held tightly in her hand and she takes a protective step in front of Bellamy and Charlotte.

"Didn't you want her dead too, angel?" Murphy asks, tilting his head at the petite girl in question.

"Yeah, but I'll protect her if it means I get to go against you. And trust me when I say you can't beat me."

Suddenly Clarke, Elara, and Finn make their way into the clearing. "Stop, this has gone too far!" Clarke says.

"Everyone needs to calm down. We can talk about this." Elara continues.

"I'm sick of listening to you talk." Murphy says, grabbing Elara and putting his knife to her throat.

"You hurt her and I'll kill you faster than you can blink, troll." Nova instantly says.

"I will slit her throat." Murphy replies.

"No, please. Please don't hurt her." Charlotte cries out.

"Don't hurt her? Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, I will let her go."

Bellamy grabs Charlotte's arm as she starts to move forward. "Don't do it Charlotte."

Charlotte stops moving forward. "No, I have to. Murphy, this is not happening. I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did."

Without saying anything else, she walks to the edge of the cliff and jumps off, not giving any of the older delinquents around her the chance to stop her.

"Charlotte!" Clarke and Elara scream after the girl, but they both know there is nothing they can do.

Bellamy on the other hand moved past Nova and started throwing punches at Murphy. "Bellamy no! You'll kill him!" Clarke grabs Bellamy's arm to stop him.

"He deserves to die!" Bellamy grunts out.

"We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here." Clarke says.

"So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide."

Clarke cuts him off, "No, I was wrong before. You were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're going to survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules."

"And who is going to make the rules? You?"

"No. Us. Together." Elara speaks up.

"Well he's not coming back to camp with us. Because if you even think that's a good idea I'm killing him myself." Nova says, gesturing to Murphy who is bloody and on the ground.

"We banish him." Clarke says.

Bellamy looks at the other four delinquents that are part of Murphy's gang, "The four of you can either come back and follow me or go off with him to die. Your choice."

The delinquents all turn away from Murphy, leaving him on his own in the forest.