chapter fourteen
BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
"you're my armor, i am your defeat."

Absolute destruction.

Dismembered limbs, loose wires, fried metal parts, burned corpses, and skeletons.

The thick smell of ash and smoke filled their noses as a search party of delinquents trudged through the debris and soot.

"Clarke shouldn't be out here." Finn muttered, eyes locked on Clarke who wandered the site.

"Her mom was on the ship." Raven pointed out, "She's looking for answers."

Finn looked as if he was about to go to her, but Raven stopped him, "You want to help her, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why the ship crashed."

Evelynn found herself walking to Clarke. Surely she wanted to be alone, but Evelynn wanted to help. Abby was like a second mother to Evelynn and she knew how much she meant to Clarke.

Evelynn walked up behind her and placed her hands on her shoulders to steer her away from the scorched rib cage that Clarke's wide eyes were staring at.

Clarke shrugged Evelynn's hands off of her and snapped around, "Leave me alone."

Evelynn made a vain attempt at comfort, stepping towards her friend, "Please—" Clarke shoved her back in the chest, causing her to stumble.

"Just because your mom died too doesn't mean you can help."

Clarke sniffed back tears and spun on her heel to travel deeper into the debris. Evelynn stood rooted to the spot. She didn't blame Clarke for lashing out. Her mom just died.

Evelynn knew the feeling all too well.

But, she felt like she was reliving her mom's death all over again, Clarke reminding her of her demise.

Raven and Finn were quickly at her side, Raven first to speak, her face confronted from pained confusion, words spilling, "Sophia—your mom—she's dead? But I thought...I mean you said—"

"I'm sorry," Evelynn said softly, unable to explain herself, "I lied. She died two years ago."

"Oh my god." Raven moved her hand to cover her mouth, in complete shock. Finn gave Evelynn a look of wild confusion and slight anger. She didn't blame him though. She messed up.

Surprising her, Raven took a step towards Evelynn, arms outstretched, enveloping her in a hug, "I'm sorry, your mom was an amazing person."

When they released each other, Evelynn quickly stepped past them trying avoid Finn's baffled gaze and Raven's look of pity, her boots leaving prints in the grey ash at her feet. Her heart squeezed painfully at Raven's words. Her mother was an amazing person. Was. It hurt all over again. Sweeping numbness flooded her system as she made her way closer to the untouched forest back to camp.

"Hey, hey, hey," Bellamy swung out an arm in front of her, "What's wrong?"

Evelynn didn't answer, she just pushed his arm away from her and stepped around more metal scraps that covered the burned ground. She only stopped when his palm rested gently on her shoulder, "Talk to me."

She turned herself around to face him. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, debating her words. Finally she just shook her head lightly, refusing to talk. He stared at her for a few lingering seconds, pausing, "It's okay. You don't have to talk."

Evelynn sighed a little, a brief second of relief. Bellamy was her relief. She decided to stay by him, both of them watching delinquents shuffle through ash and debris.

Her eyes glanced up at where the Ark was. She had memorized where it sat in the sky, watching it light up like a star at night. Even during the day, there was a distant blinking you could spot from it.

But there was no light coming from the Ark. It had gone completely dark after the Exodus ship launched. The thought that the Ark had shut down began to seem like more and more of a possibility. Meaning, if the people on the Ark didn't die in the exploding Exodus ship, they will soon be dead due to lack of oxygen.

Her mom had been dead, Abby's now dead, her dad will soon be dead. All the delinquents will soon be dead when the war comes.

Her fingers rubbed on the metal music box she still held in her pocket, attempting to hold onto a piece of her parents.

"Fire in the hole!" Raven shouted. She tossed a small rock into a fire a few feet from her. As soon as the rock met the ground it exploded, the echo ringing through the area. "We need to clear the area." Raven yelled to Bellamy who nodded to her.

Evelynn felt relieved at the statement, she was more than ready to leave. The whole place had a creepy atmosphere that was wearing everyone down, as if ghosts were nipping at the backs of their necks.

"Okay then," Bellamy stepped onto a metal piece that was wedged into the ground, giving him a few inches of elevation as he shouted, "We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We have to be back before dark."

»»————-　★　————-««

"Bellamy!" A voice called out as the group entered the camp. Evelynn followed close behind Bellamy as he approached Harper, who called him.

"Murphy's back. He's in the dropship. He's—" Harper was instantly cut off by Bellamy blindly tearing through people to get to the dropship, his eyes blazing in rage. Evelynn muttered a light "thank you" to Harper before running after Bellamy.

"Murphy!" Bellamy roared, shoving the sheets of the dropship out of his way, "Where is he?"

The giant group of delinquents who were huddled opened their circle for Bellamy and revealed John Murphy, except it looked nothing like him.

Every inch of his body, every piece of flesh and was covered in blood. Dry and fresh blood cascaded down his whole person, it was hard to tell where the injuries ended and where Murphy began.

Evelynn stumbled back a few steps from the scene subconsciously, guilt from Murphy's condition crashing into her like a sweeping tidal wave that felt as if it could knock her over.

Bellamy spoke again, wide eyes, not moving from Murphy, "Everyone but Connor and Derek out. Now!"

The room began to clear out as Bellamy asked, except for Evelynn, Finn, and Clarke, who unsurprisingly refused to listen to Bellamy.

Derek spoke first, his gun positioned to point directly at Murphy's head, "He claims he was with the grounders."

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

"I wasn't sneaking." Murphy said. His voice sounded pained and throaty, as if every word hurt, "I was running from the Grounders."

"Anyone see any Grounders?" Bellamy looked between Connor and Derek, both of them shaking their heads 'no'. Bellamy licked his lips as his lifted his gun, "Well, in that case—"

"Bellamy, no!" Evelynn shouted at him, shoving him in the side, trying to get him to lower the gun. He didn't budge.

Finn stood himself right in front of the barrel, blocking Murphy, "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"We were clear what would happen if he came back." Bellamy glared at Finn, nodding his head to the side, urging him to move.

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

Bellamy chuckled darkly, "Help us? We hanged him, we banished him, and now we're gonna kill him."

Finn clenched his jaw, standing his ground. Bellamy spoke again, eyes darkening, his voice a growl, "Get the hell out of my way."

"No."

"Finn is right." Clarke finally spoke up, stepping in front of Bellamy as well.

"Like hell, he is." Bellamy scoffed, thrown off by everyone ganging up on him, "Clarke, think about Charlotte."

"I am thinking about her, but what happened to Charlotte was as much our fault as his." Clarke told him as she turned to Murphy, examining his injuries.

Bellamy continued to glare down Murphy, his knuckles whitening from his tight grip on his gun, fingers trembling on the trigger.

Evelynn, still standing at his side, spoke, trying to keep her tone gentle, "Charlotte murdered Wells and then we all framed Murphy for it. I know she died and you two were close, but Bell, she was the murderer, not Murphy."

Evelynn stayed facing towards Murphy and Clarke, not turning towards Bellamy, even though she could feel his eyes on her.

Clarke turned to them holding up Murphy's bloodied hand, "He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

Finn crossed his arms, glaring at Bellamy, "You and the Grounders should compare notes."

Evelynn scrunched her face at him, "Finn, knock it off."

Bellamy ignored Finn's comment and bent himself in front of Murphy so they were eye to eye, "The Grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?"

"Everything."

The room seemed to grow colder. The Grounders were older and stronger way more skilled than them and undoubtedly outnumbered them. Now they knew everything about them.

They were so dead.

Clarke stood up and walked to Bellamy, her voice more hushed than before, "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, okay?"

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

Clarke began to walk out of the room, pausing to look at the bloodied, trembling boy in the dropship corner, "Then we kill him."

Somewhat satisfied, Bellamy lowered his gun to hang loosely at his side and began to follow Clarke out of the dropship. Feeling an absence at his side he spun around, "Evelynn? You coming?"

Evelynn looked to him, a bucket of water and rags in her hands, "I'm gonna clean Murphy up first."

Bellamy grimaced as he watched her place down the bucket and begin to wring out strips of fabric. Evelynn felt his stare burning into her skin, "I know you don't like Murphy, but he's human, okay? We can't just let him suffer."

"Ev, he tried to kill Charlotte!" Bellamy burst out, taking a step towards her.

"Charlotte killed Wells!" Evelynn shouted, dropping the rag that was in her hand. She closed her eyes and exhaled, regaining the composure to speak again with control, "We're all people who make mistakes. Give him a second chance."

"Murphy," Bellamy's voice, although quiet, was filled with venom, "If you lay a finger on her, that will be the last thing you ever do."

"Bellamy!"

Murphy narrowed his swollen eyes at Bellamy, his words spoken through his blood-stained mouth, "You got it, boss."

Bellamy's eyes flickered between Murphy and Evelynn for a fleeting second before he scoffed and left the dropship.

As soon as Bellamy was gone, Evelynn sighed and began to carefully scrub at Murphy's blood-stained hands, carefully avoiding his fingertips where his fingernails were brutally torn off.

Murphy was quick to speak, "Since when did Bellamy Blake take orders from you?"

Evelynn shrugged, "I guess I'm persuasive."

Murphy watched her wring out the rag and bring it to his arm, "Oh come on, you're not that persuasive." He paused before raising a suggestive eyebrow at her, "He's got it bad for you."

Evelynn ignored him and continued to clean his cuts, an uncontrollable smile gracing her lips. The silence didn't last long as Murphy spoke again, "Why are you helping me? And I don't want any of that 'second chance' crap, no one's that nice."

Still focusing on cleaning the dry blood around a deep cut on his lower arm, Evelynn spoke, "Honestly, I just feel guilty. Banishment was my idea and if it wasn't for that, you wouldn't have been tortured by the Grounders. This isn't so much about you than it is about me clearing my conscience."

Murphy let out a throaty laugh, the sound strangled with blood bubbling in his mouth, "I appreciate the honesty, red riding hood."

Evelynn laughed lightly, "And for the record, I actually do believe in that 'second chance' crap, even though I'm not that nice."

»»————-　★　————-««

The world grew colder with every second—or at least it seemed like it to Evelynn.

In an attempt to warm herself, Evelynn moved into her tent. She crawled onto her cot and huddled in her blanket, wrapping around her body and over her head to cocoon herself. But even in her tent the temperature seemed to be plummeting.

She almost jumped out of her skin when her tent flaps opened wildly revealing Finn crouching, his expression urgent.

"Bellamy sent me to get you, he said you were with Murphy."

Evelynn groaned, "What does he want now?" Finn's brows creased in confusion, "He wants to make sure you're okay."

"Tell him to bug off, Murphy didn't kill me—like he thought he would."

"Evelynn, the Grounders let Murphy go. He was infected with some sort of hemorrhagic fever that spreads through contact." Finn told her, pulling the blanket off her head, "We need to see if you're sick. Clarke started a quarantine in the dropship."

Evelynn bit on her lip. That made more sense. She felt a tad bit guilty for assuming Bellamy was out to get Murphy again.

Shrugging off her blanket, Evelynn stood and instantly stumbled, dizziness striking her like a hammer. Finn instinctively held her arm to steady her. She shot him a look of fear—if the disease spread through contact, why was he touching her?

"I'm immune, don't worry." He answered her question without her ever asking. Evelynn sighed in relief.

Before making it far from her tent, Evelynn's legs began to feel like jelly, trying to give out under her weight. Finn didn't hesitate to wrap his arm around her waist, helping her walk the last few feet to the dropship.

She never really realized how badly her whole body was shaking until she felt Finn's steadiness beside her. It seemed as if gravity was working double time to push her to the ground, the air around her seemed to be weighing her down.

Entering the dropship was like a slap in the face, the heat from the feverish bodies strewn all throughout the floor and the metallic stench of blood invading their senses.

Evelynn felt her face flush pink in embarrassment as people's eyes on her as she struggled to walk over to Clarke, Finn nearly carrying her.

Standing in front of Clarke, Evelynn felt a small throb in her chest. Clarke looked so pained and exhausted with red, smeared streaks of blood under her eyes and across her cheeks.

Evelynn pulled herself from Finn's grasp, assuring him that she was fine. As soon as Clarke clicked on her flashlight to check her throat, Bellamy's voice came from behind her, "Thanks, Finn."

Evelynn looked over her shoulder at Bellamy. He, thankfully, wasn't sick, holding a piece of fabric over his mouth to prevent any chance of getting infected. He made his way across the room and stood by Clarke, who was holding the flashlight to Evelynn's open mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Evelynn could see Bellamy scanning her face worriedly.

Clarke clicked off her flashlight with a sigh, "You're not symptomatic."

Bellamy turned to her incredulously, "Not symptomatic? Did you not see her come in here with Finn?"

"I did, Bellamy, but her throat isn't at all inflamed. Besides, she's not bleeding."

Evelynn scanned the room to realize that she seemed to be the only person, other than the immune or unaffected people, who wasn't bleeding from their nose or eyes.

"How about a fever?" Bellamy questioned, eyes still locked on Evelynn. Clarke rolled her eyes at him, completely exasperated, "Bellamy—"

"Clarke, place your hand on her forehead and check for a fever or I will." Bellamy threatened. Evelynn rolled her eyes at their bickering.

Sighing deeply, Clarke placed her hand on Evelynn's forehead. After a few seconds she moved her hands to her cheeks, peering into her friend's eyes, eyebrows clenched, "You are feverish."

Evelynn nodded. She could've told her that.

"How about you go to the second level of the dropship? Just to be safe, don't touch anyone, and come back down here if you start bleeding at all." Clarke instructed Evelynn who nodded in understanding.

Bellamy blinked hard at both of them and turned his gaze at Clarke, "You just said she had a fever. She's sick and you're sending her up there?"

Clarke faltered for a second choosing her words, "She's not symptomatic, which is a good thing. She just has a fever, which could be totally unrelated."

"Or it's completely related—"

"Bellamy," Evelynn spoke softly which shut him up immediately, "If Clarke says I'm okay, I'm okay."

Bellamy nodded slowly, deciding to stop fighting it and let her make her way to the dropship ladder.

Evelynn ignored the churning in her stomach and the new blazing headache and began to clamber up the ladder. She only made it a few steps up before her knees buckled and she tumbled to the ground, her vision blacking out for a second.

She didn't even feel herself hit the floor, she only felt the cool metal of the dropship floor on on her face.

She then felt someone's arms grab her and lift her up from the ground. When she focused back into reality, she realized it was Bellamy, who now also abandoned the cloth that previously covered his mouth.

"You'll get sick." She said, her words coming out as more of a croak than her voice.

"I'm probably immune." He said, glancing down at her, head laying on his chest, tired eyes gazing up at him.

She scoffed, "Famous last words."

Next thing she knew, she was laid down on a cot, which she was immensely grateful for as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

She watched Bellamy move himself to sit by her, gently brushing her hair out of her face. He retracted his hand and glanced down at it, a glimmer of fear in his eyes. He then pushed her hair behind her ears to examine, quickly calling to Clarke.

"She is bleeding." He announced when Clarke arrived at his side. She hummed in understanding as she saw the fresh blood that coated Evelynn's ear, "Sorry Bellamy. I didn't know."

Bellamy shrugged it off, "No worries. Take it easy."

When he turned back to Evelynn her face was twisted into a look of confusion and worry, not understanding the exchange she just witnessed.

Bellamy brushed his fingers through her hair again, "Murphy did infect you after all. Your ears are bleeding, but you're gonna be okay."

Evelynn began to nod but she was cut short when a burning sensation built up in her throat. Sitting herself up in panic, she lurched over the side of her cot, coughing up blood that stung her throat. She kept coughing until it felt like she couldn't breathe, the horror filling her veins.

She wheezed heavily and slouched when it finally ended, feeling even more exhausted and dizzy than she felt before. Bellamy's warm hand placed a cloth into her palm, which she accepted and used it to wipe the blood off her mouth and lips. She placed a tentative hand on her chest, muttering an, "Ouch," in response to what just happened.

"Hey, lay back down and rest." Bellamy told her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders to help her lay down.

"Bellamy, I'm scared." She whispered, eyes brimmed with tears.

He shook his head, "Don't be, nothing's gonna to happen to you, okay? I'll make sure of it."

She began to nod slowly, her eyes fluttering shut as she almost instantly fell asleep.

Bellamy watched her sadly, wishing he could do more to help. He cupped her cheek and rubbed his finger across her skin, and then turned her head to the side, so if she coughed again she wouldn't choke.

He was about to remove his hand when Evelynn moved and placed her small hand on his arm, settling her grasp on his wrist keeping his hand on her cheek.

Bellamy ran his thumb over her cheek again, a warm smile on his lips.