Tragedy ✧ John Murphy

• Chapter 19 •

Third Person's POV

Julia coughed up blood onto her hands and that's when Murphy got sick too. He turned away as if to puke, but what came out was just blood.

Clarke came into the drop ship, blood smeared on her cheeks too. Derek and Conner followed her. She stopped and crouched down in front of Julia and Murphy.

"Murphy, hey, look at me. I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the grounders. What happened?" Clarke asked, glancing over at Julia before looking back at Murphy.

"I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off." Murphy answered and Clarke realized something. "They let you go."

That's when Bellamy walked into the drop ship. "Bellamy, stay back." Clarke ordered and Bellamy looked at his sister, noticing the blood on her face and hands in horror.

"Did he do something to you?" Bellamy questioned her and Julia shook her head. It wasn't Murphy's fault, whatever was happening.

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy demanded and Clarke looked back at him. "Biological warfare. You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon."

Clarke helped Murphy sit up against the wall and started inspecting his injuries again as Bellamy paces across the room.

"Is this your revenge, helping the grounders kill us?" Bellamy accused Murphy. "I didn't know about this, okay, I swear. I wouldn't put Julia's life in danger like this if I'd known." Murphy answered, glancing over at the sick girl next to him.

"Stop lying. When are they coming?" Bellamy questioned him. Clarke turned to Murphy with a kinder voice. "Murphy, think, all right? What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?"

"They are vicious, cruel." Murphy answered, shaking his head slightly. Bellamy came a little closer. "You want to see vicious?" He said, threateningly.

"Bell, stop. Please." Julia spoke up, her voice sounding weaker than normal. Bellamy looked at his younger sister's pleading eyes and backed off.

"Julia's right. Whatever this thing is, it spreads through contact." Clarke informed him. That made sense to Julia. She got sick because she was the first one to go to him when they found him, she imagined Conner and Derek were sick because they were the other two that helped him inside, and Clarke had touched him when she checked out his injuries.

"Clarke?" Finn ran into the drop ship, worried. "Finn, you shouldn't be in here. No one should." Clarke told him.

"I heard you were sick. Clarke, what is this?" Finn questioned. "I don't know. Some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before–" Clarke was cut off by Derek's retching across the room.

Clarke stood up and started to go over to him, but Finn went to help. "Hey, don't touch me." Clarke pulled back from Finn. "You could get sick. Wash your hands now."

Derek continued throwing up, but it was blood and it sounded like he was choking on it.

"What's the hell is happening to him?" Finn asked Clarke as Murphy and Julia watched in horror. "I don't know." Clarke answered and suddenly Derek's coughing stopped as he collapsed in the pool of his blood.