Fearless (Bellamy Blake - Book 1)

Chapter 29

Murphy frantically looks around and tries to run—where, I'm not sure—but someone sticks their leg out so he trips, causing him to face plant into the ground. The second Murphy hits the mud a surge of people go forward and kick him repeatedly, yelling and screaming.

This is more than just Murphy killing Wells, these kids have a blood lust.

And I'm here contemplating letting them actually do this.

"Bellamy we have to stop this!" I say to him, pushing past him to move forward.

From where I stand, I can just about make out people tying Murphy up and gagging him, and Clarke trying to stop it. Octavia moves forward to go into the crowd, presumably to try and stop the attack but Bellamy grabs her arm and pulls her back.

"Let him go!" Clarke yells—why, I'm not sure, it was her that wanted to confront him in the first place—but it's no use, the mob pick Murphy up and throw him down into a ditch, everyone cheering as he rolls down into the mud.

I walk around Bellamy and follow the crowd, watching in stunned shock as they fling a rope over a tree branch and tie it around Murphy's neck.

"Stop, you can't do this!" Clarke shouts, walking with the crowd.

I'm too overwhelmed to even try to intervene, I never knew teenagers could be so...ruthless. Besides, even if I did want to stop it, I'm not sure what good it would do.

Clearly Bellamy thinks the same as he stays by my side during the whole thing, observing as he knows he won't be able to put an end to it.

"Back up!" Connor yells and pushes Clarke back, but she puts up a fight against him.

I look up and see Murphy hanging from the tree, a few people placing him on a box so the hanging will be more effective.

"You can stop this!" Clarke cries, shoving Bellamy's chest angrily. "They'll listen to you! Carter, tell him! Do something!" She turns to me and I stand motionless, there's nothing we can do.

Bellamy looks down at me and back up at Murphy, having an internal debate with himself.

"Bellamy!" Connor calls out, "You should do it!" He starts chanting Bellamy's name and soon enough everyone was chanting it.

"Bell-a-my! Bell-a-my!"

"No!" Someone else cries out, Tom I think his name is. "Carter should do it!"

"Car-ter! Car-ter! Car-ter!" A few people chant, patting me on the back like I'm some sort of hero.

Bellamy and I lock eyes as chants of our names are filling the air, mixing together into one loud noise. I look up at Murphy and see him shake his head weakly, silently begging us not to do this.

"I saw you in the woods with Atom." I say to Bellamy, my voice comes out rather quiet compared to the noise around us but I know he can hear me. "You're not a killer."

I swallow thickly and turn to face Murphy. Another face that will haunt me.

I take a step forward but someone places a hand on my arm, and I look up to see Bellamy giving me a knowing look.

"You're not a killer either." Is all he says before manoeuvring around me, walking towards the tree where Murphy hangs.

He's referring to Atom, who I killed as he lay on the ground in pain, but Bellamy doesn't view that as actual murder. But he doesn't know that Atom wasn't the first life taken by my hands, and for some reason, hearing Bellamy say that I'm not a killer, hurts more than it does watching Murphy about to die, because I know those words aren't true.

"Bellamy, don't do this!" Clarke cries.

He glances back at her and walks over to Murphy. Clarke tries to fight him to make him stop, but it's no use, Bellamy kicks the box out from under Murphy's feet and he swings in the air, the rope choking his neck as blood and dirt cling to his face.

Cheers sound from around me and I start to feel my head pound.

"How could you!" Clarke cries, shoving Bellamy's chest.

"This is on you, Princess! You should've kept your mouth shut!" He yells at her and pushes her back, and I can't help but silently agree.

"What the hell are you doing!" I turn to see Finn push his way through the crowd. "Cut him down! Cut him down!"

He makes his way over to us and Connor tries to stop him, putting a knife in front of him. "Get out of my way, get out of my way!"

I'm overwhelmed by everything going on, Connor and Finn are facing off with one another, Bellamy and Clarke are still arguing, and Charlotte is fighting against Octavia.

"Just stop, okay!" Charlotte pushes her way towards us and yells at the top of her voice. "Murphy didn't kill Wells!"

Everyone stops and turns to face her, myself included, the noise quieting as we look at her in confusion.

"Charlotte?" I ask.

"I did!" She shouts.

Oh my god.

Charlotte killed Wells.

Charlotte killed Wells.

My head spins a thousand miles a millisecond as I try to process what she said.

I suddenly don't see twelve-year-old Charlotte standing in the middle of the woods, but instead fourteen-year-old me standing in the middle of my compartment on the Ark. Their situations are different, their reasons unknown, but both girls hold the same terrified look in their eyes.

"Shit." I breathe out barely a second later and before I know it, I'm grabbing Charlotte's hand and running.