v. jumping to conclusions
murphy's law

A WEEK PASSED since the incident with the poisonous fog that enveloped the entire camp and surrounding woods. The same fog that killed a member of the hunting party that left the same day. Atom. Sawyer demanded to know what happened, questioning Bellamy about every aspect of their time together until the fog separated them. She came to conclusion that it had just been a horrible accident, one that lead to another death on the ground.

Unfortunately, Atom had not been the only person to meet their ultimately fate. Wells was killed outside of the wall. A deep stab wound to the throat seemed to be what ended his life, while a few of his fingers were missing as well. Sawyer and Bellamy figured that the Grounders had finally made an appearance, beginning to take them out one by one.

After the discovery of the boy's body, Sawyer proclaimed that no one was to leave the camp without special permission. Hunting parties were established and regulated, as were the groups that scrounged up berries, nuts, and water, even patrols along the camp's perimeter had been created. She wanted to make sure that no one else died on her watch. Not if she could help it.

Sawyer also did not let up on her intended punishment for Murphy. The stunt he pulled with trying to kill Jasper had not been forgotten in the following chaos. She made it her mission to make his life a living hell until she saw it fit that he learned his lesson. Although, Sawyer had known Murphy for a long time and knew that he did not take well to orders.

"This section should be finished by tomorrow." Murphy told Sawyer when she asked him about the progress of the perimeter fence. They stood next to the logs stacked on top of each other to create the camp's barrier as the boy motioned to where some of the juveniles secured the pieces together.

Sawyer nodded. "Okay." She turned to leave without another word until she heard him speak up.

"That's all you're going to say? Okay?" Murphy questioned.

Sawyer faced him with a expression blank. "Yes. Until you learn that you can't just go around killing people whenever you please, that's all I'm going to say to you when we have these little checkups. I told you not to test me, Murphy," she stressed the use of his last name and pivoted on her heel to stride off into the camp.

Sawyer scanned the area for any sign of the pale hair of Clarke Griffin. Surprisingly, Sawyer and Clarke came to an understanding when the Ark Princess returned with the vital plant that saved Jasper's life. They were not enemies, until like her and Bellamy, the two of them wanted the same thing. For everyone to survive.

In light of their new relationship, Sawyer learned over the last few days that the girl had been close to Wells in the past. After the death of her father and her imprisonment, their friendship dwindled into nothing but hatred on Clarke's end. That was, until she figured out the truth behind everything that happened ten months ago.

Sawyer lifted her hands to pull up her dark hair into a ponytail on the back of her head. She used the worn hair tie on her wrist to hold the unruly strands off her neck as she made her way toward the dropship. She dropped her hands to her sides when she spotted Clarke on the lowered door of the massive structure. The girl appeared calmer than she had been in the last week, which was a bit promising, considering she camped out at Wells's grave at all hours.

"Hey," Sawyer voiced when she got closer to the blonde.

Clarke turned to her, releasing a long breath. "Monty now has a working wristband, so we'll be able to contact the Ark soon."

Sawyer's brows raised at the new information. "Really? Where'd he get one of those? Nobody else has been willing to part with there's since they learned about the Ark dying." She then noticed of the lack of bunching around the blonde's sleeve covered wrist. "You didn't?"

Clarke sighed. "Don't. I heard enough from Finn." She stepped forward to continued down the lowered hatch.

"I was just going to say it was ballsy," Sawyer called after the Griffin girl. "Your mom's probably having full-blown meltdown up there."

"Her thinking I'm dead is only temporary," Clarke stated as they made their way through the camp. "They're running out of air, and we need their help. Monty says that we'll be talking with the Ark by nightfall."

Sawyer nodded, shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jumpsuit. "Ah, a little psychological torture. I like it." She gave the blonde mocking grin.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "You know you sound like a psychopath when you talk like that."

Sawyer laughed. "Oh, I know. Keeps everyone on their toes when they don't know if I'm kidding or actually being serious."

"Sawyer! Sawyer!"

Sawyer turned at the sound her name being called behind her. She found Octavia racing toward her, a dirty cloth clutched in her hand. Jasper chased after her, his cheeks flushed and eyes wide. Sawyer's concern ramped up to a level then at the sight of them. "Whoa, whoa, slow down," she voiced when Octavia nearly barreled into her. "What's going on?"

Octavia breathed heavily, raising the cloth that she held in her right hand. "I don't think you're going to like this." She handed the item over to the girl in front of her.

Sawyer carefully took hold of the cloth, which seemed to hold a few things inside. She held it out across both hands, peeling back the edges to find two, dark severed fingers and a handcrafted blade. She looked up and gave the Blake girl a curt nod. "You're right. I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

_______

It took only a few minutes for Sawyer, Clarke, Octavia, Jasper, and Bellamy to convene in the tent reserved for planning hunting and gathering excursions and patrol rotations around the camp's perimeter. The severed fingers were kept on the cloth placed in the center of their makeshift table for them all to see. Sawyer recognized that they were Wells, as did Clarke.

"This knife was made of metal from the dropship," Clarke stated, examining the blade in her hands.

Octavia's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Sawyer ignored her questions and asked one of her own. "Does anyone else know about this?" She glanced between the Blake girl and Jasper, who looked beyond mortified.

Octavia shook her head. "No one. We brought it straight here.

"Clarke?" Bellamy asked the Griffin girl.

Clarke stared at the blade in her hand for a long moment, before she looked up to the people that stared at her. "It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells. It was one of us."

"So, there's a murderer in camp?" Octavia inquired.

"Of course there is," Sawyer voiced, crossing her arms over her chest. "About a quarter of them are murderers. But we can't go around accusing anyone just yet."

Bellamy nodded along with her words. "Sawyer's right. We need to keep it quiet."

Sawyer turned to the man in slight shock. "Did you just agree with me?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes and kept his attention on the Ark Princess with the blade in her hand. Sawyer did the same, setting her gaze back on the blonde. She knew that the subject of Wells death was still sore, and with the new information that it was one of their own that killed him, the girl was bound to snap.

As if Sawyer had spoke her thoughts aloud, Clarke made a move for the closed flap of the tent. Bellamy immediately intercepted her path. "Get out of my way, Bellamy," she told him in a stern tone.

"Clarke, be smart about this," Bellamy said. "Look at what we've achieved – the wall, the patrols. Like it or not, thinking the the Grounders killed Wells is good for us."

Sawyer stepped forward with her hands raised. "Hold on," she said, drawing their eyes to her. "We're not keeping this a secret from everyone. I'm saying to not be going around spitting out that someone's been murdered in the last week. You'll spook them."

Bellamy turned his gaze to the Wesley girl. "Fear of the Grounders is building that wall of yours. And besides, what are you gonna do – just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? Neither of you know whose knife that is." He gestured to the blade still in the blonde's hand.

Sawyer scoffed. "No. I have a way to figure out who it is. It worked up on the Ark when someone turned a few of us to the guards. It'll work now."

"J.M.," Clarke sneered as she showed the two others the initials engraved on the side of the blade. "John Murphy. The people have a right to know."

Before Sawyer could say another word, Clarke knocked her arm into Bellamy as she passed him on her way out through the tent flap. Sawyer spun on her heel and chased after the blonde. She watched Clarke storm over two where Murphy was supposed to be working on the wall, but he stood back and acted more as supervisor than anything.

"You son of a bitch!" Clarke barreled into the boy, shoving him away from her by a few feet.

Murphy snapped toward her with a heated glare. "What's your problem?"

Clarke raised the blade still held in her hand for him to see. "Recognize this?"

Murphy stared at it until the realization flashed over his eyes. "It's my knife. Where'd you find it?" he questioned, reaching out to snatch the weapon from Clarke, but she pulled back so he could not grab it.

"Where you dropped it – after you killed Wells."

Sawyer sighed when she stopped at the edge of the small circle the two had created in the center of camp. Bellamy, Octavia, and Jasper followed her out of the tent and stood next to her as she watched the scene unfold. Other delinquents began to gather around them, curious to hear what the Ark Princess had to say.

Murphy stared at the blonde in disbelief. "Where I what?" he scoffed. "The Grounders killed Wells, not me."

"I know what you did, and you're gonna pay for it," Clarke exclaimed.

Murphy huffed. "Really?" He turned to where the Wesley girl stood at the edge of the chaos. "Sawyer, you really believe this crap?"

Sawyer crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the boy. If she were being honest with herself, she had no idea if Murphy were lying or telling the truth. Months ago, Sawyer would have told Clarke that she was full of shit. Murphy would have never even thought about murdering someone, unless it were the guards or Jaha. But now, she did not know what he was capable of.

Sawyer did not get the chance to reply, before Clarke continued with her verbal assault. "You threatened to kill him. We all heard you!" She indicated to the growing crowd around them and then turned back to face him. "You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells," Murphy countered. "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, I didn't kill him then, either."

"Tried to kill Jasper, too," Octavia added from where she placed herself in between Bellamy and Sawyer. Her words caused Jasper's eyes to widen, not knowing what had gone on when he was unconscious.

Murphy whirled toward her, but he seemed more exasperated by the entire ordeal than frightened, or even remorseful. "Come on. This is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone!" he shouted to everyone that gathered around him.

Sawyer raised a single brow and stepped forward. "Excuse me?"

Murphy turned to the Wesley girl, a somewhat serious expression on his face. "Sawyer, look, I'm telling you. I didn't do this."

Sawyer studied him, but she could not decipher if he was telling the truth. And as much as she wanted to believe him, she was unable to muster the feeling. "Your knife was found near where Wells was killed. They found his fingers. Give me a reason to believe you."

Murphy opened his mouth to speak, but Clarke beat him to the punch. "Is this the kind of society that we want?" she called out to the delinquents. "A place where we can kill each other without – without punishment?"

Sawyer held up her hands, stepping forward to place herself front and center next to Murphy and Clarke. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. There will be a punishment, but only when it is proven that John actually killed him," she said to the Ark Princess.

Clarke's gaze narrowed, while Murphy tried to exclaim his innocence. "I already told you. I didn't kill anyone."

Sawyer shifted her stare to her friend. "Prove it, John."

"I say we float him." Another boy, Conner, stepped away from the massive crowd to speak.

A chorus of "yeahs" filled the air, chilling the Wesley girl to the core.

"That's –that's not what I'm saying," Clarke tried to reason with them, but the delinquents were already turned to the idea.

"Why not?" Conner inquired, a thirst for blood seen in his eyes. "He deserves to float. It's justice!"

Sawyer moved to stand in front of him. "Hell no, it isn't. Innocent until proven guilty. Our ancestors went by that for hundreds of years."

"Yeah, and look where that got them," Conner shot back, before he turned back to the delinquents. "It's justice! Float him!"

Almost every one of the juveniles began to chant around them, agreeing with Conner's declaration. Sawyer shifted her attention to Murphy. His eyes had gone wide, staring back into her own that were the same size. She mouthed for him to run, and he did not hesitate.

Murphy spun on his heel and made a move to flee from the scene, but the dense grouping of the delinquents prevented him from doing so. He almost made it to the edge of the small clearing that he and Clarke created, before someone tripped him to the ground. As soon as his body hit the dirt, the juveniles surged forward and began to punch and kick at his sides and legs and face.

"No! No! Stop! Stop it!" Sawyer screamed at them. "Get off of him!" She rushed forward to shove her way through the mass of bodies, only to be shoved back harshly by a larger boy. She grunted, staying on her feet to try to reach Murphy, again.

Sawyer heard Clarke shout in the same fashion, also attempting to make her way to the boy. The brunette followed the crowd that persisted to beat and batter Murphy. She caught a glimpse of him when the masses moved. Someone wrapped a cloth around his mouth, wrists, and ankles. Sawyer yelled for them to stop, but they ignored her and pushed a bound Murphy backward down a hill. He tumbled over the muddy land and landed in a puddle of water from the recent rain at the bottom.

"No! You can't do this! This is not who we are! Stop!" Sawyer shouted, somehow managing to shove her way through the crowd, before she froze in horror. Murphy had a red strap, one that looked to be one of the many seatbelts from the dropship, around his neck as he was being hoisted off the ground to rest on a box below him. "NO!" Sawyer tried her hardest to reach him until someone grabbed ahold of her and shoved her back, causing her to fall into the mud.

Sawyer pushed herself up, finding Clarke and Bellamy next to her in the chaos. She turned to them and found that many of the delinquents were glancing at the eldest Blake, as if they were waiting for something. "You," she sneered, drawing his eyes to her as she stomped toward him. "You turned them! You planted doubt in their heads and made them think no rules was the best way."

Bellamy's lips parted to reply, but he failed to do so when someone shouted from the front of the crowd.

"Bellamy!" Conner yelled over the loud shouting and screams. "You should do it!" The delinquents began to chant the eldest Blake's name, over and over again with more enthusiasm than the last.

Sawyer kept her stare planted on the young man before her. "No. No, Bellamy, you have to stop this. You can't let them kill him!"

"I saw you in the wood with Atom," Clarke spoke, pulling his gaze to her. "I know you're not a killer."

Just when it seemed like the two girls had broken through to him, Bellamy pushed passed them and made his way to the front of the crowd. To Murphy.

"Don't –don't do this," Sawyer was cut off by someone stepping in her path, stopping her from stopping the young man. "Bellamy!"

"You can't do this, Bellamy!" Clarke shouted.

Bellamy ignored their pleas, or just could not hear them over the roar of the bloodthirsty juveniles. He moved next to Conner, who stood next to Murphy, gagging and squirming to get free. He waited a moment, looking back to Sawyer and Clarke, before he pulled his leg back and kicked the box out from underneath Murphy.

"NO!" Sawyer screamed at the sight of Murphy dropping like a stone, chocking and trying to draw in a breath of air, but the tight noose around his neck prevented him. "Bellamy, no!"

"No, Bellamy, no!" Clarke yelled as the two of them met the young man halfway through the crowd. "How could you?!"

Bellamy glared down at the blonde. "This is on you, princess. You should've kept your mouth shut."

The delinquents shrieked and raved about their accomplishment. They watched Murphy struggle to escape, knowing that soon he would fall unconscious, before he eventually suffocated to death.

Sawyer heard Finn shouting from the back of the crowd. He tried to push his way through them, failing just like the two girls. The three of them continued to get someone to cut Murphy down, but no one was willing. They all wanted to watch him die.

"Stop! Okay?" a small feminine voice cried from the center of the mass of bodies. "Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did!"

Sawyer whirled around to find a young blonde girl, possibly thirteen years old, to be the culprit of the voice. Her eyes widened, but she decided that the girl could wait. While the crowd was distracted by the confession, Sawyer rushed over to where Murphy still dangled from a tree by his neck. She swiped a discarded axe from the ground that someone must have picked up on the way and raised it to the red rope that was secured around the truck. She arced the sharp blade toward it, severing it into and allowing Murphy to drop to the ground.

Sawyer tossed the axe aside and moved over to the boy's fallen body. She quickly removed the noose from around his neck, before she pulled the cloth away from his mouth and untied his hands and ankles. Once Murphy was breathing again, she looked back to where the little girl, Charlotte, she remembered, stood and found that she was being escorted through the delinquents and away from the scene by Bellamy, Clarke, and Finn. She ground her teeth together, pushing herself to her feet to hurry after them.

Someone was going to pay for this.

<August 7, 2019>

Like, I hate Charlotte so damn much! Which is odd, considering I love my murder child, Madi. Maybe it's because she killed Wells. I don't know.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.