I got up and grabbed my bow. I was not going to miss this.
"No," Murphy said the moment he saw me.
"Yes," I replied with a nod. "I'm going. You suck with a spear."
After a little more convincing, he grabbed a gun instead.
Nate had to stay back at camp. He wasn't happy about me going. But he couldn't really stop me.
We were walking for an hour or two before we came across a deer. It was maybe twenty feet away when we saw it. It didn't see us.
I let the arrow fly and it hit perfectly.
The deer went down and Murphy and I ran over.
"Nice," he said, seeing it was dead.
"I know," I said with a smile and a shrug. "See how easy that was. Let's get back to camp."
Murphy slung the gun strap over his shoulder and put the deer on his shoulders.
"Do you need help?" I asked, looking over.
"Do you doubt my strength?" he asked with a smirk.
"Never," I said with a smile.
We hadn't been walking long when I heard a noise.
I stopped and motioned for Murphy to be quiet and stop too.
I looked around but didn't see anyone. That's when a body was pressed to mine and a sword was held to my throat.
I gasped. Murphy looked over and quickly dropped the deer, reaching for the gun.
There was no way for him to shoot the Grounder without potentially hitting me.
"Murphy," I said, straining a little to stay away from the sword. "Shoot him."
"I can't," he said, his voice cracking.
The Grounder was speaking. It wasn't a language I knew though so I was helpless as to understanding what he wanted.
I felt the sword being pulled away slightly. I think he was getting ready to slit my throat.
I brought my hands up and pushed the sword away. At the same time, I rammed my foot into his shin. I heard a sickening crack and he fell down. I twisted out of his grasp and continued to hold his arm, twisting it and making him stab himself. He gasped and I backed away, surprised.
I didn't know I could do that. I should really stop underestimating myself. I can do a lot when my life is in danger.
The Grounder was still alive though. A shot to the head stopped him from reaching me when he lunged. He fell to the ground, dead.
I turned and looked at Murphy with a grateful smile.
Four steps and he was right in front of me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I wrapped mine around his waist. We just stayed like that for a few minutes.
"Come on," he said with a smile. "Let's get back to camp."
"Just a second," I said.
I stepped back and reached for the Grounder. I took the sword out of him and wiped it on his pants. I turned him over and grabbed any weapons I could. He had a bag with him. I took that and loaded the other weapons, a knife and an axe, into it. I slung that over my shoulder, grabbed the sword, and turned to Murphy.
He had the deer on his shoulders again.
"Let's go," I said with a smile.
Suddenly an arrow struck his leg. He went down with a grunt, the deer falling on top of him.
"Murphy," I gasped, clutching the sword and turning.
I was then struck with an arrow. It hit my shoulder, right where the last arrow went.
I groaned and grabbed my shoulder.
"Again?" I muttered. Are you kidding me? Exactly the same spot? What is wrong with these people?
"Cory?" Murphy called, struggling against the deer.
I was then struck in the head from behind. I fell to the ground, facing Murphy.
I blinked a few times, barely staying conscious. Murphy was giving me a helpless look. He was trying to move the deer while not hurting himself more. Safe to say that wasn't working well. Just as my eyes closed, I saw someone knock him out.
I honestly didn't know what was going on. Why did they capture me? Why didn't they kill me? Where they taking Murphy too?
I woke when I was thrown to the ground. My hands were tied so sitting up was really awkward. I groaned when pain shot through my head and my shoulder.
Anya was sitting in a chair in front of me. There were five or six Grounders positioned around the room.
"Do you know how many your bomb killed?" she asked.
Seriously. They kidnapped me to talk about that? And why are we even talking? Don't they usually just kill first and ask questions later?
"You know what? I'm honestly hoping a lot." Some of the Grounders tightened their hold on their weapons. "Sorry. But you threatened to kill us."
"We met, talking about a treaty, and your people shot us."
"Yeah," I breathed. "I honestly don't know much about that. I didn't even know they were coming. But from what I heard…and saw, you had people in the trees, ready to kill Clarke and I. And then you pulled a knife on us."
"You shot first."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "We didn't. Your people sent a spear through my friend." I paused but quickly added, "And I get that we were in your territory. But we didn't know that. You could have tried telling us so that we would know."
"You trespassed on more than one occasion," she said simply.
"Yeah," I breathed. I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to explain that. "Someone was lost. Octavia, the sister of our self-proclaimed leader Bellamy. He would look for her for days, like he's a really good brother. Well we tracked her into your territory. Sorry we couldn't find you guys anywhere but you're not exactly accessible to us. So we found her and then we left." I paused and swallowed. "And then Bellamy came back."
I sighed. I don't know how to convey to her that we aren't the enemy, not really at least. How could I tell her we were just kids trying to survive?
I looked up at her. "We've lived in space our entire lives. We've been told since we could talk, that no one survived, that we were the last of the human race. We didn't know you were here. And the only reason we knew was that you hurt us. Okay? Sadly, normal people fight violence with violence. But we're just trying to survive. I have a mother and a daughter and a best friend up in space still. I want this world to be a better world…for them. I want them to be able to come down and not have to be in the middle of a war or to face the same struggles I've had to. So can't we talk about peace? Forget what I said earlier. I will make sure them listen."
Anya slowly stood up. She looked down at me.
"Peace is no longer an option," she said simply. "We will wipe you out."
I scoffed. That was it? She wasn't even going to listen to me anymore?
"Good luck," I spit. "We're stronger than we look."
She just gave me a look and walked past me, most of the other Grounders following.
"Uh…" I started when Anya got to the entrance. "You just gonna leave me here?"
"What's your people without their strongest fighter?" She left.
"Joke's on you," I yelled. "I'm not the strongest." Since the guns came to camp, I haven't been the best fighter. Guns are way better than knives and arrows but I refuse to hold one.
I laid on my back and took a breath. Time to think.