This is the end of season two! I'm so sad. Season two was amazing to write. I can't really start season three until it finishes, but I'll be posting some tiny bits of what happens in the three months between two and three. I'm also writing a bit in Murphy's POV, whether or not I post it is another story. If you want to reach out, the tumblr is rileyparkerneedstoshutup.
The walk had taken a turn for the worse as the night went on. The three men and one woman that had followed Jaha and us were well, annoying as fuck. Breton and June had gotten so pissed off with them, they had ended up about 30 feet ahead of us, leading the way.
"It'd sure be nice to have some sign that we're not just marching to our own deaths." Richards said, and I was beyond thankful June wasn't within ear shot to hear that.
"We're not." Jaha dismissed, and I couldn't help but to look at him skeptically.
"Hey, tell me if you know this one." Harris started, having made up another crude ass joke. His jokes were the reason June and Breton had distanced themselves from us. It was either they distanced themselves or they killed Harris, and Jaha had told them they couldn't do the latter.
June and Breton were both strong-willed, and even though I bet they were as tired as us, they somehow pushed through.
"Not again, please." Murphy groaned from beside me. We had been walking so close that our arms touched the whole time. It was like there was some magnetic pull, as we always gravitated closer to each other.
"A grounder and a reaper walk into a bar." Harris began, and I started to groan too. "Bartender looks at the grounder and says,'We don't serve your kind here.' The reaper gets up and leaves." Harris finished, and I looked around Murphy to glare at Harris.
"I will take Jaha's staff and beat you to death with it." Murphy hissed, not even bothering to look over at Harris. I couldn't help but snort at that, and our eyes met for a moment before we both continued looking ahead.
"John." Daddy Jaha said scoldingly, like a dad. Jaha was such a dad, it was so annoying.
"Or this one." Harris started again. I groaned again, and I felt Murphy grab my hand and give it a squeeze. "An arker, a grounder, and a mountain man walk into a bar."
"Another fucking bar joke." I whispered under my breath, and from beside my Murphy let out a chuckle.
"Arker says, 'I'll take some moonshine,' Grounder says, 'I'll take some too.' And the mountain man, he says-"
We never got to hear what the Mountain man says. A loud click came from beside us, and suddenly I found Murphy tackling me into the ground away from Harris. Murphy's weight pushed onto me so quickly was near crushing. His arms on either side of me, his chest to my back and one of his legs in-between my legs, as much as I would've normally been okay with all of this, definitely not in a desert, surrounded by you know, people.
I turned my body and looked around Murphy to see where Harris had been. He wasn't there anymore. Well, one of his feet was. He had blown up. I looked at Murphy as he lifted himself away from me to make room for me to turn onto lying on my side and looking up at him. There was blood all over his face and my heart did a scary flop.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, reaching up to wipe the blood from his face.
"No, It's not my blood." Murphy dismissed, shaking his head as he looked over at where Harris had been.
Ew. I had wiped off Harris's blood. There was Harris's blood all over my hand now. Gross. Before I could complain about it, a forearm fell down beside us. I tensed up, but the other woman screeched and started backing herself up until another explosion erupted. She had sat on a land mine, and yet again Murphy pressed his body to mine.
"God damnit." Murphy hissed, his arms wrapping around me as he lifted me from the ground, sitting himself down and pulling me onto his lap, making sure I couldn't move a muscle.
"No one move!" Jaha yelled. "We're in the middle of a minefield."
"Well, anybody else want a sign?" Murphy mumbled sarcastically as he let out another deep breath, resting his chin on my shoulder. It was nice, having Murphy so close to me. Especially because I had been so worried only moments before that he had been hurt. We had found ourself in a freaking minefield, but we were okay.
I looked in front of us to June and Breton, who had crouched on the ground next to each other and were looking back at us in horror. I let out another groan, and turned my head to look at Murphy.
"Are you okay?" Murphy asked as his eyes met mine, concern written in his intense gaze. I looked at his hair and shook my head.
"There's a bit of Harris on your head." I replied, my stomach going uneasy. That was definitely not something I ever wanted to have to say, ever.
"Can you get it off?" Murphy asked, his arms staying around me.
"Can I? Yes. Do I want to? Not really." I admitted, and Murphy rolled his eyes. He was about to let go of me when I reached to his head and grabbed the piece of flesh, tossing it as far as I could. I shuddered, and Murphy held onto me tighter, his head moving closer to mine as he placed a quick kiss on my check.
That definitely made me feel better. His lips lingered on my cheek, and I could feel him smiling, which brought a smile to my face.
"You're okay." Murphy mumbled as he lips slowly left my cheek. I wasn't sure if he was saying that to remind me, or him, but either way it filled me with warmth.
The wind picked up more, and before any of us could even discuss a plan, we all had to cover ourselves. The wind blew the sand everywhere, and we had to keep our eyes and mouth's shut so it wouldn't get inside. Murphy had quickly tossed his hood over his head when It began, before doing the same for me and then wrapping his arms back around me. His chin went back onto my shoulder, and I leaned my head against his, my arms coming up to hold his against me.
We all stayed like that for hours. Too scared to move. We couldn't see, and in a minefield that was kind of a sense that you needed to use to not get blown up. I had found myself nearly falling asleep a few times. Murphy's strong arms were wrapped around me, and even though we were in the middle of a fucking minefield, I had felt safe.
When morning broke I felt Murphy begin to stir under me. I lifted my head up and looked around, finally able to see for the first time in hours. I looked down at our bodies. Our black clothes at turned a tawny brown from all the dirt and sand that had swept over us, becoming almost engrained in our clothes.
"It's clearing up." Richards said from behind us, and I looked to see Jaha was starting to stand.
Murphy's arms stayed around me as he nudged me to start getting up. He kept his arms around me as we both stood up, as if he was too worried that if I had left his arms I would get blown up. And to be fair, we didn't know whether or not their was a land mine next to me or not.
"We have light," Murphy said and I turned my head to look at him to see him glaring at Jaha, "And oh look, June's and Bretons foot prints are gone. Sand, it blows."
"This blows." I remarked as I looked from Murphy to June and Breton.
"Blows big time." Richards groaned.
"Do you see that?" Jaha asked, his eyes set on something in the distance. I followed his gaze to see bright shining lights peaking out from over the next sand dune.
"Guys!" June shouted, having seen what we could see as well. "It's the city of light!"
"We're so close." Jaha whispered. "You wanted a sign? Well, there it is. We have to push forwards."
"What about the mines?" Richards asked, the fear evident in his voice.
"June and Breton got that far without setting one off, there must be a way for us to get to them." I whispered, looking over at my friends sadly. June seemed excited, but also worried about how they would meet up with us. How the hell did those two manage to get so far without tripping one? Talk about light on their feet.
"We were meant to be here, John. Riley." Jaha said, "These landmines are just another test of our faith."
"Yeah well," Murphy huffed, pulling my back closer into his chest, "I was always crap at tests, so uh, please. After you, Chancellor."
"You were only crap at tests because you didn't feel like studying." I remarked, turning my head to look at him and smile.
"And you were always crap at tests because you were too lazy to study." Murphy added, raising a brow as he looked down at me.
"I wouldn't say lazy." I said, "I had just rather have spent time with you than study." A smile broke out on his face. I couldn't help but smile back and rest my head back on his chest.
"I'll lead." Jaha said confidently before yelling, "Breton and June, stay where you are. We will come to you."
"Don't worry," June shouted back, "We weren't really thinking about moving."
I snorted at June's remark, and I felt Murphy bring his head closer to mine, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
I had started to realize that it really didn't matter where you were. As long as you were with your friends, you'd be okay. We were in a fucking minefield and we weren't really even scared. We all had each other and that's all that mattered.
The day only got worse as the sun rose. Murphy had been dead intent on walking in front of me, so I was smack in between Murphy and fucking Richards, Craig leading up the rear. Richards was scared out of his mind and was so afraid he'd trip that every few steps he'd grab my back. I freaking hate it when people touch me, and I was so close to screaming.
"Four down and infinity to go, Jaha." Murphy yelled, really annoyed with how slow we had to walk behind Jaha's steps as he touched the ground with his cane to check for land mines.
"And Richards keeps touching my back." I added as Richards grabbed my shoulder again and I yanked it from his reach.
"Richards," Murphy hissed as he turned his head to glare behind me at Richards, "If you touch Riley one more time I will push you into a mine."
Richards didn't seem to like that idea, and quickly tried to make as much distance as he could from me as Murphy and I took another step forward.
"We can make it, John." Jaha replied confidently.
"I can't do this anymore." Richards whispered behind me, and I looked to see him begin to hyperventilate.
"Calm down egg head." I hissed back at him as Murphy took another step away and I followed.
"Who do you think it is, anyways?" Murphy asked as he looked at Jaha and stopped walking. "They must have power. A shower would be nice right now. Wash off the rest of Harris." I cringed as I grabbed onto one of his shoulders for support.
"Murphy I swear to god I will throw up if you remind me one more time." I whispered to him as I rested my head on his back. The dizziness from dehydration was starting to take its toll.
"No you won't." Murphy dismissed, but then he grabbed my hand that was on his back and gave it a comforting squeeze before putting it back on his shoulder.
"Sienna said it's a place where everyone is welcome." Jaha stated as he felt around again for another mine. We were so close to reaching up with June and Breton. They had sat back down and were watching us like it we were a movie.
"Well, that'd be a first, wouldn't it?" Murphy mumbled. The hurt in his voice hurt my heart.
He had never really been welcome anywhere, except with me. I never understood why, he was always so kind. Well, he was kind to me. He had gotten into fights, but he was protecting me. Maybe it was my fault he wasn't welcome, I don't know. All I knew was that he deserved a place where he was welcome.
The city of light was becoming a place that meant a lot to Murphy. The idea of being accepted, no longer a criminal.
"I'm starting to be kind of glad that guy stole our water." I whispered to him as I lifted my head away from his back and he took another step.
"Why?" Murphy asked as he turned his body slightly to look at me.
"Because if I had drank any water last night I would have to pee so badly right now." I remarked as I looked over at June and Breton. Murphy snorted, and I looked back at him to see him shaking his head and smiling at me.
"I can't take this." Richards whispered between heavy breaths, reminding me of how he was losing it. "They are right there." Richards continued, pointing to the measly 15 feet ahead of us where June and Breton sat.
Before anyone could reply, Richards started to run towards June and Breton. They both jumped up in surprise, and Jaha quickly caught on and chased after him, tackling him. They both ended up on the ground right next to June and Breton, and as the sand moved, I could tell they must've found a land mine right next to them.
"What the fuck are you two doing?" June asked and she hesitantly took a step away from them back to Breton.
"Playing football." I sarcastically shot back, letting go of Murphy's shoulders to jump into Richards footprints. I walked in Richards footprints as Murphy groaned behind me for a moment before following.
"Riley." Murphy hissed as I continued walking in the footsteps, getting closer to June and Breton. "Be careful."
"My plan originally was to nose dive into that mine." I snapped back sarcastically as I pointed to a land mine only a few feet away from me. "But, just for you, I won't."
Richards may have been an egg head who nearly killed all of us by running in a straight line to June and Breton, but he had lead the way for the rest of us. When we all reached them, Jaha glared at Richards before telling him to fall back. Jaha carefully felt the way around Breton and June, and before long we were all back in a line behind Jaha. Breton and June were in front of me, and Murphy behind me. Which was the preferred order for me, because Richards wasn't close enough to touch me and was too scared to place a hand on Murphy.
It took a few more hours to get through the rest of the minefield. The only way we had known we got through it was when Jaha looked at something in a mound of sand and grinned like an idiot. When we walked over to him we looked, and found a sign that said, "WARNING MINES" Which would've been a lot more helpful to have been on the other side of the minefield, but no one asked me.
"Another test, passed." Jaha said, grinning like a creep at the sign. "We made it. Come on." Jaha continued as he whipped around and started running for the dune.
Murphy and I were the first two to actually make it up the dune. This time I stuck close to him as we ran up, making sure to not make any distance just incase there was another crazy man with a knife on the top. There wasn't, but what we had found was debatably worse.
It hadn't been lights. It had been the sun reflecting off of huge solar panels. A shit ton of huge ass solar panels.
"Are you kidding me?" Murphy groaned as the others reached the top. "This is it?"
"I need to sit." I finally spat out, dropping to the ground and just sitting and looking at the damn solar panels. "and cry." I added, but no tears came. I was too mad to cry. Jaha had lead us across a fucking desert for solar panels. Jaha had given Murphy all this hope for a city of light, and we had been given solar panels.
"Well, guess what Jaha. Your enlightened society, it's not a city." Murphy hissed, "It's nothing."
I didn't even want to look at Jaha's face. All I had wanted to do was fight one of those solar panels for tricking us. And then fight Jaha, probably.
"I flew down from space. I defied death. It was all for a reason." Jaha forcefully said, taking a deep breath before muttering, "I has to be."
Jaha quickly started walking down the dune to the Panels, and everyone gave a collective groan before following. I dragged myself up to follow as well, fed up. Once we got to the panels, Jaha kept walking and looking around at them.
"Oh, what a joke." Murphy grunted.
"It doesn't make any sense." Jaha mumbled, and I glared at him. "The rest of the world is broken, but these panels are intact."
He had a point, but no one really wanted to hear it.
"Well we can fix that." Murphy hissed as he reached down and grabbed a rock, chucking it at a panel.
I was surprised with how well he threw it, but before I could express it, a horrifying thing shot up from the middle of the panel, flying towards us.
Murphy quickly jumped in front of me, defending me from whatever the hell it was. I looked around him at the thing in awe as I let out a 'Holy Shit'.
"What the hell is that?" Murphy asked, his eyes not leaving it.
"It's a drone" Jaha said excitedly, and suddenly the drone started to fly away from us in the direction we had been heading. "Don't loose sight of it!" Jaha added as he started running.
"Oh, way ahead of you." I hissed, gently pushing Murphy out of the way and sprinting to follow. I could hear Murphy groan from behind me, but it didn't stop me.
I was pissed as all hell, and chasing after that weird ass drone helped take away all the tension and stress I had been carrying with me.
"Where's it going?" I heard Murphy ask from behind me.
"I don't know." Jaha admitted.
I came to a halt at a beach. A freaking beach. There was a freaking giant ass body of water next to a fucking desert, and to top of the insanity train, there was a boat. We all came to a halt at the boat, in awe.
"We're gonna follow it, in this." Jaha said confidently as he set his feet in the water to get to the boat.
"Tell me," Murphy groaned from beside me, "What level of crazy is too much for you? I'm just curious."
But I couldn't laugh. I couldn't compute anymore when I realized how big the boat was.
"I hate to break it to you Jaha, but that boats only big enough for four people. There's seven of us."
A silence spread through the crowd at my words. Everyone was looking around at each other, trying to figure out exactly what my words meant. We had to split up.
"We need a boat, and a boat appears." Jaha said lividly, "This is our destiny."
"It's four people's destiny." I couldn't help but correct, my heart going into overdrive.
Richards and Craig quickly lunged on the boat, jumping on. Suddenly, three of the spots on the boat had been decided, leaving only enough room for one more person.
There was a long silence between the four of us before I finally turned to Murphy beside me and said, "Murphy, you should go."
I didn't want him to go. I didn't want him to leave us. But he deserved a chance to find the city of light more than the rest of us.
"Are you insane?" Murphy hissed as he looked down at me lividly, "And leave you?"
"I'll be okay." I said, but even I didn't completely believe that. "Someone's got to keep Jaha in line." I tried to joke, but no one laughed. "I'll be safe with June and Breton."
Murphy shook his head, furious. "Riley, no. This isn't how this is going to go down."
"Yes, it is." I hissed at him, my hands flying up and grabbing his shoulders. "And you'll come back for us and it will all be fine."
"Riley." Murphy said desperately as he looked into my eyes. I could see how offended he was by the idea of leaving me, even though I knew he wanted to find the city of light so badly.
"Murphy, please. I don't want to argue about this." I choked out, my grip on his shoulder's tightening, "I'll be okay, I promise."
There was a long silence between the two of us as we stared into each other's eyes. Finally my grip loosened slightly and he grabbed my neck to bring me in for one last kiss. It was quick, and filled with desperation.
Murphy rested his forehead against mine as he finally choked out, "I'll come back for you. I swear, Riley Parker. I will come back for you."
I couldn't help but smile to try to prevent myself from letting out a cry. "I know you will." I let out another deep breath before I added, "Please, be safe."
I felt him nod his head before he lifted his forehead away from mine giving me a kiss on the forehead, letting go of my neck and taking a step away.
He backed up a few steps before looking away and making his way to the boat, helping to push it off. Right before jumping in the boat he looked back at me.
"Riley-" Murphy began, but I cut him off.
"I know. Murphy. I know." I said, nodding my head and trying to keep a straight face. He nodded one last time before jumping into the boat. As they rowed out of distance he looked back one last time, and under my breath I whispered, "We will meet again."
ONE DAY LATER.
I hadn't moved. I sat myself down where Murphy had left me, and didn't move. I couldn't. A whole day went by, staring off at the water.
And he hadn't returned.
June and Breton had grown restless, and I could feel June's eyes on me as I heard her walking back to me, sitting down next to me.
"Riley, I don't-" June began, but I cut her off.
"Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence, June." I hissed back at her, my sights still staying on the water. June let out a deep sigh next to me. "He promised, I know he will come back."
June and I sat in silence for a few moments before she finally whispered, "You can't spend the rest of your life waiting here on this beach."
She was right. I knew she was fucking right and I had wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything. It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and stomped into the ground.
"I can't get up, June." I finally responded, letting out a deep breath as I felt myself begin to hyperventilate.
"We'll give it one more day, and then we have to try to go back." June said, her eyes still on me.
After a few moments I finally managed to nod, and I could see her nod out of the corner of my eye before she got up and walked away.
I don't how I managed to keep it together the whole rest of the day. As the night came, I looked up at the stars. There, up above the damn water was the north fucking star. I heard crunching from behind me again and I felt June set her hand on my shoulder as she sat down next to me again.
"Do you think he knows?" I whispered, my eyes never leaving that damn star, "How much I love him?"
"Yes." June replied, her hand on my shoulder tightening, "I know he knows. And more importantly, I know how much he loves you even more."
Finally I let out a strangled sob, forcing my eyes shut as I felt the waterworks turning back on.
"How could you possibly know that?" I choked out.
"You never saw the looks he gave you when you weren't looking." June responded, her hand letting go of my shoulder as she brought it around to the farther shoulder, resting her arm. "He looked at you like this world would cease to exist if you weren't in it."
"June," I fumbled over my words as I opened my eyes again to look at the water, "I'm so scared. I feel like I'm losing my mind. How could I have let him go? What's happening to me?"
My whole body was shaking, and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. June didn't know what to say anymore. I could tell from her silence that she knew there was nothing she could say that would make this better. I had let him get on a damn boat and leave me, and he wasn't coming back.
My tears stopped when I saw a distant light flashing, and I jumped up so quickly June gasped.
"What's that?" I asked, taking a step into the water to try to see. I could feel the water flooding into my boots, but I didn't care.
"What's what?" June asked, not getting up.
"That light." I whispered. It was coming fast. Too fast. Suddenly the light whizzed over our head, and started down the beach to our left.
I didn't even think. I couldn't compute anymore, and my legs moved on their own accord as I chased after another drone.
"Breton, wake up!" June screamed as I heard her scramble to her feet, about to come after me. "Riley, wait!" June screamed to me, but I didn't slow down. I couldn't stop my legs. I was going to follow this drone until I found Murphy. Even if it meant swimming across the damn ocean.
I had to find him.