The sound of crinkling tents and gruff shouts woke Murphy up significantly earlier than he had hoped.
"What the hell's going on?" He shouted at the first person he saw outside.
"We're finally moving into bunks," the man replied excitedly, "you better pack up your things."
People had been moving inside the Ark's wreckage incrementally over the past couple of weeks. Murphy had watched them all be greeted by warmth while he froze his ass of every night.
Of course Murphy was one of the last people to be moved inside and he wasted no time packing up his few personal belongings before heading inside the Ark.
It was still cold, but it was a step up from his tarp, which provided little to no protection from the harsh winter gusts.
He made his way down the hall to the door he was assigned to him, and to his surprise two guys were already settled in the room.
It was Lucas and Wade, 2 guys from the 100, and not even Murphy's fur lined jacket could protect him from the coldness in their glares.
"No way in hell," exclaimed Wade as Murphy sauntered through doorway.
"I was expecting a warmer welcome but I'll take it," said Murphy sarcastically as he threw his stuff onto the last empty cot.
"Dammit, of course we get a room with a psychopath," Wade spat the insult at Murphy, who sighed at his predictable insult.
"Don't bother me too much or I might smother you in your sleep," Murphy fired back at the guys with his best psychotic grin.
Lucas cowered at the threat but Wade stood up from his cot with a scowl contorting his features.
"Relax Wade," Murphy sighed, "If you keep to yourself I'll keep to mine."
"You better fucking keep to yourself," growled Wade. Murphy finally realized his muscular build as a threat and turned away from the attacker.
"Keep to yourself, Murphy," continued Wade to Murphy's back, "You touch your half of the room and that's it."
Murphy began laying his things out on the cot, ignoring the brutish figure behind him.
"You hear me?" Wade hissed in Murphy's ear, but he kept going through his things like nothing was happening.
"You hear me?" Wade shouted, pushing Murphy's shoulder for emphasis.
"Watch it!" Murphy replied and returned the push with an aggravated force.
Needless to say, Murphy was thrown out of the room with a bloody lip in a matter of minutes, just in time for Kane to walk by.
"Maybe a single is a better fit for you," Kane inquired upon seeing the pitiful boy sprawled on the ground.
Murphy stood and followed Kane down to the end of the corridor where a small grey door titled STORAGE waited for him.
"This one is still empty," said Kane as he opened the door, "It's a bit… cozy, but it will work."
Cozy was an overstatement; the room had barely enough space for the cot and metal table that sat in it and it was about as bleak as a prison cell.
"This is just a closet with a bed in it," Murphy observed.
"It is technically," Kane nodded, and paused for a moment to give that silent, all-powerful, chancellor stare that he Murphy.
"Try to stay out of trouble John," Kane said finally.
"I try, but trouble seems to everywhere."
What Kane did next shocked Murphy; his lips curled every so slightly into an amused smile.
"You're welcome, John," he said before turning back down the hall.
Murphy changed without feeling wind in places it shouldn't be, and he finally felt grateful to be inside. Murphy felt quite at ease in the room as he reclined on the cot, maybe it was because the room was so much like a prison cell and he did spend most of his adolescence in lock up.
Not even five minutes had passed when Murphy's peace was rudely interrupted.
A girl he recognized from around the campsite stood in his doorway with her arms folded. And gaze fixated on him. Her skin must've naturally been tan, and her light brown hair was falling loose from a single braid.
She had an air of wiseness to her, and her eyes glimmered mischievously as they traced him.
"What the hell do you want," Murphy groaned as he sat up from his cot.
"Just looking around," she replied while entering his room, even though his statement was far from an invitation. "I'm in the single across the hall," she continued, "guess were neighbors."
"It's not really neighborly to barge into someone's room," Murphy complained.
"Am I barging?" the girl inquired sarcastically as she sat on the metal table, "Well, it's not like you're doing anything anyway."
Murphy clenched his jaw while he stared at her. She returned the look with even more intensity before breaking the silence.
"You're Murphy right?"
"It would seem so," he replied.
"I'm Grey," she smiled answering his unspoken question.
"Like the color?" Murphy asked.
"No, like the President."
"There's no President named Grey."
"Exactly," she gave him that mischievous look again, and for the first time since snow fell Murphy smiled, but he coughed it away into his fist.
"It's remarkably dull in here," Grey observed as she stood.
"Isn't everything," Murphy muttered, mostly to himself. This time Grey grinned, before disappearing across the hall. She returned quickly, clutching a piece of charcoal.
"What's that for?" Murphy asked.
"Decorating." There were the mischievous eyes again.
Grey moved to the wall and wrote swiftly in perfect cursive-
Where thou art, that is home.
Murphy stood in awe for a moment, wondering why this girl was welcoming him like this, or even noticing him at all.
"That's nice, actually," Murphy said trying to hide the sincerity in his voice, "but why are you doing this, I mean I'm just a stranger to you."
"Because everyone deserves some comfort," she smiled sympathetically, "And were both the only two people and single bunks so we probably won't be strangers for long." She continued after seeing Murphy's confused look, "I mean were both outcasts here, might as well stick together." She held out the charcoal for him and he took it, but he couldn't take the look of shock of his face.
No one was kind to him out of the blue, no one ever made an effort to be more than strangers with him. Murphy had been ignorant to kindness for so long that he forget what it even felt like or how much he needed it.
"See ya around," Grey smiled as she closed the door.
Murphy just looked at her and examined the dark charcoal that was now staining his fingers.
He got up and wrote quickly on the back of the door-
What is love? Tis not hereafter,
Present mirth hath present laughter,
What's to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
So come kiss me, sweet and twenty,
Youth's a stuff we'll not endure.
The verses were already etched into his memory like the freckles on the back of his hand or the names of all the Ark's chancellors. He knew he would never forget the verse, but having it their comforted him more than he could quantify.
His thoughts kept wandering back to Grey that night, Murphy really does hope to see her around.