Hope you're all staying safe! COVID-19 has taken our jobs, our families and our freedom.. But it WON'T take away our joy for reading/writing!
Reviews:
Jasmin:Really happy to read the German Word :) Even if it's just one word, but it made my day. As always great chapter, keep going. And for the wolf's name my suggestion is Warin because it's a derivative from the word protector. In Germany we celebrate Easter tomorrow. So happy Easter for you :)
Answer: Thank you Jasmin! Your review made my day! I thought of you while writing that part so I decided to add a German word because I love the language as well as your constant support for my story. That's an amazing name for the wolf! Happy Easter to you! :)
Chapter 9: Hunters or Hunted?
Murphy's P.O.V (almost 6am):
It was absolutely freezing waking up this morning. The blankets Monty got were beyond thrashed. There weren't a lot of holes in it but the ones that it had were pretty big. I get that they wanted to only take a few things from camp but like.. They coulda got some better blankets. GOD I hate these things. I felt the warmth from Raven's body radiating beside me. I felt like a magnet wanting to just wrap around her but.. The last thing I wanted was her waking up cranky because I crossed a line. I'm making good progress with her and I don't want to ruin it. Progress for what though? I have no clue. I was pretty sure I was the first one up, which wasn't normal, but then again all I could see were Jasper and Monty a few feet from us. Jasper's arm was draped lazily around Monty who looked like he wasn't enjoying the embrace, even in his sleep.
"Please don't have to pee.. Please don't have to pee…" I whispered to myself not wanting to get up into the cold. I stayed there for a bit, laying on my back looking through the towering trees above. I noticed the deeper we got into the forest the less leaves were on the trees. It was foggy which seemed to heighten the woodsy smell of the forest. I love that smell, and I mean it when I say that because I don't love a lot of things. I sighed finally giving in to the inevitable piss fountain I'll be creating in a few seconds. I gently took the blanket off of me and folded my half on Raven. I stood up, one of my knees cracking in the process, and walked off trying to find a good place to do my business. I heard shuffling behind me, remembering that death bear that almost turned me into a Murphy burger. I gripped the revolver in my pocket and slowly turned around. What I saw was.. Basically a bear.. It was Lincoln leaning against a tree carving his knife across a piece of wood.
"Jesus, man! You almost made me piss myself." He raised an eyebrow at that, briefly stopping his carving.
"That would have been amusing." He stated, proceeding to cut slices out of the wood.
"Bite me." I said back and he shifted his eyes up from the wood quickly and glared at me. "You know what?" I said, holding both my fingers up. "Please don't actually bite me." He must have been on the final watch of the night so he didn't get a lot of sleep and I am NOT messing with a sleep deprived grounder. I continued my search for a nice bush or tree to water with my pee. I decided on a log with some green glowing mushrooms coming out of the top of it. Once I was finished I heard something hit the ground in the distance followed by rapid steps. I followed where it came from, gripping my pistol, until I spotted Bellamy sitting on a big rock sticking out of the side of a wall with his arms draped on his thighs, his rifle laying next to him. The wolf that, I guess is a thing now, ran up to him with a stick in its mouth. He bent down and grabbed the stick and threw it far. The wolf instantly bolted after it, regardless of it's injured paw.
"I take it he's growing on you." I started walking up to him and he turned his attention to me with a half smile that disappeared quickly.
"He's a good asset to have. Strong. Fast." The wolf came back, stick in mouth and happy as ever. Bellamy grabbed the stick and threw it again. "Why are you up so early?"
"Had to pee." He nodded and turned his attention back to the foggy forest the wolf disappeared into. I thought this would be a good time to apologize to Bellamy because, truth be told, he's another person I'm simply comfortable around and I need him to trust me. I made my way over to the rock he was sitting on and climbed up dangling my legs over the edge. "Look man. I know 'I'm sorry' won't do much but-"
"I forgive you."
"No let me fini… You do?" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He kept his gaze forward.
"Yes, Murphy. We have a chance at a new life, a new beginning." He turned his stare to me. "I hanged you and you hanged me.. and blew a hole in the dropship.. and killed some of our own people.. and didn't stop Fi-"
"I get it." I said not wanting him to keep listing my wrongs. He smirked and then went back to being serious.
"My point is.. We all have a reason we're here. We all have a reason we want to escape." The wolf came back and Bellamy slouched down to grab the stick. "I won't hold a grudge if you don't." He said as he sat back up.
"Sounds good, man." I said with a smile.
"So I take it you apologized to Raven?" He asked after jumping off the rock. I followed.
"Yeah.. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess." He answered with a cheeky smile after slinging his gun strap over his shoulder. The three of us walked back to the others, who we heard starting to wake up.
"You think of a name for the dog yet?" I asked, glancing at the animal walking next to me.
"It's a wolf.. and no. Not yet."
"Well, he's white.. How about Whitey?"
"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard, possibly in my entire life." Ballamy stated and I half frowned at him.
"Jeez never mind then. I'm sure we'll find a name for him eventually." I said as we made it to the others.
"We should get moving. Hope Tree is the last waypoint we have until we reach the wasteland in about 20 miles." Lincoln stated to everyone. 20 miles didn't sound fun but who cares. That just means I'm 20 miles from the old John Murphy.. and I hate that guy.
Clarke's P.O.V (11:15am):
I looked at my watch. We've been walking for 5 hours now. Thank God it warmed up. It was relatively quiet as we walked. Just the sound of our boots on the ground, the little clack of Ravens brace and the occasional sound of Jasper and Montys voices behind us. Kane, Bellamy and Lincoln were in the front of the pack, Raven, Octavia and I were behind them and then Jasper and Monty after us. I glanced behind them and saw Murphy walking alone, his hands in his jacket pockets and his head turned toward the trees on either side of us. I smiled when I saw the wolf walk up next to him. As if he doesn't want anyone to be alone. Murphy turned to the wolf and actually smiled, not smirked. It was one of those moments, so genuine, that I will remember once I get a pencil and paper in my hands.
"So what's the plan once we get to the wasteland?" Raven asked, breaking the silence.
"That all depends. We might not be the only ones there." I answered truthfully.
"We won't be." Lincoln stated without turning around. "If we are I'll be surprised."
"Alright let's say, by some chance, we are the only one's there. What's the plan then?" Octavia asked.
"Scavenge. We might find some good stuff there." Bellamy answered his sister, taking out the magazine of his rifle. "All I have is 30 rounds. Which, depending on the trouble we get in." He clicked the mag back into the weapon. "Could be gone in seconds. I just hope we can at least find ammo." Lincoln put his hand up, signaling us to stop walking.
"All I'm saying, man, is that if tomatoes are fruit then isn't ketchup technically a smoothie?" Jasper said to Monty, clearly not focusing on what's going on.
"SHHH!" Everyone said in unison making him jump.
"Jeez.. Some people can't take facts.." He said with his hands up.
"Can I please kill him?" Murphy asked.
"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Octavia loudly whispered then looked at Lincoln, who looked like he was listening for something. He slowly walked up ahead while we stayed back. He quickly ducked and crouch-ran back to us.
"Get to the trees and lay down." He stated grabbing Octavia's hand and doing just that. I followed the order and ran into the trees but on the opposite side of O and Lincoln. I laid down on my stomach and lifted my head up to see just what we were hiding from. I heard shuffling and looked to my right to see Bellamy with his arms around the wolf so he doesn't attack. After about 5 minutes I heard loud stomps on the path we were just on.
"Another bear?" I whispered to Bell.
"I'm not sure." He moved his head slightly to get a better view and his eyes went wide. "Nope." Was all he said. I followed his glance and looked past a few branches when I saw them. An army. I'm not sure who they were. "Looks like a Grounder Kru of some sort." He whispered. The wolf made a low growl sound from the back of his throat. Bellamy calmly shushed him. I noticed some of the ones that were on horses were wearing red and white war paint. One of them was holding something.. A piece of paper. I reached over and, without asking, grabbed Bellamy's rifle that was laying next to him and looked through the scope. Then my heart felt like it dropped.. It was a drawing of Raven. I let out a quiet gasp. There was another one of them with another drawing. This one of Kane. I spotted more and more drawings of our group in their hands. All but Murphy. I had to calm down so I didn't freak out. After a bit of time they were almost past. There were two members in the back holding flags. I took note of the look of them. White with a black hand in the center and in the palm of the hand there was a sort of swirl. After some more time, I saw Lincoln from across the path slowly get up and stealthily walked to peek if it was clear. He fully walked out of his spot.
"It's clear." He stated and we all emerged from the trees and regrouped.
"Who were they?" I asked once I made it to him.
"Azgeda… Ice Nation." He said, glaring at the direction they went.
"Some more of your.. Wonderful friends?" Murphy asked with a sarcastic tone.
"Far from. Their queen killed Lexa's lover thinking she knew all of Lexa's secrets." I clenched my fists at the thought of Lexa loving someone who isn't me. I know that sounds selfish to say, but I trusted her. Then she betrayed me. Just like Finn.
"So what are they doing now?" Monty asked.
"Hunting." He answered simply.
"For food?"
"No." I said, looking where they went. "For us."
"What?" Kane asked.
"I saw them holding papers… They were drawings of us."
"It would make sense." Lincoln stated. "The only time I have ever saw them send that many fighters was when they were looking for Costia. Lexa's lover."
"Why would they be after us?" Monty asked.
"Let's hope we don't have to find out. C'mon, we should keep moving."
The whole walk all I could think about was why Azgeda would be after us. Could they have found out about Lexa and I's kiss and think it was more than just that? Was it more than just that? Who cares, she betrayed me and I can say, without a doubt, that I do not have feelings for her. I can't after what she did. Either way, they could be after all my friends because of me. I won't jump to that conclusion just yet but it's a possibility. Just more reason to watch over my friends.
Bellamy's P.O.V (almost 1 pm)
Walking in silence never used to bother me. It's actually a good thing because then it's harder for enemies to pick up on your location. In this case, however, it's strange. I have these people that have been through hell and back with me. They are my friends. Their lives matter so much to me that it's scary. Kane still might take some time for me to like. The way he just stood there after pushing the button that launched my mother out into space. The look on his face made it seem like he felt he just saved humanity by floating a woman who only had an extra child. I noticed that ahead of us was a clearing. The forest was ending. The trees around us were stripped of their leaves. My thoughts were broken by Lincoln.
"Hold." He held his hand up and everyone stopped. "Bellamy, Clarke, Murphy. Come with me to scout while the rest of you stay here."
"I'll come too." Octavia stated. He put his hands on her shoulders.
"No you stay here. Extra protection for the others."
"Seriously? Murphy can go but I have to stay?"
"He's.. 'expendable' as you say." He said quietly
"Guys.. I am right here you know." Murphy stated loudly, with a hand in the air.
"Fine." Octavia said with a sigh.
"What should we do if we hear gunfire?" Kane asked.
"If we're not back in three hours, find a way around the wasteland." Clarke said, taking off her father's watch and handing it to Monty. It probably wasn't easy to part with the only thing she has left of her father but these people are our priority now.
"I'll take good care of it." Monty stated, cupping the watch in his hands. She gave a smile and nod before thanking him. I went over to the guys, who were dropping their packs off in case something happened to us. Before leaving Lincoln whistled for the wolf to follow and the five of us walked on, crossing the line between forest and desert. It was a strange feeling walking on ground that slides with every step you take and it didn't have the same calming sounds that the forest has. Our footsteps were almost silent. Almost. It was pleasant that there was no wind whipping up the sand in our faces, however.
"I've been thinking of a name for the wolf." Clarke said knocking me back into reality.
"Have you now?" I said looking over to her with a smile. It felt like a while since we spoke to each other. "Well let's hear it."
"Warin. It's a German word I learned from a book I read on the Ark." She said proudly.
"That sounds really good. What does it mean?" I asked.
"It's based on the word protector."
"It's perfect." I smiled at her and then turned to Warin walking next to me.
"Thanks." She said with her beautiful smile. "So, where did you and Murphy go off to this morning?" I was about to answer but was interrupted by Murphy.
"To do guy things, Princess. Ever heard of em?"
"I think so." She stated with a playful, sly, smile which made my heart skip.
"You do huh? This'll be good." Murphy said, crossing his arms as he walked.
"Well I don't know exactly. All I know for sure is it was probably dangerous and stupid.. And maybe disgusting"
"Heeeey" Murphy and I said in unison, making Clarke giggle.
"We're here." Lincoln said from on top of a sand dune in front of us. We quickly climbed up. The sand was trying to pull us back down with every step we took but we eventually made it to the top and looked down on the wasteland. It really was just that. A wasteland. A community of, what's left of, houses and stores. It looks as if it were a happy small-town before the bombs. There weren't a lot of structures but it was enough to still excite me for what we might find. It was split up into two sections: the residential area, where the houses and condominiums were, and the downtown area, where the shops and necessities were. There were a few buildings in relatively good shape, those are the ones that I wanted to scavenge first. I moved forward to make my way down the dune and to the wasteland but I was stopped by Lincoln grabbing my arm.
"Not yet. First we scout."
"Why not scout down there?" I asked, ripping my arm from his grasp. "Isn't that why we went first?"
"Well that's why you went first. I went because I'm 'expendable'." Murphy said.
"I agree with Bellamy. With all respect to your knowledge, Lincoln.. We don't have much cover out here and I've seen how grounders are with spears and arrows." Clarke stated and I cracked a half smile in her direction.
"And these weapons aren't really made for this type of long range." I added holding up my rifle and motioning to the revolver in Murphy's hand. Lincoln looked at us then at the wasteland.
"Alright. Let's go. Stay close." And with that we were off, walking down the dune to the wasteland. What will we find there? I have no clue. I just hope to God that there isn't anyone waiting for us down there.
Little bit of a slower chapter today but the next chapter will be FULL of action and fluff! Stay tuned :)