The Girl With No Name // the 100 Wattys 2018!!

Twenty-Seven

a/n: This chapter is crap, and I'm not even sorry.

---

Even though Theresa had told Octavia that she didn't want to go back to the campground, she found herself heading in that direction anyway. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had last been anywhere near the campground, but she wanted to know how Jasper was doing -- if he was still alive. She knew that the hope that swelled in her chest was nothing more than a false hope, that it was more likely for him to have succumbed to his injuries rather than make a remarkable recovery. But she ignored that doubt, letting the hope continue to swell in her chest.

When she got to the campground, things were a bit tense, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits. The first thing that she saw was John Murphy sulking around the campground. He had this look in his eye, and from what Theresa could tell, it wasn't good. Jasper could be heard groaning from inside the ruins of the dropship. It worried her to hear him in such pain, but it brought her relief all the same to know that he was alive.

Monty was at the other end of the campground, eating some of the food rations with one of the hundred. They were smiling. Theresa thought about how nice it was to see him smiling again, and she wondered how long it had been since she had seen him smile like that.

She imagined herself standing there with them. She would be next to him, and they would be talking about something good; maybe they were talking about good memories back on the Ark. All she wanted was to be with him, to be close to him again. She could imagine the relief he would feel to know that she was alive, and Theresa was able to feel the feeling of his arms around her again, holding her tighter than he ever had. Tears would run down his face as he would press his lips to hers softly, his hands cupping her face.

At this moment, Theresa felt tears start to well up in her eyes, causing her vision to go blurry. She knew that she would never be able to be close to him as long as Marcus Kane was alive. For now, she was content to watch the boy she loved from far away.

But she still longed to be closer.

---

They stayed in the dropship all night. There were times where Theresa would manage to get some sleep, but for most of the night, she rested her head against the metal walls, staring down at her feet. Murphy slept on the other side of the room, snoring softly. As for Jaha, he sat next to Murphy, sleeping soundly.

When the first rays of sunlight started to shine through, Theresa heard the sound of someone stirring. She looked over her shoulder to see Jaha start to open his eyes. His gaze landed on her, and she was quick to look away, not wanting to start the conversation she knew would have to take place eventually. There was just quiet between them.

Before Theresa could even think of what to say, however, she heard voices come from outside. Murphy shot up as a smile spread over Jaha's lips. Jaha stood up quickly and walked out of the dropship. Murphy and Theresa exchanged glances before following Jaha outside, Murphy quick to grab his things and stuff the gun into the back of his pants. The voices outside came from others that Theresa had seen back at the campground. All of these people looked to Jaha with smiles on their faces and packed bags slung over their shoulders.

"Hey, what the hell is this?" Murphy called out.

Jaha turned to Murphy, smiling at him. "We're going to the City of Light," he replied.

"You're going now?" Murphy asked. "There's a million ways to die out there."

"Well, if it's not your time, then nothing can kill you," Jaha said, acting as if that was a good enough reason to leave right then. "But if it is your time, then it only takes one."

Murphy chuckled softly and shook his head. "Do you even have a map?" he asked, stepping off of the ramp and onto the dirt.

"No."

"Then, how do you know where you're going?" Theresa asked, causing Murphy to turn and look at her from over his shoulder. She limped off of the ramp and stood next to Murphy.

"We don't know, but we will not be ruled by fear," Jaha replied, exchanging glances with some of the people that stood near him. Then, he started to walk towards the two of them as he said, "If you two want to stop being treated like criminals, then you have to stop thinking that that is all you are."

They both stared at him, saying nothing.

"Take this leap of faith with me, and let me show you that there is so much more for you than this," he said softly.

There was a silence between the three of them again before Jaha turned on his heel and started walking away with the group of people that had shown up at the dropship. The two teenagers exchanged glances with each other.

"What should we do?" Theresa asked.

Murphy let out a sigh, looking behind him at the remains of the dropship that must have held so many bad memories. Then, he turned back to Theresa. "I don't know," he replied.

"I can't make that journey," she said, but she wanted to believe that she could. Where would she go if she didn't go to this City of Light? There was no home for her back at the campground. All that was left for her there was an endless life of disappointment. But if she went with Jaha, there was a chance of hope. A new beginning for her; a place where she didn't have to be reminded of her past mistakes.

She wanted Murphy to tell her that they should
go. She wanted to hear Murphy say those words. Because if someone else said them, then she knew that she wouldn't be alone.

Murphy looked at her, then he looked down at her leg, and then he looked back up, meeting her eyes. "Don't see how that's ever stopped you before," he said, before walking ahead and joining Jaha's group.

There was a moment of hesitation, where she looked behind her, wondering if she should
stay put in the dropship or if she should go with Murphy. But the same thought occurred to her, "There is no home for me back at the campground."

Before she knew it, she was walking side-by-side with Murphy, heading for the City of Light.

---

She wanted to kill John Murphy, and this wasn't some metaphorical bullshit. She wanted to wring John Murphy's neck and let him die a slow and painful death.

She hated him. Not because he single-handedly ruined her life, but because he tried to kill her best friend. He tried to kill Jasper Jordan.

If it weren't for Clarke, he would have succeeded, and she hated him for that. She sat in the same spot, watching the campground as she had been -- as she had done before. She wanted nothing more than to storm through those gates and to wrap her hands around his neck, squeezing the life out of his grimy, little, psychopathic body.

She never understood how he managed to get picked to come to Earth. She never knew how he got locked up in the first place. But she knew that he probably deserved it -- almost as much as he deserved to get floated. John Murphy thought of no one but himself, and she was sure of it. He was egotistical, he was selfish, and he was the most self-absorbed person she had ever had the misfortune of knowing, and she hated him. She absolutely despised him. But now that he had tried to kill her best friend, she wanted nothing more than his head on a silver platter.

In that moment, there was no room for forgiveness in her heart -- not for John Murphy, anyway.