Clarity || John Murphy

Chapter Fifteen - New Beginnings

Jack slapped a hand on Murphy's shoulder, causing him to jump and force his way out of his own thoughts. "I think it's time you meet the rest of the team." He was soon dragged around the fire, and to a small group of people. There were five other people aside from Jack and Murphy, three boys and two girls, all around Jack and Murphy's age.

"This is Adam." He said, gesturing to a boy that looked to possibly be slightly younger than Jack, maybe younger than Murphy. He had black hair that hung in his eyes, which were emerald green. He had tanned skin with a few nearly unnoticeable freckles on his face. He wore a tight black t-shirt that looked like it had had the sleeves ripped right off it, exposing his very muscular arms. He was sharpening a knife with a palm-sized rock, and glanced up to wave slightly at him. "Hey." He said, smiling a little before going back to sharpening the knife, and Murphy gave him a nod in reply. Jack continued on. "He helps Jay with making a lot of the weapons, locks them up in the armory, then guards at night."

"Next is Carson." He was sitting beside Adam, and had pale skin. He had long blond hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail, and blue eyes that almost glowed in the darkness. His fingers were covered in a black tar-like substance, of which Carson looked at with a disgusted look on his face and quickly wiped his hands on his pants. He had been cleaning a black gun with a stained cloth when he looked up at Murphy. "Welcome to the team, Astro." He smiled, and Murphy laughed, shaking his head. He hadn't heard that nickname since he first met Hannah.

"That's James and Lena." Murphy looked to the right of Carson, and saw a girl and a boy. The girl, whom he assumed was Lena, was laying down on the ground, her head in the boy's lap. Her eyes were bright blue, and they almost glowed against the firelight. She was smiling and laughing with a girl beside her, when she noticed Murphy and Jack looking down at them. "Hi! Nice to meet you." She said, before slapping the boy's knee. He had seemed entranced while looking at the stars. "What?!" He saw Murphy. "Oh, hi." He smiled sheepishly. The boy was staring up at the sky, and had bright blue eyes that almost looked like they were a light shade of electric blue. He had very pale skin, it looked like he hadn't stepped out into sunlight since he was born. He had raven black hair that hung in his eyes. "James and Lena are two of the most valuable people in the colony. They have telepathy, and can read each other's minds. It's almost like another form of communication other than radios or walkie-talkies, we can keep them in different groups if we ever go hunting and keep in contact with each other." They both smiled at him, before looking up at the sky again.

"And this is Jane." The last girl was the one who was talking to Lena. She had bright, fiery red hair that went down her back in waves. She had pale skin as well, with freckles dancing over her cheeks. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, and they shone in the firelight. "She guards the armory at night, and can do wonders with nothing but nature and a machete." Jack chuckled, and Jane smirked. "Hiya, Astro." She said, and Murphy saw that she had the machete strapped to her back. Suddenly, Murphy was a little bit more nervous than he had been when he first came over.

Jack turned back to him, smiling slightly. "Hannah and Jack are on the team too. I'm trying to get Eve to join, but- ... Murphy, what's wrong?" He asked.

Jack had seen that Murphy had paled when he said Eve's name, and he also seemed extremely uncomfortable. Murphy glanced at the others nervously, who was staring at him with both worried and confused looks on their faces. Jack grabbed Murphy's arm, taking him from the others. "Alright, something happened between you two. You tell me, and you tell me now." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Murphy stared at him, his mouth opened and then closed again. "It's just... I..." He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. "I told her she can't trust me. And it's true, she can't. I think she has the same feelings. She didn't trust me with her past, and I didn't trust her either. It just won't work."

Jack looked at him silently, before smiling softly. "Murphy, you're wrong."

He frowned. "What?"

He laughed softly, making hand gestures when he spoke. "Murphy, people don't build walls to keep people out, they build them to see who cares enough to break them down. Think about that." He walked off, leaving Murphy standing there in complete awe.

*

Hannah grinned. "It's been great, what about you?"

"Well, it could have been better, but I'm happy for Jack." She smiled.

She nodded. "Yeah," She pointed over at Jack. He was kneeling down to a small boy. He had given him a tiny water gun, and was showing him how to aim using one of the smaller targets in the training ground. "He's really good with kids. That'll help him relate with the people better than Jackson ever did."

Eve grinned. "Yes, it will." She wasn't even bothered by the thought of Jackson anymore, mainly because she had finally come to terms with the fact that she would never see him again.

Eve's eyebrows furrowed when she saw a messenger walk up to Jack with a worried expression on his face. He tapped Jack's shoulder, which made him quickly stand up. The messenger spoke in Jack's ear, and Jack visibly paled, his expression turning to a mixture of worry and surprise.

"What's up with him?" Hannah asked her.

"I have no idea." Eve mumbled, shaking her head.

Jack waved his hand towards the other people on the team, and everyone quickly stood up. Jay and Hannah both stood up as well, and Eve quickly followed them.

Once they were all there, circled around Jack, they were completely silent, everyone but Eve. "What's wrong?" She caught Murphy staring at her silently from beside Jack, but tried her best to ignore it.

Jack sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. "It looks like my first task is going to happen a lot sooner than we thought."

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 Hmmm... Seems Hannah and Jack were trying to be matchmakers in this chapter. ;)

What do you think Jack's "task" is? :3  

Vote and Comment please! ^.^