Who Would've Thought?

Chapter 1: Lost, but Found.

Murphy raced through the trees, leaves rustling as he ran for his life from the Fire Clan, a group of bloodthirsty Grounders that want nothing but his death. Murphy came across a small cave covered by a dense leafy canopy and dove into it. Murphy leaned against the cave wall, desperate to catch his breath and reconsider his decision to chase after Raven. 

Four days ago, Raven had disappeared. Nobody noticed at first, since she had spent most of her time grieving over the loss of Shaw in solidarity. But after four days, Murphy started to get worried. She was his closest friend, surprisingly and after he and Emori broke up, she felt like the perfect person to spend his time with. They both went through endless pain and torture, and they both survived it all. She survived Finn's death, ALIE, a brain disease, endless betrayal, and Shaw's death. Murphy survived being thrown out to fend for himself, being tortured by Grounders, and drowning. After so many years, Murphy began to understand why Raven rarely let her walls down. She's broken, and he was always there to fix her. But this time, she was dying and he had no clue where she was. 

And that's when he heard it. A blood-curdling scream, coming ahead of where he stood. Murphy pulled out the flashlight he stole from Arkadia and made his way deeper into the cave. He walked, and walked, and walked until he finally came across a dim light. He went closer towards it and found himself in a large clearing. And right in front of him was Raven. 

Her hands were bound  to the wall with thick rope, raised above her. She was trapped inside of a large metal cage, but there was nothing inside of it. She had cloth in her mouth, probably to muffle her screams, and she was bruised and bloody. Next to her cage was a bucket filled with water and an iron rod, still red hot from being heated. Murphy's eyes widened, realizing that her captivators had burned her and that was the scream he heard. But as he looked around, he did not see any guards or large, tattooed men at least so he moved closer. Raven stirred from where she was slumped against the wall, eyes slowly opening. Murphy looked around him once again, found that there were no cameras, and carefully ran to her cage. 

Raven stared at him through the tears welling in her eyes. She was so numb that she could barely even feel the pain anymore. It took her a minute to regain focus, but she saw Murphy and immediately became alert and awake. And he stared right back at her, not sure what to do. Should he run while he had the chance? Or stay back and risk his life to save her?