Mira Murphy (b.b.) // The 100

21 - A Beginning

My feet ached as I continued to push through the trees, walking blindly as I felt my body grow weaker as the sun bore down on me. There was no way of knowing where anyone was or what had become of the 100 or the people of the Ark who came down. I didn't know where I was going or who I was looking for, and everything was silent around me. The silence was what was getting to me. It was hours of not a single noise other than the occasional groan of pain from myself and the crunching of sticks and leaves under my feet. This meant that any little noise out of the ordinary sent me on edge.

This fear is what kept me moving, constantly searching for other survivors but running from the slightest noise.

I told myself the first day was the hardest, but by the third day on my own I realized I was just trying to convince myself to keep moving. If I just kept moving, they couldn't find me, and if I just kept moving then I could find my people. But when I dashed through a dark patch of trees and heard the faintest sound of running water, I decided to stop against better judgement.

The water turned out to be a river. A really large river that disappeared into the distance. I was weary as I stepped out of the trees, looking in every direction for any obvious signs of life - even though I knew the real dangers were the ones I couldn't see. I almost turned back away from the water, but my vision went blurry from the quick movement: I was dehydrated. I stayed low to the ground as I dashed forward to the riverside.

"God, ow," I sighed as I slipped my boots off to reveal my bleeding and sore feet.

I looked over the edge and was surprised to see my own reflection staring back at me. The water was cleaner than the small stream behind the dropship. My face was stained with blood from the grounder I had killed at the ship to save Bellamy and Finn. I took a deep breath as I dunked my head into the cold water. It was freezing and I gasped as I took my head out and scooped water into my mouth by the handful, laughing as it ran down my neck and chest. I shivered as the water ran down the scar on my chest. I took my time to scrub my arms and hands before just staring into the water waiting for the ripples to settle.

As the rings calmed down, I noticed something off about my reflection. When the water came to a still I realized there was another head staring at my reflection. I froze as I felt the presence of the other person behind me. I didn't have a chance to turn and see who it was as a hand grabbed my hair and forced my hair into the water. I screamed as they held me under the water. I scratched at the hands but their grip never loosened up. Then, suddenly, I was above the water again and being thrown to the side.

I stared up at the grounder above me and the smaller one behind him. One wore an animal skull over their head and the other what looked like a muzzle. They were dressed head to toe in animal fur and leather. The smaller one held a machete in his hand, but as far as I could tell the larger one was weaponless.

"Where laik the others like yu?" The larger one asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to understand. It almost sounded like English but it wasn't. He bent down to my level and I used my feet to push myself back away from him on the ground.

"Emo nou speak our sleng." The smaller one said.

"Skaikru, where are they?" The larger one asked me.

I clamped my mouth shut as I refused to answer. The one bent in front of me smiled as he said something to the one holding the machete before they traded places. The smaller one looked unsure as he held the weapon up to my face.

"Answer em en yu live," he whispered.

Answer him and you live. I filled in the pieces I didn't understand. I leaned close and replied quietly.

"How do you said 'go float yourself'?"

As he stared at me in confusion I kicked him as hard as I could in the nose. I grabbed his weapon as he clamped his hands over his face. The larger one ran forward at me and I hesitated for half a second before driving the blade into his stomach as he wrapped his arms around me. His body went limp against me and I used my knee to push him backwards as I pulled the blade out. The smaller of the two stared at the body as it fell on the ground next to him.

"Nontu?" The boy whispered as the man's eyes went blank.

He stared up at me as he realized I had killed his friend. I felt like I had glued the blade into my hands, the weight of it nearly unnoticeable, but the weight of what I had used it for unbearable. I dropped it onto the ground.

"Please, just leave. Go and I won't follow you," I begged the younger one.

For a minute I thought he was going to turn the other direction and run off into the trees. I hoped he would, I wanted him to. But the look in his eye as he got to his feet told me he wasn't going to. He let out a scream as he ran for me. I ducked below his arm and turned around just before he did, kicking his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground, his head only inches from the riverside. I let out a cry of frustration as I sat on his back, grabbing his mask and throwing it to the side before forcing his head under the water.

It felt like the world disappeared around me as I continued to force it down harder each time his hands struggled to grab me. I held my breath as his body went limp beneath me. I choked back a sob as I pushed myself off of him and as far back away from the body as I could.

Just as I went to stand up, I heard footsteps come out of the trees behind me. I let out a yell as I grabbed the machete and turned around, holding it high in front of me at the person staring at the tip of the blade only inches from their face.

"Mira?"

I lowered the blade as I let out a relieved sigh.

"Tyler."