NINE.
❝okay, so, i'm seventeen years old, you're the last best thing i got going but then the special secret sickness starts to eat through you. what am i supposed to do?❞
Layla left Jaha and A.L.I.E. and found her way back to the room Murphy had been laying in. She placed a glass of water and an apple on the side table and took a seat across from him. He looked peaceful despite the fact he had just passed out.
Layla pushed the hair out from his eyes and left the room. She wandered around the mansion by herself. It was unsettling to her that the place seemed unlived in. It was huge, built perfectly for a family, but it was empty of any life.
Layla turned around when she heard yelling. She stepped back into the hall to see Jaha was no longer meditating and Murphy was no longer unconscious. He had the apple she had given him curled around his fist and tossed it towards A.L.I.E. It went right through her, hitting the wall behind her with a bang.
"I could have eaten that." Layla mumbled, crossing her arms.
Murphy only stopped to flash Layla a glare before turning back to A.L.I.E. to aim his anger her way.
"You know she's the one who set off the bombs that ended the world, right?"
A.L.I.E did not seemed fazed by Murphy's accusations, she just crossed her arms and gave him a blank stare. Jaha was the one to explain.
"She did not end the world. She saved it."
All Murphy waking up did was make Layla more confused and flustered. She had come all this way to find the City of Light, it had been what all her struggle was for, and without it she had struggled for absolutely nothing. But on the other hand, it all seemed too good to be true. Swallowing a chip and then suddenly life becoming perfect seemed unlikely, and Murphy had furthered her concerns by being completely against the idea.
They sat at either end of the couch, Murphy had his head in his hands, crouched over. Layla scouted closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Slowly, he leaned back up, taking a long look at her.
"You didn't watch those videos," he said suddenly. "I did. A.L.I.E. is not who Jaha thinks."
Layla nodded. "I don't doubt you, Murphy. I trust you, more than Jaha or A.L.I.E."
"The City of Light isn't going to be some cure-all solution. I know there's going to be consequences. I know what A.L.I.E. is capable of."
She gave Murphy's shoulder a tight squeeze. "Then we don't take the chip. Simple. We'll get through this together."
"Yeah?" He said, giving her a smile that only lasted a second.
"Yeah," she replied. "We've made it this far, haven't we? We're a good team."
"I guess we are."
Layla dragged Murphy off to the dining room that Jaha had taken her to earlier and slid the bowl of fruit his way, he picked up an apple and this time, ate it, instead of throwing it.
"Good boy." She cooed. Layla reached a hand out to fuss up his hair but he swatted it away, already predicting her next move.
She rolled her eyes and pulled up a chair next to him, picking at a few grapes herself. She wasn't really hungry but it was relaxing to know that there was food there if she wanted it, and she couldn't just pass up food if it was in front of her.
"I can't believe you, you know," she said, shaking her head at the boy in front of her. "We haven't eaten in a week. You wake up with perfectly good food in front of you and your instinct is not to eat it but to throw it at some woman, ruining it."
"Just last week you told me I wasn't a survivor because I shared my food with you. But here you are, throwing it around, like it's nothing."
Murphy shrugged. He took a bite of his apple and chomped down on it as he replied. "Firstly, that bitch in the red dress is not a woman. She is a psychopathic hologram. Secondly, I thought Jaha had left the food for me, not you, so I didn't want it."
"You're such a baby. Food is food. We had a maybe couple days before we started decaying if we never left that bunker. You take the apple, no matter what."
"Snow White."
Layla's brow furrowed. "What?"
Murphy pulled a fresh apple out of the bowl and sat it in front of her. "Snow White. That movie you made me watch. She ate the apple and went into the coma. What do you suggest someone do in that situation?"
She looked at him in disbelief. "I know you think you're a smartass but it's kind've odd that you remember that and I don't. It's also kind've deranged that you're comparing your circumstances to a cartoon princess."
"I just got out of isolation for eighty-six days," he frowned. "Excuse me if my smartass comments aren't up to par again yet."
"Maybe you just overestimate yourself," Layla said, eyeing him. "Maybe you never were that great to begin with. Now it's just showing."
"You wound me, doll."
"Truth hurts, babe."
♦ ♦ ♦
Jaha had no problem ambushing Layla the next morning. Layla was getting ready for the day, washing her face, throwing her hair up in a ponytail, and when she stepped out of the bathroom Jaha stood just a small ways down the hall, A.L.I.E. trailing behind him.
"Layla, just the girl we've been looking for." Jaha smiled but Layla didn't feel any happiness as she eyed the older man. He seemed to have something to say and Layla wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it.
"You found me." Layla said, trying to act normal, giving Jaha a tiny smile back. Something was different about him. He had lost his personality and superior aura around him.
They two of them stepped closer to her. "Have you thought about our offer? The City of Light is waiting for you, Layla."
Layla took a step back. "I said I would talk to Murphy and see what he thought."
"You know what he thought so I guess you know my answer."
A.L.I.E.'s gaze narrowed in on Layla. "I think you should think a bit harder about this decision, Layla. Murphy is naïve, he sees in black and white. He cannot see the good in this because he is blinded by the past."
Jaha held a fist out to her and then uncurled it. Layla looked down at his palm. The chip was laying in the centre of it.
Jaha nodded at her. "Take it. You don't have to make up your mind in this moment but if you ever want to reach the City of Light, you should be able to."
Layla slowly reached up, taking the chip in her own grip. She slid it into the pocket of her jeans.
Murphy took that moment to walk out of his room, he walked out groggily but stopped in his tracks to eye the three of them. He stood behind Layla and glared at Jaha.
"What are you guys doing?" Murphy said, his gaze hardening at Jaha and A.L.I.E. "Layla, what did you put in your pocket?"
Layla warily reached back into her jeans and pulled out the chip, lifting it up for Murphy to see.
"She said no," Murphy shoved Jaha by the chest but he hardly stumbled. "Tagging up on her when she's by herself is pretty low isn't it?"
"We just want to help her, Murphy." A.L.I.E told him calmly. "Layla has faced many hardships, as we both know. We just want her to be happy, to take away that pain."
Layla shifted on her feet awkwardly. She hated being talked about as if she wasn't there.
"I don't trust you." Murphy gritted out. "There's some sort of twist to your bullshit."
Murphy threw the chip back at them and slammed the door to the bathroom. It fell silent between the three of them. Layla glanced at the chip laying on the floor. Jaha seemed to have similar ideas as he bent down to pick it up. He gave Layla that empty smile once again and grabbed her hand, laying the chip in her palm and then cupping her fist around it.
"Keep it. It may do you good someday."
Layla was soon alone in the hallway with the chip in her hands. It felt heavy even though it weighed almost nothing. She didn't know whether to toss it, as Murphy had just done, or keep it as Jaha had told her to incase she changed her mind. Layla didn't think she was going to change her mind but for some reason she couldn't get rid of the chip. The doorknob of the bathroom began to turn and Layla hurriedly shoved the key into her pocket so Murphy wouldn't see her with it. She didn't know why she felt the need to hide it from him, maybe she just didn't want to anger him.
He took a step out and his head moved to view both ends of the hallway. "Good. They're gone. They're crazy, you know?"
Layla nodded and let out a small chuckle. "Crazy as hell."
"Lets go get something to eat. I'm starving."
Layla agreed and followed Murphy down the staircase. The chip felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket. She wondered what Murphy would think if she did take it - would he turn on her? Or would he just accept it? He would probably think she was weak. Maybe she was weak since the thought of never being in pain again was appealing.
Murphy had almost gone crazy himself when he had been watching those videos, that Layla now knew we're of A.L.I.E., so maybe his judgement really was blurred.
She shook those thoughts out of her head. Murphy was the only person right now that Layla had any alliance to. She was miles away from Camp Jaha and she had no idea the next time she would see anyone from there again. Layla also wasn't sure where she stood with Jaha, he seemed to have good intentions but Layla wasn't sure how corrupt they were.
Layla would keep the chip, but she would not take it, she decided.