GUYS. It worked. :3 The employee got everything wrong, but the boss, the guy that I trust, got every file off my hard drive. In short: I WILL BE ABLE TO FINISH CLARITY.
So. YAY! :D
I have had a full on addiction to "Wait On Me" by Rixton lately. I'm serious. I LOVE IT.
Goal: 50 reads, 5 votes
Note: There is officially 38 chapters in Clarity. So, you have chapters 35, 36, 37, and 38 to go. A lot can happen in four chapters... >:3
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Chapter Thirty-Five
Everything had happened quickly after that.
The people of the ark had all backed as far away from Anya as they could, some had even screamed or gasped when Jack was stabbed.
Jack had fallen backwards, his fingers wrapped around the knife now implanted just under his ribcage. He didn't try to pull it out, but he seemed to be trying to stop the bleeding in those few seconds he was still standing. His knees had given out from under him, and he had fallen backwards. Eve had darted forwards and caught him, then eventually realized that the weight was too much. She stumbled, keeping her balance, and James ran over to help hold him up. Clarke and Abby had ran forwards, both intent on helping him in any way they could. He had fallen unconscious less than a minute later, likely from the trauma and blood loss.
Anya had attempted at unwrapping the chain from her hand, having gotten her right one free but not her left, when Jane lunged at her and quickly punched her in the stomach. She slammed her foot into Anya's knee, causing it to give out from under her, before Jane elbowed her in the nose. It was obvious that Anya had more than just a bloody nose, Murphy was pretty sure it was broken.
Murphy, at the same time that Jane was fighting Anya, had grabbed a shotgun from one of the more frozen-in-shock guards. He walked quickly towards Anya, pointing the barrel directly at her head.
His left arm was shaking badly, causing the barrel of the gun to shake as well. He wanted to do it, he wanted to kill her so much that he was almost worried for his own sanity.
Jasper wouldn't have been hit, Murphy wouldn't have been captured, Eve wouldn't have almost been killed by an axe through a window, John wouldn't have been killed, James wouldn't have been hurt, Eve wouldn't have been shot with an arrow, Jack wouldn't have been stabbed... Half of the horrible things that had happened to them are all her fault.
Anya now had the chains wrapped firmly around her wrists, again behind her back. She was staring up at Murphy, the look in her eyes cold and dark.
He slowly moved his right hand, laying his shaking finger on the trigger, and moving his head so that he was looking through the eye target.
At that moment, her eyes darted to his right hand, and Murphy saw a flash of fear in her eyes. That made him think differently.
"Do you hate the grounders?" Murphy asked from beside Eve, speaking nearly absentmindedly as he stared up at the stars.
"No." She said after pausing for a moment before turning her head to look at him.
"Why not?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows a little.
She shrugged. "I don't know, I just don't see a reason to."
"But they've caused so much damage, killed so many people..." He frowned.
She smiled softly before sitting up, her back off the porch swing. "Murphy, they're just like us."
"How?"
"We're all trying to survive. That's the one thing in common." She said. "I just think that people lose sight of the fact that they're trying to do the exact same thing as us: stay alive."
Murphy's arms stopped shaking, as well as his fingers and hands. He slowly rose his head, moving his eye from the target. He stared down at her before slowly lowering the gun. A few seconds later, he let it drop into the mud.
He paused, before sighing. "Anya, I'm not going to kill you."
She looked shocked, but also a mixture of terrified and expectant. It was like she was waiting for him to change his mind.
The team seemed angry with him, all but Eve. She just stared up at him in a small amount of confusion.
Clarke and Abby were the same, they seemed both shocked and confused.
His eyes finally landed on Chancellor Jaha, and it was almost like he knew what Murphy was doing. He looked expectant and certain.
Murphy slowly turned his head back to her. He felt everyone's eyes on his back, he knew that they wanted an explanation, no matter how completely silent they were.
"Someone told me that they didn't hate you. I wondered why, and they told me. They said that you were trying to do the exact same thing as us: survive. So why are you killing people? Why do we each feel the need to kill the other? We need to work together if we're going to live, because that won't happen if we can't. We don't have the strength to face the world." He said, and he knew that the team had relaxed. "So why don't you give it a chance?" He said, staring down at her silently with a pleading look in his eyes.
She gulped again, before looking down at the ground. She was trying to look anywhere but at him.
"Anya," He said, kneeling down in front of her. "We won't hurt you, if you don't hurt us. You can continue living this lifestyle, but we need to work together so that both of us can live."
She finally moved her eyes back up to him, and the fear was gone. It was replaced by a reassured expression, and she slowly nodded.
Murphy moved behind her, quickly unwrapping the chains from her wrists, looking around at the others as he did so.
Eve seemed happy with his decision, and Abby and Clarke seemed happy as well, Clarke especially. She looked like a weight had been lifted off her chest. The team looked like they understood now, and weren't as upset about it as before. The people from the ark seemed calm, which was a good thing.
He got the chains off, and stood up before holding his hand out to Anya. She took it graciously, and he pulled her up.
He walked over to Jack, Abby, Clarke, and Eve afterwards, making sure that Jane and Adam still kept an eye on Anya. "Abby, Clarke, you two will go back to the colony and get Jack to the hospital. Adam will drive you there." He said, looking at Adam over his shoulder. "Right?"
Adam seemed startled, then nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, sure."
"And Adam?"
He had started walking, but turned around when he heard Murphy's voice. "Yeah?"
Murphy removed his jacket, and pulled his shirt up and over his head. He handed it to Adam. "Here, you need this more than I do." He said, looking down at his torn and now blood-covered t-shirt.
Adam nodded, seeming slightly surprised. "Thanks, Murphy."
Murphy gave a nod before putting his jacket back on and zipping it up.
He helped to lift Jack onto a long canvas stretcher, watching as Clarke, Abby, Jack, and Adam all sped off in the first truck to leave the area.
He knew it was a new start, and he was glad. Just like everyone else.
*
Murphy sighed softly as he watched the large group of people below him from the balcony. It had been nearly dawn when they had sent the people from the ark to the colony, and the sun had been rising for about an hour now.
The people were crowded around Carson, who was giving out apartment keys for the time being. In the next few days, they would be contacting other
He hadn't noticed, but Eve had walked up behind him and stood beside him, staring out from the balcony as well.
"How's Jack?" Murphy asked.
"He's going to be fine. The knife missed his lung, and the wound is already healing well, so he'll just be in pain for the next few days. He should be better soon, though." She smiled. "You did really well out there, by the way."
"It wasn't even me that said it. You did." He chuckled, leaning against the bar of the balcony.
She raised a brow, the smile now turning to an expression of confusion instead. "I didn't say a thing."
"Yes, you did." He said, smiling at her and standing up straight, smirking a little when he towered over her. "Eve, that's what you said to me the night after you found me."
She paused, furrowing her eyebrows, when she suddenly remembered, causing her eyes to widen. He chuckled softly before pulling her into a tight hug.
After a few seconds, she pulled away and shook her head. "That wasn't me, Murphy. That was all you."
He smirked, then leaned down and kissed her softly and swiftly on the lips. "I guess you just make me a better person."
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So. For all the panicking people after the last chapter, are you a little happier now? :D Jack is not dead. YAY. ^.^