FIRE AND GOLD ▸ JOHN MURPHY (editing)

thirty; less-enemies

"It's not that bad you know? It's just... I don't know, it's kinda cool."

☾

As soon as we arrive at the room, I fall on my knees. I knew this place, Titus would hide me here when I was running for someone less good. He had herbs and shit I would use to heal myself.

"There. In that box." I point and Emori goes running towards it, taking a bottle with a green herb. "Give it to me."

She does as she's said and I sip part of a shirt that was laying around, probably John's.

"Pass me that." I point at a rug that was in one of the corners. When she does, I put it in my mouth, biting harshly.

I place the herb on it and wrap it around my bloody leg, bitting as hard as I can into the rug.

I get up, grabbing at everything in reach to take myself to the mirror. Taking another strap from John's shirt and doing the same thing I did with the leg, but in my neck and then in my arm.

Emori just stood there not knowing what to do or what to say.

When I'm done, I take my weapons, cleaning them on what was left of his shirt and then dripping it on the small barrel with water and cleaning my face the best that I could.

"I need you to go to my house," I tell Emori and she takes a deep breath. "I have medicine that Titus didn't have."

"If they see me-"

"I know what happens but it's the middle of the night no one will see," I say and she nods.

"What do you need?"

I explain to her that there's a big box inside my closet. She didn't need to open it, just bring it. Of course, it didn't have only the medicine as I told her it did. It had my weapons and the things I couldn't sell on the stand but were worth a lot of coins.

She does as I tell her and after a while of laying on the floor she arrived with someone, who I can only presume it's John.

"Here." She places it on the ground.

I smile and crawl the best I can towards it, open it, and already smelling money. There were some herbs but most of it was necklaces and rings.

"How's your leg?" John asks and I don't look at him.

"I'm fine."

"She's not. She can't walk." Emori corrects me and I close my eyes for a second.

"I'm fine. I didn't ask for any help. Thanks for the box." I get up and struggle to walk but I do.

"You're gonna die-"

"As if you cared." I interrupt John pushing him away from me but falling to the ground.

I didn't know what to feel. I ran from them and the universe got us back together. And this time, I couldn't run. This had to be some kind of sick joke. I stay on the floor, trying to swallow my pride.

John gets closer to me and takes a look at my leg, his face telling me that it's ugly.

"You need to leave Polis." he looks at Emori and me, not taking his hand from my leg.

We both roll our eyes at him.

"What we have to do is kill Ontari before she kills us." I look up at Emori. They would want her dead, she helped me escape.

"That's insane," John tells us. "Ontari, she's crazy, and that's coming from me. The only reason why I'm still breathing, she thinks I know how to make her the Commander."

"Why would she think you could do this?" Emori asks not commenting on the fake commander stuff, probably remembering what I had told her earlier.

"Because I saw it come out of the last Commander." We both look at him wondering what the hell does he mean but he stops us. "Don't ask."

"So what do you do for her now?" Emori asks him but he doesn't answer right away.

"She's taken a liking to me." He says uncomfortably and I swallow hard.

One more reason to kill her.

My thoughts are interrupted by someone knocking on the door. I get up and struggle to walk but Emori helps me and hides with me.

John hides the bloodstain on the floor with a shirt as he tells the man to enter.

"Heda requires your presence, Flamekeeper." The door opens.

"Of course she does." He breathes out. "Thank you." The man goes away and John turns to us again.

"So important." Emori teases.

"I got to go. Stay here, ok? You'll be safe." He tells us. "Don't let her run away."

"If I could run away I wouldn't be here by now," I tell him and he presses his lips together and walks away.

I throw my head back in annoyance and Emori chuckles as she sits back on my side.

"What?"

"Nothing." She replies controlling her laughter. "I saw you fighting earlier. How did you learn?" She changes the subject and I think if I should answer or not. "Come on, it's not like I have anyone to tell it to."

"A grounder saved me and took me in when we were still at the dropship. She was living with her boyfriend and her guard. The guard's brother would pass by every day..." I frown at the memories. It felt like an eternity ago.

"What happened to them?"

"One of them died in my arms, and I left the other three to die so that I could go on a field trip to the city of light." I breathe out. "Amazing idea as you can see," I say sarcastically.

"It was not that bad of an idea," Emori tells me and I scoff.

"Enlight me."

"At least you know John's still alive." I roll my eyes at her point.

"Good for him."

"You care about him." She states and I scoff.

"How did you get here?" I ask her already tired of the way this conversation was going.

"I was cast away."

"Why was that?" When I ask she glances at her covered hand, thinking if she should show me or not. "I don't bite, Emori. Unless you ask me to, of course." I smirk and tease trying to make this less tense for the both of us. "It's not like I have anyone to tell it to." I repeat.

She chuckles but the tension is quickly back. She takes the glove from her hand and I widen my eyes in surprise.

"They cast you out for that?" I look up at her and she nods. "Did you killed them?"

"No?"

"I would if they had cast me out just because I had a weird hand." I look at her and she smiles slightly. "It's not that bad you know? It's just... I don't know, it's kinda cool."

"Yeah..." She says unconvinced.

I hit her elbow with my good arm. The moment is quickly interrupted when four men come bursting into the room.