Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 77

Ethan's good with memory. One of the only things he's good with.

It means remembering things he doesn't want to. Like the events in the basement, still as fresh as ever when his eyes are closed. There were good things too, thankfully, like knowing the path back to the boat as easily as blinking.

He stumbles to a stop, panting, and presses a fist to his lips to cut off a choked whine. Sparks of pain shoot from his ankle to his calf, aggravated by the running.

Emori breathes out, bending over on her knees, the old wood creaking under her boots.

"Not having to see Jaha's face anymore might just be my favourite thing." Ethan tries for a grin, staggering closer to Emori and clapping a hand to her shoulder. "Fleeing is in my best interest."

She huffs, eyes squinted in amusement.

Murphy pushes through, suddenly, tossing a glare at Ethan and successfully splitting them apart.

Confused, Ethan lifts his hands in surrender and ducks down past the pier towards the lake. He washes his face off in the water, ridding the sweat and dirt.

"As soon as Otan gets here we can leave," Emori says, standing to her full height.

"Partners in crime, huh?" He hears Murphy say, under his breath.

Emori walks back across the pier, peeking over Murphy's shoulder to see the bag he was prying away at. "Whatever's in there, we can split it four ways."

Ethan squints up at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it doesn't.

"You boys earned that, me and Otan aren't the only partners in crime around here."

Murphy's done a decent job at hiding the effects of being trapped in the bunker for as long as he was. But Ethan notices. Of course he does. Can see it in the way he drags a shaky hand across closed eyes, squinting in a similar way as he, still adjusting.

Ethan ducks his head, cups some water in his hands and drags it through his hair as a distraction. The droplets slide down his back, and he shivers.

"Yeah and all we had to do was pummel the guy defending his property." Murphy says, having to blink a few times when he looks up. His skin is like paper, pale from no sun. Scarily different from the tan he earned living on the ground.

The silence stretches for far too long.

Ethan furrows his brows and tugs himself onto the side of the pier to see, arms crossed against the wood.

Emori's in his face, suddenly, and dropping a kiss to his forehead before jerks back.

"Oh," He says dumbly, frowning, "Thanks?"

Judging by the look on Murphy's face, a hand pressed to his own cheek, he isn't the only one terribly confused.

"Thank you boys for saving my life." Emori smiles. Then she pulls the bag from Murphy's hand, digging away at it with a knife.

Ethan and Murphy share a glance.

They forget, sometimes, that this sort of thing was normal for other people.

Emori gets the bag open pretty quickly, an echoing click of metal on metal.

"I could have done that." Murphy huffs.

Inside the bag is some sort of blue, glowing power source.

"Now that's tech." Emori grins.

And it's. . . definitely tech. Unfortunately, the symbol is something Ethan's seen many, many times before. He stays in the water, as though he's hiding himself behind the pier's broken wood.