I'm Just A Kid

Chapter 20: One Wrong Move

A low groan escaped me as consciousness slowly began to return. At first, I didn't know where I was. Everything around me was dark and distant, and my thoughts felt slow and heavy, as though I were trying to wake up from the deepest sleep imaginable. For one brief, peaceful moment, I remembered nothing.

Then the pain hit.

A sharp, throbbing ache pulsed through the side of my head, growing worse with every heartbeat. I winced and slowly lifted my hand towards it, my entire body feeling strangely weak and heavy. The moment my fingers touched the tender lump above my temple, I sucked in a sharp breath and immediately pulled my hand away.

Definitely going to have a bruise.

The thought would probably have made me laugh under different circumstances, but something about the silence around me made my stomach twist. I forced my eyes open, blinking repeatedly as the darkness slowly gave way to blurry shapes and dim light. My vision gradually cleared, and the familiar metal walls of the dropship came into focus.

My heart immediately began pounding.

Jasper was sitting beside me, and the moment I saw him, every memory came rushing back. Murphy hitting me. The sharp pain exploding through my head. Everything going dark.

Jasper's hands were bound tightly in front of him, and a red cloth had been tied across his mouth. His eyes were red and glassy, with tears gathered along his lashes. He looked terrified, and seeing him like that made the fear inside me immediately grow.

The moment Jasper realised I was awake, his expression changed. He quickly shook his head, his eyes widening slightly as if he were desperately trying to warn me about something.

I frowned at him, still struggling to understand what was happening.

What?

I silently mouthed the word.

Jasper shook his head again, more urgently this time, before slowly closing his eyes and allowing his head to fall to one side. For a moment, I stared at him in confusion, but then I understood.

He wanted me to pretend I was still unconscious.

My stomach dropped.

I gave Jasper the smallest nod possible before letting my head fall back against his shoulder. I closed my eyes and forced my body to relax, although it was difficult when I could feel my heart beating violently against my ribs.

I was terrified that Murphy would notice me shaking.

For several seconds, there was nothing but the sound of my own breathing. I tried to make it slower and quieter, terrified that even the smallest movement would give me away.

Then I heard Bellamy's voice.

He was speaking into one of the radios.

"You're leaving us vulnerable to an attack, and I can't let that happen."

Bellamy's voice crackled through the radio, distorted slightly by static. Even so, I could hear the tension behind his words, and something about hearing his voice made me feel both relieved and even more frightened. He was here. He knew we were alive.

Murphy let out a humourless laugh.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in control right now."

Silence followed. I could picture Bellamy somewhere outside the dropship, trying to figure out how to get us out. I imagined his jaw clenched in frustration as he searched for a way to fix the situation.

Eventually, his voice came through the radio again.

"Come on, Murphy. You don't want to hurt Emmy or Jasper."