in which a girl with a heavy burden tries to find her way through the trials and torments of the earth they've come home to.
OR
in which she must rebuild.
EMBERS
JOHN MURPHY
DEATHLIES 2016
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN T...
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F O U R T E E N
Althea watched from afar as wristband after wristband was being removed in exchange for food. Perhaps it was the hunger that burned in everyone that drove them to agree to the ridiculous terms set in place, or maybe it was just the rush of having it pried from you in an act of rebellion against the Ark.
Either way, Althea kept her distance. She watched with slight admiration as Finn approached and snatched two portions for himself and for Clarke, standing up to Murphy when confronted.
She turned her eyes when a boy attempted to copy Finn, his attempts swiftly brought to an end by Bellamy's fist. Instead, she takes a seat upon a log beside the light of her lantern and opts out of the hustle.
The flame danced in the slight evening breeze, to and fro it goes. Freedom was it's cause and yet it was as trapped as she was, locked in fate. Inevitably, it would be blown out and doomed to eternal darkness, just as if it were human. Only its death had much less of an impact, it could be relit. Humans could not. Death is death, life is life.
Movement beside her snaps her from her morbid thoughts, her gaze turning to the shadow beside her.
"I figured you were hungry," He says, holding out a portion of food for her. Her fingers curling around the stick, she takes it from Murphy.
"Thank you," She murmurs, but she does not take a bite. After it all, she didn't think she could stomach the meal.
Even in the flickering gloom of the eve, Murphy still found his eyes wandering over to Althea. "How did you know?" He asks, intently looking at her.
Althea looks down at the food in her hands, even more put off than before, turning it over and over. "I don't know what you're talking about," She mutters, pursing her chapped lips together as if to hold in her secrets that threatened to flow to the boy she barely knew, and yet was so enchanted by.
"How did you know Jasper was going to get attacked?" Murphy tries again. Bringing herself to look him in the eyes as she speaks, she is filled with regret immediately. He was looking a her like everyone did after she told them her burden: with pity. She hated it.
"Please don't," Althea replies shortly, and although she did not answer his question that was all he needed to hear because it only confirmed what she'd told him prior to the attack on Jasper from the grounders. However, her response did deserve recognition.
"Don't what?"
"Don't look at me with pity, John Murphy, pity isn't what I want," She avows. Suddenly, her voice was stern. As if she'd been through this all before.
In that moment, in the light of the dancing flame, he did not see the distant girl any longer. He saw Althea Barnes, the girl whose eyes were open and her heart flayed for all to see. She was a prime example of youth who had seen to much, darkened and destined for demise. Doomed for the ground too early.
Feeling an uncomfortable silence, Murphy speaks, "Are you going to eat that, or what?" He asks, his signature smirk clear.
To his complete surprise, she laughs. Her lips turning up from their usual tight frown to a beaming laugh, a radiant smile. Althea was full of surprises, he was enjoying working them all out. He joined her in her laughter, chuckling quietly as he allowed himself to give into the temptation of running his eyes over her features. Gliding from her glossy eyes, to her button nose with the slight scar at its tip and to her lips, which he felt an unconditional urge to capture with his own whilst his hands roamed, figuring her out.
Recognising his wandering eyes, Althea's beam sinks into only a slight smile as she slips one hand over his. "You can have it, if you want it?" She offers, tilting the food towards him whilst her fingers link through his naturally and simplistically. "Honestly, I'm not hungry."
Squeezing her hand, he replies, "Nah, you should have it. I've already had more than my share." The way she smiled at him after that made his veins run hot.
They sat in silence as she ate her ration. Despite the claim of not being hungry, Althea had to admit that she enjoyed it a lot. Her body thanked her for it as she let the remaining stick fall to the ground. With a sigh, she sinks into Murphy's side, to his surprise, and rests her head on his shoulder.
"It's been a long day, huh?" He asks, his shoulders shaking from his slight laugher.
"It really has," She replies, her tongue darting across her lips to collect any remains of dinner. Pulling herself off Murphy, away from the warmth, she yawns and stands from the log.
Standing with her, slipping his hand from hers, Murphy frowns. "Where are you going?" He asks.
Althea slips her hands onto his sides, her fingers digging in. "Let's just go to sleep, tomorrow's a new day," She tells him, offering him a small smile. That smile, in that glimmer of brief existence, was brighter than the flame lighting their night. It was like nothing prior, nothing could compare.
