No Way Out ➵ John Murphy

01 //

ONE.
❝he was no more than a baby then. well, something within him seemed broken hearted❞

Layla had chose to follow Jaha to the City of Light but now she regretted that decision immensely. On the Ark, Jaha was viewed as an asshole. He had to make hard choices, Layla understood that, but she still thought he was an asshole. On the ground and on this horrendous trek to a city that was possibly (more than likely) non-existent, Layla had a new view of him: a total wackjob.

The camp had become insufferable to Layla after the Ark came down. No longer were Clarke and Bellamy the leaders, which Layla could grin and bear, the leaders where again adults who viewed the teenagers as just kids. All of the 100 remaining were forced into mundane tasks and it was exacty as it had been in space, except with the threat of death by Grounder.

Layla hated being viewed as inferior, the 100 alone had survived all of the Grounder attacks and they were experienced on the ground. The Ark dropped them to this planet with nothing but a change of clothes and they, just kids, had built a home. The adults might have thought that they were smarter than a few juvenile criminals but in fact, they were clueless. That's why when Jaha came to her and offered her a way out - she took it, no qualms. But she would rather be at the camp, being bossed around, than dead in some unpopulated desert. She had survived being hit with arrows, she had survived burns made by acid fog, she had survived bleeding from every part of her body by a virus. She was a survivor. She'd be damned before she died of dehydration.

That was another thing on the very long list of things Layla now hated Jaha for: he had let that girl tag along, that theif. Emori. Then she had taken all of their belongings and left them to wonder this desert aimlessly and die. If Layla ever saw that girl again she wouldn't hesitate to wring her neck.

"I think we should just turn around." One of the men in the back said. Maybe a couple hundred miles ago that would have been good advice.

"We'll never make it." Layla huffed out. She wanted nothing more than to be off of this journey but turning around didn't seem plausible at this point. "We have no food, no water. We'd die before we even got half way."

"As opposed to what? Dying in the middle of nowhere trying to find a city that's not real?" Richards said, his eyes narrowing in her direction. "I think turning around would actually increase our odds of surviving."

Jaha did not turn to look at any of them instead he kept walking, only yelling out "The City of Light is real!" as attempt to shut out their bickering.

It didn't work.

"You had your choice to go back or stay, Richards," Jaha said, addressing the man who had spoke up. "You chose to stay. Now, keep up."

Murphy fell back from walking alongside Jaha and joined her. "Emori told me the city is just North from here. We'll make it. Screw Richards."

"Wow, Murphy. That was sort of nice," Layla said with sarcasm. "Is this journey aiding your spiritual growth?"

Murphy rolled his eyes. "Never. I was just thinking you're the only female left and if worst comes to worst, I don't want to be getting cozy with Craig over there. So I'm making sure you don't give up on me."

"I think you're forgetting about Winnie." Layla pointed a thumb behind her at the middle-aged woman who was struggling to keep up.

"She was my second grade teacher. I'm not that sick in the head, Layla. Older women - maybe - but not the lady that taught me my times tables."

Now it was Layla's turn to let her eyes roll. Her lips did turn up at the corners, though, slightly amused. Murphy was a complete douchebag and she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him - which wasn't very far - but she appreciated his sense of humor. Jaha was almost completely insane at this point, Craig was a zombie, Winnie had a odd cat-lady vibe, Harris made shitty jokes that made her cringe, and Richards never said a word unless it was to complain. Murphy, surprisingly, was the most pleasant one on this trip.