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 R T Y S E V E N -
"He won't kill him, will he?" Althea dared to ask, muffled by her teeth grinding into her lip as they stood outside, powerless until Raven worked her magic. Although Althea had a bad feeling about the girl, she knew the intentions were there and she knew that she was their only hope against Murphy.
Against. It seemed wrong to think that after all they'd said to one another over the last few days. Maybe that was it. She'd been blinded by her heart. Seeing the way he looked at Bellamy, she'd thought it was just jealousy and she'd told him he had nothing to worry about, but turned out she was devastatingly wrong.
She knew he hadn't planned this. He had nothing against Jasper, which was why he accepted Bellamy's proposal to switch places.
If he'd planned it, it would prove he was the man she knew he was not.
"He's unpredictable," Jasper replied, knowing the care Althea had, but knowing the truth counted.
"He's going to kill my brother unless Raven gets a move on," Octavia said, her knuckles turning white as she clutched the radio. At the sound of a gunshot, their hearts stop. She brought the radio to her mouth, desperation burning in her eyes. "Bellamy? Bellamy! Are you ok?"
Althea watched her trying to compose herself, but said nothing.
There was nothing she could say to make anything better.
"Bellamy! Do you copy?"
At long last, his voice came through. "I'm fine. Just a misfire. Now stop worrying about me and get back to work, all of you... And tell Raven to hurry her ass up."
Both Althea and Octavia sighed with relief; never had they been so happy to hear his voice, even if he was being as driven with work as ever. If his life wasn't in danger, Althea might have rolled her eyes at him.
"He's going to be ok, O," Althea told her, more telling herself. Saying it made it feel more true, even if she did feel a flicker of doubt in the pit of her stomach.
Maybe she didn't know Murphy like she thought she did. Maybe he was more troubled than she thought, but he sent her mind spinning.
How could she think straight when all she could think about was him?
-
They stood outside powerlessly with nothing but a radio to communicate inwards, but there had been no contact since Bellamy told them to get back to work.
What unfolded next was something straight out of the Shakespearian tragedies Althea would read for hours on end in the confines of her cell. Tales of betrayal, heart ache, and murder with a love at the centre that inevitably was torn apart by the former factors.
The gunshots sent her heart rocketing into her mouth. She didn't want to believe Murphy would kill Bellamy, or anyone for that matter, but how could she deny it if they opened the door and Bellamy Blake lay riddled with bullets?
Her mind was spinning, her throat tightened and her chest heavy, but slowly and surely the door began to open. And dropped to reveal Bellamy, alone, hanging.
They rushed forward to help, to save, him.
"Bell! Hold on! Yeah! Bell, breathe!" Octavia said as Bellamy touched the floor, holding him with a care and a worry that only siblings could have for one another.
Althea kneelt down beside him and put a hand on his arm. "You need to breathe." And, although the fact was obvious, she meant it with every ounce of herself. She couldn't lose anyone else; a selfish thought, but a necessary one.
There were few around the girl who cared for her and who she cared for right back. With all that she had seen in her short life time, she needed someone like him to set her straight and keep her from falling deep into despair and disrepair.
Althea looked right into his eyes, ignoring the red around his neck that she wished she could've prevented. Always wishing, always hoping, never succeeding.
And he peered right back at her, if only for a moment, before he pushed everyone away, beginning to call for Murphy with anger frothing at his mouth and coursing through his blood.
"Murphy!" He shouted up, hitting his fist against the trapdoor, which he had barricaded to save himself from Bellamy's wrath. "Murphy! It's over!" He hit the door again. "Murphy! There's only one way out of this for you now!"
Althea swallowed, her fingers curling around Octavia's arm.
She felt deflated at his response.
"You want to bet?" Came calling back. He wasn't done. He was going to go down fighting, spitting and grinning his bloody smile. But he was outnumbered and stood little chance of a dignified death with a mind like his, perfect for winding Bellamy up and up and up until he was primed to punch his lights out.
"God help us," Althea whispered, closing her eyes.
Only Octavia heard her. She gripped Althea's wrist and shook her slightly. "I know being peace keeper is your thing, but that boy up there tried to murder my brother, your friend. I don't care how much you love him, he's rotten to the core." She was holding back for the sake of her fragile friend, but the things she could've said would've been too cruel, even for where they stood.
"I don't believe that," Althea replied, but she couldn't look her in the eyes.
"No, you just don't want to believe that," Octavia told her, releasing her arm and turning her attention back to Bellamy just as an explosion rang hard and true.
Althea's ears rang, but she could hear Bellamy loud and clear as he yelled for the cause. "Murphy!"
Finally, he burst through the trap door and into the second floor. The rest followed. Althea pushed to the front beside Bellamy, peering out as she watched Murphy running from the camp, leaving her behind.
As he turned to look back, their eyes met and he wouldn't have seen the look of utter thunder on her face, but he would've known what leaving the camp meant. It meant leaving her behind. It meant leaving anything they could've had behind. He was probably going to die out there all because he wanted a little taste of revenge.
Althea's skin itched where he'd touched her, where his lips had kissed oh-so tenderly as if she were all his. She'd felt as if she were all his, until now.
Until she got left behind again.
"The guy knows how to make an exit," Jasper said. "Should we go after him?"
Althea felt Octavia's arms wrap around her, despite the harsh words from earlier. She was surprised to see no tears running down her cheeks. Concluding Althea was in a state of shock, she squeezed her tighter, especially as Bellamy spoke.
