Coming Back Down

Shifting Sands

  "Holy shit, is that Murphy?" My brows furrowed as I looked through the window of the rover. Putting it into park to allow everyone to climb in, Murphy rose a brow at me.

  "Why do you seem so surprised to see me? Hoping I died, huh, Viper?" He popped off while climbing into the passenger seat.

  "I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind." Turning back to look ahead, I glanced at the rearview mirror to make sure everyone was seated and ready to go. My gaze momentarily lingered on Roan holding Enan before I turned the wheel and drove the rover around some trees.

  "So how has life been with just you, Clarke, Roan, and the hobbit?" I only vaguely knew what he was referencing as he looked to the back at everyone else. I saw him turning back to face ahead from the corner of my eye, but there was a split-second pause before his head whipped back around. "Holy shit...."

  "What?"

  "I called it." Murphy laughed while clearly looking at Enan. "'Just an alliance' my ass- How old is he?"

  "Three." Roan answered.

  "Shit." The man in the passenger seat was smiling at my son as I drove around a stump. "He's got Viper's freaky eyes. What's his name?"

  "Enan. Now stop smiling at my kid like that before I toss you out." I popped off.

  "What? I'm being friendly."

  "Stop it. It's unnatural." Pressing on the breaks to slow down a little, we were going down an incline before I picked up speed again. "Here, radio Bellamy. Where's Raven?" I questioned while tossing the comms device to Murphy. He caught it before replying and telling us what all happened.

  "Bellamy, come in. It's Murphy." The sloth-looking male was now talking to the tech in his hands. "Please tell me you can hear me." There was a pause to wait for an answer, but nothing was replying other than white noise. Murphy must have felt the eyes on him and glanced back to see Madi staring at him. "What?"

  "Thought you'd be funnier." She popped off.

  "Clark told her stories." Monty explained.

  "Oh, really? Was I the dashing hero who got the girl?" Monty asked.

  "Or the selfish fool who lost her?" Emori said flatly.

  "Or the idiot that nearly got himself killed on multiple occasions and is annoying to no end?" I raised my brows while briefly glancing at Murphy.

  "Octavia's my favorite." Madi stated while Murphy made a face. "I mean, no offense. Clarke said she wouldn't have made it without each one of you."

  "We wouldn't have made it without her." Echo spoke, and my jaw clenched.

  "Echo, refrain from speaking. It reminds me that you're back there."

  "How long are you going to hold a grudge? It's been over five years, Viper." Murphy raised his eyebrows at me.

  "Yeah, and she totally wasn't the one that not only nearly killed Octavia but almost got the entirety of Azgeda disqualified for the right in the bunker. Had the others learned of what she did before I won and everyone got inside, all of the 100 Azgeda citizens would have been banished like her and doomed to die out. So you tell me, is six years long enough to get over the near murder of my best friend and the near extinction of a clan of which both my son and his father are a part of?" Everyone went silent other than Enan babbling about something while playing with a strap on Roan's shirt. "That's what I thought."

  "Ah!" Murphy screamed as his spine went rigid and his head slammed against the back of his seat. I could hear electricity, and Murphy's body was spasming.

  "The collar must have a proximity tether." Monty quickly said, and without even putting the breaks down all of the way, I put the rover in reverse, speeding back to stop the collar from shocking the shit out of Murphy anymore. "That's it. Stop here." Monty told me, and I saw that the collar had stopped.

  "John, can you hear me?" Emori questioned, and I could hear Enan crying now. The sudden jolting and panic must have scared him, but he was quickly calming while Roan held him close. "We need to get it off."

  "There's no time. We have to stop those missiles."

  "What are you doing?" Monty questioned as Murphy opened the rover door and hopped out.

  "What I have to do, okay? She's right. Just leave me behind."

  "Hold on, wait. If there's a tether, it'll have a tracker, too. They're probably on their way right now."

  "That means you gotta go."

  "Hold it." I rolled my eyes while pulling out a blade. "If you get caught, there better be some bodies first." I handed him the knife hilt first.

  "That's sweet, but they have guns, and I'm not a ninja."

  "No, but you're a survivor last time I checked. Stick to the shadows, step where it's damp, and you won't be heard or seen."

  "....Thanks, Viper." Murphy nodded before closing the door. "Now, go. Before our friends explode.

~

  Parking in the sand, I saw the state of the soldiers with Octavia as Madi ran out of the rover before it had even stopped. She ran out, and I saw Clarke running toward the girl as well. Everyone else began to pile out of the rover, and my brows furrowed when I saw Echo and Bellamy running to each other.

  'I must be fucking hallucinating.' I thought and literally rubbed my eyes when I saw Bellamy and Echo- without a doubt- kissing. Hell no.

  The rover door nearly swung off its old hinges from how hard and fast I shoved it open.