The Survivor

The Torture

Warning! sensitive subjects
(Narrator POV)
Murphy was running through the woods in the darkness of night. He had only been out here a day and the Grounders were on his tail. Suddenly, multiple Grounders dropped from the trees and landed in front of him. All he had was the knife from the drop-ship and the clothes on his back.

The Grounders had surrounded him and then one grabbed him and stabbed him in the leg. They bound his hands and threw a bag over his head. As he was being forced to walk through the woods, he could feel the blood running down his leg.

Eventually, he was pushed underground and chained to a chair. The bag was removed from his head and the dim torchlights seemed blinding.

"A Sky person, aye? This outta be fun." A tall man said. He was tan with a shaved head and eyes so dark, they seemed black.

"You're gonna tell us what you know right now, demon from above!" The man leaned down and sneered at Murphy.

Clearly, they didn't know who they were dealing with, because Murphy sneered right back and spat in the mans eye. "Screw you!" He snarled.

"You're gonna regret that skyling." The man growled as he wiped spit from his eyes. He pulled out a knife and stuck it in the flame. "Ever been burned before?" The man smirked.

Again, they underestimate Murphy. "More times then I can count." He smirked right back. He was terrified, but he'd always been good at hiding that.

"Let the games begin." The man chuckled as he brought the heated knife to Murphy's arm. Murphy's  scream was choked up from him trying to hold it back, which he mostly succeeded. The knife was placed down again and this time his scream slipped by.

Murphy shot up out of his sleeping bag next to Raven and looked around frantically. It was just a dream. A dream of a memory, but still a dream. He stood up and walked to where the horses were standing. He couldn't go back to sleep now. He walked up to his horse, Nightmare, and took off the blanket and bridal. He set them on the ground and climbed onto her back.

He just let her run anywhere she wanted. He eventually started telling her about his dream which made her whinny in disapproval. She didn't like to see him in pain, so she was not a fan of the dream.

After about an hour of riding around, they traveled back, but he left the gear off of her for the rest of the night. He laid on his sleeping bag and watched the stars.

Hours later, at sunrise he woke everyone up. "Up and at 'em people! The day won't slay itself." He shouted. He wasn't in the mood honestly. This day was gonna be tiring. He was exhausted, sleep deprived, and uncomfortable. He put Nightmares blanket and bridle back on.

They all got on their horses and continued riding. Everyone could sense that he was not in the mood for... anything really. He'd had a sucky night and it was clear by the bags under his eyes and his foul mood.

Most people opted to stay silent or quiet. He hadn't even said anything to indicate that he was upset, they all just knew by his body language.

Meanwhile, Murphy was having flashbacks of his dream and other things from his past. He was really trying not to think about those things, but they kept slipping into his mind.

After telling everyone part of his story and telling Raven the good majority of it, his walls had installed a gate. The gate would rarely open, but could if he ever wanted to let someone in. The problem with the gate was that things could get out too, which he would never be game for.

He's had bad dreams and night terrors his whole life. Not to mention, occasional bouts of sleep paralysis and frequent visits from insomnia. But sometimes he wouldn't have anything like that happen for a while, then once he got used to that all being gone, boom! There they were, ready for the attack.

He was also no stranger to panic attacks, breakdowns and anxiety attacks, but he had built a sort of tolerance to them so he almost never had them anymore. However, right now, he felt all three coming on. Plus, he knew that all his sleeping problems were back in full force.

Safe to say, Murphy was not having fun. And to top everything off, he'd have to explain his mood to, at very least, Raven. He decided then and there that he'd avoid doing that.

The least he could do was try to spare her from having to try and help him. He was a creature of habit and his habit was to bottle up his emotions and problems for later. He bottled them up then waited until he was alone to address them or just worry about them. He had never once told anyone about his problems or asked for help with them.

Part of him felt like that's why he's so messed up. The other part thinks he'd be worse if he did anything different. You see, Murphy has never considered himself a pack animal, he only thrives when he's on his own, which is odd considering humans are typically strongest in groups and are technically pack animals. He's aggressive, resentful, hot-headed and stubborn. Not your usual qualities for a good group member. In groups, he makes tensions run high and people aggravated. It's like his job, and he's great at it.

Basically, Murphy's always been on his own and he's always done best that way. The only groups or families he's been in have turned out... dicey, at best. His real family fell apart, the Ark was never the place for him, the Sky people ended in a hanging, and the Grounders tortured him and forced him to become the Survivor. He may hate everything that happened to him, but he's thankful too. Now, he knows to stay away from freaking people.

Here's the problem though. Raven. He doesn't know what to do in this situation. He wants to be with her, but he's always been on his own and he's not sure if he can handle it. He'll find a way.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked as she rode up next to him. She knew he wasn't, but she thought she should ask anyway.

"Yeah." He stated tiredly. He could fall asleep at any moment, but that's the last thing that he wants to do.

"Tell me when you're ready." She smiled and found a way to kiss his cheek even though they were on horses. She knew that he most certainly wasn't okay, but she wouldn't push unless she really needed to.

He nodded. She always saw right through him. Granted, right now it wasn't very hard to read him, but nevertheless.

Tomorrow he'd tell her. Tomorrow. Maybe.

A\N short and boring and I'm sorry. Hopefully next chapter will be better.

Enjoy!