I'm So Sick, Infected With Where I Live

[Nina Eaton]

Her hand gripped the four ears tightly, swinging them back and forth as she walked. She had gone hunting with another Arker that she couldn't remember the name of and she had only caught two rabbits while he had caught nothing. The rabbits wouldn’t do much but she could at least give them to Octavia to put in the little meat hut the group had made. She sighed and the two walked into the mouth of the camp, silence between the two. “Thanks,” she muttered before heading off in the opposite direction. She glanced around the camp and people seemed to be amped about something. Had something happened while she had been away? Walking over to her friend Jane, who sat outside the meat hut, Nina handed the girl the meat. “That’s it?” Jane asked. Nina sighed and nodded her head. “Afraid so. We didn’t really see anything and didn’t want to go too far,” she explained. “I’ll try going out again tomorrow.” Maybe she would be able to grab the same kid again. He was quiet enough but also tried to kill animals for food. It was better than bringing someone who only wanted to goof off in the woods, making noises and attempting to attract Grounders.

Jane nodded and returned to her task of preparing meat that others had brought back throughout the day. Glancing around, Nina wondered what had everyone so antsy. “Did something happen?” Nina asked, turning back to look at the dark haired girl. Jane let out a cool chuckle. “Murphy showed up at the gate.” Nina raised an eyebrow. She had no idea who Murphy was and why his presence would make everyone talk like this. Seeing Nina's expression, Jane nodded her head. “Right. You weren’t here when he was. Bellamy banished him because he wanted to kill this little girl,” Jane explained. “He wanted to kill her because she had killed Wells but everyone thought it was Murphy so everyone here tried to hang him.” Jane glanced down as if she were ashamed of what had happened. “But she jumped off a cliff, killing herself and that’s when Bellamy banished him. Anyway, some people found him at the gate. He was beat up real bad. I’m surprised he’s still alive.” Nina glanced towards the drop ship where she knew Clarke was probably taking care of him. “And Bellamy let you take him inside?” Nina asked. She knew it wasn’t like Bellamy to just roll over and forgive someone, especially if he had banished him. “Only to let Clarke help him. But he said Murphy has to leave when he was better.”

“I’ll see you around,” Nina said, trailing off towards the end. Her eyes were locked on the drop ship, curiosity getting the best of her. She heard a small response from Jane but hadn’t paid her enough attention to know what she had actually said. Nina walked off towards the drop ship and glanced around. Some people were resting or hanging out, but she didn’t know how they were getting away with it. Bellamy always wanted people working, making the wall better. Clarke usually helped people in the back so she went in that direction. She spotted someone in the back a moment later and walked up next to the girl. It wasn't Clarke but instead a delinquent that Nina had seen around. The girl glanced at Nina and offered her a small smile before returning to what she had been doing. She was working on some of Murphy’s scrapes and any stab wounds he might have accrued during his imprisonment.

“How bad?” Nina asked, folding her arms across her chest and looking at all the blood and dirt that covered him. She had no idea who he was but she felt bad for him. She couldn’t really blame him for wanting revenge after what had been done to him. People had been so quick to punish him for a crime he had not committed, but when the real culprit was found they did nothing. She knew the girl had been young, but that still didn’t make things right. The girl shrugged and talked as she worked. “We’ll see once Clarke can get more of these cleaned up. So long as nothing is infected he should recover,” the girl explained. “But then you’re sending him back out there again?” Nina asked, looking at the girl with a confused expression on her face. “Why patch him up if you’re just going to send him away again? The Grounders will probably find him and want to take another shot at him.” It wasn’t pretty but it was the truth. The girl pursed her lips and avoided Nina's gaze. She didn’t have an answer for her. Nina opened her mouth to add more to her argument, but the sound of two guys walking towards the back of the drop ship caught both of their attention.

“John Murphy!” One of the boys yelled. “Can’t believe you dragged your sorry ass back here.” The boys grinned at one another and Nina looked over at the other girl. She looked a little worried so Nina made sure her face showed no emotion. “What do you want?” The girl asked. “To finish the job,” he said, holding up the knife in his hand. The other boy looked unarmed but Nina couldn’t count him out entirely. Nina scowled and narrowed her eyes. “I suggest you leave,” Nina snapped. The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise but his face also showed amusement. Nina loved it when people underestimated her. She had been doing a lot of fight training with Octavia who had been learning from Lincoln. “You two just go outside, alright? We’ll take care of the rest. We’ll just say he succumbed to his injuries.” The boys snickered and Nina saw the girl shifting from how uncomfortable she was. Neither of the girls said anything and the boy with the knife stepped forward. Nina reacted quickly, grabbing his wrist and turning him around, pressing his front against the metal wall. She twisted his wrist and held it behind his back. He was struggling but Nina was putting all her weight against him and she had his wrist twisted so any time he moved it was painful. “Drop it,” Nina hissed. The boy let go of the knife and she kicked it towards the other girl and Murphy. She released him and he quickly stumbled back towards his friend. “Crazy bitch,” he yelled as he rubbed his tender wrist. The two boys left the drop ship and Nina turned to the girl, a small smirk on her lips.

“I need to go find Bellamy,” she said. She hesitated and glanced towards Murphy. Nina waved her hand, pointing her towards the door. “Go. I’ll stay with him. I doubt they’ll come back anytime soon.” She nodded and quickly left the drop ship to find Bellamy. Nina picked up the knife she had kicked and handed it to Murphy. “Just in case,” she said, glancing back over her shoulder towards the door. She pulled up a chair next to where Murphy was and she leaned back in her seat, arms folding across her chest. “So what happened?” Nina asked. She was curious to know what had happened to this Murphy character she knew nothing about.

John Murphy

[John Murphy]

Some unrealized sense must have sent him running in the direction of the Dropship camp. Or sheer luck, though just how fortunate it was he'd ended up back here remained to be seen, but he wasn't confident in his chances. Not considering the warning he'd been given should he ever return. Despite the significant possibility Bellamy would return and put a bullet in his head after all, Murphy's hopes to live still held strong. He could maybe run if he had to, fighting wasn't much of an option and certainly not in the state he was in, but he was glad for the doubtful 'safety' of the delinquent camp. At least for now. 

Safe would be one of the last words he'd have used for this place following his hanging, but what he had endured at the Grounder camp had shifted his view if only temporarily. He would rather be here than there, even if the threats to his life still came. As people had wandered in and out of the Dropship, of those that had spoken they had either spat words of loathing or talked about him as though he couldn't hear them, of course knowing that he did. Discussing his fate, one way or another.

How bad?

The question had him glancing up, sight still hindered by the swelling around one eye, only to note the girl wasn't addressing him, but instead the other who was tending to one of the larger cuts along his arm. Just as well, he thought, he didn't feel like talking. In fact it hurt to, his throat raw from days of screaming. But this discussing of him as he sat silent was irritating, though now regular. How bad? None of them would know. Half surely didn't even believe his story, though just how they thought he had sustained such injuries was beyond him. Throw them out there alone and see how far they get. The mention of the Grounders catching him a second time elicited a faint shudder, though he was already shivering at intervals anyway. Something he was wishing he could stop, particularly whenever anybody came by to offer some abuse, as two did now.

To finish the job.

The glint of the knife caught Murphy's eye and instinctively his hands began curling into fists, the movement halted by the pain at a few of his fingertips. There was little he could do to defend himself in this state, weakened, injured and outnumbered, but he would do his best if needed. When he heard the girl speak up in his defense, however indirectly it may have been, his attention settled on her. Murphy suspected the suggestion for the girls to leave might have been heeded if it had only been the one tending his wounds, considering how uneasy she seemed, but the one who had spoken showed no signs of backing down. Still, Murphy assumed the boy would reach him as he made a move his way, but if not for his expectation of death coming for him at any moment, he might have smirked when the girl gained the upper hand. Instead he merely watched, waiting to see who would win out, his gaze darting to the blade as it slid along the floor in his direction yet out of reach. 

With the boys backing off and leaving the Dropship followed by the amateur nurse, Murphy's attention fell once more on the girl as she offered him the knife. He took it cautiously after some deliberation, searching her features for some trick, and set the knife down on the floor close beside him in case this should be some twisted test cooked up by their leader. Or Connor. Or anyone else who would love the chance to put that noose around his neck a second time. So what happened? Nothing he wanted to recount again after the first few times he'd been questioned, at least not right now, but he offered a simple summing up. "Grounders happened." He cast a glance past her in the direction of the entrance of the Dropship, drawing his gaze back her way as he went on. "You going to fight off Bellamy too?"

Tag: Nina Eaton

[Nina Eaton]

She hadn't missed his hesitation as she held the knife out to help. At first it had confused her but then she realized that his hesitation came from a plausible place. He had been through alot and if she had been in his shoes she knew she wouldn't be trusting of anyone. It didn't matter that she had stopped two assholes from jumping him and possibly killing him. Trust was a weakness and she had a feeling that Murphy knew that all too well. His answer was short and to the point. Grounders. She supposed she should have known that he wouldn't want to discuss what he had been through. Judging from the way he looked, the torture had been anything but ametur. Nina had yet to personally encounter any Grounders but she knew they weren't to be messed with. They were strong and great at fighting and apparently great at torturing. She wondered what they could have possibly gained from Murphy by torturing him. It wasn't like they needed the location to their camp. It was easy to find and it wasn't like the Grounders didn't know the land. She wasn't sure what sort of information Murphy had in terms of the delinquents. Maybe they wanted to know what they had for weapons or how good their fighters were. But still, both of those things were obvious to any Grounders that had come into contact with the group at some point.

Nina snorted a laugh at his question. She, unlike most of the delinquents, was not afraid of Bellamy. She knew Clarke, Finn and Raven weren't afraid of him either, just to name a few. Nina knew most of the kids worshiped him and did whatever he asked without question. But Nina was not one of those people and she would not step aside because he simply asked. "If I have to," Nina answered. While both her and Bellamy had trained to be apart of the guard, Nina had gotten further with her training and had kept up with the physical aspect of it. While she knew Bellamy would still know how to fight and he was stronger than her, she knew that with the right moves she could get the drop on him just like she had with those two guys. Nina was quick and that had always been her saving grace when fighting someone larger and stronger than her.

Her eyes landed on his hands and she noted that most of his fingernails were gone, if not all of them. She furrowed her eyebrows as she gazed at them. They had been ripped out. She curled her fingernails into the palm of her hands at the thought of having your fingernails ripped from your skin. He was not in good shape and Nina disliked the idea of making him leave once he was capable of walking. She didn't really have any pull with Clarke but maybe she did with Bellamy. Her and Bellamy had been friends once upon a time. They had been in the same class for becoming guards and had been through some shit together. Perhaps she would be able to appeal to the Bellamy she used to be friends with. She would just have to say the right things to get to him. Nina rose from her seat and grabbed a water pouch. She walked over to Murphy and handed it to him but realized he would probably second guess the kind gesture. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Nina retracted the water bottle from his reach and took a sip of it herself before handing it back to him. "Not poisoned, I promise," she said before sitting back down. 


John Murphy