All That Glitters Is Not Gold

[Amuna]

Amuna used to wonder if her body would keep searching for the City of Light long after she had taken her last breath. She had been walking since she could remember. She had been lost in the sands, turned around, attacked, and worn out again and again. Yet she always kept walking. It had become some type of instinct.

There was nothing else for her so why would she ever stop?

She did not stop when she discovered the mines. She did not stop when she crested the hill and saw the light of the setting sun glittering off the reflective surfaces of the solar panels. Her quiet determination kept her moving. She found the sea and crafted herself a boat from scrap materials she found nearby.

She ended up tossed on a shore on the other side of the sea, leg scraped by the teeth of a sea-monster and arm bleeding from where her raft had broken apart and sliced into her flesh. It was completely dark when she woke up and she ached so much all she could do was crawl into a nearby broken boat and sleep.

Only to weak with a scream as a creature slammed into the side of the boat, throwing her out of it. She scrambled back and fumbled for her spear with numb fingers only to find it missing. Vivid memories of her treacherous time of sea flashed before her eyes. The spear has been lost in an attempt to injure the seamonster. She barely had time to reach for an alternative weapon, a dagger and raise it to defend herself from the oversized lizard that intended to have her for dinner.

"No you don't!" Amuna kicked at it and scrambled to her feet. The world twisted and dipped, but she managed to stay on her feet as the creature prepared to pounce again. "I've come too far for a scaly little thing to stop me!"

Unfortunately scaly beasts did not speak her language.

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Tag: John Murphy

[Deleted]

Despite the weird and creepy vibes from the video he had watched, Murphy didn’t plan on leaving that bunker any time soon. There was food, water, alcohol, electricity…he didn’t know how long it would all last but it would be long enough for him to survive for a good while at least. Not like he had much of a choice. He had crossed a desert following Jaha to this so-called City of Light. Fuck the promised land, it still sucked in his opinion. His only salvation had been this bunker, otherwise he was pretty sure he would have wound up dead or sea monster food by that point. Jaha had promised that he would come back after he ran after that drone but Murphy doubted the former Chancellor would actually have the balls to come back for him. Why should he? It was obvious he only cared about himself, with what he had done to Craig after Richards had fallen into the water. Murphy had managed to find some clean bandages in the bunker and some antiseptic, which he had applied to the wound on his arm courtesy of said sea monster. He washed his face and scrubbed most of the dirt and blood from his features, although the healing cuts were still visible.

Sitting on the couch in his t-shirt, his jacket and hoodie slung over a nearby chair, he finished wrapping his left forearm with the bandages. Taking the remote, he flipped through channels on the television, pressing different buttons to see what they brought up. For the most part, all he could find was static but then he hit a button that brought up what looked like security cameras. What the hell was this place anyways? There were six different views up on the screen now, showing different areas around the lighthouse and the bunker entrance. Nothing looked all that interesting until he glanced over to the bottom right video that showed the rocky shoreline. He saw the broken boat that he and Jaha had arrived on and some other debris, but what caught his attention was what looked like a giant lizard crawling up onto the edge of the broken boat and lunging for something. Leaning forward to try and take a better look, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, he realized that the lizard wasn’t just checking out the boat for the hell of it. It was trying to get at something. Suddenly a girl appeared from within the boat, kicking at the lizard. Aw shit was the only thought that ran through his mind.

Part of him just wanted to stay in the bunker, stay away from whatever the hell was happening outside, but there was another part of him that couldn’t in good conscience let the girl become lizard food. Cursing under his breath, Murphy climbed to his feet and grabbed his jacket, pulling it back on, carefully tugging it over his injured arm. He had lost his gun in the sea crossing but he had survived with less. There were probably weapons in this bunker too but he hadn’t had a chance to search. Making his way up the stairs and out the door, he ran towards the beach just as the lizard lunged once more at the girl. The dagger she held wasn’t going to do much against the beast and she was quickly losing ground. Looking around quickly, Murphy spotted a large piece of driftwood. Grabbing it, he ran towards the beast.

“Hey! Get away from her!” As if the lizard could actually understand him, but whatever, it was the thought that counted. With a strong swing of the timber, he knocked the lizard onto its back. It quickly came to its feet, hissing and sticking its tongue out at him. Like hell he was going to get beaten by a scaly freak of nature, especially after everything he had survive. Murphy swung the driftwood at it once again, causing it to scramble back to avoid the hit. When it suddenly lunged at him, he managed to dodge it but barely. Reaching across the stones, he found a large rock, and when the lizard leapt at him again, he bashed it across the head. It fell back, stunned, and Murphy took that opportunity to finish the job. Once again, blood coated his hands but at least it was done and the beast wouldn’t be bothering them anymore. Turning back to the girl, he took in her attire briefly before meeting her gaze. “You okay?”

Amuna

[Amuna]

Amuna had not seen him coming, her eyes wide in horror and locked on the beast. The sound of an unfamiliar male's voice was a blessing she had not expected. The scale-beast was knocked away, giving her a chance to put some distance between herself and the beast.

The man had no armour and a chunk of driftwood, but he managed to save her. Her eyes darted between the beast and the man, unable to think of a way to help him. Not that he needed help. The beast turned on him and he avoided its strike, getting the best of of it and taking it out with rock. It was a crude defense and take out, but it was doubtful that either would complain.

"I'm okay." She reached for her headscarf to cover her mouth when she spoke but grasped at empty air. Her eyes widened and cheeks paled when she realised she had lost the strip of cloth and her horns were bared. The woman turned immediately and kicked at the sand, trying to uncover it. She spotted movement and found the scarf hooked on a strip of jagged wood in the boat. It only took her a moment to detach it and settle it back into place over her horns and mouth to hide the forked tongue as she spoke.

"Thank you," she said as she turned back to him. Her English was decent, but heavily accented as if she was not entirely used to using it. Although she was bleeding and obviously aching, she seemed to be alright. He had saved her, after all. "You're my hero. I owe you one."

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Tag: John Murphy