Red Lighter ✧ John Murphy

XXXV - Prisoner

March 23rd, 2016

Sorry for the late update, guys. :/ I've been a little busy. But on the bright side, I might have a 5 day weekend! >:D Today is gonna involve a lot of freezing rain, meaning tomorrow morning, a lot of roads will likely be closed. Sooooo I might have tomorrow off, then Friday, then of course the weekend, then Easter Monday. ^_^

Byeeeeeeeee. :3

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Chapter Thirty-Five

Pike zip-tied me. He actually zip-tied me. I had to fight the urge to strangle him with my bound wrists. The only reason I didn't is because he had locked them behind my back, meaning it would be incredibly difficult to actually hurt him. Not impossible, but difficult.

We looked horrific as we walked towards the mechanical gate of Arkadia. They looked as if they came from a warzone, and in a way, they did. They were covered in blood, and they continued to hold their guns even as there was no longer a threat around them. I, on the other hand, had torn clothes and sweat still lingering on my skin. Not from the heat, but from the long distance I ran in a very short time.

Even as I walked into Arkadia and continued to feel like a prisoner, I still didn't regret leaving them.

At least, I didn't regret leaving Emori.

I saw the people in the crowd all look at the gunmen, some with pride and others with disgust, then at me with confusion. Some of them recognized me, some of them didn't. Those that didn't probably thought I was a grounder.

"Venus!" I heard a familiar voice shout, and saw Octavia running towards me with a wide grin on her face. She immediately pulled me into a tight hug, then pulled away when she realized that I wasn't hugging her back.

She turned to Bellamy, who refused to look at us. She had an expression of anger on her face, but she still seemed somewhat civil with him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bellamy replied, seeming emotionless. It was as if he didn't care about what he had just done.

"What the hell happened out there? What's this about?" she asked, pointing to my tied wrists as she pulled a knife from her belt.

"Chancellor's orders," he stated, then walked away.

"Chancellor's orders my ass," Octavia growled, then sliced at the zip tie with her knife. It broke easily, and I sighed in relief.

"Thanks," I said, rubbing at my wrists and cracking my numb and almost cramping arms.

"No problem," she said, then quickly wrapped her arms around me tightly. I laughed a little, hugging her back and almost feeling tears in my eyes from the happiness of seeing my best friend again.

"Come on," she said, leading me over to where Lincoln was standing. "What happened? You guys didn't answer the radio for weeks..." she bit her lip, and Lincoln had his eyes widened slightly as he realized who I was. "Ven, we thought you died."

"I almost did," I said, smiling a little. "So did Murphy."

"Where is he?" she asked.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "We, uh... We split up. In more ways than one."

"Sorry about that," she muttered, right as Pike yelled for them to lock up the doors.

We all turned to see him standing on a platform, speaking to us.