notion • john murphy

2 - INTRODUCTIONS

[ INTRODUCTIONS ]

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   Expecting light, Murphy opens his eyes slowly, but no bright light came. He blinks a couple of times as his eyes adjust. Feeling a strong grip around his wrists, he moves his hands, only to feel cold metal against his skin. Groaning at the pain that moving had caused him, he glances around his surroundings.

   A cave. He realises as he sees the dark rock walls.
Glancing down at his wrists, he notices the tight shackles.

"Hey! Is anyone there?" He croaks. "Y—You're the grounders right? The ones who speared that kid with the goggles?" He tries to develop any sort of response. "Yeah, you should've killed him. He was in pain for days, I'm surprised I didn't kill him myself." Murphy chuckles at that.

   He picks up on a shuffling noise of feet against gravel. "Hey! I heard that! Show yourself."

A small chuckle comes from the shadows and then footsteps. Murphy's eyes widen at the sight of her. A girl appears out of darkness, covered in (obvious) grounder armour. She was beautiful. For a grounder. Murphy internally scoffs. She must've hit his head hard.

"Who are you?" He asks. The girl furrows her brows. Murphy cleared his throat. "Are you going to kill me?" He decides to ask instead, hoping she knows English.

"If I wanted you dead, I would've killed you by the cliff." She states. Murphy wonders why she doesn't mention him literally begging for her to kill him. But then he realises he's glad she doesn't. He wouldn't know what to say.

"You speak English," Murphy lets out a breath of relief. "So, that means you can let me go."

The girl raises an eyebrow. "You are a foolish boy. I didn't hit your head that hard with the rock, did I?"

Murphy scoffs. "I'm probably smarter than you and all you other cavemen—"

She takes a step forward, a threatening glare on her face as her knife appears at his neck. "Perhaps I should remove your tongue. Watch your words, Sky boy."

   Murphy gulps. "I didn't mean that." He defends. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just. . ." His gaze falls to the ground.

   "How is your head, by the way?" She asks him suddenly, her knife lowering as she takes a few steps away. He glances up at her, unamused. What was she, bipolar? One second she was threatening him, the next she was checking up on him.

   "You did hit it with a rock, so I'd say. . . hm, I don't know, painful."

   She glares down at him, lips twitching in annoyance before she scoffs, eyes squinting. "I did not think of you as a weak boy."

   "Well I guess I am," He shrugs. "Guess you'll have to let me go since there is no use for me." Murphy tries to lean and look past her, searching for an entrance. He needed a plan, and he needed one quickly.

"I can't let you go." She tells him.

"Yeah? And why not?" A stupid question, really, but if he couldn't fight his way out, maybe he could use his words.

She's silent for a moment, eyes calculating. "Consider yourself lucky. If it was anyone else as your guard, you'd be dead the second you opened your eyes."

Murphy clenches his jaw. This Grounder girl wouldn't be easy to deal with. But everyone had a weakness. Murphy's head pounded as he cleared his throat. "Can I ask your name?"