Survive, if you can // John Murphy

//24// Fighting Dirty

WARNINGS: swearing, violence, sexual tension.

I'm on my way to Polis. I'm hoping one of Ontari's warriors will "confiscate" me and lock me up. I can deal with finding John once I'm free. It's a terrible plan, I know that. I just can't be away from him for another second. I want to be near him. I also want to kick him in the balls if he slept with Emori.

Once I'm outside the gates and I still haven't been taken into custody, I bang on the metal. The doors open to a strange scene. People are walking around in peculiar patterns while I see people nailed to crosses. I rush through the market, stopping in a courtyard. Someone is being lowered from the cross because they're dead. I continue on through the rows of people on their knees to find Marcus nailed to one of them.

"Dad!" I shout before I can think about it.

His head raises as his tired eyes meet mine. "Camari, no. Run."

"Camari."

I turn to find Jaha and Abby behind me. "Abby, what are you doing!? Get him down!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Camari," she says, shaking her head robotically.

She's been chipped.

I pull my sword from my belt. "You'll kill me before I take that damn chip."

Synchronously, all the people who were once on their knees stand to surround me. I'm outnumbered, I know that. I'm a pretty amazing fighter though. Maybe I could take them.

"Camari! Please! Just go with them!" Marcus yells at me.

I can't deny him. Not when he's about to die. I drop my sword on the ground as two Grounder soldiers grab me. They drag me away as I give Marcus a warning look. They pull me toward a stone structure and through the door. They open a barred gate into a drab dungeon housing maybe fifteen people. They pull me to one of the stone walls as they lock me into a pair of old-looking cuffs. They leave, locking the door behind them. I sit on the hay covered floor, sighing.

"Cam?"

I look up to find John chained to the opposite wall. I smile. "I knew I'd find you."

"What do you mean? I thought you were mad at me and that's why you ran," he says, keeping his voice down as he crouches to be eye level with me.

"No, I was taken by the Grounders and brought here. Then back to Arkadia, then to this lonely girl, then back here," I say, shaking my head. "But Clarke told me that you were a Flamekeeper."

"Barely," he says, leaning against the wall. "Ontari was pretending to be the Commander when she didn't have the flame so I helped her to stay alive."

"What about before that? Jaha said you stole the boat with Emori," I say, frowning.

"Yeah," he says slowly. "We kinda had a thing. We were conning people until I got caught and they brought me here, to Ontari."

"And...I should worry about them?" I ask, swallowing hard.

He sighs, looking at my feet. "Not Ontari. We had sex but only to survive."

"And Emori?" I ask, meeting his eyes.

He nods. "Yeah. She's chipped though."

I nod, looking to his right to find Pike chained to the far wall. "Pike."

"Hello, Camari," he says, nodding.

"You two know each other?" John says, pointing between the two of us.

"He was a dictator in Arkadia," I explain, turning back to him. "Well, doesn't this just feel like exactly what you deserve."

John laughs quietly as Pike frowns. "I never meant to hurt anyone-"