Survive, if you can // John Murphy

//43// Accidental Investigation

WARNINGS: swearing, violence.

I'm in a dark room. Well, it isn't exactly a room. All I see is darkness when I look around but I'm standing on a floor so it must be solid. I take a step forward but nothing changes about my surroundings. Nothing except a table that suddenly appears in front of me. It's made of a dark wood and it's round. On top sits a green vase filled with pink and yellow flowers. I reach out my hand to touch one but the table vanishes again.

"Pretty, aren't they?"

I turn to my right to find Marcus standing there. "Dad? Why aren't you on the ship? What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you something," he says, taking a few steps toward me. "I'm dying, Camari. I'm dying and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"What?" I breathe, shaking my head quickly. "No, no. Abby is looking for a cure-"

"She won't be able to find one. She won't save me. I'll die," he says, nodding.

"No," I say, stepping toward him. "No, you can't die. I need you."

"Camari, you do wonderfully on your own. You got yourself a job here, you helped your friends relax for the first time in a long time. You don't need me. And even if you do," he says, smiling softly, "I'll always be with you."

"No. I'm not...I'm not ready to lose you," I say, shaking my head frantically.

"You're strong, Camari," he says, grabbing my arms so I'm looking at him. "You can do anything."

"No," I say quietly, hands cupping his cheeks.

"If you can't move on for yourself, promise me you'll move on for me. I can't be at peace if you don't move on," he says, eyes searching mine. "Please."

I nod for his benefit. "Okay. I promise."

He evaporates suddenly and the room morphs along with him. Tall trees expand from the newly constructed dirt ground. Leaves cover the surface of the woods. I recognize this place. These are the woods just outside of camp. Our first camp. In fact, these are the woods where John was almost hanged.

"Cam!! Cam, I need you!!"

"John!?!?" I shout back, hearing his voice somewhere to the west.

"Help!! They'll kill me!!"

I break into a sprint, trying desperately to find the source of his screaming. My feet land roughly on the ground as I run and run and run. He has to be close now. He has to be.

"Cam!!"

One shout to my right, closer than before. I take off in that direction, now hearing more shouts. These ones sound angered and enraged. When I reach the shouting, I find a mob of the hundred they sent to the ground together. Above them, John is hanging from a noose.

"Stop!!" I scream, pushing through the crowd to find Clarke and Bellamy in the centre. "Please!! Take him down!!"

"He killed Charlotte," Bellamy says almost robotically, grasping my arms and holding me in place.

"Let me go, Bell!!" I scream, trying to rip free of him. It's no use. He's stronger for some reason.

"He deserves this, Cam," Clarke says, keeping her expression as neutral as everyone else.

The hundred of them all turn to me at once with that same unwavering expression. I pause my writhing for only a second as their hive mind creeps under my skin. I have this queasy feeling in my stomach. Then there's a soft crack heard from above me. Even though I already know what it is, I turn my head up anyway. John is hanging limp from a broken neck.