From The Ashes | The 100 S5 [Bellarke]

|6| The Future of Earth

6 years and 6 days after Praimfaya

Murphy usually wasn't the type to judge the people who'd just saved his life, but he didn't like these Eligius people. They were too damn polite and, in his experience, that always meant trouble.

"Warm welcome," he muttered to Emori as they followed their rescuers off the shuttle that had taken them from the dying Ring. Stares came from all directions as they walked down a hall, the short-haired colonists eyeing them more like prisoners of war than guests.

"Shof op," she cautioned him, reaching out to catch his hand with hers and squeezing it lightly. "Osir laik nou tona; emo laik tona."

"I know," he replied. Their whispered conversation caught the attention of one of their escorts from the shuttle, and Murphy held the man's gaze until he looked away. "Ai nou wich em in."

A few minutes later, they were brought into what was obviously the medical section of the ship, with locked steel cabinets and equipment that Murphy recognized from his short time around Abby Griffin. The warnings swirling in his gut surged higher, climbing and twisting around his heart. He'd never liked medical bays, and that hadn't changed.

"Don't worry," a woman said, brushing aside an opaque plastic sheet that hung across the far end of the room as she walked towards them. Her short hair was streaked with gray, and while her smile was warm, her eyes remained bland. She caught Murphy's suspicious look, and it was him she addressed. "We just need to do a quick check-up and inoculate against any possible diseases."

"Great," Murphy said. "When are we going to the ground?"

The doctor shared a quick look with one of the colonists from the shuttle, in which time Bellamy caught Murphy's gaze and shook of his head.

Murphy knew what he was telling him – play it safe. He rolled his eyes in response. Please. As if he was going to mess up their only chance back home; he wasn't that stupid.

"Descent has been put on temporary hold until further notice," the colonist replied, marking him as a leader of sorts.

And then he left, leaving them alone with the doctor.

"Well, let's get this over with," Raven said, going over to one of the metal benches set along the wall and sitting down. She rolled up her sleeve and presented her bare arm to the doctor. "The sooner we're out of here, the sooner all of us can go home, right?"

~ ~ ~

Monty hated needles.

Ever since he was little, he'd loathed the sensation of cool metal sliding under his skin, filling his bloodstream with strange components. It was why, even though shooting up with illegally processed drugs was something he'd always heard was better than smoking or drinking them, he'd never done it. He'd liked his highs, but he hadn't liked them that much.

When the Eligius doctor finally approached him with the required inoculation, the long steel needle glinting in the light panels overhead, he felt the familiar twist of horror and nausea in his stomach. As she swabbed at the crook of his elbow, he squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the inevitable pain.

It hurt like hell, but it was over soon. Since he was the last one to be inoculated, it was over for all of them, too.

"I'll be right back," the doctor said, walking towards the back of the room. "I forgot my tablet for the checkup diagnostic app."

"Take your time," Murphy called out after her.

"Is it just me, or do you guys feel a bit bombed, too?" Wick mumbled, reaching up to rub blearily at his eyes.