CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
ditched by the insane.

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

Sage clutched her stomach as a sickening feeling erupted. She was sick and tired of their boat journey despite only travelling for an hour or so. During that hour she had slept for ten minutes despite the discomfort of the wooden planks and she had hurled twice. She had apologised frequently to the others on the boat but Murphy had interfered saying if anyone had an issue with her being sick they could answer to him.

She didn't know what had come over him, but he had been awfully protective over her recently. She supposed she felt the same way about him, considering her disagreement with Caspian was over the fate of Murphy.

"Yo, Ahab. Come back. Get some rest." Murphy directed, addressing Jaha who was perched by the front of the boat, leaning over the front, Sage only assumed he was falling asleep.

"I'm fine." The man responded.

"Oh, screw this. If you're not gonna sleep, you can row." One of the men, Craig spat, dropping the oar in his hands. It fell to the floor, thudding in front of Sage's feet.

"Get back on that oar, Craig." Jaha murmured spitefully.

"Or what? We don't even know if we're going in the right direction anymore. We followed that drone across the open ocean. Hell, we deserve to die out here." Craig ranted. Jaha glanced back at the man, ready to scold and lecture him.

"It's okay. It's okay. I'm good to go. I can row." Murphy interfered, saving the man the trouble and offering himself in order to prevent a larger argument. Sage smiled proudly at him as he moved forward to pick up the fallen paddle.

"Land?" Richards asked. Sage swirled her back around to see his eyes set ahead of the boat. She gazed out into the seemingly black abyss, her eyes widening at the sight of a faint online of an island. "Land!"

Richards began to laugh as excitement consumed the members of the boat, even Murphy laughed as Sage began to lightly slap his leg in excitement. "Yeah!" Murphy cheered, his arms stretching as he exclaimed, causing Sage to beam even wider than before.

"How does an island of light sound to you, John?" Jaha smiled, all giddy like a child.

The group's elevated mood instantly dropped at the sound of a thud and sensation of the creaky wooden boat rocking beneath them. Sage gulped at the feeling of her stomach dropping, a sensation which appeared to be happening the more she followed Jaha.

"Dammit!" Richards muttered as his oar slipped into the water.

"What was that?" Craig asked worriedly.

Ignoring his question, Jaha glanced back at his group, pointing to the oar in the water as he commanded Richards to retrieve it. "Get that oar! Get that oar."

Richards did as told and leaned over the side of the boat, his fingers merely grazed the water surface before the boat was knocked around again, sending the man hurling into the water below.

"Richards!" Craig exclaimed in synchronisation to Sage's yelp.

"There's something in the water!"

"The oar!" Jaha yelled.

Before Sage could blink, Murphy had pushed her out of the way and created enough space for him to lean over the boat and hold his outstretched hand toward to flailing man below.

The boat shook again and Sage felt her blood run cold when a low growl sounded from beneath the water. She had never been so petrified, her heart hammered against her chest while her hands began to shake violently, oh so violently.

But despite her fear, Sage used her position in the boat to her advantage and pulled Murphy back to safety, well not safety exactly, but the safest part of the boat. He was groaning and muttering something underneath his breath, Sage could barely make out. But then he began to repeat himself clearer.

"My arm. Oh, my arm."

As it turns out during his attempted rescue of Richards, he had gotten himself injured presumably by whatever it was that dragged Richards to his death. Sage and Jaha manoeuvred the boy into a lying position across the rows of wooden beams as he continued to wince in agony.

Meanwhile Craig was still focused on the creature which had murdered and devoured their fellow member.

"I don't see it. Where is it?"

"What the hell was that thing?" Murphy muttered through a moan, his wide eyes met Sage's and she realised she had never seen him so frightened. Sage shook her head and was sure she held an expression just as fearful, especially when Murphy clasped his hand around hers, both for his comfort and hers.

"We need to row. Now." Jaha stated firmly, looking back at poor Craig who appeared as though he had witnessed something blood chilling, which to be fair, he had.

Sage felt her hands grow sweaty and suddenly her mouth had never been so dry when the boat rocked again due to the creature slamming into the bottom of the boat yet again.

"It's back. Hold on!" Jaha instructed, trying to remain calm and collected for the sake of his group.

"Where is it?" Craig panicked, glancing around each angle of the boat in search of said monster.

"Craig, row." Jaha started. "Row, Craig!" He continued after the man only resumed his panic frenzy.

"Where is it?" Craig repeated anxiously.

Another slam sounded, rocking the boat and flinging Sage up in her seat as the group analysed their situation.

"Craig, Row!"

Everyone began to panic as they each noticed the water beginning to fill their ship, meaning only one thing. They were sinking.

For some reason, this snapped Sage into adrenaline mode despite her tightened muscles and physical chest pain. She snatched the spare oar from the ground and began to row, only moving the boat forward a metre or so.

"We're gonna sink. We're all gonna die. We're all gonna die." The man muttered, voicing the majority of Sage's inner thoughts.

"I can do it. I can row." Murphy murmured attempting to sit up.

"No way." Sage responded, placing her hand on his chest and forcing him back into a laying position. "I'll do it." She said, taking his place instead. Murphy opened his mouth to object but gave up when Sage reached for a spare oar and began to row.

"Go! Go! Row!" Jaha repeated, now moving on from encouraging Sage but again yelling at Craig.

More water began spurting in from every angle of the raft, filling it with more and more water by the second. Sage jumped in her seat but nonetheless continued to row. Craig on the other hand froze and began to scream loudly.

Jaha's hands grasped both of Craig's shoulders before harshly throwing him overboard. Sage's hand flew to her mouth as the water from his fall splashed in her direction, drenching everything from her hair to her combat boots. Well at least she was finally washing away the majority of the sand she had collected over her body throughout their journey.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Murphy started. "Get off of me! Get off of me!" He exclaimed when Jaha grasped the front of Murphy's jacket in his hands.

"Don't touch him. Get your hands off of him!" Sage interjected, shoving Jaha away from Murphy with her free hand.

"What the hell is— What the hell is wrong with you?" Murphy yelled, pushing Sage behind him protectively.

"Hold on. It's gone. Let's go." Jaha stated, ignoring the horrified expressions gracing the pair's faces.

"Why?"

"So we could live. And because you two can row."

↯

Sage's fear of water had only increased by the time she reached the shore. She fell onto the rock like sand with a harsh thud, thanking the gods above when she felt her hands resting upon the uneven ground.

"We're alive." She panted relieved. Murphy had landed beside her and despite being injured still managed to find her hand with his own. His blood stained fingers laced with her own.

"We're okay." The boy noted, meeting her gaze as they stared only at each other.

Sage's hand reached for his face, attempting to clean away some of the grime adorning his forehead and cheeks. Her thumb wiped above his eyebrow, only for her bloodied finger to smear the crimson liquid over his face more than before causing them both to chuckle.

The boy smiled softly at her, his eyes scanning over her facial features. From her pink tinged cheeks to her slightly parted lips and finally to her soft yet heavy eyes.

"How do you still manage to look beautiful after all these days in the desert?" The boy asked quietly. Sage didn't have enough time to answer the question, for the pair were interrupted by Jaha who had stood up and collected their attention.

"Let me help you." Jaha started only for Murphy to sit up and crawl backwards away from the man.

"I don't want anything from you." He retracted.

"Come on. You're a survivor. We all are." The older man stated the obvious.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself to feel better Chancellor." Murphy dismissed, physically turning away from the standing man and facing Sage who was still seated, watching the scene unfold.

"Our destiny is out there."

"And what about Craig's destiny?" Murphy highlighted. Sage's teeth sunk into her lower lip as she thought of the poor guy, his destroyed flesh scattered within the ocean as only the leftovers of the creature's dinner remained.

"We sacrificed a few to save the many." The man defended, bringing up his most classic catchphrase he used as an excuse to float far to many of the Ark's residents.

"You know, you're right. I am a survivor.. which is exactly why I'm done following you. I'll go my own way, I hope Sage comes with me. And you can go whichever the hell way you want." Murphy explained, walking closer to the man who took in each word. Sage stood up also, still standing outside the conversation but listening in, her heart swelling involuntarily when the boy mentioned her name.

"John-" Jaha started.

The man was cut off by Murphy who due to a large amount of blood loss had grown woozy. He staggered for a moment before completely crumbling onto the ground, his head only avoiding concussion after being caught by none other than Sage who protected his skull from the impact.

"John!" Jaha yelped the same time Sage gasped "Murphy!"

"Get the hell away from me." Murphy sneered through his gritted teeth, curling closer to Sage who glanced between the pair wildly.

"He's lost too much blood." Sage examined, scanning over his pale face which was gazing up at her.

"He'll be okay, just- Did you hear that?" Jaha stopped, scanning his surroundings warily.

"No..." Sage trailed off while Murphy shut his eyes painfully.

"There!"

As a matter of fact, a circular drone hovered only metres away from the arguing triad, appearing to scan over them. Before Sage could even take a good look at the flying disk, Jaha had strolled up to said drone and faced it.

"Please. Whoever you are, we need your help." He begged.

The drone stayed put for a moment before beginning to fly away, crushing Jaha's hope in a second.

"Wait! Wait!" He yelled, beginning to run off, leaving the two.

"John.. Sage..." He started.

"He can't make it." Sage shook her head sadly.

"Just go, alright? We all know you want to." The boy muttered.

"I'll come back for you kids!" The man yelled as he began to jog away.

"Yeah, I call bullshit." Sage murmured to herself.

"Your promised land sucks!"

↯

Since Jaha's ditching, Sage and Murphy hadn't done much. They lay there for a while, resting and simply attempting to get their breathing back to normal. Sage knew Murphy was in a lot of pain and therefore tended to his injuries. The boy had passed out about halfway through the girl's attempts in healing him.

"Murphy, you gotta wake up." Sage muttered, tapping the side of the boy's face gently.

The boy didn't respond. "Hey, wake up." She repeated, speaking softly.

Still he remained lifeless. He was laying still, limbs unmoving and scaring Sage. Her eyes scanned over his body, analysing his symptoms. His head was rolled to the side, meaning he had no strength in his neck. Sage's heart rate began to speed up as her worry for the boy only increased. She placed her ear down on his chest, listening for a heartbeat and or pulse.

The boy was breathing, only barely however. And Sage was growing more anxious by the second. She placed her two fingers beneath his jaw, ignoring the sharpness of it, finding that his breathing was so very slow, only around one beat per thirty seconds.

"Murphy, come on, wake up." She repeated, her voice raising.

The girl began to push down on his chest, beginning the resuscitation process. She pushed down thirty times, before opening his mouth slightly and arching his head back. She stopped for a moment before placing her mouth on his, breathing into his mouth and cursing the universe for allowing this to be their first kiss.

The next time we kiss, you better be awake. She thought.

He still hadn't woken up and by this point Sage was beyond worried, she continued to perform CPR while yelling his name at the same time.

"Murphy, please." Sage begged, a few tears dripping down her cheeks in utter hopelessness as the thought of losing the boy flashed in her mind.

"I-I can't do this without you. Murphy, I-I need you." The girl stammered over her words, her tears falling down rapidly, dancing in the cool air until reaching their destination on the boy's unmoving body. She didn't know why she cared so much, she knew they were friends but her feelings toward the situation indicated perhaps she felt more for him.

"Please."

Just when she had lost all hope, when she felt as though there was nothing she could do to get the boy back, he stirred.

Her face broke out into a smile as she watched the boy's eyes slowly try to open.

"Murphy?"

"Yeah? Hey, woah why are you crying? What's wrong?" Murphy fretted, raising his hand and pushing the a piece of Sage's hair out of her face.

"I thought I lost you." She sobbed, now crying tears of joy and relief.

"It's okay, I'm right here." He reassured, wiping away a few stray tears flowing seamlessly down her cheeks.

"Y-You.."

Before Sage could question her actions, a surge of confidence powered through her veins, prompting her to do the one thing she had longed to do for longer than she knew.

Sage connected her lips onto Murphy's, pressing them hard and feverish as if she was running out of time. She felt the boy's hand snake to the back of her head, pushing her lips harder onto his own, loving the feeling.

It was like nothing she had ever experienced. She had once, but it was nothing in comparison to this elevated and buzzing electricity coursing through her body. The pair only separated when Sage felt the boy wince beneath her, probably because of his injury.

"Oh shit." Sage muttered, pulling away from his grasp to relieve his wound of some tension.

"I could get used to waking up with you on top of me." Murphy smirked, eyeing the girl laying atop of him.

"I'm so glad you're alive." She smiled in relief, her chest no longer aching with fear.

"Clearly."

And with the waves crashing behind them and the moonlight decorating their interlocked fingers, Sage and Murphy chuckled to themselves, sharing uneven breaths at the thought that perhaps they were at the end,

but at least they had each other.

author's note
in honour of reaching 8K on sinking sun i present to you chapter thirteen!! this was a very fluffy chapter for my dear mage & hey! we made it! they're finally together!!! i absolutely love this chapter and hope you all do too!

thank you all sm for reading & keeping updated with this book, it genuinely gives me the heart to keep writing and maintain my work. it means so much to me to know you all have enjoyed this just as much as i have!

so again, a big thank you,
and lots of love,

— clovdy