Prologue
Clarke Griffin stared at the piece of paper that lay before her. She'd found it on her father's desk. It seemed so dangerous, so ominous, and it was. The Ark, her home, was failing. There wouldn't be enough oxygen or resources to last the population for much longer. From the calculations she did in her head, the Ark had just months left.
She blankly stared ahead, she tried to do the math over and over again, and hoped that she had missed something, but she hadn't. Clarke was sure that her father had come to the same conclusions as she had, but then why wouldn't he have said anything to the people of the Ark? Something needed to be done immediately.
Time seemed to pass more quickly than she could keep track of, as before she knew it, hours had gone by with her just staring ahead at the paper covered in numbers; numbers that had the potential to kill them all; a horrified expression across her features.
It was that same expression she wore as just minutes later she witnessed her father's arrest. The look on his masculine features were a mirror to her's as she was then immediately arrested as well. The information on that piece of paper, such a seemingly innocent item, could not be leaked, it would cause mass panic among the twelve stations.
On the other side of the Ark, in Factory Station, Bellamy Blake sat hunched over with his head in his hands. He took slow breaths as he remembered the events that took place exactly a year ago today. His mother and his sister were arrested. Octavia, his sister, was only fifteen years old, thus she was put in lockup. His mother, however, was floated. It was entirely his fault too.
Back then, Bellamy was a cadet, training to be a guard. It was the night of the Hallows Ball. The Hallows Ball was their way of celebrating what was once called Halloween on Earth. The people of the Ark are not entirely sure what the traditions were on Earth, but here, there was a dance where kids of all ages wore masks to hide their identities for the evening.
It was Bellamy's final test before he became an official member of the guard, he would then have access to more rations, higher pay, and have a higher status on the Ark. All of which were important because of Octavia. She was hidden under the floor in a small nook because it's illegal on the Ark to have more than one child. His mother and him had been successful in hiding Octavia for fifteen years before he finally failed her on his last night as a Cadet.
She had never experienced the world; had never met anyone other than Bellamy or their mother. So, for just that one night, Bellamy wanted to show her, he wanted her to have a life, even if it only lasted for a short time. But there was a solar flare, and everyone present had to have their ID chips scanned. Octavia, being an illegal child with no experiences outside of her nook, also had no ID chip. The next morning, Octavia was sent to lock up, and their mother was floated. Just like that, and he hadn't seen his sister since.
Maybe, if he could stop his mind from counting everyday he spent alone in his tiny, metal, home, he could forget that today was the anniversary of the Hallows Ball. He knew that wasn't the case though, because not only did he not become a guard member because of the events that took place last year, but he was removed from the cadet program and sentenced to work as a janitor for the remainder of his miserable existence. He was on cleanup duty tonight. Not much more could be expected for a Factory Station native though. That's just how life on the Ark was.
A/N: I hope that everyone likes this chapter well enough, it is just a little prologue before the real plot begins. I also hope that all of you readers are ready for a long story, with a slow burn, 'cause that's exactly what this is going to be!