AN: Thanks for picking to read this story! I looooove the 100 and have tons of ideas, but I've taken this one and ran with it! Seriously. Currently at 30k words. I'm hoping to update regularly, so follow to stay in the know!
Italics are flashbacks in case it's not obvious.
"Raven?" I called out, my eyes were wide as we stopped spinning, the view of Earth just ahead of our tiny pod taunting us. "I have to tell you something!"
"What?" She asked, flipping switches quickly without looking at me. I swallowed and tried to contain the nausea rolling in my stomach.
"I think I forgot to mention- I'm scared of heights." She paused what she was doing to look at me, her hand still on the switches.
"Yeah. A little late for that!" She practically yelled, although I could see a hint of a smile on her terrified face. And then the ship rocked, and a nervous shout left my mouth.
"This is by far the stupidest thing we have ever done!" I yelled, using both hands to grip the makeshift seatbelts. I hadn't thought we'd actually get to this point, hurtling to Earth. The space suit I was wearing trapped all the heat inside, leaving me a puddle of sweat. Not that I wouldn't be sweating with a more breathable space suit. Deciding to drop to Earth in a tiny escape pod under any circumstances would leave me sweating.
Raven continued pressing buttons, not seeming at all perturbed by the fact that we could die in just a few minutes. I, on the other hand, was barely keeping my tears in, knowing that me freaking out would not help Raven. Earth was over Raven's shoulder, and while I was looking past her, she was looking at the necklace Finn had given her, knotted around a lever but still loose enough to float in zero gravity.
"We'll make it." I promised, setting a hand on her leg. She looked up at me, and both of our guards were down. The fear I saw in her eyes mirrored my own. We had no choice but to hope we would make it down.
She ran through her checklist to begin our descent, as though talking out loud would make everything more bearable. "Are you ready?" She asked, her hand on the thruster valve, ready to pull down.
I nodded, my hand covering hers. "Are you?" I asked, squeezing our hands together. She didn't answer, instead pulling the lever down. For a second, nothing happened, and then we were both jerked back in our seats, the force feeling like all of my insides were being squished to my spine. I couldn't even hear myself screaming as everything redlined and our vision of Earth was covered with flames licking the outside of our space craft.
This was it. This was the end. I was sure of it. Just a few seconds and my vision was fading, the pressure drop too much for me.
"So how are you, Abby?" I asked, crossing my legs over one another as we sat in the empty clinic.
She scoffed and brought one leg up to her chest, the other balancing her computer in case of an emergency. "I'm only here because Jaha ordered it." I nodded and set my pad to the side, showing her I wouldn't be taking any notes.
"I'm only here for you to talk to." She leaned back, her brown hair falling over her shoulders as she closed her eyes for a moment.
"I think Jackson is doing well." She muttered, rubbing her hands over her eyes to rid them of sleepiness.
"He's following your orders well." Abby straightened up again, looking straight at me.
"When your superior was floated, did it take you long to pick up the slack?" I tilted my head at her question, eyes narrowing. Why would she ask me something like that? "I mean, I know you had been working as a Science teacher for the younger kids, and jumping from teaching a few weeks worth of psychology material to becoming head Counselor is a big step."
"No, I suppose not." I answered steadily, bringing the pen to my mouth to chew. "But everything would be a lot easier if he was still here." I uncrossed my legs and leaned my forearms onto my elbows, my own dark hair falling over my shoulders. "Abby, you're not thinking that we'd be better off without you here, are you?" She narrowed her eyes at me and crossed her arms, leaning back into her seat. It was like she was building a wall between us. We had been friends for a while now, ever since my superior had been floated. Abby had helped me out when I was overwhelmed. Two and a half years ago, I had been a science teacher for the children's classes, following my mother's footsteps. When I'd grown tired of doing the same thing over and over again, it was my mother that encouraged me to take a spot as a counselor. Just a few months after that, my superior was floated, and I was forced to pick up his jobs.
"I wish there was a way I could be with the 100." I nodded, knowing Clarke, her daughter and one of my clients, had been sent to Earth with the rest of the prisoners.
"In two months, we'll be able to join them, hopefully." I offered, my hands clasping each other.
She nodded, not looking at me. "I just know I'd be of more help down there. I know those kids aren't dying. They're taking off their wristbands. We just have to prove it."
We? Who was she talking about? "Is there a way to prove it?" I asked instead, genuinely interested.
Abby looked me over, almost as if decided I was worth telling this secret to.
"Yes." She finally answered, copying my body position and leaning towards me.
All the beeping had stopped, but I couldn't see anything. Was it dark outside? "Raven?" My voice croaked, and as I tried to lean up, my head spun and soreness raced across all of my body. I set it back against the dash board, instead reaching a hand out to Raven, who lay still beside me. "Raven?" I tried again, shaking her shoulder. She didn't make any noises, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. No way in hell did I make it this far for her to die on me. I pushed against the dash board again, every muscle in my body protesting the movement. I pushed against the door and it opened suddenly, making me tumble out. I pulled the stupid helmet off of my head, breathing in the fresh air. My head spun, and as I tried to bring my arms underneath me again, they collapsed. I managed to roll onto my back, and for the first time in my life, I saw the stars above me, unobstructed by a tiny porthole. They spun above me, making it hard to concentrate on any of them, and I wondered briefly if one of the stars could be the Ark. My eyes shut on their own accord, the sound of radio static lulling me to sleep.
"Abby, I am not letting you walk out of here when you're planning on killing yourself!" I begged, grabbing her arm.
"I'm not killing myself, Eleanor." Abby replied calmly, organizing the medicine cabinet.
"Flying in a hundred year old piece of junk to Earth is suicide! What do you even know about flying? How will you fix it?" Abby stopped and turned to face me.
"Maybe I need someone else to help me, but you can bet your life that I will find a way down to them." I swallowed hard as she turned away. I had two choices here. I could go to Jaha or Kane with her plan, and lose Abby as a friend.
"Wait." I called out, holding a hand up. Or, I could help her. I knew we were running low on oxygen and resources. Earth was our only option. "I won't tell anyone," I promised, taking a step closer. "But I want to help you." Abby grew cold in her stare at me as I saw the wheels in her head turning. "I think I know someone who can help repair the ship." I told her, my hand squeezing her wrist. She searched my eyes another moment before she nodded in agreeance.
"Miss Compton!" My shoulder was being shaken, and I struggled to open my eyes. The sun blinded me, and I blinked several times, trying to adjust them. I turned to my right to see Clarke grinning down at me. Her face a bit smudged with dirt and her hair was tangled, but otherwise she looked okay. It's because of her that we're here, I reminded myself, thinking of how Abby had told me to find and protect her. I groaned and closed my eyes, bringing my hands to my face. She shook my shoulder again, urging me to get up. "Come on, Miss Compton. You need to get up."
I groaned and put my hands firmly against the ground, pushing myself to a sitting position. "Is this a dream?" I asked, looking around at all the green I could see. The air felt so moist, something I had only felt a few times in the Agro station, where our food on the Ark was grown.
"No, this is real." Clarke promised, a hand on my shoulder. I grinned and looked up at the sky, seeing nothing but bright blue covering every inch.
My eyes fell to the craft we had fallen in, the outside of it scorched. "Raven. . ." I whispered, trying to get to my feet. Clarke seemed to realize what I meant, leaving my side to open the door. When Clarke shot a grin back at me, my heart lifted, a smile covering my face.
While Clarke helped Raven out of the escape pod, I struggled to slide out of the bulky space suit and stretch my sore muscles. Raven had begun spinning in circles as water began falling from the sky.
"Is this rain?" Raven asked Clarke, who nodded with a grin. I looked up to the sky and opened my mouth, letting the little drops of water fall into my mouth and over my face.
It was just so peaceful here. The Ark couldn't even compare to it.
"Welcome home." Clarke told us quietly, fighting back a huge grin. Raven giggled and looked back up to the sky, before looking at me.
"We made it!" She grinned, holding her arms open for me. I dashed into them, squeezing the taller girl in my arms as we spun in a circle with laughter, ecstatic to be alive.
"Raven!" Someone called from behind us. All of us turned to look as a boy jogged up to us, another of the prisoners. His hair was shaggy and soaked with the rain, and he glanced between the three of us for a moment.
"Finn!" Raven called out. Ahh. So this was Finn. The boy that had kept her mind so focused on coming to Earth. Honestly, without him, we wouldn't even be here. We'd still be stuck on the Ark, death beckoning nearer and nearer as our oxygen supply depleted. I smiled as the two of them embraced, murmuring to each other before kissing passionately. I almost wished that I had someone like that down here. But I was alone, and the thought didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.
At least I was here. I turned back to face Clarke, giving them some privacy. But her eyes were cast on the couple, a heartbroken look on her face. Realization dawned on me as I realized that she probably had a thing with Finn while Raven was still on the Ark. Clarke caught me watching her and immediately steeled herself, glancing at the ground before looking me in the eyes.
"Don't call me Miss Compton anymore. I go by Ellen." I told her, trying to distract her. "And I have some supplies that I gathered before we came down here." I told her, gesturing to the escape pod. She nodded and followed me closer, allowing me to grab the two backpacks I'd filled with as much medical supplies and food as I could fit. "It's not much, just antiseptic, antibiotics, a few surgical tools Abbey had been able to fit." I passed her the pack with the medical supplies, grabbing the one filled with food packs. "And I grabbed as much food as I could. I got a few seed packets from Agro Station, but I don't know how well everything is going down here, but at least it's something." I told her, wishing I'd thought to grab more medical stuff. It was obvious there was plenty growing here, they shouldn't have much problem with food. Clarke had leaned back out, conversing with the boy named Finn while I organized a few things that had fallen around. I reached underneath Raven's seat, where she'd stowed the radio, when I felt nothing but straps there. I ducked my head down to the bottom, my hands searching the dark space.
"Raven?" I called out in panic, dropping my bag on the ground and looking further into the pod. I followed the straps that had been holding it in place with my fingertips, but they were torn off.
Raven came beside me, patting underneath the opposite side of the pod. "The radio's gone!" She told Clarke and Finn. "It must have gotten loose during reentry." She reasoned. "I should've strapped to the A-strut." She smacked her hand against the pod, blaming herself.
"No, no this is my fault." Clarke offered. "Someone got here before us. We have to find him." I furrowed my brows as she pulled the pack onto her back, indicating for us to get moving.
"I'm Finn, by the way." The boy with the shaggy hair held his hand out, and I took it in greeting.
"Eleanor Compton." I replied, shaking it as before we began a light jog to catch up with Clarke.
"Like the children's teacher on the Ark?" He asked, immediately retreating into a shell.
"I haven't been a teacher in almost two years." I replied, nearly tripping on a rock. "Head Counselor now." I could feel him watching me, but I kept my eyes focused on the ground to keep from tripping on all the rocks and tree roots.
"She's not bad, I promise." Raven told him, patting my back. "Besides being a complete dork she's pretty cool." I rolled my eyes as we caught up to Clarke, who was looking in all directions before settling on going left.
Thins remained quiet as we saved our breath for running, when Clarke suddenly started running faster, shouting out a "Hey!"
I sped up and came behind her as she put her hand on a taller boys shoulder, spinning him around to face us.
"Where is it?" She demanded.
"Hey, Princess. You taking a walk in the woods?" He asked, ignoring her question. I strode up as I recognized Bellamy Blake, one of the clients whose mental state I was chosen to evaluate. I remembered his case clearly, he had the only sister on the Ark. His brown eyes turned to me, not seeming at all surprised to see me. "Doc. Nice of you to join us." He commented. Clarke looked between me and him, obviously realizing we'd known each other.
"They're getting ready to kill 300 people up there to save oxygen." Clarke pleaded. "And I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people. Your people." He stared down at her, and I could see him thinking, when he was suddenly pushed by Finn.
"Bellamy!" Finn called out in a mock excited way. "Where's the radio?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bellamy sneered, shoving back against Finn. Raven joined up with us, instantly ready to fight.
"Bellamy Blake? They're looking everywhere for you." Raven shot, looking him up and down.
"Shut up." He spat without sparing her a glance.
"Looking for him why?" Clarke inquired, stepping into the circle once again.
"He shot Chancellor Jaha." Things grew tense for a moment as they all looked at him, instantly accusing. Fighting against my better judgement, I took a step in front of Bellamy, holding both my hands up in front of everyone.
"That's why you took the wristbands. Needed everyone to think we're dead!" Clarke accused.
"And all that whatever the hell we want? You just care about saving your own skin." Finn supplied, taking another step closer. I held a hand up against Finn's chest, not letting him come any closer.
"That's enough, for now." I told them, turning to face Bellamy. He looked down at me, using his hand to wipe at his mouth before turning and walking away.
"Hey! Shooter! Where's my radio?" Raven asked, catching up to him and standing in front of him.
"Get out of my way." He replied while taking a step around her.
"Where is it?" She demanded, jumping back and landing in his way again.
"I should've killed you when I had the chance." He muttered, glaring down at her.
"Really? Well, I'm right here." She whispered. I saw him grab the lapels of her jacket and slam her against a tree, his hand around her neck, but her own hand had reached into her pocket and pulled out a knife, holding it threateningly in front of his face. Clarke, Finn, and I ran forwards, ready to stop them from doing anything rash.
"Where's my radio?" Raven asked again, not scared at all.
"Okay, that's enough." I interjected. I set a hand on top of Raven's and my other on top of Bellamy's wrist. They both held for a second longer before breaking apart, leaving me standing in the middle with a hand held out to both.
"Jaha deserved to die, you all know that." Bellamy told us, taking another step away.
"Yeah, he's not my favorite person either." Raven called back, rubbing her hand over her neck while Finn checked her over. "But he isn't dead." She smirked, knowing she'd caught him off guard.
Bellamy stared at us with disbelief. "What?"
"You didn't kill him." I answered as I let my hands drop down to my side. "He's not dead, Bellamy." I reiterated.
"You're a lousy shot." Raven called out.
Clarke strode towards Bellamy showing she was not afraid to get in his face. "Bellamy, don't you see what this means? You're not a murderer." She insisted while laying a hand on his elbow. "You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are." Bellamy stared hard at the ground, deep in thought. "And you can do that again by protecting 300 of your people." She paused for a moment. "Where's the radio?" She asked, less demanding this time, but definitely more desperately.
Bellamy pursed his lips before answering. "It's too late." My head tilted back to look at the sky. My mother was still up there. As of right now, our top priority was making contact with the Ark before it was really too late. There had to be a way to get the radio up and working in time.
"What did you do with it?" Clarke asked gently as though she was trying not to spook an animal.
An hour later and we were back at the bank, having walked all the way to camp before coming right back with several more people. I was honestly impressed with how well they'd been doing for the week they'd been down. They'd utilized a lot of the supplies from their dropship. A wall had been erected to protect them from the wild animals that could wander in. A few people had walked up to Raven and I and asked if we knew anything of their parents or friends, but Raven and I had chosen to put off answering anything until after we'd recovered the radio. Most simply stared at us, probably shocked that we had actually made it down. I was happy to see that, unlike assumed, most, if not all, of the prisoners were still alive.
"I didn't know they were going to kill anyone." Bellamy confessed while I stood a few feet away in the water. I turned to look him over. I'd had a few counseling sessions with him while he was a cadet, needing a psychological test before he would be approved for the guard, and then again when it was discovered he had a sister. Once his sister had been found out, I'd been the one to interview him in front of the Council to determine if he would be floated due to association, or if I could present a valid claim that his mother had forced him to protect his sister. Of course, I'd made the decision that it was due to influence by his mother and he would not pose a threat to society. The Council had barely accepted it, passing with just over half the votes.
I recalled the last time I'd talked to Bellamy, the day after his mother had been floated.
"Bellamy, please, just open up." I called out, the bottle of moonshine grasped in my hand. "I have something for youuu." I sang, hoping he would open up. Still, the door in front of me remained shut. "Maybe, you're not really in there, and I'm just talking to a door. Which is fine. That's how talking with you felt sometimes." I joked. I was quiet for a moment, listening for any sign of movement inside. When there was none, I turned with my back to the wall, debating staying and waiting or leaving. His mom had just been floated, his sister in the sky box with no chance of coming out soon, and he was alone. I knew he needed a friend, and while the Head Counselor was maybe not his first choice, it was the only way I could think of to show I was there to support him.
The door creaked open beside me, and I pursed my lips when I saw Bellamy turn away from me to walk back inside, leaving the door open. I followed him in, shutting it behind me. The lights were turned to the lowest setting, the main room feeling empty and cold.
Bellamy fell onto the couch, observing me as I took in his disheveled state. His normally slicked back hair was left undone and messy, and I could see the stubble growing across his face. I knew if I got closer I'd see his red and swollen eyes. I knew Bellamy was attractive. I was at the age where I was being influenced to find a husband, have a baby and continue to contribute to society. Bellamy had, at one point, been an interest for me, but that was quickly dashed after he was demoted from Guard to janitor. Even me being here would be frowned upon. It was unprofessional. I had just convinced the Council not to float him. If they caught me here, they might choose to take me off the case and reevaluate him.
I said nothing, but held out the bottle of moonshine. He took it from me without a word, taking a big sip. I stood for a minute, unsure of where to sit, when Bellamy patted the seat beside him. I sat down and accepted the moonshine, taking a sip of it to ease my nerves.
The counselor side of me told me to get him talking, to get him to open up, but the other side of me told me to shut up and just stay next to him. He took the moonshine from me again, taking a bigger gulp this time.
"Slow down there." I told him quietly, easing the bottle from his hands. He scoffed and snatched it back from my hands to take another sip. I narrowed my eyes at him with a grin, taking it from him to take another sip.
"Don't try to keep up with me, Doc." He used the nickname he'd given me, taking the bottle again. I wasn't technically a Doctor yet, but I was working for the title. "I've had a bad week." I pursed my lips, pulling my legs up to my chest.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, maneuvering so my back was against the arm of the couch and I was facing my body to him.
He said nothing for a moment, instead swirling the contents of the bottle. "I should never have taken her to the dance." I waited for him to continue. "She'd still be here, safe, if I hadn't snuck her out." He told me, taking another swig.
"Bellamy, you can't blame this on yourself."
"But it's my fault." He replied, tears in his eyes. I shook my head, setting one of my feet down so I could lean closer.
"It's not, Bellamy. Did you cause the solar flare?" I asked, already knowing exactly what had happened.
"I might as well have." He joked, staring at the bottle.
"Bellamy." I insisted, setting another hand on his cheek so he would look at me. I could see the tears threatening to fall over his eyes, but he did nothing to stop them. My heart broke at how hurt he was. If there was anything I could do to help him, I would. "Your sister doesn't blame you." I tried, my thumb rubbing his jaw line. Tears fell down his cheek, and I quickly reached up to swipe them away.
"My mom is dead, my sister is going to be dead, because I wanted her to see outside of this stupid room." He replied gravelly, his eyes seeming distant as he thought of them. I shook my head, biting back my own tears.
Bellamy and I weren't that close, but I'd managed to catch him at his probably most vulnerable time. One of his hands came up to my cheek, rubbing a tear that had slipped from my own eye. And then, his lips were suddenly pressing against mine, shocking me.
My eyes closed of their own accord, one hand falling to his shoulder while his free hand dropped the bottle of moonshine on the floor. I felt a hand snaking around my waist before pulling me closer to him.
Although I kissed him back, my mind was racing. I need to stop, I need to stop, I kept telling myself. Maybe it was a mixture of the moonshine and the knowledge that Bellamy needed someone to comfort him, but I couldn't pull myself away. The heat from his body and the way he held me tight in his arms was scrambling my brain. When his lips left mine to travel to my neck, I took a deep breath, giving me a moment to really process what was happening. This was wrong. This was so wrong. This was a mistake.
I pushed myself away from him, back onto my own two feet, Bellamy reaching out to me to pull me back in. I took a step away, steeling myself. His hand still stretched towards my waist, beckoning me to come close again. Would it really be so bad? Bellamy was attractive. One night wouldn't ruin everything.
"I can't, Bell. . ." I told him quietly, backing up. "We're just friends." I told him, making myself believe it. I saw sadness flash across his eyes before he covered it with a mask of anger.
"You could save her."
"I'm not on her case, I can't do anything-"
"Well switch it around, you're Head Counselor!"
"It's not that simple, Bellamy."
"You should have gotten her out! Who cares if I got floated? She could be safe!"
"She's safe where is now!"
"She's locked in the sky box, I can't even see her!"
"We can try and work out something so you can-"
"You have to get her out." He pleaded, on his knees in front of me. I was speechless. I knew there were rules against fraternizing with patients, but on a ship with less than 3000 people, the rules weren't strongly enforced. I shook my head while raising my hands and stepping backwards. This was stupid and dangerous. Desperation causes people to do crazy things, and right now I was wondering if maybe Bellamy was on the edge of one of those breaks. He was raising up in front of me to his full height. He towered several inches over me.
"Get out." He told me firmly while picking up the bottle of moonshine.
"Bellamy." I pleaded although I didn't move. He glanced up at me, and for a second his eyes softened before they became guarded once again.
"Get out!" He yelled louder this time, standing up to tower over me. I took a step back towards the door, but I reached out for him as though I could change his mind.
He lifted the arm with the moonshine above his head, and threw it in my direction. I ducked as it flew overhead, smashing into the wall next to the door. I thought about staying and fighting with him, although I knew it could end up bad.
But he began stalking for me, and I turned and ran, fear growing inside me. I made it outside his door and leaned against the wall outside for a second the shock coursing through me. He'd never seemed to be an angry drunk, but I guess losing your whole family could do that to a person. A loud slam against the metal made me jump away from the wall, and I knew it was Bellamy either throwing something against the wall or using his own fists. Like a coward I chose to run.
"No one could have guessed it, Bellamy." I replied, slipping away from the memory and back into my counselling mode.
"I was so stupid." He smacked his head into his hands, and I took a deep breath before I came and sat in front of him, leaving my feet in the running water. I looked back at him. I kept my hands in the water to feel the rush over my fingers.
He remained stoic, and I pursed my lips as I thought of a reply. Yes, Bellamy. It was very stupid of you to throw the only radio we had into the river, thereby practically killing 300 people. Their blood is on your hands. I shook the thoughts out of my head, instead turning to look at the sky. "I'm not asking you to justify yourself." I finally said, hoping that he would take it as acceptance. "Just. . ." I could feel him watching me. "Show that you deserve to be forgiven." I said nothing else, instead standing to my feet to begin searching for the radio again.
It only took a few minutes with everyone helping, when Jones, a boy I'd just met on the walk over, called out that he'd found it. Raven rushed over in front of me, grabbing it from him to look over the damage.
"Can you fix it?" Clarke asked as a tiny group formed.
Raven picked out pieces of seaweed that had gotten caught in it. "Maybe." She shook it and a cascade of water fell from it. "But it'll take half a day just to dry out the components and see what's broken."
"Like I said," Bellamy interrupted. "It's too late." I could see by the hard look his face that he'd already accepted the fact that he'd killed so many people.
"Do you have any idea what you did?" Clarke stormed up to him, the water splashing at our feet. "Do you even care?" She yelled.
"You asked me to help. I helped."
"300 people are gonna die today because of you." I set a hand on her shoulder to ease her back.
"Hold up!" Raven called out, and we turned to look at her. "We don't have to talk to the Ark. We just have to let them know we're down here, right?" She looked at me, and I nodded, although I couldn't see where she was going with this.
"Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?" Finn asked solemnly. She grinned knowingly, pressing the radio to her chest.
"Let's see what we can scavenge from our escape pod, I think I have an idea." She answered, and I grinned, knowing that whatever plan Raven was forming could work.
After all, she'd turned a hunk of metal into an escape pod that had made it down to earth with minimal damage.
There it is! The first chapter. Please, please review and follow! I appreciate any comments or criticism. Although I have most of the story planned out, let me know if there is anything you'd like me to add! I apologize for any mistakes, let me know and I will go back and fix them.
