Chapter 1 : Earth
A girl not much taller than 5ft stood staring at the walls of her cell. The walls had been covered over the years in drawings of the same flower repeatedly, until there was barely any room left. If any of the guards that came to check up on her recognised the type of flower that she drew, and the irony of its meaning, they didn't mention it. In fact, they barely ever mentioned anything. She had barely spoken more than 50 words over the course of her 3 year long imprisonment, and in return the guards had barely acknowledged her.
The girl did not acknowledge the guard when he unlocked the cell door, she knew what day it was and the visit was expected. It was her 18th birthday and the day that she would be floated. Of course she knew she had to sit through a re trial before that happened but it wasn't hard for her to conclude that the outcome would be one of execution. The crime she had committed was horrendous, they had described it as a vicious and unforgivable attack and it had sickened those who knew of it. Especially her mother. So the chances of her being forgiven for her crimes, she concluded, were extremely small.
Two guards entered, one holding a small contraption in his hand that looked like a bracelet, the other had his stun gun ready in case she lashed out. She could have scoffed at the dramatics, she would never attack someone unless they forced her to. "Prisoner 273, stand and face the wall with your right arm extended." The guard with the stun gun ordered, his vice gruff. She nodded her head at him and did as she was told. She took deep breaths in and out, she had prepared herself for this and she was not going to seem weak in front of anyone. She would not let herself down, not this time. The cuff that the silent guard was holding stung when it clasped on her wrist and she noticed a faint light that emitted from it. Confusion crossed her face as she looked at the guards as they took hold of one of her arms each. If she was going to be floated why would they have wasted what looked like valuable resources on her? It made no logical sense. Her concerns were kept to herself though when she noticed how much commotion was occurring outside of her cell.
The skybox was manic, there were guards escorting prisoners all over the place, fighting against prisoners who showed no signs of going quietly to wherever it was they were being taken to. "I don't understand!" she whispered, her voice coarse from the lack of use. Almost every prisoner looked as if they were being taken away. "You're floating us all?" Her eyes locked with the guard that had placed the cuff on her wrist. He looked gentler than the other guard. Kinder and more compassionate. His lips twitched into a small smile at her query. "Something like that." What the hell did that mean?
The guard that held the stun gun had an unrelenting grip on her arm as he pulled her along, his grip strong enough that it would cause bruising. His grip stayed that way until he pushed her into a small room. It was barely lit and looked like a storage closet. Once she was thrown in, a set of new clothes were thrown at her along with a pair of boots. She looked at them wearily. She hadn't worn shoes in years, her feet had only known the comfort of socks for the past 3 years of her imprisonment. But she put the clothes on despite her state of weariness and confusion.
The guard stormed in moments after she had slipped the second boot on and laced them up, his timing impeccable. This time the kinder guard had disappeared, leaving her at the hands of the angrier one. Fantastic. The surly guard grabbed hold of her again and walked her through a corridor. There was a line of prisoners, dressed in a similar fashion to herself, guards stood against the walls watching them making sure they didn't step out of line. Her guard dragged her past the line as she tried to make sense of the situation. What the hell is going on?
Marcus Kane stood by a door up ahead, his watchful eyes placed on the queue of confused prisoners. His eyes locked on the surly guard that was pacing towards him, dragging along a confused yet oddly calm girl. Jamie, he thought to himself. The guard stopped in front him and nodded his head in respect. Kane nodded back. "Take her in yourself, make sure she is secure and do then leave. Make sure she is safe." The guard complied with his orders and he watched as Jamie was lead away, her head turning back to look at him in questioning. He sighed to himself. He didn't enjoy his job, but he knew that sending her down with the others gave her a better chance of survival than she would have had if she had attended her review. At least there was a chance that she wouldn't die this way, this was the only way to ensure she wasn't floated.
Jamie was placed in a seat and strapped in. The guard didn't look her in the eye nor did he care when he pulled too hard on the seatbelts causing her to wince in pain. Once he was satisfied with her restraints he turned and left. She would have been lying if she wasn't concerned about her predicament. It was all so strange and surreal.
The prisoners of the skybox slowly filtered in one by one, the room she had been placed in almost completely full now. All around her she saw faces that mirrored her own. They were all as confused as each other. The kind guard from earlier was approaching the seats next to her as he led a younger prisoner to a seat. Watching from the corner of her eye, she noticed how his demeanour had changed since the last time she had seen him. As he fastened the prisoner in his hands shook and she noticed a faint sheen of sweat lining his forehead. His change in attitude, from relaxed and gentle to shifty and anxious made her blue eyes narrow. As she watched him secure the female prisoner in before taking his seat next to her, she caught herself thinking that he was extremely good looking. Leaving her cell had made her lose almost all control she had gathered over the years. She could remember telling herself over and over again that she was worthless, she had become void of emotions over time, but today had sparked something within her. It was only small but it was there. She still felt numb to the world, hated herself as much as she usually did, but now there was something. The same something that was making her admit that she found the guard attractive.
Once all the prisoners were in place, the door she had come in closed and within a minute lights inside the room came on so they weren't stuck in complete darkness. There were murmurs throughout the whole area with everyone just as confused as she was. The only exception being the guard next to her. He didn't look confused, her merely looked stressed.
Bellamy had noticed the prisoner staring at him and assumed she had a million questions running through her head. Her reaction earlier had shaken him. She had been so calm as if she had been preparing for it. But how would she have known? The surly guard had told him that she was dangerous, but she didn't look like the type. She was calm, collected and barely reached up to his shoulders. "Stop." He said aloud. The girl's gaze unnerved him, and that was the last thing he needed right now. The girl turned her head away and instead focused straight ahead of her.
Mere seconds later he felt the dropship lurch. This what it, he realised. They were in space. The ship was steady as it flew, he noticed. Until the ship shook harshly. There were short sharp screams from the prisoners around him but the girl next to him merely scrunched her eyes closed and gripped her restraints. After the first set of turbulence the shop was more shaky than it had been before.
Suddenly, the screens dotted around the room turned on and the face of Chancellor Jaha appeared.
"Prisoners of The Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable". Jamie scoffed at that. But at least now she had clarity on the situation she had been put in. She could only assume that her place on that ship had been thanks to her Godfather, but she didn't dwell on that for now. "If, however, you do survive, those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean."
"Wiped clean my ass." She muttered to herself, earning a chuckle from the guard sat next to her. She could hear commotion coming from what she assumed was an upper level to the ship but didn't bother paying attention. Instead she focused back on the screen. "The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years. No one ever made it there. Because we spare you no food, or water, or medicine, I cannot stress strongly enough, that Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately. Your one responsibility is to stay alive." The screens shut off and the lights flickered.
The turbulence this time was harsher than the other sets. Jamie assumed this meant they had entered the earths atmosphere. The ship jolted and her grip on her restraints was strong enough to turn her knuckles white. There were screams and shouts coming at her from all angles, the guard next to her had his eyes shut and his grip on his restraints mirrored hers. Sparks flew everywhere, catching her on her leg but she barely noticed. The ship landed with a hard crash, jolting her and every other prisoner in their seats.
The first thing they noticed was the hum of machines had stopped. There was complete silence, other than that of the prisoners anyway. Bellamy was the first to take off his restraints with ease. Jamie merely watched as everyone around her did the same. She couldn't bring herself to move. She had been prepared to die today, she still might considering the fact that they didn't know if outside was habitable, but she hadn't. Not yet. And when things she prepares for, change, she freaks out. Panic bubbled in her chest, lodging itself in her throat. The restraints didn't help.
Just before she completely fell apart, a hand reached out and unbuckled her restraints. Taking deep breath's she looked up at who had helped her and recognised the guard. Giving him a thankful smile she stood slowly out of her seat and watched as the guard pushed his way towards the door, so that he was stood in front of the prisoners, like a leader would. The prisoners pushed and shoved, their excitement barely controllable.
"Hey, back it up guys." The guard exclaimed, as people from the higher levels began making their way down the ladders to their floor. A blonde girl she vaguely thought she recognised leapt down, desperately.
"Stop. The air could be toxic." She exclaimed. Her voice was panicked but there was an edge to it that Jamie was sure she felt familiar with.
"If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyway." His voice was authoritative and held no room for questioning. He was confident, for sure. He had every reason to be, Jamie concluded, her teenage mind drifting away into the territory of girlhood crushes, an area she had indulged in for many years.
"Bellamy!" A soft voice stated. A raven haired girl climbing down the ladder to the left of her exclaimed. Each prisoner watched in silence as she pushed her way towards the guard who she could know refer to as Bellamy. Someone shouted from the back of the room that she was the girl that had hid under the floor. Jamie merely shook her head, not understanding what that meant.
Bellamy looked at the girl in awe, his hands roamed her face. "My god, look how big you are." His voice was soft and held such compassion for the girl infront of him, a girl that bore a very striking resemblance to the guard himself. The girl sneered at his attire lightlu, before questioning him on it.
"I borrowed it to get on the drop ship. Someone's got to keep an eye on you." The two shared a chuckle but Jamie merely narrowed her gaze on him. He wasn't even a real guard. So why had he been in her cell?
The same blonde girl from before had gone to stand beside the two. "Where's your wristband?" Her eyes looked questioningly at the man in the officer's outfit. But before her had time to respond the raven haired girl had rounded on her, glaring daggers. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year."
Well that was news to Jamie. She had no idea anyone on the Ark had decided to break the law for the sake of a second child.
"No one has a brother" A male voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd. A female voice replied "That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor." The pieces of the puzzle that were the two people that she had been watching finally fit together. Jamie watched in amusement as Octavia had to be held back by her brother.
"Octavia, Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you buy." The girl visibly stilled in his hold, turning her questioning gaze on him.
"Yeah like what?" Octavia asked, her voice hinting at the excitement she felt.
Bellamy smiled down at her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
The two siblings turned to face the door. Bellamy placed his hand on the lever that would ultimately open the door. This was it, the moment that they would find out if they could live outside or whether what greeted them on the outside was death. The lever was pulled and the door opened. Bright sunshine filled the ship, but there was no pain. So far it was a success.
Everyone watched with baited breath as Octavia Blake took slow cautious steps down the drop ship door before jumping onto the ground. She was okay so far. The young girl threw her hands in the air before screaming "WE'RE BACK BITCHES."
Everyone quickly exited the ship, shouting and cheering, filling the forest around them. Jamie hesitated as she came to the entrance of the ship. She had been so used to seeing four walls that it felt wrong for her to have such freedom.
Even though she was away from the walls that she had covered in depictions of Bellwort, she still felt the same. Bellwort meant hopelessness, and even though she was thousands of miles away from her prison cell and the people that had ruined her, that is all she felt right now.