Wind blows through her long blonde hair, whispering the secrets of the Earth in her ear. She bends, touching the long green grass, fingers brushing the cool dirt. Sighing in relief, she sits down, looking up at the clouds in the sky.
"Clarke!" Raven yells, causing everybody in the quad to look at the brown haired latina.
"We've only been trying to reach you for the last, like, three days," Octavia states, taking a bite of her carrot.
"Shut up," Clarke laughs, pink dusting her pale features as she takes in the questioning eyes of the quad, "stop staring," she orders.
The eyes divert themselves, going back to enjoying the little time they have together before lights out.
"You've always got your head down on Earth Clarke," Octavia says, pulling her long chestnut hair into a ponytail.
"I just like the idea of being free. Earth would give that to us," Clarke shrugs, rolling her eyes as a bell rings, signaling the end of dinner.
"It'd also give us dead people trying to eat us," Finn, Raven's boyfriend, says, standing up.
"Whatever, we could take them. Undead are already pretty close to dead," Clarke shrugs again, standing and walking towards the door.
"Have fun with your mom," Octavia waves, walking towards their dorms.
"See you tomorrow," Clarke calls, waving goodbye to her best friends.
"Hi honey," Abby greets, pulling Clarke into a hug.
"Hi," Clarke smiles, hugging her back.
"How are you?" Abby questions, releasing her daughter and sitting at the small table in the room.
"I'm okay."
"Raven and Octavia?"
"Fine. As always, making fun of me for my head being down on Earth," Clarke shrugs.
"You're just like your father," Abby chuckles, reaching out and taking Clarke's hands in hers.
"Yeah," Clarke sighs, squeezing her hands.
"You remind me of him all of the time. You've got his bright blue eyes."
"Yeah… So what's going on with you?"
"I've got some big news, about Earth."
Clarke raises an eyebrow, questioning without words.
"You know we're running out of oxygen…"
"Yeah, everybody knows that."
"Well, we are starting a mission. We are going to send all of you kids, you convicts, down to Earth to see if we are able to go back."
"Go back?"
"We're running out of time Clarke, faster than everybody thinks. We need to know how bad it is. You kids are the only ones. We can't afford to lose working people on the Ark. You kids are just, wasting away in here. You're young and smart and strong and you guys won't be missed."
"Gee Mom. We won't be missed," Clarke scoffs, rolling her eyes and taking her hand out of her mother's.
"Clarke, you know what I mean. Most of those kids are criminals," Abby sighs.
Clarke rolls her eyes, "I'm a criminal mom! You seem to forget that!"
"You took an aspirin to give to an elderly Clarke! That's not the same!" Abby yells.
"Octavia didn't do anything at all! Raven was just in the wrong place at the wrong time! These people are my friend's mom, I'm not any better than them. We're all criminals according to the Ark."
Abby takes a deep breath, calming herself, "Clarke, you know as well as I do some of those kids are there because that is where they belong. John, for example-"
"Don't talk about Murphy Mom," Clarke growls.
"All I'm saying, you kids are the only people we can afford to lose."
Clarke rolls her eyes yet again, "I don't understand why you're telling me all of this."
"Well, I can't really trust them to give me the information I need when you guys land. I need you to be in charge of getting information for us."
"Okay. Is that all?" Clarke questions, standing.
"Clarke, don't be mad at me. I rarely ask you for anything that isn't for the benefit for Ark as a whole."
"No Mom, that's all you ask me for. All you ever want is for me to help the people that got me locked up!" Clarke yells, blue eyes on fire.
"I'm sorry I put everybody above myself or you. That's what you have to do when you are a leader, Clarke. You do what's best for the people, even if it's not best for you!" Abby yells back.
"Well, maybe you should do what's best for me and forget the people Mom! That's why you killed Dad!"
Silence follows, Clarke's eyes full of tears that she won't allow to fall. Anger radiates from Abby's brown, boring into blue.
"We are not going there, Clarke." She states, "I just need to know if I can trust you."
Clarke growls, "Yeah," and walks out the door and to her cell.
"So you're telling the truth?" Bellamy, Octavia's sister, whispers to the table as the leader of the Ark enters the quad.
"I'm not a liar Bellamy," Clarke scoffs.
"Good morning kids," Jaha, the leader of the Ark says, giving the child convicts a smile.
Nobody says a word, all eyeing the man with curiosity. Most have never seen the man in person, as getting to know convicts isn't something most people in the government do. He coughs, attempting to hide his embarrassment.
"Alright, well… I'm doing something for you kids that we've never done before. I'm setting you free, of course, for a price."
"I'm not doing shit for you!" Octavia yells, earning a chorus of agreement among the convicts.
"I am sending you down to Earth. The only thing you must do for me is survive."
"You're sending us to our death!" Bellamy yells, standing in protest.
"I am giving you a chance to live. Call it death if you wish, you will be shipped out tomorrow morning. Ark thanks you for your work," he states, walking away as the quad erupts in chaos.
"I told you so," Clarke mumbles as an alarm goes off, signaling a lockdown to stop the chaos.
After the teenagers were calm, a new sort of panic filled them. Impending doom settled in their guts, some threw up all night long, some stared at the walls, many attempted suicide, but none succeeded. Clarke was unlike everybody else. With a piece of charcoal, she drew the Earth, taking inspiration from the old movies they would watch sometimes. Trees stretching up, almost touching the sky, dirt underneath bare feet, feeling the Earth. Clarke was excited to finally touch the Earth, to feel the dirt in between her toes, her fingers, to smell the trees, to hear something besides the generators always humming on the Ark. She fell asleep late in the night, a piece of charcoal in her hand and masterpieces on the walls.