Chapter 1.
99 Bottles of Beer
{I'm sure it'll be become clear to you when you're reading this that I was trying to rush this first part because it's kind of boring (we've all watched the show anyway) and I just want to get to all the juicy stuff. So don't worry, things will be getting exciting soon. I just hope you like this character, she kind of just makes the random and inappropriate comments that I think when I'm watching the show so I thought it was a pretty cool idea. Enjoy.}
"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall." A loud, cheery voice sang over the machine hum and the other teenagers' conversations, ignoring the confused stares and whispers around her. "C'mon guys, I know you know the words."
The song continued and, surprisingly, a few kids joined the blue-eyed delinquent with her sing along.
Ariella Váli was known on the Ark for her impressive, but ultimately useless, vocals - as well as her constant good mood.
Well, that was before she was known as the girl who got locked up for accidentally assaulting five guards and the Chancellor himself.
She now sat calmly, strapped into a chair, flying through space and plummeting down to Earth, a raidiation soaked land that was probably going to kill her and the rest of the teenagers on the Drop ship. Fun.
The blonde girl that was sat next to her, on the edge of the row of chairs, stirred before finally waking up. It was surprising that she hadn't woken up earlier with all the singing that had been going on.
"Howdy there." The brunette grinned at Clarke, a recognisably well-off kid from the Ark.
"Welcome back." Wells, the Chancellor's very own son - whom was sat on the other side of Ariella - greeted their newly awoken friend.
Clarke shot a confused glance at Ariella, having never met her before, and then recognised who else was sat with them. "Wells, why the hell are you here?"
"She doesn't look happy to see you." Ariella commented to Wells, pulling an accusatory face while failing to keep a serious face.
He didn't reply to her and turned his sight to Clarke, who was looking incredibly angry and Ariella found herself hoping her jokes would diffuse the tension. "When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested. I came for you."
The girl sat uncomfortably in between them turned to look at Clarke, "Isn't that cute?"
Before anyone could reply, everyone felt the ship shake and the lights flickered. A few kids screamed but Ariella giggled excitedly, she knew that they were getting closer and closer every second to finally being able to step foot on Earth - even if they would probably die soon after due to the raidiation.
"What was that?"
"That was cool." Ariella immediately responded.
"That was the atmosphere." Wells corrected, chuckling a little at Ariella's immaturity.
The monitors came to life and displayed Jaha's face on the screens, his deep voice projected through the speakers.
"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." Ariella 'whooped' at this but no one else seemed to mirror her enthusiasm. "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."
Ariella nudged Wells and leaned over to act like she was telling him a secret. "He's talking about me there."
Groans were audible all around the room, and one kid even shouted out: "Your dad is a dick, Wells."
Honestly, Ariella couldn't really disagree.
"If, however, you do survive, those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean."
"Isn't he a sweetheart?" Her voice was sickly sweet, laced with sarcasm and loud enough for the other delinquents to hear. Some laughed.
He continued, "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."
A boy with long brown hair had unbuckled his seatbelt and started floating around the room. "Spacewalk bandit strikes again." A randomer called as he moved in front of the trio, specifically Wells.
"Guess your dad floated me, after all." He smiled and Ariella could always appreciate a good joke, unregretfully laughing her ass off next to an annoyed looking Wells. Well there goes our chance at being friends.
"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy." Was his reply as Clarke yelled at two other kids that went to follow.
Ariella let out another excitable giggle, "That means we're almost there, doesn't it?" By now everyone had tuned out the Chancellor's speech.
"Hey, you're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year." The floating guy spoke to Clarke and she replied back with something snarky about him being "the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk".
Sounds fun to me. "But it was fun." He worded exactly what she was thinking, "I'm Finn." His eyes moved to Ariella, who was watching as two other kids started floating around. She wanted to do the same, but she wasn't about the 'risking possible sudden-death' life, especially when she would soon be getting the chance to see Earth. "I've seen you around before."
She raised her eyebrows at Finn, "Well we have lived on the same space station our entire lives, I don't doubt it."
He smiled, shaking his head, "You're the girl that sings, aren't you?" It wasn't a question.
Although, before she could reply, the parachutes must have opened and Finn, along with the other two boys, were flung against the roof and walls.
"Shit." Ariella cursed, twisting her head to try and see if they were okay. The seatbelt was restricting her from doing so, though. Clarke also seemed worried for their safety.
Wells and Clarke ended up discussing something that Ariella ignored, only just beginning to become anxious.
Though, if there was one thing she could enjoy before her untimely death, it would be juicy gossip. And that's why her ears perked, "Clarke, there's something I have to tell you. I'm sorry I got your father arrested."
"Don't you talk about my father." No Wells, please go on.
"Please, I can't die knowing that you hate me." I knew I felt tension.
This is as juicy as I imagine an orange to be.
"They didn't arrest my father, Wells. They executed him. I do hate you." Well fuck.
Ariella pretended that she hadn't heard that confession and looked across from her at a girl about 16 years old probably, who was screaming loudly.
Everything went silent after the crash. She felt dizzy and sick, but seemed to recover quicker than most. She unbuckled her seatbelt and watched a few people make their way to the floor below. She faintly heard Clarke ask if one of the kids that was floating when the parachutes deployed was breathing. From the look of things, everyone who wasn't strapped in - except for Finn - didn't make it. There wasn't even a joke she could think of in that moment, so she stayed silent as she made her way down the ladder and joined the crowd of teenagers on the lower level.
Clarke wasn't far behind her, yelling about not opening the doors. That's when Ariella realised that she would actually, finally, be able to see Earth for herself. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd, only to have a hand pull her back.
It was her good buddy; Nathan Miller.
"Milly! How you doin'?" They embraced and ignored all the ruckus near the door. "I heard you got locked up, but I didn't actually believe it. What did you even do?"
"Oh, don't worry - nothing as exciting as you. I also didn't kill anyone if that's what you're wondering." He chuckled as they separated. "Petty theft is all."
Ariella laughed, "Predictable."
"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor."
A bunch of hushed whispers flooded through the crowd around them, and that's when they realised shit was going down.
"Let's give them something else to remember you by." A loud voice could be heard but Ariella couldn't see who the owner was, she wasn't necessarily the tallest person - but damn these delinquents in front of her were big.
This time it was a girl who spoke. "Yeah? Like what?"
"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
Finally, they were going to open the bloody door.
The light felt like it was blinding her to begin with, and for a second she doubted if she would ever get to see whatever was outside. But eventually her eyes adjusted.
"We're back, bitches!" Cheering erupted and Ariella was pushed outside along with everyone else, not that she was complaining.
The air felt light, a lot easier to breathe in and just more freeing. She felt invincible, like she could run around without being scolded for wasting oxygen or scream and not have to face the repercussion of the neighbours' complaining. It was better than she could have ever imagined.
Miller had ran off already, hooting and bouncing all around, so she stood alone - silently watching fluffy clouds float across the sky. "They're stranger from this angle, aren't they?" Finn came up beside her, looking up to the sky as well. "Do you think it'll rain?"
"Let's just hope it isn't acid rain, right?" Ariella flashed her famous grin, before leaving him and waltzing over to the edge of the forest.
Photos in a text book didn't do the ground any justice. No colours she had ever seen were as vibrant and real as these. The air held a scent she'd never smelt before - hopefully it wasn't poisonous gas or something of the sort. She also couldn't decide if it was warm or not. The sun felt amazing from down here, but there was a strange breeze too. It was nice.
"Hey Ari!" She heard someone shout her nickname, turning to find Monty and Jasper stood with a bunch of guys.
She walked over with a smile, pulling them both into a hug. "Guys, tell me I'm not tripping on some of that shit you used to give me - this seems too good to be true." Ariella laughed along with the group, of whom she had yet to be introduced to, while the two best friends grinned at her.
"Not this time. This is real." Monty admired his surroundings with a small, content smile. She smiled too, satisfied with that answer.
"Ah, cool, a map." Ariella turned to find Jasper talking to Clarke. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer." And he was apparently trying to flirt already.
A protective Wells came up to Jasper, "You mind?"
Ariella pulled her friend away from the tall, strong boy he was probably about to end up fighting.
Someone from the group also stood up, "Hey, hey, hey. He's with us."
A crowd started to form and Wells began to understand that his unpopular position within the group may not be the most useful thing down on the ground, "Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are."
"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" The same loud voice from earlier - when Ariella couldn't see where it was coming from - drew everyone's attention to the tall, tan and incredibly handsome man that stood outside the dropship doors.
Wells walked towards him and the crowd, including Ariella, followed closely behind, ready to see if a fight would break out. "We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."
It was the younger girl that stood next to him that spoke next, "Screw your father." Ariella really wished she had a snack or something while she watched the drama unfold. "What, you think you're in charge here, you and your little Princess?"
"Do you think we care who's in charge?" Ariella thought for a minute, but then realised she didn't actually care who was in charge, it wasn't like she'd follow the rules anyway. She doubted any of the criminals she came down here with would either. "We need to get to Mount Weather not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be."
Damn. Ariella bounced on the heels of her feet with her hands in her jacket pockets. She didn't like speeches, and Clarke seemed like the type to make a lot of them.
"How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."
It didn't sound too bad, a trek through the forest. At least they'd be able to explore on the way.
The man, who suspiciously seemed older than the rest of them - and was wearing a guard's uniform, replied. "I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." A whole lot of cheers erupted from the crowd, and Ariella stood there with an awkward smile - not knowing whether to side with her newly acquainted friends (if you could call them that) or the rest of Earth's population.
Seemed like Wells wasn't giving up easily. "You're not listening. We all need to go."
John Murphy, a shorter guy with a hooked nose, started squaring up to Wells. "Look at this, everybody; the Chancellor of Earth."
She wasn't sure how exactly it happened - she had a bad case of being easily distracted and was often prone to daydreaming when things got boring - but somehow there ended up almost being a fight between the two boys. Luckily, Finn dropped down from the dropship and put a stop to it. Now that kid's good at making friends.
"Hey, spacewalker, rescue me next." The girl that stood beside the tall man called, with a smirk. Finn smiled back but didn't say anything in reply.
He spotted Ariella when the crowd dispersed and strode over to her, receiving an impressed grin. "So you're the peace keeper now? Playing both sides of the board?"
He chuckled and gave a little shrug, "Someone's got to make sure this first day runs as smoothly as possible."
"How noble of you, Finnigan." He cringed away from the nickname as they slowly made their way towards Clarke and Wells.
"So Mount Weather. When do we leave?" He asked, and Ariella pulled a confused face. She was fairly certain she hadn't volunteered for the job of fetching 100 kids' food for their lazy asses. Sure, she had been fine with the idea of the entire crew marching up the mountain, but now she was expected to carrying enough food for everyone with only Finn and Clarke (whom she wasn't even sure if she trusted yet).
"Right now." Clarke stated before Ariella got a chance to refuse. But ultimately, she decided not to be diffult and instead just go along with it. "We'll be back tomorrow with food." The blonde told Wells.
"How are the three of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred?"
Finn turned around and pulled Jasper and Monty over, who were looking confused but complaisant. "Five of us. Can we go now?"
The girl who told Wells to screw his own father (what a lovely lady that one must be) walked over too. "Sounds like a party. Make it six." The older guy she was with before pulled her back and they argued between themselves for a bit.
Clarke's attention shifted to Finn - specifically his wristband that had scratch marks all over it. "Hey, were you trying to take this off?"
"Yeah. So?"
"So; this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark." Ariella examined her own metal cuff as Clarke spoke. "Take it off, and they'll think you're dead."
"Nah bro. Don't tell me this thing involves needles, I ain't good with needles." Ariella shook her head with a curled lip.
Clarke looked over with furrowed eyebrows. "I don't know if it has needles or not. But I don't recommend taking it off."
"Why should we care?" Finn shrugged.
"Well, I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."
He eventually nodded, and she did too. "Okay! Now let's go." Those two, as well as Japser and Monty, walked off into the forest, while Ariella just closed her eyes, praying for the strength to walk so far.
"You seem chill." Ariella open her eyes with raised brows, finding that girl that wanted to come along was standing in front of her. "We can be friends." She hooked her arm around Ariella's, who kind of just stood stiffly. "I'm Octavia."
"Erm." She hesitated, remembering the rudeness she harboured for the Chancelor and his son, but eventually Ariella just shrugged. She was always up for making new friends. "I'm Ariella. Or Ari, whichever you prefer."
She got a bright smile in return, before the girl turned to the man that was still stood there, watching the exchange. "See, now I have a friend going with me. You don't need to worry."
He narrowed his eyes a fraction before finally relenting. "Go on." She gave him a grateful squeal before pulling Ari along to follow the group that had already left.
"Who was that? And why did you need his permission to leave?" Ari questioned once they were under the shelter of the canopy. "He sounds like a little bit of a douche to me."
"He's my brother." Octavia furrowed her eyebrows at Ari's lack of knowledge. "You didn't know? I was found under the floor, we had a big reunion or whatever just before we opened to door?"
Ariella shook her head. "I mean, I heard whispers, but I didn't actually think any of them were true."
Octavia smiled, "Yep, you were a good choice. We're going to be very good friends." Ari returned the smile, glad that she hadn't fucked up all her chances of making new friends down here.