It's easy to loose time, when your busy. With work, chores and with friends. You might stay out late, or be so caught up with what your doing you loose an hour, or even two. However, when you're sitting in a box, a jail, in solitary, when you just can't sleep the days away anymore. When you can't dream anymore, when you know those dreams won't every become true. With the four walls around you to remind you, you're stuck here. Where your only solace is looking out the cracks from your door, where all you see are the shapes of boots. No form of dust or debris, showing how clean the metallic colored floor was. Even with so many guards walking around and prisoners.
All I had left in my room, was a bed. I once had paper, pencils and the chain that once went around my neck, were taken away from me. When I was caught, talking with the person on the other side of the wall. When the Ark says isolation, they mean it. The moment they took my tools, used converse with the girl, imprisoned on the other side of my wall. Getting the hang of hooking a note onto the claps end of my necklace, swinging it over, just enough so the girl on the other side got it. Passing notes. What a simple thing, I once thought was childish, it was once my only way to interact with someone. Sadly, one day Sucks, they, the guards had stopped it. Stopped my sense of time, entertainment, and slowly causing me too loose my mind. They even took away my shoes. For meals I wasn't given any utensils, nor treys or even a napkin.
Has it only been a few weeks? Or has it been a few months? Was it day or night? Surely, if my parents knew how I was being treated, they'd change it... Would they though? Would they treat me like a normal teenage criminal? Or would they treat me like their child, the way they once did? Man, what I would do just to talk to either of them. I'd even settle with talking with my grandmother, god, I would do anything to listen to her mumbo-jumbo of Earth-centric church talk, and that stupid tree.
My sources of entertainment, my pass time, was mainly exercising. Fifty push ups, thirty jumping jacks, ten lower-body twist, and twenty five Lateral Squats, right after I woke up, before they give me a meal. Followed by more twenty split and goblet squats, and hold a plank position, till it's loud. I assume they took the other teen criminals that aren't in isolation to eat in the dining hall. The only way I knew that was due to Octavia, my penpal, the girl on the other side of the wall would scream, when they grabbed her. Once it's quiet again, with no sound of boots, or any other breaths aside of my own can be heard. I'd jog, around my small box of a room. I learned if I were to do it when guards are around, they'll burst in, force me on to my bed and inject me with something to make me sleep, as if the pitter patter of, my sock covered feet, meeting the cool floor were code, to my fellow criminals. When it got loud, I go back to doing the scorpion, with my feet on my bed, then do thirty sit-ups, and some stupid yoga I'd seen my mother do once. I'm still not sure what yoga was used for, but it kept my mind clear, which was better than having it fly. Thinking did me no good in here, aside cause grief, making time freeze. I'd follow the various exercises with quizzes, mental ones.
Remembering what I've been taught, every detail of my memory, think about the faces of people I've known, or not known. I'd sit and remember my classes, everything I've been taught. With so much time to myself, to rerun everything, I'm sure now I've become more well able to be an aid to medical personal, engineers, and mechanics. I even went over what was taught in earth skills, not much that would do anyone on the Ark or myself. I'd be floated by my next birthday, then the Ark would die months later. We'd all be dead before we got to the ground.
I was more in depth with what my parent's were passing down. My father - Marcus Kane- the second in command of the Ark, made sure to passed down his tactical awareness, command skills, and the characteristics to do whatever it took to keep the human race, alive. My mother -Selene Kane- the one person on this Ark, that likely can match every face to a name. Knowing more about the individuals that walked on the ship, than Chancellor Jaeha did. She only seemed to pass down a large memory, how to gather information from people, how to read those people, and to assets a person before a conversation with them. It wasn't hard, people on this floating bucket seemed to wear themselves on their sleeves. If someone lied, they were obvious about it. Or that's just what had been drilled into me.
They both seemed cold, they were, to a degree, their roles on the ship forced them to be. They made sure I was aware of my own role on the ship. I couldn't be as cold though. I couldn't be as merciless, being ruthless, only caused fear, that isn't true peace.
Once my memorizing, going over the lessons I'd been taught, I'd usually find myself looking out the small, round window, that was high on the wall, showing me space, earth and the rays of the sun shinning off the earth. The sun rays, from where I sat looked as if they were trying to touch the window. Stretching past, going through the little shell of the Earth atmosphere. The atmosphere acting like a prism. For a small period of time, I could see not only the various shades of reds, oranges and yellows, but I could see the luminous quality of the rays, of the sun, seeing more colors hidden in the warm gas star. Seeing shades of blue, green, indigo and violet. It was bewitching. What did the sun look like on the ground? Is it as winsome down there as it was up here?
Being brought out of my daze my door was opened, standing up, as trained, I went to the wall. It's what we were to do whenever anyone came into our rooms, our prisons. I saw not a normal guard, but I met the electrifying green eyes, that were alike mine. The eyes of my mother. She shut the door quickly, in her hands were papers. She walked to my bed, taking a seat, motioning to sit aside her. I was hesitant. This had to be a test, what was she doing here?
"Jonah, sit down, we don't have much time." she ordered, in her motherly tone, that was cool, filled with hast. Obeying I sat on the opposite side of my bed. Questioning what she was doing. This was the second time I'd seen her, ever since I was brought in, locked up. She then handed over the papers, it were two sheets, with pictures of people, with names, their stations, and what looked like their psyche's. That's when I realized that I was handed a list of some of the other juvenile prisoners, their crimes were even written down. "Memorize this, all of it. You'll need the information come tomorrow."
Looking through the names, I looked up at her still confused, "What's happening tomorrow? Why am I seeing all of this?" I looked back down a the list, seeing a familiar name, Octavia, we never shared our last names nor our crimes. It'd be utterly stupid of me to tell her I was the spawn of Selene, and Marcus Kanes daughter. I looked back up at my mother, with the information of my pal on the other side of the wall. She was arrested for being a second child. I felt a guilty, and sympathy in the pits of my stomach, knowing my father was likely around to arrest her and execute her mother.
"You're going to earth." My mother whispered, "You're seeing all of this so you're prepared. You're going to the ground with 97 criminals; murders, rapists, just to name a few of the extreme cases, you'll need to memorize everything on each individual. " She paused, catching her breathe and listening for someone coming, "In the morning before they get you, you need to hide the list." She then pulled something, from her shirt, grabbing my hand she dropped something cold into my hand. "tuck these into your shirt, under your bra, between your breasts, so they can't take them. Use them protect yourself" She whispered, as she pushed my fingers, so they were curved around the objects. She then got up, walking to the door. Only to stop, turning around, with a face mixed with emotions, "You'll live up to your code down there, but please just stay alive, pick your allies carefully." she pleaded, walking towards me.
I didn't know what to do, I had questions, why were they sending us to the ground? Was it to try and preserve oxygen? Did grandma and dad know? God, could I see dad before we left. Could I smell his comforting crisp mandarin and smooth sandalwood body wash smell? Would I be able to hug him? Would he even hug me, or would he stay straight face, would my mother do the same? Should I do the same? I stood up, doing the only thing I could think if, Dropping the papers and objects that she had handed me, and wrapped my arms around her, I didn't know what to think. My emotions had taken over. My nose brushing her shoulder as I held her tight, and she returned the embrace, allowing me to, here ginger and peach sent flooding my nose. What might be the last time I could feel her, smell her, be held by her.
Our hug was brought to a halt as the sound of walking passed the door. My mother pulled away quickly, with a swift kiss on my forehead she whispered, "Be safe, smart and brave, Jonah of the Ark." With that she left the room swiftly. Leaving me in a confused, almost paralyzed state. Dropping back to sit on the bed, I took slow deep breaths, I wouldn't cry. It would be wrong, I was fine. Alive for now and being sent to the ground, where I'd live. Or die a terrible and slow death, due to the radiation on the ground. With a sigh. I pulled the two objects, examining i made out one was a small pocket knife, with a black blade and a black sheath. The other object, was the grey chain that was taken away from me, with silver pendent on it, that was oval in shape with an image carved into it, with the name 'Saint Joan of Arc' carved across the top of it.
I put the necklace around my neck, and held the pendant, tightly. I than, tucked it under my shirt, shortly followed by the pocket knife. Pulling the list of the people, the ninety-nine prisons I'd be going to earth with. As I read the files two names popped out to me, two friends I knew. Clarke Griffin and Wells Jaha. What the hell was Wells doing here? Maybe he went through his fathers files, if that's the case it was stupid of him to get arrested. People would want the prince of the Ark's head. After everything his father did, responsible, like my own father, for people loosing their parents, and or being locked up. Clarke I knew would be on the list, she was arrested the same time as I was. Both of us knew the Ark was dying. She had promised that "we" would tell everyone. I wasn't sure if I would've. Maybe I would, but I didn't get a chance to think it over.
Looking at the pictures of Wells and Clarke I knew he was going to die the ground. He would end with him being murdered by someone. Unlike both Wells and I, Clarke might be the only one spared, if the other prisoners feel like killing us, for our status's on this ship. She would be useful, she was a medical student, knowing way more than I could ever know about the body and ailments to it. I might be able to survive also, likely being one of the few with proper fighting skills, and with the aid of the knife hidden in my bra, I'd surely be able to hold my own, long enough to get away, before they overpowered me of course. What I would need is a gun, if I were to make sure they left me be. That'd be something added to my wish list. Wells, no matter what he could do, wouldn't be spared, or able to stand much of a fighting chance to escape. I know for a fact he'd die quickly, assuming we all survive the radiation.
I needed to memorize everyone. It might give me some sort of edge, whenever some tries to come at me, or the other two. Wells and I would be surrounded by people that would love to put our heads on spikes. For our parents. They'd want Clarkes head as well, the three of us being apart of the privileged, the 'upper-classed' families. That's how these people would see us. Any amount of information could help us.
Again, assuming we survived falling to earth, and the radiation, of course.
