Amber angrily kicked the metal door for the 5th time in a row. Prisoners were allowed visits once a week while in the skybox. Amber had been denied this right for almost 3 months now, she had assumed it had been something to do with her father just being the asshole he was but as time went on she realised it had to have been something else.
Her birthday was in 2 weeks she would indefinitely be floated, the council were not known for mercy. She'd pleaded with her father to let her go, let her live but he had looked her straight in the eyes and told her "Anybody that commits a crime will be punished accordingly" before walking away and leaving her alone in her cell.
That had been a year and a half ago now, for the first 5 months she had felt extremely lonely. She had finally made a friend when Octavia Blake was brought to the skybox in the cell next to her. Octavia was kept locked in her cell and wasn't allowed any visitors for the first 3 weeks, afterwards she was allowed to attend classes with the others although she still wasn't allowed visitors. Amber was instantly intrigued by Octavia and her story so she approached the girl and took the seat next to her in their english class. The two instantly became good friends, eventually classes for the prisoners stopped and they were back confined to their cells. Amber managed to make a small hole in the wall, Octavia contributed from the other side and the two went on to speak everyday.
Octavia was knocking on the wall right now.
Amber walked over to the small hole and sat down.
"Ambs, you there?" Octavia asked. "Yeah, O. What's up?" Amber replied, a scowl on her face.
"The girl next to me just got dragged out of her cell" Octavia told Amber.
"So she's probably getting floated" Amber sighed leaning her head against the wall.
"No. I saw her at those earth skills classes. No way she's 18" Octavia informed Amber.
"Speaking of those earth skills classes... what the hell was the point in them?" Amber asked.
"No idea. I wish you were in mine. They were all whispering about me" Octavia admitted.
"Screw them. They're all just jealous that you were loved enough to be protected all of those years" Amber comforted Octavia.
"Yeah... I guess. Ambs I think the guards are coming into my cell" Octavia panicked.
"What? It's not your time!" Amber stated. A loud bang came.
"O? Octavia?" Amber called out. No answer.
Amber stood up, blatant worry on her face. "Octavia?" She called once more.
Still no answer. Amber's door opens and she sees two guards stood there.
"Prisoner 2-3-3 face the wall" One of the guards ordered.
"What is this? Where are you taking us?" Amber asked, trying as hard as possible to remain calm.
"Hold out your right arm, kid" The other guard instructed, he had a kinder tone of voice.
Amber looked around seeing if she could make a run for it.
The angry guard grabbed her arm and clipped a wristband onto it.
"What is this? What's it for?" Amber yelled as she is dragged out her cell.
"Your going to earth, kid" The kinder guard informed Amber.
"It's not survivable! I won't! We can't! We'll die" Amber argued.
"Your old man was among the deciders" The guard told her.
Amber frowned at this, not that she was surprised. Her relationship with her father had become incredibly strained after her mother's floating.
"Will you see my dad?" Amber questioned the guard. "You got a message for him?" The guard replied.
"Yeah. Tell him to float himself" Amber said with no hesitation in her voice.
"Tell him yourself, kid" The guard says as he leaves Amber in the launch room.
Amber doesn't understand what he means until she glances to her left and sees her father.
"What the hell are you doing? Your sending us to die you bastard" Amber yelled at her father.
"Move it" A guard said shoving her forward. Amber glanced at her father who looked away then she climbed up the ladder to the dropship.
"Ambs sit here" Octavia called. Amber turned round to see Octavia gave her a smile and took a seat next to her.
"We're going to the ground!" Octavia exclaimed. "Yeah. Probably to die" Amber muttered.
"Ambs! Don't be such a downer. This could be good" Octavia stated.
"We'll see" Amber sighed.
Chancellor Jaha's face appeared on a monitor.
"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"
"Your dad is a dick, Wells" A delinquent yelled.
"Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean"
"Wells? The chancellor's son?" Octavia asked Amber.
"Yeah. Wells Jaha" Amber confirmed. "You told me he would never get arrested" Octavia recalled.
"I have a feeling he may have had an ulterior motive" Amber told Octavia glancing at Clarke and Wells sat together.
"Blondie? That's Clarke, right" Octavia questioned. Amber nodded proudly.
She had informed Octavia of all the council members and their children. As well as all the other kids from the different Ark stations.
"You told me she was in solitary" Octavia said. "Yeah. I guess she got sent down too" Amber stated.
"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 three hundred people for up to two years" Jaha continued.
Finn Collins got out of his seat and began floating around.
"Spacewalk bandit strikes again" A delinquent yells.
Octavia laughed and cheered him on. Amber rolled her eyes knowing it was dangerous.
Many of the delinquents cheered Finn on.
"Go, Finn!"
"Check it out. Your dad floated me, after all" Finn said floating over to Wells and Clarke.
"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy" Wells replied choosing to ignore Finn's comment.
Amber realised that she was most likely gonna get abuse due to her father being on the council.
Two other delinquents attempted to get out of their seats.
"Hey, you two, stay put if you want to live" Clarke told the delinquents. They ignored her and floated out of her seat anyway.
"Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately" Jaha droned on.
"He's pretty cute, right?" Octavia said looking at Finn.
"He's pretty something" Amber mumbled.
"Hey, you're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year" Finn noticed looking at Clarke.
"You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk" Clarke retorted.
"You never told me how uptight she was" Octavia whispered to Amber.
Amber smiled and continued watching the floating boys.
"But it was fun. I'm Finn" Finn introduced himself.
"Your one responsibility is to stay alive" Jaha finished. The ship takes off sending Finn and the other two delinquents smashing to the ground.
"Stay in your seats. Finn, are you okay?" Clarke asked.
The ship was going down at rapid speed. "We're gonna die. Aren't we?" Octavia screamed as they plummeted down to the ground.
"It's just the drop. We'll be fine" Amber reassured Octavia, although she needed some reassurance herself. She was terrified.
The ship finally landed. "Is that it? Are we here?" Octavia asked impatiently.
Amber nodded and got out of her seat. Octavia did the same.
Amber approached Clarke, Finn and the two delinquents.
"Are they dead?" Amber asked, her heart racing. Finn nodded.
"Amber?" Clarke questioned. "Hey Clarke" Amber greeted her old friend.
Clarke gave Amber a hug. Amber hugged her back with a smile.
"Ambs let's go" Octavia whined standing at the ladder. Amber nodded then climbed down the ladder after Octavia.
"Everybody just back it up" Bellamy Blake ordered about to pull the lever that would open the door.
"Oh my god" Octavia muttered, eyes widening in shock. "What is it O?" Amber asked her friend.
"I think that's my brother" Octavia explained. "Stop. The air might be toxic" Clarke yelled making her way to the front.
"Bellamy?" Octavia called pushing her way through the crowd. Amber followed her.
"My god look how big you've got" Bellamy said smiling. Octavia hugged him happily.
Amber smiled at the sight knowing how much Octavia had missed her brother. Although the fact that he was wearing a guards uniform worried her slightly. She was curious as to how he had got it.
"What is that? A guards uniform?" Octavia interrogated.
"I borrowed it to get on the drop ship. Someone has got to keep an eye on you" Bellamy chuckled. Octavia hugged him once more.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke interrupted.
"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year" Octavia responded.
"No one has a brother"
"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor"
"Shut up assholes" Amber snapped, earning a strange look from Bellamy.
Octavia lunged at the closest one to say something but Bellamy held her back.
"Octavia, Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by" Bellamy said.
"Yeah? Like what?" Octavia asked irritated.
"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years" Bellamy suggested before pulling the lever and opening the door.
Octavia stepped forward breathing in the air. She glanced back at Amber who smiled encouragingly at her.
Octavia took two steps forward then jumped onto the soil.
Despite her heart hammering and the lump in her throat she threw her arms in the air and yelled "We're back, bitches!"
Amber ran out after this along with everybody else. Octavia gave Amber an excited hug.
"We're really back Ambs!" Octavia exclaimed. Amber grinned then looked around searching for Clarke.
She saw her standing with a map. Bellamy approached the two.
"O, I'm just gonna go see Clarke" Amber told Octavia then she walked over to Clarke.
"Amber, look at this! They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain" Clarke snapped pointing at the correct point on the map.
"Great" Amber sighed. "We gotta get to mount weather" Clarke insisted.
"I don't know Clarke... I'm done taking orders" Amber admitted.
"We need food and water. We gotta go" Wells told them appearing from behind them.
"Because your father said so?" Amber asked, clear venom in her voice.
"No because we have to survive" Wells answered. Amber rolled her eyes.
"Oh cool a map. They got a bar here? I'll buy you a beer" Jasper Jordan said to Clarke in an attempt to flirt.
"You mind?" Wells snapped shoving Jasper. "Hey hey hey, hands off! He's with us" John Murphy interjected walking over to Wells with his group of friends.
"Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are" Wells said.
"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Bellamy questioned walking over with Octavia by his side.
Amber was relieved to see Octavia and know the protection she would be receiving.
"You heard my fathers message. We have to get to Mount Weather" Wells stated.
"Screw your father! What you think you're in charge here? You and your little princess?" Octavia retorted with a glance at Clarke.
"Do you think we care who's in charge? 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. How long do you think-" Clarke started.
"Easy Clarke. Look she's right. We need food and water, Mount Weather is the place to get that. It's the only logical thing to do" Amber interjected, cutting off Clarke.
The delinquents were chatting amongst themselves. "We're looking at a 20 mile trek, Okay? So if we want to there before dark we leave now" Clarke announced.
"I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change" Bellamy argued.
"Yeah" The delinquents chanted.
Amber could tell that Bellamy had made quite the impression on them. They were going to treat him like their king now. Amber loved Octavia but she couldn't deny that Bellamy was acting like a dick.
"You aren't listening. We all have to go" Wells retorted.
Amber was surprised that he'd stood up to Bellamy.
"Look at this everybody. It's the chancellor of the earth" John Murphy taunted making all the delinquents laugh.
Amber recognised this boy from classes on the Ark. He'd always been an asshole.
"Think that's funny?" Wells asked standing up to him. Murphy shoved Wells sending him to the ground.
Amber swore she heard his leg crack.
"My god. What was the need?" Amber snapped at Murphy.
Murphy walked towards Amber a glare on his face. "Look everybody it's daddy's girls. Here to take her daddy's place" Murphy taunted.
"Shut up" Amber replied, she could feel the angry rising inside of her. She badly wanted to punch Murphy but anger was what had got her there in the first place she had to learn to hold it in.
"Or what? You gonna go all crazy again?" Murphy asked with a smirk. Wells stood up and shoved Murphy.
"All right. Come on. Let's see what you can do, Jaha" Murphy said then he kicked Wells bad leg.
Wells winced out in pain. Finn jumped down from on top of the dropship to in between Murphy and Wells.
Murphy looked at Finn surprised. "Kids got one leg, how about you wait until it's a fair fight" Finn challenged him. Murphy stepped away from the scene.
"Hey spacewalker. Rescue me next" Octavia flirted. Bellamy gave his sister a look of disapproval "What? He's cute"
"So Mount Weather when do we leave?" Finn asked. "Now" Amber spoke up.
"How are the three of you gonna carry enough food for all of us?" Wells asked, irritation evident in his voice.
Finn grabbed Jasper Jordan and Monty Green by their shoulders. "Four of us. Can we go now?" Finn asked growing more impatient by the minute.
"Sounds like a party, make it five" Octavia said inviting herself.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bellamy asked Octavia angrily taking her aside.
Amber looked at the siblings curiously. She wondered how Bellamy got hold of that uniform.
"Hey were you trying to take this off?" Clarke questioned Finn inspecting his wristband. Amber began fidgeting with her own wristband.
"Yeah. So?" Finn replied.
"So this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark. Take it off, and they'll think you're dead" Clarke informed Finn.
"Should I care?" Finn retorted.
"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" Clarke explained.
Amber considered this for a moment, she hated her dad. Maybe he would finally feel some sort of remorse if he thought she had died.
"Okay" Finn muttered. "Now let's go" Clarke announced.
"Go on" Bellamy told Octavia who kissed his cheek before joining the small group.
"You shouldn't have come here Wells" Clarke said before leaving.
"This should be fun, huh?" Octavia mumbled to Amber. "For sure" Amber replied.
"Hey blondie, before you get any ideas Spacewalker is mine" Octavia warned Clarke.
"Before you get any ideas. I don't care" Clarke told Octavia before walking in front to join the others.
Amber and Octavia followed. "I'm Jasper, this is Monty" Jasper introduced himself and Monty to Octavia and Amber.
"I'm Amber" Amber said shaking both Jasper and Monty's hands.
"Octavia" Octavia said and gave them a smile. "Clarke, why are you so pissed at Wells?" Amber asked walking at the same pace as Clarke.
"He uh... he got my father executed" Clarke admitted.
"Oh my god. He snitched on you!" Amber realised. Clarke nodded sadly.
Amber gave Clarke a hug. "I'm so sorry about your dad" Amber whispered into Clarke's hair as they hugged.
Clarke rested her head on Amber's shoulder. "Everything okay?" Finn asked.
"Yeah. Yeah it's fine. Let's keep going" Clarke insisted and she began walking in front of the group.
"She seems pretty intense" Jasper said.
"She's not so bad once you get to know her" Amber told them. Finn picked up a flower and placed it in Octavia's hair.
"That my friend is game" Jasper muttered to Monty. "That my friend, is poison sumac" Monty replied.
"What? It is?" Octavia shrieked throwing the flower out her hair.
Amber laughed. "O, the flower's not actually poison. They're actually calming"
"How did you know that?" Monty asked.
"I payed attention in botany" Amber explained. "Impressive" Monty said.
"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on The Ark" Jasper informed them.
"Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" Clarke called back.
"Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?" Finn asked.
"Well, it's simple. I wonder, 'why haven't we seen any animals?' Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though" Clarke rambled.
Typical Clarke, Amber wasn't surprised that Clarke wasn't trying to enjoy herself.
"Someone should slip her some poison sumac" Octavia muttered.
Jasper snorted really loudly.
"I got to know what you two did to get busted" Finn said to Monty and Jasper.
"Sumac is not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean" Monty explained.
Amber smiled at him. "Someone forget to replace what we took" Jasper added.
"Someone has apologized, like, a thousand times" Monty responded.
"How about you, Octavia? What'd they get you for?" Jasper questioned.
"Being born" Octavia answered. "That is so not game" Monty stated.
Jasper playfully hits Monty who hits him back. The two continue for another few hits then Jasper smirks at Monty and walks in front.
Amber could tell they'd been best friends for a long time.
"How about you Amber, what'd they get you for?" Monty asked.
Amber's heart started racing. Clarke froze and gestured for them to be silent.
They made their way over to the bush and peered at a deer.
Amber swore it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"No animals, huh?" Finn whispered stepping closer. Finn accidentally stood on a twig snapping it spooking the deer causing it to turn round and show it's mutated face.
"Oh my god!" Amber cried. "What the hell happened to it?" Octavia asked.
"It's a mutation. Probably caused by radiation" Amber stated.
"Could that happen to us?" Jasper asked. "Possibly" Amber said with a smirk.
"Possibly?" Jasper repeated frantically. "She's joking" Monty told Jasper.
Jasper sighed in relief. "I admit that was a little terrifying but Amber's right it was probably just a mutation. So let's keep going" Clarke announced.
The group sighed but complied all the same and continued walking.
"Hey, you know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today after ninety seven years? What changed?" Finn questioned.
"Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest" Octavia said spinning round a tree in front of Finn who ignored her.
"Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or it wasn't a satellite" Monty suggested.
"The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone" Clarke revealed.
"That was why you were arrested? That was the secret? That's why they floated your dad?" Amber interrogated.
"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells…" Clarke trails off unable to finish.
"What, turned in your dad?" Monty asked.
"Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time" Clarke explained.
"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty asked.
"Good. After what they did to me, I say, float them all" Octavia uttered before walking in front.
"You don't mean that" Jasper said. Amber knew she did.
"We have to warn them" Finn stated. Amber agreed, her father may be an ass but her grandmother was up there.
"That's what my father said" Clarke recalled.
"Oh, damn, I love Earth" Jasper said smirking. Amber glanced round and saw Octavia taking off her clothes.
"O?" Amber called confused. "Oh! Holy…" Monty whispered.
Finn and Jasper both laughed.
"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" Clarke asked.
Octavia jumped off the cliff. Amber ran forward and saw her friend in a river smiling up at her.
Amber let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her friend.
"Join me Ambs" Octavia yelled. Amber ran down close to the shore.
"Octavia! We can't swim" Monty stated. "I know, but we can stand" Octavia said.
"Wait. There's not supposed to be a river here" Clarke informed them.
"Well, there is. So take off your damn clothes!" Finn exclaimed.
Amber would usually agree with Clarke and check the map but for the first time in a very long time she felt free and she wanted to finally be a normal teenager.
Amber threw of her leather jacket and had her black jeans half off when Jasper yelled "Oh… Octavia, get out of the water! Get out of the water now!"
There was something moving towards Octavia. Amber pulled her jeans up at once and rushed down to the shore.
"Octavia" Amber screamed, terrified that Octavia would be killed.
Octavia shrieked in pain. "Octavia!" Jasper yelled.
Octavia continued to shriek in fear then suddenly she was grabbed by some sort of giant snake.
Amber attempted to run into the water but Clarke grabbed her back.
Octavia squealed in pain once more. "Clarke she's all I have" Amber yelled before running into the water.
"What the hell is that? We have to help them" Monty stated. Finn walked towards the water. "What are you gonna do?"
"Try not to get eaten" Finn said.
Amber made her way towards Octavia and tried to get her free of the creatures grasp.
Amber felt a searing pain in her arm and looked down to see blood pouring out of it.
"No. Wait. If we distract it, it might let her go" Clarke said.
Amber bit her lip ignoring her pain and she continued trying to get Octavia free.
Clarke, Finn and Monty shoved a boulder into the water.
The creature bit Octavia's leg. The splash made by the boulder attracted the creature.
"It worked. It let her go" Finn stated. "Get to the shore now!" Jasper yelled.
Amber took Octavia's arm and placed it over her shoulder and helped drag her friend to the shore. Jasper ran into the water and instantly took Octavia from Amber.
"Thank you. Thank you" Octavia cried as she and Jasper landed in a heap at the side of the river. Clarke rushed forward and checked on Amber.
"Ambs are you okay?" Octavia asks looking up worried.
"You're both gonna be okay" Clarke told them as she ripped two pieces off of Jasper's shirt and wrapping it round both Octavia and Amber's wounds.
Octavia hugged Jasper gratefully. "Note to self, next time, save the girl" Monty said making them all laugh.
They walked to trees nearby and decided to rest and sleep.
Amber was glad that Octavia was alive, she was glad that they were out of their cells and she was also glad that they were amongst new friends. She had no idea what tomorrow or the day after that held but she felt ready to take it on.
