Octavia Blake was an illegal child, alien to the space station that the human race now called home. Her mother worked as a seamstress for the Arc, and her brother Bellamy was the rightful child in their little family. The circumstances of her birth were never discussed. She was born, and she was placed in a storage compartment in the floor; this is where she lived her life. She was confined to the four grey walls on the days that no visitors were expected, at other times she was required to spend the entire day in her hole in the floor.
She spent much of her time dreaming about being a normal child like her brother. She wasn't able to go to school like her brother, so she learned everything she could from her small family. They spent their afternoons discussing every topic they could think of, and Octavia memorized every tidbit of information she could. She would daydream about the stories and histories that Bellamy would repeat to her after his school lessons. She had a lot of time to daydream when she was locked in that small box under her mother's work table.
Somehow, her mother always knew when they were due an inspection, and Octavia would have to return to her hiding spot before the guards appeared to search the cabin. Her mother frequently left their living space to spend time with various members of the Arc, Inspector Grus was one of the more frequent stops. Octavia didn't think to question her mother for leaving her alone in their room, if she could, Octavia would leave and never return.
On Unity Day when Octavia was 16, Bellamy convinced her that she could finally leave and join the people of the Arc in the celebration. Octavia donned her mask and followed her dear brother out of the doorway that she had never seen open before. She hesitated briefly at the threshold, and then continued walking as she giggled her excitement. She was stunned at the sight of Earth, and immediately she fell in love with the planet that should be her home. She could not fathom how humanity could destroy anything so beautiful. Her brother grabbed her arm and urged her to follow him to the gathering of people that were around her age. He released her when they got close, and she wandered through the crowd, amazed at the number of people surrounding her. She felt like she was finally a normal person, interacting with so many different people who grew up living the life she always wanted.
Suddenly the music and conversations stopped, and the guard entered the large room. Everyone was ordered to remove their masks and present their ID. Octavia had no idea how to react, and she started searching the crowd for her brother. He appeared beside her and she felt mild comfort knowing that he would protect her. Bellamy pleaded with the commander to ignore her presence, but that seemed to intrigue the man even more. Octavia was arrested and taken to the delinquent section and locked in a room. Octavia broke down in tears for being so stupid to leave the safety of her home. Her mother raised her and Bellamy on the warning that if anyone ever discovered that Octavia existed, that she would be executed for having a second child.
Octavia stayed in that cell for what felt like hours. She cried, she blamed herself, and she even blamed her loving brother for tempting her out of her hiding spot. Soon she was retrieved from the cell and brought into the council room. In front of her she saw a group of seven adults that were looking at her with stoic expressions. Her mother and brother were both in cuffs like her and were standing on the side of the room starring at the floor, both looking utterly defeated. Octavia looked back to the group in front of her, knowing that everything she knew and loved depended on what these people decided. The dark-skinned man sitting at the center of the group motioned for Octavia to sit down.
"Do you know who I am, Octavia?" She nervously shook her head back and forth and manages a weak, "No."
"I am Chancellor Jaha, I oversee the arc with my fellow council members that you see beside me. We have the burden of making decisions for the betterment of the people aboard this station. We must interpret the law and punish crimes. Unfortunately, your presence here is evidence of a grievous crime."
Octavia looked to her mother again, who was still looking down at the floor beneath her feet and shuddering. She returned her gaze to Chancellor Jaha, unsure of what she was supposed to do.
Jaha could see the fear and pain in the young girl's eyes. He knew that she was powerless in the circumstances of her birth and life. "The laws that govern the Arc are clear that each family is allowed to have only one child. It is a phenomenal feat that your mother was able to keep her second pregnancy a secret, and that she was able to keep you hidden all these years. But this is a capital crime that we cannot forgive. You were not supposed to be born, but we cannot truly blame you for this. We must, however, punish you the same."
Octavia gasped at Jaha's words. She didn't understand how they could float her for simply being born. She couldn't help that she was a second child! Octavia knew that looking to her family would again prove useless; she continued looking at the man that spoke to her. "Chancellor Jaha, what is to be my punishment? Am I to be floated?" Octavia remembered her mother's warnings growing up, that if Octavia were to be discovered, her mother would be floated, released from the Arc into the cold death of space.
Jaha sighed at the young girl's question. He could understand her confusion and fear. He didn't understand why the law stated that this child would be punished for being born. "Your crime against the Arc is that you are stealing resources, however unintentionally, from the collective. This is the reason the one child law was set in place. It exists to maintain the balance of resources to the population. Your presence steals oxygen, food, and water from the rest of the people. Do you understand this?"
Octavia nodded her head just enough for Jaha to continue. "Your punishment for the crime of stolen resources will be solitary confinement in the delinquent hall until your eighteenth birthday. You will then be tried for your crimes and your fate will be decided then."
Octavia was stunned. She was not going to be floated yet, but the idea of a solitary existence for over a year was just as bad of a punishment. At least before today she had the company of her family. Now she would have nothing except four walls and infinite time alone in her head. Tears started streaming down her cheeks, and she looked to her mother and brother again. Finally, they looked back at her, both mirroring the tears she shed.
Two guards suddenly appeared beside her, and each grabbed ahold of an arm. They lifted her to her feet and steered her around to lead her out of the room. She screamed out to her mother and brother, but they were now blocked by guards as well. The two men easily forced her from the room and out into the hall. Octavia finally stopped fighting and let the men pull her down several corridors until they reached the cell she had been waiting in just a short time ago. They deposited her inside and shut the door without ever saying a word to her.
Octavia collapsed on the floor where she stood and let her tears free. She sobbed, screamed, and beat the floor beneath her, cursing her existence and blaming herself for getting caught and killing her mother.