When you're hidden in a cargo hold, hurdling through space to what you can only assume may be your untimely death, you have a lot of things that run through your mind. For LeAnna Kane, one of those things was actually sitting next to her, staring at her with wide, confused eyes.
She had hurriedly strapped herself into one of the two seats on the lower level of the ship, when she realized that there was already another person there, looking as if they had just seen a ghost.
Bellamy Blake, the boy she had fallen in love with when she was only seventeen years old. The man she had hidden from her father for nearly five years, before things had abruptly come to an end. Her first love. Her best friend.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He snapped.
Was that worry laced in his voice?
"I should ask you the same question. Why are you wearing-"
The drop ship shuddered as they entered earth's atmosphere, sending them both lurching forward, cutting off her sentence. LeAnna felt the old, frayed restraints around her shoulders give, sending her tumbling forward. Bellamy grabbed at her jacket sleeve before she could hit the floor, pulling her upright and back into her seat. He snaked an arm around her torso to keep her steady, moving his other hand up so that she could take hold of the metal bar between them, the only thing keeping them in their seats if his restraints failed too.
"Octavia is on this ship," they echoed each other.
"Clarke and Wells are too," LeAnna added, ignoring their close proximity and his arm around her middle, "These kids won't make it long on their own. I was supposed to be escorting prisoners. It was a last minute decision to..."
Her words were cut off as the ship began to shake violently, indicating that they would be landing any second. Bellamy's grip tightened on her and she closed her eyes, praying that if death was coming for them, it would be quick and painless. No one on this ship deserved to die painfully, guilty or not.
A moment later, there was a loud crash and then they were shrouded in silence, everything coming to a standstill around them.
LeAnna let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her forehead falling against Bellamy's shoulder as she processed the fact that they had made it to the ground alive and in one piece.
Earth. They had made it. Now if only she had thought out her plan farther than just making it to the ground.
Voices from the level above began to trickle down towards them and Bellamy took that as his cue to untangle himself from around her, noticing the faint blush that crept up in her cheeks as she moved away from him.
Kids began to file down the ladder one by one, worried and excited voices buzzing around them. LeAnna moved closer to the door as the room began to fill up, her eyes searching for familiar faces. Bellamy stood beside her, blending in with the delinquent children about as well as she did. She was sure it was quite obvious that they didn't belong there, their guard uniforms making them stand out amongst the sea of teenage prisoners.
The kids began to push towards the door and Bellamy squared his shoulders, pushing back, "Hey, just back it up, guys."
He reached for the lever that would open the hatch, but LeAnne slapped his hand away before he could pull it down. "We don't know what's out there, Bellamy. We need to take a minute to plan out what we're going to do if..."
"Stop! The air could be toxic!" A voice rang out above the crowd.
Every head in the room turned to the blonde haired girl barreling towards them, panic written plainly across her features. Clarke Griffin came to a stop in front of them, her eyes widening in surprise when she recognized the raven haired woman standing next to the man she was yelling at.
LeAnna had known Clarke her entire life, watched her grow up. In many ways she had been like an older sister to Clarke, and Clarke was more than relieved to see her face after months in lock up. But more than that, Clarke was confused. How did LeAnna end up on the drop ship? She was wearing her guards uniform. Surely the council wouldn't send an innocent person to the ground. But none of that mattered as LeAnna pulled her into a hug, a feeling of safety washing over Clarke that she hadn't felt in a long time.
LeAnne held her at arms length, hazel eyes studying her, "Clarke, thank God you're okay."
"If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyways." Bellamy interrupted them, eager to get the door open and ready to insert his authority if needed.
"Bellamy? LeAnna?"
They both turned as their names where called, but they were engulfed in a tangle of limbs before they had a chance to react. Octavia Blake, Bellamy's little sister, had her arms wrapped around them both in an emotional embrace that she had been deprived of for over year.
"It's the girl they hid under the floor."
"That's LeAnna Kane, one of the council members kids."
Whispers erupted around them, but they ignored them, Bellamy pulling away from them to look his sister over. "My god, look how big you are."
Octavia, still wrapped in LeAnna's arms, raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "What the hell are you wearing, a guards uniform? And why are you here? They weren't supposed to be sending anyone besides prisoners to the ground."
"We came for you, Octavia." LeAnna told her, pushing a strand of hair away from the younger girls face, wondering what on earth they had done with the red ribbon she always wore when they locked her up.
"I borrowed the uniform to get on the drop ship. Someone has got to keep an eye on you." Bellamy chuckled.
"Where's your wristbands?" Clarke, who was still standing close by, watching their emotional reunion in bewilderment, questioned them.
Octavia rounded on her, obviously annoyed by the interruption. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year?"
"No one has a brother." One of the boys standing towards the front of the group scoffed.
"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor!" A girl shouted out.
At those words Octavia lunged for the them, but LeAnna caught her by her collar before she could get to far, holding her back.
"Octavia. Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by." Bellamy suggested as LeAnna wrangled her in.
"Yeah? Like what?" Octavia snapped at him.
Bellamy put his hand on the door lever, yanking it down before anyone could have a chance to protest. "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
The door opened with a hiss, sunlight and fresh air flooding the drop ship. LeAnna took in a deep breath, letting it fill her lungs to capacity, the light spilling in covering her with an unfamiliar warmth. It felt and smelled so different than the artificial air produced on the ark. It felt real.
Everyone waited with bated breath for any effects of radiation poisoning, but none came. The air was clean.
Bellamy and Octavia were already on the ramp, people filing out after them, gazing around in wonder at their surroundings. Trees and grass and dirt and flowers, things they had only ever dreamt about seeing.
Octavia stood on the edge, her eyes closed and arms outstretched as she breathed everything in. Without hesitation she opened her eyes and jumped forward, both feet landing on the ground with a satisfying thud.
"WE'RE BACK BITCHES!"
Cheers erupted around them as the kids followed her lead, jumping off of the ramp eagerly to explore their new home, a world of possibilities awaiting them.