Plagued
Chapter One – Knowing I Know Nothing
For seventeen years, life on the Ark had been a life of privilege and notable comfort. Clarke noticed the tribulations of others, she had witnessed the class based society on the Ark, but she had never suffered from it. Her days were routine, like all other citizens of the Ark, breakfast at seven, classes began at eight, lunch at noon, back to class until four, free time until dinner at six. There was no variety, there were no adventures, the only excitement in her life was a rousing card game or the occasional celebratory event. She never experienced the loss of a family member to the dreaded floating process nor had any of her friends. Life of a council member's daughter was free of the rumored tragedies suffered by several of the Ark's citizens.
While Clarke had witnessed citizens burdened with unpleasant situations, she knew this was the process and that it was critical for the survival of the Ark for everyone to mind their place and live according to the often gruesome laws. When she heard of a scheduled floating, she believed as most others, that the floating was justified, a law had been broken and this was the penalty for the violation. She knew not to ask questions; she knew the council would only act in the best interest of its citizenry. She knew all of these things up until the day the council floated her father. It was from that day on she became plagued with knowing she knew nothing.
Dad floated by his best friend, drugged by her mother, and sent to the questionably survivable Earth, with one-hundred others, by the council appointed to protect them. Everything she once knew was shaken and irrelevant.
The Earth was survivable, there were survivors when there were supposed to be none, those who survived while exposed and those who survived by living below the tainted lands. The Grounders were ruthless murderers and then they were allies, Mountain Weather began as protectors and then became the immediate enemy, Reapers were mindless cannibalistic maniacs incapable of moral thought and yet Lincoln escaped the Reaper grasp through his love for Octavia. Finn was a loyal peacemaking man who ruthlessly slaughtered the people of a village. Lexa was a powerful ally, a friend maybe more who betrayed their alliance and abandoned Clarke. From the moment her father was floated, everything that followed was contrary to what she thought.
Without a second thought, Clarke turned from her people at Camp Jaha, leaving to search for answers. She could no longer rely on what she thought she knew, there was only one way to receive the answers, she needed to seek the source and choke them out of her.
Clarke started her journey not knowing where she was going, how long it was going to take, or how it would end. For once she was thankful to not have assumptions of knowledge clouding her judgement.