Hours have passed since Nola caked her self in mud and hid under a branch. The sun was setting and the cold breeze would be here soon. Nola hadn't planned to be out this long and she certainly hadn't planned for things to go down hill like this either.
Shortly after lying against the gully wall behind a leafy branch, Nola could hear footsteps heading in her direction. Her heart was racing and all her body wanted to do was shake from nerves, she forced her body to stay still, calmed her breathing and tried not to make a noise. She was scared, much more than before. The group of warriors were probably out scouting the area at the time. Instead they are now hunting a girl through the woods that they know inside and out but are completely new to her.
The footsteps grew louder and Nola could hear voices above her, she couldn't understand them, they weren't speaking English. Had a new language been created while they were in the ark? That must have been the case, otherwise Nola would've been able to pick out certain sounds from other languages, she certainly couldn't speak another language but there were various words she'd picked up on over the years. Not knowing at all what they were saying was terrifying. Did they know where she was? Were they going to wait around and find out? Were they going to keep looking? Had they found her track? There was no way to tell. All Nola could do was stay perfectly still, be quiet and wait to see what they do.
Nola had heard them leave the area about an hour ago, if she waited any longer it would be too dark to see anything on her way back and she would die the minute they found her. But then again if she did wait until dark to make her move, she could quietly slip away unnoticed if she was careful enough not to make loud noises. If she stayed where she was for the night, they would surely find her and kill her in her sleep.
After deciding on the second option, to wait until dark and sneak away, Nola surveyed the area. Thankfully she still had her backpack with the small knife. She'd nearly blown her cover while crawling to the branch after her fall but she grabbed her arrow on the way over to where she is now.
After memorising as much as she could see and giving time for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she made her move.
Luckily the sky was filled with stars tonight and no sign of the moon, which was perfect. It was just bright enough to see but not bright enough to give away her location. She slid out from under the branch, this time covering her back with mud in the process. Shortly after, Nola got up and started walking along the gully wall, careful to stay out of the direct light from the night sky.
It was quiet, almost too quiet. There was the occasional sound of an animal scurrying away in the distance, or the sound of a bird in its nest being startled by hopefully something rather than someone.
Nola's nerves were spinning out of control but she forced herself to remain calm and keep walking. The ground had begun to get more and more muddy and the sucking noise from her boots was loud, she knew she would have to climb out of the gully at the soon as possible. If she were to meet water, which she would like to welcome it in exchange for the suctioning noise from the mud, she wouldn't find relief. Nola, like many of the Ark community, couldn't swim. And who knows what could be living in the water.
In the distance Nola could see a fallen tree that looked sturdy enough to climb out of the gully with. After deciding to pursue it she marched through the mud towards it. Aware that she was now knee deep in water and slowly increasing, she pushed on hoping that it wouldn't be too deep before she reached the tree. She was doing fairly well up until she took a step and plunged into deep water.
Realising that there was little hope in learning to swim in that moment she let herself sink, hoping that her plan would work. Thankfully her feet hit the bottom quickly and she lunged her feet up to the surface gasping for air and grabbing onto the closest item she could get her hands on.
Grabbing a root that was sticking out of the soil Nola gripped onto it for her life. Looking around she felt suddenly lost. How would she reach the fallen tree without drowning? Looking around she spotted a tree root that ran along the wall of the gully and met up at the stump of the tree but it was just that bit too far to reach. An idea struck Nola, the arrow she thought. She could use it to climb that little further along the wall to reach the root, by digging the arrow into the wall and using it to reach across to the next root. It was risky but it could work. If she angled it high enough it would hold longer and support her better. And with that she got to work.
Nola ran her hand along the wall feeling for areas that would be too unstable to hitch the arrow in, parts of the wall gave out under her grip but there was a patch of firm clay above a rather large rock in the wall that she could use, grabbing her little knife out of the side pocket of her wet backpack she started stabbing an 'X' into the clay above the rock, after she was satisfied she grabbed the arrow, plunged it into the wall, secured it, tested it and deemed it capable of her plan.
Preparing to jump, she pressed her back against the gully wall, one hand on the root and the other on the arrow. Getting a good grip and steadying her breathing, she jumped. Nola used the arrow and her feet to push along the wall to the other root that would take her to the tree. She almost had her hand on the root when the large rock gave way under the weight from her on the arrow. Losing her grip on the arrow she stretched both her hands towards the root barely grabbing it as the rock caused a large splash as it hit the water, echoing through the gully. Cursing herself she worked as fast as she could towards the tree, hoping that no beast of grounder would find her.
As Nola shuffled along the root, her feet dangled under the water. Her body was submerged up to her waist and the cold water was making her body shake something fierce. Nola pushed through, determined to get out of the water as soon as she could. She was about a metre away from the tree and she heard another splash in the water. She wasn't alone. Moving frantically along the root she stretched out her hand to grab the tree when she was suddenly felt a strong tug from her foot. It wasn't sharp but it was strong. Nola could feel herself losing grip as the beast pulled at her body.
Before thinking Nola moved her other foot to the force pulling her and she began kicking. She kicked as hard as she could, grunting as her body was tugged closer to the water. Losing grip of the root with one of her hands, she grabbed the small knife and stabbed her knife into the force that gripped her. It had slimy flesh that sent shivers up her spine. After repeatedly stabbing at the slimy flesh, the beast began to lose its grip on her leg. Nola was almost shoulder deep in the water at this point and needed to get away from this thing. Kicking as hard as she could the beast fled the scene.
Nola didn't want to be in the water any longer than she had to she frantically climbed out of the water and onto the tree. Climbing onto the tree was a bit difficult as there was some sort of moss growing on it making it slippery, reminding her of the time she fell out of a tree on the ark and breaking her arm. Nola was much more careful this time around. Once she had a strong grip, she began to climb, grabbing a bit of moss and shoving it into her pocket for research later on.
After getting out of the gully, now covered in mud from head to toe and soaking wet from her little dip in the water, she shivered in the cold night winds. Nola was tough, but she never liked the cold, not when she couldn't rug up and get warm.
After walking for a while Nola had come to the conclusion that she hadn't been followed. Sure the grounders had probably heard the rock fall in the water but she had lost her arrow in there too, the fletching still had her blood on it from when it hit the side of her cheek, it would've floated so maybe the grounders would think she was dead and the rock had fallen on her body as she sunk to the bottom of the water. That would be nice, she thought. But she didn't stop. Not when she knew the night would only be getting colder, the cold would settle into her bones and she would get sick.
Nola had been walking for a few hours, it was about midnight but she could only judge from what she felt. Hunger had started to settle in about an hour ago. Deciding that it was time to eat a food pack from the Ark, Nola moved to lean against a tree to search in her backpack for the packet but as she leant against the tree she kept falling back until, with a thud, she landed on a tree root. Nola moaned as she rolled off the tree root, she knew it would bruise but she was more interested as to why her back met the floor rather than the tree.
As she looked up from the ground she noticed a gap in the tree, not large enough to be obvious but enough to fit two bodies inside comfortably. Taking advantage of it she gathered some different sized sticks around the area, returned to the tree and sat in a curve. She pulled off her wet jacket off and hung the muddy side over the opening of the tree's gap to hide the flame if she was successful in making a small fire. She aced Earth Skills but had never been able to action those skills, fire was never allowed on the Ark, too much could go wrong. But not on Earth, now was her time to shine. Even if it was on her own, covered in mud, smelling like something had died. But she was alive.
It had gotten to a point of anger with starting the fire, because of the darkness in the tree she couldn't see which branches would work and she could barely see what she was doing at all but she persisted. After a fair amount of time she relished in the small flames in front of her. She hadn't seen a real fire before so it was fascinating to watch. Nola deemed her tree safe from outsiders; she pulled off her long-sleeved shirt and hung it above the flame even though it made her bare skin shiver to the core. She hoped the fire would dry it out, or at least dry the mud on it.
After having had her meal while huddled close to the fire, her mind began to wander. How had she ended up in such a silly situation? She was such a walnut for turning around and going to help Jinks. She never even knew the guy and he was grating on her nerves right up until the Grounders attacked the team. Her mother was right. She really ought to stop doing things on her own. The situation was already biting her in the ass.
At the thought of her mother Diana she quickly shoved all her thoughts to the back of her mind and flipped her shirt over to start drying the mud on the other side. Nola had already pulled off her socks and boots and hung them beside the small fire. Her feet were cold but she angled them closer towards the fire to keep them warm while they were bare. At this point Nola was sitting in the dirt, inside a tree, wearing only her bra and pants. In this moment she knew she would be screwed if the grounders found her, but she didn't care. She wanted warm, dry clothes, even at the cost of her being cold.
"Look! It's the gardener! She even smells like one, that's so gross, no wonder you have no friends!" the group of young teenagers laughed as one of them pushed Nola to the ground, scattering her books around the deserted hallway.
The day was just about finished and Nola was heading home from her internship with Doctor Alfred. Her new herbs were sprouting, she had some common herbs and some medical ones too, Doctor Alfred was pleased with her progress and knowledge. He was like the grandfather she never had, warm-hearted, friendly, knowledgeable and encouraging. He was very different from the kids that stood in front of her. Prats.
There were about five of them, two girls – one from Nola's Earth Studies class and the other one, unfamiliar to Nola but the girl gazed at one of the boys that were towering over her, Nola presumed the girl had a thing for the boy. The three boys in front of her were always rude to her. Two of them were in one of her classes and the one in the middle 'Toby' was in all of her classes. He was always a show off but he wasn't very clever. Nola knew that and that made him angry, he always had a temper when things didn't go his way and today was a perfect example of that.
"I do have friends! And they're smarter than all of you baboons! Especially the silly girls following you around like lost puppies!" She shouted, her day had been going so well up until now and she didn't want them to soil it. (no pun intended)
At her words the girls went to lunge at her but two of the boys held them back. Instead of just going and wrecking her books like they usually did, today the boy Toby walked up to her like he was a mafia boss, grabbed her collar, heaved her up, just high enough that her feet were slightly off the ground, and gave her a death stare that sent shivers down her spine. He had never threatened her. But then again she had never talked back to him, she waited to see what he would do but instead he brought his face up close to hers and said a few cold words that she would never forget.
"No, you have no friends. If you did, they would be here right now. Instead, you are alone, like you always will be, because no one likes you enough to stick around in your life."
With that he threw her onto the ground and left with his possie. Leaving her there to gather her damaged spirit and broken books. This hadn't been the first time she had been bullied and it certainly wasn't the last but this time hurt the most. Because he was right, she was alone.
Nola quickly woke from her slumber, it was very early morning, and the sun was on the verge of rising. She knew it was going to be a big day for her, Nola hadn't planned to fall asleep at all but exhaustion took control.
Pulling her long-sleeved shirt over her head the dried mud cracked off onto the ground and she brushed off the remaining loose clumps of mud still attached. Satisfied with her less muddy shirt she pulled on her dry socks and muddy boots. Grabbing her knife she scraped the large clumps of mud off the sides and sole of her shoes, leaving the mud in the grooves to mask her track and leave her shoes with an almost flat sole.
Ready to leave she gave her jacket a shake and pulled it over the top of he backpack, thinking it will hide the shiny buckles better, and left the safety of the tree.
She ate a meal packet while she walked, careful no to make too much noise with the plastic packet and had a sip of water afterwards. Nola had to be scarce with her food now. When they left she had six packets, now she has four. She has no idea where she was and no idea where to find the Alpha Station.
After walking for a few hours she decided that going around aimlessly was a flawed plan that would only use up her energy. She needed to find a stream or something that she could follow in the hopes of finding a landmark that would give her an indication of where she was. But which direction would something like that be in? Looking around she decided to go to the left of the direction she was originally heading and towards the mountains.
Feet aching, legs burning, heavy sweating, Nola had begun to regret the idea to head up a mountain. They didn't look that high but she was definitely deceived. After about an hour or so she was considering changing her plan. She was about to turn back around when she saw two legs on the ground behind a tree. Curiosity got the better of her as she headed towards the body, even though she knew it would be safer to turn and run the other way, but she had to know who it was.
As she neared the body she froze in her step as she saw the body of a familiar person who had been dead for a long time, a spear sticking out of him. But that wasn't what had her heart beating so hard. It was the face. The face of her bully, one of The Hundred sent down to the ground, even though he should've been floated since he was almost twenty. Toby was lying there decaying and alone with a look of pain and fear spread across his face.
Nola laughed dryly at the face of the body. If it weren't for his mothers influence, he would've been dead before he hit the Earth. Only difference now was that he had a spear sticking out of his chest, a weapon that Nola could use to her advantage. They were both alone, only one of them was still alive. She stepped closer and removed the spear then kept walking. Wondering how a delinquent like him could have strayed from the drop ship. Maybe it was closer than she knew, but in what direction?
Now with a spear that works well as a hiking stick, she continued her walk to the peak of the mountain to see where she was. From the looks of it she was about halfway up and the slope would start getting steep soon. Looking around, she was starting to see above the tree canopy but she still wasn't high enough to spot the lake near Mecha station, the late was about 35km from Alpha station, about a four-hour walk South East. If she could spot the lake, she should be able to see the top of the Alpha station.
Walking up the mountain she started thinking about The Hundred. Nola's mind wandered back to when she heard they were being sent to the ground. It was very hush hush but Abby let it slip when she came over for a cup of tea. Nola's mother Diana had passed away a few years ago but Abby continued to visit. It didn't bother Nola but she couldn't help feel like Abby wished she were looking at Diana, rather than Nola.
Since her mother's death, Nola was moved to a smaller unit, very basic, a table, two chairs sitting opposite of each other, a small kitchen along the wall and a double bed in the corner. The unit was in an open layout; the only privacy to the room was the bathroom in a separate room. Nola didn't mind it's simplicity since she had already lost the feeling of home when her mother died. This area was simply a room to live in.
"They're being sent to the ground. All one hundred of them." She said in a quiet tone. Although they were the only ones in the room Abby spoke with such a hushed voice that had Nola wonder if there were people listening in on her conversations.
"Really? Clarke too?"
Abby nodded, she had sadness written all over her face. Nola didn't blame her; she would be separated from her daughter even more.
The Earth hadn't been inhabited in over one hundred years, who knows what would've changed with all the radioactivity, plant life would've evolved, the animals too, buildings would be a rare sight and the landscape would be back to its rawest form. Nola had thought about Earth many times before. She had been lucky enough to get a satellite image of North America, she didn't know which part area it was from and the image was a bit hard to see but it was clear that the radioactivity had sped up the growth of the plant life. What should've taken thousands of years to grow over the top of buildings, had only taken hundreds. There was so much to discover and so much had changed. Just the thought of going down to earth and furthering her research had Nola's mind working overtime.
Pulling herself back to reality she could see the look on Abby's face. There were things that concerned her though the woman looked hesitant to speak. "What if the Earth isn't survivable?" Abby said. Nola had been thinking about all the discoveries that could be made, but the idea that Earth wasn't survivable hadn't crossed her mind at all.
"Hmm… I hadn't thought of that. There's really only one way to know. As harsh as it is, someone needs to find out, and the prisoners of the Sky Box are expendable in the Chancellor's eyes… I can understand where they're coming from." Nola paused for a moment as she saw Abby's face go pale. Clearly she was thinking about Clarke and had wanted a realistic opinion on the matter, but the look in her eyes was something that only a mother could show regarding their child. "Look Abby, Clarke is a strong girl. I've been tracking the growth of the plant life in North America and it's been thriving, it's tripled in growth. It's been absorbing triple the amount of Co2 and emitting just as much oxygen. I don't know about the radioactive levels but I reckon things will work out."
At her response Abby seemed to relax a fraction, after a while she started going into detail about her other worries, lack of communications to the kids, the silver transmitter bands, the drop ship capabilities. Nola was surprised at their in-depth conversation. It was unusual for their conversations to go this long; the two usually held light conversations and then went their separate ways. But it was nice to be someone that Abby could confide in, she didn't mind listening, this wasn't a common topic and Nola found the information interesting.
After almost two hours of chatting, mainly listening to Abby, the doctor headed back to work, leaving Nola to her thoughts in the kitchen whilst she cleaned up.
The hundred were being sent to he ground. Clarke. Toby and his friends. The spacewalker. Monty and his friend Jasper. The thought of these people being sent to the ground gave her mixed emotions but there was one person who she knew would want to know about this information, Bellamy. His sister would be included in the mission to Earth. Although it was confidential, Bellamy only had his sister and he ought to know.
With that decision she left her apartment to find the young man, it had been almost four years since they had spoken, would he listen to her?
Nola's thoughts were drifting quite a bit; perhaps it was the altitude making her think about these memories. It didn't matter, she had almost gotten as far as she could. Deciding it was high enough she surveyed the area.
Looking around at the scene before her was breathtaking. There were so many trees, they went all the way back to the horizon. Birds were flying high in the sky and the clouds looked so close she could almost touch them, Nola knew that would be impossible, but the sight before her was so breathtaking it didn't matter.
After getting over her moment of happiness she tried to find the lake. Nola knew she was high enough but she couldn't see it. It was large enough that she should be able to see it clearly now. But instead she saw trees, lots and lots of trees. Feeling deflated she considered climbing higher, but the ground was too steep and unstable and she didn't want to risk it. Considering her options she slowly turned around in a circle. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something shiny. Metal? She thought. Trying to get a better look at it she realised it was the drop ship that the hundred used. Maybe the Hundred were still there, she thought with a pang of excitement and relief she quickly decided to start heading in that direction.
During her descend down the mountain towards the drop ship she glanced up and noticed the clouds had darkened considerably since she started heading down. Picking up her pace she powered on towards the drop ship, hoping that she'll get there before the rain.
Nola was unlucky, with about 5km to go it had started pouring down and Nola began to run. Deciding that it was worth the excursion she made her legs work faster as she powered up a slope that lead to the drop ship. The ground had gotten slippery but she ignored it. Running up the hill she noticed the grass around her had been burnt away, pushing on a few more metres and she lost her footing and fell.
In a bit of a daze Nola looked around to see what she tripped on. There weren't any roots around, no grass, so what could have caused her to trip? Looking down her mouth gaped open. The bone of an arm, it was sticking out of the ground looking charred and cracked from heat. Feeling the bile rise from her stomach she began crawling away from it. Nola's eyes were watering, blurring her vision but she continued to crawl, trying to push down her food.
As Nola put her hand out to crawl again her hand slipped on something smooth and round. Wiping her eyes on her sleeve she saw what her hand had touched. A skull. Oh god no. She thought, unable to keep the bile down. Without moving from the spot she puked up the only food she'd eaten all day. After a while she had an empty stomach, no food and no bile. With her body realising that there is no more to throw up, Nola forced herself to stand up and look around her.
There were charred bodies everywhere. Hundreds. Some partially burned and others burnt to a crisp. Trying her best to ignore her stomach protesting and wanting to throw up again she headed to the ramp of the drop ship, trying to avoid the bones crushing under her feet. The rain never let up and she was already soaked so she didn't bother to run to cover. Besides, even if she wanted to run, her body wouldn't do it. She was still too shocked from the massacre around her.
Reaching the drop ship ramp she went to take a step inside but something caught her eye. Turning her hear to some white marks on the wall of the drop ship she froze.
Clarke, Please come home. 22km South / SW. Mom.
They'd been here. At the drop ship and now Nola knew where to go.
AN: Hi all! thanks for reading, I've updated chapters 1-3 as well. Happy reading!