Everything was silent. Except for the regular kicking of a foot against the cell wall. Charlie was bored. Every day was the same and she was starting to get seriously fed up. She had been locked up for over 3 months now. Or maybe more, she didn't know. She was lying on the floor, whispering her favorite song, and waited. She was waiting for the day of her execution.
A sudden uproar disturbed her thoughts, the cell door swung open and two guards entered. Charlie frowned and stood up quickly. She may have lost track of time, but she knew her execution was not due for several months.
" Hey, there has to be a mistake ! I'm not supposed to get float now ! "
The guards ignored her and grabbed her arms before dragging her out of the cell.
" Answer me, assholes ! "
The grip on her arms tightened at the insult, but they remained silent. They dragged her to a group of teenagers and pushed her into the line. She turned and cursed the guards once more before someone pushed her into another room.
" I'm starting to get tired of being pushed ! "
" It's the only way of communication they know " said a guy walking towards her.
" Yeah, I think you're right … ? "
" Oh, I'm Atom " he raised his hand to her
" Charlotte, but my friends call me Charlie " she replied, shaking his hand. A guard approached them and grabbed Charlie's wrist before putting on a wristband. She tried to stop him, to no avail. Another guard did the same with Atom before forcing them into seats and strapping them. No matter how many questions they asked, the guards remained silent. Before they left the room, Charlie spat on one of them and punched her in the face in retaliation.
Once the door closed, Charlie looked around and saw several other teenagers. The room began to shake and a feeling of heaviness took hold of Charlie. It was then that she realized what was happening: they were being sent to Earth, or to space. The only thing she was sure of was the fact that they would never return to the Ark again.
Charlie and Atom spoke calmly when a big shake was felt. She heard a boy say it was the atmosphere when televisions came on all over the place. Thelonious Jaha, better known as Chancellor Jaha, was the reason they were all ordered to float. She rolled her eyes as he started to speak, but listened to the little speech anyway. There was nothing interesting in it. The only thing Charlie has remembered: they are going to Earth. Oh, and also the fact that for the chancellor: they are expendable. Asshole.
She kept listening to that lousy talk when a boy cried out "Your dad's a dick, Wells". Charlie leaned over and saw that the boy she had heard earlier was Wells Jaha, the Chancellor's son. She frowned at him. She felt bad for him and didn't blame him like everyone else. How could she blame him for his father's actions? Poor child.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when a girl cried out "Yeah Finn". She quickly turned her head to see a boy floating in front of her. It was Finn Collins and he was pretty famous. He'd been locked up for an illegal spacewalk and wasted air on the Ark. She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. What an imbecile. He stops in front of Wells and a girl before saying "Check it out. Your dad floated me after all." Charlie didn't hold back her laugh. "Nice one, Spacewalker". Yes, she felt sorry for Wells, but it was a good joke so she sure wasn't going to ask him to leave him alone.
Two other boys unbuckled their seat belts before floating, like Finn. The blonde girl started yelling at them and giving them orders, which Charlie didn't like at all, but she refrained from commenting. The feeling of heaviness suddenly went away. The parachutes must have opened and our three spacewalkers were thrown against the walls, creating a slight explosion when one of the boys collided with the electrical system. Smoke started to spread and Charlie heard blondie asked Finn if he was okay. Atom did the same with Charlie and she nodded. Some teens started screaming and the light went out. Charlie groaned and couldn't wait to get out of that damn seat.
The light came back and a Chinese boy spoke up "Listen, no machine hum". Charlie looked around when the boy sat next to the speaker added "Wahou, that's a first". Charlie answered "You said it bro". Indeed, there was nothing silent about living on the Ark. There was a constant noise from the machine. This complete silence was new, and greatly appreciated.
Everyone started to unbuckle their belts and Charlie hurried to get up. She stretched for a long time and smiled at Atom. Then she heard a boy exclaim "The other doors are on the lower level. Let's go".
Charlie started to walk up the ladder when blondie spoke again "No, we can't just open the door !". She rolled her eyes and answered her, sarcastically "And what do you want to do ? Stay here starving ? Float yourself. Open the damn door !"
A guy who looked older than any teenager and had a guard uniform spoke up "Back it off, guys". He reached out for the doorknob when a voice rose from the crowd. "No ! The air could be toxic" Guess who it was! Miss pain in the ass in person! The guy answered her "The air's toxic, we're all dead anyway"
Charlie was about to add her comments when a girl spoke instead. "Bellamy ?" A brunette girl slipped through the crowd. Charlie couldn't help but notice how Atom was looking at her. She rolled her eyes. Ah, men are all the same … She heard a boy say "That's the girl they hid under the floor". The story of this girl was particularly well known. Her mother had two children while the Ark only allowed one child per family. Her mother was floated and the girl was arrested. Charlie could only feel empathy for this girl. She had lived hidden under their bedroom floor and had known nothing else. The guy, named Bellamy said " Oh my god, look how big you are". Charlie couldn't help but thought that was a creepy thing to say. Even if they were siblings. Both hugged each other. Okay, maybe it was a bit cute.
But, of course, blondie had to spoil the moment again asking "Where is your wristband ?"
"Do you mind ? I haven't seen my brother in a year" replied the girl.
"That's Octavia Blake" suddenly said a voice in the crowd. Yes, as if someone here hadn't made the connection yet. Idiot. Octavia gained momentum to rush into the crowd to fight when her brother stopped her. Charlie huffed. Why stopped her ? It was super hot. Charlie loved her already. Bellamy finally decided to open the door and Charlie had to quickly close her eyes because of the amount of light. A light breeze came to her face and she chuckled at the sensation. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the sight of the forest stretching out in front of them. She focused her attention on Octavia, who was advancing calmly outside. She reached the end of the door and jumped onto the ground. Charlie held her breath and a burst of joy ran through her as Octavia threw her hands up to the sky and shouted "We're back bitches !".
She was seized with euphoria and followed when everyone ran out. She burst out laughing as she ran through the forest. A single word came to her mind: freedom. She was free and this feeling was amazing !
After her little run, she returned to where The 100 was and smiled when she saw them hugging and celebrating. Her heart stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling her. She spun around and her eyes widened when she recognized the person behind her. She didn't have time to speak or react as her back hit the ground. Charlie didn't think twice and hugged her tightly. After a moment that seemed super short, the two girls stood up and Charlie spoke up "Camille ? What are you doing here ? Have you been arrested? What happended ?"
Camille slapped her on the shoulder, laughing "Hey, breathe. Yes, I was arrested, I'll tell you why later." Charlie nodded and hugged her again. They were best friends since they were toddlers. They had done every stupid thing imaginable together. They were like sisters.
"I can't believe you're here! I am so happy. I missed you". The girls took a moment to talk and meet again. Their reunion was cut short by a loud voice "Hey, hey, hey. Hands off him. He's with us". Charlie turned and saw Wells, the boy with goggles and blondie on one side and a group of boys on the other. After glancing at each other, the two girls approached the group.
"Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are" said Wells by pointing at the map.
Bellamy replied "On the ground. That's not good enough for you ?"
"What an idiot" Charlie whispered to Camille. A group began to form around them. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. Wells spoke again "We need to find Mount Weather. You hear my father's message. That's our first priority" Charlie shook her head. Speaking about your father ? That's a bad move Wells.
"Screw your father. What ? You think you're in charge here ? You and your little princess ?" Octavia said
Clarke replied "Do you think we care who's in charge ? We need to get to Mount Weather..."
She launched into a most boring speech and Camille tilted her head back singing "Borinnnnng". The teens around them laughed and Bellamy smiled before saying "I got a better idea. You two go. Find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change".
Everyone shouted "yeah" and Charlie couldn't help but add "That is a wonderful idea !"
Wells gave her a dirty look "You're not listening. We all need to go"
"Look at this, everybody. It's the chancellor of Earth !" The boy from earlier said.
"What a jerk. I like him" Camille said to Charlie and the girls laughed.
"You think that's funny ?" Wells asked. The boy hit him in the leg and Wells fell to the ground. Blondie called out his name and wanted to help him, but another guy was holding her back. Charlie stepped forward in turn, but Camille grabbed her arm. No need to have problems from day one. Charlie huffed and walked back to Camille's side. Wells stood up with difficulty as the crowd shouted "Fight. Fight. Fight"
Camille turned and asked no one in particular "Seriously? How old are you? Grow up!"
"Come on, leave him alone" Charlie added
The guy gave her a look before turning back to Wells, ready to fight. Then, falling from the sky, Finn got between the two boys. "The kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight ?"
The boy stared at Finn before turning and leaving. Octavia came running over and said to Finn "Hey, Spacewalker ! Rescue me next"
The crowd laughed and everyone went back to their business. Camille and Charlie decided to go talk to Octavia. They approached and saw Bellamy leave.
"Hello gorgeous ! Everything's fine ?" Camille asked
Octavia looked surprised, but quickly smiled before responding positively. The girls spoke for a little while before Octavia turned around and asked "What are they doing now?". They turned to see Finn, blondie, the googles guy and the Chinese guy talking. The girls quietly approached to hear that they were going on an expedition to Mount Weather. Octavia walked up quickly and said "Sounds like a party. Make it seven".
Charlie frowned "Excuse me ?"
"Shut up. If Octavia wants to go, we're going" replied Camille.
"What the fuck Cam ?"
"You don't have to" Octavia said
"That's what friends do" replied Camille with a certain smile on her face.
Charlie stared at Camille for a moment before huffing. "Friends huh ? Yeah, yeah, we're in, whatever"
"So make it seven"
Bellamy approached the group running "Hey, what the hell are you doing ?"
"Going for a walk" Octavia replied, sounding embarrassed that her brother was still following her. Blondie suddenly grabbed Finn's wrist "Were you trying to take this off ?"
"Yeah. So ?"
Blondie then began a new speech on the importance of wristbands. Charlie only half listened to her and was happy when Camille stopped her in her interminable monologue "Sounds very interresting. Can we go now ?"
She left quickly towards the mountain and the whole group followed. Blondie stopped by Wells and told him "You shouldn't have come here, Wells"
Come on blondie, this boy had enough shit for one single day. So she shouted "We said let's go blondie. Move your ass for god sake" before turning and following the others.
She ran a bit to catch up with the group and they walked calmly, talking occasionally. They came to a flowering bush and Finn took one to put it in Octavia's ear. Camille turned to Charlie with a disgusted face "Eww" Charlie chuckled "Friends huh? You like her, say it!"
"I would only speak in the presence of my lawyer." Charlie shook her head, then turned to Jasper who was talking to Monty "Now that, my friend, is game".
"That, my friend, is poison sumac" replied Monty.
"What ? It is ?" asked Octavia in a panicked voice. Camille grabbed the flower and threw it away. Octavia smiled at her to thank her when Monty spoke again. "The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal. Calming, actually." he said before eating one. Charlie smiled and asked "How do you know that ?"
"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark" replied Jasper.
They all nodded when Clarke, who had taken the front, turned to them with a bored face. "Hey, guys, would you try to keep up"
"Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out ?" asked Finn
"Well, it's simple. I wonder, whe we haven't seen any animals ? Maybe it's because there are none. "
Charlie huffed before answering "Or maybe the animals saw that you were there and they quickly ran away from your bad princess mood. What we should all be doing! "
The group laughed, except for Clarke, who gave Charlie a dirty look before responding "Whatever. It sure is pretty though. Come on."
"You're unbearable, just so you know " shouted Camille as Clarke walked away.
"Someone should slip her some poison sumac" added Octavia.
They all then started walking again and, somewhat reluctantly, followed Clarke. They were silent for a while before Finn asked " I gotta know what all of you did to get busted."
"Sumac's not the only herb in the garden. If you know what I mean." said Monty
"Someone forgot to replace what we took" answered Jasper
"Someone's apologized 1000 times. What about you girls ?"
Charlie looked at Camille, who nodded to her to begin. She cleared her throat and said "Well, we were at a party with friends and a guard was hitting on a friend heavily. It was annoying and he was getting too pushy. So I knocked him down and they arrested me for, quote, -Assaulting on Ark Guard-, what a joke. What about you Cam ?"
"Kinda the same story. I was with some friends when a guy made a homophobic comment. I got mad and he started to say a lot of bullshit so I beat him up. I got arrested and here I am " she proudly said with a smile. The guys smiled and Charlie hugged her "That's my girl. Let me guess, they let the guy go freely ?"
Camille rolled her eyes "Good guess"
"How about you, Octavia ? What did they get you for ?" Jasper asked, suddenly.
Charlie hit him in the stomach "Jasper are you dumb ?"
He looked confused "What ? Why ?"
Charlie was about to respond when Octavia edged her out "Being born"
She then ran off to join Clarke, who had taken the lead.
"That is so not game" Monty said and Jasper hit him in response. They started to hit each other and Charlie ended their war by grabbing Jasper's arm and following the other.
They approached Clarke and Octavia, who had crouched down to observe a deer. Charlie stood next to them and smiled broadly at Jasper.
"No animals, huh ?" Finn said and Clarke smiled at him.
Then Finn tried to approach the deer but he stepped on a branch which creaked under its weight. The deer turned its head, I mean the heads. Indeed, the deer had two heads. In shock, Camille stepped back and grabbed Monty's arm by reflex. They all looked shocked and disgusted and decided to leave quickly.
They walked in a somewhat awkward silence, all lost in their thoughts. It was once again Finn, who broke this silence "You know what i'd like to know ? Why send us down today, after 97 years ? What changed ?"
"Who cares ? I'm just glad they did" Octavia answered
Camille added "Period"
"I woke up rotting in a cell and now I'm spinning in a forest" Octavia continued circling a tree to get Finn's attention. But he walked past her, ignoring her.
"Maybe they found something on a satellite. You know ? Like an old weather satellite, or-" Monty started, but Clarke cuts him off "There wasn't a satellite. The Ark is dying". She was last in the group and when she said this, everyone stopped, shocked. Clarke, on the other hand, kept walking and passed between them to take the lead.
"Go ahead, parade like Beyonce, princess" Charlie said, sarcastically.
Clarke ignored her and continued her usual monologue "With the current population, there's three months left on life support. Maybe four now that we're gone."
"So that was the secret they locked you up to keep ? Why they kept you in solitary ? Floated you old man ?" Finn asked
"And he keeps listing, dumbass. We get your point" Camille said
"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed. My mother disagreed…" Clarke continued
Charlie stopped listening and admired the landscape, but she refocused on the conversation when she heard Wells' name.
"What ? Wells turned in your dad ?" Jasper asked
"Anyway, the Guard showed up before we could" Clarke answered.
"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they ?" Monty asked
Clarke only looked at him but didn't answer. Octavia does it for her "Good. After what they did to me, I say float them all."
"You don't mean that" Jasper said
Octavia didn't answer and walked quickly. Jasper followed her and said "Damn, I love Earth"
Charlie frowned and looked in the direction Jasper was staring. She saw Octavia undress. Monty added "Holy"
Camille chuckled and hastened to join her. The two finished undressing when Clarke asked "Octavia, Camille what the hell are you two doing ?"
"For Christ sake, Clarke, stop being so stupid. What do you want them to do ? Duh." Charlie replied
The boys laughed as the girls jumped into the water.
The rest of the group hurried over to the edge to see Octavia and Camille with water up to their shoulders.
"We can't swim" Monty said
"No, but we can stand" Octavia replied
As usual, Clarke had to make a commentary that would break the mood "Wait. There's not supposed to be a river here."
"Who cares ?" Charlie moaned
"Take off you damn clothes" Finn added
No one opposed Finn's words and began to undress but they were quickly cut off when Jasper gasped "Girls, get out of the water !". Charlie looked up and searched for the source of Jasper's panic. Her heart raced when she saw a giant snake swimming towards the girls.
"Get out of the water now !" Jasper repeated. But it was too late. The animal grabbed the girls and dragged them under the water. Charlie shouted Camille's name the same moment Jasper shouted Octavia's. Charlie moved closer to the edge and looked around for Camille. But the water remained calm and without any waves. She started to panic when the girls stuck their heads out of the water, struggling and screaming for help.
"There ! What the hell is that ?" Monty asked
"We have to help them !" Finn shouted.
Without thinking twice, Charlie jumped into the water and quickly joined the girls. She grabbed a stone and hit the snake so that it released its hold on the girls. She then pushed Camille to the shore and focused on Octavia. The group that remained on the shore began to throw pebbles into the water in an attempt to distract the snake. Fortunately, it worked and while Monty helped Camille out of the water, Charlie tried to help Octavia do the same.
"Octavia, get to the shore now !" Jasper shouted before jumping in the water to help her. They all finally got out of the water and laid on the rocks while Clarke tore off one end of Jasper's t-shirt to wrap the bite on Octavia's leg.
"Thank you. Thank you." Octavia said while hugging Jasper.
Camille ran into Charlie's arms and she hugged her tightly "You're okay ?" Camille nodded.
The tension eased and Monty took the opportunity to make a comment "Note to self: Next time, save the girl." They all laughed and got dressed again. They settled down for the night and Charlie fell asleep super quickly, exhausted from this endless day. Camille laid by her side and slept too.
They spent the night in one go. The girls woke up the next morning and the group walked again to the river. Finn and Jasper found a creeper to cross the river without being eaten by a giant snake. The boys tested the creeper to be sure all was secure.
"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling. Mount Weather awaits" Clarke said to Finn
"Just hang on until the apogee and you'll be fine" Jasper added
"The apogee, like the Idians, rights ?" Finn replied
Charlie chuckled "Apogee, not apache"
"He knows. Today, Finn" Clarke pressed
"Aye, aye, captain. See you on the other side" When Finn was about to take off, Jasper stopped him as he noticed Octavia staring adoringly at Finn.
"Wait. Let me. I can do it"
"I knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Finn replied
Jasper seemed to hesitate so Charlie shouted "Hey Jasper, we believe in you !"
"Yeah it's okay to be afraid" Finn added
"See you on the other side" Jasper gained momentum and leaped into the void. The group held their breath as Jasper screamed in glee. He landed safely on the other side of the river and everyone applauded him.
"We are apogee" Jasper shouted and everyone cheereed. Jasper found a sign and lifted it up in the air, screaming "We did it : Mount Weather !"
Two seconds earlier, they were screaming with joy, now it was fear. Jasper now had a spear sticking out of his chest. Charlie opened his mouth in shock, and didn't react when everyone took cover. Camille pulled her behind the rocks with the others. They all waited, terrified.
"We're not alone"