I just killed Chancellor Jaha. I killed someone. Someone's dead because of me.
Bellamy could feel his hands trembling as he strode towards the dropship. He walked with a purpose, like a man of the guard, but with his head down to avoid looks. Sweeping his hair back, he caught sight of the lines of young offenders already in a queue for the dropship... with Abby Griffin and Marcus Kane waiting at the side, "shit" he muttered under his breath, angling his face away from them and marching faster, blindly grabbing the arm of a brunette girl and pulling her out of the queue and towards the doors.
"Let's go." He mumbled to her.
He knew it wasn't Octavia, but he would find her. She would be on here.
The girl stumbled along beside him, before stepping into the dropship. Three levels of seating. Three levels to find O, but he would never have the time. Giving the floor a brief scan, he gestured to the brunette to take a seat and helped her strap in before turning and almost bumping into an actual guardsman. Giving him a short nod, Bellamy slipped to the side and out of sight, and went to find a place to hide. He wouldn't have a seat. There was no way of securing himself into a seat as there were only 100 and all were for the prisoners.
Spotting a section of straps, to the side, he slipped further into the darkness and looked over the clips and strapped himself in the small alcove. It could work... he pondered, wasting no time in sitting on the floor, wrapping them around his body and securing himself as tightly to the wall as possible.
While he was out of sight from guards and offenders, it also meant he couldn't see anyone... most importantly, he couldn't see if O had entered already.
Sitting quietly and alone was dangerous though, because it left his mind to wonder... It wondered to Nora first. Her red hair and smiling face. God, she was beautiful. Closing his eyes, he allowed the visions of her to take over and let himself enjoy them. He remembered the times of solace in the reading den, just the two of them. He remembered their deep talks and their rambling talks. He thought about chasing the kids around the room with her. He remembered her birthday, when he took her out for cake. Then there was that kiss... the one he had messed up so badly.
Squeezing his eyes shut tighter, he rubbed his eyes and tried to re-imagine where they would be now if he hadn't froze and he had kissed her back.
It probably wouldn't have changed anything for where they are now. She would still have been arrested and floated. He would still be sat on the floor of a drop ship, following Octavia to the ground and watching over his sister.
Nora would still be dead.
That was hard for him to realise. The kiss wouldn't have changed anything. She wouldn't have survived either way. Shumway would still have been out to get her, watching her movements and waiting for that moment to arrest her... even if he wasn't late.
He wished she was here with him, strapped to a dodgy looking 100 year old dropship. He could do with the company and he was sure she'd love the adventure.
Adventure.
With his sister.
That's what he focused on. A new life was about to begin for the two of them, one that his mother would be happy to see them go on. Nora would have wanted that too. The Blake siblings would be together again and he would protect Octavia with his life.
She was his responsibility.
The dropship creaked loudly and then he heard the slam of the door, the locks clicking into place.
This was it.
Go time for Earth.
Humming. That's all she heard for a while, like a really loud machine hum that drowned out every single other noise around her. It wasn't hard in her cell though; there wasn't that much noise to begin with. But the bed wasn't as comfy anymore.
Her eyes felt heavy and she gave into it, not bothering to try and open them. She was tired, she needed to rest. Nora's body seemed to just ache all over; she wanted to be back in the reading den in the centre, surrounded by soft cushions and blankets.
Until then, she'd give into darkness and not fight it. She was just so tired...
Just as she felt another bout of sleep take her, her whole body jolted up, fighting against gravity as new sounds broke through the hum and assaulted her ears. Screaming, loud creaks and thuds. Her body rose up out of the bed on its own before being pushed back down by straps holding her to it.
That's when her eyes opened... to find she wasn't in her cell or her bed at all... she was harnessed to a chair, with screaming and yelling teenagers around her. Through bleary eyes, she saw one person yell out, another clinging to the straps over their shoulders. She looked down at her own red straps, her arms hanging limp by her side.
What was happening?
Her eyes opened wider, scanning the faces of the young people. Their eyes were wide, scared, frightened... maybe they didn't know what was happening either?
Another hard jolt and her hands moved to grip the straps, out of fear of her flying out of the damn seat.
Where were they?
Looking beside her, Nora saw a boy around Octavia's age. "Wha's happenin'?" She tried to say loudly to him, but it came out as a tired, slurred mumble.
The blonde haired boy turned to her, his eyes widening. "We're going to Earth." Those four words sent her heart racing and her eyes widening. "What happened to your head?"
Her head? Nora frowned, so that was the humming. She slowly remembered her tussle with the two guards. The ones who sedated her... She had thought they would float her... but hoped they would just leave her...
It all came flooding back to her gradually.
"Guards." She grumbled to the boy in reply before the ship gave a big lurch and she heard screams from above. She couldn't see much for her seat in the far corner of the ship. But then they saw the sparks from the cables and pipes around them, their yells and screams continuing.
The ship continued to rattle and lurch, spinning round. God, I feel sick. Nora thought, all the while ignoring the smoke that was filling the air.
They were on a death mission to Earth. They'd all die before they even made it. This was just an easy way for them to get rid of all the prisoners without anyone batting an eyelid... to cover it up as a brave mission to earth.
She couldn't think straight, so instead settled on hanging her head down, pressing her chin to her chest and gripping onto the red straps holding her to the seat for dear life.
In a sudden move, the ship was pulled back, the parachutes briefly propelling them upwards and slowing their ascension to earth. Everyone screamed as the ship moved faster and faster as it approached the ground. Nora held on tightly to her harness as the throbbing in her head grew louder. More wires crackled above her, breaking on the impact, sparks flying everywhere.
The almighty thud when they met the bottom was the most welcomed feeling. But the sudden silence didn't last long. Immediately, there was a commotion all around her, the rush of kids as they left their seats and descended onto her lower level.
But Nora was in no rush to step into the toxic air just yet.
As the blonde haired boy bolted from his seat, without so much as another look to her, the redhead chose to stay in her seat, eyes scanning the little corner of the bottom level, the crowds soon filling up her vision. How many of them were on this ship? Were they all prisoners? She didn't know.
"The other door is on the lower level!" A voice shouted from above, did they have to be so loud?
Groaning, Nora tried to focus on getting her belt unstrapped, using all her strength possible. Turns out, she didn't have much left. The drugs must still be swirling around her limbs.
"Hey! Just back it up guys!" A softer but still commanding voice spoke. It sounded so familiar. Her fingers just about fumbled to unclip the strap and she just flopped forward, resting her head in her hands.
"Stop! The air could be toxic."
"The air's toxic, we're all dead anyway."
She felt like her heart had bolted right back up to space. That same, familiar voice again. But this time she was starting to put a face to it. That smooth accent, the one that she had only just heard yesterday.
No, he's not here.
"Bellamy?"
A sharp breath left her body at the new voice, her head shooting up, eyes scanning the crowds but she couldn't see anything or anyone from her seat. Was she dreaming? Was she dead already?
"That's the girl they hid under the floor." Someone whispered and she knew she wasn't dreaming now.
"Octavia." Nora muttered, shrugging the straps from her body, she winced feeling her body protest, before standing up. But still, she was too short to see anything. Pushing past the crowd, she tried to get a better look.
She reached a small gap in the crowd, that's when she saw them.
At the door, eyes locked on each other as they exchanged a few quiet words... The Blake siblings.
She had wished it and they were finally together again.
Maybe Earth was a magical place after all.
"No one has a brother!"
"That's Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden under the floor!"
"Octavia, no!" Bellamy held his sister back, "let's give them something else to remember you by."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Like being the first person on the ground in nearly a hundred years." His voice was soft and she struggled to hear it from this far away. She stepped forward, squeezing through people to get to the front, to see them... for them to see her. She needed to see them before they died on a radiation soaked planet.
Nora was suddenly stopped before she could reach the front by a guy. He squeezed her arm, stopping her from getting past him. Wincing, she yanked her arm out of his hand, remembering the bruises the guards had left in the same place. "Wait your turn. I'm getting on the ground before you do, Red."
Shrinking back, she frowned at the guy with slicked back brown hair and a scowl. Nora didn't say a word but before she knew it, she was blinded by a bright light. Sunshine. Shielding her eyes, she tried to see past the bright light and hoped the radiation wouldn't kill them.
As the door lowered and the brightness settled, she saw it.
Earth.
There was green everywhere. Green trees, taller than their ship. Blue skies and white clouds danced together. She had never seen anything like it. The wind blew in her hair and she breathed in the clean air that didn't feel polluted in the slightest.
The sunshine lit up the forest in hues of white, green and yellow. Bellamy had told her stories from Earth, given her books she had been engrossed in reading. But nothing compared to seeing it in person.
"We're back, bitches!" Octavia screamed somewhere in the distance.
An impossibly wide smile appeared on Nora's face, hearing the elation from her friends voice.
They were safe.
They were home.
Before she knew it, everyone rushed out of the dropship, people bumped into her as they pushed past her and ran into the green field before them. She took slow steps, the throbbing in her head having eased up and her jelly legs no longer with her. A look of awe settled on her face as she stepped down the ramp and onto Earth for the first time. She forgot all about a hopeful reunion with the Blakes for now; they weren't going anywhere anyway.
The mud on the ground was soft under foot. Taking a few steps away from the drop ship, she bent down to touch the grass that seemed to cover the forest floor; it felt soft and a bit rubbery to touch, the strands slipping through her fingers like locks of hair.
"Home…" The word fell from her mouth in a silent whisper. It felt foreign to begin with; home had always been on the Ark and to her, it had been the Children's centre. But not anymore.
No, now this was home...
She couldn't fight the smile from her face, her fingers floating over a single white flower buried in the grass, touching each soft petal. It was more beautiful than she could have imagined.
"Nora?"
At the familiar voice, she quickly stood, looking around to see the wide brown eyes of the youngest Blake. The sun bounced off her dark locks, her face visibly glowing with elation. "Octavia…" Running forward, the two met in a tight embrace with beaming smiles.
Nora squeezed her arms around the younger woman's middle, while Octavia attempted to pop her head off her shoulders with her sheer strength.
"I can't believe you're here." The younger girl squeezed her in emphasis, still holding the redhead tightly. "How did you get put here? Why are you here?"
"I don't know, last I thought I was going to be floated and then I'm here… with you." Nora squeezed her tighter before releasing her, standing back to stare at each other.
Octavia's face hardened, frowning. "Floated? Why?!"
Nora bowed her head, shrugging, "Finally got caught stealing food. Shumway arrested me."
Octavia raised her hand to touch Nora's oozing wound on her forehead. There were other bruises littering her face. "Ouch. The guards did that?" She could hear the hostile tone in Octavia's voice. It was the same kind of voice that Bellamy used.
"Yeah, that and a few shock lashings from Shumway." She laughed it off now; they were free of them all. She saw the look of sympathy and pain in her dark eyes and Nora just shrugged. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm just happy to see you and be here. I'm so glad that you're here with me. It feels like it's been so much longer than a few days."
"Feels like a lifetime when you're locked up in the Sky Box." She rolled her eyes, before they lit up again. "Have you seen Bell yet?"
The breath caught in her throat at his name. "Not yet."
The 17 year old beamed brightly, before grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "C'mon." Octavia pulled her along behind her, jogging through the field. She knew where she was going already. She looked so at home on Earth. Nora jogged along behind the girl, trying to keep up. "Bell! Look who I found."
Nora's eyes landed on him before he saw her. His hair was swept back like it used to be when he was a guard. He definitely looked the part right now, with a guards jacket too. At first, he didn't look like the Bellamy she knew, with a serious look on his face. But that all seemed to fade away when he set his eyes on her standing there in the green jacket he had just given her yesterday and the same ripped combats.
His eyes slowly widened as his mouth dropped open; shock written across his face.
"Hi." She said, thoughts of their mistaken kiss long forgotten.
With just a quick few strides, he was in front of her and had wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her almost as tightly as Octavia had. Her smaller arms slipped round his shoulders as he held her tightly to his chest. Her feet lifted off the ground for a few seconds with his sheer strength. "You're alive… Shit, I thought they floated you. I thought you were dead, Nor." His words were whispers in her ear. Shivers were sent down her spine, feeling his face buried in her neck. Her fingers touched the small strands of hair at the back of his neck.
"Nope, there was one seat left to fill apparently."
Pulling back, he still kept her close. His dark eyes travelled over her and it didn't take him long to push back some of her red locks to see the oozing wound on her forehead and the dark bruise on her cheek. She watched as his jaw clenched. "What happened? This wasn't from Shumway…"
Nora didn't stop his hand as it raised to touch the wound. She winced at the pressure. "No, that was when the guards tried to make me leave lock up... thought they were floating me."
Bellamy let out a deep breath and the redhead saw the same tense look return to his face. "We'll get you cleaned up, don't worry."
"I'm not worrying." A smile touched her lips as she looked over her shoulder to where Octavia stood with a coy smile on her face. The redhead reached out for her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Octavia copied it quickly and gave her another squeeze. "I don't have anything to worry about now." Bellamy returned her smile. "So how did you manage to get on the ship?"
His smile vanished quickly. "Uh… I…" Nora watched as he visibly squirmed, his head dipping.
A shiny metal object caught her gaze near the top of his combats. "Is that a gun?" She interrupted him, and reached forward to lift his shirt slightly to confirm her thoughts. He brushed her hands away, avoiding her stare and readjusting his t-shirt.
"Bell…" Octavia took a step closer to him, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I told you, I borrowed it to get on the dropship."
"You never mentioned a gun!"
"Who gave it to you?"
She watched as his eyes spun to her, guilt written across his face so clearly. "Shumway."
"Shit. What are you doing coercing with him?"
"He made a deal with me."
"I'll bet he did." Nora muttered, shaking her head. "I told you he never does anything to benefit others. He's out for himself."
"I don't care." He said, making her frown back. "It got me here. That's all that matters."
A/N: The gangs all here! I am so excited that we are finally on the ground. Let the fun begin... ;)
