Rowan opened her eyes to grey. Grey walls. Grey floors. Grey ceiling. Everything around her, was grey. Her head was pounding, and all she wanted to do was take a bottle of ibuprofen and down it.
With her head foggy, she pushed herself up slightly. Observing the walls that looked suspiciously like smooth metal. She was in a small room, a bucket sitting in the corner and a broom laying on the floor besides it. From her years of binge watching Sherlock (which honestly wasn't that hard), she deduced that she was in a semi-abandoned storage closet.
Rowan used her hand to try and haul herself to her feet, but the floor slid out from underneath her causing her to crash into the ground with a groan of pain. She turned her head, her eyes catching onto the smooth white of a packet. In bold black print, words were displayed over a cartoon earth With eyes and hands:
2148 PAMPHLET!
Rowan picked it up, her head filled with confusion as she shakily opened it. As she read, dread began to fill her as she skimmed the pages of the over exaggerated pamphlet. It gave a childish twist on the war and the past, all leading up to where she supposedly was. The Ark was supposedly a floating nation built from a bunch of different countries to escape the Radiation filled earth. Rowan laughed out loud, tears prickling her eyes as she stared at the image of a map with a bright red star on the closet, the words "you are here!" spelled out. She couldn't be on a floating spaceship. It was physically and logically impossible to not only transport someone into the future, but to shove them on a floating metal contraption that was connected to the earth by only gravity.
Rowan slowly got to her feet, the stapled packet clutched tightly in her hands as she stumbled to the door. Panic slowly beginning to drown her as she turned the doorknob. The door popped open, allowing the soft glow of a flickering light to cloud her vision for a second as she looked around.
Rowan's gaze stopped on the window directly in front of her. She could feel the weight of the world crashing around her as she stared, feeling the ground lurch to the left as she fell onto the door frame.
"Holy shit," she whispered. The window was huge; with a clear view of the green, blue, and black of the world below and around. In her entire seventeen years alive, she never dreamed of going into zero-gravity. She never dreamed of seeing the earth sixty-two miles above ground. Yet, here she was.
Rowan could feel her anxiety spike as she stumbled towards the glass. "Oh my god," she muttered. "This can't be happening." Hysteria began to slowly take over the longer she stared.
"No, no, no, no," she cried, stumbling backwards as tears started to fill her vision. She turned away from the window, covering her face with her hands as she paced. "This is a dream," she whispered. "It's all a dream. I'm going to wake up and see my mother home from work early..."
"Hey," a voice called out, causing Rowan to whip around. A boy around her age was walking towards her, his brown hair pushed back onto his head. The boy froze, noticing the tears falling freely from her face. "Woah, are you okay?"
If Rowan hadn't been so hysterical, she might have found the boy to be attractive. From his slick brown hair and brown eyes to his freckles lightly covering his tan skin, he was attractive. He wore a blue shirt with grey sleeves and skinny jeans, his shoes being ratty sneakers that looked so worn, Rowan would be concerned they'd fall apart if she wasn't a mess.
Rowan didn't know how to respond to the question. She wasn't okay, not really. But there's only so much you can tell a complete stranger.
"Does it matter?" She muttered as a response.
The boy smiled slightly, his pearly white teeth startling her. "No," he mused, stepping closer. "I suppose it doesn't."
Rowan scoffed and turned away, almost like she was going to walk away. Instead she looked down at the pamphlet clutched in her hands. "Who are you?" She asked quietly, not knowing if he was still behind her.
"Joshua Stanley," was is blunt response.
At the sound of his name, Rowan turned around slowly. The name sparking a bit of recognition in her memory. "Joshua Stanley?" she muttered. "She was telling me about you."
Joshua's facial expression went from concerned to blank in seconds. "Who?" He seemed to grit out, his eyes going a shade darker briefly. Rowan blamed it on the horrible flickering of the light.
"Athaiah," Rowan managed to stutter out. An internal battle appeared in Rowan's mind; to tell this strange boy who she just met where she's from, or struggle the weight of the truth on her own. She chose the latter. "She sent me here."
"Sent you?" Joshua asked incredulously. "From where?"
Rowan hesitated, the tears had stopped and the only thing on her mind was to get out of the mess she seemed to have been thrusted into. "Earth."
Joshua stared at her as if she was crazy. "Earth?" He questioned.
"Yes," she muttered.
Joshua laughed. Rowan didn't blame him, if she had heard the same thing, she'd laugh too. Actually, she did. It was more hysterical and than anything else, but she did laugh. After noticing her face though, he stopped. "You're serious?"
"Yes," she sniffed. From the tears, her rose had begun to run.
"B-but Earth is covered in radiation. How did you live down there?"
Rowan's heart aches at the mention of the radiation. The thought that she wouldn't be returning to the ground anytime soon hurt her more than she wanted to admit. "It wasn't always covered in radiation."
Joshua stared at her. "Did you hit your head on something?" He questioned.
Rowan cried in frustration, tossing the boy the pamphlet. He caught it, his hands flipping through the pages.
"This lady, the one who mentioned you, gave this to me," she hissed out. Anger slowly beginning to consume her at the thought of Athaiah.
Joshua slowly read the first paragraph. The one she had read three times in a row in her denial.
"Rowena Lesley," he started, reading it out loud.
"Welcome to 2148, over one-hundred years from your time, 2014. In this pamphlet, you will learn everything you need to about The Ark, and your "task." I apologize for the lack of quality, the pamphlet was rushed. I, Athaiah, wish you luck on your journey..." Joshua trailed off.
Rowan felt the tears begin to appear again and she pushed them down. "I'm not insane." She insisted. "I showed in a closet ten minutes ago from my car on Earth over a hundred years ago."
Joshua didn't say anything right away, his eyes flipping through the pamphlet. Rowan could feel her heart accelerating from the anxiety of waiting, but the words that came out of his mouth next made Rowan's heart stop.
"I believe you."
With those three words, a sort of friendship was born. Rowan, being an unregistered human being on the floating death contraption its people called The Ark, lived her life in the vents. She slept in the storage closet that she showed up in, Joshua using his engineering and mechanical skills to turn off any cameras that focused on it, and she survived off of what Joshua was able to supply her with. For over a month, that's how she lived. Showering in Joshua's room, and eating stolen food.
Nothing really changed until the day Rowan rowan fell into oil used for a vent fan. "Josh," Rowan hissed at the laughing boy. "It's not funny!"
Josh laughter seemed to grow with her words, "Yes it is!" He cackled.
Rowan hissed in annoyance, pulling her shirt away from her skin as she mumbled incoherent words underneath her breath. "Let me use your shower, ass."
Josh rolled his eyes, a grin on his face.
"Well since you asked so nicely," he joked. "I'll get you some clothes, too."
Rowan sighed in relief and the two of them crawled their way through the vents and towards Josh's apartment. Rowan's braided auburn hair fell into her face, blocking her vision just enough for her to accidentally slide her hand on a grate. She hissed in pain, moving her hair to look at her hand, on her palm was a small cut in the exact same place as the vial cut. Rowan swallowed, the cut taunting her; reminding her of the last time.
"You okay?" Josh called over his shoulder.
Rowan looked up. "Yeah, just a cut." She muttered.
Josh shot her a concerned glance. "We'll have to make sure it doesn't get infected," Rowan heard him mutter under his breath before he crawled forward.
The sound of metal clanging on metal filled the vents, letting Rowan know that they arrived at their destination. Rowan crawled after him, watching from a distance as the boy rolled forward out of the vent.
She tried to hide a snicker as she remembered the first time the boy did it. Him falling harshly onto the floor after not landing properly, and her laughing hysterically to the point where they were nearly caught by two wandering guards.
Rowan crawled forward, peering down at Josh who was smiling up at her from the floor. "That was less interesting than the first time," she teased.
Josh let out a mock laugh. "You say that every time," he stated.
Rowan sighed. "I know, but since this time I'm covered in oil and blood I was hoping you'd humor me."
"Rowan, you have a small cut on your finger and the oil is washable."
Rowan rolled her eyes, adjusting herself to roll out. She tightly closed her eyes and tilted her body through the hole, feeling the artificial gravity pulling her towards Josh's open arms. seconds later, she was being held bridal style. "I caught you," he teased
Rowan rolled her eyes as Josh placed her back down on her feet.
"Yeah, yeah." she groaned, beginning to walk backwards in the direction of Josh's apartment, her eyes locked onto Josh the entire time as he gave an amused smile. "You always-" Rowan stopped mid sentence, her back hitting a figure. Hands instantly grabbed her shoulders to steady her as she stumbled, the smell of cheap cologne reaching her nose.
She whirled around, her eyes widening at the man in front of her. His hair was slicked back and his face covered in freckles. His olive skin was dull in the terrible lighting, and his brown eyes were filled with an unreadable emotion. Overall, he was extremely attractive.
Josh rested his hand on her lower back as he walked closer, his eyes meeting the man in front of them. "Blake," Josh greeted.
"Stanley," The man's voice was light yet filled with an edge. His eyes briefly flickered to josh behind her before returning to Rowan. "Who's this?"
Rowan could feel josh's tense figure behind her, putting her on edge. "Rowan," she replied carefully. "Excuse me if I don't politely shake your hand, but I'm covered in oil and blood."
The man cracked a small smile at that, his eyes softening as he did so. It was in that moment that Rowan realized he was wearing a guard uniform. Panic flashed through her as they locked eyes again, Rowan giving the man a strained smile. "I can see that," he mused, his eyes narrowing slightly before they went back to normal. "I hope you haven't killed anyone."
Rowan smirked slightly, shrugging as the pain in her hand grew. "If I did, I wouldn't be telling it to a guard."
The man laughed quietly, the sound causing Rowan to smile.
"I'm Bellamy," he stated. "Bellamy Blake."
Rowan gave him another smile, opening her mouth to respond. Before she could, Josh interrupted her. "Well, we have to get going. Bye."
Josh grabbed Rowan's wrist, pulling her quickly towards Josh's apartment. Josh unlocked his door, pushing it open and letting Rowan enter.
"What was that?" She questioned, turning towards the boy.
"Try to stay away from him," Josh muttered. "He's sketchy."
Rowan rolled her eyes. "Like we're not sketchy," she muttered. "I'm gonna go take a shower now." She turned towards the shower.
The door to the apartment shut softly as Josh responded. "Toss your clothes out so I can wash them, I'll give you some of mine for now."
Rowan opened the bathroom door and turned on the shower, sticking her head out to quickly yell. "If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could've just asked!"
She ignored Josh's snort of amusement as she stripped, tossing her clothes out in front of the door before closing it and hopping into the shower. Her auburn hair was instantly soaked, sticking to her body uncomfortably. She ignored it, grabbing a squirt of shampoo before massaging it into her scalp and ends. A sharp throbbing pain shot through her hand and she yanked it away from her scalp, running it under the hot water. The cut was a long smooth cut, a little deeper than the vial one. Blood was dripping down her hand, and she winced.
She let it run under the water, the paining turning numb as water pooled over it. Rowan used her left hand to continue to massage the shampoo into her hair. A few seconds later, she stuck her head under, rinsing the no-longer white shampoo from her head. She then put conditioner in her hair and let it sit as she washed her body and face. The dirt and oil that had been collected in the three day period of her not showering washed down the drain, making her feel like a new person.
Rowan rinsed her hair and climbed out, grabbing a towel and wrapping her body after turning off the shower. She used another towel to dry her hair before she walked out of the bathroom, only to stare at an uncomfortable Josh and girl.
"Who's she?" the girl demanded, pointing towards Rowan. The girl had long straight dark brown hair and pale skin. She was slightly taller than Rowan's five-foot-three-inches, and was dressed in skinny jeans and a green long sleeved shirt.
Josh looked about ready to make a run for it as he wordlessly handed Rowan his clothes, silently urging her to get dressed. She took them, shooting the girl a sheepish smile as she turned to walk back towards the bathroom. Once again, Rowan closed the door behind her, getting dressed into Josh's sweat pants and shirt, the clothes baggy on her.
She opened the door and hesitantly exited, looking at the girl nervously. "Hi," Rowan greeted. "I'm Rowan," She held her hand out for the girl to take.
The girl looked her up and down, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Serena Nightingale." She greeted, grabbing Rowan's hand.
Josh hesitantly stepped forward. "Rowan, I told Serena about your living situation." He muttered. "She's offered to give you some clothes."
Rowan smiled. "Thank you, Serena. That means a lot to me," she murmured.
Serena gave Rowan a forced smile. "It's my pleasure." She said. "I'm sorry that your parents were floated."
Rowan's confusion was short lived, realizing that Josh lied about her past. "It was a while ago," she muttered.
Serena nodded sympathetically. "I understand."
Rowan gave her a small smile. The two of them elapsing into silence. Josh stood there for a moment, before offering to turn something on the tv.
"Can you put on Teen Wolf?" Rowan asked, jumping over the back of the couch.
"We're not watching Teen Wolf," Josh spluttered.
"Yes, we are," Serena stated, turning on the TV.
"Serena!" Josh exclaimed, rushing towards the girl, who tossed the remote towards Rowan.
"I think we should," Rowan stated, a smirk on her lips. "It's two against one, Josh."
Josh sat down against the couch in defeat as Rowan handed the remote to Serena, the two girls quickly becoming invested.
Two soon became three, and Serena began to help Rowan in more ways than one. She supplied clean clothes and a hairbrush while Josh continued to steal food for her.
Rowan had never been more thankful for anyone in her entire life. Noah was her best friend, and he would always be her best friend, but Josh and Serena had done more for her than Noah had in their ten years of friendship. And when Rowan's eighteenth birthday passed, the three of them celebrated with dinner and a movie.
She missed her parents terribly, she really really did. She missed how her mother hugged her when she cried, and how her father would take her out on their boat. She missed their family trips to Nauset Beach, when they'd count how many seals they'd find.
Most of all, she missed Orleans. Going to the Sparrow after school and getting a hot chai tea latte. Going to the small local bookstore and flipping through all the books before buying two. And she missed the sea food restaurant that her first boyfriend, Matthew, took her to.
So, as she lay on her makeshift bed in her closet, she cried. She cried for her parents. She cried for Noah. And she cried for the stray cat that lived in her backyard. Rowena Lesley cried for the life she once had, that was now a lifetime away.
decided to go ahead and post the second chapter... I don't know how consistent my updates will be but I hope you read and like it!