Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you to all the follows and reviews! I was beginning to think my writing wasn't as good as the other authors on but you guys really gave me the encouragement I needed! :)

Chaos. That was what ensued when you put 102 delinquents in a ship with no warning as to where you were going or whether you were dying or not. The ship was crowded with the warmth of a hundred teenagers and the sound was almost unbearable. Some cried, some shouted, others like Ari sat in silence trying to block it all out.

She was interrupted from doing just that by a tap on her arm. She cracked one eye open to see a lanky boy with wild brown curls and a pair of goggles atop his head. He beamed down at her," Hi, I'm Jasper." He stuck out his hand which she reluctantly shook. "Aria."

She was tense for a moment, wondering if he would bring up her crimes. She practically melted in relief when he only nodded with a polite, "Nice to meet you, Aria." She nodded in return, "Likewise." He jerked a thumb to the Asian boy in front of them. "That nerd right there is Monty." She couldn't contain the snicker she tried to hide.

Monty looked back with an exasperated expression," You rang?" She laughed harder at his sarcastic response. Jasper rolled his eyes and turned back to her," Isn't this exciting?" She quirked a brow at his enthusiasm," Dying? Right sounds fun." He shook his head vigorously, "We are not dying today." She nodded as she leaned her head back, "That's the spirit."

She gripped her chair harder at the sudden jolt that ran through the ship, causing some to shriek. She glanced at Jasper who reassured her, " Just the atmosphere." Suddenly the screens flickered to life with a humming noise.

She recognized the dark skinned solemn man as Thelonious Jaha, the Chancellor. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance. As your Chancellor I hope you see this as not just a chance for you, but for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself. We have no idea what's waiting for you down there. If we had we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

What an ass. Apparently she wasn't the only to think this for the Chancellor was interrupted by someone shouting," Your dad's a dick,Wells!" Wells Jaha was on the ship? How the hell did that happen? Last time she checked he was the Ark's golden child.

"…those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean." She snorted, as if. They would still be looked down upon, no matter what they did.

"Your drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough nonperishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years." His words were once more interrupted by cheers.

"Woo!" "Go Finn!" "Spacewalk bandit strikes again!"

Aria glanced up to see a shaggy haired boy, who she guessed was Finn floating around in the zero gravity. She rolled her eyes, he was going to get himself killed when they landed and he suddenly wasn't suspended anymore.

"Check it out, your dad floated me after all," he jeered at Wells. She hated the Chancellor fiercely but even she understood Wells wasn't to blame for his father's actions. "You should strap back in before the parachutes deploy," Wells warned him. "Hey you two stay put if you want to live!", the blonde next to him called out towards two boys who were unbuckling to spacewalk as well.

"You must locate Mount Weather immediately. Those supplies are life," she was vaguely aware of the Chancellor saying on the television. She was more focused on the teenage interactions going on around her.

"Hey, you're that traitor that's been in solitary for a year." It was the shaggy boy that had gotten her attention with his words. "You're that idiot that wasted a month's supply of oxygen to go on a spacewalk." "But it was fun, "he defended," I'm Finn."

The Chancellor's words of responsibility were drowned out by the sudden jolt, causing shrieks to fill the air as the blonde yelled at the boys to stay put. There was a rough jerk which could only mean one thing.

The parachutes had deployed.

Finn and the others were thrown back, breaking through some pipes from the force of their throw. Ari gripped her seat hands sweaty with fear was she closed her eyes tightly.

Count, Ari.

1..sparks rained down.

2..screams and cries filled the air.

3..the seatbelt burned her palms as she gripped it fiercely.

4..the ship groaned.

5…the TV went out.

6…smoke filled the air.

7…the lights went out.

8…they landed.

"Listen. No machine hum," Monty said. "Whoa..that's a first." She had still been clinging to her seatbelt as she panted, her heart pounding in fear. For a few moments she was sure they would all die in a horrific, fiery crash. How pleasant. It was Jasper's voice that snapped her out of it.

She unbuckled quickly, with shaking hands as she stood. She nearly fell again on her wobbly knees but she managed to stay upright, sending both boys grins of excitement. She finally understood Jasper's enthusiasm.

Her actions seemed to spur the others into action as they began to unbuckle as well.

The blonde girl immediately strode over to the motionless boys who were lying next to Finn, who looked shell shocked. "Finn, are they breathing?", she asked urgently. He looked over to the girl and shook his head slowly. She didn't respond running off to yell at someone else for trying to open the doors.

Ari made her way over cautiously to the guilty faced boy. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his shoulder with a small smile. Human contact and comfort were never her strong suit. Finn gave her a grateful look before getting to his feet. Ari lost him in the crowd as she made her way over to the door, which the teens had congregated around eagerly.

"Hey, just back it up guys!", one man ordered from the door, holding out his hands in a 'back off' gesture. He was tall, over six foot and olive skinned. He had slicked back, black hair and his skin was covered in freckles. She had an odd urge to count them which she pushed aside. He had an older look and stern brown eyes. In all he was handsome and almost familiar looking.

"Stop!", screeched Blondie as she came down the ladder. Ari rolled her eyes, this girl's incessant complaining got on her nerves. "The air could be toxic." "If the air's toxic we're all dead anyways,"he reminded her. It was a fair point really. Why not die experiencing the earth than suffocate in fear of it?

"Bellamy?" Where had Ari heard that name? She turned to see the source of the noise. It was a tall brunette girl with angular features that matched Bellamy's and striking green eyes. Bellamy turned slowly to look at her as well.

Ari thought she heard murmurs of, 'hid under the floors.' She pushed through the crowd, beginning to get an inkling of who this was. Octavia stood in front of Bellamy who stared at her in awe. "Oh my God, look how big you are.." It was hushed and strained with emotion. The two embraced as Ari reached the front of the crowd, standing slightly away from them. She didn't want to interrupt but she had to know. This girl was practically her sister too.

"What the hell are you wearing? A guard's uniform?" There was a slight accusatory tinge to her words, Ari knew how much she hated guards. "I had to get on the dropship. Someone's got to keep an eye on you, "he told her teasingly.

As they broke apart, Blondie interrupted. "Where's your wristband?" Man, this girl was starting to piss her off. She glared at her along with Octavia. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year," was Octavia's snarky reply. She turned back as people began to hiss to each other.

"No one has a brother." "That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor!"

Ari stepped forward before the teen could lunge at them as she knew Octavia would. Octavia looked at her in confusion as she approached slowly. "..'Tavia?" It came out hushed, as Bellamy had first spoken to her. He was looking at her in confusion now while Octavia's face showed recognition and her eyes pooled with tears. "Ari!"

Seeing that it was indeed her Octavia, she rushed at the girl. The two embraced fiercely, as strongly as the two Blakes had. Octavia pulled back eyes shining as she was sure her own were. "I can't believe it's you..," she trailed off before chuckling," I thought you'd be taller." "Oh shut up, I'm just happy to see you," Ari laughed, aware her height of exactly five feet wasn't intimidating.

Bellamy cleared his throat," Who are you?" He wore a guarded look, as if wary of sharing his sister. Octavia turned to him with a wide smile," This is Aria Winters. She's like my sister." Ari smiled at the affectionate term, nervous that people around her would know who she was. No one seemed to though but she thought she saw a flicker of recognition in Bellamy's eyes. It was gone so quick she couldn't be sure.

"Well let's give them something else to remember you by," he told her happily, obviously referring to the floor incident.

"Yeah? Like what?" He smirked, "Like being the first person in the ground in a hundred years." Ari glared at Blondie, daring her to try and stop them. She stepped up beside the siblings as Bellamy opened the door.

It was so..warm. It was warmth like she had never felt, natural warmth like a mother's embrace. And the air. Oh, it was so fresh. Nothing compared to it, she couldn't stop sucking it in greedily. The stale oxygen in the Ark didn't hold a match to the real thing.

She had never imagined trees could be so tall, or the sky so blue. She could never have imagined how brilliant the colors were or how beautiful.

She turned her attention to Octavia as the girl breathed in deeply as she had done, moving tentatively down the ramp. She moved slowly as if trying to take in all the sights and sounds. Both Bellamy and Ari watched on in joy and pride at the glee on her face. Bellamy held out a hand as she stopped at the edge of the ramp.

She looked back at them and Ari urged, "Go." She hopped down from the ramp, from one world to another. Then she threw her hands up in the air and shouted, "WE'RE BACK BITCHES!" This caused both Ari and Bellamy to smile as the others cheered and raced from the ship.

They had come home at last.