Disclaimer: I don't own 'The 100'. No profit is being made from this story. Anything you recognize is from the show. Anything you don't recognize is from the depths of my imagination!

A/N: Surprise! Another chapter only a couple of days after the first! And I have to say: Wow! What a great response to the first chapter. Many follows, many favourites, and a couple of reviews! Every single one of them made my day!

Thanks to EmeraldSwan92 and Alice for your reviews! :)

Another thank you to my wonderful beta Dannylionthe1st! Couldn't have written this without you!

Enjoy!

Edited: 2018 -02-13

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Chapter Two

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"Son of a bitch."

Those were the first words that escaped her as she dragged herself back to consciousness. The world around her spun, shaking and vibrating, making it feel like her brain was rattling around the inside of her skull. A sudden lurch would have probably thrown her around if she did not feel like she had been nailed to whatever torturous chair she had the displeasure of sitting on.

She was uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable. Her neck was bent forward at an awkward angle, chin resting on her chest. The muscles at the back of her neck screamed in protest at what she assumed was a position she had been in for a long time.

Why...can't I move?

Something was pressing tightly against her chest, stopping her from taking a full breath, pinning her shoulder blades and painfully digging her back into the hard surface behind her.

Need...to...get out.

She couldn't concentrate. There were loud noises all around her: voices, metal creaking, crackling and she wasn't sure what else. She couldn't focus. She recognized the beginning of a panic attack: her heart beat steady increasing in tempo, pounding harshly behind her ribs as she tried to control her nerves. She was close to hyperventilating; she could feel it, her breaths coming out in short shallow gasps. She needed to get out, now, before it got any worse.

Wetness slide down her face from her hairline, and she felt her heart leap, eyes snapping open. Hastily raising a hand, she wiped her face, looking down at her wet fingers. It was only sweat. There was no blood.

She was okay, she wasn't there.

I'm okay. Come on Evans, you're not there. Get a grip.

Taking a steadying breath, she felt her nerves steady, her pulse slowing returning to normal.

Where the hell was she? She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered. She'd been in her cell and...Lt. Miller had come to visit her? The thought shot a strike of pain through her forehead and she winced, eyes clenching shut.

"Son of a bitch," she gasped out again. Even thinking made her head hurt.

A distinctly masculine snort came from somewhere beside her. "You know, that's the second time you've said that," he pointed out in amusement.

Trying to relax her shoulders, she took a deep steadying breath before answering. She didn't bother to open her eyes. "Thanks for that, Captain Obvious," she mumbled in reply, bringing a hand up and massaging her forehead.

Why the fucking hell was everything shaking? It felt like she had been thrown into a small jar, which someone had then decided to shake. Violently.

Finally peeling her lead-weighted eyelids open, she groggily peered around herself. She blinked.

Blinked again.

"What the hell?" she breathed out.

All around her were rows upon rows of teenagers, all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, strapped tightly into their seats, or to the walls, with red harnesses. From what she could see, the group consisted mainly of boys, although there were a few girls sitting scattered throughout the rows.

Oh, right. She was being sent to Earth with a bunch of other delinquents. This was going to be fun.

The group seemed to have mixed feeling as to what was going on, some looking excited at being out of the Skybox, others looking petrified, faces paper white and eyes wide, terrified of the unknown.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." A young voice prayed from in front of her and Alex turned to see a girl who was probably only just entering her teenage years sitting right across from her. Dark lashes framed tightly clenched eyes, her hands woven in her long, dark brown hair.

"She's been like that since she woke up," said one of the boys strapped to the side of the drop ship not far from where she was sitting. She recognized his voice as that of Captain Obvious and quirked an eyebrow at him. He was thin and lanky, light brown hair tucked beneath what looked to be goggles, which were perched above his forehead. Next to him sat a boy with black hair, still clearly unconscious, his head rolling back and forth with every jolt of the drop ship.

Frowning, she sent the goggle wearing boy a nod of acknowledgement before leaning forwards, trying to catch the girl's attention.

"Hey, hey, you alright?" Alex asked her, immediately feeling like an idiot for asking such a stupid question. It was apparent to anyone with two eyes that the girl was anything but all right. She heard a snort of amusement from Captain Obvious, and felt a blush creep up her face, but pointedly refused to look in his direction. Trying to cover the stupidity of her question, she hurried to continue. "We'll be alright." When the girl didn't seem to notice, she tentatively reached out and lightly touched the younger girl's knee.

At her touch, the girl jumped, flailing wildly, and Alex was sure that if she hadn't been restrained in her seat, she would have leapt out of her chair entirely.

Wide, scared eyes stared back at her.

Startled at the reaction, Alex retracted her hand slowly, trying to show that she meant no harm. "We'll be alright," she repeated in a soothing voice, even when the girl continued to stare at her blankly.

At the question, the younger girl's lip trembled as she shook her head. "We-we're gonna die," she whimpered, closing her eyes, her head falling back into her hands.

Alex flinched when the drop ship took a particularly hard jolt, wondering what she could say to comfort the younger girl. It was true, they probably were going to die; maybe not when they hit the atmosphere, and maybe not when they landed, but they were landing on a planet where a nuclear war had ravaged the surface. If they landed, the radiation would probably kill them in a few days. At most.

She didn't need to tell her that, from the young girl's reaction, she already knew.

But Alex could help. She could keep the young girl's mind off of whatever was coming.

Once again, she reached out, placing it comfortingly on the young girl's knee. When the girl looked up at her, she gave a small, hopefully comforting smile. "Hey, we're going to be alright," she said firmly, nodding her head as if to emphasize her point. "What's your name? I'm Alex."

The younger girl peeked out at her from between her hands. "I'm Jemma," she mumbled in response.

"Jemma? That's a pretty name." Alex smiled in encouragement. When the nearby goggle-wearing boy pointedly cleared his throat, she shot him a questioning look.

"I'm Jasper," he said with a cheeky grin, holding out a hand, which she slowly took. The guy seemed to be vibrating with energy, everything about him jittered.

"You are way too excited about this," she commented dryly, giving him a reluctant, but amused, smile.

"What can I say? We are out of the Skybox!" His feet tapped excitedly on the floor. "You know what that means?" he asked, turning to Jemma with a huge smile on his face, and Jemma peeked up at him curiously. "It means we are going to Earth! Think of the fun! Think of all the adventures!"

At his enthusiasm, Jemma gave a small tentative smile; only to duck her head again as the drop ship gave another hard jolt.

Alex gritted her teeth as she crossed her arm, grabbing the straps of her harness as hard as her grip would allow, trying to ignore the way that the room seemed to once again try to shrink around her, trying to ignore that she was surrounded by a large metal container that was moving way too fast. That it was going to hit the atmosphere and that it was going to explode.

Okay, deep breaths, Alex, deep breaths.

She needed her own distraction.

Opening her mouth to ask Jasper what he had been arrested for, Alex paused when the screens around the drop ship blinked to life, silence settling throughout the ship as Chancellor Jaha appeared on the screen.

"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now," he began, face a mask of seriousness. "You have been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you will see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself." The Chancellor took a deep breath. "We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

A bark of laughter came from somewhere behind her, "Your dad is a dick, Wells." Alex frowned. Wells Jaha was on the drop ship? How had he managed that? While her and Wells had never been close friends during school, she had been in nearly all the same classes as him. Before she had a chance to turn and look, Chancellor Jaha continued.

"Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean," he paused. "The 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 non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years."

"How could they know that?" Alex mumbled to herself with a frown. When Jasper turned to her with a questioning glance, she spoke up. "I just find it unlikely that it's all still there. And even if it's still there it might not be any help."

"Why's that?" He frowned at her.

"Well, these 'non-perishables'," she explained, shaking her head, "were non-perishable nearly a hundred years ago. I mean - what's the chance that any of it is still edible?"

It was extremely unlikely that the food was still usable. She frowned. Not unless they had come up with some pretty remarkable way to preserve food for that amount of time. But chances were that all the food had gone bad and there would be nothing for them to eat. They would still have to check it out though. Hopefully there would be other supplies that they could use.

Glancing around, she took note of the fact that the Ark had sent them down to Earth bare bones.

Naturally, why send down supplies with a group of delinquents who only had a slim chance of survival at best...The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Once they landed, they would need to get organized quickly and collect everything they could get their hands on if they wanted to survive.

A cheer suddenly erupted on the other side of the drop ship, interrupting her thoughts. Turning, she could only shake her head at what she saw.

A boy wearing a green toque had unstrapped himself from his harness and was floating through the drop ship, spinning around, and in general, showing off for the crowd around him.

"Whoo! Go, Finn!" A cheer came from a nearby young boy. She frowned when he seemed intent on getting out of his own harness to join the other boy.

Reaching out, she grabbed his elbow, shaking her head at his inquiring gaze. "Sit down. When those parachutes deploy, if you aren't strapped down you are going to kill yourself, and probably someone else," she explained and he looked nervous enough about her explanation that he retightened his bindings, although another boy sitting a couple of seats down from him had released himself from his harness, and began floating around.

What are those idiots doing?

"Hey!" she called out, reaching out to grasp the sleeve of the closest guy as he began to float past her. "Sit down." When he shook his head, she sighed in frustration. "I'm serious. You need to sit down. The parachutes are going to deploy any second!"

Clearly unable to see what she was worked up about, he grinned. "No way! This is awesome!" As his feet touched the floor, he pushed off, sailing down the row, heading to where the third boy spun around to the cheers of his supporters.

Alex groaned in frustration. Didn't they see the danger they were putting themselves in? "Idiots."

Above them Chancellor Jaha continued his speech, although the screen had begun to flicker, and the sound turn to static with every increasing bump."Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediate-"

There was an extra violent lurch, and the three boys floating around hit the ceiling with a sickening crunch.

A deafening screech filled the air, the sound of metal tearing from metal, Alex and many others clapping their hands over their ears to dampen the sound. Shrieks of fear rang out as people cried out at the sudden change.

The screens above them crackled before dying entirely, the interior of the drop ship dropping into turbulent darkness.

When the shaking showed no signs of stopping, instead steadily intensifying, Alex clenched her eyes. Resting her head on her back support, she crossed her arms and grabbed onto the harness as tightly as she could, knowing that the parachutes were going to deploy. Hopefully.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Then with another sudden lurch, one that left her feeling as if she'd left her stomach somewhere down by her feet, the turbulence intensified. The parachutes had deployed. That was a good sign.

The bad sign was that the retro-rockets didn't immediately fire up afterwards. She could hear the high-pitched whirring and clicking of the engines, clearly struggling to turn over and ignite. Her jaw clenched painfully. Even with the parachutes, they were moving way too fast; if they hit the ground at this speed, none of them were going to survive.

"We're going to die!" Jemma screamed out from in front of her.

She heard the change in pitch of the engines right before they roared to life, the act sending a shuddered through the frame of the dropship. The retro-rockets had come on.

The brief feeling of relief was swept as she realized they engines didn't seem to make a shred of difference. They had come on too late. They were still moving too fast.

We're going to crash,Alex thought, clenching her eyes closed and gripping her harness as if her life depended on it, briefly wishing that she'd put up more of a fight when they took her from her cell.

For a long time the dropship shook violently, cries of terror piercing the air as they continues their descent.

Suddenly, the dropship gave a harsh shudder, violently jerking people in their seats, sending the few loose items in the room flying though the air. The air rushed out of her lungs as the harness dug painfully into her chest, stopping the scream that threatened to escape her lips.

Then with one final jolt, everything stopped.

Silence descended upon them.

For a moment, the sound of her ragged breathing seemed to fill her head, covering up the ringing silence left in the absence of the roar of engines. Shoulders tense, she sat, waiting for the end.

But it never came.

Cautiously, she peeled open her eyes, first squinting, then opening her eyes more fully as the realization that death was no longer imminent slowly sank in. Peering around the darkened interior of the dropship, she found others doing the same, looking just as curious and wary as she felt.

"Did - did we land?" Jemma's meek voice came from across from her.

"I-I don't really know," Alex said, voice quivering in her uncertainty as she looked around, her voice seeming to echo loudly in the suddenly silent space. "I think so?"

The Asian boy sitting next to Jasper, who had been unconscious last time she'd looked, leaned forward, his expression intent. "Listen, no machine hum," he said, head tilted to the side as he listened.

He was right, it was quiet. Eerily quiet. The engines had grown silent, all of the other electronics following suit and for the first time in her life there was no background hum of the Ark's life support. No sounds of the ventilation system pumping air throughout every room. No beeps, no electronic sliding doors, no power. Nothing.

Jasper hummed in agreement, shaking his head in amazement. "Whoa. That - That's got to be a first."

Soon the buzz of whispers filled the air as others realized that perhaps the worst was over. Relief and excitement quickly began to replace their fear, and people began shifting restlessly in their seats.

She could help the flicker of excitement that filled her, echoing that of her fellow delinquents.

Did we really make it?

Reaching down, she grasped the buckle of her harness and pulled up, the two straps that had kept her alive separating with a small 'click'. Sliding them off her shoulders, she hesitantly pushed herself to her feet, patting herself down, although she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Though she felt fine - if a bit bruised and battered - she felt the overwhelming need to make sure she was truly still alive and all in one piece.

It was only then that she noted the insulated black jacket that she wore over her regular clothes. Frowning at the unfamiliar material, she wondered who had given it to her. Mid length dark boots also covered her feet.

There was a panicked squeak from the row in front of her. "What're you doing?"

Looking down, Alex found Jemma staring up at her with a panicked expression, hands still twisted into her hair. "I'm going to check everything out," she replied, kneeling down in front of her, gently reaching out and grasping the young girl's wrists. She tugged them slowly until Jemma let go of her hair. "There you go." She smiled, placed Jemma's hands in her lap. "How about you stay here while I go check things out? I'll come back for you if everything's safe. How does that sound?"

When she received a hesitant nod in response, Alex sent her an encouraging smile and pushed herself to her feet, taking in her surroundings.

Jasper and the Asian boy had followed her example and also unstrapped themselves from their harnesses and soon a wave of 'clicks' filled the air, other teenagers detaching themselves as they realized it was safe to do so. They were slowly beginning to wander around, both curious and wary as they began checking in with one another.

It didn't take her long to realize that she didn't know anyone in the immediate areas, all of them too young to have been in any of her classes, which saved her the awkwardness of having to check in on anyone. Sliding through the growing crowds of people until she saw the top of the ladder that led down to the lower floors of the drop ship. Mentally shrugging to herself, she realized the main floor would probably be the best place to find out what was going on.

It wasn't until she got closer to the ladder that a tuft of blonde hair caught her attention. Turning towards it, she saw the familiar face of Clarke Griffin crouching over one of the boys that had made the mistake of getting out of his harness a little too early.

The fact that Clarke was checking on the boy didn't surprise her. Her mother was the head doctor on the Ark. Alex had been to see her more than a few times growing up.

Clarke was being watched over by a boy with chin length brown hair, the one, Alex quickly recognized, that had been the first to remove his harness. She could see the undisguised look of guilt on his face as he stared down at the prone boy.

Making her way towards the two, she arrived just in time to overhear Clarke solemnly telling the brown haired teen that the other boy wasn't breathing.

The look of guilt on his face increased ten-fold at the information, and all he could seem to do was run his hand through his hair and shake his head in response.

Alex wondered if he wished he hadn't been the first out of his seat, that maybe the other boy would still be alive if he had made a different choice. Would his mistakes haunt him the way she was haunted by hers?

His solemn eyes landed on her as she approached.

"Hey," he said softly, nodding to her, making her wonder if she somehow knew him. He didn't seem familiar.

Clarke glanced up as he spoke, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as she saw her.

"Alex?" Clarke asked, hastily pushing herself to her feet. "Hey. I- I didn't know you would be here...I thought you'd..." She trailed off, looking slightly uncomfortable.

A flash of irritation burst through her at the words.

"Been floated?" Alex asked pointedly, eyes narrowing at the other blonde. "I was in the same classes as you, Clarke. You think you'd remember how old I am." She was unable to hide the bitterness in her words.

Clarke cringed. "Sorry."

Alex instantly felt bad and sighed. Clarke wasn't exactly wrong, she'd been very close to being floated. She also knew that the other girl had a habit of being extremely blunt with her words. She most likely hadn't meant anything by it.

She forced herself to soften her expression, shaking her head. "Don't apologize," she replied with a tentative smile. "You...aren't wrong. I had a couple of month left before...you know." She shrugged. "So I guess I'm...lucky? Unlucky? Either way - I'm here."

Clarke nodded, gaze drifting away from her to the teenagers around them. "We all are. And we'll need to figure out how to survive this...together."

"I guess we've all been given a second chance," Finn said, extending a hand towards Alex. "I'm Finn."

Reaching out she grasped his hand firmly with her own. "So I've heard." She gave him a nod. "I'm Alex." She turned back to Clarke with a frown. "So, what do you think? Think it's going to be survivable out there?"

Clarke's lips pursued in response, before shrugging. She looked nervous. "I-I don't know. I don't think we're safe yet - for all we know the air outside is toxic."

She had a good point, they might have made it all the way to Earth only to die from radiation poisoning the moment they stepped out of the drop ship, if they even made it that far.

Then again, this was the test that the Ark had sent them down to do. They were the trial run.

Alex rolled her shoulders. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

Clarke shook her head. "Who knows what will happen when we open the door? We need to think this through."

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "But even if the air is toxic, we might be living on borrowed time anyways. We won't survive in here forever. Although, we should probably stop anyone from making that pre-emptive decision for us."

Finn pointed at the open hatch on the floor, and the ladder that led down to the lower levels of the ship. "The outer door is on the lower level," he said stepping forwards and placing his feet on the first rung. "Let's go," he continued as he began to descend.

Alex and Clarke shared a glance, and Clarke nodded her head towards the ladder. "You first."

Alex snorted in amusement, rolling her eyes. "Is it because I'm expendable?" she asked with a smirk, repeating Jaha's comment from earlier as she stepped forward and placed both feet on the rung before beginning to climb down.

"What? No- no that's not what I meant," Clarke hurried to assure her.

"Clarke. Relax," Alex interrupted her with a grin, popping her head back up to peer at her. "I'm just teasing. I know you didn't mean anything by it." With that, she made her way down to the level below her, the sounds of voices drifting up to meet her. As her feet touched flat ground, she let go of the ladder and turned around, only to be greeted by another room full of teenagers. Only this one had a large door at the far end of the room.

Thankfully, that door was still fully sealed.

Stepping forwards, she moved out of the way so Clarke could finish descending behind her, and when the blonde girl turned around, she nodded her head towards the door. "Let's go."

Pushing her way through the crowd, she led the way to the front, frowning at the sight of some teenagers trying to figure out how to open the door. "That might not be a good idea," Alex stated to no one in particular, although Clarke seemed to agree with her as she kept moving forwards, a determined expression on her face.

When one young boy seemed to completely ignore Clarke and continued to reach for the lever, Alex grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. "Hey! How about we think about this for a minute, before you expose us all to potentially toxic air?" she barked at him, only getting a wide-eyed look in response. She shoved him away from the area before letting go and turning towards Clarke, who was trying to convince the crowd that opening the door might not be in their best interest.

"Look," she said, sounding frustrated. "We can't just open the doors. We need to think about what happens if the air outside is toxic."

"Hey," a voice barked out from the crowd, and a guy in a guard's uniform separated himself from the group. He pushed his arms out, keeping the group around him from crowding towards the door. "Just back it up, guys." His voice was calm but serious, his tone leaving no room for argument. He expected to be obeyed.

A guard? Alex frowned as she watched him step forward. The Ark sent one guard down here with us? They can't have expected one guard to be able to keep track of a hundred delinquents.

He was tall, taller than she was anyways, with black hair which was neatly slicked back, and dark eyes that seemed to study them each in turn. She could tell he was fit, his build lean and muscular, the guard uniform fitting him rather well. He held himself with a confidence that told everyone that he knew what he was doing. And that he clearly expected everyone else to follow along.

Alex scowled. She already didn't like him and the thought of being in the same group as him until the rest of the Ark came down.

If they survived, anyways.

The older guy turned towards Clarke, and Alex stepped up to stand behind Clarke in silent support. The guard's eyes briefly flickered over to her, before dismissing her entirely.

Oh, she really didn't like him.

"Stop, the air could be toxic," Clarke said, almost pleaded, trying to explain the consequences of opening the door.

He shook his head in response, turning back towards the lever. "If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyways."

"I agree with Clarke," Alex stated firmly, and the guard turned to her. "Don't you think maybe it's worth taking an extra second to think this through?" She tried to reason with him, waving a hand towards the door. "I mean - if you open that door, we might all be dead in the next two minutes." At her comment, there was a wave of murmuring in the crowd around them.

He shook his head, taking a breath to respond, but before he could say anything, someone called out from the back of the crowd. "Bellamy?" His words died on his lips as he looked up towards the source of the voice, his face going slack in shock.

With a small frown, Alex turned to the voice, wondering who could have that effect on him, and found a girl around her age frozen at the base of the ladder, staring at the guard with an identical look of shock. The younger girl seemed to snap out of it, and lowered herself the rest of the way before pushing through the crowd, only stopping when she was standing in front of 'Bellamy'.

The younger girl was slightly shorter than Alex was, with a pretty face framed by beautiful long, straight brown hair. Hazel eyes stared up at Bellamy, mouth moving as if she did not know what to say.

Bellamy seemed to snap out of it first, and the soft smile that grew on his face as he stared down at the younger girl took Alex by surprise. She wondered if they were lovers, although he seemed too old for her. "My God," he said, "Look how big you are."

Well, that's definitely a weird thing to say to your lover...maybe old friends?

He barely finished saying it before the younger girl threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. He returned the hug with equal fervor, before they pulled away to study each other. The girl glanced over his clothes with a frown, tugging at his sleeve.

"What the hell are you wearing? A guard's uniform?" The girl demanded, and Bellamy seemed at a loss for words again.

He shook his head. "I borrowed it...to get on the drop ship," he explained quickly, glancing down at himself, before meeting her gaze with an amused smirk. "Someone's got to keep an eye on you." The girl rolled her eyes, then threw her arms around him once more, making him chuckle.

Borrowed... I'm right then. He's not actually a guard...

"Where's your wristband?" Clarke demanded unexpectedly, and Alex turned to find her studying the pair before them with a suspicious frown. The two separated and the girl turned to Clarke with a frown.

"Do you mind?" The girl nearly sneered. "I haven't seen my brother in a year."

Her brother? No way! Alex turned to stare at the two in disbelief. But...I thought...

"No one has a brother!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"That's Octavia Blake!" A girl replied, "The girl they found hidden in the floor."

There was a momentary silence, before a flash of rage crossed Octavia's face, and she attempted to throw herself at the girl.

"Octavia!" Bellamy grabbed hold of her, wrapping his arms around her middle to stop her from attacking. "Octavia, no!" He pulled her back before releasing her, placing himself in front of her, grabbing her shoulders. "Let's give them something else to remember you by," he said soothingly, trying to placate her anger.

Octavia shrugged him off angrily. "Yeah? Like what?" she demanded.

"Like being the first person on the ground," Bellamy said with a smile that bordered on being a smirk, "...in a hundred years."

The thought seemed to cool Octavia's rage, a smile slowly growing on her face at the thought of being the first person on the ground.

Or the first one to die, Alex cringed at the thought, watching as the brother-sister pair held hands and turned towards the lever by the door. Oh God, what if the air is poison? Skip on the floating, only to die from painfully unpleasant radiation poisoning.

Bellamy glanced back at his sister once more, before turning to the lever and giving the handle a solid pull.

Oh God.

She cringed as she felt the distinct feeling of the pressure changing as her ears popped, before a brilliant bright light filled the drop ship, forcing her to raise a hand to cover her eyes; wind whipping her long blonde hair around her head.

Then the rush was over. Everything was still.

For a moment, there was dead silence, and when nothing terrible began to happen, Alex peeked out from behind her hand, squinting at the blinding light and waiting for her eyes to adjust.

When they did, Alex felt all the air rush out of her lungs at the sight before her.

"Holy shit," were the only words she could free from her wonder.

Everything was so green. Nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing, not even the trees in the book she studied at school. They were so different from anything she had ever dreamed they could be. She'd always pictured trees looking the same, every branch and leaf looking identical to the next, but these trees were anything but, no two were alike, each was unique.

Glancing up, her mouth dropped in astonishment at how high they seemed to go. Did the trees touch the clouds? Was that even possible? She unconsciously flexed her fingers; a sudden itch in her brain making her was to find out. She wanted to climb one of them, wanted to see how high she could get. What would the bark feel like under her fingertips? The branches? The leafs?

Was it even possible to climb one of them? Some looked so skinny that she could wrap her arms right around them. Were they covered in moss? She was sure that it should be growing on some of the trees. That is, if the books she'd read were correct.

The ground beneath the trees was a carpet of green: was that moss? The colour was deeper, darker than the shades of green on the trees. She couldn't believe how many shades existed in just one area. Were other locations different - would they have more colours? She desperately hoped so. Even now, trying to match all the shades of green to the names that she had learned on colour wheels on the Ark, she realized there was so much more.

Eyes rising beyond the trees, she was at a loss for words. The sky. A great canvas of blue, unlike anything she had ever seen before, spread out in every direction, as far as the trees allowed her to see. It was so deep, so clear, and so different from outer space.

It's beautiful...

The colours that she had been exposed to on the Ark paled in comparison to the depth and beauty of the colours around them.

And the air. Alex inhaled deeply, the amazing feel of real fresh air filling her lungs, leaving her breathless all in the same go. It smelt sweet; tasted sweet. She'd never noticed it until now, after taking her first breaths of Earth's clean air, that the air on the Ark was stale. It had been reused and recycled over and over and over, the treatment stripping it of all scents and moisture. The air on Earth...it was the exact opposite. It was incredible.

A movement caught her eye, and she turned to see Octavia take a few brave steps forward, pausing once to inhale deeply, before continuing to the edge of the ramp, where she hesitated. Alex could see her body tense before she lightly hopped down onto the seemingly soft ground below.

"We're back, bitches!" Octavia screamed to the sky, throwing her hands high above her head in celebration, and with roar of excitement, the rest of the delinquents followed suit.

Alex could only stare in wonder, unable to stop the smile that tugged at her lips even if she tried.

This is it...I'm finally free.

A/N: Please review! Thanks so much for reading!