Adapting to the Ground (a The 100 fanfiction)

Fixing

     Natalie grinned and nodded, taking his hand. "Yeah!"

The Ark: summer, 2134

     Natalie stood in front of the door, bouncing on her toes nervously. She was only supposed to ever come here if she really needed Bell, if was an emergency. She sure considered this an emergency, and she hoped her best friend would, too. Her daddy was back to yelling, and her mommy had pushed her out of their home and told her to go hide for a bit. "Go play with your friend for a while, okay? Just come back for dinner."

     Then her daddy had started yelling louder, about keeping his kid away from him or something. So she had ran off in search of Bellamy, not really wanting to explore by herself. She took a deep breath and knocked again, then called out: "Bell, it's me! Daddy's yelling again and mommy told me to go play!"

     The door opened slightly, and she saw his eye peek out. "Is there anyone out there with you?"

     Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and looked around. "No. Just me."

     "Good. Hurry up and get in here." He reached out and yanked her in, slamming and locking the door behind her.

     Sitting on the floor behind him was a toddler, a little girl with dark hair and big, expressive eyes. "Bell! Who's that?!"

     Bellamy shifted on his feet for a moment. "You gotta swear not to tell anyone, okay?"

     Natalie bobbed her head in a promise, her eyes going wide. "I swear, Bellamy! I won't even tell Mommy!"

     Bell pursed his lips in thought, staring her down for a moment before nodding once. "Okay. She's my sister, Octavia. Mom says no one's supposed to know about her, but I trust you."

     Natalie smiled and crouched in front of the toddler. "Can she talk yet?"

     "A little."

     Natalie grinned wider and extended her hand out. "Hi Octavia, my name's Natalie!"

     Little Octavia Blake lifted her hands up and grabbed Natalie's hand, grinning back. "Tally!"

     "That is so unfair!" Bellamy groaned, sitting next to his best friend and in front of Octavia. "She won't even say 'Bell'!"

     Natalie sat down and giggled, prompting the toddler to giggle too.

The Ark: spring, 2136

    
     An eight year old Natalie ducked down a dark corridor, glancing behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed. Daddy was drinking again, and yelling and throwing things, so she had left as soon as she could. Exploring alone, because Bellamy was stuck at home watching Octavia while his mother was out.

     Natalie crept down the darkened space, frowning. The opening had been almost hidden, and she had almost missed it. It was small, just big enough for her to stand up straight without hitting her head. If she reached up, which she did then, she could touch the ceiling easily without straightening her arms. She walked forward, glancing back every few steps as she advanced. The next intersection was a three-way fork. She could go forward, go back, or turn right. Without much hesitation, she turned right and continued on. Then she found herself face-to-face with a girl with dark hair and tan complexion in a lit corridor.

     "Whoa, where'd you come from?!" Natalie jerked back, blinking.

     "Where did you come from?" The girl set her hands on her hips and scowled. "I've never seen you around here before."

     "I'm from Factory Station." Natalie hooked her thumb behind her. "I was... I was exploring and found this passageway." She tilted her head, just then noticing the boy behind the other girl. "I'm Natalie Campbell."

     The younger girl shifted on her feet and stuck her hand out. "Raven Reyes. And this is Finn Collins."

     Natalie took her hand and pumped it once, twice. "Nice to meet you. So, Raven Reyes, where did I come out at?"

     Raven smiled and glanced around them. "Mecha Station. Wanna go play?"

     Natalie glanced behind her before smiling at the two other kids. "Yeah, but I have to be back before dinner."

Earth: 16 Days after Descension, 2148

     Natalie lit a couple more candles in the dark space underground, lighting up the bunker Laina had shown her the day before. She pulled the old toy truck closer to a newly lit candle for better light, pulling it apart to look at its insides. It was one of those dump trucks from years ago, that was supposed to lift its back at the push of a button. She only knew this because it had almost worked when she pressed the button before, but then it stopped working with a tiny metallic groan and shudder. She only had a couple more hours to work on it before they had to leave.

     The memories were still dancing in her mind's eye as she worked, and she let them play out. Soon, she finished her tinkering and pressed the button, grinning when the back of the truck lifted up to dump the nonexistent load of nothing. She packed up the tools she had found in her pack and stuffed the toy truck in after them, blowing the candles out and climbing out of the bunker. She stopped abruptly when a grimy face blocked her vision. "Oh." The little boy startled back and fell, landing on his rear in the dirt. Natalie held back her chuckle and finished her climb, kneeling in front of him and pulling the truck out. "Here." She placed the truck on the ground and scooped up a bit of dirt, piling it in the back of the truck. Then, she pressed the button and watched with pride as the back lifted up again and the dirt fell back to the earth.

     The boy's eyes got wide, and he grinned. He piked dirt in the back, then pressed the button, laughing when it dumped the dirt again. Natalie grinned and pushed the truck towards him, standing up. She caught Laina's gaze, finding the hunter leaning against a tree nearby. The brunette made her way over, smiling with an amused glint in her eye. "You made that tek work."

     "What, the toy? Yeah, that was easy. There was a bit too much dust in the circuitry." Natalie shrugged, dusting her pants off.

     "That is amazing." Laina smiled, looking down at the boy playing with the truck.