Queen of the Ground //b.b.

•one•

It's been ninety-three years since the earth has become uninhabitable. Leaving the planet simmering in radiation, fortunately there were survivors. Twelve nations had operational space stations at the time of the bombs. There is now only the Ark. One station forged from the many.
We're told the earth needs another hundred years to become habitable again. Four more space locked generations till man can go home to the ground.
Ground, that's the dream. But this..
this is reality.
My cell door creeks open forcing me
to look up from my spot in my book. "Prisoner 301, face the wall." One man says and I look over at my dad to see him nod.
Reality sucks
   "What is this?" I ask throwing my hair over my shoulder. "Quiet sweetheart." My dad says. I turn and look to see him grab a pronged metal bracelet. "Dad what is that, I don't turn eighteen for another two days." I tell him and he nods shushing me.
All crimes made on the ark are
punishable by death unless you're under eighteen.
The other guard grabs my wrist and puts the metal band around it, immediately causing my wrist to tense up. "Calm down." He says and I slowly nod complying with every word he says as he pushes me out of my cell into the sky box
Juvenile offenders get put here,
we call it the sky box.
My dad grabs ahold of my arm and escorts me out of the room to see every juvenile criminal being walked out of their cells.
"Dad, what's happening?" I ask, a look of panic spreading quickly across my face. "Don't worry, you're gonna be ok." He tells me before walking me into another crowded room full of people and hands me a different set of clothes. "Dad?" I ask. "Just put them on, alright?" He asks and I just nod looking at the pile of neatly folded clothes.
I put on the black jeans and black leather boots with an olive green tank top and a thick leather jacket before I walk out to my dad.
   "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everyone else first but you can't do that. I've already lost your mother I can't lose you too." He tells me. "What're you talking about? What's happening to us?" I ask him.
"You're going to earth Reyna." He tells me slowly sitting me down on the second floor of a drop ship. "I need you to stay safe and take care of yourself until I can get down there somehow. You take this and you stay alive!" He tells me giving me his gun and two extra clips before buckling me in and seating another girl next to me.
She's got long dark hair and beautiful blue eyes, I feel my dad look me over one more time before walking out the door.
      As if we were the last ones in, the doors shut and the air around us becomes heavy before the ship starts to shake.
     "What's happening?" The girl next to me asks, a look of sheer terror quickly spreading across her face. "We're taking off." I whisper before she grabs ahold of my hand. Once the ship has taken off it shakes for a moment before steadying out again.
"What's your name?" The girl next to me asks, slowly starting to let go of my hand. "Reyna, what's yours?" I ask her. "Octavia." She says simply. "Nice to meet you, Octavia." I say making us both giggle as I try to calm myself down. We all jump when the screen in front of us beams to life and Chancellor Jaha starts taking.
"Prisoners of the ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance. And as your chancellor it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you but a chance for all of us. Indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better we would've sent others, but frankly we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable." He goes on as some kid around me start yelling at Wells Jaha. "You're dads a sick Wells." One guy yells over the recording.
"Your drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather, a military base built within a mountain was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years." Again Jaha is drowned out by people yelling. I snap my head towards the kids do see a boy spinning through the air and immediately recognize him as Spacewalker Finn Collins. "Spacewalk bandit strikes again!" Another kid yells.
I watch as the boy on the other side of me reaches for his seatbelt buckle,"Hey, no stay in if you want to make it to the ground." I tell him, and watch as he pulls the seatbelt over his shoulder and slowly starts to float out of his seat.
The parachutes deploy and everything is jerked up and some tubes come unconnected forcing gas to explode out. The three space walkers are thrown around the ship. I feel Octavias hand wrap around my arm before the ship crashes onto the earth and the sound of the ship engines shutting down is almost deafining.
"Listen. No machine hum." Monty Green says from across the ship. All of a sudden all of the seatbelts simultaneously click. As soon as the belt is loose enough I run over to the two boys who followed Finn out of their seats. I look down at Clarke Griffin and she shakes her head no at me.
"The outer door's on the lower level!" One guy yells. Octavia quickly grabs ahold of me and turns to run down to the lower level.
"Stop! The air could be toxic." Clarke says, a worried look stuck on her face. "If the airs toxic, we're all dead anyway." The man in front of us says as I stand behind Clarke. "Bellamy?" Octavia asks and I quickly look from her to the man standing in front of me.
"My god, look how big you are." He says before she runs towards him and he picks her up in a hug. "What the hell are you wearing? A guards uniform?" Octavia asks him. "I borrowed it to get on the drop ship. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you." He tells her before she hugs him again.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asks Bellamy. "Do you mind, I haven't seen my brother in a year." Octavia says looking back at her before I take a hesitant step towards Octavia.
"No one has a brother." One guy yells. "That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor!" Another girl yells and Bellamy grabs ahold of Octavia just as she goes to lung towards the girl.
"Let's give them something else to remember you by." I tell her and Bellamy looks down at me with a confused look. "Yeah, like what?" She asks shrugging Bellamys hands off of her. "Being the first person on the ground in a hundred years." I sigh looking at her, her big blue eyes lighting up at the thought. I glance up at Bellamy to see him nod before turning to the lever.
Octavia quickly grabs onto my hand. "I'll go if you go with me." She tells me and I slightly smile and nod at her before looking up at Bellamy to catch him staring at me as he pulls the lever.
       It's so bright it's almost blinding and the fresh air hits us like a ton of bricks. Octavia looks back at me, almost like she need reassurance, I nod slowly starting to following her. I take two steps out and stop, letting go of her hand before she steps on the fresh untouched earth beneath us.
      "We're back bitches!" Octavia screams throwing her arms up making me smile before I take my first steps off the platform and onto the ground.
Everyone around us takes off running into the trees. I look over at Clarke to see her grab a map before she walks into the trees herself. I stand there for a second, overwhelmed before looking over to see Bellamy staring at me. I quickly turn my head to look for Clarke only to see she's disappeared. I stand there for a second more before my curiosity gets the best of me and I walk towards where she disappeared to.
"Hey, what's going on?" I ask her when I catch up with her, she shakes her head looking down at the map and then back up into the mountains with a look of confusion and something else I can't quite place riddled across her face. "Let me see?" I ask reaching out to grab the map as she complies.
A raspy voice comes from the trees behind us and suddenly I'm all too aware of the gun in my belt loop.
"Why so serious princess. It's not like we died in a fiery explosion." Finn says. "Yeah, try telling that to the two guys who tried following you out of their seats." She retorts before I quickly realize what the problem is. "You don't like being called princess, do you princess?" He asks looking over at her, almost like he's sizing her up.
"Do you see that peak over there?" Clarke asks him, pointing towards the mountain. "Yeah" he shrugs. "Mount weather, there's a radiation soaked forest between us and our next meal." She says. "So, what does that mean?" Finn asks stupidly.
"They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain." I sigh.