BURY A FRIEND ━━━ the 100 ( REWRITING )

ONE. . . usul.

CHAPTER ONE . . . USUL

━━━━━ IT WAS A FEW HOURS PAST DAWN WHEN THE SKY BROKE APART AND FLAMES CAME HURTLING DOWN FROM THE CLOUDS. Something flew through the air, reflecting the sun back into Anakin's eyes as if he was staring straight into it. A line of smoke was left behind in its wake as it rushed towards the ground, fire dancing off of it in sparks.

   Chattering echoed across the desert, families pushing past each other and out of their houses to catch a glimpse of the sky. Villagers rustled about, crying out in fear, screaming to each other in confusion. Anakin's dark eyes stayed focused on the sight until it vanished on the other side of the dunes, no longer visible to his or his people's eyes.

A ship. From the sky. He was sure of it. It was not a well known fact that there were survivors living in space, but he had personally seen the historical records predating the apocalypse. He knew of the space stations the circled the Earth, just as the sacred witches of the coalition knew of them, yet refused to share that knowledge with the common man.

His own clan called out to him, many rushing his way with anxiety riddling their bones.

"Mahdi! Dej yu see? Chit was em?"

"A meteor shower?"

"Another one?"

"It looked close, Mahdi. Should we send a search?"

He didn't have time to offer them lies and feed them reassurances. He needed to get to a map, find out where the shuttle had landed. Everyone within a hundred miles would've seen that ship crash from the sky, and he didn't doubt he would be receiving correspondence regarding it as soon as the heda was informed.

"That won't be necessary. I'll discuss it with my advisor. I'm sure it was nothing to be worried about, and until we know otherwise, please go about your tasks. There's much to do."

Shaking his head at the villagers, he held his hands out placatingly, rushing out his quick response, claiming that he would find some sort of explanation. The boy disappeared quickly to his own tent, where he dug through his belongings in search of a personal map he'd created as a boy.

He knew his mentor, Circe, would be close behind him, but he decided to prioritize his charting over their inevitable conversation about the spacecraft. He focused his eyes on the map, attempting to calculate the distance at which the ship would have landed at its predicted speed and angle. He'd had just enough time to make some sort of estimate, though he was sure to be off by a few degrees. Still, any hunch as to where the shuttle may have landed would be helpful in ensuring his people's safety.

Sure enough, less than two minutes after his own arrival, Circe stormed into the tent and immediately began pacing up and down the space, watching him with unsettling eyes. Her fingers twitched at her sides, anxiety practically spilling off her in waves. Her dark skin was shiny with sweat, dirt clinging to her fingernails as she tapped them to her thigh. Her dark hair was tied into a braid, curls dangling in loose bangs across her forehead.

Anakin simply stared at his map, eyes following a river upstream and towards Mount Weather. He traced the path with his fingers, catching dust between his knuckles until he found the spot he was looking for. The boy grasped a knife, pricking the tip of his finger. Once the blood welled from his skin, he drew a circle around his map.