I felt the cold steel against my back. My arm draped over my head as I stared towards the painting on the ceiling. My roommate filling the room with her snores above me. I clicked the button on my watch as it lit up, reading the time, "0334." I hummed a little while longer, listening closely to the machine hum of the space station. I had gotten used to it, obviously since I had lived in one room my whole life. But I could still hear the difference between utter silence and this crap they called quiet.
I groaned, flipping the pillow onto my head as I banged the heel of my foot into the steel bunk bed above. She woke up to the sound, swinging her head down to look at the culprit of the noise, me.
Her long brown hair flowing as she hung upside down. "if you don't stop kicking my bed, I will stab you with those things you call paintbrushes." Of course, she was teasing me about my attempt to make art utensils. What? We didn't have many resources here in the skybox. I laughed, flicking her in the nose as she hit me back right in the nose. "Octavia! Go back to sleep!" I scream-whispered, not wanting to anger any guards. Unfortunately, fate did not fulfill my wish as the door swung open, the lights blinding us as they flipped on mercilessly.
"Prisoner 167 and Prisoner 665, Stand up, face the wall.." A guard yelled as Octavia quickly made her way from hanging to flip down to the floor. However, I being my rebellious self, took my time slipping both my boots on, hooking my bra back into place so I wouldn't give the douchebag of a guard a free show.
"prisoner 665, Face the wall. I will not ask you again!!" The guard repeated himself, a little louder this time. I smirked, pulling my faux leather jacket on my shoulders as I spoke for the first time since they barged in, "Oh, I know. I heard you bald eagle." I paused, not being able to resist me making fun of his haircut. Or should I say, lack of? I stood beside Octavia, giving her a wink as she rolled her eyes, smirking at my attitude. The guard placed a box down on the table as he opened it.
"What is that?" I asked, sounding confident as ever. Knowing I was slightly terrified at what was happening. "Quiet. Hold out your right arm." He picked a circular band from the box, opening it. I saw the spikes sticking from the inside. That thing was not going in my wrist. "I don't turn eighteen for three more days!" he ignored me, grabbing my wrist. I snatched it from his grip. Another guard held out an electrocuted baton as he attempted to strike it at me. I ducked, taking it from him as Octavia grinned at me from the corner. Bald eagle tracked toward me slowly. "Back the hell up!" I yelled as I threw the baton at him, rushing out of my cell. The chaos overtook me as I saw everyone being evacuated from their rooms. A blonde girl had the same idea as me as we both escaped the terrifying-looking wristbands. A guard saw me as he yelled, "Hey!! Get back here!" I ran the other way, my chest colliding with a much bigger, harder one. I looked up to see a guard with slicked-back brown hair staring down at me. "Hey, little red. Where are you going?" He asked, smirking. I stuttered, now noticing the tight grip he had on my arms as I attempted to wiggle my way out of them. Finally, he let go of me, quickly scurrying around a corner. I furrowed my brows in confusion, not knowing why he didn't take me where they were taking all my fellow delinquents. That was until I felt a sharp pain in my wrist before I spun around, seeing four guards on one side of me, four on the other. "Come on, boys, do you really think I cant take all eight of you and make it out? Delusional assholes." I smirked, muttering the last sentence. They walked toward me cautiously as a Woman stepped out behind them. "Hold on!" I lowered my fighting stance, not wanting to hurt the frail-looking woman.
She gave me a small smile. "Do I know you?" I asked, suddenly aware of the fact the guards were surrounding me even more now. "I've stitched you up a couple of times. You get into a lot of fights." I was so confused. Why did this woman care? And why was she talking to me in the midst of all this commotion?
She walked a little closer, taking my hands in hers. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck as I slowly lost consciousness before darkness overtook my vision.
I felt a small shove, slowly opening my eyes to see my body strapped to a chair by buckles. "Hey! Wake up, firecracker!" I heard the familiar use of my nickname as I turned my head to see the brunette I called my bunkmate and best friend. "Five more minutes," I grumbled as she laughed. "Sorry, fellas, this one likes to sleep." I lifted my dead to see who she was talking to as I saw a boy with goggles and another smaller Korean boy laughing with him. I smiled sarcastically, "You get a tranquilizer dart in your ass and see how it feels, Tay."
She smiled. We all felt the ship shake as everyone screamed quite loudly. "What the hell is happening?" I asked Octavia, rubbing my fingers into my temples to try to ease the piercing migraine.
"We're going to the ground. All one hundred of us are being sent to earth." My face was stunned in a 'what did you just say' position as she whispered, "Looks like your not dying in three days, Nat." I chuckled slightly, turning my head to the boys. It looked like the one with goggles was about to say something until we all could all hear a screeching sound all around. Octavia covered her ears with her hands, not doing much to block out the sound. The sound stopped as a feed with chancellor Jaha appeared on the screes above us.
Prisoners of the ark..here 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 all of 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'd have sent others.
Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you...expendable.
Octavia muttered something under her breath as I chucked, noticing wells in the row beside me, "Your dad's a dick, wells." The same blonde I saw in the skybox gave me a small glance before Jaha started on his little rant again.
Those crimes will be forgiven. Your records wiped clean.
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.
With the feed still playing, I heard a boy shout from across the room, "Spacewalk bandit strikes again." I saw the boy I knew as Finn Collins float around, having un-did his harness. I followed in suit, unbuckling mine as Octavias eyes widened. "Get back. What are you doing?!" She yelled. I smiled as I floated in the air. I flipped, my hair sprawled crazily as two other boys followed in Finns and mines lead."Hey you two, stay put if you want to live!!" Octavia 'whoo'd' pumping her first, as I flashed her a smirk.
"Go, Finn!"
I made my way over the blonde girl and the chancellor's son. "Check it out. Your dad floated me after all." Finn chuckled, flipping over the top of me. The blonde girl rolled her eyes as Wells spoke, "You should strap in before the parachutes deploy."
Mount weather is life. You must locate those supplies.
I turned my head from the chancellor to his son, sticking my middle finger in his face, "Oh look, I've located the son of a murderer."
"Your one to talk." He whispered back. My stomach dropped as I filled with anger. I grasped onto his seat buckle before moving my arm back to punch him. Finn held my arm back, pushing me away from him as I gravitated to the other side of the room. I grabbed onto Octavia instinctively as the ship started to shake more as lights flickered on and off.
Your one responsibility is to stay alive.
And like that, the dropship smacked into the atmosphere as the parachutes deployed. I was thrown into the wall next to Octavia as she held my hand in hers tightly. I screamed in pain as my head hit the side of a seat. The lights flickered off, as did the feed of Chancellor Jaha.
"Natalia!! Are you okay?!" I heard Octavia scream before my grip was ripped from hers, propelling me into the ceiling and back down. Exhaust pipes flung open as I could hear Clarke shouting for Finn.
Sparking from the ship shot down as I looked up to see the metal ceiling above. The ship continued to rock back and forth as the rockets finally shot off, bringing us roughly but slowly to the ground. The lights flickered on and off as sparks flew around. My body laid limp on the cold steel as I could hear Octavia screaming my name through the chaos. It went on like that for a few more seconds before we all could hear a loud crash, and the machine hum slowly died down. "Listen...No machine hum." The small boy next to goggles said as he responded with a "Woahhh." Finally, the lights flickered back on for good as seatbelts automatically unlatched.
My eyes slowly opened and shut as Octavia crouched down beside me, lifting me with her arms. I heard the blonde girl ask if one of the boys was breathing, his silence answering her.
Octavia ripped a part of her shirt as she balled it up to place it on my bleeding head. "Oh, that's so going to leave a scar." I joked as she and the other two boys chuckled. "The outer doors on the lower level, Let's go!!" A boy shouted.
The bossy blonde girl shot up, "No, we can't just open the doors!!" Octavia helped me down the ladder, making sure I kept the pressure on my head. Miss Bossy blondie also made her way down, moving to the front where I saw the familiar guard I had ran into outside my cell. "Stop!" She yelled. She pushed through the crowd, "The air could be toxic."
"If the airs toxic were all dead anyway."
"Bellamy?" Octavia pulled my hand with hers as we made our way to the front. She kept her hand pressed on my open head wound as I slightly leaned on her.
'That's the girl they hid under the floor,' i hear someone whisper.
She gave the bloody fabric to Mrs.Bossy blondie standing next to her, signaling to help me. I swiped her hand away, keeping my own hand pressing on it.
"My god. Look how big you are!" The guard said, smiling down at my best friend. He hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her to him tightly. She released him as she finally noticed his attire. "what the hell are you wearing?" She paused, "A guard's uniform?"
He stuttered, "I-I borrowed it to get on the dropship." Then, he smiled, "Someones gotta keep an eye on you." He assured her, smiling. She hugged him again. I could hear the whispers and see the confused expressions on people's faces. I had known Octavia for four years now. We had lived with each other for that long and shared everything.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke eyes Bellamy. Octavia scoffed, turning back to her.
"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year."
I knew how she felt, somewhat. When I was locked up for being born, I wasn't allowed to know my family's identity. Meaning no family visits and no extra mula being thrown into my Ark account for things I needed. I was utterly alone for fourteen years until Octavia got her brother to put some in mine also, which he gratefully did. I hated not having shower shoes until then, yuck.
"No one has a brother!" A boy yelled from the back. "Hey, shut the fuck up! Have some respect, asshole!" I yelled back, Octavia and her brother smiling at my attempt to stand up for them. This apparently didn't work because another teenager yelled back, "That's Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden in the floor!" I turned back a little too fast as a shooting pain shot through my head, causing me to sway into the bossy blonde girl slightly.
Octavia jumped toward the girl before her brother held her back. "Octavia! Octavia NO!!"
She stopped thrashing in his arms as he looked down at her, "let's give them something else to remember you by."
"Yeah, like what?!" She wiggles her way out of his grasp. "Like the first person to be on the ground in one hundred years,"
They both nodded, turning to the door. Octavia looked back as she pulled my arm to stand beside her. I still felt lightheaded, but I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And in our case, once in an eternity.
Her brother, who I now knew as Bellamy, pulled down the latch as the exhaust let out, making a 'woosh' sound. It lowered as the blinding light overtook my vision. Then, when it focused, I saw it all. The green plush trees. The birds chirping happily. The sun shining through the slits in the branches. Moss surrounded the woods as the forest swayed in the wind. The smell of fresh air hit my face as so many scents protruded my senses.
Octavia leaned her head back, opening her arms as she took a deep breath. We all stood watching in amazement of the view. She walked slowly down as I lowered the bloody cloth from my head, frankly not caring if I bled out. At least I would've gotten to see the forest before I did. She took another step before stopping at the edge. Bellamy and I were grinning at her as she jumped onto the soft soil. I even saw the blonde's lips curve up when I turned back. Which I've concluded was a rare occurrence.
She raised her hands in the air, taking a deep breath before yelling, "WE'RE BACK BITCHES."
I laughed, leaning into the side of the dropship while the others flooded out, taking in the scenery. Octavia pumped her fists into the air a few times before spinning back to Bellamy and me. Bellamy stepped down, hugging his sister once more before she pushed him encouragingly. I made my way down, hugging her from the side. We were about the same height, 5ft 4. I could hear them all running around screaming, some crying, one or two even on their knees praying. I smiled the widest I could as Miss bossy plopped down on the ground beside me. A wide grin on her face. As I said, a rare occurrence.
"How's it feel to be a badass, Tay?" I asked her, squeezing her shoulder. She smiled up at me, motioning her hands to the sky, "We're finally away from those sky-asses." I gripped her hand in mine like we had been doing for years, "hell yeah, we are."
I saw the blonde walk away as if she was on a mission. Octavia had run off with Bellamy somewhere, so I followed her. She held a map in her hands, standing at the edge of a run-off. She glanced down at the map before looking up towards the huge mountain range in the distance. "Why so serious, blondie?" I asked as she turned her head to me. "Yeah, it's not as we died in a fiery explosion, princess," Finn said, walking to the other side of her. "Yeah, tell that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of your seats."
I smiled, looking down for a moment, "Technically, they didn't try to follow us. They did."
Finn looked down before glancing back at her, "You don't like being called princess." He stated. "Do you, princess," I smirked, feeling like I was intruding on a private moment as I was about to step away before Miss blondie started to talk again," You see that peak over there?" she signaled to the mountain towering over the others. We both nodded, bringing our attention from it to her.
"Mount Weather." She stated as I mentally facepalmed at the dumb fuckers above us. "There's a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal." I kept my gaze on the mountain, all of us standing in silence again before she spoke,
"They dropped us on the wrong damn Mountain."