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This book is dedicated to everyone who may not feel as strong on the inside as they appear on the outside.
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Prologue
Lucinda Kane had a presence that commanded attention and admiration. Sexy, witty, smart, cunning, fierce and stubborn. However, beneath her facade of privilege lay a complex family dynamic that shaped her. Born to Marcus Kane, a prominent figure within the ark's council who oversaw the guard. Growing up Lucinda faced the weight of unmet expectations from Marcus's longing for a son which cast a shadow over Lucinda's childhood.
Lucinda spent her childhood trying to live up to her father's expectations. She trained endlessly while absorbing everything it meant to be a leader. Despite her efforts to conform to her father's ideals, when Marcus sanctioned the execution of Lucinda's mother he shattered any ounce of control she had over her life.
Driven by grief and rage, Lucinda extinguished the lives of the four guards responsible for her mother's unjust demise. This single act altered the course of her existence, leading to her imprisonment awaiting the inevitable sentence of death.
However, fate intervened when the council banished 100 delinquents to Earth, offering Lucinda an unforeseen chance at redemption or demise. Lucinda would embark on a journey fraught with bonds of friendship and heartfelt romances that would redefine her understanding of loyalty, love, and survival.
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"The rumours are terrible and cruel. But honey, most of them are true."
New Romantics - Taylor Swift
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I toyed with the handcuffs around my wrists as I layed awake in my cell. I know you're probably thinking why the handcuffs? Well, let's just say I've kept the guards on their toes since my incarceration so they had to take some extra precautions...
The sudden slam of the cell door jolted me upright, my senses alert as five guards barged in, with weapons in hand.
"Back for more so soon boys?" I smirked standing up beside my bed with a confident stance. Tormenting the guards seemed to be my only source of amusement and excitement within my confinement.
"Prisoner one-forty-two up against the wall now." The first guard said as another placed a strange metal box on the table.
"Make me." I chuckled as he came forward grabbing my chained wrists roughly. Without hesitation, I dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him. As I kneed the guard that came at me next my mind was racing trying to figure out why there are here in the first place. My birthday wasn't for another few months. They must be killing some of us to save air, typical...
As my mind wandered, a guard abruptly pinned me against the unforgiving surface of the cell wall. My eyes moved to watch as a guard opened the metal box to reveal a strange silver cuff.
"A present? For me? You shouldn't of." I taunted with sarcasm dripping from every word as they brought the cuff closer.
"On her right arm." The guard pressing me against the wall ordered. As the other guard moved to grab my wrist I heard a gut-wrenching scream come from another cell. Instinctively, I threw my head back to knock the guard behind me off balance enabling me a split second to turn around and kick another guard away from me.
"Kane said this would happen, get it now!" Another guard said as they rushed into the room. As I went to attack an oncoming guard I felt a sharp piercing pain in my upper arm. I quickly elbowed the person behind me before I stumbled back and felt my head spin. My vision began to dim as I fell to the floor and watched as a guard quickly attached the cuff to my wrist piercing through my skin.
"Take her." The command echoed through the cell as I mustered the strength to lift my gaze before I locked eyes with my father. In that moment the weight of unspoken words hung heavy between us, a silent exchange of shattered trust. The darkness swallowed me whole, leaving behind the haunting echoes of my father's voice commanding my death.
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I jolted forward abruptly, my eyes snapping open with a surge of adrenaline. Instinctively, I rushed to stand up only to be met with the resistance of a restraining seatbelt constricting my movements. Blinking away the sedative that clouded my senses, I scanned my surroundings with growing unease. I spotted row upon row of seats, each occupied by a prisoner all restrained by seatbelts.
"What's going on?" I turned to ask whoever was next to me when I was met with a long-haired brunette boy.
"Kane, look who finally woke up from their beauty sleep." The boy smiled as I rolled my eyes. My father's status as a prominent figure on the Ark, coupled with my own undeniable good looks, often preceded me. What can I say I'm a bit of a celebrity on the Ark.
"And you are?" I asked as the boy grinned widely at me radiating mischief amidst the uncertainty that surrounded us.
"Finn, nice to meet you." The boy smiled as I nodded before an announcement began to play on the screens. Chancellor Jaha appeared on the screen which didn't exactly put my mind at ease.
"Prisoners of the Ark, you've been given a second chance. As your chancellor, I hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. Frankly, we've sent you because your crimes have made you expendable. Those crimes will be forgiven, and 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." The chancellor explained before my attention turned to Finn next to me as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"You know you don't have to get yourself killed to get my attention." I joked as the boy grinned at me. Several others started cheering as he began floating through the drop ship.
"Spacewalker bandit strikes again!" Someone called out from the other side of the ship as more kids decided to unstrap themselves to float through the air.
"Hey! You two, stay put if you want to live!" I heard a familiar voice call out before I spotted Clarke sitting next to Wells. You've got to be kidding me, I thought bitterly, a surge of frustration coursing through me. Clarke and I were no strangers to each other, thanks to our parents but despite our shared history, we never quite clicked. Fate had a cruel sense of humour.
A huge turn of turbulence rocked the ship causing my head to smash into the back of my seat. The floating criminals were quickly tossed across the ship before I felt a body smash against mine. I quickly grabbed ahold of their shirt to stop them from being tossed around. When the turbulence stopped and the ship crashed to the ground the machines stopped and lights flickered on. I looked up to realise I'd managed to keep a hold of Finn as he moved his body off mine.
"Fuck, you just saved my life." Finn exhaled as I tore off my seatbelt and made my way past him.
"Don't you forget it," I replied as I quickly pushed through the crowd to make my way to the front of the drop ship. Amidst the crowd of faces, my eyes locked on a tall dark-haired man. His bronzed skin matched my own, yet he stood out in his guard's uniform. The sight of him sparked questions in my mind, each one more pressing than the last.
"Stop! The air could be toxic!" Clarke told the man at the door as she made her way through the crowd.
"Sounds good enough for me," I remarked dryly, crossing my arms defiantly over my chest as Clarke shot me an annoyed glance. Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn't resist the opportunity to push her buttons, revelling in the small victory of getting under her skin.
"Bellamy?" A girl called out from the crowd as the guy in guard uniform head shot up. A dark-haired girl began to make her way through the crowd before jumping up into his arms. They both sighed with relief as the prisoners watched on. After the two separated a look of confusion grew across her face.
"Why the hell are you wearing a guard uniform?" The girl asked but before he could respond Clarke chimed in.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asked with her eyes directed at the man's wrist.
"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year." The girl snapped at Clarke.
"No one has a brother!" Someone exclaimed.
"That's Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden in the floor!" Someone else called out as the crowd pieced together the story. The girl turned to lunge forward before her brother held her back.
"Octavia, Octavia! Let's give them something else to remember you by." The boy told her as Octavia turned to face him.
"Yeah like what?" She asked still frustrated with the crowd.
"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years." He replied nodding his head to the door. My heart rate picked up as I was desperate to finally see what was behind the doors. Even if we died this was far more thrilling than dying in space.
The brother turned around to pull the metal lever that finally opened the doors to the world. I squinted as the door opened to reveal the natural light that filled the ship. A fresh gust of air quickly filled my lungs as I inhaled. The girl began to slowly edge herself out of the ship before cautiously stepping down onto the fluorescent green land. We all stood anxiously waiting for her to confirm or deny whether it was safe for us to join. The girl screamed before throwing her hands up in the air and calling out "We're back bitches!"
Along with the others, I rushed out of the ship to feel a cold breeze overwhelm my senses. I took my first step onto the ground before turning to take in the forest that overwhelmed us. Despite the uncertainty of our circumstances, I couldn't help but laugh as I gazed up at the vast expanse of sky above, the warmth of the sun kissing my skin gently.
As I lowered my gaze, I took in the sight of my fellow exiles, each one grappling with the reality of our new home in their own way. I looked to my left to see Clarke and Wells standing back as a group of delinquents approached not looking too friendly. I made my way over while listening to the disagreement.
"Relax, we're just trying to figure out where we are," Wells said holding his hands up dramatically.
"We're on earth, isn't that good enough for you?" I interrupted as everyone's heads turned to examine me with surprised expressions. Wells already ruining our first moment of freedom with stress just rubbed me the wrong way.
"Lucinda Kane... Who would've thought they'd send daddy's girl to the ground." A boy at the front of the delinquent crowd remarked as I rolled my eyes, refusing to let his words rattle me.
"We need to find Mount Weather, you heard my father that has to be our priority," Wells declared with a sense of urgency as he sought to gather everyone's attention and focus.
"Screw your father! What do you think you're in charge here? You and your little princess."Octavia said coming up to stand beside me as I shot her a small grin.
"Do you think we care who's in charge?" Clarke replied agitated by the brunette. "We need to get to Mount Weather, not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait the hungrier we'll get and the harder that'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek okay? So if we want to get there before dark we need to leave now."
"I've got a better idea." The man who opened up the dropship said from across the crowd. "You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." The crowd was quick to cheer in agreement with his statement.
"We all need to go," Wells spoke up before he was suddenly shoved from behind by the same boy who announced my presence in the group just before.
"Look at this everybody, the Chancellor of the Earth!" The boy remarked as the crowd cheered him on by the name Murphy.
"Think that's funny?" Wells growled before Murphy suddenly kicked Well's leg from underneath him causing him to topple to the ground. Clarke called out but was held back by Murphy's followers.
"No, but that was." Murphy laughed down sadistically at Wells before he got up from the ground and prepared himself for a fight. I contemplated stepping in before Finn jumped from the drop ship roof, landing in front of Murphy.
"Kid's got one leg, how about you wait until it's a fair fight?" Finn said to Murphy getting him to back off. Murphy walked back to his posse before Octavia called out from beside me.
"Hey, spacewalker! Rescue me next." Causing me to chuckle at the remark. I made my way over to Clarke and Finn who looked like they were preparing to head to the mountain.
"Leaving now? I'm coming with." I announced making my way over to the pair as Clarke looked up from her map.The prospect of exploring the bunker filled me with a sense of urgency. I decided if there's supplies in this bunker there's got to be ammunition and there's no way I'm letting anyone else get their hands on it before me.
"No, you're not coming," Clarke replied abruptly her tone leaving no room for argument as I scoffed in response.
"You and I both know you won't make it through that forest without me," I replied as Clarke thought for a moment, well aware of my physical capabilities. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice to a whisper.
"I need you to stay here, keep an eye on things and lead. Make sure no one else tries to take charge." Clarke whispered as she nodded discreetly towards the older brother who had opened the ship's door. I contemplated her proposition for a moment. After all, if someone was going to run this camp, I wanted to be the first in line.
"Fine, but you better bring me back a gun."