Earth's Atmosphere: Sometime in the Fall, 2148
The heat was intense. Ribbons of orangish-yellow and orange streaked over the window as the pod shook, and Natalie Campbell clenched her eyes shut as she grit her teeth. The console sparked, and she prayed that nothing caught fire inside. The descent seemed to last forever, but sooner than she expected a jarring crash indicated that she had landed. A thought she barely managed to register before she lost consciousness.
~~
The Ark: Three Days Before Descension, 2148
Natalie was bored. She had just set the cards up for a new game of solitaire, when they started whispering. Looking back, if they were trying to keep this secret, they were failing. Of course, she was always listening hard for whispered secrets because otherwise life in space was boring.
“My dad found a problem with the oxygen system. I'm not supposed to know,” a girl stated, sounding worried. There was a mumble about malfunctions, then an anxious reply. “No, this one may not be fixable.” Silence. Then, “The Council doesn't want anyone to know.”
She glanced behind her to see who it was, catching a glimpse of the Chancellor's son and Doctor Griffin's daughter. They were leaning forward in an attempt to keep their conversation private. Natalie still heard what was said. Griffin's dad, head engineer Jake Griffin, had discovered the awful truth: the Ark was running out of air. Natalie licked dry lips and shuffled her cards, straining her ears to hear more.
“The council, meaning my dad?” Wells Jaha sounded unsure.
“Yeah. And my mom.” The Princess sounded distressed, and Natalie chanced another glance back as she laid the cards out for a game. “And others. I think he's gonna go public anyway.”
Natalie's breath caught in her throat, playing solitaire without really looking at the cards. “Clarke, he can't! He'll get floated!” The Jaha kid sounded desperate, and Nat silently sent her support.
“I know!” the girl was quiet a moment. “But what if he's right? Don't people deserve to know the truth?” A sigh and Natalie lost her game, gathering the cards to reshuffle them. “You can't tell your dad I told you. You can't tell anyone.”
“You're secret's safe with me. I promise.” Natalie almost snorted, resetting her cards. That boy was crushing hard.
“Campbell, deal for poker?” A loud voice cut into her musings. She looked up to see her best friend, Raven Reyes, grinning at her. Finn Collins stood behind her with his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah, sure. What are we betting on this time?” She smiled, shuffling the cards once more.
~~
Earth: Sometime in the Fall, 2148
Pain was the first thing Natalie noticed as she came to. The second was silence. She sucked in a breath, then forced her way out of the still smoking pod. She took another breath before taking off the helmet of the space suit she wore. She held her breath, waiting for the certain death she had prepared herself for. When it didn't come, she sank to the ground and gasped for breath. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she curled up on the dirt and leaves beneath her.
No one knew she was here. (Well, by now someone did. She wasn't the first person to leave the Ark via pod. She'd done her research.) She hadn't told Raven and Finn where she was going, she hadn't told Bellamy. Her friends probably think she was floated for knowing secrets she shouldn't have heard. Or whatever other excuse the Council gave out. Probably something lame like breaking some rule or another.
She wished she had brought a radio or something, some way to communicate back. Because now that her heaving sobs were calming, it hit her: the air was breathable! Earth was livable, and no one on the Ark knew. They didn't need to fix the oxygen system, they just needed to come down. She clenched her hand into a tight fist, her nails digging into her palm, and slammed it into her leg as hard as she could. She messed up, she should have told someone. Raven or Bellamy. Raven could have built her a radio. She was sure she could, her best friend was a genius. Bellamy could have stolen one of the radios already made and slipped it to her. But she couldn't risk telling them. Jake Griffin had been floated, and Clarke arrested. So Natalie had found a way to leave. The only clue she had given her best friend was the many questions she had asked about space travel and how to fix stuff. Luckily, she understood Raven's mechanic babble and was able to fix up one of the pods she had discovered.
Natalie took a deep breath and stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her thigh. She stripped off the space suit and stretched her limbs. She then rummaged in the pod and pulled out her backpack, slipping her arms through the straps. Then, because she hadn't thought to before, she did a quick review of her health. She found a gash on her head, though it was small. Bruises littered her body, and it hurt to stand on her ankle too long. Otherwise, she was miraculously unharmed.
She took the time then to look around at her surroundings. She was in a clearing, surrounded by trees. The trees' leaves were a mixture of green, yellow and orange, just at the beginning of changing color. The sunlight was bright and stung her eyes, but she squinted into it nonetheless. The sky was blue, a scattering of white fluffy-looking clouds in the distance. The air was warm, and a breeze ruffled her hair enough that she could see the red locks in the corner of her eyes. She heard birds, a sound she had only heard in movies.
~~
The Ark: Sometime in the Summer, 2148
“Come on, Raven, please? For me?” Natalie pouted, pulling on her best friend's arm. She was trying to convince her to watch the cheesy rom-com she had found.
“You can't find a better movie? Or at least one with sports in it?” Raven scowled, pulling her arm out of the ginger's grasp. “Does it have to be a Hillary Duff movie?”
“Yes. Listen, I won't ever make you watch a cheesy movie again, okay?” Natalie crossed her arms and tilted her head, her nose twitching just the slightest.
“Liar.” Raven's blunt accusation was softened by a smirk. “Fine, but only 'cause it's your birthday, all right?”
Natalie grinned, throwing her arms around the brunette and kissing her cheek. “Thank you! I love you! You're the best friend anyone could ask for!”
Raven chuckled and hugged the older girl. “You owe me, though.”
~~
Earth: sometime in the Fall, 2148
Natalie sat down near the pod once it had cooled, taking the backpack off and digging into it to find something to eat. She had packed a week's worth of rations, and she was suddenly glad she didn't have to deal with that. Not only did she technically steal them, but she stole them from her father. If he had caught her before she left, she wouldn't have gotten away. Not without new bruises, anyway.
She ate a bit, watching the scenery around her. Small animals flitted through the forest at the edge, but none dared to venture into the clearing. Some birds flew overhead in a “V” shape, and Natalie vaguely remembered learning something about birds migrating south for winter. She pulled out the canteen she had filled with her leftover water ration of the day before and sipped at it, trying to save some. She was going to have to find a water source soon.
She watched the sky darken, and the stars appear. Her breath hitched as she caught sight of one particularly bright star, one that moved a bit faster than the others. One that she realized was The Ark, making its orbit around Earth.
The breeze picked up a bit, and she shivered. “Holy fu- that's cold!” She pulled the space suit back on and shuffled closer to the pod, pulling out a shirt from her backpack. It had been Raven's, and it still smelled like her. She pressed her nose into,the fabric and sniffed, closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.
~~
The Ark: Two days before Descension, 2148
“Can I stay over here tonight?” Natalie slumped in the doorway for Raven's room. She sported a new set of bruises on her arm, and the look of exhaustion on her face.
“Your sperm-donor being an asshole again?” The Latina grimaced, pulling the shorter girl inside. At her nod, Raven scowled. “Come on, I've got a sort of ice pack thing.”
“Thanks, Raven. Sorry.” Natalie sat down on the edge of her friend's bunk, hugging herself while the younger girl rummaged around. “I don't know why I keep going back there.”
Raven was quiet while she pulled out a small pack. She messed with it for a moment and shook it, then placed it on the darkest bruise. “Sorry,” she mumbled when Natalie jumped. “I don't know either. Finn or I would have went with you, you know.”
“I know. It's just… as much of an ass as he is, he's still my dad.” Natalie sniffed, shuffling her feet against the floor. “And he still has all of mom's stuff.” Raven stayed quiet and nodded, digging in her drawers and pulling out a shirt. She tossed it at the redhead before pulling out her own pjs. “Is this even clean?” Natalie smiled a bit.
Raven shrugged, grinning. “I don't remember. But it's either that or sleep in what you're wearing.” She knew Mr. Campbell would be on a rage tonight, like he always was after a visit from his daughter. Natalie never felt safe staying by herself when he was.
“Thanks, Rae. For everything.” Natalie changed into the shirt and stripped off her jeans, climbing into the bed and laying against the wall.
“Shut up.” Raven's voice was light, but Natalie could see the worry in her gaze. She climbed in and settled on her back, and Natalie moved to lay her head on her shoulder. “Night, Nat.”
“Night, Rae.”
~~
Earth: Sometime in the Fall, 2148
Natalie startled awake, gasping for breath. She looked around, taking in the grass and trees. Then she promptly buried her face in Raven's shirt and wept, managing to keep her running nose off the fabric. Once she had calmed down, she folded the shirt and put it back in her pack, pulling out a bit of food. The sky was overcast, the clouds dark and gray. As she looked around, there was a flash of light, and then a crashing sound that she knew must have been what woke her. She squeaked and forgot her meager meal, stuffing it back in the pack.
Another flash and crash, and she scrambled up to her feet. The heavens opened then, dumping a cold torrent of rain onto Natalie's head. She flinched and scurried towards the woods, slipping the backpack on as she ran. Tears threatened (and probably escaped, though she couldn't tell from the rain), and she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of the suit to try and keep her vision clear. More flashes and crashes, and she managed to remember that it was called thunder. That didn't make it any less frightening. Natalie screamed when there was an explosion behind her, and she spun to see the pod on fire. She grit her teeth and continued farther into the woods, resolving to find some sort of shelter. She was cold, wet, and still tired. Her ankle hurt, and her head hurt, and she wanted to curl up somewhere and get warm.
Fire, she had to make a fire. After she found somewhere dry, that is.