Chapter One

Broken stones, broken lightning
This house of doubt is all we know
Chasing down the silver linings
Of wounded minds and wounded souls
Oh oh oh We are coming home, we are coming home
Oh oh oh We are coming home, we are coming home

Home ll - Dotan

The sound of a machine humming jostles me from what I can only assume was drug induced slumber. My visions blurry, unfocused and I have to shut my eyes from the awful pounding in my skull. I slowly bring a hand to my head trying to find some stability. I breathe deeply through my nose and reopen my eyes; blinking several times my eyes adjust to the poorly lit room. No a pod. I'm in a launch pod. What? I shift slightly to get a better view of my surroundings; people are sitting on all sides of me. A few I recognize from my sector in the skybox. They're strapped tightly in their seats and I need not to look down to know so am I. Is this some massive floating? Some type of purge? Stop, I mentally berate myself. Don't panic. Panicking only makes it worse, odds are it's not as bad as you think. I turn towards the person closest to me; a pretty blonde and ask, "What's happening?"

Her green eyes meet my questioning blue ones, "We're -"

"They're sending us to the ground." The Chancellors son cuts her off, who I notice is sitting in the seat to my left.

I glance between them, "Why are th-"

"She was talking to me." Blondie snaps speaking over me.

With wide eyes I sink back in my chair, forget I asked. Drumming my fingers against my thigh the reality of the situation begins to sink in. We're leaving the only home we've ever known and being sent to the ground; a place that's not suppose to be habitable for another hundred years? An uncharted, radiation soaked, wasteland. This is defiantly worse than I thought. Can I vote to be floated instead? My heart clenches as a thought occurs to me. Do my parents know; will I ever see them again? Oh god, I didn't even get to say goodbye. My eyes well and I angrily wipe them away. The shuttle begins to shake and I can only assume it's because we've dispatched from the Ark.

"What was that?"

"That was the atmosphere."

"Who cares we're all going to die." I mumble, griping my chair as we're lurched around.

The lights flicker eerily before they stop and a screen lights up, Jaha's face appears. "Prisoners of the Ark hear me now." And here is our beloved Chancellor with our eulogy. "You have been given a second chance." A second chance? I would have rather been floated then the next Christopher Columbus. "And as your Chancellor it is my hope that you see this 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." Yeah, this doesn't sound like a second chance it sounds like a death sentence. "If the odds for survival were better we would have sent others. Frankly we are sending you because your crimes have made you expendable." With pursed lips I slump further in my chair, yup most defiantly a death sentence.

"Your dad's a dick Wells," a voice calls out.

Well duh, but that's no reason to take it out on Wells. Taking a deep breathe I put aside my personal feelings. "Their wrong." He turns to me with narrowed eyes and I almost lose my nerve under his calculating gaze. "He's just trying to do what's best for his people. He has good intentions and," I pause to wet my lips, "and I imagine it can't be easy carrying them out."

He's silent for a few moments as he searches my face for signs of insincerity, "Thank you." With a nod I turn my attention back to the screen.

"Those crimes will be forgiven. Your records wiped clean. Your drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain that was to be stocked with a enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people."

Twisting my hands I try to listen intently to what Jaha's saying, but I can't help thinking how slim our chances of survival are. How unprepared we are. What the hell was the Council smoking when they decided teenagers should establish the New World? And not just teenagers, but teenagers with a criminal background. This is not going to end well.

"Check it out," a shout echoes across the room. "Yeah Finn! Space bandit strikes again." Sighing, I give up trying to make out what the Chancellors saying over the cheering. A guy in a beaning is floating around the shuttle. I roll my eyes, get your priorities straight people this isn't a field trip.

Passing my row he comes to a stop and crosses his arms, "Check it out." He says to Wells, "your dad floated me after all."

"Fuck off Pretty Boy."

Finn turns his attention to me and smiles cheekily, "You think I'm pretty?"

Of course the only part he registered was the compliment. "Pretty dumb."

"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy," Wells interjects before Finn can come up with a retort.

"That was his polite way of saying go away." I clarify and Wells cracks a smile.

"Nah," Finn reclines further, "I think I like where I am."

Letting my head fall against the headrest I notice other people exiting their seats, "Look what you started!" I gesture to the other idjits. Stupidity is contagious.

"Stupidity is contagious." Wells voices my thoughts and Finn's scowl causes me to laugh. It's not even that funny and we are about to die, but I just can't stop laughing. The shuttle makes an erratic jolt causing me to slam back against the chair, effectively cutting off my hysterical laughter. Finn and the other two boys are thrown across the ship. I clench the straps securing me and squint through the steam that's emitting from a broken pipe; sparks fall from the ceiling.

"Finn are you okay?" Blondie yells over the chaos and I strain my ears hoping for a response, none comes.

My hands tremble and I lose my grip on the harness. I'm not ready to die. "Shouldn't the rockets have fired by now?" I ask no one in particular.

"It's okay." Blondie reassures, "Everything on this ship is a hundred years old, right? Just give it a second."

Her words only make me panic more. This can't be happening. I feel my chest tighten and mouth go dry as my breathing becomes shallow, it's as if all the oxygen has left the room. Everyone is screaming and I can't breathe. My body is shaking and I can't tell if it's me or the shuttle. Fear is not real. Fear is a choice. Fear is not real. I close my eyes and try to picture my parents smiling faces. I focus on the image and take deep breaths. After my seventh breath my heart rate returns to a steady rhythm, but I keep my eyes closed. Seconds pass and there's a loud bang as the ship gives one final shake.

It's silent for a moment and I'm unsure of what to do. I look around waiting for someone to make the first move, but they all seem to be frozen in shock. Well, I want this damn harness off. With shaky hands I hastily unfasten the belt that's digging into my ribs and unsteadily stand up. I feel sluggish and a little nauseous, but I'm alive. I breath out a sigh of relief and search for Finn, but when I find him my stomach lurches. He's alive, however the other two boys weren't so lucky. By his expression I can tell he's blaming himself and I know I should comfort him, but the room suddenly feels too small and I want out. I take a step forward and almost trip over my own feet. I sway slightly before I regain my balance. I look around for the ladder I know will lead to the first floor and the exit. I spot it and rush towards it, ignoring Wells' cry to wait. So would have rather been floated, I think for the second time today as I carefully climb down the bars. My feet touch ground and I quickly move out of the way as others begin to descend. I see the door, but before my hand can make contact with the lever I'm swiftly grabbed from behind. "Whoa! Slow down." A gruff voice responds.

The sudden contact startles me, "Let me out." I demand.

I squirm despite the fact I can tell it's a lost cause and my ribs are screaming in protest. "In a minute, trouble."

The amusement in his voice ticks me off, "Ughhhhh." I slap at the large hands encircling my waist, "Let me go."

"Are you going to behave?" Behave? Bitch please. I go dead weight, but unfortunately I'm only like 110 pounds and it's no big deal for him. I pout, well I'm all out of ideas. He chuckles and I feel the vibrations echo in my back, "I take that as a no." He gently sets me down.

I spin around to face my assaulter ready to rip him a new one when I catch sight of the freckles littering his face. "Freckles!" I say without thinking and I slap a hand over my mouth. Smooth Lyra, real smooth. Keep this up and no one will take you seriously.

He furrows his brows, "What?"

Deflect. Deflect. Deflect. "You're not a really guard."

His face drops a fraction, but he covers it up with a charming smile. "What makes you say that, trouble?"

"You're nice to me." I don't get to see his reaction because my attention is diverted to the crowd beginning to form around us.

The impostor follows my gaze and shoos them away, "Hey, just back it up guys."

"Stop." A familiar blonde head climbs down the ladder, "The air could be toxic."

"If the airs toxic, we're all dead anyway." He counters clutching the lever.

You all will be dead if someone doesn't get me the hell out of here.

"Bellamy?" A voice calls out and his hand pauses.

Oh, come on. Must I do everything myself?

"That's the girl they hid under the floor." Someone whispers as a girl with long dark hair pushes through the crowd.

"My god." Bellamy breathes out, "Look how big you are." The girl smiles and launches herself into his arms.

As she pulls back she notices his attire. "What the hell are you wearing?" Her voice is full of disgust, "A guards uniform?"

He spares a glance at me and I raise an eyebrow in response. "I burrowed it. To get on the dropship."

Burrowed. Stole.

"Someones gotta keep an eye on you." He smiles at her affectionately.

"Where's your wristband?"

I groan, "God do you ever quit? Can't you see their having a moment?" Everyone looks at me and I realize I said that out loud. I avert my eyes to the floor wishing it would swallow me up.

"Spitfire is right. I haven't seen my brother in a year. Back off."

A voice shouts from the back of the crowd, "No one has a brother."

"That's Octavia Blake. The girl they found hidden under the floor." People begin to snicker.

Octavia lunges ready to clobber someone, but her brother wraps an arm around her waist. "Octavia. Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by."

"Yeah." She steps out of his hold, "Like what?"

"Like maybe the first person to set foot on the ground in 97 years." I mutter grumpily. "That's if your brother would open the damn door."

Apparently I wasn't as quiet as I thought because Bellamy chuckles, "Impatient are we?" I just keep my gaze on the floor, not liking being the center of attention and point to the lever. "As you wish, trouble." He winks at me; his hand grips the lever and with a deep breath pulls it down.

The door springs open and my eyes are assaulted with bright, white light. Is this a radiation thing? Is it suppose to be this bright? Black spots cloud my vision and I blink a few times. When they adjust I can see Octavia cautiously making her way down the ramp; pausing she inhales deeply. She softly jumps off the ledge and I hold my breath.

"We're back, bitches!" She screams, throwing her arms in the air.

Surprisingly, I am the last one out of the dropship. Though in my defense I didn't want to get trampled. With a deep breath I step off the ramp, but I miscalculate and end up tripping. Blood rushes to my cheeks, screw you too gravity. I lean back on my hunches and brush the dirt off my hands scanning the crowd to see if anyone noticed my misfortune. No one did. But, would have it really mattered if someone did see me face-plant? So I fell. I have nothing to feel embarrassed about. I don't have to be the same girl I was on the Ark. Timid and insecure. I can reinvent myself. Maybe this really is a second chance. I carefully rise to my full height and square my shoulders. What to do?

I'm going to climb a tree.

I spot one a good distance from the others and decide it will do. I start to make my way across the clearing when a group rushes past me. More like a mob, one is even carrying a stick. It's then I notice their glares are at directed Wells. What did he do this time? Breathe. "Hey. Hands off, he's with us."

I walk around them to come and stand by his side. "Calm your horses village people, he's with me."

The ring leader sets his sights on me and I cringe; he looks like a frog. "And what are you going to do, spitfire?"

His mocking tone has me taking a step forward, but Wells blocks my path before I can do him any bodily harm.

"Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are."

Well if I was a betting woman, I would say we are in a forest. Wait, yes. We are in fact in a forest.

"We're on the ground," a deep voice behind us interjects. "That not good enough for you?"

Wells sighs, but makes his way towards Bellamy with Blondie at his heels. I stay where I am, watching the scene with narrowed eyes. "We need to find Mount Weather, you heard my father's message. It has to be our top priority."

"Screw your father." Octavia sneers, "What? You think you're in charge here? You and your little princess."

"Do you think we care who's in charge?" Blondie counters, "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 this will be. How long do you think we will 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 don't know what moves me to speak, but I am unable to stop it, "No." I instantly regret it as the weight of everyone's eyes makes my skin crawl.

She turns to me with a scowl, "You don't understand."

I shift, "I understand that the earth is survivable. And if they were wrong about that, what else could they wrong about? Huh?" It's a rhetorical question and she opens her mouth to answer, but I continue. "What if there are survivors?" I assume since it's silent that the thought only crossed my mind. I run my hand down my face, "Until we know more about this place I think we should wait to go to Mount Weather. The supplies will still be there." It was a statement, but it sounded more like a question.

"I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." Bellamy replies.

"Yeah!" The crowd cheers and I face-palm, I give up.

"You're not listening," Placing my hand on Wells' forearm, I plead with my eyes for him to let it go. It's a lost cause and he already has an unspoken target on his head. But he doesn't get my silent message, "We all need to go."

Frog Eyes shoves Wells from behind, "Look at this everybody! The Chancellor of earth." Laughter rings out at the dig.

"You think that's funny." He just smirks and kicks out Wells leg out, causing him to fall down.

"Wells." Blondie cries, but is restrained.

I reach out to him, helping him back up as frog eyes circles us. "No, but that was."

Wells struggles to find his balance with his injured leg and holds his fists up. "Do you have a death wish?" I whisper in his ear, "He's not worth it. Let it go." I take a step back when Finn appears between Wells and Frog Eyes from above, effectively cutting off all conversation.

"Kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight." Frog Eyes glares, but backs off.

"Hey Spacewalker." Octavia strides forward, "Rescue me next." And it's like the last few moments didn't just happen.

Shaking my head I help Wells over to the ramp where Blondie begins to inspect his leg. "What's the diagnosis, Doc? Is he going to live?" I whisper dramatically.

Her lips curve up slightly and I can tell she's holding in a smile. "It's a sprain. Should heal in a few days. You should try and stay off it."

"So Mount Weather." Finn approaches, "When do we leave?"

"Right now."

I turn to her with accusing eyes, "Seriously. You're still on that? What if-" From the determined look on her face I can tell nothing I say will change her mind. "You know what? Forget it. I don't care." I turn away from them and continue the path I was originally on.

"Where are you going?" Wells calls after me.

"To climb a tree."

Well I learned something new today. I'm afraid of heights. I am from freaking space and I'm afraid of heights. Scoffing, I near the camp and see Wells making a beeline towards Bellamy. This boy seriously has a death wish; I speed up my pace to catch up to him. I push through a horde of bodies, biting my tongue to keep from apologizing.

"Wells!" I grab his elbow, "Wells!" I sigh in relief as he glances back at me and release my hold.

"What hell are you doing?" I throw my hands in the air.

One of the village people storms forward only to have Bellamy halt him, "We're liberating ourselves. What does it look like."

"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed. The communications system is dead." Wells pleads, trying to talk some sense into them. "These wristbands are all we got. Take them off and they'll think we're dying. That it's not safe for them to follow."

"What?" I whisper, rubbing the band on my wrist. I didn't know that.

"That's the point." He smirks condescendingly, "Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves. Can't we?" He asks the crowd and they shout in agreement.

I surge forward; if I never see my parents again because of him. Wells grabs a hold of me, securing my hands in place. I glare back at him; whispering so only he can hear, "It's obvious words are getting through to these people. I think it's time we use physical force."

"Violence isn't the answer."

"Someone needs to knock him down a peg." I squirm in his hold." I vote it be me."

"Not happening spitfire." I look back at Bellamy, "He's not worth it."

"Copyright, bro."

"I can trust you if I let go?" I just shrug, all the energy I had moments ago, gone. He laughs, but releases me to continue his rant. "You think this is a game? Those aren't just are friends and parents up there. Their our farmers, our doctors, our engineers. I don't care what he tells you, we won't survive on our own." He turns to Bellamy, "And besides, if it really is safe; how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"

"My people are already down here. Those people," He points to the sky. "Locked my people up."

"You're not even one of us." I sneer, igniting murmurs among the others.

Bellamy stiffens and I scoff at his discomfort, "They killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Locked my sister away, just for being born." His tone is bitter and he shifts his hard gaze to Wells, "Your father did that."

The sins of the father, blah, blah blah.

"My father didn't write the laws."

"No. He enforced them. But not anymore. Not here." His voice grows in volume, "Here, there are no laws. Here we do whatever we want, whenever the hell we want."

"Whatever the hell we want!" Frog Eyes echoes and it's not long until the whole camp is chanting.

Whatever the hell we want? Oh, yeah this is going to bite us in the ass.

"You don't have to like it Wells. You can even try to stop it, change it," he glances at me," even kill me. You know why? Whatever the hell we want."

I hold Bellamy's gaze, "Can I punch him now?"

"No." Even though Wells said no I can tell by the edge in his voice he too wants to deck the self-proclaimed leader.

Thunder rumbles and I point to the sky with wide eyes. "The universe agrees with me." Wells shakes his head smiling, taking my outstretched hand he leads me away from the idjits. "It's a sign."

He laughs, "It's not a sign."

As I'm dragged away I glance back at Bellamy who is watching us. With my free hand I point to the sky and mouth 'It's a sign'.

So, the thunder wasn't a sign that I should punch Bellamy, but a sign that it was going to rain. At least that is what Wells thinks. I believe it's raining now because I didn't punch him. After much arguing about the sudden downpour we start to collect the rain water. Who knows how far the closest water source may be and when it will rain again. We'd only be able to survive three days at the most without water, so we're thinking ahead. Bellamy can say whatever he wants about Wells, but he's the one working to keep us alive.

"Why are you nice to me?"

I push my damp hair out of my eyes, "You're the only one here who doesn't get on my nerves. Well you do, but not as much as the rest."

From his stolid expression, I suspect my answer wasn't the one he was looking for. "But my father-"

"Doesn't define you. And you're not responsible for his actions." It's silent for few moments as we fill more buckets with water. "Ugh," I groan. "It's so obvious he's manipulating them and their too proud and angry to see through it."

Wells looks at me sympathetically, "You have someone up there."

I sigh and plop down on the ground, Wells mimics me. "Everyone. My parents. My friends. Their all up there." I wave in the general direction of the Ark. "And I'm down here." I glare at the people dancing in the rain, "With ninety eight idijits." I sputter as mud is shoved in my face. "What the hell Wells?"

"You had that look again." He laughs.

I wipe the mud from my eyes, "What look?"

"Like you're going to murder someone."

Shifting to face him, "Yeah. You." Grabbing a fist full of mud I shove it in his face, making sure to rub it around. "How does that taste Chancellor Junior?"

He rubs the back of his hand across his face and smiles. "Like war."