"You're being sent to the ground."
The words rang in Clarke's ears and she thought she must have heard wrong, the earth wasn't survivable, at least not for 100 years, so this was some sort of execution, Abby however pressed on.
"All 100 of you." She said.
Clarke shook her head, her voice now getting hoarse. "What? But it's not safe. No. No." Her hand flying about by her side, her eyes closed as she was trying to make sense of all this. "We get reviewed at 18." She said, her voice a little steadier and louder now as she opened her eyes to look at her mother who was trying to calm her, Abby's hand gently resting at the top of Clarke's arm. "The rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live." Abby said, her eyes scanning her daughter for a reaction but she saw Clarke was unable to speak. "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father, but be careful." She said, Clarke's head shaking slightly as she couldn't stop the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I can't lose you too, I love you so much." Abby told Clarke, her hand coming up to gently brush the back of her fingers over her daughters cheek before she cupped her daughters face in both hands, her thumbs gently brushing along the skin.
Clarke let out a small sob, something she'd been holding in for a few moments as she just watched her mother, she was being serious. She felt it getting slightly harder to breathe but any attempt to talk failed. She felt something pierce her arm and she fell forward, her head burying into her mother's shoulder for a moment before her eyes began to close and her knees gave way from beneath her.
Abby had seen it coming and she knew about it, they needed to calm her down, and she needed Clarke on that dropship down to earth. She calmed her daughter down enough to keep her still, and her back facing the guard with the tranquilizer gun. She felt her daughter collapse into her and she wrapped her arms around her tightly, turning them slightly so she could lay Clarke down on the floor on her back, one of Abby's hands supporting the blonde's head. "Earth, Clarke." She whispered softly as she looked down at her daughter, her chin resting against Clarke's forehead.
"You get to go to Earth."
~
Clarke's eyes opened, her vision blurry at first but clearing a moment later. Her brows furrowed together in confusion, she could hear a faint muttering of voices around her but she couldn't remember anything after her mother saying that she'd get to go to Earth. She looked around only using her eyes, the motion of what was happening slowly sinking in. She could see where she was, a metal box, grey and dull in colour, other kids strapped into seats with red belts keeping them in place, none of them look thrilled.
A sharp hiss left the blonde's mouth and she looked down to see what had caused her the pain. She lifted her right arm to see the large metal bracelet on her wrist, the prongs on the inside deep into her skin. The fingers of her left hand brushed over the cool metal as she studied it, though before she could think anything else, a voice cut through the silence and made her voice run cold.
"Welcome back."
Clarke's face fell slightly, her hand slightly dropping as she lifted her head and turned to look to her right, where the voice had come from. Her actions were slow, as though she was the prey to a known predator, and known he was. "Look..." The boy said, immediately starting to explain seeing the look in Clarke's eyes. "Wells, why the hell are you here?" She asked, her voice a slight bit shaky but the anger and frustration was still noticeable.
"When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested." He told her, lifting up his right arm to show her the metal cuff on his wrist, not that she looked. He watched her and all he could see was disbelief, like he had some audacity to be there, he knew what he'd done, how he'd hurt her, how their friendship had ended, he was now constantly trying to repair that. "I came for you." He added on quickly, hoping that would make the slightest bit of difference.
Clarke's head snapped away from him as she heard a loud rumbling and what sounded like something crashing, a few screams and cries of worry came from around her, not mere seconds later the lights went out leaving everything almost in pitch black, the only source of light being a faint white light on the wall and the tv screens dull blank colour, turned on but not yet transmitting anything. The lights flickered back on, two boys against the back wall sharing a concerned glance before Clarke spoke again. "What was that?" She asked, head planted firmly against the head rest of the seat, though now she had only just seemed to notice that they were falling, they were already being sent to the ground.
"That...was the atmosphere." Wells replied as he looked up, more lights flickered on, a brief high pitched ringing filled the ship before a static buzz sounded and the TV's around the dropship turned on. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now." A dark skinned man in a grey shirt spoke on the screen, a recording for the kids. "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 you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself." The Chancellor spoke on the video recording, his steady and somewhat condescending voice amplified through the speakers.
As calm as his voice was, or annoying, it had all 100 kids paying attention, most of them in the dropship clutching their fists around the red belts that were the only thing keeping them safe. "We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, were sending you because your crimes have made you... expendable." No one dared to speak, except some brave boy at the back who wanted to comment. "Your dad is a dick, Wells." He said, Clarke looking to Wells beside her wanting to watch his reaction though he didn't reply, just kept his mouth shut and endured being the Chancellor's son. A few of the others laughed at the comment while Clarke tried to listen back in on the recording, her mom was right, she probably would try to look after everyone first, and she presumed whatever was in this video, was going to be important.
"Those crimes will be forgiven and your records wiped clean." The Chancellor continued. Quite important then Clarke thought quietly.