Fallen Angel [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 2: Free Falling

I AWAKE TO A LOW RUMBLING SOUND AND the murmur of voices. Blinking several times, I try to adjust my eyes to the dimly lit space around me.

Several things become immediately apparent.
1. I am strapped to a vibrating metal chair
2. I'm wearing a jacket I don't recognize.
3. The air pressure in here is making my ears ache.

None of this feels normal. What the hell is going on?

Somewhat frantically, I scan my surroundings, trying to make sense where I am and what's happening. The flickering lights make it hard to get a good look, casting the space into brief intervals of darkness. I catch glimpses of curious faces around me— staring at me.

A voice cuts through the noise, familiar and commanding. The Chancellor. "–It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years."

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey, look who's awake!"

I turn toward the voice and exhale in relief when I recognize the face. Jasper Jordan grins at me, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Beside him, his best friend Monty wears a matching grin. They are strapped to their seats like me, though standing instead of sitting.

"Jaspar... Monty..." my voice comes out hoarse and shaky. "What are you guys...?"

"You missed most of Jaha's speech." Monty says with a dismissive roll of his eyes. "Be grateful."

The mention of our Chancellor jolts my memory. My father... he had mentioned something about a dropship. I take in my surroundings again, now able to recognize the familiar dull metal walls of the Ark's dropships. This was real. Not a simulation. The hum of the engine and the pressurized cabin confirmed it—we've been launched.

A grainy screen at the front displays Chancellor Jaha, speaking from the Council meeting room. His voice crackles through the old cabin speaker system, "Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately."

A string of colorful curses escapes my lips.

Jasper chuckles. His calm demeanor unnerves me. How can he be so nonchalant in the face of what's clearly impending doom?

"Hey, relax," he says with an easy smile. "What was the word Jaha used? We're expendable. So, Kat, we are about to be the first people on Earth for the first time in a hundred years. How does that make you feel?"

I exhale, my heart pounding in my chest. My throat tightens. I focus on my breathing, fighting off the rising panic. The last thing I needed was to have a panic attack while sustaining G forces and passing out from an aneurysm.

This is happening. My father is actually attempting to send me to Earth. In a twisted way, this is comical. He has finally done it. He got rid of me. A part of me feels a strange sense of relief at being as far away from him as possible.