I'm Just A Kid

Chapter 2: Wristbands

Running out of the drop ship, I stop a few feet away, completely overwhelmed by everything in front of me. For the first time in my life, I am standing on Earth. Not behind a screen. Not looking at old photographs or reading restricted files that I was never supposed to see. Not listening to adults talk about the planet as though it were some distant, dangerous place that belonged to a time before us. I am actually here.

The sun broke through the trees, letting the faint glow shimmer across my face, warming it up. I instinctively close my eyes for a second, allowing the warmth to sink into my skin. On the Ark, sunlight had never felt like this. Everything had been controlled. Artificial. Measured. Here, it feels endless.

I'm surrounded by towering trees, their branches reaching towards the sky. Their leaves move gently in the breeze, creating patterns of sunlight across the forest floor. I take a deep breath in, the air is filled with the earthy scent of moss and the sweet fragrance of wildflowers, it's peaceful.

Too peaceful.

For a moment, I forget everything. I forget the Ark. I forget my mother. I forget the fact that every person around me has been sent here because the adults above decided we were expendable.

People hugged each other. Some were crying. Others were pointing at the forest like they couldn't believe it was real. A few people simply stood there, staring around them with wide eyes, as if they were afraid that if they blinked, everything would disappear. For a few minutes, everything felt perfect.

Well, it was perfect, until, behind me yelling caught my attention.

This is just perfect, 10 minutes ago we all thought we were going to die, but now, we're all alive, and all these idiots want to do is fight.

I sigh quietly and make my way over to where everyone is gathered. Due to my height I couldn't see much so I manage to push through to the front just to get a better look at what's happening. Being twelve has its disadvantages. One of them is that practically everyone around me is taller.

I squeeze between two people, earning a couple of annoyed looks, but I ignore them. Eventually I manage to find a spot near the front of the crowd.

Clarke shook her head slightly before stepping forward. She didn't look frightened by the crowd. If anything, she looked more annoyed than anything else.

"You think we care who's in charge? We need to find Mount Weather. Not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get, the harder it'll be. How long do you think we'll last out here without those supplies?"

That actually quieted people down.

I watch Clarke carefully. There is something about her that makes people listen. She doesn't need to scream. She doesn't need to shove anyone around. She simply speaks like she already expects everyone to pay attention. She was good. She knew exactly what to say.

Then she explained that Mount Weather was roughly twenty miles away and that if they wanted to reach it before dark, they needed to leave immediately. Twenty miles. I mentally calculated how long that would take. Then I looked down at my legs. Twenty miles was a long way for me. Still, I could do it. Probably.

"We're looking at a 20 mile trek. If we wanna make it before dark, we need to leave... now."

Bellamy clearly had a different opinion about the plan.

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

A cheer goes up.

I stare at the crowd. Seriously?

Wells tried to explain that everyone needed to go, but the mood had already shifted. Bellamy had realized he could get the crowd on his side, and judging by the expression on his face, he liked it.