This Side of Paradise

Chapter One

Aspen stared blankly up at the ceiling of her cell.

She hadn't slept well—not that this was new—but last night had been worse. The nightmares had returned, same as always: her mother being floated when she was eleven... and her father being sucked out of the Ark on her sixteenth birthday.

It wasn't until she jolted awake, covered in a cold sweat, that she'd heard his voice—calm, sarcastic, grounding—drifting through the small hole in the wall beside her bed.

John.

They'd been talking through that crack in the wall for at least a year now. Aspen only knew how long because her "uncle" had visited her on her seventeenth birthday. Marcus Kane was one of the few people with the authority to visit a prisoner without raising suspicion. It helped that he was one of the Ark's most powerful men.

The sound of her cell door clicking open made Aspen sit up fast. Not class again. Maybe. They had been taking the prisoners to a room lately—teaching "Earth studies," trying to prepare them for something none of them truly understood.

She stood and slipped on her worn shoes.

"Another class today?" she asked casually.

"Prisoner 318, hold out your right wrist," a gruff voice barked.

Aspen froze. That wasn't her usual guard.

"What's going on?" she asked, not lifting her arm. The tension on the man's face set her on edge. She backed toward the wall—and then she saw Octavia Blake being led down the hall, looking just as confused as Aspen felt.

"Octavia!" she called, panic flooding her voice.

The guard lunged. Aspen screamed, twisting away. "No, you can't—y-you can't kill us all!"

Tears welled in her forest-green eyes as the guard grabbed her roughly and clamped a tight metal band onto her wrist. It dug into her skin as he yanked her forward.

"Dante! That is not how we handle our prisoners," came a familiar, commanding voice. "And that is especially not how you handle my niece."

Aspen shoved herself away from the guard and ran to the man she trusted more than anyone. "Uncle Marcus!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Please don't let them kill me."

"Shhh." He held her tightly. "Aspen, no one's killing you. We're giving you a chance—a chance to live."

Her breath hitched.

"You'll understand soon. But for now, you need to follow the guards. Wear the wristband. It's how I'll know you're still alive." He cupped her face gently. "I'll fight to come down to you. We will meet again."

He kissed her forehead, then stepped back.

Aspen let herself be led through the hallways. The group of prisoners grew with every turn. All teenagers. All under eighteen. It hit her again—this was the Ark's way. No second chances after adulthood.

Eventually, they reached the drop ship.

Aspen hesitated, but the guard gave her a rough shove toward the back, where she stumbled into a seat.

"Hey—watch it," came a voice beside her.

She turned, and her face softened. "It's alright, John."

The guard sneered and walked off.

Murphy raised a brow as he strapped himself in beside her. "Haven't seen you in a while. Missed your charming nightmares."

She gave him a tired smile. "You should probably buckle up. I have a feeling it's going to be a bumpy ride."