The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 2

While drifting towards the earth, which seems much bigger than from my view in the Sky Box, I marvel at the beauty. It's amazing from up here, and I feel excitement making me smile for the first time since my dad was floated. I'm going to earth. It might not be survivable with its radiation, but if that's the case, I'll die on the ground.

The pod begins moving faster towards the earth and I feel panic rising in my chest as I mentally go over what Raven told me to do again. I press the buttons she told me to and the pod gives a violent jolt, which I'm guessing is reentry.

The pod moves faster and faster until all I can see out of the windows is fire. I clench my jaw, knowing I might die in this metal coffin. I press buttons again, ignoring the whine of the straining metal around me.

Sparks fly from some gadget and I curse, hoping it wasn't anything important. I think some of the sparks hit my right arm, but I'm too busy focusing on not dying on impact to feel it.

The flames are less intense and I can make out ground coming toward me at an alarming speed. I barely have time to brace myself as the pod crashes into the ground.

I groan, rubbing my head gingerly. I feel the bump and determine it's most likely not a concussion, so that's a bonus. My eyes widen as I realize I'm on the ground. This 100 year old piece if space junk made it to the ground in one piece. Not even the windows are shattered, they're just slightly cracked. Next time I see Raven, I'll have to thank her.

I check the machine that sparked and groan when I recognize the label as a communication device. I have no way of telling Mom that I'm alive. I have no way of contacting anyone. I hit the machine, hoping it'll whir to life but it just sparks again, hitting my hand. I curse, definitely feeling that. It just burns a little and I check it, making sure it isn't a deep burn. I should be fine. I lean back in the chair, looking out the window. I can't see anything but dirt.

Float me, I'm on the ground. I push the handle on the door, glad when it opens, air hissing as I shove it open. I crawl out, squinting against the sunlight. Once my eyes adjust, my mouth drops open and I grin, allowing myself to feel happiness. I spin, taking everything in.

The trees are so tall they seem to scrape the sky and there's so much green. It's so different than the Ark, which was always sterile and white. I let out an audible sigh as I look at the ground, loving the feeling of the earth beneath my feet. It's not hard and unyielding like metal.

I look back at the escape pod and look it over, noting that it might be a good place to have camp and sleep until I get up a good shelter. I give one last wistful look around me, taking in my surroundings because I know I'm going to be busy setting up camp and focusing on not starving to really revel in it for awhile.

I'm in a clearing and there isn't much movement around me, which worries me. If there were movement, it would mean there are animals here, which would means I have a lesser chance of dying of radiation poisoning. But I don't see anything, and I can't hear even the scurrying of a mouse. Though I'm not sure if my ears are that good.

I rummage through the escape pod, grinning when I find a sack (thankfully it's not destroyed, it's barely even burned). I open it and let out a relieved sigh. There's a knife, a flask, a few notebooks, and a couple bits of rations. It's not much, but it'll definitely help.

I take one notebook and smile when I realize that it's an unlined one. Mom must have remembered how much I love to draw. I rip out a paper and begin drawing my surroundings, knowing that making a map will be useful. I'll definitely get lost if I don't make it.

Once I'm finished and satisfied with my work, I grab the knife and the flask, heading out in search of water. I don't see or hear anything on the way but don't let myself panic. Soon, I hear the sound of a flowing river. My mouth drops open slightly and I run towards it.

The river's twice as wide as I am tall. I've never seen so much water. I let out an joyful laugh and run my fingers through the glistening water. I quickly full my flask, noting a dark spot in the water to keep my eye on. I think I see it moving a little, but I've had quite the eventful day and I might be seeing things.

I take out my knife, just in case. I wade into the river until it covers my shoes (that was really stupid of me I should have taken them off before I decided to walk in water). I eye the water warily and almost drop my knife in shock when a muddy brown fish swims past me.

An animal. Earth's survivable. I let out a deep breathe and practically beam.

The moment is interrupted when my stomach grumbles. They don't feed us much in the Sky Box, just above what'll keep us alive and not complaining too much. There's two meals a day, but if there's a shortage of food, we're the first to go hungry. It's been a rough week and I've only had meals once a day, and yesterday I didn't have anything.

I watch the fish, licking my lips. The food on the Ark is so dry and tasteless, it's the worst kind if bland and there's no animals in space, so I've never had meat. I've dreamt if what it tastes like, but now I have a chance to find out.

I slowly move, grasping the knife, and lunge.

I think that might be a good place to stop for today. We're going to get to see some bad ass Clarke surviving for a bit, which is more fun to write than I thought it'd be. Lexa might not show up for a bit, but she's going to come!

For those of you that don't know, I update my stories every three days so the next update will be Friday. Thank you all so much for your support on this story! You guys are incredible! Thank you for reading and your amazing comments, and stay awesome!