Love to Hate [1]

Welcome to the new age.

Song: Radioactive // Imagine Dragons

Nessa's POV

It's been a year. A year since I was arrested. I can tell by the tally marks I have etched into the wall of my cell. Today was the 365th. I was supposed to have died nine months ago - when I turned eighteen years old. Floated into space for the crime of being born a second child. But my birthday came and went, and I stopped expecting them to come for me. Maybe they forgot. After all, there were a lot of "crimes" on The Ark. A lot of people to execute.

A sharp knock sounded on the door. I sat up. This was new. Breakfast had already come and lunch wasn't due for another two hours. The door opened. "Prisoner 149, stand facing the wall," a guard barked. I almost laughed. "Well it's about time. You're a year late," I called, turning to the wall.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my wrist as the guard closed a metal wristband around it. "Wait, what is this? What are you doing?" The guard stayed silent, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the cell. The Sky Box was in chaos. They had taken all the kids out of their cells. What was happening? Were they killing all of us? This didn't make any sense. My heart started racing. I didn't really care if I died, it's not like my life had been all the fulfilling. But I was afraid of this. Of not knowing what was going to happen. But then I felt a prick in my neck. Warmth spread through my veins, and everything went black.

-

When I woke up, I was strapped into a metal seat. The kids from the Sky Box were sitting all around me. Chancellor Jaha was speaking on TV screens throughout the room.

"Hey check it out!"

"Space Bandit strikes again!"

I looked up and saw a kid with long brown hair floating around, having unbuckled his seatbelt. What an idiot. I turned to the kid next to me. "What's going on?" A girl yelled at the kid to get back in his seat. Instead, two more unbuckled their seat belts.

"They're sending us to the ground," the kid responded. He had shaggy brown hair and big goggles on his head.

"Killing two birds with one stone," his friend responded. "Seeing if Earth is survivable and getting rid of us so there's more oxygen for everyone else."

Of course. Sending the prisoners to the ground. It all made sense. They wanted to know if Earth was survivable, and we were 100 expendable juvenile delinquents at their disposal - doomed to die anyway, one way or another. I guess that's why they hadn't floated me nine months ago.

All of a sudden the ship lurched sideways and the three flying boys were thrown through the air. Screams erupted from everywhere as we hurtled towards the ground. Lights flickered, sparks flew, and my head slammed back into the seat so hard I saw stars. Then with one final crash, it all stopped.

"Listen," goggle kid's friend said. "No machine hum."

"That's a first," goggle kid responded.

Everyone was unbuckling their seat belts now, getting out of their seats, rushing toward the door. I made to follow until I heard a voice that made my blood boil. 

"Alright everyone. Back up, hold on."

No. Why in hell was he here. I didn't even need to see his face for me to be able to remember what he looked like. I had been picturing his face every day when I thought of ways to kill him, every night in my nightmares. Whenever I closed my eyes, there he was. 365 days was a long time to think about getting revenge on someone. Sure enough, when I climbed down the ladder - there he was. The same dark eyes, the same dark, curly hair. Even the same guard uniform. The asshole responsible for getting me locked up.

"Stop! We don't know if the air is toxic!" a blonde girl pushed to the front of the crowd.

"If the air's toxic, we're already dead," he responded smugly. What a dick.

"Bellamy?" A new voice floated from the crowd.

A familiar looking girl with brown hair now stepped forward. The guard - Bellamy I guess - smiled.

"My god, look how big you've gotten," he pulled her in for a hug.

"That's the girl they hid under the floor," someone near me whispered. I snorted. Well there's more than one of those. But then it dawned on me, why she looked so familiar - 

"Hey, where's your wristband?" the blonde girl asked Bellamy.

"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year," the brown haired girl replied angrily.

Brother. And that's when it all fell into place. The girl was Octavia Blake. She was brought in a week after I was - another second child. Her mother hid her under the floor for 16 years. A whopping 9 years longer than my dad lasted. And the guard who turned me in - Bellamy - was her brother? He was hiding his sister - breaking the law - and yet had me arrested. My rage and hatred for him grew exponentially at that moment. I couldn't keep my hands from shaking. I followed the rest of the crowd out of the drop ship as they ran and shouted and laughed, unable to contain their excitement at finally being on the ground.

I felt the warm sun on my face and the soft grass beneath my feet. A light breeze lifted my hair. The rage seemed to blow away with it. I'd kill Bellamy Blake one day, but for now I was going to enjoy living somewhere that was bigger than five feet by five feet. I walked up to the kid with the goggles and his friend. "Hi, I'm Nessa," I said, offering my hand.

"Jasper," answered goggle boy.

"Monty," his friend followed. "Wait, you're not Nessa Stevens are you? The girl who lived in the vents for 10 years?"

"Yeah that was me," I smiled sheepishly.

"That's so bad ass," they both said, their eyes wide. They both gave me high fives. I laughed.

"I'm glad my reputation precedes me," I said with a bow.

-

Bellamy's POV

I saw her as soon as she exited the drop ship. There wasn't any missing the fiery red hair. Nessa Stevens. I hadn't forgotten that name or that face for a second the past year. I almost thought Octavia being caught was karma for what I did to her. I tried to imagine what her life had been like - seven years under the floor, ten in the vents on her own, one in a Sky Box cell. I admired the strength and resourcefulness it must have taken for her to survive so long on her own. Octavia had at least had me. Nessa's older sister turned her and her father in.

I watched her walk off the drop ship and into the sun. Her furrowed brow was replaced by a calm serenity. A small smile even spread across her face. This must be her first time not living somewhere cramped and dark. She lifted her arms to the sky, stretching her small, bird-like frame, reveling in the open space. Then she walked over to two boys with her hand outstretched.

I sighed. I hadn't accounted for her being here. I thought she had been floated months ago. The guilt of what had happened to her as well as getting O caught and my mom floated had eaten away at me for the past year. Now I was going to have a constant physical reminder of that guilt. Hopefully she didn't know I was here - I didn't even want to imagine how much she hated me. Or maybe, just maybe, she had forgotten it was me.