Little One | Bellamy Blake

| 01

Skyfall

"If I could fly, then I would know what life looks like from up above and down below"

Cecilia and the Satellite
by
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

_____

Holland tapped her nails against the metal bunk, the sound resonating at her core. She had been locked up for about a week already, and it was getting critical. She had only three days left until she turned eighteen. If the departure of the now 100 was delayed, she'd be floated before she could get on the drop ship.

She gnawed on the inside of her cheek, the familiar taste of blood dripping on her tongue. She had become accustomed to the slight sting and coppery taste over the last few days; it distracted her from the feeling of oxygen deprivation settling in her body.

Her cell door was abruptly pulled open, her own mother stepping inside.

"Mom?" Holland whimpered, clamoring to her feet at the sight of her Guardsmen uniform.

"Prisoner 326," she said, the rigid formality of her voice making Holland's spine go rigid. "Face the wall and hold out your right arm."

Her eyes flitted down to the metal wristband in her mother's grasp. Was it for her execution or for being sent to the ground? "I'm still seventeen, I don't understand-" she began, fear lodged in her throat.

"You know what's going on, Holland," her mother cut her off. She crossed over to her daughter's outstretched arm, harshly clipping the bracelet around her wrist. The sensor-tipped needles pierced her skin, sparks of pain flitting up Holland's arm for mere seconds before fading again.

"Am I going to the ground?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Mom..." Holland whispered, her right arm dropping back to her side. "I'm so sorry-"

"It's too late for that," Commander Xavier snarled. "You threw away everything the People gave you for this, Holland. Remember that."

She shrunk away from her mother, a lump forming in her throat. It was highly likely she would die on Earth, yet her mother was only upset about her wasted potential instead of her actual life. It was always about raising the next Chancellor instead of a daughter. It was a duty, not an act of love.

"Of course. Thank you, Commander," she said, allowing the guards that flanked her mother to grasp her arms. They forced her out of the cell, pulling her away from the only parent she had. "I love you, Mom!" she shouted over her shoulder as she was yanked from view. She felt tears burn in her eyes, but the held them in. This wasn't a time to appear vulnerable.

Holland allowed herself to be manhandled out of the SkyBox and to the launch decks for the drop ship. She scanned the other prisoner's faces, hoping to find Wells amongst them. They stared back at her, shocked to see the supposed perfect Phoenician among them.

She stumbled down the hallway, her upper arms sore from the harsh grip the guards had on her. She recognized a few of the other prisoners that were near her. There was Miller, arrested for theft. Monty Green and Jasper Jordan, both imprisoned for growing illegal substances. Finn Collins, a guy from Walden who hijacked a zero G suit for a spacewalk that wasted months of oxygen. Finally, there was Octavia Blake, arrested for simply being born.