Why the Change of Mind (More a Change of Heart)

Soon You'll Be Home With Me

Title is a line from the movie Anastasia. Also, sorry, don't expect Bellarke yet whoops

The Ark was falling.

They knew this would happen eventually; the Ark was dying, they didn't have time. But it was a week before they were supposed to leave and something had gone wrong, and now the passengers seemed only able to panic.

Funny how the ground, the dream, could turn so easily into a nightmare.

Abby Griffin clutched her daughter – innocent little Clarke, barely two years old – to her chest as she fruitlessly tried to dull the chaos around them. The girl had her arms around Abby's neck, and even though she didn't know what was happening, she was still sobbing. It must've been the screaming—so much screaming, it sliced at Abby like knives. The overwhelming sensation made her feel as if she were drowning, but it was also the only thing that kept her fragile heart beating, so she used it as fuel.

"Sh, Clarke, you're okay," she cooed to the small blonde. It brought a moment of comfort to the child's face, but it was fleeting. Happiness didn't last long here.

Abby turned her attention to calming the passengers while a thought pounded in the back of her brain like a second heartbeat. Where's Jake? She had told him to meet her in med bay, but she'd already passed it and he hadn't been there. It's fine, Abby, it's fine. He's just preparing everyone, like you are. Calm down. There's no reason to add to the hysteria.

Thelonius' voice came over the speaker, and when she glanced at a nearby screen she saw his face as well. It was tight and only thinly veiled by an aura of calm. "Everyone, please, remain calm. We're having some difficulties, but they will be sorted out shortly. In the meantime, act as if this was the scheduled day for departure; get to a safe place, protect your head, and stay with family. We will—"

The transmission cut abruptly, leaving everyone in the hall with only the eerie crackling of static. Of course, the pandemonium only intensified, and Abby's efforts only sapped her already deteriorating energy; finally, she knew there was nothing more she could do, as much as it pained her. If she didn't get strapped down soon, she and her child wouldn't make it to the ground. So she found a safe place, enveloped Clarke in her arms, and whispered to her quietly as their home tumbled through the atmosphere.

There was pain, and then blackness.

-

Abby woke to moaning and embers of pain all over her body. She clutched at her head, which was bleeding, and quickly checked over Clarke, who had miraculously stayed in her embrace. She appeared mostly unharmed, though certainly dazed and frightened. "Oh, thank goodness," she murmured, and pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

Once she was certain of Clarke's safety, Abby scanned to see how the others were doing. The light was dim, and she mostly could see from the sparks coming around her, which wasn't comforting. Bodies lay around her; she couldn't tell if they were alive or dead.

"Is everyone okay?" she called into the darkness, knowing there would be few replies. Some muffled replies came, saying I'm fine, or What happened, or Please help. She crawled around, careful not to step on bodies or anything sparking, and did what she could for the people alive. The dead she left; there was nothing she could do for them now.

At some point Marcus Kane came upon her, surprisingly unharmed, and she enlisted him with the other healthy people to take the injured to a safer area. The thought occurred to her that if their fleeting hope was wrong and the Earth was still toxic, they would all be dead anyway.