Kingdom Of Heavens - The 100 [1]

Chapter 10

There were a few moments of disappointment when I woke up in service hatch beta for the exodus ship rather than on the exodus ship itself. Had I gotten thrown off for trying to open the doors? Did I really just ruin what could have been my only chance to return to Earth? I may have tried and wanted to get my father onto the Exodus ship as well, but I'd take going to Earth along over not going at all. My disappointment, however, quickly passed as I realized something was wrong.

I wasn't alone in the service hatch, there were about 10 others, Abby and Apollon among them. The air was warmer than usual, and I found it almost hard to breathe. At first I thought this was because I had been unconscious for I didn't know how long, but I soon noticed everyone else in the hatch was also breathing deeply as if they had just run a race. I looked over at Abby, she was leaning against the wall across from me, almost like she was asleep. Apollon sat next to me, slightly too close for my own comfort considering what happened last time I saw him. Or at least, when I last remembered seeing him. From working in medical I had learned that when someone had passed out, they often didn't remember the events from right before. I began to wonder just how exactly I ended up here.

"Abby?" Hey eyes only opened slightly in response to my voice, but that was the only movement she showed.

"Let her rest. I'm glad you're awake." I turned my head and looked at Apollon.

"What happened?"

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Flashback, Apollon's POV (2 hours ago)

I could still feel where the tazer had zapped me in my side as I watched the guards closer to the door of the drop ship work to get it open. I had been in the cell where Kane was questioning Ridley when the 'mutiny' started. Now I was trying to work my way to the front of the crowd of guards and offer whatever assistance I could to help get those doors open. Whatever the guards at the front were doing clearly wasn't working, I somehow felt that if I could just get up there, then I could get the doors open. I couldn't let that drop ship launch. If Sinclair was right, which he usually was, then the launching of that ship would kill the rest of the Ark. As a member of the guard, I had to protect this Ark. I had sworn to protect it and the people on it the day I joined.

I was about half way through the crowd to the door when I saw a flash of reddish blonde hair. I didn't see the face of the hair's owner, as it quickly disappeared to where the inside controls for the door were, but I didn't need to see the face to know who it was. There's only one person on the Ark with hair that color. A second later, the doors began to open and I could hear the sound of tazer meeting flesh followed by a scream.

"Venus!" The crowd of guards became more active as one of them managed to get his pry bar in between the doors before they soon began to close again. I could just barely see one of Diana's followers carry away the limp body followed by two more followers escorting Abby. I became infuriated. I knew just how painful a shock from a guard's tazer could be. They had hurt Venus, and now carried her away as if she were nothing. Ridley was one of Diana's men, I knew that now. I hated to think about what Ridley would have done to Venus had I not intervened, and I feared how similar the rest of Diana's followers were to him. I had to get her off that drop ship.

Fighting my way back through the crowd of guards was much easier than the way towards the doors had been, and many moved aside to let me pass, eager to get as close to the front as they could to help. Some called after me, questioning me, but I didn't have time to answer. The second that door closed – if it closed – the drop ship would launch with Venus on it. I didn't know how much time I had, but I wasn't willing to waste even a second of it. I ran through the halls of the Ark, navigating them as I had done my whole life until I reached service hatch beta of the Exodus ship. When I saw it closed with no way to open it my heart sank. There was a control panel outside of this door, but it required a code to be operated. A code I did not have, and did not have enough time to figure out. I realized I didn't have a plan. I walked up to the door and banged on it with my fist, half out of anger and half out of desperation for someone to hear me.