Fears on Fire

Chapter Nine

The familiar sensation of butterflies from the kiss Bellamy had left on the side of my cheek stirred at the pit of my stomach. It was another cloudy day on Earth, the remembrance of last night's events remained in my head. I saw black birds fly across the sky, creating low chirps the echoed throughout the skyline. I glanced up at the animals as they called to their fellow friends. Delinquents walked around camp lazily, talking with their friends or to themselves. Jaha's voice erupted from the computer that sat on a table. Raven and a few other people , including me, stood around the screen and listened to the Chancellor speak. His eyes roamed the figures of the civilians ahead of them. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her," he spoke, keeping his head held high.

I saw my mother and Kane standing a few feet away from him and listened to his speech. The kids around me all groaned as the Chancellor continued to speak with a prominent tone to his voice. "Next year, on the ground," Jaha continued, grinning at the people surrounding him. The people who stood behind him all applaud. Some of my peers clapped as well, but a majority of those applauds slowly diminished. The laughing sarcastically spread across the crowd like a wild fire. "Right," Miller mocked, "After we did all the work." The boy earned a nodding of the head from some of the kids. "Someone shut him up," he soon added, smirking.

"Shut up Miller," Raven countered, whipping her head towards the boy. I rolled my eyes and scoffed at his comments. "Nobody's forcing you to watch," I joined in. Miller let out a small chuckled at my remark. "For ninety-seven years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth," Jaha said, carrying out with his speech. Clarke slowly walked out of the drop ship and joined Finn at the top of the drop ship. Clarke turned to him and smirked, starting a conversation with him. Finn changed his gazed from the screen to my sister. Raven glanced up from the ground to look at the two of them, Clarke got the hint and went to join her side.

Jasper stepped out of his tent with a large container in his hands. Grey smoke rose out of the blue tent, making the smell around us more earthy. Jasper cheered with the container as he walked over. "Woohoo! Yes!" He rallied, raising the pot. He stopped walking and set the tin container on his hip. "Monty strikes again!" Jasper added, resting his goggles on the top of his head. I turned my head to look at him as he approached the large group and I. "Who's thirsty?" he questioned. Everyone yelled in excitement at the new batch of Monty's Moonshine. He slowly poured the alcohol into the cups people held.

Excited chatter rolled over the clumps of different cliques of delinquents. I chuckled to myself at the sight of everyone's toothy grins. Jasper smirked as he continued to pour the alcohol. "Happy Unity Day," he said, stepping back. The voice of Jaha stopped be from getting my own cup of Moonshine. "To our sons and daughters on Earth," the Chancellor said, "Listening to this message, 'we will see you soon'." Finn joined my side and listened to Jaha's voice as well.

My thoughts immediately went to the two rules I had broken just to be here: sneaking away and stealing medicine. The Ark would sure enough arrest me for the crimes I committed once they arrived on Earth. Lucky for them, I was determined to have my questions answered. "The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours carrying you the reinforcements that you need. So stay strong, help is on the way."  More applause and cheers sounded from behind Jaha. I sighed, crossing my arms. Finn furrowed his eyebrows and looked in between the Tv and me.

"You don't seem so happy," he said, turning to me. "If they come down here, they'll surely lock me up for what I've done," I answered. "Things change, you've saved lives," Finn replied. "Unfortunately that wasn't enough," I said and crossed my arms. I turned around and head straight for my tent. Unity Day was Cass and I's favorite day growing up. We loved the history behind it, learning about the facts that followed it, and celebrating the day with our friends and family.