Chapter Text
"By the time the last war was over, so were man's days on Earth."
"Not that it mattered really. The bombs just sped things up. We'd been slowly killing the planet for two hundred years. Poisoning it. Depleting it. Taking whatever we could get our hands on. What we now call "the Big Death" was just the grand finale."
"Fortunately, there were survivors."
"Twelve nations had operational space stations. All told, three hundred and eighteen souls were in the right place at the wrong time."
"The wrong time has lasted for ninety-seven years."
"Three generations have been born in space. None of the four thousand and nine of us who now live has ever stepped foot on the ground."
"We've never felt the sun on our faces. Never breathed real air."
"For us, there is only the Ark. One station forged from the many."
"Our scientists estimate that Earth needs another hundred years to become survivable again. Another hundred years to wash away the radiation. Four more space-locked generations and man can go home."
"Everything we do, every decision, every allocation of resources, everything is about staying alive long enough for the human race to make it back to the ground..."
"The ground. That's the dream..."
"But this. This is reality... Reality sucks."
The room was darkened. Dim earth-light shined into the room through a porthole, the only light she got. Wendy Testaburger was juvenile offender and got put in lock up. She called it: 'The Sky Box'.
Drawing on the floor of her cell, she imagines herself being in the forest she is drawing. Being there, enjoying nature. Standing up, she grabs a small H20 eyedropper vial from her shelf. Squeezing a few drops onto her tongue, she stands there, savouring it.
She places down the vial and looks at a photograph on the shelf. Happier times. It was when she was five with her young parents. They were sat beneath a willow tree in an atrium on the Ark.
When a prisoner is eighteen, their criminal case is reviewed. Most prisoners are released back into population on the Ark, people like Wendy, traitors, are released also... into outer space through an airlock. It's called floating.
No oxygen. But they get a good view at least.
Suddenly at that moment, a key starts to unlock her cell. Fear shoots into her and she barely has time to turn before two armed guards in uniform storm the cell. The first guard speaks.
"Prisoner 3-1-9, face the wall!" He ordered. Wendy's eyes glanced to the open door but as the guards converge, she obeys.
"...What is this?" She asks quietly facing the wall.
"Quiet! Hold out your right arm!" He orders. The guard grabs her arm but Wendy resists, panicking, she assumes their here for her execution.
"Wait. It's not my time. I don't turn eighteen for another month." She pleads.
The second guard draws a shock baton, firing it up. The deep thrum alone is enough to bring compliance. Wendy holds out her right arm and the guards can see she is wearing a man's wristwatch.
"Just check my file. Please. You're early. You'll see that." She continues to plead but the guards ignore her.
The first guard removes a wide metallic cuff from a storage case the other guard is holding, Wendy notices there is many more of them. The guard moves it towards Wendy's wrist.
She had no idea what it was, but the dozens of barbed probes that line the inside were clearly going to hurt.
"Take of her watch." The man barked to the other guard.
"No. It was my father's." Wendy pleads.
The second guard was reaching for her watch but a quick elbow explodes into his solar-plexus. As he buckles, Wendy spins, shoving him into the other guard and making a break for the open door.
Fear could easily be shown on her face. She knew this wouldn't turn out good but she also knew whatever they were doing was going to turn out even worse.
Behind her, the guards quickly got up but weren't fast enough as Wendy had already slammed the door shut.
Her mind races, trying not to panic, straining for next moves, when what she finds in the corridor stops her cold. On floors above and below, badly shaken and in pain juvenile prisoners are led out of their cells. Identical wristbands bite down into them.
Before Wendy could make sense to any of it, the slamming of the guards in her prison cell grabs her attention.
"Wendy, stop! They'll hurt you!" A woman shouts. Emotion came over Wendy as she turned to see a blonde woman in a white lab coat running towards her.
"Linda?" Clarke asks quietly. Ever since her parents were floated, Sharon Blake had been Clarke's guardian, until she was arrested. She was also the parent of Butters Stotch, but due to him being arrested also for growing weed, she never got to meet him. Linda needed someone to protect, it was something she just needed to do, so when Wendy's parents got floated, she took over as parent to Wendy, before she was arrested as well.
More guards began to converge but due to Linda's presence, they backed off. Linda instantly gives Wendy a hug.
"Linda, what is this? What's going on?" Wendy asked frantically wanting answers. Linda didn't reply, instead she just held Wendy in her arms.
Wendy pulls back, looking from the pain in her mother's eyes to the rows of young inmates as a terrifying thought strikes.
"They're killing us all, aren't they? Reducing population to make more time for the rest of you." Wendy's face dropped but Linda shook for her head and pulled her aside.
"No. Quiet. That secret's already done enough damage to your family and mine." Linda shushed her.
"Wrong, keeping it has. People have a right to know the Ark is dying." Wendy protested.
Linda looks to a guard receiving orders through a earpiece. This changes the subject. Linda puts her arms on Wendy's shoulders before explaining.
"Clarke, please, just listen. This is not what you think. You're not being executed. You're being sent to the ground. All one hundred of you." Linda says a smile spreads across her face. They was a hundred prisoners in the sky box at the moment.
Wendy blinks in confusion. The meaning of that is so incomprehensible to her.
"What? But it's not safe. No. We get reviewed at eighteen."
"The rules have changed. There are no prisoner reviews any more. This gives you a chance to live."
Linda sees a guard lining up a shot with a tranq gun, she knows this is goodbye, so she touches Wendy's face.
"Your instinct will be to take care of everyone else first, just like your father, but be careful. I can't lose you, too, not after Butters. Even though I'm not your mum, I still care for you." Linda explains, tears streaming from her eyes.
She sees how frightened Wendy is, but there's nothing more she can say, there is also not time to say it.
The dart strikes into Wendy's back, the drugs kick in and she collapses into Linda's arms. The last thing she hears is Linda whispering.
"Earth, Wendy. You get to go to Earth."
the drop ship
Consciousness returns. Her eyes travel around the stark compartment, she's on the drop ship, before a familiar smiling face greets her. The boy is relieved to see Wendy is okay. Wendy also knows who it is. Token Black.
"Welcome back." He greets, the smile still stuck to his face.
The sight of Token rages Wendy, she tries to lunge at him. "You son of a bitch!" She yells.
Luckily for Token, her safety harness holds her back. Forty other prisoners around her are strapped in also. Despite delinquent bravado, all are terrified. Wendy's bearing begin to flood back.
"Earth..." She whispers looking around trying to find a porthole to look out of.
Pain suddenly shoots up her right arm, she looks and sees a wristband is locked on her. Her father's watch is on her other wrist, Linda must of moved it. She wonders if Butters is on the drop ship.
"Look, I know we broke up, but -" Token begins to speak.
"Token, why the hell are you here?!" Wendy interrupts. The vitriol in her eyes cuts him, but he understands.
"When I found out they were sending the prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested... I came for you." He explains. Wendy feels like puking, instead she glares at him, multiple levels of disbelief in her eyes.
Before she can respond, a snigger comes from across them. "Aww, the royal couple's fighting."
Laughter is cut short when the ship is suddenly jolted. A collective gasp. Wendy and Token grip their seats.
"What was that?" Wendy asks rhetorically. Token answers even though she doesn't want him to.
"That... was the atmosphere."
She looks over again, awe temporarily swamping hatred, before another, even bigger jolt wipes it away.
As if triggered by the bumps, video monitors around the cabin suddenly flash to life with a pre-recorded message, it was Chancellor Chef. Token's dad. The man is almost regal but deadly serious.
"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance." He begins his speech. Sudden boos spread across the cabin.
"As your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself..." Chancellor Chef continues.
Token reacts differently, his eyes fill. Wendy looks over but Token doesn't bare to look at her. Wendy whispers: "Sending his own son to die on the ground. Now that's leadership."
"Your dad's a dick, Token!" Someone yells from the crowd.
The drop ship, like the Ark, has been cobbled together. Three levels stacked from largest to smallest. Pyramidal. Right now, it's in free-fall, sparks becoming flames as the heat shield meets the thickening atmosphere.
"You have just begun the descent into Earth's atmosphere. I won't lie. We have no idea what waits for you down there." Chancellor Chef carries on.
The violence of re entry builds up through all of the following. So does the heat... and the fear.
"If the odds of survival were better, we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you... expendable. If, however, you do survive, then those crimes will be forgiven. Your records wiped clean. No execution upon your eighteenth birthday. No review. No probation. A second chance."
The camera on which Chancellor Chef is on begins to move throughout the speech.
"This is not, however, a waiver against future crimes. While unsupervised, you will adhere to the laws of the Ark, or you will be punished under them. You have one job, ladies and gentlemen, one responsibility... Stay alive. Two months. That's how long it will take to be certain that it's safe for the rest of us to follow..."
At that moment, a severe jolt opens a storage compartment, a few rolled maps spill out, floating weightlessly overhead.
"In the meantime, some of you may be tempted to strike out on your own. Don't. Your drop site has been chosen carefully."
A face in the crowd catches Wendy's attention. Kenny McCormick, his face lights up once he sees the floating maps. "Oh, hell yes!" He shouts in excitement. Grabbing a shiv from his boot he cuts his harness to float with the maps.
"Before the Last War, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain in order to shelter the government of the United States." Chancellor Chef continues despite hardly anyone listening.
Kenny launches himself, soaring exuberantly through the air to the delight of the crowd.
"Space walker Bandit strikes again!" A girl shouts. A cheer rings out, Kenny seems like a folk hero to Wendy, two more boys copy Kenny.
"No one ever made it there. According to the archive, it was to be stocked with enough non-perishables
to sustain three hundred people for up to two years. Because we could spare you no food, water, or medicine, you must immediately locate those supplies." Chancellor Chef explains Mount Weather.
The floating Kenny drifts over to Token. Hovering above him.
"Check it out. Your dad floated me after all." Kenny chuckles. Laughter ensues, not from Token though. Wendy can't help but smile.
"I cannot stress this strongly enough... Mount Weather is life." Chancellor Chef goes on. By now, everyone was ignoring him.
"You should come down before the parachute deploys. All of you." Wendy recommends.
Kenny turns his attention to Wendy. He ignores her warning, so do the other two now-somersaulting floaters.
"You're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year." Kenny protests. Chancellor Chef goes on about the wristbands.
"You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal space walk." Wendy snaps back.
Kenny lowers almost to her lap, floating on his back.
"Yeah, but it was fun. I'm Kenny." The boy greets. Wendy can't believe he is trying to flirt with her, despite that, she is pretty impressed that he is trying to flirt with her. Token doesn't agree.
Suddenly, the parachute deploys, sudden rapid deceleration ends the fun instantly.
The awful sound of tearing metal spreads around the cabin. The monitors go black. The floaters slam to the floor with bone-crushing force. The ones that followed Kenny died; Kenny survived because he was already close to the ground.
Wendy sees the ones that just died, she want's to help but can't due to her harness.
"Wendy, stop! The harnesses won't release until we're on the ground!" Token teaches. Wendy ignores him.
"Kenny! Are you okay?!" Wendy shouts the question. He nods, shaken but not hurt. "Check on them!" She points to the two already dead delinquents.
Kenny makes his way across the unstable floor, another explosion comes from below; another huge jolt. Another collective scream occurs. Fortunately, Token did his research.
"It's okay! Just the heat shield popping off! Retro-rockets are next! Three seconds, two, one." He counted down yet nothing happened. Token is suddenly terrified.
"They should've fired by now." He whispers. It dawns on him that there all going to die.
"Wendy, there's something I have to tell you." His tone suddenly turns solemn. "I'm sorry. All I did was ask my father a question. To this day, I have no idea how or why that got you and your father arrested."
She holds his stare, can't believe he's doing this now.
"Please. I love you. I can't die knowing that you hate me." He admitted his love. Her heart beated. Wendy knew he needed absolution, too fucking bad for him.
"They didn't arrest my father, Token. They executed him... I do hate you."
The devastating truth was out, Token was trying to find a response, but the rockets finally fire. A volcanic roar.
Again, bodies react to the sudden deceleration. Flight begins to stabilize. Of course, as soon as they start to believe they might actually make it, the words of it begins.
Shaking unlike any that's come before. This isn't turbulence, it's something else. Hundreds of individual collisions. Not yet on the ground. Possibly trees.
A few more terrifying seconds and... Silence. Gradually, it becomes clear that they're actually on the ground.
"Listen. No machine hum." A girl told a few seats other.
Wendy and Token are struck by it, too. It's the first time in any of their lives that they've experienced real silence.
Finally, and all at once, the harnesses release.
the landing sight
Wendy starts instantly for the boys lying on the floor as, all around her, people are slowly rising.
"The outer door's below! Let's go!" A voice from below shouted.
Nearly to the motionless boys, Wendy hears that and whirls. "No! We can't just open the door!" She yells going down to the bottom level.
Once she reaches the bottom level, she sees a boy, older then her, about to pull the release lever. "STOP!" She shouts again.
Everyone stops, the young man turns around, Stan Blake is covered with blood. Once Wendy gets through the crowd she begins to speak.
"The air could be toxic!" She says before noticing the blood splattered across his uniform.
"You're hurt." She speaks again, reaching to examine him. He turns back to the door to avoid her hand.
"If the air's toxic, we're all dead anyway." Stan replies.
He grabs the lever again. Wendy knows he's right, but out of an abundance of caution she still wants to stop him anyway but a voice from behind does it for her. "Stan?"
Stan springs around at the voice to see a blonde girl frozen on the ladder. Wendy sees his face soften, the girl jumps of the ladder and runs to Stan. Stan is suddenly emotional.
"My God, look how big you are." He says smiling. The girl jumps into his arms. Her name is Bebe Blake.
"What are you doing here?" She asks hugging him.
"Someone had to keep an eye on you." He answers releasing from the hug.
It was a nice moment. Wendy watches, suspicion drawing in, she finally notices Stan isn't wearing a wristband.
"Where's you wristband?" Wendy asked. Bebe turned around, suddenly hostile. "You mind? I haven't seen my
brother in three years."
The word 'brother' causes some confusion. On the Ark, each couple could only have one child, it was rare to have more than one.
Bebe's infamy, unlike Kenny's, induces pity not admiration. She hates that. Enraged, she recklessly lunges at the last person to speak. Stan holds her back.
"Bebe, no. Let's give 'em something else to remember you by."
"Like what?"
"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
With that, he finally pulls the lever. Wendy braces for anything, but as the door swings open, she is utterly unprepared for what she sees. Daylight streams in. The sight of trees. A breeze.
"A forest." Wendy whispers.
The crowd surges, but Stan holds his ground, blocking the door as his sister reluctantly goes outside. Bebe hesitates, but just for a minute, before seizing her chance to make history.
Bebe steps out, looking around in wide eyed amazement. Bebe descends the short staircase.
The ship has come to rest in the middle of a primordial forest. Fallen trees are everywhere, many still smouldering, some still on fire.
Taking in everything, Bebe milks her "one small step for man" moment for several long seconds, before finally thrusting out her arms and beginning to bellow.
"WE'RE BACK, BITCHES!"
Her shouting incites a mad rush from the ship. The stampede shoves Wendy to the side as they just keep coming, revealing in the warmth of the sun on their skin. The scent of real air in their lungs. The sight of so much green.
Wendy descends the stairs quite slowly, pausing on the bottom step, she stares at the ground, smiling. She takes her first step onto the ground and smiles even more.
Even though she should be excited, she can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Determined to figure it out, she snatches a map of a boy using it as a sword. Putting it between her teeth and then starting to climb a tree.
Rising above the celebration, laughter and shouts of joy recede as she pulls herself higher. Finally, she stops when the leaves thin; the view steals her breath.
Dense forests and mist-shrouded mountains as far as the eye can see. Something out of a fairy tale or a nightmare.
She perches on a spot in the tree and unrolls the map before holding it out. She tries to orient it to the various surrounding peaks until she hears a familiar voice.
"Why so serious, Princess?" The voice asks. Surprised that she is not alone, Wendy looks over to find Kenny perched in a neighbouring tree. "It's not like we died in a fiery explosion." He continues.
Wendy looks back to the map. "Tell that to the two boys who followed you out of their seats."
Wendy's words strike Kenny hard. Wendy thinks she made the point of not calling her princess. She then points to a distant mountain top.
"You see that peak over there."
"Yeah."
"Mount Weather. There's a radiation soaked forest between us and our next meal." Wendy explains rolling the map up.
"They dropped us on the wrong god damn mountain." She sighs. Kenny looks back out, a good view but was spoiled when they both realized they were well and truly fucked.
the ark
An agitated crowd has gathered in an atrium that connected the different places on the Ark. A guard backs up the Ark's chief communications officer, chief McDaniels.
"Folks, as I said, at this time, we can't confirm or deny anything." She told the crowd, they had gathered due to the drop ship being sent to earth. Voices perked up.
"I saw a ship launch.
"Not more than 20 minutes ago."
"Who was on it?"
"Was it the prisoners?"
"They going to Earth?"
"Has something changed?"
A loud whistle from the back of the crowd quietens down the room. A woman pushes through the crowd before confronting Chief McDaniels.
"Cool it. Our elected leaders would never send our kids to die without telling us. Isn't that right, ma'am?
"She asks. McDaniels doesn't respond, instead she holds her stare and gives the best bullshit smile she can give.
Minutes later, McDaniels strides into the jury-rigged control room. Wires can be seen everywhere. The mood in the room is dark, verging on panic.
As she heads for the high-level group at the centre of the technological swirl, her eyes take to the big board. A monitor wall is split into a grid of a hundred separate feeds, one for each wristband. Vital signs and mug shots are there. Mug shots of the recently sent to earth prisoners.
McDaniels stops beside the man who is in charge. Jimbo Kern. To McDaniels, he is quite handsome, but there is a coldness about him, even at first glance. Jimbo would call it professionalism. He is currently being briefed by a tech.
"Total system failure! That's what we're looking at here. We know they were off course when we lost contact... There's no way they landed at Mount Weather." He explained. It hits Kern and McDaniels hard, darkening every expression. The tech continues.
"Other than telemetry from the wristbands, we got nothing. No audio. No video. No computer link. Right now, we have to assume they can't access the system from the ground either. That means everything we programmed in to help them is gone. Other than a few old maps, they're on their own." Kern was about to respond until he noticed McDaniels by his side.
"McDaniels, we're a little busy." He says frowning at her.
"Rumours are spreading... sir. Most of them true. We have to at least tell the families something."
"Fine. Take this down... We regret to inform you that your delinquent sons and daughters who will no longer be consuming resources they don't deserve may or may not be dying in a radioactive haze on the ground. How's that?"
"Can't confirm or deny, it is."
Finishing the conversation, she heads for the board where she sees Linda monitoring wristband signals with her apprentice. McDaniels and Linda are dear friends.
"Hey, darlin'... How's Butters and Wendy doing?" She asks. Linda looks up and smiles.
"Third row, second square down for Butters. Fourth row, fifth square down for Wendy. Vital signs are strong. Blood sugar is low. Neither of them has eaten." She explains looking at the board.
McDaniels sees Butters and Wendy's defiant mugshots. Emotion threatens Linda but when Kern strides up to address the medical team, she buries it.
"Okay. Here it is: Communication is down. Everything. Unless one of the prisoners can put it back
together on their end, it's gonna stay that way. Which means, unfortunately, we're still blind to
conditions on the ground. But... thanks to Linda's wristbands, at least we'll know how those conditions affect the human body. That's more than we've had for a hundred years. So nice work... Now what are they telling us?" Kern questions.
His lack of emotion bothers both McDaniels and Linda. But they stay focused. "Two dead kids. The dark tiles."
Linda points to the board and Kern follows her finger. Kern sees now that, indeed, two of the tiles on the big board
are dark. They're the floaters that followed Kenny.
"At least it's not Butters, Wendy or Token." Kern adds.
"Where is the Chancellor anyway?" McDaniels asks.
"He'll be here... Dr. Mackey, please share your theory with Councillor Kern." Linda orders and Mackey obeys.
"Of course. Granted, they've only been on the ground seven minutes, but as of now, we believe that the fatalities are due to the landing, not to radiation levels." He explains before backing away behind Linda.
"Both boys died at the same time we lost contact with the drop ship." Linda backs up Mackey's idea.
"Rough landing? That's your theory?"
"The dots connect."
"Would you agree that if it was radiation, we'd see the number of fatalities climb fairly quickly now? Because I'm noticing quite a lot of red on your board, Doctor." Kern reminds frowning at the board.
Linda notices it also now. She was too busy looking at Butters and Wendy. Many of the tiles are lined in red.
"Spiking vital signs. Two possibilities. One... injuries sustained during landing." Linda explains.
"And the other?"
"They're excited to be there." She smiles.
Kern is concerned about wishful thinking, but before he can say anything, a phone trills on the console. Linda answers it.
"This is Doctor Stotch..." Her tone becomes deadly serious. "On my way." She hangs up.
"Mackey, put the word out. We need blood. A-neg. A lot of it. Then get your ass to the OR." She orders and Mackey nods before running off.
"Linda? What is it?" McDaniels asks trying to calm down the frantic Linda.
"The Chancellor's been shot." Linda replies before running off.
the landing sight
The Hundred have spread out amid the trees all around the incongruously located ship.
For the most part, girls and boys are separate. Athletes tend to hang together. Delinquents, too. The more things change.
But there's a more subtle segregation, based on which of the Ark's stations a person comes from. Station rivalries will make cooperation difficult, friendships rare, and romances potentially dangerous.
For now, the ongoing revelry blurs these fault-lines. It's clear at once that bad news has yet to arrive.
Then Token strides from the ship. He spots Wendy kneeling over the map beside the stairs and drops down beside her.
"We got problems." Token reminds. Wendy doesn't respond or look at him, she still can't believe he is here. Token continues anyway.
"The communication system is dead. I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."
Wendy pushes past it. "Right now all that matters is getting to Mount Weather."
Using the peaks she observed earlier in the tree above, she draws lines, tapping the spot where they intersect.
"This is us." She then taps on Mount Weather. "This is where we need to be if we wanna survive."
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Token asks amazed. Wendy looks over heavily. He knows the answer. Guilt returns to him. "Your father." He guesses. Wendy frowns and gets in his face.
"Let's get something straight, okay? What I said on the way down, I meant. But you're here-God knows why-so we're gonna have to work together. That does not mean -" She begins to scold until Token interrupts.
"I chopped down the Last Tree." This stops Wendy cold. She's dumbfounded.
"The willow? I loved that tree." Wendy replies in shock.
"Me, too. We had our first kiss under it... But I needed to do something that would get me on the drop ship."
"Good for you, Wells. Now I hate you and think you're a dick." Wendy told poking him in the chest before going back to the map.
Just then, a skinny boy comes up to Wendy, Kyle Broflovski.
"Cool, a map. They got a bar in this town? I'll buy yah a beer." He chuckles. Wendy smiles.
Token suddenly spins Kyle around and pushes him away. "You mind?"
Another boy sees this and strides up. This one is threatening.
"Hey! Hands off! He's with us!" He says pushing Token away.
"Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are." He explains. Stan and Bebe wander towards them. Bebe is frowning.
"We're on the ground. That's not good enough for you?" Stan asks folding his arms.
"We need to find Mount Weather." Some crowd gathers and Token begins to speak to them all. "You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."
"Screw your father! You think you're in charge here? You and your little princess?" Bebe laughs.
"Don't call her a princess." Token defends. Clarke shakes her head slightly.
"You think we care who's in charge? We need to find Mount Weather. Not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get, the harder it'll be. How long do you think we'll last out here without those supplies?" Clarke questions. It cuts through the crowd, some people agree until Stan speaks.
"I got a better idea... You two go. Find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." He says and the gathered crowd cheers. Stan is surprised, but likes the feeling. Wendy regards him warily.
"You're not listening. We all need to go." Token reminds. Everyone ignores him.
At that moment, a particularly rough and cruel looking boy walks up, Eric Cartman. He shoves Token back.
"Look, everybody. It's the Chancellor of Earth." Cartman teases. Laughter ensues from the crowd.
"You think that's funny?" He questions defensively.
Without blinking, Cartman executes a vicious leg sweep, throwing Token to the ground.
"No... but that is." Cartman chuckles.
Token gets back to his feet, badly favouring one leg, but ready to fight. The crowd circles, relishing the chance to watch the Chancellor's son get the shit beat out of him.
Wendy wants to step in, but before she can, Kenny drops from the trees above, touching down right between the two combatants. Cartman, now intimidated, steps back.
"Kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight?" Kenny asks getting face to face with Cartman. Cartman backs away. Just like that, the tension is gone.
Wendy is impressed, shooting Kenny an appreciative glance, as Bebe steps between them. "Hey, Space walker... Rescue me next?"
Kenny smiles, but goes away as a group of friends from his home station come to greet him. Stan gives his sister a disapproving look. Bebe was confused.
"What? He's cute."
"He's a criminal."
"They're all criminals."
Stan takes her arm and drags her aside before lowering his voice.
"Look, O. I came down here to protect you." He reminds. Bebe breaks away from him.
"I don't need protecting! I've been locked up, one way or another, all my life. I am done following
orders. I need to have fun, Stanny. I need to do something crazy just because I can. And no one, including you, is gonna stop me."
Stan understands, but, at the moment, he has bigger problems.
"I can't stay with them, O."
"Now what are you talking about?"
"I did something, okay? To get on the drop ship. Something they'll kill me for when they come down." Bebe was about to ask what. But Stan continued. "I can't tell you what it is yet, but you have to trust me. You do still trust me, don't you?" He asked.
She hesitated at first but nodded. He smiles slightly.
"Good. Then let's go. You can help me convince the guys from our station to come with us." Stan smiled slightly again before walking away. Bebe knew she should follow but was looking at Kenny instead.
Kenny was stepping up to Wendy who was checking out Token's ankle.
"When do we leave?" He questioned.
Token was about to thank him but doesn't. It takes Wendy a moment before realizing he was volunteering for the trek to Mount Weather. She stood up.
"Right now." She replies. Token looks at her, his expression darkening.
"We'll be back tomorrow with food. Once the others know the supplies are still there, they'll follow." Wendy explains to Token.
"How are two of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred?" Token asked, obviously perplexed.
Without a word, Kenny collars Kyle from earlier along with two others boys and a girl. Butters Stotch, Craig Tucker and Red. They all looked thrilled to get Kenny's attention, apart from Craig.
"Six of us. Can we go now?" He asked, Wendy noticed he was getting bored. Suddenly, Bebe sashays towards them.
"Sounds like a party. Make it seven." Bebe smiles. Stan hurries behind her, catching her arm.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He asked, perplexed and annoyed.
"Going for a walk!" Bebe responds with a bright smile.
She tears her arm away. Before Stan can figure out how to avoid a scene, Wendy makes one of her own, grabbing Kenny's wristband, turning it to reveal what appear to be saw marks.
"Were you trying to take this off?"
"Yeah. So?"
"So this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take it off and they'll think you're dead."
"Should I care?"
"I don't know. You want the people you love to think you're dead?"
Kenny is silent. He stops. It is clear to Wendy that someone is looking over him.
"You want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying." Wendy continues. Stan's faces lights up. It's the look of someone with an idea. Kenny nods, understanding what Wendy had said. Wendy drops his arm.
"Okay. Then move out." They begin to leave. Bebe want's to but first turns to Stan. He whispers conspiratorially.
"If they think we're dying, they won't follow us down." Bebe doesn't understand, but doesn't care either. Stan has no choice but to let her go.
"Go. I've got work to do." He directs. Bebe smiles and gives him a kiss on the cheek before running to the trekking group. Before leaving, Wendy turns to Token.
"Find a walking stick and look for water. If they think they need you, maybe they'll let you live." She turns around and going away, finally.
Octavia slows down to let her catch up, looking over threateningly. "Before you get any ideas... Kenny's mine."
Wendy is taken aback by her hostility, but recovers fast.
"Before you get any ideas... I don't care."
Stan and Token both watch the people that they love get swallowed by the forest. Stan looks away first, his attention on the wristbands, a sly smile spreads across his face. Token watches him with rising suspicion.
the ark
Kern sits at the head of a huge table in Council Chamber. Earth visible through a window behind him. A nameplate in front of him says: 'Chancellor Chef.'
Kern likes the way it feels to be Chancellor, he isn't though.
He hears a door open, he quickly stands and turns to face the window. The commander of the guard, Tuong Lu Kim, walks in, he obviously knows what Kern was doing but decides not to bring it up.
"Excuse me, sir, you asked to be interrupted if there was news." Kim reminds. Kern doesn't turn. Kim continues.
"The Chancellor is still in surgery, but we've ID'd the shooter." He proclaims. It takes Kern a moment to push back disappointment, by the time he turns, Kim has summoned up an image on the huge touch screen monitor that doubles as the council table. It was Stan.
"Stan Blake is the only person on the Ark unaccounted for." Kim says. Kern is confused.
"Who is he?" He asks still glaring down at Stan's photo.
"He's no one. A janitor. We're still working up a profile, but his motive for going to Earth is clear." Kim explains resting his arm on the table whilst bringing up another photo. It was Bebe's mugshot. In the photo she looks so young and afraid, not like the vivacious girl she is now.
"Sister. I remember them. Their mother kept her hidden for almost thirteen years. Nearly a record." Kern replies quite impressed. Something in Kim's expression stops Kern.
"What is it, Commander Kim?" He asked, confused. Kim hesitates.
"Spit it out." Kern orders. Kim begins to speak quickly.
"We could start now. As Chancellor Pro Tempore, you can give the order to begin reducing the population."
It hangs there. Kern is tempted but doesn't accept.
"Not yet. The Chancellor's Hail Mary mission to Earth is failing. Once it's clear the ground still isn't an option, the council will get in line." He explains, he then stares down at Stan's picture which Kim brought up recently.
"In the meantime, I'd like to know who helped this janitor get on that drop ship. Because he sure as hell didn't do it by himself." Commander Kim does not speak but clearly agrees. Kern glances to Kim.
"It seems we have a traitor in our midst, Commander..." He stares down at Stan. "And the Hundred have an assassin in theirs."
the forest
They had been trekking for several hours. The group has fanned out amid the trees. Sunlight dapples. Wild flowers are everywhere. Wendy had assumed the lead and is setting a fast pace, appreciating none of it.
Behind her, Bebe, Kenny, Kyle, Butters, Craig and Red were wanting Wendy to slow down so they could enjoy the scenery.
Kyle and Butters were both incredibly intelligent but were also incredibly uncool. Craig, however, was quite boring and quiet. Red was joyful and sweet. Kyle and Butters were watching Kenny as he flirted with Bebe.
Kenny slips a flower from a bush into Bebe's game and Kyle gives Butters a glance.
"That, my friend, is game."
"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Butters smiles. Bebe screeches.
"Get it out! Get it out!"
"Here." Red goes over and takes it out. "There you go."
"Jesus, Kenny. Thank's Red." Bebe thanked. Red nodded.
"Don't worry. The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal. Calming actually." Butters explained popping one into his mouth. Kenny and Bebe are curious.
"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals." Kyle explains. Wendy abruptly turns around.
"Hey! Try to keep up." She demands.
"Come on, Wendy, look around you. How do you block all this out?" Kenny asked, perplexed.
Wendy scratches an X into a tree to mark their path.
"It's simple. I wonder: why haven't we seen any animals? Hm. Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us... Sure is pretty, though." She sighs. With that, she strides onward. The others follow, their buzz sufficiently killed.
"Someone should slip her some poison sumac." Bebe giggles with Kenny. Kyle laughs a bit too loudly. Butters smacks him on the arm.
"I gotta know what you two did to get busted." Kenny laughs talking to Kyle and Butters. Kyle glares at Butters.
"Sumac's not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean." Butters giggles.
"Someone forgot to replace what we took." Kyle sighed.
"Someone's apologized like a thousand times."
"What about you Craig?" Kyle asks. Craig sighs, he didn't want this question.
"Murder." He said simply. Kenny looked at him really surprised, so did everyone else. Craig was confused. "What? Asshole took my apple."
"How 'bout you Bebe? What'd they get you for?" Kenny asked, trying to get off the Craig and murder situation.
Bebe looked like she wasn't going to answer but she suddenly did. "Being born." She trails ahead.
"That is so not game." Butters sighs.
Before Kyle can respond, they notice that Wendy has stopped and is holding out a hand for them to do the same. Bebe sees what Wendy sees and gestures the boys and girl excitedly closer. They creep up slowly. Wendy points.
A grazing dear, partially obscured by brush it's the first sign of life other than insects and plants they've seen and it has a profound effect on them all.
"You were saying?" Red asked noting to earlier when Wendy said they were no animals. Wendy wanted to protest but knowing how sweet Red was, she decided not to.
"Can we eat it?" Butters asks. They all look at him in disgust.
"Kidding." Butters grins.
Kenny want's a better view. He gestures for silence as he pads closer. One step and the animal looks up, revealing, to their horror, it has two heads. One is hideously deformed. A collective gasp occurs within the group and the deer bolts.
the landing site
Leaning on a walking stick, Token limps into the camp, a pile of kindling under one arm. The mood in the camp has dimmed a bit. Most people are hungry and thirsty yet they still all flirt, play and fight.
Two kids, covered in mud, approach Token.
"We finished burying the bodies. You find any water yet?" They ask. Token frowns and drops the sticks in a growing pile.
"Not yet. I'm going out again if you wanna join?" Token questions. They both nod.
Token was about to lead them back out of the camp, until they find some words spray painted on a wall on the drop ship. Token's helpers see it too.
'FIRST SON/FIRST TO DYE' It read.
It's unsettling to Token, but Token swallows it and looks around to see who did it. It doesn't take long. Cartman, who assaulted him earlier is now walking to them. He is with another boy, Damien Thorn. Both trouble makers. Token limps towards them and they meet in the middle of the camp.
"You spelled die wrong." Token told. Cartman frowned.
"You sure you wanna do this? I don't see Kenny or your daddy in any of these trees." Damien laughed. Token glared at him.
"Actually, I'm sure I don't wanna do this. What I wanna do is find water and make a fire because I'm thirsty and it's gonna be dark soon... We could use some help." Token replied, trying to convince them to join him.
Cartman and Damien feel the eyes of the gathering group. Cartman draws a shiv and steps in front of Token with unmistakeable menace.
Token stands his ground, but it is obvious that he is afraid. He had never done anything like a fight before.
A menacing whisper came from Cartman. "My dad begged for mercy in the airlock when your dad floated him."
Token's face went pale. "What's the problem here?" Stan asks walking over.
His uniform prompts an instinctive backing down. Cartman and Damien melt into the crowd. Token is still suspicious of Stan, but appreciative nonetheless.
"Thanks." Token thanks, holding out his hand. Stan doesn't accept it.
"I meant what's your problem?" Stan asked staring Token dead in the eye. Cartman and Damien drift back towards them. Token summons courage.
"My problem's the same as yours." Token replies holding the stare, before facing the group. "The same as all of ours. The more of us who look for water, the more likely we are to find it."
He starts to walk off, but Stan snatches his walking stick. Token grits his teeth to fight the pain, but he keeps going. Token's effort draws a few more people to his side.
Stan watches at Token walks away. Cartman and Damien are by his side.
"You're not really a member of the Guard, are you?" Damien asks grinning.
"No. But the real Guard will be here soon... unless we stop it." Stan replies. It grabs their attention.
"You don't actually believe they're gonna forgive your crimes?" Stan carries on, still staring into the distance, he is quite taller than Cartman and Damien. They believed him.
"Even if they do. Then what? Guys like you, you gonna be model citizens now? Get jobs? If you're lucky, maybe pick up their trash." Stan wanted to laugh but didn't.
"You got a point?" Cartman replies with a question.
"No... I got a question. They locked you up. Dumped you down here like lab rats to die. So why are you helping them?" Stan questioned again facing them both now.
"The hell we are." Damien protested.
"You're wearing those bracelets, aren't you? Right now, those things are telling them whether or not it's safe to follow us down." Stan told.
"You said we could stop it. How?" Cartman asks. Stan sighed. He realized he wasn't hiring rocket scientists here. Yet he manages to crack a smile.
"Take 'em off. The Ark will think you're dead. That it's not safe to follow... You follow?" He asked finally. It takes them a couple seconds, but they nod.
"And if we do? What's in it for us?" Damien asks frowning now. Stan grins.
"Someone's gotta help me run things." He grins again. Cartman and Damien smile at each other. A plan had been formed.
the ark
Linda had been operating on Chancellor Chef for a couple hours. Her chief apprentice, Mackey, was assisting. Medical supplies along with everything else on the Ark is severely rationed. Chancellor Chef wakes up in the middle of surgery. He jerks from the pain and his vital signs dive.
"Increase anaesthesia." Linda orders. Mackey hesitates. Linda looks over.
"Your Chancellor is going into shock. Now do it!" She demanded raising her voice. Mackey hesitated again.
"Linda, we're way over the line. According to the law, we have to -" He began but was interrupted.
"I'll do it myself. Let 'em come after me." She blurted out. She tried to get past Mackey but he stopped her.
"Boss, come on. You really gonna risk your life to save the man who ordered your husband's execution?" He whispered. Linda stared him dead in the eye. She turned the knob, releasing the gas. The Chancellor calms down and his vitals stabilize.
After a while, Linda leaves the surgery. She strides heatedly down a long connector tube, McDaniels catches up to her.
"Lin, slow down. How is he?" She asks catching her breath.
"Ask me again if he makes it through the night." She responds as they entered another hallway. Before McDaniels can reply, they hear a noise in a closet in the hallway.
"Who's there?" McDaniels shouts. No one else was in the hallway, most people had left to go back to their families.
A girl comes out of the closet. Her hair is messy and her face is dirty, Linda presumes she is a maintenance worker.
"Where the hell's my boyfriend?" She questions harshly walking up to them. Lola, was her name. Linda could see it on her ID. Despite Lola's strong façade, Linda senses a kindred spirit in her.
"What's your business here, Lola?" McDaniels questions. Lola frowns. She doesn't have one. McDaniels starts for a nearby intercom, but Linda stops her.
"It's okay." She assures. The kindness gets Lola's attention. She looks at Linda for the first time, recognizing her.
"Your son was arrested aswell right? Along with your adopted daughter?" Lola asks. Linda is taken aback. Lola plows right through.
"My boyfriend, Kenny McCormick, missed message day today for the first time in two years. Same day folks saw a ship leave. One with seating for a hundred. I got friends who worked on it. A hundred. Same as the number of cells in the Sky Box. You see where I'm going with this?" She asks, hoping they would understand.
"Come on, Linda. We have to go." McDaniels says leading Linda out. Lola grabs Linda's arm.
"Wait..."
Her façade cracks and the desperation shows, Lola hated that. "I may not be important, but my boyfriend means as much to me as your son and adopted daughter does to you. Please... tell me where my boyfriend is."
Linda held her stare. She was annoyed she kept referring to Wendy as adopted but she couldn't fight with that. Linda was deciding what to do.
Moments later, Linda was leading Lola into the monitoring station. Less chaotic then before. They had entered watch and wait mode. Lola was shocked by what Linda had told her on the way over to the monitoring station.
Once they enter, Linda's eyes instantly hit the big board, where two more dark screens can be seen.
Two more kids had died. Linda tries to hide the concern from Lola, but it's clear.
"Nothing leaves this room. Excuse me for one -" Linda tries to start talking but Lola butts in.
"You said two where dead. I count four." She says in confusion.
"Who else did we lose?" Linda asks, one of the two apprentices still in the room. The other apprentice punches some buttons, isolating the wristband feeds and accompanying mug shots of Eric Cartman and Damien Thorn.
"Eric and Damien. Neither was injured during landing." He explains. Relieve hit Lola like an ocean. She wanders closer to the board, searching for Kenny.
"I concur. Something else killed these two. One second they were fine, the next... bang." The apprentice from before replies.
"It wasn't radiation." Linda states the obvious.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because one-second-fine, the-next bang is not how exposure to radiation presents. You know that."
"It could if there was enough of it."
"If there was enough of it, they would all be dead!"
Linda's words echo. She wishes she could take it back. Lola looks over, meeting her stare from across the room. She can't hold it for long. Turning back to the board, she finds Kenny's mug shot. His face has no fear.
Something primal stirs within her. She would stop at nothing but to get her boyfriend back.
the forest
Daylight was fading. Bebe has the lead, the sway of her body keeping Kyle and Butter's minds off hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. Kenny, the only person Bebe wants to let notice her, doesn't notice her.
"You know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today, after ninety-seven years? What changed?" Kenny asked out of the blue. Craig frowned.
"Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell. Now I'm in a forest." He smiles for the first time, jumping over a rock.
"Maybe they found something on a satellite. You know, like an old weather satellite or -" Butters begins but was stopped by Wendy's voice.
"It wasn't a satellite."
The way she said the words grabbed everyone's attention. She keeps the secret for another moment, before blurting it out.
"The Ark is dying."
Although it lands hard, no one grasps the magnitude yet. Wendy carries on walking and carries on talking.
"At the current population level there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone." She sighs.
"That's the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they kept you in solitary? Floated your father?" Red asked all the questions in her head.
Emotion begins to threaten Wendy, but she keeps it down by nodding.
"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people deserved to know. The council disagreed... My mother also agreed with my dad. They were worried it would cause a panic. My dad, mom and I decided to go public anyway." She says it like it was the worst idea ever.
"They found out before you could?" Kyle asks feeling sympathy for Wendy. Wendy nods, she was back in charge.
"Anyway, that's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time. Fucking assholes." Wendy whispers the last words under her breath. It hits Butters hard.
"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they? If Earth still isn't safe, they have to." He was on the edge of crying but when a pat on the back from Kyle; he was fine.
Wendy nods soberly. Kenny, Kyle, Butters and Red are gutted by what this means for their loved ones. Craig and Bebe don't give a shit.
"Good. After what they did to me, I say let 'em all die." She laughs nearly. Craig agrees by nodding.
"You don't mean that."
Kyle says hoping she was joking or lying. Bebe doesn't respond, her eyes suddenly hit something in front of them. The others don't notice.
"We have to warn them." Kenny sighs. Clarke looks over, deeply affected by that.
"That's what my parents said." Wendy sighed also.
The fact that he reminds her of her father, who she loved more than anyone in the world, untethers her. Because of that, she walks straight into Kyle. Who has stopped dead to watch Bebe peel her clothes off.
"Damn, I love Earth." Kyle whispers in amazement. Bebe knows they're watching. She loves the attention she is getting. The others are watching behind her.
Kenny's expression is more controlled then Kyle, Butters, Craig and Red.
"Bebe, what the hell are you -" Wendy shouts but was stopped mid sentence. Bebe looked behind her and winked to the group before plunging out of plain view.
The others are left perplexed, until a sudden splash happens. It is the most amazing noise they had ever heard. Instantly, they rush forward, stopping on the rim of a narrow gorge cut through the woods by a river fifteen feet below.
They get there in time to see Octavia rise up, enraptured as she breaks the surface. They are all left astonished.
"Bebe, can you swim?!" Red shouts.
"No... But I can stand." She laughs.
With that, she rises like a sea goddess from the chest-high water. Suddenly, Wendy looks over to the boys to see Craig already in his underwear, getting ready to jump in. Red, Kyle and Butters are also getting undressed.
"Wendy, take your damn clothes off." Kenny orders following the others.
"There's no river on the map. We're going the wrong way."
"No, we're not."
Wendy sees a man-made structure across the water, the wreckage of one anyway, above the trees on the horizon. Still too far away to be sure, but possibly an old guard tower. "Mount Weather..." She whispers.
She instantly drops the map to get undressed. Craig is climbing down the fifteen foot cliff to get to the water. As he reaches the bottom, he suddenly freezes, gripped by fear.
"BEBE! GET OUT OF THE WATER!" He yelled. The commotion caused everyone who was still on the cliff to look down. But they soon know what he was shouting about.
All eyes shoot to the river where a long dark shadow is rocketing toward Bebe. Whatever it was, it was fast, it was aggressive, and it was hungry.
Before Bebe could react, the creature attacks, violently taking her under and dragging her away.
The unseen beast shocked everyone. Fighting wildly, Bebe managed to break the surface while screaming, before being sucked back down.
Craig ran across the rivers edge whilst the others made their way down the cliff, desperate to keep her in sight.
"What the hell is it?!" Kyle yelled. No one ventured a guess. Before anyone could stop him, Kenny jumped in from the cliff. The shadow surprisingly released Bebe, to instead attack Kenny.
"Kenny, it's coming! Get out!" Butters shouts. Kenny knew his idea was stupid so he quickly swam to the edge. The shadow darts back to Bebe and started to drag her away even faster. At that moment, Red had an idea.
She goes back up the cliff to get behind a boulder poised at the edge of the cliff. The boys and Wendy, who are confused, help anyway.
"It thought Kenny was a threat! It'll let her go again!" Red explains starting to push the boulder. They help.
A few seconds later, the boulder rolls. Red, Wendy, Kenny, Craig and Butters watch it roll apart from Kyle who was quickly making his way down the cliff to grab Bebe.
The boulder splashes into the water. Sure enough, as Red predicted, the shadow whips around again. Kyle takes his moment and jumps in. Landing next to Bebe, he begins to pull her back to shore. The beast turns around and begins to swim towards them. It's getting close.
Kyle shoves Bebe onto the lower bank, scrambling out beside her just as the malevolent shadow rockets past. Bebe collapses into Kyle's very thin arms. He doesn't care though. The first thing he sees is Butters' face staring down at him.
"Note to self: next time, save the girl." He chuckles. Kyle smiles back.
Red looks to her group, who are impressed. She feels happy.
"One good thing about outer space... no giant, mutant river snakes." Kenny's voice suddenly says. Everyone laughs, so does Bebe, but very weakly.
She then notices the teeth marks that are running with red on her thigh and goes still. Wendy notices it also.
"Butters. Help Kyle get her up here." She orders, directing Butters to the top of the cliff.
Craig who is still in his underwear looks freezing. "Craig. You might wanna get dressed, or you know. Freeze to death." Kenny chuckles. Craig nods and goes up the cliff to dress.
Wendy's eyes go across the river. The wreckage of the tower is now a silhouette amid the trees against the setting sun. It kills her to stop with the goal in sight, but the light is nearly gone, one of her people is wounded, and a man-eating snake is blocking their path. She sighs heavily.
"We'll cross at first light. Somehow." She tells herself. If they survive the night.
the landing site
It's dark. The only light comes from a fire outside.
Token is sitting at a console, trying in vain to coax signal out of a dead communication system, clearly wallowing in self-pity, when music wafts in through the open door. It starts as a lament, girl's voice, haunting and beautiful. Fits Token's mood perfectly, then another voice takes it up. Spoken word poetry.
Eventually Token gives up. He limps from the ship into the full light of a bonfire. The scene around him is almost tribal like, fire and music temporarily block out the verging hunger and thirst of the delinquents.
It draws Token in. As he gives into the primal forces, he sees what is taking place.
Stan supervises as Cartman and Damien, wristbands already gone, help a rough looking girl take hers off. To Token the process looks pretty painful, a rod is jammed in then violently pried up, cracking the band which is then ripped off. It leaves a mark on the girls arm. The band gets thrown into the fire along with others.
It infuriates Token.
"Who's next?" Stan shouts. Token limps over.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He shouts. Eric and Damien converge, but Stan holds out a hand, stopping them. A sudden hush falls over the crowd.
"Liberating ourselves, what's it look like?" Stan grins like it is obvious.
"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed." Token protests, he faces the crowd. "Our communication system is fried. These wristbands are all we've got. Take them off and the Ark will think we're dying. That it's not safe for them to follow."
"That's the point, Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves. Can't we?" He shouts to the crowd. Cheers draw.
Stan clearly gets off on the feeling off power.
"You think this is a game?!" He yells. It quiets again.
Token looks to the crowd, jabbing a finger skyward to indicate the Ark.
"Those aren't just our parents and our friends. They're our farmers. Our doctors. Our engineers. I don't care what he tells you, we won't survive here on our own." He faces Stan. "Besides, if it really is safe, how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"
"My people already are down." He declared. He then points to the sky. The Ark.
"Those people locked my people up. Those people killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that."
"My father didn't write the laws."
"No, he enforced them. But not any more. Not here. Here, there are no laws. Here, we do whateverthe-hell we want, whenever-the-hell we want." Stan shouts, pleased of his speech. The crowd is poised to erupt. Stan feels it, and loves it.
"You don't have to like it, Token. You can even try to stop it, change it, kill me. You know why? Whatever-the-hell we want." He grins. Cartman suddenly pumps his fist in the air before chanting.
"Whatever-the-hell we want!"
Damien picks up along with two others. In seconds, 'Whatever-the-hell we want' is booming through the trees.
"Whatever-the-hell we want!"
"Whatever-the-hell we want!"
"Whatever-the-hell we want!"
"Whatever-the-hell we want!"
The intensity of it disturbs Token. Even some of those who had been helping him earlier are getting swept up in it. He wants to stop them, but knows that he's powerless to. Then something happens that stops it for him. Rain.
Gently, at first, but hard enough to freeze everyone. All eyes go to the sky. All faces fill with awe. Then the sky opens and it starts to pour, igniting a rapturous frenzy on the forest floor. Everyone cheering and shouting.
Arms flung wide. Mouths open. Drinking. and Stan stand in the centre. Their eyes meet. Stan shrugs.
"We need to collect this!" Token points out.
"Whatever-the-hell you want." Stan grins.
Token rushes away, no longer feeling pain. He gathers a small, but not insignificant group to help him. Stan watches him run. Stan also knows that Token will be a problem.
the ark
Linda and Mackey are standing before the big board, reacting to the flat-lining of another ten of their children. Although darkness is threatening, Linda is still pushing against the worst case scenario.
"Ten more. One after the next." She whispers in sorrow. Mackey looks at her to say that it isn't Butters or Wendy.
Mackey then notices something. Vital signs in the majority of wristband feeds are moving in the same direction. Heart rates were rising, body temps were falling and plasma osmolarity was tickling up.
"Linda, look at plasma osmolarity. It's going up across the board." Mackey reveals.
"They found water." Linda sighed in relief. It was the first hopeful sign since the landing. There was still hope.
Unfortunately, before hope can take root, the door bursts open and a guard unit, led by Kim, storms the room. Mackey jumps out of his seat.
"Councillor Linda Stotch, you are under arrest for violating supply chain order number twenty-four." Commander Kim revealed. The guards surround her, two get behind her and secure her hands. Kern strides in finally.
"I'm sorry this has to be public, but the policy on these matters is clear. No special treatment." She smiles while holding Linda's glare.
"How much blood did you use, Linda?" He asked. No tone in his voice. As usual.
"Don't answer that." Mackey responded, backing up Linda.
"I used whatever it took." Linda answered truthfully, ignoring Mackey's advice. Mackey's face falls.
"Breaking the law to keep you from becoming Chancellor was the easiest decision I ever made." Linda spat out, struggling with the guards.
"In that case... given your confession, in my role as Chancellor Pro Tempore, I have no choice but to find you guilty." Kern grins. He was enjoying every minute of this.
"We always have a choice, Kern. You chose to press charges against Wendy's dad, your friend, even though you knew he'd get floated for it. You chose to include Wendy in those charges, also. And now you're choosing this. Hiding behind the law absolves you of nothing." She shouted. She was also backing up Wendy's family even though she didn't know it.
Kern's heart beated at this sudden outburst.
"Be that as it may, in accordance with Penal Code One, because all crimes committed by those above the age of majority are capital crimes, I hereby sentence you to death." He explains with a smile. Inside, Linda was terrified, but didn't show it.
Mackey, however, went pale.
"Execution is set for the morning." He told the guards before going back to Linda. "I choose, at every turn and at any cost, to make sure that the human race stays alive."
"There's the difference between us, Kern. I choose to make sure that we deserve to stay alive." Linda admitted.
Kern holds her stare for a moment before nodding to Commander Kim.
"Put her in Wendy Testaburger's old cell." Kim told the guards before they dragged her away. Mackey falls in the stride.
"Watch after the kids. Connect the dots. You can do this." She assures him with a smile. Mackey want's to smile back but doesn't get the chance. He instead faces Kern with a sharp stare.
"This is madness." He yelled.
"This is the law, Dr. Mackey." Kern protested, grinning still. Mackey hated that grin.
"Then pardon her. It's in your power to do that... under the law." He pleaded. Kern holds Mackey's pleading stare. It may be in his power, but it's not in his heart.
"Judging from the number of black squares on the board behind you, I think it's now safe to say that a
return to Earth is still not an option. I'll need your suggested parameters for population reduction on my desk as soon as possible." He orders.
Mackey pales even more. Kern strides out with the rest of the guards. The door slams. Leaving Mackey alone in the centre of the room.
Minutes later, Linda is thrown into Wendy's old cell. The drawings covering the walls and floors strike her, but she shows no emotion. Her handcuffs were removed, she turns around to see the door slam on her.
Alone. She was all alone. Backing away from the door, she lets the full weight of everything show in her face. Tears stream from her eyes.
the forest
The group was sleeping apart from Wendy. Her eyes snapped open and fill with wonder. She slowly sits up, resting against a tree. Incredibly, the trees and flowers and ground are streaked with iridescent light. Veins of luminescence. Multiple colors. The effect is surreal and spectacular.
It was a forest the glows in the dark.
Wendy was agog. She stood up to move amid the trees. She could hear running water.
She lets her guard down. Her eyes gaze across the forest. Feeling the wonder of earth. If she had to describe herself, she would describe herself as a wide-eyed inquisitive, passionate girl beneath an emotional piece of armor.
Her eyes wander the stars, and her mind the Ark. A low voice interrupts her day dream.
"Pretty cool, huh?" It was Kenny's.
Suddenly startled, she whirled around, reverie replaced by embarrassment as she sees Kenny and Red returning through the psychedelic trees.
It takes her a moment to realize Red is holding a cone, fastened out of large leaves and filled with water.
"You guys went to the river?" She asked in shock.
"Figured it was worth losing a finger or two. Here." Red laughed handing her the cone. She accepts and takes a tentative sip.
"You call that a sip?" Kenny chuckled. Wendy smiled.
She drunk again, deeply this time, the water fell down he chin and neck.
When she was done, she had to look away, vibrating from all of it, forcing herself to refocus on the glowing trees. Red and Kenny both stared at the trees also.
"You think it means we're all gonna grow two heads?" Kenny grinned. Wendy and Red laughed.
"What do you know? She can laugh." Red managed to say about Wendy through laughs.
Wendy gives her a look and she shrugs. Wendy then picks a neon leaf. Incredibly, it dims as it was being unplugged. "Now, that is cool." She told herself.
"I'll have to run some tests, but, right now, my operating theory is that bio luminescence is an adaptation. Sort of a twist on photosynthesis. That's -" She began before being interrupted by Kenny.
"Plants using sunlight to turn bad air into good air." He explained. Wendy was impressed.
"He woke up one day in science class." Red explained his knowledge. Wendy smiled at her.
"Wait. Where you two in the same station on the Ark?" Wendy asked, perplexed. Kenny smiled and nodded.
"Both from the Mecha station." Red replied. Wendy nodded.
"Enough of the talk. Come on. We have to show you something." Kenny smiled, standing up. Wendy, now curious, followed the blonde and the red head to where they were taking her.
They stop in a quite surreal spot, Kenny squats to see something on the ground. There were strange tracks in the dirt. Wendy crouched with Red, even more curious than before. Kenny points to the tracks.
"That's a toe. Plus, near as I can tell, whatever it is, it's walking on two feet. My guess... monkeys." Kenny predicted. Wendy laughed whilst Kenny gave her a look.
"Sorry. It's just... According to everything I've read, there were no bipedal animals anywhere near here, certainly not monkeys." Wendy explained. Red gave Kenny a look that said: 'I told you so.'
"Really? You read anything about glow-in-the-dark forests or man eating snakes?" He asked. Wendy could see his point, anything was possible.
Instead, he reaches back down, fitting his hand into one of the tracks. He does this to prove his point, but all Wendy sees are the fresh hack marks on his wristband. She looks to Red and sees she has the same.
"Where you trying to take the wristbands off?" She asked, suddenly shocked. Red blushed.
"What? No... I was thinking about the Ark. There may be a way to turn one of these things into a two-way communication device." He explained. Red went along with the plan.
"Oh yeah. Course, we'll have to run some tests and -" Red laughed but was interrupted in the middle of her sentence by Wendy hitting her playfully on the arm. All three of them were laughing.
They were underneath the magical trees. It was a new world. With new possibilities.
the ark
Lola was following the hard as nails junk man, Richard Adler, through a shadow filled maze of satellite and space station parts.
"They set a time for Kenny's review?" Adler asked trying to get away from the silence. He knew it was a stupid question. Lola nodded slightly, she hated lying.
"Don't worry. If I got through it, he will. No way they'll float someone with skills like his. Only person better with a wrench than him is his girlfriend." He laughed a deep laugh.
"I don't remember you being such a talker, Adler." Lola smiled for the first time in a while. Adler smiled also.
They finally came to stop at something covered by a tarp. Adler pulls it off to reveal a dilapidated escape pod. Lola was going to fix it up. Get to earth. To her boyfriend.
"Russian. They found it when they reeled in Mir in '16." Adler explained.
"Does it have a working radio?" Lola asked.
"Yeah. Why do you need a radio?" Adler asked, suspicious. Lola shrugged off the question. If only Linda could be here to go with her.
the landing site
Token was sleeping alone in his darkened cabin. Interrupting his sleep, was a hand covering his mouth. He began to squirm.
It was Stan. Token was struggling but stopped instantly when Stan pulled out a gun.
Two hours later, Token was walking through the woods with Stan pointing a gun to his back to make him walk. They were so far out from the drop ship that it is no longer in sight.
"You're a smart kid, Token. I see what you're doing. The way you gathered the wood. Collected the rain. You're a natural leader. Probably made your old man proud." Stan says.
The past tense of that gives Token pause. He assumes he's gonna become past tense.
"Is that why you brought me out here? Eliminate your competition?" Token questions frowning. Stan ignores him and keeps walking. The silence unnerves Token.
"'Cause I'm not your competition. Wendy. She's the one they'll follow, not me. Certainly not you." Token accused.
"That's far enough." Stan ordered. They had stopped next to the graves of the two people who had died in the ride to Earth.
Token swallows. He's afraid the camp will be digging a third grave for him, he turns around and faces Stan.
"I guess we got more in common than meets the eye, huh? We both came down here to protect someone we love... and neither one of them appreciates it." Stan laughs. Almost crazy like. Token can't find any humor in the sentence. Token stares at the gun.
Stan lifts it up. "I don't wanna shoot you, Token. Hell, I like you." He smiles, then points to the sky with his spare hand. "But I do need them to think you're dead."
"Why? Why are you doing this? For real. Not some crap about getting to do what you want to do." Token yells. Stan is taken aback. His heart beats.
"I have my reasons. I also have the gun. Which means I ask the questions, and the question is... why aren't you helping me? Your father banished you, Token. Yet here you are still doing his bidding. Following the rules. Aren't you tired of always doing what's expected of you? Stand up to him. Take off your wristband. You'll be amazed how good it feels."
Token stares. Stan thinks he's considering the idea. In reality, Token isn't.
"No. Never. Not gonna happen. Is that clear enough for you?" Token asks stepping forward. Stan smiled slightly. He knew he might be a problem, but the kid had balls.
"Yes, it is. I'm sorry it had to be this way." Stan apologized. Token was confused, Stan had tuck the gun away behind his back.
Before Wells can make sense of it, Cartman and Damien appear from the trees, at Token's back. Token knows they mean to take off his wristband. He tries to make a run for it, but they catch him. He struggles wildly, but the other two boys jump on and overpower him.
Stan stands apart from the violence, somewhat concerned by the intensity of what he's unleashed. Not concerned enough to stop it.
Damien jams the rod into Token's wristband. He howls in pain. Taking the wristband off. Token growls from the aggressiveness.
the ark
Linda is being ceremonially led across the same hangar bay where her husband was executed, same with Wendy's parents. An armed guard marches ten feet behind. Mackey and McDaniels walk on either side.
Linda wants to cry but doesn't. She doesn't show fear either. Even being led to her death, she can't stop thinking about Butters and Wendy.
"How many more overnight?"
"Linda -"
"God damn it, Mackey, answer me!"
"Just one."
Linda goes pale. She stares at Mackey, the way he said it made her think that Butters or Wendy had died.
"It was Token." He finally admitted.
A moment of relief happened but was instantly moved aside by crushing sadness. She looked to McDaniels. Linda could see that she already knew.
"Just over an hour ago. Vital signs spiked, then flat-lined." Mackey explained sighing.
Linda knew it was bad. Token isn't some delinquent who would take off his wristband and he wasn't injured during landing. Fear instantly struck Linda for the first time.
She might have sent her son and adopted daughter down to die.
McDaniels held her hand all of a sudden. It relaxed her. But her mind was still on fact that her whole world was crashing down.
"Mackey, listen to me. Kern will wait until after he's sworn in to begin reducing the population."
"Come on, Lin, the Chancellor could still make it." McDaniels reassured.
"Even if he does, I won't be here to argue against Kern." She looks to Mackey. "That has to be you for now."
"He already asked for recommendations." Mackey responded.
"Good. No, that's good. First thing you'll do is make the case for a lottery. If council members' families can be taken, they'll be less likely to rubber-stamp Kern's agenda. You understand?" She asked.
Mackey nodded, amazed by her strength as they reach the symbol of the Ark on the floor directly below the hangar bay door. This is where they would kill her, but Linda was not done.
"Listen to me. While the council drags its feet, you do everything you can to re-establish contact with the kids." She demands as Mackey is taken away.
Before McDaniels can be taken away, she lunges into Linda's arms, hugging her. Linda holds back tears.
"Watch over Butters and Wendy for me?" She whispered the question into McDaniels ear. McDaniels nodded, weeping as she is taken away. Terror seeps in, but Linda remarkably hides it. She realized she had to tell Mackey one more thing, it wasn't to late.
"Mackey! Use the wristbands! There may be a way to reverse engineer them for communication. Talk to Richard Tweak in engineering. Nod if you understand!" She shouts.
Linda sees Mackey nod as he and McDaniels are ushered through a door into an observation room. The door slams. Linda was utterly alone.
Minutes later, the witnesses to Linda's execution had arrived in the observation room. They stand before a wide window, Linda stands alone in a pillar of light across the bay. Prayers were being muttered and tears where on every face, apart from Kern and Commander Kim.
He nods to Kim. Kim lifts his hand, about to bring it down on the button when a door bursts behind them. Chancellor Chef strides through, holding about ten rags to the wound on his side. He somehow has the strength to stand. Kern is shaken.
"Dr. Stotch is pardoned." His first words are. McDaniels nearly screams as relief soars. Kern holds the stare.
"I'll deal with you later." He finished looking at Kern.
Kern takes a look at Linda who is striding through. Kern walks away.
Kim opens door for Linda and she walks straight past all the relieved faces, her eyes land on the Chancellor.
"I spent twelve hours putting your intestines back together. Get back to bed. Now." She ordered. Chef nearly laughs. His eyes lock on Linda's.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't do this for your husband." He apologizes. Linda says nothing, instead she walks out the room. Chef knows he is unforgiven. He looks to Mackey.
"Dr. Mackey, tell me about the Hundred. Did they make it?" He asked with a smile. Mackey couldn't speak.
Later, Kern was standing in his meticulously neat quarters. He is downing a glass of moonshine, letting it warm him. The door behind him opens and McDaniels strides in.
Kern doesn't speak but McDaniels does.
"You can't try to kill everyone who disagrees with you, Kern." She shouts. Kern takes another deep drink.
"You all think I'm the bad guy, but I'm the only one willing to do what it takes to save us." He responds, quite drunk.
Before McDaniels can respond. Kern pulls her in roughly, pressing his mouth to hers. It stops when McDaniels slaps him across the face and takes a step back.
"You piece of shit. She's my best friend!" She yelled, trying to imagine that the kiss never happened.
"What do you want me to say, I'm sorry? I'm not." He grins.
McDaniels stands there for a moment, wondering why she ever came in. She was disgusted with Kern. She turns around without saying another word and leaves. Kern pours himself another drink.
the forest
Wendy stands with Bebe, Butters and Red on the lip of the gorge. Kenny, Kyle and Craig are above them in the branches of a tree.
They have gathered several of the vines that are everywhere weeping toward the water and have woven them together to form a rope.
At the moment, Kenny and Craig are testing its strength. It passes. He looks to Kyle.
"You're an evil genius, you know that?" He laughs.
"You wanted to go first. Now stop stalling." Wendy shouted from below. They ignored her.
"Just hold on until the apogee and you'll be fine." Kenny reassures.
"Apogee? You mean the Indians?" Kyle asked, perplexed.
"Apogee not Apache." Kenny responds like it is obvious. Probably one of the only things he knows.
"He knows. Today, Kyle." Wendy shouts again. Hesitating at first, Kyle gets on the rope.
With that, he launches, swinging down, then out over the river, letting go at the apogee, flying untethered the last twenty feet, before sticking the landing on the far bank.
For a moment, no one moves, then Kyle spins to face them, thrusting his hands in the air like a conquering warrior.
"WE... ARE... APOGEE!" He yells and they all, including Craig, release their amazement in a collective joyous whoop. Next up was Wendy. As she made her way up the hill to Craig, Kenny and the rope. Kyle did some searching around on the other side.
She reaches the top but before she swings, Kyle screams from the other side.
"WE MADE IT!" Kyle shouts. He was holding up an old rusty sign that said the words: 'Mount Weather Facility.'
They all shout in happiness.
"APOGEE!" Red screams. Craig follows.
"APOGEE!"
They all laugh until Bebe screams. A spear had violently shot out of no where, hitting Kyle into the chest, knocking him backwards. He was shocked and in pain. Looking at his chest, confused.
Wide, terror-filled eyes shoot back from all of them.
"KYLE!" Butters shouts. No response. All of them stared out in shock and fear.
Wendy's final words dripped down from her lips like poison.
"We're not alone..."