Chapter Text
The screams were what woke her first. Her blue eyes shot open and she jolted upright, off the bed, and stuck her hand under the mattress. Cool metal pressed between her shoulder blades and the girl froze.
“Whatever it is drop it.” A deep voice growled behind her. The girl gritted her teeth as she stretched her fingers in search of her makeshift weapon. At the sound of electricity buzzing, she retracted her arm and she was yanked to her feet by her inky hair.
The guard turned her to face him as another lifted the mattress and pulled out a sharpened spoon. “Really? I thought better of you, Orion Asher.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not eighteen.”
The guard gave her a sympathetic look and released her hair, instead lightly tugging on her lone blonde streak. “Today’s your lucky day. Early release, good behavior and all that.”
Her eyes widened. “But that doesn’t-”
The second guard placed a metal band on her wrist and the girl began to panic.
“Ry, it’s not what you think. I promise.”
“So what’s really going on?”
The guard nodded his head down the hall, urging the girl to follow. She sighed and blew the hair out of her eyes before walking out of her cell.
“They’re sending you and ninety-nine other delinquents to the ground. You’re expendable.” He leaned in to whisper as bystanders passed.
“How can they do that to us? I never even got my review. We don’t know what’s down there!” She raised her hands in exasperation.
The guard turned to her and pushed her hair out of her face gently. “I know, Ry, but… It’s better than floating. There’s a chance you’ll live down there.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How slim?”
He sighed and led her down the hall to an airlock, the other side full of teenagers. She looked nervously to the guard, who gently gripped her by her shoulders.
“You’re going to be fine. I know you.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, see you in Hell, Graco.” She walked to the airlock before stopping at the door and turning back to the guard. She gave him a sarcastic salute before disappearing into the mob of delinquents.
She picked a seat at random and kept her head down. Soon enough the dropship filled with teenagers and noise, and the floor rumbled as the thrusters signalled their launch.
The dark-haired girl stayed lost in her thoughts until the vessel shook furiously. Cries of confusion echoed off the metal, only to be answered by the Chancellor’s son.
“It’s just the atmosphere. We’re fine.”
The girl found herself laughing. “Yeah, until we crash into the ground, which, by my count, will happen in T minus ten.” The others turned to her warily and she returned her attention to her lap. “Much better than floating,” She mumbled.
The dropship glowed in a bright blue light as a video of the Chancellor appeared to explain their situation and insults were shouted to Wells.
She looked up to see a long-haired boy grinning at her from his seat across the aisle. He leaned forward and grabbed onto her blonde streak before unbuckling his seatbelt. Her eyes widened and her hands latched onto his wrist.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No, Blue Eyes, I’m just trying to have some fun.” He smiled and wrapped her hair around his finger, his suspended body floating closer. She pressed herself into the back of her seat and he laughed. She rolled her eyes and he stared intently at her. “Who the hell are you?”
She grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Spacewalker?”
“That’s not fair! You know who I am!” Orion smiled and shrugged. The boy let go of her hair and floated toward the wall. “Alright, fine, Mystery Girl, you were boring anyway.”
He kicked himself off the wall, his legs flipping over his head, and floated towards Wells and a blonde girl.
Orion laughed, but she immediately sobered when the dropship shook violently and Finn and two other floaters flew into the metal walls. Screams filled the room as panic overtook the teenagers. Orion curled her head into her chest until the shaking calmed and the machinery hissed to a halt.
She lifted her head to see the others gazing around at each other before getting out of her seats. She followed suit and was immediately met by two nerdy-looking boys.
“So how’s that for crashing into the Earth and dying in a fiery explosion?” The taller boy with goggles grinned down at her.
She shook her head and laughed. “I never said anything about dying. Or fiery explosions. But I’d say this ‘landing’ qualifies as crashing. Don’t you think, Jasper? Or would you like some input, Monty?” She grinned as confusion covered their features.
“Who are you?” They asked in unison.
“Seems to be the question of the day.” She laughed before striding over to the blonde, who was examining Finn and two seemingly lifeless bodies. Orion offered her hand to the long-haired boy and pulled him to his feet. “Zero G wasn’t so fun this time, eh, Spacewalker?”
He looked sadly down at the two boys. “Bit bumpier this time, Mystery Girl.”
She looked down at the blonde. "Dead?"
Clarke nodded and stood up. "Nothing we can do now..."
Shouts from the lower level averted the trio's attention. Clarke darted down, screaming about the dangers of Earth. Orion looked to Finn, whose eyes were trained on the bodies at his feet.
“Finn, it's not your fault.”
He shook his head. “They followed me.”
She smiled sadly. “Well hey, now we can rule out one person for our leader. It's a boring job anyway. Not allowed to have any fun.”
Finn laughed quietly and descended to investigate the ongoing commotion, gently tugging Orion’s arm.
A mob had formed in front of the door, a man dressed as a guard at the front. Clarke was shouting at him and a dark-haired girl. Orion stiffened at the sight of the man, and quickly wandered through the crowd to distance herself from him. She found herself near the nerdy boys from before and they looked to her in excitement.
“Are you going to tell us who you are?" The Asian boy looked to her.
The corners of her lips turned up. "You're smart boys, figure it out."
Before either boy could reply, the dropship was suddenly flooded with light and air. The delinquents stood in shock before rushing out into the strange new environment. Orion laughed and ambled towards the door. She kept her head down as she neared the guard, but a hand gripped her arm. She looked up to meet the man's brown eyes, which stared intently at her face. With his other hand he toyed with a strand of blonde.
She blushed and cleared her throat. "Can I help you?" She mentally kicked herself for how timid her voice sounded.
He simply stared blankly at her as she shifted uncomfortably.
"I...you..." He mumbled.
"Bellamy!" A female voice snapped the 'guard' back to reality.
"Coming O." He called back. He looked hesitantly at the girl in front of him before dropping her arm and walking towards the direction of the voice.
“What the hell was that about?” Finn appeared at her side, and the girl jumped. He laughed and she looked to the ground.
She shrugged. “He's not a guard.”
“Ooh smart. Now are you the brooding or know-it-all type? I'm thinking brooding. You're too quiet. And you're awful at jokes.” He grinned at her and she chuckled.
“You can blame my lack of friends.” She leaned against the wall and stared out at the frolicking teenagers.
“No one knows you. How does that even happen on the Ark?” She shrugged and he sighed in annoyance. “I at least need a name so I'm not calling you Mystery Girl or Blue Eyes forever. Or would you prefer that?”
She laughed and nodded to the sky. “Friends up there-”
“Thought you didn't have friends.”
“-called me Ry, but your nicknames work too.”
“Come on, mystery girl, that’s all I get? A nickname?”
She grinned. “Better than nothing. You'll have to work for the rest.” She stepped off the metal platform, landing in the foliage, and began walking aimlessly.
Finn followed her, playfully bumping into her side. “So, what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I mean, why were you arrested?”
“Finn, I won't even tell you my name.”
“Why do you have to be so mysterious, Ry? Was it really that bad?”
“You're missing the point of Mystery Girl.”
“Please.”
“I'm an open book, Finn, once you learn how to read me.”
He stopped, staring at her and nodding approvingly. “I like you, Mystery Girl.” She blushed and looked down to the ground. Finn whooped, “Yes! She's not a robot! She showed emotion!” She laughed as the boy ran around the camp, weaving between trees and other delinquents.
She shook her head and trailed after him towards the dropship. A fight had broken out between Wells and three other guys. The ringleader, who everyone called Murphy, seemed to be patronizing the Chancellor's son. She watched Finn scale the metal walls as the fight escalated. Orion rolled her eyes and pushed through the crowd.
She placed herself in between the boys. "Okay, dumbasses, we get it, you have too much testosterone."
Murphy glared at her. "Get out of the way. Wouldn't want to hurt a pretty girl like you."
"Don't test me."
Murphy growled and the two other boys grabbed her arms and dragged her into the crowd. He turned back to Wells, first raised, but before he could land a punch, Finn jumped off the dropship, landing between them.
"Come on, Murphy, only assholes don't fight fair." The bully backed off and Finn turned to the boys holding Orion hostage. "Let the girl go."
They obeyed and Orion spat in their direction. Finn quickly placed his arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the criminals.
"Hey Spacewalker. Save me next." Octavia Blake, the girl who hid under the floor for sixteen years, smiled flirtily at Finn.
"No thanks, I'll stick to saving this princess."
Octavia frowned and Orion rolled her eyes. "I'm not a princess. And I don't need saving."
She shrugged his arm off as Clarke approached.
"We need to get to Mount Weather."
"And who put you in charge?" Orion shrunk behind Finn as the raven-haired man approached.
“If we don't go now, we’re just going to get hungrier and the 20-mile trip will just get harder.” Clarke put her hands on her hips and stared defiantly up at the older man.
“We can take care of ourselves. We don't need the damn Ark.”
“We need supplies.”
Orion rolled her eyes. “Tell you what, I'll go to the damn mountain.”
Bellamy’s eyes bored into her defiant blue ones as he tried to remember where he last saw them.
He set his jaw. “No. I need to keep an eye on you.”
“They've been all over me since we got here. Might have to start charging you.” She tucked the blonde hairs behind her ear. “I'm going.”
“I said-”
“You said ‘whatever the hell we want’ and I want to go to the mountain and not be bossed around.”
His shoulders loosened and he stepped out of her way. “Who are you?”
She gave him a wry grin as she brushed past him. “Whatever the hell I want to be. Now, Bellwether, try not to get them all killed before we get back.”
A group had formed around the two, watching as tension filled the air, and they parted for the blue-eyed girl.
Clarke looked warily at the girl and cleared her throat. “Okay, but we’ll need more people… We can’t carry that much between the two of us.”
Finn hooked his arm back around the dark-haired girl’s shoulders. “Count me in.”
Orion huffed. “Okay, Spacewalker, but you’re not exactly Superman.”
Finn sighed, turning away from her, and grabbed two lanky boys by the backs of their collars. Jasper and Monty turned around in confusion.
“Got two more. Can we go now?”
“Not without me.” Octavia smiled sweetly and leaned on Finn. “You still need to save me, Spacewalker.”
Finn smiled down at her, and Bellamy pulled his sister away, stern words of warning falling from his lips.
The rest of the group walked towards the mountain, Clarke and Orion in the lead. Octavia soon bounded over.
“Just so you know, Finn’s mine.”
Orion laughed. “Just so you know, I don’t think it’s your decision.”
Octavia glared at her and dropped back to Finn’s side. Orion glanced back, earning a smile from Finn, before hurriedly turning her attention back to the impending mountain. She was soon flanked by the two other boys.
“So, why so secretive?” Jasper leaned his elbow on her shoulder.
She shrugged, a playful grin spreading across her face. “I told you to figure it out.”
“But you told Finn! And he won’t even tell us!” Monty stomped on the ground.
Orion looked curiously to Finn, who was too caught up in Octavia, before turning back to the nerds. “I expect more from you.”
Up ahead, Clarke crouched to the ground and motioned for the others to follow silently.
“Look! A deer!” The blonde excitedly whispered. Finn attempted to creep forward, startling the deer.
It turned towards them, revealing a second deformed head, and the teenagers jumped back, except for Orion, who sat in awe.
“It’s incredible…” She mumbled.
Finn gave her a strange look. “It’s...damaged.”
“It’s different and it’s surviving despite that. That makes it beautiful.” The two stared at each other for a few moments before the others decided to continue on their search to the mountain.
Orion cleared her throat, standing up, and made her way back to the front with Clarke. Finn ran his hands through his hair and followed the group reluctantly.
“Come on… Just tell us and we’ll leave you alone forever.” Monty whined and tugged on Orion’s blonde streak.
“As tempting as that sounds, no.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because...if I tell you, you’ll never look at me the same again.” She shook her head and walked faster, her eyes trained on her feet.
“Not game.” Jasper whispered and leaned into Monty’s side.
The group soon reached a river, eliciting shouts of excitement from the delinquents. Clarke and Orion looked to each other.
“There’s not supposed to be a river here…” They said in unison.
Orion bit her lip and looked around in confusion. “Umm… Maybe we got off course? Let me see your map.” Clarke pulled the paper from her pocket and the two searched the map anxiously.
Their studies were interrupted by the excited shouts of the boys, and the two looked up to see a half-naked Octavia jump into the water.
“Octavia! You can’t do that! It could be dangerous!” Clarke rushed forward to see the girl laughing merrily in the water, the others visibly relaxing.
“Come on in, guys! It’s fine!” Octavia giggled as she splashed around.
The boys shrugged and began to take off their shoes. Finn turned back to Orion, who leaned against a tree with disinterest.
He walked over to her with a grin on his face. “Why are you over here by yourself?”
“We should be getting to Mount Weather, that’s the whole point of this, right?”
“Do you always have that stick up your ass?”
The corner of her mouth twitched up. “No, I think they put it there when they locked me up for three years, and now it’s just too far in to remove it.”
He smiled. “Come for a swim.”
“Do you really want me to take my clothes off that bad?”
“Actually, I’d prefer to be the one taking them off, but I’ll take what I can get.” Finn grinned at Orion as pink dusted her cheeks. “I’m kidding, maybe, you look cute when you blush.”
She opened her mouth to retort when a scream cut her off.
“There’s something in the water!” Jasper shouted as he paced along the water’s edge.
Orion and Finn raced back to see Octavia being dragged through the water.
“You hit sharks on the nose right?” Monty filled with panic as Octavia plummeted below the surface.
“We don’t know what this thing is. We need to distract it and hope it lets her go.” Orion explained as she hurriedly picked up rocks. She chucked them blindly into the water, aiming everywhere except for the flailing girl.
The others followed suit and the mystery creature soon let go, leaving Octavia to flounder in the deep water. Orion raced in after, but Octavia’s flailing arms quickly dragged them both under. Jasper and Finn followed and grabbed the two girls, pulling them safely to shore. Clarke focused on treating Octavia as Finn trained a concerned gaze on the mysterious girl.
“I’m fine.” Orion croaked as her lungs finally cleared. Finn shook his head and wrapped his arm around her back, supporting her as he pulled her to her feet.
“We’ll stay here for the night and figure out how to cross the river in the morning.” He waited for Clarke to nod before helping Orion to sit underneath a tree. Jasper soon followed with Octavia, while Monty and Clarke checked the water for any sign of the creature.
Orion turned to the long-haired boy. “Finn, I’m fine, I promise.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
She shrugged and Finn tugged at his hair in frustration. “You weren’t. Were you trying to be a hero or something?”
She frowned at him. “Lay off, alright. Octavia’s important to someone I used to be close with. Why do you care anyway?”
He looked to the ground. “We’ve already lost two…”
She nodded and a moment of silence passed between the two. Gently, she nudged his foot with hers, causing him to look up at her.
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
Finn stared at her in confusion before his eyes lit up with realization and he chuckled. “Well, I don’t even know if ‘Ry’ is even close to your real name. And, I didn’t want to betray your trust the day I met you. You’re kinda scary.” She snorted and Finn laughed before continuing. “Besides, I like Mystery Girl.”
She shook her head as she laughed softly. He stared at her and reached out to her blonde hairs again. He twisted the strands between his fingers, lost in his thoughts. “It didn’t wash out…”
“Well I sure as hell hope not. That means there really is something weird with the water.” Finn looked to her in confusion and she rolled her eyes. “I was born with it, genius.”
“Damn, you’re the know-it-all type, aren’t you? I bet Jasper you were more brooding.” She nudged him and broke out into a grin as Finn laughed.
Orion leaned against the tree as the sky darkened to night and the forest around them began to glow a blue-green light. She stared around her in awe. “Earth is...beautiful.”
“You almost died.”
She shrugged and leaned her head back against the tree, closing her eyes. “It balances out.”
“Yeah, the monsters just get cancelled out by all the pretty girls down here.” She opened one eye to see him smirking at her.
“Oh, lucky you, I can only find annoying guys around here.” She laughed as Finn nudged her. Her eyes drifted closed again and her voice fell just below a whisper. “Thanks for saving me, Spacewalker.”
“And you said you didn’t need saving,” he grumbled playfully, but he received no response from the sleeping girl beside him.