Fallen Angel [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 2: Free Falling

I AWAKE TO A LOW RUMBLING SOUND AND chattering voices. I blink a couple of times to adjust my vision to the dimly lit space.

Immediately I realize a couple of things:
1. I am strapped down to a vibrating metal chair
2. I have a jacket on that I didn't have on before
3. There's a weird pressure in the enclosed space that was making my ears hurt.

None of those being the norm. What the hell?

I look around frantically trying to discern where the hell I was and what was happening. The lights flicker on and off, making it hard to get a good look at my surroundings. I'm met with curious glances from the teenagers around me.

The familiar voice of our Chancellor cuts clearly above all of the noise. "–It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years."

"Whoa, hey, look who's awake!"

I snap my attention to the voice, letting out a sigh of relief when I recognize the friendly face. Jasper Jordan smiles at me, his face beaming with giddy excitement. Next to him, his best friend, Monty is grinning ear to ear. Just like me they are strapped down across the chest with a belt, but instead of sitting they were standing up.

"Jaspar... Monty..." I breathe, still feeling slightly disoriented from being knocked unconscious. "What are you guys.."

"You missed most of Jaha's speech." Monty rolls his eyes dismissively. "Be grateful for that."

At the mention of our Chancellor, the images of my father flash through my mind. He had mentioned something about a dropship.

I examine my surroundings again, noticing the familiar metal walls of the ships that kids used to use to hook up. I was in fact inside one of the Ark's dropships, and the low humming and pressurized cabin told that it had in fact been launched. This wasn't a simulation.

A grainy screen displays Chancellor Jaha standing in front of the council's meeting room. He was speaking directly into the camera, "Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately."

A string of colorful curse words leaves my lips.

Jasper chuckles. His casualness was a little nerve-wracking to me. Frankly, I don't understand how he's so nonchalant in the face of impending doom.

"Hey, relax," he drawls to me. "What was the word Jaha used? We're expendable. So, Kat, we are about to be the first people on Earth for the first time in a hundred years. How does that make you feel?"

I exhale in disbelief. Feeling my heart begin to pound rapidly in my chest and throat tighten. I try to focus on my breathing. The last thing I needed was to have a panic attack while sustaining G forces and passing out from an aneurysm.

My father had been telling the truth. He was sending me to Earth. In a twisted way, I found it actually hilarious. Looks like he finally got rid of me like he always wanted. A part of me was grateful that I am on this doomed ship getting as far away from him as possible.