Almost Home ➳ Bellamy Blake

Chapter 1

I awoke to the sounds of outraged cries and heavy, steel doors being pushed open. I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. My head whipped up when the sound of my cell door opening filled my ears.

"Prisoner 458, stand up and face the wall," a guard said coming into my room.

"What's happening? I'm not 18 yet! I still have two weeks to go!" I say standing up quickly.

"Hold out your arm." the guard states lifting a thick, silver bracelet.

"Not until you tell me what's happening! Why is everyone yelling? What's happening?" I exclaim stumbling away from the guard in front of me.

"Hold your arm," he says again with more force.

He reaches forward and grabs my forearm and place the bracelet on my wrist sending a jolt of pain up my arm.

"Can you just tell me what's happening?" I plead as he grabs my upper forearm and begins dragging me out of my cell.

"You're being sent to the ground. 100 of you," the guard tells me stiffly as we make out way towards a dropship. As we walked towards it, I see dozens of kids being dragged from their cells towards the same place.

"The ground? You can't send us down there; it's not safe. You're killing us." I say, struggling to get out of his grip.

I see a mop of familiar brown hair ahead of me.

"Matt!" I call out.

Matt was a guard on the Ark. He was the original guard for my cell. Over the years we got close, and we become friends. He was there for me when no one else was. He was the big brother that I could never have.

I see his head whip around to meet my gaze. "Liv!" he calls making his way towards me.

The guard holding my arm releases me and I rush towards Matt. I wrap my arms around him burying my head in his neck.

"Matt, what's going on? Why am I being sent to Earth?" I ask frantically.

"Calm down, Liz. I don't know what's happening, all I know is that you are being sent to the ground with 100 other kids," he tells me hugging me tighter. "You just have to survive, okay? Just keep going. Promise me you won't give up," he tells me releasing me and holding my shoulders.

"I promise. I'll keep going." I say to him, tears forming in my eyes.

"Liv, you'll be fine. Just survive somehow, remember? Just survive somehow," he tells me.

I nod, and he looks over my shoulder at the guard who had me initially.

"I'll take her from here," he tells him leading me towards the door of the dropship. He gently wraps his arm around my waist and tucked me into his side.

We enter the dropship to see dozens of kids strapped into seats all with the same silver bracelets on their wrists.

"Do not take this bracelet off. It lets me know if you're still alive, okay?" Matt pleads.

"I'll keep it on, I promise," I tell him, giving him one last hug.

"I love you, Liz. I'll see you soon," he tells me as he places a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too, Matt," I say sitting down and strapping myself in.

I watched as Matt left the dropship and I just sat there thinking that this will be the last time I ever see him. This would be the last time I saw the one person who truly cared for me.

As I was lost in my thoughts, a girl was put next to me. She had olive skin, brown hair and hazel eyes. She glared up at the guards who had placed her in her seat. They merely just turned around and left the dropship closing the door behind them and sealing it.