soteria ➤ REWRITING

001

( HUMMING HAPPY BIRTHDAY )

THE SKYBOX WAS USUALLY SILENT BEFORE BREAKFAST, BUT THIS MORNING, A SOFT TUNE WAS HEARD FROM THE CELLS. A smile crossed Cleo's face as she heard a soft, unanimous hum from the skybox. The tune was the birthday song, one that had survived generations of humans. She joined in with the last few notes, humming happy birthday to herself.

One whole year in the skybox, one whole year of regret, one whole year of wishing things had gone differently. But as her cellmate, Harper, liked to tell her — there wasn't anything she could've done. Penelope would've died either way, it was better that she knew Cleo was there for her than nobody.

"Happy birthday, Cleo." Harper mumbled tiredly, turning around in her bed to face her. "Looks like you've got the whole skybox humming for you."

Cleo turned her head to look at Harper. They were both laying down in their beds, heads flat against the old pillows that belonged to them. She was forever thankful for a cellmate like Harper, she couldn't imagine being placed with a murderer — or, an actual murderer.

"Thanks, Harper," she said quietly. "How'd you plan this?"

The blonde girl shrugged, rolling flat onto her back. "I might've bribed a guard to get the word out. I may or may not have told everyone the signal was me coughing super loudly."

"Oh," Cleo laughed. "Okay, that explains your horrendous coughing."

"Hey, it's your eighteenth birthday. It's review day!"

She felt a flare of anger in her stomach, but Cleo pushed it down straight away. It was one whole year later. She didn't have the right to be angry anymore. All she needed to do was appeal and plead her case.

Cleo didn't want to die. She didn't want to be sucked out into space, where she'd freeze and explode. Nobody wanted that death, no matter how many of the tougher delinquents had said they were ready to die.

"Yeah, but if Jaha didn't believe me before why would he believe me now?" She questioned quietly.

It was his fault. If he had only listened to her, Penelope would be alive and well, and Cleo wouldn't be in the skybox. Her stomach began to tie itself into knots as she thought about standing in front of the council. It was a frightening thought to be standing in front of a group of individuals who didn't hesitate to float innocent people.

"He will." Harper reassured her, but she didn't sound as confident as she usually did.

"Thanks, Harper." she thanked her friend again. "Seriously, for everything."

"Okay, you don't get to do that," Harper said, sitting up. "Don't act like you're gonna die cause you aren't. You're Cleo Wendell, the nicest girl on the ark. You've saved all of our asses — you babysat half of the delinquents in here, you've helped all of us pass at least one class, and you watched everyone's kid at one point or another. If they float you the ark will riot."

"Doubt it," Cleo said, but she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"We didn't hum happy birthday for you cause we hate you." Harper shrugged, shooting a smile at her friend.

The cell door slid open and Cleo inhaled deeply. Now was the time. She threw the covers off of her body and stood up to face the music.

"McIntyre, Wendell," the guard spoke gruffly. "Stand up and face the wall."

The cell mates shot each other confused looks, but obeyed the tall guard. Neither one of them wanted to be tased like they had when they got arrested. They faced the concrete wall in unison as the guards came up behind them.

"Stick out your right arms."

Again, the pair complied. Cleo felt needles prick her skin, drawing a pained gasp from her mouth. What was going on?

"Hey, Mint?" Cleo asked. "What's going on?"

"Wish I could tell you, kid." The guard took a hold of Cleo's upper arm and dragged her out of the cell.

The skybox was full of chaos. Just a minute ago, the delinquents had been humming happy birthday. Now, they were being escorted out.

"Are we all going to die?" She asked quietly, fear creeping into the pits of her stomach.

She had been sure just last night that she'd be able to plead her case, but it seemed now that things were not going to go as she had planned. She wished she could apologize to her parents one last time. She wished she could see her kids one last time. Cleo wished a lot of things one last time.

Her question was unanswered by the guard as she was escorted towards the exit. Near the exit, delinquents were sent into the processing room and leaving with new clothes on. When Cleo was sent in, her photo was taken and the metallic wristband was scanned, emitting a soft beep before she was ushered to some guards.

They gave her a jacket to cover the long sleeve she had on and new boots for her feet. Once she had finished lacing up her boots, she was sent out into a line with other delinquents. She tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of her.

"Do you know what's happening?" Cleo asked her.

"We're going to earth. I heard Dr. Griffin say that to Clarke as I went by." The girl informed Cleo, shooting her a grin.

Cleo raised an eyebrow and looked behind her, where her cellmate was fiddling with the bracelet. They made eye contact and Harper gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, at least you're not getting floated," she attempted to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I just might die of radiation instead. Happy Birthday."

The juveniles were sent onto a drop ship where they were buckled into chairs. Cleo took a seat next to Harper near a trapdoor and the pair of girls buckled their seatbelts simultaneously.

As Harper leaned back and closed her eyes, Cleo's own sapphire eyes scanned the faces around her. There were many faces she recognized — from people she had watched to classmates to people she had taken care of. She couldn't quite believe that the council would willingly send kids to the ground. Only a handful of them were over sixteen.

No fourteen year old should be sent down to their death.

Cleo inhaled deeply, eyes locking with a pair of warm brown ones. They belonged to a guard and she couldn't help the relief that filled her body. The council wasn't as inhumane as she thought. They had sent down some guards to help.

Or had they?

Her head swiveled trying to see if more uniformed personnel were on the ship. When she saw none, she looked back at the man who sat across from her.

"Are there more of you coming?"

"What?" He responded, slicked back hair shining in the dim lights.

"More guards. Are more guards coming?"

She had drawn the attention of other prisoners as she asked him the question. She watched him look around, his handsome face contorting with what seemed to be fear and confusion all at once.

"No, no more are coming."

Cleo frowned and sat back in her seat, eyes drifting away from the guard. One guard to watch over well over fifty delinquents. That didn't seem so smart.

The drop ship lurched, causing a few delinquents to let out screams and alarmed yelps. Cleo's stomach erupted with fear.

She was hurtling towards her death.

( author's note )
I love Harper sm and she
deserves all the love in the
world ok ok. but this was pretty
boring ngl ¯\_(ツ)_/¯