Chapter Text
I sighed as I walked over to my wall, I kept dreaming of old earth and what it would've looked like. I dreamt of a girl with black blood saying things in strange languages. Jus Drein Jus Daun. I know what it means. It means that blood must have blood. But I don't know the language and I do not know why I know. I dream of a three-eyed deer. I dream of the girl again, laid in a bed underneath furs with naked shoulders. I dream of her whispering my name. I know not who this woman is. But yet, I can't stop dreaming and thinking about her. I also dream of candles and raccoons. My dreams are strange and don't make sense. But I have nothing else to ponder upon because of my isolation. I turn 18 in two months, that's when they plan on sending 100 of us down to Earth. A month after my birthday.
Two soldiers came into my room suddenly and I kicked the shit out of them when they grabbed me, I was scared they were going to float me like they did my dad. I miss him. Then I saw mum when I busted out of my cell and she grabbed my shoulders and calmed me down. I sighed and looked at her and she smiled.
"It's alright Clarke, they plan to float you next week, but I'm sending you down to Earth early. It's your best chance of survival. Me and that young machanic Raven Reyes built a small one-man pod for you to go to earth on. We're not sure how good it'll be but Raven said you've got an 89 percent chance of survival. I'll take 89 over 0 any day." She said to me in hushed tones as she led me down to earth. I know Raven, I've seen her visiting Finn. I simply nodded. I'm not sure if my no talking ban has been lifted. I can only nod and shake my head or learn sign language. "You can talk now Clarke. We're just about to go into Raven's workshop, just be warned, there may be fire, explosions, crying, swearing and shouting when we go in. Or we could go into a series of calm and achievement and boasting."
"Okay mum," I said a little hoarsely. Apparently, not speaking for several months - I don't know how long it's been - affects the vocal cords.
"Hey Mama G. Hey Clarke. Just finishing the calculations on the armour of your pod. I put a few more layers of titanium plating I found on some broken wires and pens. Who came up with that idea? No wonder they didn't work. You need copper and plastic, not fucking titanium. Fools. You lot are lucky I'm here with you."
"Hey, Raven." Mother and I said at the same time with a chuckle.
"So anyway, enough with making fun of the oldies who know nothing about engineering and common sense, your chance of surviving has gone up about 0.56734 percent. Which is good. It could've gone down, but it didn't, so it's a win. You've got some food and basic equipment and survival things. I managed to make a dagger for you out of some useless metal, not sure how good it's gonna be. I there some string in there and a communication device. I don't know if it will survive the impact though. But Mama G here managed to scarp up some kind of bracelet that lets us know if your alive or not. Unlike the 100 who'll get the same, yours is linked up to mine and Mama G's radio. It will start beeping with your heart rate and send a minute electric shock if you die. Which is unlikely after the crash. Something tells me you won't be alone down there. I don't know what kind animals may have lived through the radiation or if you can eat them or the plants, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Don't forget to write everything down when you get there so you can help the 100 and eventually us when the rest of us come down. Good luck Lil' Griffin." Raven said before leaving me and mum alone. I snickered a little whenever she called mum 'Mama G' because she would just roll her eyes and shake her head slightly.
"Good luck sweetheart and I love you." She said to me and I nodded and hugged her.
"I love you too mum," I said and got in the ship. Raven came back in and tapped some buttons on the computer and I was launched down to earth.
I was falling for about 10 minutes with things sizzling and popping all around me. One by one everything failed. Comms, lights and even the engines when I got into the atmosphere. There was an emergency pull lever so I pulled it once I fell a bit more until I could see trees. I pulled it and a parachute came out and balanced the pod to gently land on the ground. I slowed down my breathing when I landed and got out of the pod to check everything Raven packed for me and then sat on a log a few meters away from the smoking pod. I sighed and played with the string and a few books and the note pad and pen I got out of the pod and started sketching a small map of the area around me. Then I paused and picked up a couple of sticks and tied them together, it took a couple of tries, but I finally got it to fir the shape of a bow. I grinned victoriously and shot a phantom arrow from it to check the tension. It felt alright to I worked on trying to make an arrow. I carved a wood stick out of one of the failed bows and then picked up a small and thin pebble and started to shape it so it has a point. Then - after I cut my finger on the tip easily - I struggled to attach the stone to the stick but finally did it. I looked at it a little and the book beside me that had a picture of a woman holding a bow and tried to figure out what was missing. It finally pinged in my head when I noticed the feather things on the end. That must be to help it fly. I looked around me and sighed.
I placed my things - excluding the notebook, pen and dagger - in the pod and went off to find a chicken or something to maybe kill or just pluck a hand full of feathers. I found on and grinned, quickly drawing more onto my map, keeping the same parameters. (A.N I hope that's the right word XD) After doing the rough sketch for the distance I travelled and the area around me, I carefully quietened my steps watching out for fallen leaves and twigs, trying to make as least sound as possible. I grabbed the chicken by its beak and body then maneuvered a little so I could pull a handful of feathers without it making too much noise and spooking any other animals around. I put it down and walked back slowly, being twice as careful to make sure I make no noise.
I smiled when I got back to the pod. I looked at the feathers and cut them and fluffed them or whatever before attaching them to the arrow. I grinned at it and shot it into a nearby tree, satisfied when it flew, but I still missed the tree. But that was to be expected. I picked up the arrow and checked that it was still sharp. I grinned and continued on, making more arrows. I did this until it turned from daylight to dusk, then I went into the pod and wrote what I did today and wrote about how the chicken was slightly different from the books I read. How it was smaller and had a strange beak. Shortly afterwards, I passed out and didn't wake up until the sun was peaking back over the clouds.
I sat up and slapped myself awake - literally, I slept through a lot of my meals on the Ark when I first went in isolation and lost over half of my body weight so they sent me to the hospital where my mother had to limit my food and water so I didn't overeat and kill myself accidentally. We couldn't even talk, that was one of the rules to my isolation. They put me in isolation so that I don't tell the public of the Ark that we were running out of air due to a malfunction in the ship's filtration system. That's why they're sending the 100 down, to get a month more of air. Then, if the Earth's atmosphere is stable, they're going to send down the Ark itself.
After waking up and walking around the area near my pod, I started working on my aiming with the 30 arrows I managed to make yesterday. I ate a protein bar in between shots. I wanted to limit the food I ate so it would last longer, while I experimented on the food I will find down here once I've learned how to use my bow. A dagger won't be very useful for hunting since I have to get close, and once winter falls, I'd have to shoot from long distances because other wise I'd spook the animals.
I made 30 shots at a time and managed to hit the tree about 12 times. Only 3 times where I was aiming. I sighed and got all 30 of my arrows and then started again.
After I shot around 120 arrows, I was managing to hit the tree every time. Just not in the place I wanted to. So continued until I was hitting the mark nearly every time. 15 out of 30. I sighed, pleased with myself and checked all arrows, making sure they were still sharp and usable. Thankfully, they were. Looking at the sky and tracking down where the sun was by standing on top of my pod, I reckoned I had about 2 hours until dusk. I got out my notebook and pen, carrying my bow and arrows in my hand while my dagger was sheathed, I mapped a little further out in the opposite direction I found the chicken. I found a lake and mapped it out as far as I could see, before walking back quietly. It was then I found a three-eyed dear with a bloody and marred second face when I tripped over my own left foot. I drew a small sketch of the deer then continued walking back to my pod before I ran out of daylight. I finally got back to my pod when it was just turning dusk. I smiled and packed my stuff away and tucked myself into the pod and wrote about the day and referenced the page I drew the deer on. I made a plan to go find a suitable looking animal to turn into furs so I could have a blanket. The pod has unfortunately cooled down, which means that the inside isn't warm anymore. And it's rather cold in here.
I fell asleep shortly after putting my notebook down.
I woke up again to the sunlight and slapped myself awake so I didn't fall back asleep. I opened my pod back up and found a set of fur quilts on the floor next to my pod with a strange note on it, but I couldn't read it. It was in a different language.
'Ai know bilaik the nights laik cold hir. Ai know gon where yu came kom. The first heda came hir in a similar box kom yu. Yu come kom the skai. Ai hope bilaik der laik furs will keep yu warm. Osir laik watching yu ste. Our heda knows gon yu when em permits yu, yu will meet osir. Ba remember, skai princess, Jus drein jus daun osir don seen yu kom a bow hurt o kill won gon osir, osir will kill yu. Jus drein jus daun. - TonDC.'
'Ai get in dei de nights am azen hir. Ai get in gon where Yu came kom. Fos Heda came hir raun a similar box kom Yu. Yu kom op kom Skai. Ai hope dei de der are furs na kep in Yu warm. Oso are watching Yu still. Oso Heda get in kom Yu when she permits Yu, Yu na hit op yumi. Ba mema in, Skai hainofi, Jus drien jus daun Oso yu don seen Yu kom a bow bash op o frag op Won kom yumi, Oso na frag op Yu. Jus drien jus daun. - T ondc'
( A/N I have to use a translated on google, so I'm gonna put two in. Tell me in the comments or DM which is better. I'll use that one in future chapters. I just have no clue what I'm doing here, to be honest. XD)
I have no clue what most of that means. I can gather a little of it tho. I think it says that the night is cold, they know where I came from, the first person or something came in one of these pods from the Ark. I think it then says that the furs they gave me will keep me warm. They're watching me, their 'Heda' whoever she is, has to permit them to meet me, then I'm sure they're threatening me? I'm not sure. I tucked the note into my diary and then proceeded to practise shooting my bow a little more. After a while, I get a little bored and decide to learn tree climbing so I can get a better vantage point. I might even be able to see a few of the people who have been watching me.
After around ten minutes I finally manage to get up a little more than four feet without falling. I think I'm getting the hang of it. I proceeded to climb the tree - it only took me half an hour roughly - but I finally got to a sturdy branch near the top. There were just a few feet so I could lean against the top of the trunk and look around me. Earth is so beautiful from here. I quickly turned over a few pages and drew sketches of everything that I could see - excluding the people who are following me and searching for where I went in surrounding trees. I drew the lake and the birds and a few miles further than I'd ventured. I could see a little hutted town a days walk away. I think that's where TonDC may live. Or maybe the place is called TonDC. Who knows at this point, honestly. We have no clue what we're dealing with. No people were supposed to have survived the radiation. But here they are, normal-looking people and strangle animals and wildlife.
Life finds a way as the books say.
I smiled and tried to clamber my way down the tree but then I decided to climb back to the branch and watch the sunset. I've never seen one before. I'll let the people watching me worry and stress a little more, then make myself known. Who knows, they gave me quilts. Maybe they're nice people.
After watching and sketching some of the sunset, using different shades of grey for the different colours, I noisily climbed down from the tree, falling a good few feet to the ground and wincing. I think I broke my leg. Shit.
"Hey! Urm do you guys speak English?! I need a little help here!" I shouted somewhat quietly, trying to refrain from tears. One of them came out wearing strange paint on their face and nodded at me.
"I speak little English. What wrong?" He said in a surprisingly normal way. I sighed gratefully.
"Thank you. I broke a bone in my leg. Do you know of anything I can use to help fix it? Or some painkillers?" I asked him. He looked a little confused.
"Painkillers? Why you want killers that cause pain?" He asked. I smiled a little.
"No, it's something that makes the pain go away. Do you know of anything that does that? Or anything I can wrap my leg in to secure the bone?" He smiled - I'm guessing he understands - and nodded. I grinned at him and he called out something in a strange language and some other people came over. He pointed at me and started speaking again. I only caught a few words. Mainly Skai Prisa and fisa as well as pain and ToncDC. I have no clue what it means, but it still doesn't help me understand if ToncDC is a place or a person. Then they nodded and carefully lifted me up and the stronger looking one picked me up in a bridal style hold and started carrying me in the direction I saw the little hutted area. I flipped back to my original mapping places and started mapping the area he was carrying me. I hope not there are more girls here than just this Heda person. It would suck if this place is predominantly men. Like the Ark. Ugh. That would suck.
They continued carrying me in silence for a while and I continued mapping, drawing odd little animals every once in a while when I got ahead of myself on mapping. Eventually, the guy who came to me who speaks English started talking to me.
"You map?" He asked simply - sounding a little impressed.
"Yeah." I nodded. "I draw a lot. Mapping helps me remember where things are so I don't lose my pod. The metal box I came in. It has my weapon and food in there. I didn't want to startle you by taking a bow into the trees. I figured you'd get nervous and shoot me or something."
"Shoot you?"
"Yeah with a gun or something. Do you have guns?"
"No. Only the mountain men have gons (fayogons). Are gons (fayogons) the things you call guns? Black things that hurt you from long distances?" He asked confused.
"I believe so. Here, do they look like this?" I asked then proceeded to do a fast sketch of a gun.
"May I?" He asked gesturing to my notebook. I nodded and pulled out my dagger and started sharpening my pencil. I kept an eye on him with my sketchbook, but he just seemed to be showing it to the other guy here and talking to him in quiet tones. He came back and gave it back to me just as I re-sheathed my dagger.
"Yes, those are the mountain men's gons (fayogons). Do your people have them where you come from?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "Though, we don't use them much. Only when we can't float people because shooting people takes too much oxygen and if you miss, it could damage the Ark and kill us all."
"Float?" He repeated questioningly. I nodded.
"Yeah, where we kick them out of the ship we are in - we call it the Ark. When we kick them out we take the oxygen out of a small room and then open the doors so they get pulled out into space, which kills them almost instantly." He nodded. We remained in silence for the rest of the journey.
"Welcome to TonDC." He said opening small gates.