Chapter Text
It's been 97 years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on earth. Leaving the planet simmering in radiation. Fortunately, there were survivors. 12 nations had operational space stations at the time of the bombs. There is now only the Ark, one station forged from the many. We're told the earth needs another 100 years before it becomes survivable again. 4 more space-locked generations, and man can go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream. This is reality.
Jungkook sits on the ground in a grey room. He draws trees and flowers. He had only read about them in books. None of them had ever seen the ground; his parents had never seen the ground. As Jungkook sat drawing, he heard the door's buzzer and saw two armed guards walk in.
"Prisoner 613," The guard says as Jungkook stands, "Face the wall."
"What is this?" Jungkook asks as he does what he's told. Here on the Ark, every crime, no matter how small, is punishable by death. Unless you were under the age of 25, then you were put into lock-up. Or what everyone called the skybox.
"Quiet." The other guard says, "Hold out your right arm."
"No," Jungkook says as he hears the guards open a box and the sound of something metal. Jungkook turns to see the guard holding a band. "It's not my time yet."
"I said hold out your right arm." Jungkook fights the guard and rushes out of his cell. He's shocked when he sees that all of the other prisoners are being moved as well. What was happening? As he ran down the hall, he ran into someone familiar.
"Jin." Jungkook breaths as he makes eye contact with the older boy. The older boy stops the guards from coming after Jungkook. "What's going on? What is this?"
"Jungkook." The other boy says as he pulls him into a hug. It had been three years since they last saw each other.
"They're killing us all, aren't they," Jungkook says, looking at Jin. "Just like Namjoon predicted. Reducing population to make more time for the rest of you?"
"Jungkook, are not being executed." He says, smiling at Jungkook. "You're going to the ground. All of you."
"What?" Jungkook says, shocked, "But it's not safe yet. No."
"Shh. Jungkook." The older one pulled Jungkook back into a hug. "We will see each other again."
Jungkook was confused about what he meant by that. Suddenly, Jungkook felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. He watched as the world around him blurred. The last thing he saw was Hyung's face looking at him. He felt his body go light as a sleepover took him.
Jungkook felt like his whole body was shaking. He slowly blinked, and his eyes opened. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was on some sort of ship. There were people all around him having conversations. Then he remembered the conversation that he had with Jin. They were on their way to earth. Jungkook still felt the effects of the drug as he tried to move around in his seat to get comfortable.
"Welcome back." He heard a deep voice say across from him. When he looked up, he couldn't help but smile.
"Namjoon." Jungkook wanted to get out of his seat and go over to hug the older man. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." Namjoon was one of Jungkook's hyungs. He had helped take care of Jungkook. He had been an older brother to Jungkook. "I heard you talked to Jin before you left."
"Why all of a sudden did they start sending us to the ground?"
"You know why." Namjoon leaned back in his chair, and the smile on his face had also disappeared. "The Ark is dying. They needed a way to see if the ground was safe. We were just disposable."
The dropship started to shake even more. Jungkook figured they had reentered the earth's atmosphere. Several people around them screamed as the lights flickered. This pod was over a hundred years old. There was no way that it could make it all the way to the ground. Jungkook held on for dear life as the turbulence got worse. His knuckles started to turn white as he gripped the seat belt. They were going to die.
"Prisoners of the Ark." Jungkook opened his eyes and saw on the screen their leader, Lee Sooman. "Hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we are sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."
Jungkook hated this man. He always has. This was the man responsible for his father's death. Jungkook's father was a doctor on Ark. He was trying to save a child's life but was running out on how much medicine he could give the poor girl. His father did save the girl's life, but it came at a price. Jungkook was there when his father was put in the airlock and floated. He remembered his mother's crying and begging for him to live. But the Chancellor could not see reason.
"Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base-" Jungkook watched as the screen glitched. "Within the mountain. It was to be stocked with enough nonperishables to withstand 300 people for two years." The screen cut out again. "Mount Weather is life."
The dropship started to shake even more. Jungkook felt like he was going to vomit. More kids screamed as all the power on the dropship went out. Jungkook closed his eyes tight; his knuckles turned white. Everyone was jerked around as the dropship had finally landed.
There was silence.
For the first time in Jungkook's life, there was silence. No sound of machinery, just nothing. Slowly everyone started to unbuckle and head for the doors. Jungkook heard Namjoon yelling.
"We don't know if the air is toxic," Namjoon says as he steps towards the doors.
"If the air is toxic, then we die anyway." Another kid says, who Jungkook recognizes as Jackson.
Jungkook watches as Jackson pulls down the handle to open the door. There is a hissing sound as the pressure is released. The light is blinding. Jungkook squints his eyes as the door comes down. He feels a soft breeze on his face. He can smell the dirt and the trees outside. They all stared in awe as they saw the ground for the first time.
It was beautiful. Jungkook couldn't help but look up at the giant trees he had only read about in books. They all slowly got out of the ship. The ground was weird. It was soft, not like the steel floor of the Ark. Jungkook couldn't help but breathe in the fresh air. It was cool and almost sweet. Not like the recycled air they had on the Ark. It was amazing.