Chapter 1
“Mom, we have to go!” Clarke whined, speed walking across the airport. Terminal in sight, so close, so close.
“I’m coming, Clarke!” Abby rolled her eyes, jogging to catch up as she fumbled with the papers in her hands. “Hold on!”
“We’re going to be late, look they’re just about the close the doors! Wait! We’re here!” Clarke called to the airport attendees. They made it to the gate just in time, shoving their boarding passes into the hands of the flustered attendee and running down the terminal. “See, mom, this is why I hate being late! There aren’t any seats next to each other.” Clarke tossed a glare over her shoulder to her mother.
Abby huffed. “Clarke, it’s just one flight. You can handle sitting next to someone you don’t know.”
Clarke rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m going to go find a seat. I’ll see you after the flight.” She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and scanned the aisles for an empty seat.
As she marched forward, dragging her shoulder bag with her, her bad mood worsened as the further back she got, no empty seats appeared. Finally, she reached a row with an empty seat. Of course it was a center seat, but at this point, Clarke was desperate.
Closest to the window a friendly-looking, young man sat, smiling up at her. In the aisle seat, a grumpy looking young woman sat, she had a soccer jersey on, but she pointedly ignored Clarke to glare at another few people across the aisle.
Clarke awkwardly sat down between them, stuffing her bag beneath the seat in front of her. “Well, looks like my day got better, not only am I heading towards a beautiful place, but I get to sit next to a stunning girl the whole way there.” The young man spoke from her side. “You look like you’ve had a rough day.”
Clarke startled and looked to him. In a normal circumstance she might have brushed him off, maybe even gotten offended, but the look on his face told her that he was simply being friendly, and meant nothing by it. She smiled shyly. “Ah, thank you.” She looked away, touching her hair self-consciously. “Yeah, my mom nearly made us miss the flight. I hate being late.”
He laughed gently. “Understandable. Anyway, I’m Wells and I’ll be your seatmate for this flight. I hope you don’t find me too irritating.”
“I’m Clarke, and don’t worry, you don’t seem that awful.” She teased.
His laugh was hearty and full. Clarke couldn’t help but join in with him. As the engines of the plane started up and they began to move down the runway, Clarke stiffened and gripped the arms of her chair. “Hey there, Clarke, no worries we’re just about to take off.”
Clarke smiled bashfully. “I’m sorry, just I get a little tense during take offs and landings. I should be fine during the rest of it though.”
Wells nodded in understanding. “I get it. You know, you’re more likely to die from a shark attack than a plane crash? Besides, my dad’s the pilot. Trust me, you’re in good hands.”
Clarke took a deep breath as the engines revved again and they took off down the runway. Wells was silent as the plane lifted into the air. Slowly they leveled off, the ground disappearing from view in the porthole window as they lifted above the clouds. Clarke slowly expelled the air from her lungs and deflated a bit, relaxing her shoulders and wringing her wrists. “Thank you. Your father’s the pilot?”
Wells nodded, an easy smile on his face. “Yeah, he’s always travelling, and when he got this flight scheduled this week, I decided to come along and we’re making a vacation out of it.”
Clarke smiled. “I hear Japan is beautiful. I have to catch a connecting flight to one of the smaller islands to the south. My mother and I are doctors going to visit some of the poorer villages.”
“Really? That’s so cool! I can see why you were so desperate not to be late.”
Clarke smiled, opening her mouth to say something else. “Clarke!” Clarke’s head whipped around at the familiar voice.
“Raven!” Clarke stared up in shock. “Wow it’s been awhile! What are you doing here?”
Raven smiled, sending a wink. “I have an engineer friend who needs help down in Tokyo. I’m sitting near your mom up front. Figured I’d come say hi.”
“Great, you said hello, can you move now? I’m trying to talk to my friend.” The girl next to Clarke grumbled. Raven flipped her the bird. “Anyway we need to get together and catch up some. I’ve missed you, you know since Finn and all.”
Clarke nodded, remembering her ex-boyfriend. Coincidentally also Raven’s ex-boyfriend. “I’m staying in Japan for a while. We should be back home in a few months though.”
Raven smiled, pushing a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “Sounds good. See you then, Kid. Call me sometime, yeah? Maybe we can swing by and egg Finn’s car or something.”
“Still bitter?”
Another wink, and Raven turned. “Always.”
With that, she walked away. Clarke laughed to herself. “Small world.” Wells chuckled from beside her. “I’d hate to be Finn though.”
Clarke scoffed. “Finn cheated on me with Raven. Or the other way around, I suppose. Either way, he certainly deserves it.”
Wells nodded enthusiastically. “Have you tried filling water balloons with paint and throwing them at his house? Or his car?”
Clarke laughed. “No but I’ll definitely tell Raven about that one!”
A comfortable silence fell between the two as Clarke glanced around the rest of the plane. The girl next to her was leaning on her armrest to talk to a couple of girls in matching soccer jerseys across the aisle. She accidentally made eye contact with one of them, a pretty brunette with nice green eyes, and attempted to fight back a blush as the hint of a smirk graced her lips. She turned as quickly as possible away from her.
Thankfully, Wells rescued her from the smirking athlete after a little rummaging around. “You play chess? I have a travel set.”
Clarke smiled at Wells. “Yeah, sure I’ll play.”
Nearly three hours passed with the two chattering about everything and nothing while playing chess. Wells told her about his father teaching him as a kid, and Clarke told Wells about her father’s passion for community service before he died. Wells made great company and Clarke found herself enjoying his friendly chatter.
“Shut up, Bellamy, you had no right!” A female voice from behind them shrieked.
“Octavia! Quiet down!”
Clarke and Wells made awkward eye contact as the voices lowered just enough for the words to jumble together, but they caught the tone of the conversation as clear as day. “Well…” Wells trailed off. “Someone seems unhappy.”
Clarke nodded, lips tight. “That’s awkward.”
The two of them laughed the tension off and resumed their game, only to be interrupted once more. A loud boom sounded first, and Clarke felt her stomach drop, at first everything seemed fine, and then chaos rained down on them.
Clarke could see smoke out of the window near Wells head, and he whipped around to see it. They gripped the armrests of their seats, Wells’ knuckles turning white with the force he gripped Clarke’s hand with as loud cracks sounded down the length of the plane. Clarke’s eyes darted around the cabin, catching glimpses of scared faces, soccer jerseys, and falling cargo as turbulence shook the frame of the plane.
The passengers were jostled and tossed about as the metal cage around them shrieked and screamed from the pressure. Clarke didn’t know which was worse, the noise of the plane, or the panicked screeches of everyone around her.
The plane turned to its side and Clarke screwed her eyes shut, she couldn’t bear to look out the window beside Wells, she didn’t want to see the water rushing up at her. She didn’t want to see Wells’ panicked face. She didn’t want to see her grave.
The plane righted itself and twisted sideways, then they were backwards, and then the other side of the plane led the wreckage in motion. They were spinning like a fucking top and Clarke was positive she was going to die. Clarke refused to open her eyes, but her heart dropped further when she heard an indescribable squeal, and suddenly she could feel the rush of the wind around them.
Her eyes wrenched open, and the world was spinning, upside down, then right side up, then sideways and backwards and everything was a rush of blues. The blue sky the blue water the sky the water the blue seats- if she weren’t so damn scared she’d puke. Bags and debris flew about the halved cabin and screams were ripped from the passengers’ throats and Clarke couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe, all she could do was watch, as if from somewhere outside her body as she fell to her death.
An awful crash, and the fuselage crumbles beside her, the window shatters and she feels the pieces cut her face, but as the plane lifts back into the air with a spray of water and –was that sand?- Clarke loses consciousness.