Here we are again … I'm embarking on a new journey of a fanfiction story. This time, we're going with a post-apocalyptic vibe. I recently watched The 100 on Netflix. I'd been intrigued to write a story based off that show/series of novels. I decided to write it for NaNoWriMo. I'm starting almost halfway through the month, but I'm determined to, at least, get something going.

In regard to how many chapters, update schedule and all that jazz, I'm not certain, but I'm hoping to get a big chunk written in the next fifteen days.

Nearly seventy-five years after the nuclear apocalypse, the residents of the Ark Station, orbiting the Earth, who are under the age of twenty-one are held in detention until they are of age if they commit a crime. If you're over the age of twenty-one, you're floated – a guaranteed death sentence. Regardless of the crime you commit …

The Ark has reached its limit. Time is running out …

What about sending those prisoners to the ground? Is the Earth survivable?

One this is for certain, families are the backbone of the Ark Station, and in time, May We Meet Again …

May We Meet Again

Prologue … How We Got Here …

Bella

Sitting in my cell, I idly sketched on the bulkhead. I stared out the tiny porthole at the glittering blue orb we'd been circling for seventy-five years. I hated that I was in this cell. I was only telling the truth and my own fucking father tossed me in here.

What the hell?

The rules on the Ark Station were so harsh. My age was the only reason why I wasn't floated.

Floated? What is going on?

Oh, yeah, you all don't know the whole story.

In the year, 2063, the world went to shit. Complete and utter shit. War was looming and the planet was on the brink of mutual annihilation. The Chinese were fighting with the United States. The European Union was aligned with the states, while the Middle East and Russia agreed with China. Several other countries vowed neutrality, but got caught in the mess.

We don't know who fired first. But, long story short, on the evening of August 13th, all the nuclear bombs were launched, and the world became uninhabitable for human life.

The people on the surface, who were able to get to a bomb shelter, had a chance of survival. A slim chance, but a chance, nonetheless. It was all dependent on their survival skills and the ability to make their supplies last. If they had the means to replenish what they used, it was possible for them to survive the nuclear apocalypse. My father said that 'Doomsday Preppers' were the most likely to make it, but he said they were batshit crazy.

Our best chance of survival remained in orbit around our decimated little planet. When the bombs went off, there were thirteen stations circling Earth, conducting planetary research, or studying the stars. About a year after the bombs, the stations, with the exception of one, all joined to become one huge station. They needed to consolidate resources. So, the Ark Station was created.

Now, when the Ark was formed, they needed to create a ruling council. A representative from each station was elected to the ruling council. From that council, the first chancellor was appointed. After that, the chancellor was elected through popular vote every five years.

In the Ark, room was finite. When things got bad, the ruling council wanted to incarcerate the criminals and try to rehabilitate them. However, they didn't have enough space. It was one of the founding counselors, who had worked in the penal system on Earth before things went to shit, that recommended we float offenders. It was harsh and cruel, but it curtailed crime on the Ark. Until a sixteen-year-old girl was arrested for stealing medicine for her sick mother.

People were sickened at the mere thought of a child trying to save her parent getting floated. It was discussed, voted on and approved, that any residents of the Ark, under the age of twenty-one, would not be floated. We would be held and rehabilitated, released back into the population, if we were not violent offenders.

It was sadly ironic that I was in this cell for the same reason as that initial child prisoner, except, I was doing it for a sick child, not a sick parent. The child was suffering from hypoxia. They were not getting enough oxygen because of the oxygen recyclers were not working properly.

There were too many people and not enough functioning recyclers.

At the moment, there are a hundred inmates in the prison ward of Ark Station. We were all considered too 'damaged' to be reintegrated into the population. On our twenty-first birthdays, we'd be floated. It was a waiting game. A sick, perverse waiting game.

What makes things worse is that I was the Chancellor's daughter. My father, the god damned Chancellor of Ark Station, condemned his own flesh and blood to death.

The alarms blared and lights flashed within my cell.

"Prisoner 1918, stand up and put your hands on the wall," barked a disembodied male voice through the speaker.

I scowled at the door, seeing a shadow in the window. "I've got two weeks until I turn twenty-one."

"Prisoner 1918, stand up and put your hands on the wall. NOW!" the voice growled as the lock disengaged. The door flew open, and the guard stalked inside. He lifted me off the floor, turning me harshly. I was pressed against the wall. The bulkhead was cold against my cheek.

"You will not manhandle the prisoners that way," a female voice sneered.

"M-M-M-Mom?" I sobbed.

"Back up, you overbearing ass," my mother, Dr. Renee Swan, hissed, pushing the guard back. My mom's gentle hands turned me, pulling me into a hug. "Oh, my sweet girl. I've missed you so."

"Mom," I cried, clinging to her. "I haven't seen you in so long. Did Dad …?"

"We were trying to figure out how to help you, my sweet girl. What you did was wrong, but your findings were correct," Mom explained, taking my face into her hands. Her dark brown eyes were swirling with love and worry. "The Ark is dying." She blinked to her assistant, Alec Foster. He pressed a syringe into my arm.

I felt the medication immediately and drooped against her. Around my right wrist, a tight cuff was clicked around it. My tongue felt like cotton wool. "Mom? What's happening?" I slurred.

"The Ark is dying, and Carlisle and I figured out a way for us to extend its life, all while preventing your execution," Mom explained, kissing my forehead. "You are too good, too smart, to be floated." She looked back at me, tears welling in her eyes. "You're going to the ground."

"W-W-W-What?" I stammered. "The ground is … it's dead."

"We've been monitoring the ground and things are growing. We've seen evidence of animal movements across the continental United States," Mom explained. "My sweet girl, you're being given a chance to live." I swayed. "Officer Cullen, she won't be able to make it to the drop ship under her own steam. We have a gurney outside of the prison ward."

"I can help," said the beefy guard who'd slammed me against the bulkhead.

"Officer Cullen is going down to the ground with the prisoners," Mom snapped. "If I'd had my way, you'd be floated for violence against the prisoners. So many of these kids have bruises and injuries after you get off shift, Halsted."

I swayed again, but another pair of strong arms caught me before I took a header onto the bulkhead. I leaned my cheek against a hard chest. "Dr. Swan, the drop ship is leaving in twenty minutes," said Officer Cullen.

Another alarm blared and my mother jumped. Her communicator chirped and she looked at the screen. "No!" she gasped.

"Mom?" I whimpered.

"We've got to go," Mom ordered.

I was carried out of the prison ward. I vaguely recognized the insanity. All the inmates were being ushered out of their cells and toward the drop ship. I drifted in and out of consciousness until I was laid down onto a gurney by Officer Cullen. My mom took my face into my hands and smiled at me through her tears. "In peace, may you leave this shore. In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again," Mom cried. "I love you so much, my sweet girl."

"May we meet again, Mom," I sniffled, struggling to stay awake.

With another kiss to my forehead, she stood up tall. Looking at Officer Cullen, she nodded her head. "Keep her safe, Edward. Keep them all safe."

"I'll try, Dr. Swan," he replied. "May we meet again …"

A/N: So, here's the prologue … What did you think? Leave me your thoughts.

Pictures are on my blog, which is linked on my profile. I'm also on Facebook: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation. I'm on twitter, too: tufano79.

Up next will be a flashback, leading up to this moment and moving past this moment, ending up on the ground. We will be bouncing around between Bella, and Edward on the ground, and Renee and Carlisle on the Ark. I'd toyed with the idea of writing in third person, but nah … I'll be alternating chapters between the 'kids' and 'adults.'

Thank you for reading!