WAY DOWN WE GO.

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LOST IN FIRE (book three).
°• CHAPTER TWO •°

" SOUNDS FAMILIAR. "

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        The room Harley had been inside for the next six years was small, a hard cot pushed against the wall with a crumpled blanket draped over it. She knelt down, reaching into the space underneath it and pulling out a homemade bag. It was dusty, but she smiled to herself at the sight of it. She was still buzzing with excitement, the emotion so foreign it made her stomach churn and her head spin. This was the second time Earth had been a dream to Harley, and she could hardly wait to feel the grass and sun beating down on her again, be able to breath fresh air, and most of all, reunite with Octavia.

Back when Arkadia existed and was Harley's residence, she remembered hating the feeling of a gun being strapped to her waist. There were no guns in the ring, but Echo had given her the extra sword that bounced around for training. She tossed the bag on her bed, first grabbing the sheath and wrapping the material over her shoulder. The sword, a crafted long blade with a dark handle, was tucked into it, resting on her back. Harley didn't feel any uncomfort at the weight, in fact, she was grateful. It was a weapon she had learned how to use for six years, one she was familiar with.

Grabbing the strap of the bag, Harley started stuffing what she could into it. The only food was the algae provided by Monty, so she shoved other useful supplies into it, whatever she could find in her room up until the bag was heavy enough. She pulled out the old suit she had worn coming into space, stepping into the pants and letting the upper half hang around her waist, deciding she'd put it on fully when they figured this out. Still clutching the strap, it hung low near her leg as Harley strode out of her area to join the others.

Murphy was the first one out, having seeming like he was pacing the halls. Emori's voice from inside Raven's room filled the air. "Remember, radio me when John gets to the hangar bay," she instructed as the door swung open, Raven coming out in her spacesuit. "So I can go get my..." She stopped at the sight of him.

There was the same looked of hurt Harley had seen on her brother's face too many times as he loosely held up a bag that Harley could only assume was full of Emori's stuff. "Saved you the trouble," Murphy said flatly.

The tension is so thick that Harley could feel it as she watched Emori take the bag from Murphy and nodded. "Thanks." She looked over to Raven. "I'll start the preflight check." Then Emori is gone, throwing the strap over her shoulder.

"You alright?" Harley questions Murphy, setting a hand over his shoulder.

Even though Murphy definitely didn't seem it, especially after Emori's coldness, he nodded. "I'm fine," he insisted, brushing her touch away.

"Well," Raven cut in. "You blew a good thing."

Murphy rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the empathy."

"Sorry. Just having a roommate for the last six months because she made you feel inadequate has got me feeling a little cranky," Raven joked, cocking her head in gesture for the other two to follow her.

"Here I was, thinking it was because you couldn't get us back down to the ground," Murphy sarcastically shot back.

"We're closer than we were a year ago," Harley pointed out, nudging Murphy's shoulder. "Forget Emori, get excited. Has to count for something."

"That's the thing about happily ever after," Murphy mused at the mention of Emori's name. "Harder than it looks."

Lifting her hand, Raven rubbed her two fingers together at a rapid pace. "You know what this is?" She asked. "It's a cockroach playing the violin." The corners of Harley's lips twitched into a faint smile as Murphy made a noise of amusement at the joke. Bellamy turned a corner, walking so fast he was a blur as he raced around them. "Going the wrong way!" Raven exclaimed in warning.

"Final sweep! Right behind you!" Bellamy called to them.

As they passed a window, Harley spared a glance to the outside and stared at the planet in her own silent amazement. She was ready to return home.

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Being back in the rocket was easier compared to Harley's first time shooting into space. After her time in the ring, she was used to not having much gravity and Raven's spacewalk. She was strapped into her seat, the feeling of her sword in her sheath pressing firmly against her back due to the suit and helmet pulled over her head. The rocket sped on Raven's command in her captain seat straight to the large ship, getting closer each passing second.

"Boys and girls, meet Eligius Four," Raven announced, reading the name of the ship on her screen.

"Powering a better tomorrow," Emori read aloud.

"Must be a mining ship," Raven guessed. Harley furrowed her brows, turning her neck to peek at Raven's screen. She had spent her years on The Ark before Earth thinking they were the only floating space station with life. Surely they would have been aware if there were any others.

"Miners in space?" Harper repeated in confusion.

"Can't be that weird," Harley pondered. "We have grounders in space."

Monty was the one to laugh before nodding. "I've heard stories," he confirmed. "Missions sent to mine asteroids or search for habitable planets, but that was a hundred years ago."

"They got back somehow," Bellamy responded, looking over Emori's helmet. "Means they must have fuel."

As they floated past an opening, Raven spoke. "Well, now there's a ship with a story to tell." She was quiet, studying her screen before shaking her head. "It looks like one of the engines were destroyed. At least the hap is still rotating, that rotation means they'll have gravity." There was a grin in Raven's voice as she referred to Monty and Harper. "Sorry, lovebirds. No zero-g space sex." The pair shared a look, Harley seeing Harper flush pink.

"There!" Raven announced. "There's the docking bay."

"I hate to ask this now," Monty spoke up. "What if they're still inside?"

"We've been through this. If they were still inside and saw a foreign ship trying to board them, they would shoot us out of the sky," Echo explained.

Harley's grip tightened on the belt around her chest. "We need to be prepared if they are there anyway," she insisted.

"You are," Echo promised like she knew it was the answer Harley had been waiting for.

"Okay!" Raven interrupted. "Commencing Operation Uninvited Guests. Firing thrusters in three, two, one..." She pressed a button on the board, and the rocket shot forward. Harley held on tighter, feeling like she was falling in some spinning motion. "Emori, soon as I line us up with the hap, it's all yours!" Raven called over the noise. "The nav is yours. It's just like the simulator."

"Copy that," Emori said with confidence.

"Grounders don't say copy that," Murphy informed her.

Losing her focus, Emori sneered back. "This one does." She cleared her throat, settling her attention back on her screen. "Initiating docking sequence."

The rocket whirled when the ship made a crashing sound, turning around them. Harley felt panic filling her stomach. "We are so screwed," Murphy declared.

"Shut up, John!" Emori warned him.

A beeping filled the empty sound, like an alarm warning them. "Why are we losing alignment?" Raven demanded, turning a knob.

"I lost stabilization," Emori replied, distressed. "I don't know!"

The speed of the rocket sped up. "We're coming in too fast!" Raven shouted. "Okay, I got it!" She grabbed another knob, the one to steer, turning it to the left. Harley's hand flew to grip Murphy's arm, so tightly she was sure her fingers were digging into his skin and leaving a mark. "Switching back to manual! Hold on!" Raven tugged the wheel back, coming close to an opening. "Brace for impact!" They slid into the opening.

Everything going wrong stopped. Harley had been prepared to crash into a blaze, but instead, there was only a lurch before it all went still and the beeping stopped all at once. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her clutch on Murphy loosening. "That was fun," Murphy said. "We should do that again sometime."

"How's tomorrow?" Harley asked with no life or fun in her tone.

They each took off their helmets, breathing in the fresher air of the ship. Harley felt her short hair sticking to her forehead and cheeks after her helmet was off, having been so warm in the suit. "Okay, let's go find the fuel," Bellamy decided eagerly. He jumped out of his seat, landing with a thud and flinging the latch door open. "On me. Suits off in the cargo hold."

The steps from their ship to theirs were small. Harley had to crouch, back bending as she followed Bellamy into what looked like an airlock. She yanked off her suit, leaving it behind, her hand moving quickly to her back and grabbing the handle of her sword. Harley ripped it out, arm bent in preparation with Echo following in suit. "We got to move fast," Echo told Bellamy, who looked at them both, taken off guard. "We don't know what we're walking into."

After a moment, Bellamy nodded shortly before he hit the red button to open the doors. As the doors slid open, a loud and irritating beeping of an alarm vibrated off the walls and filled the air. "That's just annoying," Murphy commented.

"If someone was here, they'd shut it off, right?" Harper questioned as she followed the group stepping out of the airlock.

Holding the handle of her sword so tightly that her knuckles became white, Harley peered into both sides of the hall. No one was there. It was full of only ghosts. She still didn't let her guard down, nor her sword, boldly standing straight as if anything would pop out at her and her family at any second.

"... Don't take it out on me because you screwed the pooch in your big debut, okay?" Murphy snapping loudly pulled Harley out of her stance, making her turn, seeing him and Emori were scowling at one another and having what she easily guessed was another spat after he attempted to be helpful and nice.

Bellamy rushed to break the fight bound to break out. "Hey, hey, Harper can help Emori," he suggested calmly. He waved his hand. "Everyone else move, now."

They both seemed alright by that. Harley lowered her sword, giving Murphy the space he needed to pass. She looked over her shoulder to see Harper go to Emori to comfort her before shaking her head and following the rest, prepared for whatever lay beyond this ship for her.

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From what Harley could see, the foreign ship wasn't nearly as big as The Ark. The walls were closer together, and much shorter, so she assumed there couldn't be an entire civilization here, but she was still on guard. Almost every day in the ring consisted of her training with someone, usually Echo or Bellamy, so Harley had yet to face another person who was actually trying to kill her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she was still prepared for any coming attacker despite them being the intruders. Harley followed the beam of Bellamy's flashlight, the alarm still blaring around them.

"This place is like a maze," Bellamy pondered in wonder, turning a corner and shining his light down it.

There was still no one there, causing Harley's brows to furrow. "It's completely empty," she mumbled. She felt chills on her neck, like someone was watching her, every instinct she had screaming at her that they weren't alone. "I don't like it."

Bellamy nods, raising his flashlight and showcasing a sign hanging above them. "No inmates past this point," he read the capital, yellow letters aloud.

"Inmates?" Echo repeated in confusion.

"Prison labor. The mining missions were dangerous," Monty explained. "They sent people they thought were disposable."

With a snort, Harley shook her head, a few words ringing in her head from years ago. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you... Expendable. Spoken by Jaha when they were in the dropship, hurdling towards Earth. She looked from Monty to Murphy with a knowing expression. "Sounds familiar," Harley commented.

"Relax," Raven reassured all of them. "Our ancestors were prisoners a hundred years ago. Their descendants on that transport ship are survivors, just like us."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Harley questioned, but Raven didn't answer as if they all already knew. Raven only approached a door, the sides automatically sliding open and allowing them access.

"The bridge is this way," the mechanic announced. "Come on."

Harley was surprised that there was another set of doors, crumbled and pushed to the side like someone had used all their strength to get through. "Looks like someone forgot their key," Echo said as Raven was the first to shove her way through.

"Jackpot!" Raven exclaimed. Harley waited until Echo was through before squeezing in between the doors herself, keeping her sword at her side. She saw why Raven was so excited once she pulled her leg out, the source of her dreams. They had entered an entire control room, but Harley was just glad they were the only ones here.

"Something bad happened here," Bellamy spoke, staring at the crushed doors he passed.

"Monty!" Raven called from where she was approaching the control switches.

"Help you access the ship's manifest and schematics so we can find out where they keep their hydrazine?" Monty asked like he was reading her mind as he rushed to follow her.

"Yes, but first let's kill this alarm."

Remembering how annoying the blaring was, Harley nodded, slowly putting her sword back in her sheath. "Please," she muttered lowly in annoyance.

Crouching in front of a keypad, Monty quickly started typing. Within seconds, the irritating noise quieted before shutting off completely. Harley sighed in relief as Bellamy clapped his hands once, whirling around. "Thank you."

"Fuel systems..." Monty whispered, the screen in front of lighting up and making his face a blue glow. "Got it." Harley's eyes lit up, and she quickly moved to peer over his shoulder, although she didn't understand anything like Monty and Raven. All she could see was a way down to Octavia.

"Oh, captain's chair!" Murphy's voice marveled behind Harley. She glanced over her shoulder briefly to see her brother happily plop into the largest chair in the room. Murphy thought to himself for a second before posing, blue eyes slitting with his elbow bent and hand propped up. Harley rolled her eyes before looking back to the monitor.

"The ship doesn't run on hydrazine. They could never store enough for a long duration mission," Raven informed the others from where she was clicking keys.

"Well, what, then?" Bellamy questioned.

It's quiet as Raven looks to the larger screen. She blinks a few times like she's processing new information. "It looks like hythylodium."

"Must be what they were mining for, incredibly efficient energy," Monty suggested.

"Spare me the silence lesson," Murphy interrupted him flatly. "Can we use it to land the pod or not?"

Rolling her eyes, Raven didn't pause her typing as she responded sarcastically. "Sure, if you want to explode every cell in your body."

"So, what then?" Harley demanded harshly, straightening up. "What do we have?"

"Harley," Bellamy warned. Harley pressed her lips tightly together, but she nodded curtly, backing down.

But Raven was unaffected, her dark-haired ponytail flipping when she turned her head to look at them. "Don't worry," she said. "Just because this ship doesn't run on hydrazine doesn't mean they don't have any onboard." If there was one person Harley trusted to get them to the ground, it was Raven. She was without a doubt the smartest one on this ship, and even though it had been a year since Earth became survivable, Raven wouldn't stop until they were home. Harley appreciated it, and she regretted snapping at her.

"The dropship?" Monty guessed, breaking Harley from her thoughts.

"Short-range transport," Raven finished for him, biting her lower lip. "They'd have to have a supply for refueling." The screen switched to a new image, showcasing the amount of fuel the ship had. "Boom," Raven declared, drawing her hands back like she was stunned. "And the crowd goes wild."

The words on the screen didn't make sense to anyone but Raven and Monty. Echo stepped forward from behind Bellamy, puzzled. "So... We have a way down?" She asked.

A grin spread on Raven's face. "We have a way down," she confirmed.