Earth

The dropship shook so hard the metal screamed.

Someone yelled. Someone prayed.

Then the noise broke off, and everything went still.

The harnesses snapped open.

For a moment, no one moved. Then chaos.

I unbuckled, pushed the strap off my shoulder and stood.

My hair fell into my face — long, light, messy. I fixed it and straightened my top. The boots, black and heavy, hit the floor first.

Across the row, the leather-jacket boy was grinning again.

Cocky. Like the crash had been fun.

I gave him a nod — nothing more — and turned toward the others crowding near the hatch.

Bellamy Blake stood there in a guard's uniform.

Didn't fit him. I remembered the rumors — janitor, not guard.

Then a girl sprinted to him, threw her arms around his neck. Octavia Blake. The hidden sister.

Before I could think too much, the hatch burst open.

Light. Air. Real air.

We ran.

I stumbled into the sunlight, dropped to my knees and touched the ground. Grass. Real grass.

I laughed — quietly, breathless — then looked back.

The leather-jacket boy was talking to Bellamy now. Of course he was.

Everyone always found the strongest side first.

I walked over. Bellamy turned when he saw me.

"You're Katerina Grey, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "My friends used to call me Kate. You're Bellamy Blake?"

He nodded once. "My friends call me Bell."

"Then we're even," I said, shaking his hand. "I can help you, Bell. I know the ground. I know weapons."

He studied me for a second, then nodded again. "I know who your parents were. You're in."

I smiled and turned to the boy beside him. "And you are...?"

He looked down, then up again, a half-smile curling his mouth.

"John Murphy. But everyone just calls me Murphy."

The name hit like a memory, but I ignored it.

I held out my hand. "A pleasure, Murphy."

He shook it, eyes cold steel mixed with something darker.

Hate, maybe.

Or hurt.