My eyes sprung open and I had to immediately clamp them shut due to the bright white lights that were pounding down on me. After a moment of adjustment I reopened them slowly, the full scene of where I was coming into view.

I was in a room, not just any room, but the brightest, most pristine room I had ever seen. Even on the Ark our cleanest rooms in the hospital wing were still a dull gray colour.

I sat up, wincing as something dug into my arm. I looked down to see an IV needle sticking out. I frowned as I reached down to pull it from my arm, a small whimpered of pain escaping from my lips as I did so.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, looking down at my outfit. I was dressed in pair of white pants and a white tank top. Who the hell dressed me?

"Where am I?" I whispered, taking another look around the room. It was definitely some sort of hospital room, but who's?

I dangled my feet down off the bed, letting them hit the ground. A surge of shivers went through my body when my bare-feet touched the cold tiles.

I stood, taking a moment to allow my head to stop spinning before I grabbed one of the pillows off my bed. I knew it couldn't do much in terms of defence but it could stun them long enough for me to run, right?

With the pillow clutched tightly in my hand, I walked towards the door across the room, staying on high alert the entire time. When I finally reached the door, I paused for a moment before taking a hold of the handle. I slowly turned it, only to find it locked.

"Of course." I muttered as I pushed a piece of stray hair from my face. My heart was pounding through my chest at this point. The silence that was filling the room almost scared me the most, where was everyone?

I stepped up onto my tippy toes, glancing through the small circular window. Outside of my room was a hallway that was as white and pristine as inside, it was also as empty.

I pressed my face closer to the glass, only jumping back when a commotion from down the hall broke out. I tried to see what was going on but whatever was happening was out of my line of sight.

A small gasp escaped my lips as a body appeared in front of my door.I jumped back from the door as I held the pillow in front of my body.

The sound of a code being punched in filled my ears before the door swung open. My breathing was heavy as a figure in a hazmat suit, only a small portion of their face was visible, entered the room.

"Avery-"

"How do you know my name!" I demanded, taking another step back.

"You've been cleared from quarantine. Come with me and I'll explain everything."

I stared at the person, not willing to trust them too easily. "Where are my friends?" I asked, planning on not budging until I knew they were okay.

The figure let out a sigh, "They've already been cleared, they're in the living quarters which is where I'm taking you now."

I reluctantly dropped the pillow and took a step forward. I knew it was either spend the rest of my life in this room or take a leap of faith and trust this person.

"If you did anything to my friends I swear to-"

The person cut me off, "Your friend are fine, Avery. Monty and Jasper have been asking for you."

My jaw almost dropped to the floor at the mention of Monty's name. He'd been missing since before our war with the Grounders and now it was obvious that this is where he had been.

"Come on," the person said, guiding me through the door, "Let's go see them."

He, I was assuming it was a he by the voice and the small part of their face I could see, lead me down the hallway which was lined with doors that lead to rooms similar to mine. At the end of the hall he punched in another code, opening the door that lead out of the quarantine unit.

Once the door had closed behind us, the figure took their mask off. Once he was free of the mask I was able to see that he was a boy, probably around my age. He was good looking to say the least and wore a smile on his face.

"Sorry if I scared you," he said as he peeled the suit off, "The suit is mandatory when entering the quarantine ward."

I shook my head slightly, "Why was I being quarantined? I'm not sick."

He smiled as he hung the suit on a hook beside the door, "It's a long story, maybe one day I'll tell you. But for now, you need to get changed." he said as he began guiding me down another hall.

I stopped, turning to face him, "You said you were taking me to my friends."

The boy smiled once again, "I am, but you need to get changed out of those clothes first. There's an outfit laid out for you in there. Feel free to take anything else you want to wear." he explained, pointing to a door ahead of us.

I stared at him for a long moment and he stared back before finally speaking, "I promise you I'm taking you to your friends, you can trust me."

I let out a small laugh, "I don't even know your name, how can I trust you?"

The boy smiled as he pushed the door open for me, "It's Landen, now go. I'll come back in a few minutes. Leave your clothes in there when you're done."

I gave him one final look before entering into the small room. It was not near as pristine as the other one, but rather had a more comfortable feel to it. There was a couch and a dresser with jewelry boxes set on top.

On the couch was a casual dress and a pair of simple shoes. I stared down at it. I hadn't worn a dress in what felt like forever.

I ran my hand over the fabric, marvelling at how nice it felt. Wherever we were, it was obvious that they had more novelties than we ever did on the Ark.

After looking around for another few minutes, I finally peeled off the outfit I was wearing and pulled the dress on. It fit nicely and made me feel pretty, something I hadn't felt in a long time. I slipped the shoes on and made my way to the dresser. I opened one of the jewelry boxes, starring in awe at the beautiful necklaces and bracelets.

I picked up a simple gold necklace and held it up to my neck for a second before setting it down again, deciding not to become too enthralled in what this place had to offer.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and it opened a crack, "Are you ready?" Landen asked from behind the door.

I nodded, before realizing he couldn't see me, "Yeah, I'm good." I answered.

He pushed the door open fully as I made my way towards him. His hair was wet and he had changed his clothes, like he had showered in the short amount of time that we were apart.  When he caught sight of me in my new outfit, he smiled, "You look nice."

I felt a blush rise on my cheeks and I did everything to fight it, I didn't even know this guy. Before I knew it, my mind was rushing to Bellamy. I knew the feelings I had for him I couldn't deny, but at the same time I knew he would never feel the same.

"Avery?" Landed asked, pulling me from my thoughts, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?" he asked as the two of us walked back down the hall.

I shrugged, not really wanting to open up to him about what I was actually thinking "Well to be honest, I'm kind of wondering where I am."

Landed laugh as we turned a corner, "I'll explain everything, I promise."

I was hoping he was going to explain everything now, but instead we were stopped by a guard standing in front of the door at the end of the hallway.

"I'll take it from here." he announced, reaching out to pull me away from Landen.

Panic bubbled up inside me. I had only known Landen for less than 30 minutes but I trusted him much more than I trusted this guard.

Landen shook his head as he pulled me back towards him, "I'll take her up."

The guard looked confused, "That's not your job and besides you have to-"

Landen cut him off, "I've already decontaminated" that explains why it looked like he had showered, "And I can take her up, I'm done for the day."

My eyes darted between the guard and Landen who were caught in a stare down. Finally the guard nodded, reaching out to open the door for us, "Have a good day then."

Once the two of us were through the door, I turned to Landen, "Okay, now start explaining."

-an-

hello season 2!!!! so I wasn't really sure where I was going to head with this chapter so I just let my mind run free and I think I like this chapter. we have an intro of a new character, one that might be a threat to bellamy maybe???? uh oh

let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!!!

-maddy xoxo