twenty-three; SILVER BAND

Reese was entirely out of her comfort zone in this unknown environment and her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she attempted to go through the events of the last two days in order to make sense of everything that had happened.

She hadn't seen anyone she knew aside from Rowena who was locked in a room across the hall from her since she had awoken in the odd room and she could barely focus. All she could think about were those people in suits who had grabbed them, the bodies from the explosion, Bellamy's face as she was forced into the dropship, Finn rushing to try and save him, the grounder she had watched die by her hand, her final words to Bellamy and also to Octavia, fighting with Harper and Jasper, the last grin she and Alec had exchanged before they parted ways.

It all felt like a full lifetime ago that she had lost the three people closest to her but it had only been at least a day and she couldn't help the hope blooming in her chest that wished for them all to be okay.

She knew she wasn't that lucky.

The room she had been moved to was far different than anything she had ever seen as it was quite large and many colours filled the space, be it the walls or pieces of art that hung from them, compared to the grey walls she had grown up around, as well as the makeshift tents she had grown accustomed to.

Her desolate eyes constantly flickered about the room, searching desperately for a way out if she needed but the only one she could find was the one she entered from and a guard stood on the other side of it, looking as though he was ready and waiting for her to make a run for it.

Her knee bounced up and down nervously as she avoided the gaze of the old man seated at the table between them and she focused on the warm brown tone of the wall so she wouldn't have to look at him or the woman who stood just near the edge of the table.

"Can you please state your name?" The woman, who wore a white coat, spoke in an even tone.

When Reese's gaze flickered to her momentarily, she wore a rather placid expression that placed Reese on edge and when she didn't respond, the woman frowned and shared a look with the man who sat in the chair who smiled warmly as he leaned forward, interlacing his fingers as he rested his arms against the table.

"There is no need to be so cautious, dear." He told her with a kind smile, "My name is Dante Wallace, can you please tell me yours?"

"Reese Kane." She finally murmured as she gave up staring at the wall and continued to eye the two distrustfully.

"Full name?" The woman prompted and Reese could only assume she was a doctor as her coat reminded her a lot of her mother and Abby and the grey one they both wore when they worked and her father always made a show to tell his wife that she looked beautiful whenever she passed him in it.

When they were alive, the voice in the back of her mind hissed and the young woman frowned at the reminder she didn't need.

"Elizabeth Reese Kane." She answered, feeling for the ring despite knowing it wasn't there anymore and she had woken up in the white room without it, "Where's my ring?"

"I'm sorry." Dante responded evenly, "We have a very strict protocol and don't allow contaminated items into Mount Weather, even ones of sentimental value."

Reese frowned as her eyes flickered down to the finger her mother's ring had been on since she was sixteen and she felt sort of disconnected without the comfort of the simple band wrapped around her finger.

"How many of us did you kidnap?" She questioned shortly and she watched the man and woman before her suspiciously when they shared an amused smile.

"There are forty-eight of you here, including yourself." The aging man responded, "And contrary to your belief, Elizabeth, we did not kidnap you or your friends, we merely saved you from the savages."

Reese frowned at the term he had used to describe the grounders as well as his use of her first name, "We're inside Mount Weather?"

"Indeed you are." Dante quickly exclaimed brightly, "We're only sorry that we couldn't get to you sooner or more of you, for that matter, but we still have teams out searching for any we may have missed when we brought in those we could find."

"You knocked us out," Reese told him bluntly.

"We didn't wish to alarm you." Dante answered calmly and Reese scoffed at that, choosing not to respond to the claim, "I'm told you were one of the leaders of your people so we have something in common."

"I'm not a leader," Reese responded instantly and her eyes burned at the thought of Bellamy who she wasn't able to save, of Wells who only wanted what was best for them, of Octavia who was hopefully still alive, or Alec who she hadn't seen since the fight started, of Finn who ran to save Bellamy when she was too afraid, of everyone who had fallen as they tried to defend their own and their camp.

Dante smiled in apparent amusement, "A Jasper Jordan would disagree with you there, you see, a leader protects their own and from the stories I've gathered from those already out of Quarantine, you protected them, defended them even if some didn't truly deserve it and you have since you have been on Earth."

Reese shifted uncomfortably at the praise, "Am I able to see them?"

"Certainly." Dante responded calmly, "We just need to discuss what you can tell us about your time on Earth, and then I'll lead you to them after you change."

Suddenly all too aware that she was in only a pair of loose fitted white pants and a matching shirt, Reese nodded gratefully and she opened her mouth, strangely relieved that she could vent out her frustrations to this man but she still did not trust him or this place at all.

She told him about the Ark and the Skybox, how their council had sent one hundred of them to Earth in order to see if it was habitable again due to their oxygen crisis, she spoke of the divide in the camp during the beginning, skimmed over their losses, the issue with the grounders who didn't want them in their territory and she spoke of the war that led them to the inside of Mount Weather.

Reese did not tell him everything she knew she could get away, she gave him the bare minimum of what she could.

She did not trust this man sitting before her.

✦❀✦

After her discussion with Dante and the woman who had introduced herself as Doctor Tsing, she was given a few options of clothing and she quickly picked out a loose pink shirt, a pair of simple blue pants that were made from a rather odd material, and a pair of black shoes that she laced up tightly and walked around in briefly to test the comfort level as she may need to run if she found any more discrepancies in the President's story.

She followed after Dante silently as she took in her surroundings, listening intently as he explained how they kept power and got their water but she didn't say much as she was led to an elevator by two guards where Dante stopped and gestured for her to enter and when she was situated between the two guards, he smiled softly at her.

"Welcome to Mount Weather, Elizabeth." He told her as a woman rushed up to him with a rather worried expression and the door between them slid closed before she could find out what was wrong, "You're safe now."

You're safe now, She repeated to herself when she felt a pull in her gut that caused her to jump in fright and one of the guards to snicker at the face she made, Am I?

The doors slid open and an automated voice spoke, 'Arrived, level five.'

Cautiously, she stepped off of the elevator and one of the men pointed down the hallway in the general direction of a few familiar voices and she turned quickly, her eyes widening as she spotted her people all in clothing similar to her own and a smile spread across her face, the first genuine one since the doors of the dropship closed, as she made eye contact with Jasper who became utterly elated.

"Reese!" He shouted and heads began to turn to look in the direction Jasper was facing.

Her smile grew as the boy rushed forward and embraced her tightly which she returned with equal enthusiasm and when they finally broke apart her eyes fell on Monty and Rowena, her shoulders sagged in relief as she launched herself at the pair and held onto them at the same time.

"Oh, thank goodness, I was so worried." She sighed when the two chuckled and they wrapped their arms tightly around her as her eyes wandered from face to face of those who had come to stand around her and when she finally let go of the two, her smile had faded a touch, "Bellamy, Xander, and Clarke? Nate? Raven?"

"Clarke and Miller are fine, they just haven't been cleared yet," Monty said softly before he looked at Jasper who didn't meet her eyes when she repeated her question about the others he hadn't mentioned.

"They didn't make it, Reese." It was Rowena who finally spoke, watching her reaction with sad eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Her lip wobbled momentarily but she slowly nodded. She wouldn't cry, not here at least and the four who still stood with her stared at her sadly as she schooled her emotions and forced her tears back, "What have you guys learned about this place?"

"Not much yet." Jasper told her, looking more at peace than she had seen him in days, "We're just getting started on this floor now."

"Alright, everyone." A soft voice called and Reese turned to face a young girl with blonde hair who had a look of joy on her face as she gazed around at each of them, "I'm Keenan and I'll be showing you around Mount Weather, please take one of these books and pass them along now."

Soon enough, Reese was handed a blue folder by Josie who didn't move away from her as Keenan began to speak in an excited tone and as she gestured for the group to follow after her, Reese opened the folder and was met with a map of what could only be Mount Weather and as her eyes skimmed the minimal content, she felt her gut twist rather panicked.

"Why are there no exits?" Josie asked in a hushed whisper as she looked at the map over Reese's shoulder instead of opening her own.

Dread began to mix into the panic as the two shared a worried look, "Your guess is as good as mine."

The two didn't say another word to one another as they quickly caught up with the group who had begun to walk after the guide and Reese listened intently to every word that Keenan spoke, down to the way she phrased things and she jotted down things with the pencil her folder provided, not willing to forget anything about the strange place they had been brought into for the future and also for Clarke who would absolutely want to be informed on everything she'd missed.

"That concludes all of level five." Keenan announced to the group when they finally returned to the place where Reese had been reunited with the others, "Now, your packets contains everything you need to know about Mount Weather, which I promise, is not as confusing as the map on page one makes it out to look."

"Yeah, no exits, super confusing as to why that is." Josie murmured to Reese who coughed to cover her laughter.

"You came from level three, which houses our medical facility, including quarantine–"

"Clarke!" Monty exclaimed loudly, effectively interrupting what Keenan had been saying about the third level, and at his words, Reese turned her head quickly and when her eyes locked on Clarke's face, she felt as though a large weight had been lifted from her chest and she quickly handed her booklet to Josie who already had her hand out and she rushed for the girl who was now letting go of Monty to hug Jasper.

When their eyes met as Jasper was ending the embrace, Clarke smiled widely and closed the short distance between them, throwing her arms rightly around the brunette as she exhaled in relief when Reese held on just as tightly for a few moments before they pulled apart and smiled at one another before Clarke's eyes scanned the rest of the group much like Reese had when she had arrived.

"Finn and Bellamy?" She asked softly and it was Reese's turn to shared a look with Monty and Jasper, silently asking which one of them was going to deliver the bad news.

"Clarke, they, uh, they didn't make it." Jasper finally got out in a soft voice and Clarke's face fell before she shook her head.

"We don't know that." She responded optimistically, "What about Raven?"

"There are only a few others still in Quarantine or getting fixed up." Reese told her quietly as she thought about her close friend who had taken a bullet to save both Bellamy and Alec's lives, "She's not here."

"Welcome, Clarke." Keenan exclaimed happily as she joined the four who stood together and handed Clarke an extra booklet, "If you have any questions, I'm Keenan."

When she walked away with Jasper and Monty following after her, Reese remained and watched silently as Clarke opened the folder, her narrowed eyes scanning the page intently before she looked up at Reese.

"Catch me up?" She asked and Reese nodded as she linked their arms together.

"You got it, Bright Eyes." She murmured and they began to follow after the rest of the group, the brunette accepting her folder back from Josie with a thankful smile, "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this place."

✦❀✦

"We need a stretcher!"

Bellamy, who had been pacing anxiously since Reese's father and the others had disappeared into the hundred's camp, froze in place and turned his attention to Alec who was pulling blades of grass from the dirt, and Finn who was leaning against a tree and the three shared a nod as they made move to rush into camp, only to be stopped by the guards.

The three shared another look, Bellamy nodded and within seconds, each of them had spun and sprinted away from the men who yelled after them.

"Halt right there!"

"Stop."

They ran, passing the foxhole that Reese had caved in the night before and continued to the next, quickly rushing through, one after the other and within minutes, they made it to the other end and were greeted with the sight of rotting corpses and a blanket of ash covering the once grassy field.

"Where is everyone?" Bellamy questioned as he scanned the remains of their former home in horror, searching for any sign that anyone was there, any indication of where they went and his hope was fading quickly when his eye caught something reflecting on the ground fifteen feet from the dropship.

He moved quickly and when he stopped beside the glinting object, he dropped into a crouch and his eyes widened when he realised that the item belonged to Reese and it felt as though something had stomped on his chest when he remembered that Reese would never willingly take the ring off because of how important it was to her, having belonged to her mother.

He plucked the band from the ground and inspected it for any damage, other than the scratch that had been there since they were seventeen and eighteen and he sat with Reese for thirty minutes while she cried because she thought she had ruined her mother's wedding ring, something she had found so silly to cry about six months after.

He smiled faintly at the memory as a voice broke the tense silence that he, Finn, and Alec had fallen into.

"It was so awful, there were hundreds of them everywhere." The voice cried as Bellamy looked up in time to watch Marcus Kane hauling someone from the ship, "If it wasn't for Raven, I don't know what would have happened."

Bellamy's eyes narrowed, a dark rage enveloping him as he pushed himself back up and stuffed the ring into his pocket before he stormed to where John Murphy was being held, burnt leaves and twigs crunching beneath his boots and he ignored Alec's cautionary call of his name as Murphy locked eyes with him.

He felt a sick sense of satisfaction at the fear in Murphy's eyes as he stuttered out his next few words, laced with terror and surprise, obviously remembering the promise Bellamy had given him only days earlier, "Bellamy, you're uh, you're alive."

With a battle worthy cry, Bellamy launched himself forward, shoving Murphy from Kane's grasp and onto the scorched ground and he tightened his hands around the younger male's throat as he screamed, "You murdering son of a bitch!"

He began to throw punch after punch, ignoring the world around him as Finn and Alec rushed towards him, his dark gaze fixed on Murphy's face as areas he was repeatedly hitting slowly began to turn different shades of pink which would no doubt bruise.

"Bellamy, stop," Finn shouted.

"This is for Raven!" Bellamy spat, accentuating each word with a blow, "And for Reese!"

He didn't see the look on Kane's face at his words, nor did he see the nod he gave to the guard, but Alec did, and as the other man allowed electricity to crackle through his baton, he shouted another warning to Bellamy but it was too late and the rod grazed Bellamy's side and he grunted in pain as he was forced off of Murphy and he fell to his side and rolled onto his back, panting heavily as he twitched violently.

Murphy gasped wearily as Kane turned back to the man who switched the electricity off, "Place him under arrest."

"Wait, you don't understand." Alec exclaimed angrily, watching as the guards hauled Bellamy to his feet and cuffed his hands, "Murphy murdered two of our people."

"He shot three others!" Finn blurted out with confused eyes, "He tried to hang Bellamy."

"I don't care." Kane responded as he looked at the two young men, both covered in cuts and bruises and blood, wondering if his daughter was somewhere looking the exact same, "You are not animals, there are rules, laws." He turned on his heel and faced Bellamy addressing him directly, "You are not in control here anymore."

Bellamy didn't respond and Kane was smug that he'd finally rendered the young man speechless until he did speak, his words angry as he jutted his head in Murphy's direction, who still lay on his back in the dirt, "One of the people Murphy shot was your daughter."

Kane said nothing but Bellamy noticed the shift in his eye because he had seen it in his daughter's enough times to know that he had awoken some sort of reaction but Kane didn't have a chance to say anything as the tarp was pulled back and Abby came into view with two guards close behind her, carrying a stretcher between them that held a barely conscious Raven Reyes.

"She's lost a lot of blood, it's a miracle that she's still alive." Abby informed Finn and Alec as they rushed over to check on the woman who was fading in and out tiredly, "There's no one else in there."

Bellamy watched with furious eyes as Kane helped Murphy to his feet and when he opened his mouth to shout at the Vice-Chancellor, he was cut off by the man who had turned to look at the guard who hadn't been given a task.

"Place him under arrest as well."

✦❀✦

"Sorry guys." Reese smiled apologetically at Jasper and Monty as she stood on the bed they were occupying and hooked her arm around the top, heaving herself onto the bed above them and she smiled at the sight of Clarke drawing, "President Wallace is something, eh?"

Surprise spread across Clarke's face and she turned her attention from the book in her lap to Reese, "You met him too?"

"Yeah." Reese nodded, "Suspicious guy, seems like he's hiding far too much."

"He told me that his search teams didn't recover any survivors," Clarke spoke in a hushed voice, her eyes darting around for eavesdroppers.

"That's bullshit." Reese scoffed, "Surely someone, anyone, survived the blast and the Ark coming down like that alone? There's no way, someone absolutely had to of brought it down."

"I know." Clarke stressed, "I'm looking at the map, going over everything you and Josette told me, and everything that Rowena told me earlier."

Reese slowly nodded as she made herself comfortable on the small mattress and she brought her knees to her chest as she watched the fill write something on the map.

"Is there any way to get out of here?" She questioned hopefully and Clarke paused in her movements, pencil hovering over the page and after a few seconds of tense silence, she looked back up at the older girl with determined eyes.

"I'm working on it."

"Good." Reese grinned, "Because the only thing this place actually has going for it, is the food."

The two women shared a grin before they both laughed, each feeling lighter than they had for a long while.

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reese's journey into season two has begun which i am really excited about because i honestly didn't think i'd get here and i have so much planned for her!

i have currently run out of pre-written chapters so updates may end up being a little less frequent for a while but i've got some motivation so i'll hopefully be able to crank out some content.

anyway, i hope you guys liked it and please leave some of your thoughts and theories in the comments as i love hearing them!

thanks for reading!

~r