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For the first couple seconds of the morning Autumn had forgotten. When she peeked open her hazel eyes and stared at the ceiling, she thought she was home.

She had forgotten about Mark ditching her, about those who had died, about being shot, about her life being compared to a bug, and most of all, about Tate.

Nonetheless, when she sat up with a heavy yawn and that awful discomfort erupted in her abdomen, it all poured in at once.

The emotions, the pain, the suffering, and the agony. It was like a tsunami, a wall smashing into her.

She couldn't help but sharply inhale, the tightness in her chest making even this simple task difficult.

Eyes scanning her surroundings, she could feel the tears building up. The pain, emotionally and physically, was too much to bare.

She allowed the teardrops to fall, some clinging to her eyelashes while others raced down her rosy red cheeks.

It wasn't how she'd wanted to spend her morning. In the course of two days she'd cried more than she had through all twelve seasons of Grey's Anatomy.

And it wasn't a nice feeling. Autumn felt as if the lump in her throat would become a permanent defect.

A gentle knock sounded as someone lightly tapped against the door. Autumn rushed to wipe away the tears staining her face, working quickly to change into her strong facade.

Today was a new day. She had been spared by the council and had seen it as a curse. Instead, in order to survive, Autumn would have to look at it as a challenge.

"You can come in," Autumn squeaked, already failing her mission. Tate peeked his head in the room, his sapphire eyes falling on her flushed expression.

"Hey," his voice was hoarse.

"Hi," she shuttered as he entered the room. Though Autumn might have seemed flustered Tate was a pale as a ghost. He crossed the threshold into the room and practical drug himself over to her.

"How are you feeling?" Tate inquired as he plopped down onto her bed.

"Fine, you?"

"Just fine?" Tate deflected her question.

"Yeah." Her reply was short and he caught onto her hesitancy.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Autumn sighed.

"Yeah, I-uh . . . I just had thought that this was all a dream this morning." She shook her head in disbelief of reality.

Could she really be in this situation? Could she really be here?

"Is that bad?" She requested, watching Tate for some sort of sign. "Is it wrong that part of me wished it . . . all of this was a dream?"

Tate tensed, his lips thinning.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing he could think to say. He folded his hands in his lap, peering down at them as he twiddled his thumbs.

It was clear that he took blame for the situation when he did not deserve it.

"I didn't mean it like that," Autumn frowned, scooting closer to him. She set a hand on his shoulder, unsure as to why she had shared that much with him. It was something she found herself doing around him and it was the kind of comfort she clung to.

"I know, I just uh . . ." Tate stammered, trailing off.

"What?" She insisted on an explanation.

"It's nothing, never mind." He immediately shot it down. Autumn removed her hand from his, wiggling out of the blankets to move closer to him.

"You can tell me."

"How is your uh . . . stomach feeling?" He wondered, trying to throw Autumn off topic.

"Fine, sore and painful, but I'm alive."

"How are you so positive all the time? I mean I've know you less than a week and I already am sickened by your attitude," Tate chuckled as Autumn's mouth formed an 'o' shape. She then proceeded to slap his shoulder.

"I sicken you . . . that's comforting," Autumn giggled.

The two could have found themselves in that room, joking around for as long as time would permit them.

However, when a man pushed through the door and into the room, they both knew their moment of tranquility was over.

"Hey, it's time," the intruder said, his nut-brown hair spiked up on top of his head.

"I know." Tate somehow managed to drop down another shade. If he got any paler he'd blend in with the walls.

"Tate? What's going on?" Autumn questioned, the lost look in his eyes explaining everything.

"I'll take you to Clarke," Tate began to ramble.

"You have to go right there, they want you now," the man crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know the longer you make them wait, the more severe the punishment gets."

"Punishment?" Autumn struggled to wrap her brain around him getting in trouble for what he did to save her.

"What about Autumn?" Tate drifted over her unease.

"I . . . I'll watch her," the man offered through gritted teeth. He clearly regretted his decision to open his mouth.

"David, this is important," Tate started to nag.

"I know," David austerely responded, as if they were discussing something simple like homework.

"I mean it. She . . . you can't let anything happen to her."

"I won't," David reassured. Tate whirled around, facing Autumn. He forced a kind smile, not wanting to scare her.

It didn't work.

The thought of Autumn being paired with a stranger who had no interest being around her was chilling. What startled her even more was what Tate was about to suffer through on her behalf.

"I trust David with my life . . . and with yours." Tate got hold of a loose strand of Autumn's hair and tucked it behind her ear.

All she did was remain motionless. It was all she could do; no words came to mind.

Tate thrust past David, vanishing around the bend to suffer an unknown evil. David tossed Autumn a pile of clothes, which landed at her feet. She scrambled get up and collect them. David leaned over, snatching the jacket off the floor. He handed it to her with a kind smile, one Autumn wasn't sure if was real or not.

"I'll be right outside." David shut the door. The instant he left the room Autumn rushed to get changed, the thought of being left alone too much to bare. She would rather be stuck with David than be trapped in the room alone, naïve to the dangers that hid outside.

Tate trusted David and so would she.

Autumn hurried to throw on a fresh pair of dark wash jeans which were a little too big on her, a beige undershirt, and a dark leather jacket. With a deep inhale and a fast clutch at her abdomen, she cracked open the door. David was pacing around outside, exactly where he said he'd be.

"Let's get something to eat. I'm starving," he said more than suggested the moment he saw her. Autumn nodded in agreement, rubbing her arm. She was worried and tense. Her heart pounded in her ears and her palms sweated.

Autumn shadowed David as they journeyed down the way. She didn't have the courage to look up until they moved in a room.

The room reminded her of the cafeteria at her old high school. It was an enormous room, probably half the size of a football field. Tons of spherical metallic tables were dispersed around the room and a trivial counter rested against the wall. A lady waited behind it, serving everyone with a big grin.

David led Autumn over to the line, which only entailed of two people. All the evil glares and whispers that were sent her way broke her heart.

The line shifted and the lunch serve passed David a fully stocked plate with a beaming smile. However, when her eyes fell on Autumn, the smile dissipated. The woman virtually flung the plate at her but not before muttering something under her breath.

"Come on," David sighed, guiding Autumn through the maze of tables and to one secluded from the others. Flinging his plate down, David smacked into his seat and began scoffing back his food. Autumn softly positioned her plate on the tabletop before she glided into hers, feeling as if one wrong move could be her last.

Autumn scrutinized her plate. It consisted of a piece of meat oozing with an unfamiliar juice, an apple, mashed potatoes, plastic silverware wrapped in a napkin, and a pile of corn. The food appeared appetizing but she wasn't hungry.

Autumn unexpectedly felt ill. The thought of Tate being chastised on her behalf made her want to throw up.

"Food not good enough for you?" David sneered.

Autumn didn't bother to pay it any mind. She had to learn to build up a wall against the constant criticism. She'd suffer under its thumb for at least two months. She doubted she'd be able to survive.

"Autumn I-I . . . I'm sorry." He stretched across the table, lying his hand on top of hers. Autumn's first instinct was to panic. She pulled her arm from his grip instantaneously. "Look, this is just so . . . weird. I need time to get used ta . . . you know . . . all of this."

"Used to what?" She ventured out, curiosity driving her.

"Not," he paused, observing her as if he wasn't positive on how she'd accept his answer. "Not hating you." Autumn hadn't expected the answer he had supplied at all. "My entire life, I've been told that humans were horrible, that they only cared about themselves, and that I had to hate them but then . . . well . . . you come along and . . ."

"And?"

"Changed that." Autumn was astonished. "Tate is my best friend," he broke his gaze from the floor and shifted it to her. "And you risked everything to save him."

Autumn was at a loss for words.

"Thank you," he accomplished to smile. "What you did was very brave." Autumn opened her mouth to stagger through a retort but, without more ado, shut it when she noticed someone approaching the table.

A girl parked herself on David's lap, draping her arm around his shoulder.

"Hey baby." She gripped his chin and forced him to kiss her. The two swapped salvia and Autumn made herself eat since there was literally nothing else she could do. When the woman pulled away, David flashed his cheerful smile and drove tresses of her coal black hair from her face.

"Who's this?" The woman lost all the brightness to her.

"Jade, this is Autumn. She's-"

"The human," Jade interjected. Autumn budged awkwardly in her chair. "How did you get stuck babysitting her? Tate get sick of it already?"

"Jade-"

"Still can't believe he brought her here," Jade sustained her speech. "Usually people try to keep pests out of there house. Not invite to stay."

"Jade!" David heaved her off his lap. She bounded to her feet, a warped leer on her face.

"He always had a thing for pests I guess," Jade shrugged, banging her hand down on the table. Autumn jumped as Jade inclined in. "I'd keep your distance if I were you. Tate won't be around forever to keep us in place. Welcome to the mouse trap, pest."