Well, I was a little reluctant to update after only getting two reviews again on the last chapter - thanks to nick2951 and RHatch89 for sticking with me! It's really disappointing that so many people have stopped reading and reviewing...I hate sounding "desperate" for reviews or anything, but the primary reason why I upload to this site is to get feedback on my writing, and only getting two or three reviews per chapter isn't really helping me do that. So please let me know what you think, especially with this upcoming chapter - it's a big one!

Chapter 49

I'm dead.

I'm totally dead.

There's absolutely no way that I'm not dead.

Right?

I feel myself awaken but I'm too afraid to open my eyes. There's a pounding in my head, right between my eyes. I know it's going to get worse the second I open them, and anyway, I'm too afraid of what I might see.

Wait a minute. If I was really dead, I wouldn't be having this amount of pain, would I?

The last thing I remember is being locked in a dark classroom with "A," of them peering down at me after whacking me in the back of the head. I blacked out, that I know for sure.

I shift a little, trying to get a grasp of where I am without having to open my eyes. Whatever I'm lying on isn't quite soft, but is definitely more comfortable than the hard floor that I collapsed on in the school. Somehow, "A" managed to move me.

This thought is even more terrifying. I need to take a look around. The sooner I face whatever inevitably terrible situation I'm in now, the sooner I can figure out a way out of it.

I roll onto my back and push myself up onto my elbows, forcing my eyes open. The light is dim, but it's enough to make me squint. How long was I out?

It's a small room, with stone gray walls and a wooden floor. I take a moment to focus my eyes, then glance around. There's a gray metal door to my right, and a window on the wall to my left…a window with bars across it, and nothing but darkness on the other side. There must be something pushed right up against it.

I look down, ignoring the dizziness that it causes. I'm laying on a bed…if you can call it that. It's more like a small cot, with white sheets and a single pillow. The only other furniture in the room is a small wooden dresser with a mirror above it and a rickety desk and chair, with another chair just like it against the wall by the door.

There's a familiarity to all of this, but I don't discover what it is until I look down at myself. My black t-shirt and leggings have been replaced by a white gown…like the sort of thing you'd find in a hospital. Or a mental institution.

I'm in Radley.

I'm in Radley. I sit up so fast that I'm sure I can feel my brain thumping against the back of my head. "Oh my god," I gasp, and my voice sounds loud in the small, quiet space.

The room looks almost identical to Mona's, when she stayed here, only the arrangement is slightly different. All of the rooms probably have the same dreary, depressing furniture.

I shove off the white sheet and jump out of bed. Aside from the chilly, thin hospital gown and, hopefully, underwear – yep, underwear, thank goodness – I'm not wearing anything, though a white bathrobe hangs on a hook on the back of the door. Shivering, both from the cold and from fear, I wrap my arms around myself.

Why would "A" put me here, in Radley? I think for a moment that I must be dead, or dreaming, maybe. This must all be some horrible nightmare. I pinch myself on the arm and bite back a cry of pain.

I'm not dreaming, though I am embarrassed. I'm suddenly glad that I'm alone in here, where no one else can see the panic that must be evident on my face.

But even more important than the why is the how? How could "A" have possibly gotten me in here, without any of the staff noticing that an empty room was suddenly occupied?

Unless…

Maybe after they knocked me out, "A" got me into whatever crazy car they must drive and took me to Radley. It would all fit. They carried me in, claimed they found me somewhere or I snapped and knocked myself unconscious, and they put me in a room for a psych hold, the same kind of thing Spencer was here for.

That must be it, I decide, biting a hangnail nervously and feeling my panic begin to subside. Okay. I can deal with this. Soon enough, a nurse or doctor or someone will come in here. I can explain what happened – I can finally tell the truth – and this will all be over. And if worse comes to worst, I can spend a few days here. It's probably safer than being in Rosewood, now that I think about it.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I walk over to the door and pull on the knob, just for good measure. It's shut tight.

Figures. I roll my eyes. Clearly Radley has tightened up on its security since I was last here. I run a hand through my hair and grimace. I must look terrible after everything that just happened. I don't even know how long it's been since I was knocked out in the school. No wonder the staff had me committed.

I walk over to the dresser and position myself in front of the mirror. My hair is tied back in a ponytail, but a loose one, and I pull it free.

Then I scream, leaping back and nearly tripping over the end of the bed.

My hair is blond.

"Holy crap," I mutter, more fascinated than scared. I step closer to the mirror and smooth my fingers through my hair, pushing it in front of my shoulders. There is no doubt about it. My straight hair, which was dark brown the last time I checked, is now golden blond. Even my roots have no trace of brown in them.

Whoa. I step back and examine myself in the mirror, looking over my face and body. Other than the hair – and I notice with a start that even my eyebrows have been dyed blond – I look completely the same. It doesn't look like "A" did anything else to me before dumping me here.

But why? I stare at my reflection, barely able to recognize myself with such a drastically different appearance. Why in the world would "A" want to dye my hair? This is really weird.

I glance over at the window and notice that there's not just something pushed up against it, blocking out the light. It's a wall of dirt. I reach through the bars, pressing my hand against it. The dirt is packed so tightly that I can't even scrape any off.

What could that be? I don't remember ever seeing anything like this anywhere else in Radley before. I feel my heart, which had started to slow, speed up again. Something's wrong. Something's very wrong.

"Hello?" I yell, my voice hoarse after so much screaming. I pound on the metal door, which seems almost sealed shut. "Is anyone there? I need help!" I press my ear to the door to listen, but everything is eerily silent. No screams or laughter from other patients. No beeping of monitors. No nurses' heels clacking down the tile floor.

The thought pops back into my head, stronger this time. Something is wrong.

My breathing coming fast, I sit down hard on the edge of the bed, twirling a strand of my new blond hair around my finger. I have no idea how I'm going to get out of here. What if no doctors know that I'm here? What if this is some room in an abandoned wing of the hospital, where no one goes? I may be trapped in here forever.

The click of the door opening is quiet, but in the silence of the room it sounds deafening. I leap to my feet and spin around, watching the metal door swing open slowly. I brace myself, my knuckles whitening as I ball my hands into fists. I'm ready for a nurse or someone else willing to help me, but I'm just as ready for "A."

But no one stands on the other side of the door, and the cool, chilling female voice does not come from the hallway.

"Welcome. Willkommen. Bienvenidos."

...

Again, please let me know what you think. I'd really like to start uploading more frequently again, but unless I start getting some more feedback, it'll probably stay at once a week. Next, Viola begins to realize where she is when she is reunited with someone she never thought she'd see again.