Avery opened her eyes… and was shocked to find open sky above her. A few puffy white clouds drifted lazily by. Just seconds before she had been staring at a white ceiling in the main station in Los Angeles. The plane ride had frankly been terrifying for her. She just despised heights. And she had never flown anywhere before. She hadn’t even ever left the state of Washington. Not only was she taking her first every trip, but she was for the first time going to enter Maya Virtuele. Her fear of that place made the plane ride a piece of cake.
Yet she had overcome her fears, practically gone against her entire nature, and was here. She sat up, realizing she had been lying on soft, pale sand. It was extremely warm, and she ran her fingers through it, smiling slightly. It was as if she had been transported to the beach in Florida. Or at least this is what she imagined Florida felt like. She finally stood up, brushing the sand off of her… jumpsuit? When had she put that on? Yet she was wearing one, and as she looked around at the other nine bodies lying in the sand, everyone else was wearing one too. Each had a different color, and hers was white.
Avery looked around, noticing that the sand turned into a very rocky and dangerous looking shore to both the right and the left. The waves splashed up against the rocks, spraying mist everywhere. But they were lazily approaching them on the beach, and she weaved her way through her still sleeping teammates to stand in the water. The ocean stretched as far as she could see, and met the light blue sky at the horizon.
It was most definitely beautiful here. Yet she had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t real. It was how home had looked, at one point. And she hoped it was how it would look again. Then she would really have to take a trip to Florida to experience their beaches for herself. Maybe she could even take Brody with her.
Just thinking of him made her sad, yet somewhat excited. Brody was here, somewhere. If they couldn’t convince Dr. Holloway to shut Maya Virtuele down, she was going to stay and look for him. She had decided that long ago. And if her and her new teammates were successful, she would be able to find him back in the real world. No matter what, she wasn’t going to be satisfied until she saw him, and finally found out what he wanted.
So many people had come here. Almost three quarters of the entire population. And yet they had been deposited in a completely desolate area. Was there a reason for that? Were they going to go somewhere everyone else was forbidden to go? The thought made her nervous. While Dr. Leblanc had said she didn’t think there would be any trouble, Avery wasn’t so sure. Something about this entire situation seemed slightly off.
She imagined, if the inventor watched over all of Maya Virtuele, that he would notice how many people there were, and how long they were staying. If he truly was a good person, wouldn’t he realize he needed to shut it down on his own? All of the pieces didn’t seem to fit. Yet, her caution hadn’t kept her away. Along with saving Brody and the environment, there was another reason she had decided to go on this mission.
Avery had never been the most outgoing person, and making friends was always difficult. She was truly an introvert, never feeling comfortable around people. This entire situation was so against anything she had ever done. And that was why she had to. This trip would have to change her, and make her more confident in herself. And maybe she could even learn to be social and charismatic. She wanted to break out of her shell, but had never known how. So she threw herself in a situation that would force her to do so. She just hoped it would work.
Looking back, no one else had yet woken up, so she looked back out across the ocean, trying to reign in her thoughts and prepare herself for this adventure.