It's anything you would expect from a hospital room. It isn't very big but has a large window on the wall next to the bed that lets you see the streets and buildings on the outside. The color is your usual white with light blue curtains and grey furniture. A little TV stands on a table that is placed in the middle of the room, on a yellow rug that provides the only pop of color in the otherwise monochrome room. On the left-hand side there's a bed, and in it we find our friend.

She looks paler than usual, and her hair is disheveled, with various tubes coming out of her hands and arms. But what has me looking at her is the large white bandage that covers half of her face, wrapping around her eyes. She turns in our general direction when she hears us come in, but her face remains expressionless.

"So," she starts, "I'm guessing this is the part where I say hello?"

Nobody says anything, watching Anna with pity and rage, but not towards her, no, towards the man that did this to her.

Xavier is in the chair next to her bed, and his eyes look even more sunken than usual. Asher looks between the five of us and his teammate, making a slight gesture with his hand, as if saying "come on, she is blind, not deaf".

"Anna, we are so sorry," I start, but she holds up a hand to stop me.

"I've heard enough of that from these two," she says, talking about Ash and Xavier.

"I don't need you telling me as well. What's done is done, there is nothing you could have done to stop him, and there is nothing I could have done to avoid... this," she says, waving a hand in front of her face, and I wince.

"I know," I answer, "but we are still sorry. And if you want we won't be sorry for what happened to you, but I am sorry about what we've come here to say"

I tell them everything, from the time we left them at the factory to interrogate Khan, up to the voice that spoke to me in the patio at our compound. I let my friends fill in the blanks that I can't tell, like Jayson and Cassie getting caught and almost being sent to the council to stand trial. Cassie tells that part of the story, waving her hands animatedly, seemingly forgetting the real reason we are here for a few seconds, instead getting sucked into the story. Xavier and Ash listen attentively, but when we tell them why we came to warn them, worry starts to show on their tired faces.

Anna, who had been quiet up until now, just laughs from her bed, a dry sound that makes it seem as if she were incapable of being surprised by anything at this point.

"Let him come," she says, "I'm useless anyway."

My heart sinks at her words, and I feel Mara shift anxiously next to me. I turn to look at her and find her watching Anna with a pained look on her face, looking like she just got punched in the gut. But it's Cassie who speaks up, a mad frown plastered on her face. She puts her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side like an angry mother, even though she knows Anna doesn't see any of it.

"Listen here," she says, "you are one of the strongest Elites I ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I don't want to hear you put yourself down like that again. Okay, so you lost your sight, you lost your Gift."

"Cass!" I hiss, surprised by her words. But She ignores me and keeps going.

"But you know what? That doesn't matter, because you are Anna Brooks, Elite trainee from the second-best compound in the entire country, and you are going to learn how to adapt. Because isn't that how we all got our Gifts in the first place? By adapting? Well, you will learn how to adapt, you will survive, and you will become one of the best Elites out there, regardless of your loss of vision, or your lack of a Gift. I mean sure, you won't be better than me, but that doesn't mean you can't try to be. So why don't you stop feeling sorry for your self and start finding a way to get back to the top, because once you are better there is no doubt in my mind that you will best every single one of the Elites back at your compound."

I let my mouth fall open in awe. If that wasn't the best motivational speech I have ever heard then I have heard nothing. Xavier and Asher are staring at Cassie in shock, delight written all over their faces. Jayson is watching her with a proud smile on his face, and he pats her on the shoulder. I knew that they had gotten closer because of their time at the Mar, and they had a special relationship now. Not romantically, no, Jayson only has room in his heart for one girl and Cass merely sees Jay as a brother. But that doesn't make their newfound trust in each other any less precious, and it makes me happy to see them so comfortable with one another.

I watch Anna nervously, trying to gauge her reaction. She is silent at first, in fact, she is silent for so long that I fear she won't speak to us again, but then a smile slowly starts to spread across her face.

"I don't remember who you are," she says, earning herself an undignified squawk from my friend.

"But I regret not having gotten to know you better, because you sound like my type of girl."

Cassie grumbles something under her breath, but I still catch the blush that creeps up her neck. I smile. If Anna is back to being her usual snarky self then that means she had to be feeling better.

"And besides," adds Kalen, "if he did come, it wouldn't be just you he's after. Would you really want Ash and Xavier to share your fate?"

At that Anna goes serious, shaking her head instantly.

"Never," she says.

"Alright then," she sits up, clapping her hands together.

"What's the plan then?" she asks, already wanting to get down to business. "We can't wait here at the hospital for him to show up, too many people could get hurt."

I shake my head, forgetting momentarily that she can't see me, and then vocalize my answer.

"No. We came to make sure you were well enough to go back to your compound. You will be safest there, with people who know you and can protect you."

Anna looks like she wants to protest, opening her mouth to say something more, but I interrupt before she has a chance to.

"We can't let anything else happen to you. Please, I promise you will get your revenge eventually, but not today."

Anna huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, as best as she can anyway, with all the tubes she has sticking out of her arms, and faces away from us. Well, tries to at least, she just ends up looking in Kalen's direction.

"Fine," she sighs, "but you better keep that promise," she says, pointing a finger at me.

Again, trying to. She ends up pointing more at the window than anything, but the action makes me smile.

"I promise."

She nods, satisfied, and the room goes quiet, as we wait for someone to say something more.

"I guess I'll go call the compound," says Xavier, and before I have a chance to marvel at the fact that he just spoke he dashes out of the room, letting the door close behind him. We never did learn what his Gifts was, did we? I guess we would find out eventually.

"What are you guys going to do? With the president's daughter I mean," asks Asher, looking at us questioningly.

I shrug.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Keep her safe until all this blows over, I guess," I answer.

It's the truth. I have no clue what to do with her, nor do I know what Dominic wants with her. All I know is that whatever that man wants to do with her, it isn't good. Xavier returns about a half-hour later and tells us he managed to get a hold of their Director, and that she is on her way to take them back to the compound. A backup team will be coming with her, so they won't be caught by surprise if Dominic does decide to make a move. For once, it looks like we are finally one step ahead of him. Their director will arrive in a couple of hours, and seeing as we are reaching hour number three, we say our goodbyes, promising to keep in touch.

"Call us if you need anything, anything at all," says Ash, looking at me with desperation shining in his eyes.

He wants to help, he feels useless. I know the feeling.

I nod, placing a hand on his shoulder, promising to keep him up to speed on everything that happens from here on out.

We exit the room, but before I let the door close, I take one last look at Anna, sitting in that hospital bed, tubes sticking out of her arms, and bandage covering her eyes. I make sure to tattoo the image into my brain. It will be the motivation I need to catch Dominic and make sure he pays for what he's done to her.

We leave the little hospital and start driving back to the compound. I take the time to think about everything we will need to do, and to wonder what I'm going to do with our resident celebrity. Should I tell her about the voice? I know I shouldn't, and yet I don't want to keep any more secrets from her. I sigh.

This is going to be a long ride home.