The only light source currently illuminating a small portion of the room is a tiny red bulb, blinking in the corner. On, off, on, off, on, off. Repeatedly. It mocks me as I sit on the cold hard floor of my cell, replaying the moment when everything went to hell inside my head. One minute, it all seemed to be going according to plan, and the next, we were being taken away. Separated and locked up like animals. The clear glass walls that greeted me when I first arrived have been tinted black, keeping the outside hidden from view. More important, keeping me hidden from the outside. Watching the light blinking in the darkness, I press my lips together to try and push down the twisted amusement that rises in my chest. It's a security camera, meaning that even in the confines of this pitch-black room, I'm still being watched. His face resurfaces in my mind, and I hold back a sneer.

I wonder if the rest of the team is being kept in rooms similar to the one I'm in right now. Are they close by? Are they safe? Had they, too, felt dread creep up their spine when they were shoved inside and handcuffed to the wall, nothing but the feeling of cool metal digging into their flesh keeping them from hoping that this was all just a horrible dream? A twisted nightmare from which we would shudder awake, chest heaving as we drew in lungsful of much-needed air, in the safety and comfort of our beds back at the compound.

I yank on the chains, using the pain to anchor my mind to the present the way my body is anchored to the wall. This is no dream, and this certainly isn't the home we had built for ourselves during these past few months.

Just as my mind starts to wander again, as I try to come to terms with my current situation, a door I hadn't been able to make out in the darkness pours bright white light into the room. I squint, trying to adjust to the sudden change, and I can barely make out the silhouette of a tall figure standing in the entrance of my cell.

"Brianna," says a deep emotionless voice.

A voice I had come to trust, to admire, the voice of a man who had become like a father to me, to everyone back at the compound.

"I'm so sorry it had to come to this."

The laugh that has been building inside of me pushes past my lips, sounding hysterical even to my own ears. He isn't sorry, not in the slightest. The tiny ember of anger that had ignited in my chest when I saw his face, when I learned who he really was, transforms into a roaring fire that threatens to consume me, and I clench my fists to stop them from shaking.

Why did it have to come to this? Everything we went through, everything we lost, only to end up here?

"You're not sorry," I tell Christian, and I make sure to pour every ounce of hate and loathing I'm feeling towards him into those three words.

I hear him sigh before he turns around, letting the door fall shut behind him, leaving me in darkness once more. But this time, when the door closes, I'm determined to see it open again. And when it does, I will be the one walking out of here.

I inspect the cuffs that are secured around my wrists, lifting them as much as they allow me to while being firmly chained to the wall, and angle them towards the light. no keyhole is visible; they look like two hoops of perfectly smooth silver. It's moments like these when I really wish I had a physical Gift or a Gift that would tell me how to get out of sticky situations such as this one. But Gift or no Gift, I am not giving up. I will tug until my wrists bleed, and I will use that blood to slip my hands through. I will pull and pull until I can't pull anymore to break the chains that are keeping me in here. I will fight tooth and nail until I am reunited with my friends and we find what we came here for. So just one more yank, one more pull, and somehow, I will be free.

And once I am, heaven help those who stand in my way.

"Think Bri, think," I say to myself

Use that brain of yours. You are not going to stay in here forever. This is not how Brianna Acero goes down!

I'm about to try another tactic when there is a loud bang near my box. I hear yelling as people run around, what I can only assume, is a larger room. But before I can start to hope about who I think is causing such a ruckus, my whole world is bathed in white.

I squint at the small figure standing in the doorway, backing into the wall unconsciously.

"Hello," says the boy, walking into the room.

I can't make out his face because of the light shining at his back, but I can imagine that twisted little grin that he always seems to have plastered on his face. In some ways I pity the poor kid, and wonder what happened to him to have made him so... strange.

"What's happening out there?" I ask, trying to see out the now open door.

People are running around, men and women in lab coats and black suits like the one Christian was wearing. Christian, who had betrayed me, betrayed us all. How did we not see it? Probably because none of us expected him to side with a man like Dominic. Not Christian, who valued honor and loyalty above everything else, who sought justice wherever he went.

I keep looking out the door, and someone runs past holding a... is that a fire extinguisher?

"Your elemental friend decided to set his whole cell aflame. Nothing to worry about however," he says, coming to sit cross-legged in front of me. "He tried to escape, but we managed to catch him before he did."

My shoulders slump. So, Kalen nearly managed to get out. It seems like nothing is going our way today. Not for him, not for any of us.

The boy frowns when he sees my distraught expression.

"Why are you sad? Now you get to stay here with us!"

I snort, looking at the boy with the meanest glare I can muster. Though I doubt he can see it in the dark. Does this kid really think we want to be here? Judging by what I've learned about him from his little visits to my cell, he might. He isn't a normal child that's for sure. He walks around with a mad man and wants to befriend everyone he meets, including the people he knows Dominic will kill, like Anna, Asher, and Xavier.

"What is going to happen to him now?" I ask, worried that Kalen will get punished for trying to get away. Or worse, they will want to get rid of him completely.

The boy shrugs, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding his head up with his hands. He studies me, blinking at me owlishly.

"Dominic is still deciding what to do with him. But," he says, rubbing his chin as if he were actually thinking about something important.

He says nothing, and I roll my eyes.

"But?" I prompt, raising my eyebrows.

The boy smiles, standing, arms crossed over his little chest.

"But I bet Dominic will be more forgiving if you decide to cooperate."

I bite the inside of my cheek, clenching my teeth together and refusing to say a word. The boy sighs and turns around, but instead of heading towards the door like I expected, he walks over to the wall that is right next to the door and presses a hidden button, activating a screen on the tinted glass. It flickers to life, glitching before the image becomes clear, and I gasp at what I see.

My friends, all in their cells. Yet compared to theirs, I might be in paradise.

Jayson has his arms completely strapped to the wall, covered by large metal tubes, I guess to stop him from using his Gift. There is a large bump on his forehead, which makes me think he must have gotten hit with something, or by someone, while we were being brought to... well to wherever we are.

Cassie has her hands cuffed to the wall like me, but she has been forced to stand, and I watch her shift her weight from one foot to the other, looking around the dark room in fear. The doll she always carries with her is at her feet, torn in half, its little button eyes staring at the camera.

My heart clenches when I spot Mara. She is also cuffed, but has a sort of half metal helmet that covers her eyes and ears, and her mouth has been covered by the same metal muzzle that we used on Simon Says. All her senses have been cut off, but the one that they have taken extra precaution with is her hearing. The mask has two large cylinders that cover her ears, making it impossible for her to hear. Making it impossible for her to control any sort of sound she could use to her advantage.

I look at the screen on the bottom right corner and I feel my breath catch in my throat.

Kalen is strapped spread eagle to a large metal table, Dominic standing over him. Kalen's mouth is moving, and judging by the way he spits the words at Dominic. he is telling him nothing good, but his eyes turn weary when he spots the device in Dominic's hand. I've never seen anything like it. A little metal claw, that opens and closes with the press of a button. It seems sharp, knife-like edges glinting in the light of the room, Kalen's being the only one that wasn't enveloped in darkness. That's probably because it doesn't look like he's in a cell, but in a lab of some sort. Various tools line the walls, different gadgets that are familiar, or that I have never seen before in my life. And in one of the corners, piled to the ceiling, are the tubs of RII.

Dominic says something, I can see his mouth moving, and yet unlike every other time we've seen him he isn't smiling. He is dead serious, and I nearly jump out of my skin when he looks right at the camera that is allowing me to see him and Kalen through the screen. He points at it, saying something again, and Kalen's head whips around, eyes searching before they land on the camera. He struggles, even more, muscles straining against his bonds, and I watch as he starts to yell. I only recognize one word. One word that I manage to catch by reading his lips.

"Bri."

"You could stop this," says the boy, looking at the screen, "if you help us."

I look between him and the screen, between this little lunatic and my friend, the boy I like, the boy I am watching thrash around on the table like a caged animal. The ice around my heart hardens, and I glare at the child.

"I will never help you," I want to spit at him, but my words die in my throat as I watch what happens next.

Suddenly Dominic places the metal claw on Kalen's head, and I struggle against my restraints as his back arches off the table, mouth opening in a silent scream. What are they doing to him?

Flames lick up his arms from the pain, reaching all the way up to his shoulders. But the fire does nothing to stop Dominic, who just digs the little device harder into my friend's scalp. Kalen jerks, legs kicking in a desperate attempt to break free. But nothing he does works, not the fire he tries to send Dominic's way or his attempt at freeing himself from his bonds, and I just sit here, forced to watch him get tortured by the man that killed my father.

"Stop It!" I yell, looking at the screen in despair. "Stop!"

The boy says nothing, just keeps looking at the screen where Kalen is spasming on the table. He has screwed his eyes shut, but it does nothing against the tears that have started to roll down his cheeks. His back comes off the table as his muscles strain against his bonds, against the pain of whatever it is they are doing to him. My mind makes the decision for me, and even though I know I'm making a big mistake my mouth already speaks up for me.

"Okay!" I yell, getting the boys attention "I'll help! I'll help!"

I'll help.