Susan's point of view

Wham! A swift hit to the head and I was out. I remember being slumped against the wall, and someone running towards me. All I can register about that person was red hair and glasses. Then the world went black. I know I'm unconscious, but I can't wake up. I can still hear sounds around me, but to no avail will my body let me open my eyes. Come on, get up! I try to regain my strength and force my eyes open. I can feel my senses responding, but I still won't wake up. So instead, I take a stroll through my happiest memories, using the joy I felt in those moments as an inspiration to wake up. I remember the best times: trying hot pockets and coffee for the first time, learning to swim, laughing at pointless things with Cassia and Julia, receiving my power even though it was given to me with bad intentions, and chasing fireflies underneath the stars. I can feel myself smiling, and then my eyes flutter open.

"She's finally awake," Cassia sighs with relief. I see Cassia, Peter, Adam, and someone I don't know gathered around me. "What happened? How long was I out?" I ask frantically. "Calm down, I don't want to overload your mind after you just woke up. Let's keep this simple: you were knocked out at the library, and you were unconscious for about a week and a half," Cassia explains. "A WEEK AND A HALF?!" I yell as I bolt upright, causing everyone to back up. "Susan, lay back down," Cassia cautions. "I'm fine!" I yell as I stand up and rip an IV out of my arm and remove the blood pressure monitor from my forearm.

"Susan, you're not in any shape to be moving around," Adam says. "I am fine! Now where's Julia? We have to find her and go back to the Council and make them pay for what happened at the library!" I yell. Suddenly, sad looks appear on everyone's faces. Adam drops his head, Cassia pretends to write something down on a clipboard she's holding, and Peter leaves the healing tent with an angry look on his face. The only person who doesn't change hearing Julia's name is that person I don't know, a guy with...the guy with red hair and glasses. The one who came to help me after I was knocked out.

Ignoring him for the moment, I address the issue at hand. "What? What's wrong with everybody?" I ask. When no one answers, I lose patience. "Somebody tell me something! Where's Julia?" I plead, beginning to think the worst has happened. "After the events at the library, we suffered great losses. Tatum gave our whereabouts to the Council, and so they came for us. Since we were in no shape to fight with such few numbers, Julia offered herself up, and the Council took her away," Adam says with sadness in his voice.

"And you just let her go?" I ask. "What else could we have done? We couldn't defend ourselves, and there was no changing her mind. Believe me, Peter desperately tried to make her stay," Adam says. I drop my head, angry that I missed all of this. "So that's it then? We lose and they take Julia? Is this the end?" I ask. "Not yet it isn't," Adam says. "There's a plan to free her, thought brilliantly up by yours truly," he adds with a smile. "Very funny. What's this plan?" I ask.

"The Council is going to kill her in eight days, but I have a plan to get the two sides to compromise. Then, we're gonna blow up the wall and all the citizens are going to flood to headquarters. The crowd will distract the Council and Peter can rush in and save Julia. Simple, right?" Adam explains.

The crazy amount of steps in that plan are almost enough to make me pass out again. "No offense, but it's a bit of a wonder why you didn't get the power of dreams because that plan is a long shot," I say. "Perhaps, but I think it'll work. I'm on board, Peter's on board, Cassia's on board once her work with the injured is finished, and even Kyle's on board," Adam says, pointing a finger at the guy who was with me when I passed out. He actually looks a bit like Adam with his red hair and brown eyes. "What, is he your brother or something?" I ask. "No, but I think it's time you met him. I'll leave you two alone," Adam says with a smirk as he leaves.

There's a very long, awkward moment of silence that passes before I speak up. "So...your name's Kyle?" I ask. "Yeah," he responds. "That's a nice name," I add. "Thank you," he says. Another moment of awkward silence. I don't know how much longer I can take this. "Well...I should probably get out there and...do some chores or something," I begin as I start towards the exit. "Wait! I'm sorry, I imagined meeting you for the first time a lot different. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Kyle Gold. I've been looking after you ever since the events of the library," he explains.

"Then why haven't I ever seen you before then? You weren't with us when we were at the library," I question. He begins to look panicked, like he's scared of what he's about to tell me. "I promise, there is no need to be afraid of me. I'm harmless. But the reason why you've never seen me before was because...because I was fighting on the Council's side," Kyle gets out.

"Goodbye," I say to him as I try to leave once again, anger rising up in me. "No, please listen," I hear him beg. Suddenly, he grabs my shoulders and turns me around so I face him. "I didn't know what I was doing. I only joined them based off of the things I was told about them my whole life, things like how generous people they are and how they fight for the most prosperous society for us. But it was you, Susan; you were the one who made me see sense. When I was trying to evade getting involved in the fight at the library, I felt this sudden urge to turn around. And so I did, and there you were. You were the most beautiful thing I'd seen, using your power to give people joy to replace their anger in the fight. And then, when I saw you get knocked out, I changed who I was fighting for without question. And it was all because of you," he says, every word screaming truth at me.

I gently remove his hands from my shoulders, but I don't try to leave this time. "You did all of that after taking one look at me?" I question. "Yes," he says. Since his face is a mere inches from mine, I use the moment to get a better look at him. Freckles lie underneath the rims of his glasses, which frame his soft brown eyes. His close cropped red hair gleams a fiery color under the light, giving him a warm aura. I turn my attention to his hand, which I don't hesitate to grab and turn over to see the tattoo on his palm. "The power of healing," I say, recognizing the familiar etching since Cassia has the same one.

"Yeah. It's the only reason why they let me care for you," he explains. I look back up at him, my initial distrust of him replaced with this warm fuzzy feeling. "But you didn't even know me; Why go through all of this for someone you didn't even know?" I question. "Surely you can figure that one out on your own," Kyle says with a smirk. I drop my gaze and stand there, the answer to my question as clear as day. "I'll leave you to your thoughts," he says reluctantly as he leaves the tent. At least he knows when to give someone their space.

I scurry over to a tiny mirror in the corner of the room and take a look at myself. My dark hair is a tangled mess from not being brushed, I could really use a breath-mint, and I don't smell particularly good since I can't even recall the last time I took a bath. Grabbing a nearby brush, I begin to comb through my hair as I try to figure out why Kyle likes me. Is it possible? Can you just look at someone and know that they're meant for you? Can that happen?

Well, it obviously can since it worked for him, but can I return the favor? I'm not in love with him, but I can't ignore the warm, fuzzy feeling I had when I saw him, truly saw him, for the first time.

Oh well, I'll deal with my feelings in my own time. Right now, everyone's main focus needs to be getting Julia back. I can only wonder how she's holding up in the prisons. She's been claustrophobic for a long time, so she can't be too happy where she is. When we would play hide and seek as kids, she would always be easy to find since she never hid anywhere small enough to conceal herself well.

I wonder how Peter deals with it, not knowing if she's ok or not. He's probably not handling it well since he abruptly left when I brought her up. Adam can't be that great either; he just lost Natalie, and now losing Julia probably brought back painful memories. And when Cassia gets stressed, she can either distract herself in her work or fly into a panic attack. She didn't do that when I asked about Julia, so I'm assuming it's the work-crazed option.

In all truth, however, how am I going to hold up? Julia was always the glue that kept us all together, the peacemaker as well as the fighter when someone threatened the people she cared about. We all play a roll in one another's lives: Cassia is calm and level-headed, ready to provide comfort in times of despair. Adam is intelligent and creative, always looking out for us and pointing us in the right direction. Peter is protective and strategic, motivated by his passions to fight for what's right. I am the one who lifts our spirits when it seems all hope is lost, ready to remind people of their greatest joy in the gloomiest of times. Julia, however, was our foundation; without her, we all come crashing down. She is a part of all of us: a best friend to Cassia and I, the best student Adam could have asked to train, and someone Peter could love with all his heart. And now, she's just gone.

I can only hope with all my heart that Adam's plan will be a success. Because if it fails, then that's it. Like I said, she is our foundation. If she dies, that foundation crumbles to dust. Once that happens, we'll all come falling down, the impact breaking us into millions of pieces. Dear God, please let Adam's plan work.