The sound of movement and voices suddenly cut into the monotonous drone of the television. Two vaguely familiar nurses shuffled into the room. The first took one look at Markus and then made a beeline for the coffee pot, while the second stood awkwardly in front of him.

Nurse Benson: "Markus…"

Markus looked up as his unease grew suddenly sharper.

Markus: "What is it? What happened?"
Nurse Benson: "I know you brought your friend in earlier. And I don't know what exactly happened what with all the confusion, but do you know her friend? The redhead?"
Markus: "Yes…"
Nurse Benson: "She's in the ICU right now."
Markus: "What? Why? What happened?"

Nurse Benson: "Your friend James brought her in. She was, well, I don't know how but she was hypothermic."
Markus: "How bad?"
Nurse Benson: "They resuscitated her. They're just waiting for her to wake up."

Markus: "Right. Assuming she does wake up."
Nurse Benson: "Now Markus, I'm sure she'll be fine. Think positively!"
Markus: "Positively. Great, thanks. You've been an enormous help."

Markus stood up and left the waiting room, not caring whether the nurse had picked up on his sarcasm or not. He pushed open the door to the stairwell with so much force that it hit the wall on the other side. He took a moment to collect himself before calling James' cell phone. No answer. He tried Tristan's next. The call seemed to connect, but there was nothing but static on the other end.

Markus took a deep breath and headed downstairs to the ICU.