Dying, it turns out, it just about as horrific as Julian thought it might be. As the cave begins to collapse around him, all his senses are overwhelmed, unable to see or hear what might be happening on the other side of the wall that separates Julian, Agamede, and Aliyah from Daniel. He is unable to morbidly diagnose what his death will be like, figuring he will most likely go from suffocation before succumbing to any deadly injury, his mind quietly listing what that will be like as if his death is an example in a medical text. If he is lucky, he will be knocked unconscious first. His only hope is that he will be spared the memory of this when he wakes up, though how he could forget any of this is beyond him. The human mind can be kind, at times, though. Maybe this will be one of those times.

Julian is still needlessly pulling at the rocks in front of him until the very last moment when everything comes down around him. He curls up crouching, one arm uselessly over his head, Agamede clutched tightly to his chest with his other hand, and Aliyah somewhere just between his body and the stone wall that separates her and Daniel. All Julian can hear is the roaring, and then everything goes silent and still. Julian doesn't remember anything after that.