The instability of the structure he is in roars and Daniel thinks Aliyah might be roaring too, in defiance or in disclosure of agony or some unintelligible emotion he cannot put a name to, he can't say, there is only the dreadful shuddering of stone and sliding rock, and his limbs jerk in irregular movements, trying to get back to Aliyah, he reaches the walled rubble and tears at it, desperately, futilely, and it is in that moment that it severs.

Snaps.

The thing.

The thing.

The -

Aliyah.

is gone.

He can't feel her heartbeat in synchronous panic to his, he can't feel the chaotic swirl of her pained desperation to return to him, he can't hear her calls, he can't feel her terror he can't feel he can't feel he can't feel himself

everything dims

and he is alone

when the ceiling falls he cannot close his eyes and he does not protest

it will not matter one way or the other

Aliyah is gone

--

Daniel awakes in a surge of sweat and panic, clawing at his chest in fearful revelation. Even once he registers it was a dream, it still feels horribly like some deep and vital part of himself has just been irretrievably lost.