Black smoke filled the air. Mal was running towards the docks, praying that his people would be there. Everything was a blur. Why were there so many of them, HOW were there so many of them? Hadn’t most of them been killed? Killed by River?

He saw people running and dying all around him, a man walking down the street, his stomach split open and his innards falling out, screaming in the chaos until a shrieking mob of Reavers fell on him, eating him alive. Mal pulled his gun and shot the man. The Reavers dropped him and turned to Mal, raging with the lose of their prize.

“Bad idea!” Mal sprinted away, turning and shooting at them as he ran.

*****

Jayne was glad he’d put his hat back. He stood shooting non stop in front of the bar. He’d put Kaylee behind it when she’d been shot. Some gorram fool had run in being chased by a huge pack of Reavers. When they’d caught him he’d shot of his gun in all directions, shoutin for somebody to help him. One of the stray bullets had caught Kaylee in the arm.

He was running low on ammo. Not that he didn’t carry a lot with him, he just hadn’t been expecting a war. One of the Reavers grabbed for him and Jayne slapped it upside the head with Vera. As it fell, the light caught something on the side of it’s head. A camera, a small one. Jayne didn’t have time to think on this oddity. He was out of bullets and the crowd was closing fast. Something flew by his face and shattered on the ground. Kaylee had thrown a Molotov cocktail of cheap liquor and a napkin into the Reavers so’s he could get away.

Jayne vaulted over the bar. Kaylee sat there cradling her arm. She was covered in blood. She looked up at him. She’d given him the same look only half an hour before when she’d brought him here. Suddenly a Reaver vaulted the bar and landed on top of her. Jayne was grabbed from behind.

They were going to die.

*****

Inara was running like she’d never run before. And then she was lying on the ground. She looked up into John Sturgis’ face. His face regist