They come out of the black, and they come smiling. Bright and white; teeth like needles. They tear at her skin, and they won't stop, they won't ever stop, 'till they've taken the heart of her. She screams, but can't cut through the silence they've constructed around her. From her.

She realises she's not the only one who is screaming.

She opens her eyes, and can't help but cry out. She can no longer choose not to respond to her first instinct – something else they have taken from her. Simon is besides her in a second, strong and reassuring hands bracing her shoulders as she shudders violently.

“Mei-mei?” It's his doctor's voice, reassuring and calm. It would work, but she can feel his anxiety as her own. As if his hands are a conduit, feeding the hidden tumult into her direct.

“They're coming,” she gasps.

Confusion, disarray. Not all her own. “Who is coming?” he asks, voice gentle but a frown on his face.

She can't answer, can't articulate, but she doesn't have to.

“Kaylee,” Zoe's voice crackles over the comm, “Get the Doctor to the cargo-bay.”

Simon is up, grabbing his red bag before the mechanic has even responded. “Stay here?” he asks his sister, and it is still a request, not an order. She nods, and he sprints for the 'bay as the door opens.