NOTE: This chapter starts with just a little bit of violent imagery.

River is trudging through snow piled up to her waist as far as her eyes can see. She's not wearing clothes designed to protect her from the cold, but she feels no discomfort. She's tracking her brother - and his captor.

The trail ends at the opening to a cave - massive, dark, but not pitch black. Light enough for her to see. As River enters the cave, she can hear her brother's screams. She can hear a struggle, presumably between Simon and Neriah. After a brief moment of hearing this struggle, the sounds abruptly stop, filling River with a sense of fear - fear for her brother's condition. She runs toward a clearing several hundred feet in front of her, and as she reaches the clearing, she sees Simon's face peeking from around the corner. She stops, managing to produce a smile of stunned, euphoric amazement.

River: "Simon. You're …"

River's face is then filled with horror as Neriah rounds the corner and tosses Simon's severed head in River's direction. She catches it and looks deeply into his eyes.

Simon's head: "*Mei mei …*"

As River drops her brother's head, she violently leaps from her bed and begins bouncing around her room frantically, knocking items from dressers and shelves to the floor, her actions accompanied by horrified, inconsistent shrieks. After a moment, she melts against the back corner and begins sobbing uncontrollably.

Kaylee rushes toward the room, opens the door and immediately approaches River and kneels beside her, wrapping her arms around her. River collapses into Kaylee's body, barely noticing who had come running at the sound of her cries. River can't stop crying long enough to speak, and Kaylee knows better than to ask what's wrong - or is too afraid to find out the answer.

***

Kaylee and Mal are sitting at the dinner table. Book is standing behind Kaylee, hands on her shoulders. Jayne is filling a plate with food.

Mal: "She's sleepin' now?"

Kaylee (nodding, speaking almost solemnl