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 registered shock for a moment before picking her up. They ran together toward the docks.

It was a nightmare. Inara prayed to anyone that would listen that she would be safe, that Mal and Zoe, Simon, Kaylee, even Jayne would be waiting for her. She begged God that Mal would be there to be suspicious of Sturgis, to call her a saohuo . Then she thought of River, all alone on the ship. She ran faster.

***** Zoe pumped round after round into the hellish riot in the street. Simon was terrified and shooting frantically in all directions.

For every Reaver she killed, Zoe felt her baby kick inside her, spurring her on, cutting a swath through them.

*****

Jayne screamed Kaylee’s name. A single shot rang out. Kaylee pushed the body of the Reaver off her. In her right hand she held the old pistol Jayne had given her only two days before. She turned the gun at him, shooting the other Reaver. The shot caught Jayne in the ear, hitting the screaming freak in the head.

*****

As abruptly as it began, the attack was over. The Reavers simply all stopped and retreated, leaving behind flayed skin, broken bodies and crushed skulls. As if somebody somewhere had flipped a switch.

*****

When the Reavers chasing him had stopped, turned and walked away from him, Mal was not confused. The level of absolute bewilderment he felt hadn’t been invented yet. The sudden quiet uneased Mal. He’d shot one of the Reavers through the kneecap and it had just continued on walking away. He wanted to get the hell out of there but his crew, his family was scattered across the city. He headed to the bridge, to see if any of them had been able to wave. Something was definitely and obviously not right.

And he found it lying on the steps to the bridge. River, her wrists cut, said softly to him, “Show me the mercy you gave to the man outside,” when he picked her up. He ran with her to the infirmary. She’d been bleeding all over the steps and he could almost feel her dying.

He set her down on the table in the kitchen. He didn’t think there was enough time to save her. He took his belt and his shirt, peeling both off as fast as he could and tied off her arms. The bleeding began to slow.

“No, please, please mercy! I’ll do anything, be your slave for the day, just please let me die, mercy!” River sobbed. She grabbed his wrist, wrenching it weakly. “I’ll tell you what she thinks when she sees your face, the apple of her eye, just please, I need to go through with my mission! Mercy!”

“Don’t have that much mercy today girl.” Mal said. Then he pulled his fist back and knocked her out.

“Only half dead, darlin.” *****

Kaylee clutched onto Jayne as tight as she could. They’d been sitting behind the bar together for what felt like hours.

“I think we should try to get back to Serenity.” Kaylee said as loudly as she could manage. They stood up together. Jayne stepped on something. It mad a metal crunch. It was a camera, knocked off of the Reaver Kaylee had shot. He picked it up and showed it to her.

“What the hell was he,” Jayne gestured to the dead body, “doing with this?” “Look.” Kaylee pointed to the writing on the side of the device. Blue Sun.