It was hard to believe they were really finally escaping until Danny watched the last captive filled ship take off into the sky above Planet Terror. The Sphere was open to them, but most would be returning to their home planets or to metropolises home to what Danny was informed was a galactic police force. Planet Terror, their allies assured them, would be shut down for good. Small comfort, but it was nice to have that hope, that in the end there would be real justice for the lives lost here.
In the Arfour, Danny allowed himself a smile as the engines came to life and the portal in front of them slid away to reveal open sky. He lingered in the cockpit for a moment, thinking about the ways they'd succeeded here, and the ways they'd failed. There were still casualties, but not every ending was completely happy. Danny thought of himself, then, and what kind of end this story had for him and about the woman piloting the ship and what had passed between them earlier. He still wasn't ready to talk about it, that could come later. Leaving the take off in Misty's capable hands, he went back to check on Colleen.
What he found pushed all other thoughts out of his head. She was still and as pale as death, and as he dropped to his knees beside the bed he felt his heart race, convinced before he'd touched her that she was gone. But no, there was shallow breath and a thready pulse, but she was completely unresponsive and when he lifted her eyelids her pupils were dilated. The gashes that had earlier only seemed like flesh wounds were now blackened, the veins around them dark and visible. Danny tried to rouse her and, when that failed, he rose and bellowed Misty's name.