Hal turns over the signal device in his hands. He hasn't been able to let it out of his sight since… since he hadn't seen it in time.
His mind wanders, as it often does. Back to the room. Back to Barry, and his endless circles. What had he thought, as he ran his final race? I knew you would save me, Hal.
Hal's mind sticks on Barry's teeth, glinting in the sunlight as he smiled, happy and calm and I-knew-you-would-save-me-Hal I-always-knew-you'd-come and Barry had been so confident that Hal would save him, had never doubted right up until Hal had scooped him away to safety.
Running along that silver track, had Barry expected Hal to come swooping in at the last minute to save him? Had he glanced over his shoulder to scan for a hint of emerald light? Had he kept his body loose, preparing to be snatched to safety? Had he repeated to himself that he would see Iris again, that his best friend would never leave him alone, leave him to d…
Or had he known. Had he been resigned and grim and accepted the fact that Hal was far, far away, that he wouldn't make it back to Earth in time for the funeral; that he wouldn't know until Wally told him, holding his uncle's ring in his hands. In his final moments, had Barry joined the ranks of everyone who realized Hal was destined to let them down?
Hal couldn't decide which was worse.