Wake up, Hal. You have to wake up now. Hal's eyes shot open at the sound of his mother's voice, and he gasped for air desperately. He was half-buried beneath a giant slab of drywall and several cobblestones.

"Hal!" Hal turned his head slightly and saw Matt kneeling beside him, his face splotchy and tear-stained, a small dribble of blood dried on his temple. He half expected to see his mother standing behind his brother, smiling reassuringly. But they were alone.

"Matt! Matt, are you hurt?" Hal's voice was strained and had a sense of urgency to it.

"No, I'm fine. But you... You wouldn't wake up. I kept calling your name, but..." Matt began to cry again, his voice sounding so young. "Hey, shh. It's okay, Matt. I'm awake, I'm okay. And we're going to get out of here, all right?"

Matt wiped his cheeks and coughed a little to clear his throat, then he nodded. "Okay." He said hesitantly. "Good man. Now help me up." Hal mumbled, already beginning to move the drywall off himself.

Hal suddenly felt his heart sink into his stomach as Matt began tossing away the cobblestones. Where was Maggie?

"Matt, where's Maggie?" Hal's voice cracked as he asked the question.

Matt's eyes grew wider and he swallowed. "I.. I don't know.. I.. I just woke up here, and you were next to me.. I didn't remember Maggie was with us..." His bottom lip began to tremble.

Hal hurried and used most of what little energy he had to push the last of the wall off, the he painfully and stiffly stood up, pressing a hand to his side tightly as the blood clot that had formed there broke.

Hal bent down and kissed the top of Matt's head quickly before moving across the collapsed room in search of his partner.

"Maggie!" Hal's scream was weak. He was beginning to feel lightheaded from blood loss and lack of air. "Maggie!" He called out a bit stronger this time.

He spotted her arm sticking out from beneath a giant wall of cobblestones. She wasn't moving. "Maggie!" He breathed, rushing to her side. He pressed his fingers to the underside of her wrist, praying he would find a pulse. He couldn't find one.

"No... No... Not you..." Hal felt like he would be sick. He used every last bit of energy he had to push the stone wall off her limp body. He turned her over gently and examined her. She was pretty bruised and bloodied, but she still had some color to her skin.

Hal quickly laid her down and began to perform CPR. He pressed hard on her chest repetitively. "Goddammit, Maggie, you are not dying on me. Not today." He breathed out as he pumped her chest furiously. He bent over and pinched her nose, then breathed into her mouth, noting that her lips were already cold. He breathed again, willing her to take his breath.

She did. Maggie began to cough violently, her body convulsing. When she finally began to relax a little, she managed to open her eyes and peer up at Hal. Her eyes were red and irritated from all the dust in the air.

"Hal..." She blinked up at him, almost in disbelief. Hal bit his tongue to hold back the tears that threatened to leak from his tired eyes. He had almost lost her. He had almost lost her. That thought didn't make sense to him. Life without Maggie wasn't... Possible. It wasn't life.

"Well, look who decided to join us." He said quietly, looking deep into her eyes. He managed a small, weak smile.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't go just yet. You'd never find your way back home." She scoffed breathlessly, closing her eyes.

Hal let a choked laugh escape his throat. "Yeah, yeah." He mumbled softly. He pushed a strand of her long, golden hair back from her face and tucked it gently behind her ear.

Maggie looked up at him as he did so, searching his face over. She noticed how shaky he looked, how his eyes were twitching fearfully, how his breathing was heavy and rapid. She had scared him, she could tell. He looked like he was a tragedy away from a complete breakdown.

"Hey." She whispered softly. Hal looked at her, pain and fear filling his eyes entirely. "Hey. It's over. I'm here. I'm here."

Hal let out a long, shaky sigh and rubbed his face roughly with his bruised hands. He met her gaze evenly and nodded.

Her eyes shifted to Hal's side suddenly. They flicked in panic. "You're hurt." She spoke quietly as Matt approached them. Hal nodded. "It's not that bad. Just needs some stitches." He said faintly.

"I heard something. Well, someone, really. Or I think I did." Matt ran his dirty hand through his sandy curls and squinted his eyes in thought.

Hal turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Someone?" "Yeah, I think so." Matt bit his lip and watched Hal so he'd know what to do.

Hal groaned as he rose to his feet. He held his hand out to Maggie, who gripped it tightly as he pulled her upright.

Hal strode to where Matt had previously been waiting, and listened. He didn't hear anything. "Hello?" He made his voice as loud and strong as he could. "Hello? Is anyone up there?" He shouted somewhat powerfully.

"Hal?" Hal recognized Tector's semi-redneck voice immediately. "Tector?" He called out, coughing as dust rained into his mouth. "Hal! Hey, man, we're going to dig you outta there! Just hang tight for a few, all right?"

"Yeah, Tector, just try to hurry, okay? Getting kinda hard to breath down here!" Hal couldn't help smiling a little.

"Will do, my friend, will do!"

Once Hal, Maggie, and Matt had been dug up and taken back to camp, they were all immediately sent to the med bus.

Hal had gotten lucky with his wound. Dr. Glass stitched and patched him up, gave him plenty of sugar to help with the lightheadedness, and told him to take it easy for a few days. He had a mild concussion, as did Maggie. Matt had gotten away with nothing more than a few bruises and scrapes, which lifted a huge weight from Hal's chest.

Tector had explained to Hal that he and his crew had managed to rescue Tom and Anthony after a long battle. On their way home, they had gone off course in search of Maggie and Hal, discovered their bikes shredded and flaming outside of a collapsed home, and hurried to check it out.

Hal found that sleep did not come easy to him that night. He couldn't stop thinking about his dream of his mother, everything she had said to him. He felt goosebumps creeping up his arms and down the back of his neck at the memory of his mother's haunting words.

He lay in his cot for hours, his body aching for sleep, but something was wrong. Hal felt... Different. He felt empty. Completely and utterly empty. Like he had nothing holding him to this earth.

Hal sat up in bed, sighing loudly. Matt was sleeping on the med bus with Tom, who was still unconscious from the battle. Ben was out, walking around in the woods, probably. He didn't sleep much anymore, not since the harness had been removed from his back. Hal was completely alone, and for once, he was glad of that.

He stood up, stretching his stiff legs and back, and slowly moved across the room towards a single mirror. He moved very sluggishly for he couldn't seem to make himself go any faster. He felt he wasn't in control of his body anymore.

Hal reached the mirror and gazed in at himself. He looked tired. So tired, and old. Ten years older than he was. His skin was pale and worn looking. His eyes were outlined with deep, black bags. He looked gaunt, his cheeks seeming to sink into his skull more than they should.

Hal sighed at the sight of himself. He closed his eyes, but they immediately shot back open. Hal felt something move, right above his cheekbone. He turned his head a little and raised a weak, shaky hand to his face. His hand retreated back to his side calmly. Hal watched as something wormed beneath his skin.

He wanted to cry out, to reach into his skin and rip out whatever the hell was in it. But he found he was unable to make a sound. Not because he was shocked, or scared. He literally couldn't do anything. It was like he was a prisoner in his own body. He could only watch, and wait for something to happen.

The creature beneath his skin snaked its way up, towards Hal's eye. It itched as it moved, one of those terrible, impossible-to-scratch kind of itch. Hal blinked once, and then it was there. It looked almost like a worm with legs. It was very small, probably less than an inch long. It crawled across Hal's cheek quickly, pausing for a moment before entering his ear.

Hal suddenly felt very ill. He saw flashes of terrible things, violent images of death and chaos, and his head began to pound. He put his hands to his head and bent over, groaning loudly in agony. He dropped to his knees, waves of horrible pain ripping through his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying the images would go away.

Then, the pain stopped. The images fled as quickly as they had arrived. Hal remained kneeling, breathing heavily. His hands were shaking violently, his heart racing in his chest.

He's against you, Hal. Tom Mason. He's against you. He wants to hurt you. He's turning everyone against you, one by one. Hal straightened up, all pain and fear forgotten. He waited for the voice to continue. You know what you have to do, Hal. It's the only way. He's out of control. He will kill you, Hal. He will erase you from history. You know what you have to do.

Hal slowly rose to his feet. He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. He couldn't think, couldn't feel. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time and gave a small, mischievous smirk.

He turned and walked back to his cot quietly. He sat down and waited in the dark. He waited patiently for morning to come.

Hal sat in the mess hall, a full tray resting in front of him. He didn't feel hungry at all, but he had wandered in here out of a mindless routine. He was alone at the table, for once.

He didn't feel well. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He remembered laying down last night and falling asleep, but he didn't remember waking up this morning. He was finding it hard to recall much of anything about the past few days.

Hal's bones were aching from exhaustion. He didn't even register Maggie's presence as she sat down across from him.

She sat there silently for a moment, immediately noting how pale he was, the thick, dark bags under his eyes, the way his hands were shaking slightly.

"Hal." Maggie finally spoke, her voice filled with concern. He slowly looked up at her and just stared for a second before something seemed to click in him and he realized he was no longer alone at the table.

He suddenly sat up straighter, his eyes became a little wider and more alert. "Hey." Hal's voice was soft and kind, like always. Maggie watched him with caution. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly. Hal gave her a half-smile, his trademark smile. "Yeah, I'm good. You?"

She just looked at him. Something didn't seem right. "How did you sleep?" She asked casually after a moment, taking a bite of food.

Hal looked away for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. "All right, I guess. I.. I don't..." He sighed and rubbed his temples gently. "Nevermind." He stretched his arms, wincing as pain shook through his side.

"No, what were you going to say?" Maggie was very stubborn. If she wanted to know something, she'd find a way to make Hal speak.

Hal sighed again. "I just... I had these nightmares. They were..." He closed his eyes, obviously pained from these dreams.

"Hey." Maggie said softly. She reached out after hesitating a moment and took Hal's hand gently.

His eyes opened slowly and he looked at their fingers interlaced. He seemed to relax after a minute, and he looked at Maggie, his eyes boring deep into hers. It felt like he could see right into her, see all of her darkest secrets and memories, and it made her feel too vulnerable.

But she didn't pull away from him. She didn't look away or try to change the conversation, because he needed her, and as much as she hated to admit it, she needed him. He needed her terribly now, though. She could tell from the look he wore in his eyes. He had been through so much these past few weeks, more than anyone should ever have to go through, even in a world like this one.

Hal's jaw tightened as he fought back the memories of his nightmares, the memories of his memories. He suddenly began to feel overwhelmingly tired. He felt a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead and neck, and he struggled to swallow. Hal. You know what has to be done.

"Hal?" Maggie was watching him with cutting intensity. "Hal." She gave his hand a little shake, and he seemed to snap out of some remedy. He looked different, seemed different.

Hal tried to remember his conversation with Maggie, but everything was blank. He wasn't sure why, but he had a terrible feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm sorry. I'm.. I, uh.. Just need some sleep." He mumbled, still a little dazed. He slowly stood, wincing a little as he did so. He looked down at his full tray, then at Maggie. She was watching him cautiously, like she thought he might explode any second.

He gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I've got guard duty. I'll see you tonight." He brushed past her quickly.

Maggie let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, thinking. Something was wrong with Hal, she knew. She knew Hal, and that person she sat with just a moment ago was not the Hal Mason she knew so well, the Hal she had grown to love so deeply these past few months. Something about him had changed.