"Killian is dead."
For a second, Chris didn't hear anything after that.
Dax kept speaking - he had to be speaking, because Chris could see his own thumb still pressing the phone to his ear, could see Sahir's mouth move in the background as if he were issuing orders, and could see the corridor lights reflecting off the polished floor like nothing in the world had changed.
But the words didn't land.
They slid off the surface of Chris's mind as if it had gone smooth and glassy to protect itself.
The ground felt… wrong.
Like the floor had tilted by a degree and he was suddenly standing on something unreliable.
Chris's fingers tightened around the phone until the edge bit into his skin.
He forced air into his lungs, and the scent hit him through the speaker.
