He missed.

Her fingers barley missed his hand as she fell past him into the fires below.

"No!" He screamed as she disappeared into the flames.

Nate grabbed Matt's arm, pulling him up onto the roof. "We have to get down, come on!" He yelled, trying to drag Matt away.

"No! I have to save her!" Matt yelled. Nate struggled to hold him back.

"You can't save her! Come on, we have to go!" But Matt shoved his way out of Nate's grip and  ran back to the hole in the roof.

"Matt, no!" Nate tried to stop him.

"I'm sorry Nate. But my wife came back from the dead today, I'm not letting her die again." And then Matt let himself fall in.

Miraculously, he got through the fall alive, and mostly unscathed. The flames were climbing high, destroying the little that was left of the hallways.

"Stephanie!" He called out to her. Nothing. He started coughing. The smoke was clouding his lungs, the flames burning his skin, the sound of the fire loud in his ears. It was too much to handle.

This can't be happening. This isn't real. Is this one of those dreams that try to teach me a lesson? Make me a stronger person? No. No, it can't be. This is real. I don't need a dream to make me strong.

Matt stood up, and blocked everything out. The sound was fuzzy and far away, the flames and smoke seemed to go around him, and he stayed silent for a second, listening.

*Cough! Cough!*

His eyes shot open. "Stephanie!" He ran towards the sound, through the flames and smoke, until he reached a large pile of debris. It took a while, but through the smoke, he could clearly see a woman's arm.

She must have been able to get there before the roof came in on her. He thought. He moved the debris out if the way to reveal an unconscious and burned Stephanie.

Matt dragged her out from under the debris, before leaning her on his shoulder. "Come on, come on, please make it." He begged.

The pushed through the smoke and flames, powered by pure adrenaline and determination.

But then he hit a wall. He had one choice at this rate. He shoved his way through the weakend wall, falling into the field outside.

Desperately scrambling back, he dragged Stephanie away from the building into the tall grass. Her face was covered in ash.

"Matt!" Nate had gotten down the building and was running over to them.

"Steph? Steph, wake up." Matt reached for her wrist to feel a pulse. There was nothing. "No... no, no, no, no..." He started CPR, trying to restore her heartbeat, but to no avail. "Please, please, please!" He begged. "Steph, please wake up!"

"Matt..." Nate started.

"No! Don't tell me that she's gone!" He yelled.

"Then I won't." He said.

It took 3 and a half hours before Matt finally realized it. Nate rested a hand on his shoulder. "Matt... She's gone."

"I... I know." He tore his eyes away from her body.

"Let's go." Said Nate, bringing his friend to his feet. Matt was broken again. He didn't move, he didn't do anything. He didn't even look back.

Nate explained the plan to wipe the fake IDS off the face of the earth as a distraction, but Matt didn’t react. He just stared out the window of the car on the way back home.