I help him to his feet and lead him to the intercom, and as I do, I slip Tyco’s artificial eye into his pocket. Igby is the smartest person I know, and if he thinks the eye can help, he’ll figure out how. Igby looks from the intercom to me, and nods.

I walk away and rejoin the rest.

“Pod, Pod, can you hear me?” Igby asks. The sound of static comes back.

“Pod?” Igby repeats. More static.

And then, finally, Pod’s voice comes through. “Hey, Igby, how the hell are you?”

Igby rubs his faces a few times and then smiles. “Going to have a pretty big bruise on my chin, thanks for that, Pod. How are things down there?”

There’s a pause of static before Pod’s voice comes through. “Oh, you know, it’s not so bad. Can’t complain.”

“Hey, do you know what sucks?” Igby asks.

“Other than the fact I’m about to die?”

“Well, sure, that, but also, we were so close to finishing our quest. Like, three more sessions and we would have made it to the Temple of Zah.”

“Damn,” Pod says, real disappointment in his voice. “I guess you’ll just have to finish it on your own.”

Igby turns his body away from us slightly. “I don’t want to finish it on my own. I want you to be there at the end.”

“I want to be there too, Igby. I wish I could be there, but we knew there would have to be sacrifices if we were going to win this war.”

“Yeah, but not you, Pod, it wasn’t supposed to be you. I love you, for fuck’s sake. You big idiot, I love you. And … and you’re so close to being able to see again. It’s not fair.”

“Hey, you know what,” Pod replies, “it’s probably for the best. I’ve heard you’re ugly as sin. I would’ve dumped your ass as soon as I saw your face for the first time.”

Igby laughs, a wet shaking sound. “Fuck you, I’m beautiful.”

“Hey, the water’s getting pretty high now. I should go.”

Igby thumps the checkout desk hard, and I can see his body shaking. “Listen, Pod,” he says, composing himself, “I don’t know what happens when you die, but if I show up to the afterlife and you’ve hooked up with some other dead guy, I’m going to be so pissed off.”

“Definitely going to hook up with an angel, are you kidding me?” Pod replies.

“I love you, Pod.”

“I love you too.”

“Are you scared?”

“Am I fuck.”

“You’re braver than me.”

No reply comes back this time.

“I said, you’re braver than me, Pod.”

Still only silence from the other side.

“Pod?” Igby says, his voice frantic. “Pod? I love you, Pod. Pod?”

Silence.