Igby takes his finger off the intercom button, composes himself, and turns to face us.

“All right,” he says, his voice thick with tears, “I guess that’s that.” He walks over to us.

“Igby, I’m so sorry—” I start.

Igby holds up a hand. “Hey, he was right, you know, this is a war, people are going to die.”

I watch as Wren leaves Malachai’s side, walks to Igby, and puts her hand on his shoulder. “We all loved him,” she says, in her quiet and hoarse voice.

Igby nods, tries to reply, and then bursts into floods of tears. We surround him, all holding him. One by one we move away, until it’s just Dr. Ortega who remains. She takes his face in her hands and speaks quietly to him.

“Most people don’t get last words, last thoughts, last requests,” she says. “For most people the world just cuts to black. It can happen at any time, in any place; it could be in one minute or in a hundred years. I’m sorry your friend died, boy, but he died for love, and not many people get to die for love …”

She continues to speak, and Igby nods, wiping the tears away from his eyes. I choose not to listen to the rest; her words are not for me. Instead I walk to Kina, turn her gently around by the shoulders, and hug her.

“I never knew they were together,” I tell her, my voice shaking. “I thought they were friends; I didn’t know they were in love.”

“I didn’t know either,” Kina replies.

“I love you,” I tell her. “It’s not just the end of the world talking; I really love you.”

“I love you too,” she says.

And I’m glad I have that to take with me when I go to die.

“We have to get out of here,” I say, turning to the group. “I bought us some time; I convinced Tyco to give me five minutes to say goodbye.”

I hate lying to the people I care most about in this world, but it’s the only way to save them.

“All right,” Pander says, trying to remain composed, but I can see she is holding back tears. She leads the way to the tunnels, Dr. Ortega assisting Sam.

“Go on,” I say to Malachai and Wren, who walk off toward the tunnels. Malachai wraps his arm around Igby as they go.

“Come on,” Kina says, trying to pull me toward the tunnels.

“You go. I’m right behind, I’m just going to grab some weapons from the armory.”

“I’ll wait here,” she says.

“Five minutes, Luka,” Tyco calls from the doorway.

I walk quickly to the armory and grab the three ancient grenades Pod had stolen from the museum and refurbished. I shove them into my pockets.

“Let’s go,” I say, and Kina and I head to the bathroom.