“Just that I was going to save the Seeker.” I turned to look in Jared’s general direction without meeting his gaze. “Doc has promised me that if I show him how to perform the separation, you will give the released souls safe conduct to another life on another planet. No killing.”

Jared nodded thoughtfully, his eyes flickering back to Doc. “I can agree to those terms. And I can make sure the others follow through. I assume you have a plan to get them off-planet?”

“It will be no more dangerous than what we did tonight. Just the opposite—adding to the stack rather than taking from it.”

“Okay.”

“Did you… have a time schedule in mind?” Doc asked. He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the eagerness behind his voice.

He just wanted the answer that had eluded him for so long, I tried to tell myself. It wasn’t that he was in a hurry to kill me.

“I have to take the jeep back—can you wait? I’d like to watch this.”

“Sure, Jared,” Doc agreed.

“Won’t take me long,” Jared promised as he shoved himself back into the vent.

That I was sure of. It wouldn’t take enough time at all.

Doc and I did not speak until the sound of Jared’s scrambling exit had faded.

“You didn’t talk about… Melanie?” he asked softly.

I shook my head. “I think he sees where this is going. He must guess my plan.”

“But not all of it. He won’t allow —”

“He won’t get a say,” I interrupted severely. “All or nothing, Doc.”

Doc sighed. After a moment of silence, he stretched and glanced toward the main exit. “I’m going to go talk to Jeb, get things ready.”

He reached for a bottle on the table. The chloroform. I was sure the souls had something better to use. I would have to try to find it for Doc, before I was gone.

“Who knows about this?”

“Still just Jeb, Aaron, and Brandt. They all want to watch.”

This didn’t surprise me; Aaron and Brandt would be suspicious. “Don’t tell anyone else. Not tonight.”

Doc nodded, then he disappeared into the black corridor.

I went to sit against the wall, as far from the prepared cot as I could get. I’d have my turn on top of it all too soon.

Trying to think of something besides that grim fact, I realized that I hadn’t heard from Melanie since… When was the last time she’d spoken to me? When I’d made the deal with Doc? I was belatedly surprised that the sleeping arrangements by the jeep today had not elicited a reaction from her.

Mel?

No answer.

It wasn’t like before, so I didn’t panic. I could definitely feel her there in my head, but she was… ignoring me? What was she doing?

Mel? What’s going on?

No answer.