Sophie put the rock in her briefcase and snapped it shut; she and Nate stood up, scraping their chairs back. "We'll be outside."

The door shut behind them; Electa hardly heard it. "You cant do this," she said, still clutching his arms. "You cant. Tell me that youre not serious."

He put his hands over his face. "Wh-what other w-way is there it s-stop this? How c-can I not be s-serious?"

"You cannot seriously be considering this! Have you gone completely insane? Do you want to just throw your life away? Is that your plan?"

"Electa, if we don't try then everything will end as you know it." He said.

"This is suicide; they cant even tell you if its going to work or not! Does throwing your life away really sound that good to you?"

"It doesn't sound good to me!" Tears welled up in his eyes, he started shaking horribly. He was terrified.

"Vexin, you don't have to do this!"

"B-but then things would e-end for sure. You would be in danger still."

The world pounded in Electa's ears. All at once her chest felt tight; she could hardly breathe. Oh, God, no. Not again, not someone else she loved. Why had she allowed herself to believe that this time might be different? How could she have been so stupid?


"Okay, so I guess youve decided," she said finally.

He was silent, rubbing his eyes as tears still came.