"Stop it. You're only making this harder for me." She swayed on her feet, struggling to stand. "Let me stop them. Let me give you a chance."

And Ivan saw in Jordan's eyes that he-Jordan-finally accepted her logic.

Annie's pulse blasts were deafening in the narrow tunnel.

Jordan handed the two grenades to Sinjira.

She smiled and then, leaning forward, kissed him on the mouth.

"Y'know ... we could have made some interesting chips together."

The she turned to Ivan and said, "Now get everyone the hell out of here. Just follow this tunnel. Trust me. It'll get you out of here."

Ivan nodded.

He yelled down to Annie, who was kneeling and ready for the next wave of undead to charge them.

"Annie!"

As Annie scrambled back, Sinjira, looking unsteady on her feet, started walking down to meet the army streaming toward them. Kyros, hanging in the back, was shouting commands, urging them on.

Ivan started up the incline as fast as he could go. Jordan, unencumbered by Sinjira, was guarding the rear, making sure Annie made it up the slope.

Annie was a short distance behind him. Jordan waved her to hurry, shouting, "Go! Get the hell out of here!"

Ruth helped Rodriguez keep up with the retreat.

The Seeker showing that she had a level of strength maybe she didn't even realize until now.

More twists and turns, more climbing, making their way as fast as they could through the narrow tunnel until up ahead, Ivan saw a faint trace of light-daylight. It had to be an opening.

Nearly there ... Hope.

And then-as if to remind everyone of the price they were paying-an orange flash lit up the tunnel behind them, followed by the concussive blast of a thermite grenade.

Sinjira, Jordan thought, genuinely pained by the thought of her sacrifice.

They kept running, the ground leveling out now ... the opening ... the cave mouth of the hidden entrance.

But Ivan tensed and looked back the way they had come, waiting to see and hear the second blast.

And then it came-flashing and roaring-too close.

Rocks and dirt fell from the ceiling, and a wave of searing heat rolled over them, charring their eyes and lungs.

For an instant, the explosive cloud filled the cave, obliterating the walls and the entrance.

Ivan was sure that the second blast was going to bring the entire mountain down on them.

They all ran as a deep-throated rumble of shifting stone and earth filled the cave.

As the smoke cleared, Ivan saw only a few more meters ahead the odd glow of the sun beaming down on the mountain's side.

All of them were coughing, their ears ringing. They waved away the swirling dust as best they could and staggered out into the open as a dense cloud of dust belched from inside the mountain.

Jordan-the last to leave.

He held his pulse rifle at the ready, but there was no need. The ceiling of the cave had come down, sealing off Kyros and his undead army, at least for now.

Ivan stood and watched with the others as Jordan finally turned and walked away.

Ivan waited, looking at Jordan, not wanting to break the silence.

Finally: "That was a brave thing she did."

"She saved our lives," Ruth said.

Jordan looked around at all of them, his mouth a thin line on his dirt-smeared face.

"That's the thing about people," Jordan finally said. "You just never know."

Then Ivan, with Jordan at his side, went back to the cave mouth to make sure it was sealed.

"Nothing's getting through that," Ivan said.

Jordan was silent as he studied the wall of rock.

"She brought the whole damn thing down."

"On all of them, even my brother."

Jordan kept staring at the opening and then added, "And that fucking machine, whatever the hell it was."

The gunner turned and walked away, and when he came abreast of him, Ivan said, "You think so? You think it's all sealed?"

"No way to know for sure."

Maybe it was over.

But being absolutely sure?

Not possible.

Ivan shrugged.

And he saw Jordan glance at Ruth, his face lined with worry.

So what is it between the two of them?

Then Jordan walked over to Ruth. He put his hand on her shoulder. She patted it.

Yeah, Ivan thought. It makes total sense that they know each other ... that they had a relationship that still might not be over.

And then one last thought: We're all done here.

He turned and walked away.

The cave had let them out to a spot high above what had once been a miners' camp.

Ivan looked down the forested slope at the now-empty camp, then back at the cave opening.

He tried to ignore Ruth as she walked away from Jordan and approached him.

"Think there might still be some explosives down there?" he asked Annie, who was walking a few paces behind him.

"If not," she said, "I'm sure Jordan wouldn't mind a little target practice if we bring the SRV around this side of the mountain."

Jordan stopped beside them and also looked down at the camp.

"Miners. Tunnels. Gotta be explosives, right?"

"One would guess," Ivan said as he started down a narrow, winding path to the camp while he shouted back to Annie.

"Lead the others back to the SRV. Jordan and I can handle this."

They got to the camp and looked around. One rickety shed contained several crates of explosives, all powerful timed devices.

Jordan opened a crate.

"How many?"

Ivan stared at the neat line of explosives.

"I think one box should do it."

Ivan grabbed one end of a box, and Jordan the other.

It took some effort to go back up the steep incline, but they finally arrived at the cave opening.

Chalky dust still swirled in the air like a smoke haze.

"Explosives aren't exactly my area of expertise," Ivan said.

"Me, either. But I'm guessing we can't go wrong filling the mouth of the cave with them, right?"

"As long as we give ourselves enough time to get away."

They set the box down on the ledge outside the cave mouth.

Ivan took a few of the explosive devices, studied them for a few seconds, and then walked as far as he could into the cave opening.

Sinjira's sacrifice may have stopped the undead army, but this would be an added guarantee.

Now, with Jordan on one side, and him on the other, they lined the mouth of the cave with a dozen explosives.

"Set 'em for ten minutes?" Jordan asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ivan said.

Should be enough time.

He entered the time on the digital display of each explosive. Then hit the ignition button.

Ivan looked at Jordan, who had finished arming his set of explosives at the same time he had.

He remembered when he and Kyros were little kids, messing around with firecrackers on the Fourth of July, exploding neighbors' garbage cans and mailboxes.

A world away.

They nodded to each other and then turned and started running down the mountain trail, heading as fast as they could away from the cave.

As he ran, Ivan wondered if-even now-they would make it past the miners' camp and back to the SRV.

By the time the ground leveled out and the trail was wider and more clearly defined, they broke into a desperate run.

Ivan laughed as he ran, and even Jordan appeared to be enjoying himself.

In the distance, they could see the SRV parked in the glaring light of the sun.

And then the ground began to shake, throwing Ivan and Jordan off balance. They both fell, sprawling in the brush that lined the trail. And the mountain towering above them trembled and then roared as the explosives went off in a rapid series.

They might not be at a safe distance yet, but both of them stayed where they were on the ground and watched the display.

The mountain erupted in a fiery display that sent a roiling cloud of dust and huge slabs of rock into the air and then tumbling down the mountainside. A few began a crazy slide to the ground below, plowing into the trees, leveling them along with the deserted miners' camp.

Was the passageway sealed now?

Were all the horrors and mysteries inside locked away forever?

No way to know.

We just have to hope, Ivan thought.

With the SRV in sight, he and Jordan got up, brushed themselves off, and started down the trail, both of them the silent ... both of them knowing this still wasn't over.