Page 21 of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10

Then he was in the SUV, disappearing down the drive.

Was there a shadow of something on Malinka’s face when Gustavo drove off, leaving them and taking all the light and noise with him? Adele knew that she felt a tingle of self-doubt. More than a tingle.

Though the signal was strong on her phone, she felt again, profoundly, how she was an ocean away from her kids, camping for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Fearless. That’s what Adele’s mother had always called her. Sometimes she said it in admiration, sometimes in anger. Either way, Adele had always worn it like a badge. She remembered it whenever she was feeling anything but, and it made her stronger. Like now.

You’re fearless, she told herself, felt a calm settle.

The truth was that Adele hadn’t been any such thing since she was her parents’ child, living in their care, cabled to them for safety literally and figuratively. And if she’d been so then, it was only because she didn’t know how hard, how unforgiving, how deadly the fall could be.

“Let’s get the fire going,” said Malinka, voice bright.

“Great idea.”

Together, they had it roaring in no time.

They both took a seat on the ground and dug into the pack of provisions. They ate some jerky and looked up at the sky, stars obscured by the thick cloud cover. In the middle of the Atlantic Adele had imagined a wild light show, but no, just a heavy black ceiling of night.

Their conversation, light and easy, ranged from injuries incurred during Tough Be-atch competitions, to the loss of their fathers, their love of the outdoors, favorite equipment, Malinka’s little brother, Adele’s kids.

After a while, Adele noticed that the charge was dwindling on her phone. And was dismayed to find that even her power bank was running low.

“Oh,” said Malinka when Adele mentioned it. “Come with me.”

The inside of Malinka’s tent was strung with lights, everything color coordinated, a stack of books and journals by her puffy sleeping bag, even a little jute rug. It looked more like a stylish teen bedroom than a tent.In Adele’s own tent, there was barely enough room for her pack and her sleeping bag.

Malinka kneeled down to one of the hard cases over in the corner and opened the lid. It was filled with tech gear—lights, chargers, adapters, camera and lenses, a variety of wires.

“Here,” she’d said, handing Adele a large white rectangle of plastic with multiple ports. “This one is solar-powered and still has some juice. Use it to charge your phone and power bank, then put it in the sun tomorrow.”

“Thank you so much,” Adele said, a little embarrassed by Malinka’s generosity and by her own gear failure. “I’ll give it back to you tomorrow.”

Malinka waved her off. “Keep it. I have like three.”

Adele’s eyes fell on a photograph lying on top of the pile of books. Malinka cheek to cheek with a sweet-faced, dark-haired girl who looked vaguely familiar to Adele. She tried to place the face but couldn’t. Malinka noticed her looking and quickly slid the photograph underneath the leather cover of the journal.

Adele was about to apologize for her inadvertently prying eyes, but she was interrupted by a strange sound, long and low off in the distance. Not an animal. Almost mechanical, it was something she hadn’t heard before, impossible to identify.

“What’s that?” asked Adele, listening for it again.

Malinka looked up at her, slipping the journal beneath her other books. “That’s Esperança—Enchantments. It’s groaning. Some say it won’t be standing in another year.”

Adele had read that the structure had been condemned, hence the giant sign warning visitors away. It was slated for demolition, but the project just kept getting put off for various reason of politics and funds. Extreme had assured contestants that it had been tested and found perfectly safe for the time being.

“I’ve heard it a couple of times now,” Malinka said. She rose easily from her squat and shouldered her pack.

“Ready for the tour?” she asked, giving Adele a friendly shoulder nudge. “I’ve already been through. Let me show you.”

It was exactly what she’d planned to do tonight. She was happy enough not to have to do it alone.

“I’ll get my gear.”

* * *

The towering entrance to Enchantments was a gaping mouth breathing a fetid odor of decay. Water wept from the ceiling, streaming down the walls, pooling on the floor. Tendrils of foliage snaked in through the windows and cracks in the walls, hung like corpses from the exposed landings.

“What do you think?” asked Malinka, coming up beside her. “Pretty crazy, right?”

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