Page 64 of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10

She ran a hand through her hair, down the back of her neck which was aching from sleeping on the ground. She knew all about how if you didn’t stand up for who you were early and often, then someone else could slap an identity on you that somehow became the truth. Corporate wife. Stay-at-home mom. Betrayed. Abandoned. Suspected.

She and Cody locked eyes. Blake had believed that the whole thing about the lion was a lie. And Adele humored him because he thought the same about his father’s alleged crimes, andthatshe couldn’t let slide. In the man by the fire she saw a sadness that she recognized all too well.

“I’ve never hurt a living thing,” he said quietly, as if reading her thoughts, maybe still ruminating over the things Mav had said. “Except myself.”

She was surprised to find she believed him.

“I’ll just call you Cody, then?” she said, giving him a smile.

“That’ll do.”

The generator rumbled loudly, emitting some kind of grinding sound, then suddenly went quiet. But no one emerged from the trailer, which stayed dark.

“I heard people yelling earlier,” said Adele.

Cody looked over in the direction of the trailer. “Trouble in paradise, I’m guessing, from the vibe around here.”

“Yeah,” Adele agreed reluctantly. There was a definite vibe. Not a good one.

“Just be careful tonight,” Cody said, poking the fire again. “Once the game starts, no one here has any friends.”

He glanced over at the trailer. Adele felt her stomach clench a little.

“And the only true prize in this world is living another day.”

Then he rose and disappeared inside his tent without another word.

21

ADELE

The Game

As Adele ran from her hiding spot, the sound of the screaming grew louder.

It yanked at her like a chain attached to her heart. The mother in her, the counselor. She couldn’t let someone suffer, struggle without reaching out to help. Even if it meant losing everything she’d come for.

Breathless, she clutched at the hard stitch in her side, kept running.

There was a moment in every marathon, a long, dark patch, where you thought you couldn’t make it. Every runner knew that it was a matter of relying on your body, remembering all the past races you’d been able to complete, forgetting about the finish, and focusing on the breath. Right here. Right now. One stride, then the next.

The path was slick, the mud growing thicker, sucking at her feet. The rain was a beating drum, so omnipresent she almost doesn’t notice; she was fully drenched.Keep going.

The sound of the terrified keening grew closer.

Trying to pick up speed, Adele tripped over a branch as large as a human leg in the path, fell hard on both elbows and knees, pain radiating. She struggled to her feet, bleeding from her skinned joints.

The voice carried on the storm kept her moving.Help! Help me! Please!

Who was it? Malinka? Angeline?

Limping now from the fall, Adele kept going.

Then, up ahead on the path, someone stood, blocking her way.

Terror cinched her throat, freezing her in place.

“Who is that? Who’s there?” she yelled.

---