We creep through old warehouses and through a wing of the hospital until padlocked doors obstruct us. Across the road is another building, pitch black inside thanks to the boarded-up windows, and seems to have been some sort of cafeteria or hall for events. I stop in the middle of the wide, linoleum-covered room, turn to Evelyn, smirk…and turn off the flashlight. She lets out a startled yelp, and I jog back a few steps as she reaches wildly for me.

“That’s not funny!” she shrieks, but there’s a laugh at the tail end of her words. I hear her footsteps coming toward me and move away, keeping just out of her grasp.

“Sounds pretty funny to me. C’mon. Hide and seek and we don’t even need a hiding spot.” As long as I can hear her voice, as long as I know she’s not actually freaking out, this can be fun.

We dance around the room in the dark, calling to each other and making our voices echo into the abyss. She tags my arm and runs away, leaving me to chase after her this time. I can envision her in the darkness, her hair starting to fall from its tie, and now and again when I reach for her, I feel the arch of her back, the curve of her hip, before she twists away from me again. I let her stay out of my grasp until I’m at my physical limit.

When I catch her, it’s with an arm latching around her waist and dragging her to me so quickly our legs tangle together and we tumble to the floor in an attempt to regain our footing.

Evelyn sags back against me, full of breathless giggles. I click the flashlight back on and shine it in her face, refusing to focus on the fact that I can feel the rise and fall of her chest as she catches her breath. “See? Told you it would be fun.”

“What would you have done if I hadn’t come along?”she asks, twisting around and batting at the flashlight to get it out of her eyes. “Played tag by yourself?”

“Maybe.” I redirect the beam onto my face instead. “I would’ve been a better opponent to play against.”

She laughs and gets up, offering her hands to me. My chest is tight and my lungs hurt a little. Today has definitely been pushing it too far. It’s the only reason I actually take the offered help to get to my feet.

“Did I wear you out?” she teases.

“You have no idea.” I motion for her to follow. It’s getting late and we still have driving to do tomorrow when the sun comes up to cover as many miles as we can. We’ve been messing around for hours. I lost track of time.

Except I don’t head straight for the car. Close by is one last building I want to check out: a series of dorms where the Navy Seals used to stay. At least eight floors of tiny apartments smaller than the size of my bedroom back home. We trek upstairs to the top floor and Evelyn pauses at the railing, tilting her head to look up at the sky. We have the same beautiful view as I had from the second floor of the first building we explored.

All stars. All sky. Nothing else.