Desolate

The mystery took another day to be discovered.

The horrible heat wave that hit the island, at least for just one day, combined with the haze, made all of them, or at least four of them and the last one give in, beg for their delay.

Even so, with milder temperatures and less dust in the air, the cracks took their toll. Adassa opted to wear only her triangular orange bikini on the flatness of her torso, and Imobach, who thought the girl's idea was a good one, apart from a backpack and two liters of water on each side, didn't wear anything else, at least around her chest.

“If all classes, high school and college, are like this, then surely no one is missing.” before the first stop, and with total indifference, Yuusuke said the comment. It seemed to have more effect on Teresa, who blushed even more than she already was from the sun.

“Can you hear me?” said Imobach at the foot of the house. “It dates back to the 17th century, although it has been restored later. If I'm not mistaken, it is one of the first, if not the first, of the conquistadors.”

“So if they got it, will they give me a fan or something? For the inconvenience, more than anything.” Adassa's hand was about to hit the door, but Coral stopped her.

“Don't be a jerk, if at all it would be to your ancestors, who are more than distant.”

“Of course, since you're half peninsular! It doesn't hurt you.” Adassa argued.

“It's just that something that happened before the conquest of America can't hurt you.” he replied.

“Look over the book,” her brother glared at her. “there's a difference of a couple of years. But Coco is right.”

“They won't open the door for you either. Nobody lives there.” Yuusuke added. Although in perfect condition the house exuded loneliness from every corner.

Thanks to Teresa's prompting with a question, Imobach was able to finish the first lesson. He gave himself a mental pat on the back.

Luckily for Adassa, but not so much for her now perfectly flattened mohawk, Coral remembered to put a spare cap in her toiletry bag, which was always stocked with scarves, hair ties, cocoa and an energy bar. Adassa got her way. As always.

“Like a toy," said Yuusuke about the fort. He changed his mind as quickly as he began to listen to her story, and, intrigued, he joined the conversation between the blonde and the brown-haired boy about the book about the Canary pirates.

The pseudo-intellectual chat was far removed from Adassa's concerns, who pretended that the ground was lava and that she could only step on the masons and cannons. Coral took advantage and took photos, really of everyone, although she wanted to update her social networks first. How many hearts would she get for a bird's-eye view photo of the wall with the cliff in the background?

“Excuse me,” Coral approached a couple who had their backs turned. “Could you take a photo of us?” She pointed to the whole group. “…Paula?” She recognized her immediately. “Long time no see!”

"Yeah, hello," she hugged her, then gave her a little push to join the others in the frame. "Get in first, we'll start talking, and bye-bye to the photo."

Click. Another one. And another. He was one of those people who always put half a finger in front of the lens.

“How did the exchange go? How exciting. Well…” She first introduced the two new ones. “Mmh, guys, if you want to go, I'll catch up with you.”

From where they parted, the path became somewhat tortuous, beginning with a somewhat steep descent where they could only hold on to an old and rather thick log railing, the views were something else.

The water was calm even though the beach, miles to the left, always had waves. The smell of salt and sunscreen filled everyone's nostrils. The perfect balance of green, brown, blue and hints of orange made Yuusuke wish he had a camera right now.

Coral didn't get to appreciate the scenery, after saying goodbye and marking in her mobile phone the appointment the next day in the afternoon with Paula and her new foreign friends, she started running to make up for lost space. She didn't count on the fact that they hadn't gone very far, and added to the poor visibility given to her by the long and thick leaves of the date palms, she braked suddenly, which made her ankles squeak.

“What do they do?”

“Look,” Teresa was sniffling. They had come across a canary chick that had fallen from the nest and had made her sad. "It hasn't opened its eyes yet." She held out her hands in a cup shape for her to see.

“At least he doesn't look badly hurt,” Imobach said. “Or just hurt.”

“The less the object weighs, the less damage it takes,” Yuusuke reported. He was the furthest from the little bird, even further than Coral who had just arrived.

"Why so far away?" said the one in pink sportswear. A mischievous smile appeared between her teeth. "Are you scared?"

“I don't want to scare him.” he had been honest. Since he was little he had the impression that he didn't like animals. When he was four years old his teacher had asked him to take care of the class iguana. It died that same week.

"What?" Teresa asked in a sweetly high-pitched tone. "Touch it if you want, it won't hurt you, the mother won't reject it either, she just won't like it."

“Ah…” that had been an incentive? Because it didn't seem like it. “Excuse me.”

“What a beautiful scene... Let's go!” Adassa's foot-tapping became more and more frequent.

“No, something must be done,” Imobach objected.

“If we see the nest… we can put it back,” Teresa insisted.

“It will probably die.” Yuusuke said, still touching the chick.

Coral waited for him to remove his index finger before gently nudging him.

“Maybe that's why you scare them,” she said through clenched teeth.

“If we hadn't come this way, that would be their fate. Let nature take its course.”

“No!”

In one swift movement, Coral scaled the nearest tree, clawing at every possible spike in the process, wanting a better view. He sweated profusely and struggled to keep up the pressure to hold on with only three limbs.

“Ugh, okay…”

The chick returned to its nest, along with its three other siblings. It was mid-afternoon and everyone seemed to be asleep, so nothing could be heard. But luckily for Nest-or, as Teresa named him, they had brought a small drone, Adassa had brought it. It tracked its home without any problems and they left it there. Coral became rigid as she let herself fall, it seemed like an iceberg had passed through her, Teresa looked at her strangely and went over to check on her.

Imobach, using her pragmatism, reflected on how it was that Adassa was currently wearing the shoes of her great-grandmother María Auxiliadora, but enjoyed a computer, camera and drone, in the words of the girl "I saved what was important."

The third floor was the safest in the structure. When jumping to the first floor, first or last depending on where you start counting, a layer of dirt and dust rose, despite being pure cement, this had given way over the years, the same happened with the roof, many urban photographers were grateful for the passage of time, it allowed them to obtain more than 200 I like your photos.

They walked one by one around the room, there was nothing in between, literally nothing. The emptiness allowed them to see how something similar had happened on the second floor. It was slightly darker, the windows had been boarded up when the building was abandoned.

Going down the next staircase, the floor was complete, natural light entered daily which gave rise to several bushes colonizing the ground, rooted to the little soil that the wind had carried, it was not enough to make Coral sneeze.

On the second-to-last floor, however, the dust particles, the dirt, the darkness that seemed to humidify the air, and the plant and fungal kingdoms irritated his nose enough to provoke an attack that lasted more than a minute.

“How useful the masks are,” Yuusuke noted.

“It's so hot. I'm overwhelmed,” Coral complained. She preferred to be cool rather than not have allergies.

“Thank goodness there's no pandemic with you.” Imobach laughed.

"The plague doctor's masks are beautiful!" Teresa searched excitedly in the darkness for the faces of the others. "Have you seen them?"

“They weren't so much for 14th century Europe.” Imobach's joke didn't seem like it with its usual calm tone.

“I can get some cheap to sell as merch" despite turning the screen on at medium brightness, Adassa's eyes didn't flinch in the slightest. “We'll just say we used them here.”

“Yes.” Yuusuke was annoyed that he didn't have the idea, he was losing his faculties. “When they arrive, we'll take pictures again. Whoever wants to.” he added.

“Achoo!”

Yuusuke turned around, pinched the middle of the mask, pulled it about a hand's length away, and released it.

“I don't want to bathe in your snot.”

“Yeah? Sure…?” He nudged him. He couldn’t suppress a smirk when the boy worried about one of them but wouldn’t admit it. “Come on, team,” he said after a few seconds. He rolled up his pants, wiped the back of his neck with a towel, made circles with his right ankle, turned on his flashlight, and started walking.

“We weren't very careful…” Teresa followed her. “If there was anything, living or not dead, it heard us. We did it wrong.”

Yuusuke nodded, he was right.

“He couldn't escape either, we're at the only exit.” Adassa countered. “Known.”

“But he is aware of how many of us and how stupid we are,” Me the first, thought Yuusuke, “for breaking the silence.” He thought about how a few months ago this would not have happened to him, he would be totally focused and without so many flies around. Have I regressed? Have they passed the stupidity on to me? He thought, however, it no longer bothered him so much to be part of something.

"We're quiet," Coral ordered. "Even if whatever it is has detected us, it's going to be hard for him from now on." Her tone became lower with each syllable.

The light came to his face, not the best angle, looking like something straight out of Mimi's Ghost Stories , but his intention was to give them the OK to move forward, not fear. He dimmed the flashlight to the maximum necessary, so as not to trip, and so did the three following him and the big guy in front.

She felt happy, content, the throbbing pain in her ankle was almost absent when she imagined the onslaught of praise she would receive, the newspaper, another interview... maybe she even got up the courage to tell her parents, or even better, they would read about it on the news and would be the ones to stop their busy and divergent schedules just to congratulate her, and also Imobach.

They walked up the stairs, the fourth floor had nothing of relevance either, apart from a few lighters, cigarette butts, various plastics, and a family of elusive mice that did not go well with Yuusuke. The absolute darkness enveloped by the sound of the sea was even scarier, Teresa squeezed Adassa's hand tightly when she passed her, neither of them wanted to go last.

Imobach made sure he stepped on each step twice and prayed that there was no one there. How can it be that I'm more afraid of this than the cave? he thought, but he knew the answer. No one with good intentions visited that ruin.

Coral lit up the back of the room as soon as she set foot on the ground, nothing, there was no one behind the stairs, no trapdoors in the floor, none.

They began the final inspection a little more calmly. Without a doubt, in Teresa's eyes, it was the best preserved of the flats and, perhaps, the most beautiful, with corroded window frames, stone slabs that raised clouds of dust, coral-coloured walls with grooves that did not reach the other end.

It was equal parts disappointing and relieving to discover nothing in that room.

"Impossible!" Coral complained. It was that place, two hours from home (if they hadn't had so many traffic jams), that she marked on the page. "I refuse to believe that we have made a mistake."

“Apparitions decide when…” Teresa deflated when she saw the disappointment on her friend's face. “Vibes, fear… everything influences.”

“My presence imposes, whether animal, ghostly or fiscal.” Adassa's haughty attitude frightened (because of the consequences) Teresa. “Come and get me!”

“What did it say? Maybe we misunderstood it,” Imobach added.

“Isn't it easier to think it was a lie?” Yuusuke's face showed little surprise and some tiredness.

“Silence!”

The metallic and close howl, behind them, came between the group and the stairs. That feeling again, Coral prepared her legs, she didn't know where to look, but she knew where the exit was, however Teresa was ahead of her, pushed by another hand... She took short steps, she didn't want to fall and when she stopped, she put her head between the two brothers, Yuusuke seemed the least affected, although none of them could look at her face to calm down a little.

“Silence!”

It repeated, even though no one had spoken. Immediately, a greenish light dimly illuminated the center of the room, mist appeared, and then the figure, tall and thick. Imposing.

Coral began to breathe with her mouth, it was becoming more and more difficult for her and the mask did nothing but stick to her face, she couldn't swallow and she felt the need to want to sleep at that moment but without being sleepy, meanwhile, Teresa's arms did nothing but bind her to her brother, she for her part prayed what she had learned from her grandmother, and the boy tried to control the trembling of his right arm, the same one he put in front of his sister. Adassa and Yuusuke hid behind the tall brother, she, her whole body, and he, rather, his face, or what was left of it not covered by the cloth.

"...Erik Destle?" Teresa asked.

The static face did not look at anyone in particular, but moved its eyes from side to side, while it blurred and returned to its previous state. The four faces observed the scene in horror, each with a different expression, but with similar fear.

Imobach stepped back, causing the others to do the same, Adassa collided with the wall and felt the urge to scream.

“You can't kill me, I'm like a cockroach, I don't die, I multiply! I have God on my side! Do you understand, bitch?!”

Frightening his friends even more, Imobach jumped and the figure seemed to fix its eyes on him.

He raised an arm, his hand, he wanted to grab them, someone, whoever it was, he moved forward, his clothes fluttering despite the lack of wind, and suddenly, a white explosion stole the little courage they had.

“I feel sorry for them! Pathetic” A misterious voice could be heard when they were too far.