I grab the other side. Together, we position it inside the open doors of the elevator. Kai slides it across one side of the shaft, avoiding the cables. Resting it on the thin lip on the opposite side, she forms a shelf across the opening. She slings her pack on her back and shrugs her bow over her shoulder. Putting one foot out onto this makeshift bridge, she tests her weight. I feel sick as she takes another cautious step. Then a third. Until she’s standing beyond reach of the shaft’s walls, clutching the cables for balance.

“Come on,” she says in a shaky voice, “before I lose my nerve.” She ties the free end of her rope around the cable.

I point my flashlight down into the dark hole below her.

“Don’t,” she says, swallowing hard. “Don’t look down.”

“This is nuts.” I slip my flashlight into my front pocket, shining it upward toward the ceiling. Breath held, I take a tentative step out onto the table.

We both freeze when it creaks, bowing slightly under our weight. I take another cautious step, trying not to think about the thirty stories of open air below me.

Kai works fast, tying the free end of my rope to the cable above hers. “This is a friction knot. It should be secure enough to hold your sling in place—”

“Should be?” She ignores the crack in my voice.

“You loosen it like this,” she says, demonstrating the release technique. “Slide a few feet down and it will tighten again. We’ll take it slow. If you slide too fast, you’ll burn through your cord.” She waits for my nod. Panic grips me as I realize what I’ve just agreed to. “I’ll go first,” she says. “Wait for me to call up to you, then come down behind me. Slowly,” she emphasizes.

Kai swings off the platform and leans back into her sling. She slides a few feet. Then her knot cinches around the cable, stopping her descent. She nods up at me, flashing me an exhilarated smile as she tugs her rope and starts down the shaft. I glance back into the cellar, listening to Kai’s knot cinch and release, cinch and release, as the slide of her rope fades into the darkness. The cone of my flashlight casts eerie shadows around me.

A faint voice reaches me. I tip my head over the ledge, but the voice isn’t coming from below. It’s coming from the floor above me. The voice grows louder as boots storm down the cellar stairs. I grab my flashlight from my pocket, fumbling for the power switch with both hands.