Thane isn’t looking at me as he speaks. He’s staring at the walls of names, but I’m reminded his coldness was built from grief.

“Come on.”

We continue through the mausoleum, passing several more private corridors. The sense of loss here weighs on my shoulders, made heavier by the light, which only seems to illuminate us from the waist down. I find myself clutching Poppa’s coin through my shirt.

Finally, we come to the back of the mausoleum where the hall splits into a T, and both sides plunge into darkness. Thane takes a turn to the right, but I pause, falling back as the air from the void caresses my skin. Thane must sense my hesitation, because he turns, reaching out to clasp my hand. His fingers are just as cold as the air. He says nothing as he digs his phone out again, using the light to descend.

The steps spiral, and the walls around us narrow, as if they’re closing in, making my chest feel tight and my breath shallow. Thankfully, the descent to even ground is quick, but the darkness continues, thick and heavy, pressing against my eyes. Thane pulls me forward without pause. Now and then, the light from his phone illuminates smooth concrete walls.

“Are we…underground?” I ask.

“Yes. This is a tunnel—one of many. There is a network of them under Rayon.”

I pause a moment and then ask, “How do you know about them?”

“Like everyone else… I inherited the information.”

“Well, where did they come from? What are they for?”

“I guess they were built when the town was built,” he says. “There are a lot of theories. The most popular is that they were used as a way for important men to sneak back and forth between the local bar and brothel, but more than likely, they were used to smuggle alcohol during Prohibition.”

We continue on. At first, I can tell when the tunnel curves and when we change direction, but over time, in the silence and the darkness, I lose my way. Relief washes over me when I finally spot a light at the end of tunnel—literally. It provides no illumination and is more like a beacon, signaling refuge in a storm.

As we near the light, I realize it’s an elevator. Thane clicks the button, and the doors open with a ding. Inside there are a few options for floors, ranging from a negative one to five. Thane chooses negative one as our destination.

“What’s on the other floors?”

“People you’d never want to meet.”