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PROLOGUE

M achinery growls like a hungry T-Rex, sending vibrations through the earth. As dirt and debris rains from above, I huddle under my only protection: a scratchy blanket and a hoodie big enough to fit a large adult.

I’m trying to be brave, but I want to go home.

“Still with me, Aiden?” A beam of light follows the man’s voice as he leans out from the bucket of a crane suspended overhead.

I bob my flashlight in response, my throat so parched it hurts to talk. I’m tempted to ask for another bottle of water, but I already drank the last one from the supply pack lowered by the rescue team, and now I really need to pee.

“Good. You just hang in there a little while longer, kiddo. Soon as we’re stable, I’ll come get you myself.”

I’ve already forgotten his name. Drew, maybe? Yesterday, I might’ve told him that I’m almost thirteen and not a kiddo. But right now, I just want to crawl into my parents’ bed with my dog, Barney, eat Mom’s chicken soup, and cry. Won’t even bother me if that kid Carson from down the street calls me a baby; let’s see him stay down in a dark hole for half the night.

Drew’s light makes spots dance in front of my eyes. “They’re going to lower me down, so I don’t touch the sides. Then we’ll get you in this harness and haul you out of there.”

Somewhere above, I hear Kaylee’s high-pitched whine, saying she told me I’d get in trouble for coming out here. I know she’s scared, too. We’ve been warned to keep away from the back of the property, where the old house used to be before it caved with age, and the demolition crews came.

This time, my little sister was right.

“You’re being so brave, honey,” Mom hollers, while Dad promises I can take off school and hang with him at work for the rest of the week if I’m feeling up to it.

I’m clinging to that as tightly as the mud-crusted wooden box I found sticking out of a pile of broken concrete a few feet away. Maybe Dad will let me use his tools to clean it up.

Now that the dust has cleared, I let the blanket drop and balance the box on my knees so I can take a bite of my granola bar. Peeling the wrapper back, I watch my fingers shake from the chill.

A few hours ago, I didn’t think anyone would find me out here.

I’ve been thinking about this place since I heard Mom and Dad whispering around the kitchen table one night after I was supposed to be in bed. Rumors had been passed through the generations about my great-great-grandparents, who lived here originally. When I begged them to tell me more, they said they were just stories, and that I should never go near it.

That was a long time ago, but I never forgot about it. Early this morning, I decided to explore, hoping to find something cool. Some human bones; maybe even a skull. Anything could be a clue from the past.

Dad might let me help in his forensics lab if I found something like that.

But then the ground gave way…

I thought I was going to die. I really thought I was?—

Something shifts ahead of me, and I jerk my light toward the gaping opening. There’s nothing. Just darkness and dirt.

Now I’m really glad I didn’t find a skull.

Scooting as close to the wall as I dare, I glance around. No dead bodies. No ghosts.

BANG.

My heart beats like the wings of a trapped bird. Making myself as small as possible, I clutch the box.

No ghosts, no ghosts, no ghosts.

“Hey, kiddo.” Movement above me. Grinding, clanking. Drew. “How’d you like to get out of here?”

“Really?” Scrambling to my feet, I look straight up into the beam of light, like it’s from heaven and this man is my guardian angel.

“Move back, I’m coming for ya.”

He lowers so slowly, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold my bladder long enough to get to the top. But then he’s here, in front of me, his feet flat on the ground. If I weren’t afraid of the box crumbling if I jostle it too much, I’d throw myself at him in gratitude.

“Well, it’s nice to finally see you up close, Aiden. Your family’s been telling me all about you. Gonna be real happy to have you back where you belong.”

“Yeah. Thanks, sir. I…” My mind goes blank. I’m nodding and shaking, my eyes wet and blurry, and—and I can’t think of anything else to say. “Thanks.”

“How’s the arm?” He gestures at the wrist I landed on when I hit the bottom, but I’m too relieved to care about that now.

“I’ll live.” I shrug. Despite the bruises, I know I got lucky.

“You’re a brave kid, that’s for sure. We’ve got some medics up there to look you over, and if all’s well, you’ll be home real soon. Bet you can’t wait to hug your mama.”

“Yes, sir.” Dad, too. I’ll even hug Kaylee. If she hadn’t been spying and saw me head this way, I might have died down here.

He swings his light in an arc. Up, down, and all around. “So, they tell me this was a cellar.” He shines it right into the cavern, where it only reaches a few feet before the dark swallows it up. “Pretty shitty job they did filling it in. ‘Scuse my French.”

I watch as he drops a curious glance at the box sandwiched under my good arm.

“What you got there?”

I don’t know why, but I pull back when he reaches for it. “Just a box. It’s old. I’m going to give it to my dad to clean up so we can open it safely.”

“Ah, good idea. I’ve been talking to your dad. Cool job he’s got. I hear you want to follow in his footsteps some day?”

I nod. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

“Well then, how about we get this harness on you and get you back to your family, huh?” He holds out a hand. “I’ll hang onto your treasure on the way up.”

His hand hovers there, like we aren’t leaving until I hand it over, so reluctantly, I do.

Stepping into the harness, I look back at Drew just as he wipes a hand over the lid.

“Wait. Be care?—”

“There’s something carved here, did you see?”

I shake my head. I’d planned to examine it better at home.

“Hold that flashlight up, will you?”

I bring the light closer.

Then, at just the right angle, the faint impression of letters become visible:

FOREVER.