Page 46 of Obscurity

Not until Jason.

Olive and Jason slipped out of their tent like shadows, moving with practiced stealth.

The festival grounds were mostly quiet. She heard the occasional snore from nearby tents. A few stragglers still laughed obnoxiously near the stage—the frat boy, if she had to guess. Empty plastic cups littered the common area, evidence of a hard night of partying.

She’d also noted the men patrolling the area.

For their safety? Or to keep people in line?

She still wasn’t sure.

Olive and Jason had changed into black clothing and soft-soled shoes that would move silently over the rough terrain.

She couldn’t help but notice how the moonlight caught the sharp angles of Jason’s face, making him look both dangerous and incredibly attractive.

Focus,she told herself.Missing girl. Potential crimes. This isnotthe time to be distracted by how good Jason looks.

“You ready?” Jason asked.

She nodded. “Let’s go.”

They made their way through the camp, sticking to the shadows between abandoned buildings. The ruins of Grayfall looked even more ominous in the moonlight—skeletal remains of a once-thriving community, now serving as the backdrop for whatever sinister operation was unfolding here.

The mine entrance loomed ahead of them like a mouth ready to swallow whatever came too close. During the day, the place had looked merely abandoned. At night, it looked actively malevolent.

The entrance was larger than Olive had expected, easily wide enough for vehicles to pass through, and a fence with razor wire at the top stopped anyone from getting in.

“There.” Jason pointed through the fence. “You see that?”

Olive squinted into the darkness and saw what he was indicating—a faint glow emanating from somewhere deep inside the tunnel, too steady and bright to be natural.

“Someone’s down there,” she whispered.

They stepped closer, every sense on high alert. The old warning signs were posted on the fence. “DANGER: UNSTABLE STRUCTURE” and “NO TRESPASSING” were painted in faded letters that should have deterred anyone with common sense.

If Olive was smart, she’d turn back now.

But she couldn’t. She had a job to do.

CHAPTER 28

There was no way Olive was turning back—Jason either.

Instead they moved closer and closer to the mine.

As they did, Olive saw clear evidence that people had been ignoring those warnings to stay out—just as she suspected.

Fresh footprints marred the dirt around the entrance. Tire tracks from some kind of small vehicle. And most telling of all, a heavy-duty extension cord ran from a generator hidden behind a pile of old mining equipment into the depths of the tunnel.

“This is definitely not abandoned,” Jason murmured.

Olive pulled out her phone and began photographing everything. The photos might be crucial evidence.

As they moved closer to the mine entrance, she spotted something that made her heart stop.

“Jason.” Her voice was barely audible. “Look.”

Caught on a piece of rusted metal near the entrance was a small piece of fabric—expensive-looking material in a distinctive shade of coral pink.