Arya couldn’t tell how long they fell for. It seemed like a bottomless pit had just split the Earth and they were falling into its abyss. Kass was screaming at the top of her lungs and the man was enjoying every second of it. He was laughing his head off and whooping with reckless abandon. Arya was silent. He was praying to whatever god might be out there to have mercy on his soul.

Fortunately for them, the free fall didn’t last long, and Arya felt his back beginning to slide against a slippery surface. Through his sluggish thoughts, he made sure to keep his head above the hard floor to avoid banging it. The “slide” leveled out until they were shooting down a dark tunnel completely horizontally. At the end, Arya could see some sort of light and squinted as it enveloped him.

He burst out the other side and his pupils adjusted to the light as he slowed down. He saw a wall in front of him and held his hands up instinctively to protect himself. He collided with the wall. It folded like an accordion. Next to him, he heard two other distinct thuds which told him that Kass and the man had joined him.

Arya pushed himself away from the crash pad and scanned the area he was in. His brain was going into DEFCON 1 and he was close to panicking. He grasped around him. “My money!” He gasped as he searched around himself frantically. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it lying next to the wall, perfectly untouched.

Kass wasn’t so lucky, however. Her bag had completely ripped open and dollar bills scattered the grimey floor. She threw her bag to the ground in frustration and started screaming at the man.”My damn money! You! You put me in this situation! Gimme my money!”

The man just shrugged.”Sorry love, no can do. If you finish the mission, at least you’ll get half.”

She scowled fiercely at him and slammed her fist into the ground. Arya spoke up. “Hey man, where are we anyway? We coulda used a little warning y’know?”

“Just wait.” He replied.”It’ll all make sense soon. In the meantime...FRANZ!” he shouted at a little red booth. It was situated on the right side of this...house? No. Arya vaguely recognized it. The dwelling they currently resided in resembled a roller coaster station. He had seen them on magazine covers but never actually got to ride one. So this is what it felt like.

“Coming!” A squeaky voice echoed from the booth. The door swung open and out popped a neat-looking man in a conductors’ outfit. He straightened his tie, cleared his throat, then spoke.

“Listen, Mr. Riven. I’m on my break! If you could just wait another fifteen minutes I’d be happy to-”

“Shut yer trap and help us out…” The man scoffed.

The conductor muttered under his breath as he extracted a pair of boots from the booth. Taking his sweet time, he whistled as he pulled on his boots and lazily tied the shoelaces. He was taking such a long time that Arya was half tempted to get up when Riven held him down.

“Don’t do that boy. You’re gonna crack yer skull. This gloop is engineered to be slippery enough that you can’t manage any friction.” He told Arya.

Eventually, the man got up and started over to the group. Stepping into the gloop, he showed no signs of slipping as he treaded through the slush and pulled Riven up first. Hoisting the man across his shoulders, he trudged forward until he was able to pull Riven up onto the ledge. Once he made sure that Riven was fine, he repeated that process for the rest of them. Within a few minutes, they were all on the ledge drying off with a few towels that the conductor, Franz, had provided them with. As disgusting as it was, the goo seemed to just fall right off their skin and even Kass had no trouble getting it out of her hair. Their clothes were also surprisingly dry, given how moist the goo was.

“Righty then?” Riven said in a weird accent.”Shall we go now? Dawn is approaching fast and we don’t wanna get caught out there in broad daylight.”

“Agreed.”Kass mumbled.”Let’s get this over with.”

To their right, Franz opened a door and motioned for them to go through it. Riven signaled for them to follow and they did.

Arya stepped outside the door and was immediately greeted with an awe-inspiring sight.

It was a city.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“What is all of this?” Arya thought as Riven pulled the two along.

“The Underground Syndicate.” Riven declared.”A group considered illegal by the government that now hides underground after the Nobleman’s circle destroyed it. Here, money is everything. For the right price, practically anything is achievable.”

This seemed like a whole ‘nother world compared to the surface. It was a huge cavern lit by dangling, luminescent vines that glowed far brighter than Arya felt they normally would have. Streets crisscrossed in every which way, each paved seemingly by hand and lit by a lamppost. The buildings rose no more than ten feet high and each had some sort of wear to it, whether it be a busted window or a fragile roof. Each house had its own set of imperfections, and that comforted Arya rather than alarmed him. It reminded him of home.

Riven pointed out a group of peddlers on the side of the road selling shoe-shine services and leather goods.”See those guys? Normally, this is their trade. However, give ‘em enough money and you can convince them to assassinate a nobleman. Same goes for them.” He then flicked his wrist to a gathering of old ladies playing cards on the side of the road.”Last week, someone paid a woman from that group to participate in...shall we say...an experiment? We haven’t seen her since.”

Arya suddenly realized he was way in over his head. He wasn’t cut out for this! For

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heaven’s sake, he had just been introduced to a freakin’ underground metropolitan! There was no guarantee he’d even be able to leave here. Considering how secretive this group was supposed to be, he was surprised they hadn’t just tied him up already.

Kass seemed to think the same thing. She nervously swiveled her head around, fist clenched in anticipation to fight.

“Why di’ja show us this...place.”Arya asked warily.

“Wel, number 1, its the only reliable way through The Border. Secondly…”He turned around and pointed at me.”If I was an eighteen-year-old and I came up to you and said,’hey! there’s an underground group of mobsters under the slums! They’ve built a whole city and everything!’, would you believe me?” He asked pointedly.

Arya shook his head.

“So yeah, that’s one of the reasons we hire a younger audience. They generally work for cheaper and no one believes them if they do snitch.” He explained. “Now...of course...you aren’t gonna tell no one...right?” Riven raised his eyebrows.

Arya shook his head a bit more violently.

“Thas’ right…”He chuckled.

They walked for quite a long time. Arya didn’t mind though. He had ample time to spectate the town life around them. It seemed so peaceful and safe. It was the exact opposite of what Arya had expected. This was what he imagined the Nobleman’s Circle to look like.

“Why’s this place so cheery?” Arya blurted out before covering his mouth in shock.

Riven just looked at him.”Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No!” Arya exclaimed.”It’s just...back home, we don’t usually see smiles that often. It’s...nice.” He laughed softly.

Riven sighed.”Sometimes kid...the hardest fights aren’t the ones down here...” He waved around them,”-but the ones in here.”Riven placed a finger on Arya’s chest. “A lot of the folks around here have made peace with their situation for generations now. They don’t really have much to pine for.”

Arya stayed still for a moment.

“Y’know, for someone who deals in illegal activities, you sure are a nice guy.” He told him.

Riven chortled.”Please...you’ve known me only for the last hour. Give it at least a day, I’ll temper your opinion of me.”

“I dunno man, five thousand bucks can give anyone a pretty good attitude!” Arya laughed.

“We’re here.”Kass pointed out. Both Arya and Riven flipped around.

They looked to have reached the end of the cavern. The store in front of them looked like a small pub that Arya had seen back home. It was two floors high and an ugly, mildewy black.

“How’d you know?”Riven asked, puzzled.

She kicked a small sign next to her foot. Arya peered at it.

Crow Head Tavern&Drink!

Cocktails!*

Refreshers!*

Good ol’ fashioned Old Fashioneds!*

*Elevator to surface included with every purchase

“This seems highly...unregulated, don’tcha think?” Arya asked Riven incredulously.

“It’s either this or the fight ring and I don’t wanna be responsible for that massacre.” He raised his hands.

“Whatever...Come on.”Kass muttered.

“After you, little lady.” Riven smiled.

Kass scowled at him and stomped in. Arya frowned as he watched her enter the pub. She was acting a bit aggressive.

Riven pulled him inside and instantly, Arya felt the air around them change. People seemed a lot more wary than before. At first, Arya thought it was him that was causing this. Then, he realized it was Riven. The man seemed to command some sort of fear or respect from the other patrons.

Speaking of Riven, the man himself strolled up to the bar and, pulling three bronze coins out of his pocket, tapped them on the counter. A woman sitting on the table to the right of the bar rolled her eyes and signaled to Riven. She unlatched a small gate behind the bar and stepped through it. Putting on her best customer-service smile, she greeted Riven.

“Welcome to the Crow Head Tavern&Drink!” She exclaimed cheerily. “What can I get you for today.”

“Well…”Riven started.”You can start by getting me my actual bartender.” He grinned.

“Oh no…” The woman gasped.”I’m sorry, I don’t know who that his. Would’ja try reminding me?”

Riven stared daggers at her and pulled out two more bronze coins. Instantly, the woman’s tone changed.

“So…”She said monotonously.”Who’re these two teens ya picked off the street. Not gonna extort them, are ya.” Her eyes flashed dangerously.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Riven smirked. He then turned around and spoke to Arya and Kass. “You two...Meet Zym. She’s the most badass bartender around here and...a good friend of mine.” He winked.

Zym sighed.”God, why’d you gotta show up at the worst time. It’s happy hour on a goddamn Monday. Monday! My boss is gonna work me to death or insanity, either of which is preferable to this.”

“Aww, I thought you loved seeing me!” Riven exclaimed in a hurt tone.

Zym grimaced.”If my life gets so sad to the point I’d be happy to see you, something’s definitely gone wrong. Anyway, I’m assuming you need to send these two up to their deaths?”

“Wait, our deaths?” Arya shouted. Riven waved his arms frantically at Zym.

“I’m just kidding.”Zym snickered.”You’re in good hands with Riven.”

“We should really be going…”Riven stated.”Lead the way?”

Zym pushed him back into his chair. “You gotta buy something first.” She grinned. Arya recognized that look. It was the same one Mickey had whenever he toyed with Arya.

“Ah, shaddup.” Riven growled.

“I’m so nice sometimes. Alright. Let’s go.” She unlocked the gate and motioned the three of them over. They were led behind the bar’s storage and down a flight of stairs which eventually ended in a small circular room.

“Stand in the middle of that.” Zym ordered. They followed. Arya followed until he noticed one person conspicuously absent.

“Why aren’t you coming, Riven?” Arya asked.

Riven shrugged.”I’m your eyes and ears out there. I got a computer here hooked up to those earpieces of yours. That way, I can tell you where to go without endangering myself.”

“Yeah,”Zym smirked.”He’s a real p-”.

“ALRIGHT, GOODBYE!” Riven interrupted loudly as he pulled a red lever on the wall.

Arya immediately fell backward as the ground accelerated upwards, shooting both of them towards the surface.