a circle within a circle and a square or two

 Sadie wished Mannie would stick to trying to get through the window than telling her about his pest control days when he was a rat-catcher. Evidently, he knew a lot about river rats and the tunnels under the city.

"Well, if you know so much, what do you need me for?" She was getting cold and very perturbed.

So what if the sanitarium was abandoned. It had to be warmer than this. She shivered as the snow fell so peacefully from the dark sky. And Liam left.

"Are you sure he should have left?" Sadie thought Mannie was trying to man up before he really needed to, but finally, he broke open a window and he let her hop through first. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be the first one in. What if..what if there were people still here? Or their remains. That just might be haunted.

"What are you talking about?" Had he listened to her at all? He leaped ahead as if she might really be right, but he wasn't going to speak on it. She sighed wondering where they were going. Would he need to look at her back already? She really didn't feel like undressing for him.

He did sound as if he knew exactly where to go, but first, he wanted to see if he could find where this old archeologist used to stay. "She went crazy you know, but we might find some leads."

"What kind of leads?" It was so baffling to Sadie as they headed toward dark corridors. Luckily, Mannie kept his trusty flashlight on as if they needed to keep the pace going through a maze of halls and stairways that went downward until there were no more floors.

"OK, if you do find, whatever it is you are looking for, then what?" Sadie didn't mean to sound bored. But this was kind of boring..and..well, scary too. What if..

She didn't want to think what-ifs. She breathed in deeply as if she would get through this ordeal somehow.

"Look, we haven't even gone under yet," Mannie winced at her as if she really needed to stop being so edgy. 

"Well, I don't know what I am supposed to be doing?" She shrugged as she looked around. As they passed some dark windows of what looked liked an operating room, she couldn't imagine what they did in there.

"This is nothing," he shrugged as if it was all a piece of cake. By Monday she should be at work and not think anything about this little journey. She wished.

Sadie crossed her arms and waited for him to pick the lock. Evidently, they'd found the right room. She guessed Mannie knew where he was going after all. But the room was clean. Not a paper insight. Not even on the floor. How could it be so clean?

He went to the closet and opened it. From there he pushed into the wall where there was a hidden entrance.

"Oh." Sadie wanted to take a step back. There was a secret passage, but she really didn't want to know where it led. Tunnels. She imagined. Shit, she thought. They were going into a cave. Or was it a tomb or was it an another world.