To Thomas, the Underneath feels like a haunted tomb. After a time, Thomas asks Brenda if she actually knows where they are headed. When Brenda attempts to scare Thomas, he embarrasses himself by saying that she looks like a Crank, realizing that she really is; that in fact they both are, as they both have the Flare. As they walk deeper into the tunnels, Thomas begins hearing noises behind them, as if someone is following them. Brenda shrugs off the sounds until they are undeniable. While deciding whether to attack whoever might be following them or run deeper into the tunnels, Brenda raises her flashlight to find a man staring at the two teenagers. The man is a Crank, and “past the Gone,” with sores and a nervous tic. The Crank is missing an eye and his nose.

The man talks to Thomas and Brenda in a nursery rhyme-like cadence, saying that his nose has been taken by Rose. Brenda throws a can of food at the man, and when he cries out, four more Cranks appear. The man then says that Brenda and Thomas have pretty noses, and that he wants a nose again.