Page 10 of The Stars

“So, how’s it been, settling back into town?” he overheard Jess asking Amy shortly after they had arrived.

“It’s... it’s been good,” Amy answered. He noticed the pause and glanced her way and caught her eyes moving over towards him. “Quiet, mostly. I’m still getting used to being back in town.”

Jess nodded. “It’ll feel normal again soon. Trust me. You’ve rented the Meyers cabin, right?”

“Yes.” Amy’s sigh was that of pleasure. “I’ve always loved it up there. We used to go fishing and camping there every summer. Now that Carl Meyers has passed, Larry, his son, is renting the place out. Normally he rents the place out on Airbnb, but he’s thrilled that I’ve signed a six-month lease.”

“Didn’t think you’d be here tonight.” Michael slapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention.

“Joe insisted.” He shrugged and glanced towards Amy’s brother and sister-in-law.

“You two were best friends in school, right?” Michael sat next to him.

“Yup. We started off playing little league together.”

He heard Amy laugh and glanced over in her direction.

As the evening continued, he didn’t get a chance to chat with her directly until he went inside to grab another drink while she was getting one for herself.

“So, I guess you finally made the list to get into this exclusive party,” he joked.

She leaned against the countertop and opened her beer before she responded.

“I guess. I didn’t know this was the hot spot in town,” she said with a smile.

“Oh, it’s a real elite place. High class.” He glanced at her worn boots. “But you fit in perfectly.”

She laughed. “It must be high class if you’re here.”

Dante chuckled. “You make it sound like seeing me is a bad thing.”

Amy bit her lip, and suddenly he was very aware of how close he was to her, of how his arm brushed hers when he moved. “I didn’t say that.”

He didn’t reply right away, but his smile lingered, the silence between them thick with things unsaid. Before the tension could grow any thicker, Xtina came inside to get some more wine and interrupted them.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of laughter and stolen glances.

Shortly before midnight, the atmosphere suddenly changed when Mia stood up and announced, “Tonight. It’s tonight. Is everyone ready?”

“What?” Amy asked after a moment of silence.

“Tonight is the night that you will finally fulfill your destiny,” Mia said firmly with a grin.

Everyone turned to one another and began whispering, and then Jacob stood up and suggested they all go for a walk.

The group began to move, everyone somehow persuading Amy and Dante to follow them across the field. Dante’s mind was still spinning as they walked towards the old Anderson farm—the place he’d spent the last few years chasing kids out of. He knew all too well that the underground silo loomed ahead of them. Its massive underground maze, stretched out like spider webs beneath their feet, had been a death trap for some.

The place had a reputation—a bad one. This was the very place where Xtina had been kidnapped by the cult leader. The same place where more than one person had lost their life.

They had just reached the middle of the field when Mia stopped and turned to him. “I’m sorry, really, about what’s going to happen to you. Just know that, in the end, things will be set right.”

Dante’s mind raced as he tried to piece together what Mia was saying.

The entire group had been acting strange all night, their behavior growing more cryptic by the second. But when Mia spoke, the look in her eyes was different—serious, almost desperate.

Mia’s gaze flickered between him and Amy before she spoke again, her voice soft but carrying an undeniable weight.

“What we’re doing here, right now, is because the fate of all worlds depends on it. Everything. Every timeline, every reality—it hinges on what the two of you do next. Where you go from here.”