Dark Star

by R. T. Martin

  Val smiled. “I’m not talking about a black dwarf,” she said. “There’s a star very close to us that still burns, but it doesn’t create any light. There’s life on it—inhabitants that have lived there for thousands of years, long before humans were present on this planet. They collect humans from Earth to power it. It’s called the Dark Star.”

  Mr. Petsky rolled his eyes. “If there were something like that close to our planet, we’d know about it. What you’re talking about is just science fiction, Val. There’s no such thing as a Dark Star. And there’s definitely no such thing as aliens.”

  “Says him,” Cooper said under his breath.

  “Mr. Petsky,” Claire spoke up again. “Penny is—”

  “Mr. Petsky,” Val interrupted. “You’re probably right.” She looked at Claire. “While I’ve got your attention, I brought something that I think might prevent people from getting lost.” She opened her bag to show him the dozens of pins inside. “These pins have lights in them that should be just bright enough so we can all see where everyone is but not so bright as to cause light pollution. It’s dark here, and I wouldn’t want anyone to go missing.” For a second Val’s eyes almost looked like they were glowing the same vibrant red as the pins. Claire shook her head in disbelief. It must just be the reflection, she thought to herself.

  “What a great idea, Val!” said Mr. Petsky. “It was very responsible for you to think of that.”

  “Mr. Petsky,” Claire said. “Penny went into—”

  “I already gave a pin to Penny,” Val interrupted again.

  “But she went—”

  “She has a pin,” said Val. “She’s around.”

  “Everyone should take one of these pins,” Mr. Petsky ordered the students. “It was very smart of you to think about that, Val. Thank you.”

  Students lined up and, one by one, took a pin out of Val’s bag. Emma got in line.

  “What are you doing?” said Claire.

  “Taking a pin,” said Emma. “Why shouldn’t I? Mr. Petsky’s right. It’s a great idea. It’s pretty dark up here. What’s the big deal? It’s just a pin.”

  “What about Penny?” Claire said. She was getting more upset.

  “Val’s right. She’s got a pin, and I’m sure she’ll turn up.”

  “But she didn’t wander off until—”

  Emma interrupted her. “She’s old enough to go off on her own. You’re just being paranoid. It’s just a pin. Watch, I’ll put one on and nothing will happen.”

  Claire turned to Cooper. “You’re not going to take one, are you?”

  “No way,” said Cooper. “Val freaks me out. I wouldn’t even take money from her if she was offering it.”

  Emma was the last student to take a pin. Once she had hers, Mr. Petsky reached into Val’s bag and took one himself. He didn’t seem to notice that neither Claire nor Cooper had taken one. All Claire could do was stand by as Emma, the other students, and Mr. Petsky attached the pins to their shirts, the steady red light glowing all around her. She felt queasy watching them do it. There was something unsettling about this whole thing. She still wanted to know where Penny had gone off to. Even though she hadn’t known Penny for very long, she seemed just as freaked out as Claire was about being alone up here. There was no way she’d wander away on her own. Claire was convinced it had something to do with the pin Val had given her.

  As the students walked back to their chairs and blankets, Claire glanced over at Val. She was still smiling next to Mr. Petsky. That’s when Claire noticed that Val wasn’t wearing a pin either.

  Chapter 7

  11:15 p.m.

  Claire couldn’t sit still. She was fidgety and restless. Penny still hadn’t come back, and the students were now oddly silent. Some of the red light around Claire started to flicker, the pulsing light dancing across the clearing. The meteor shower was supposed to begin soon, but the extra credit was the last thing on her mind. Something was wrong here. She should never have come. She would have gladly gone to Alien Wrath with Cooper rather than be up in these dark hills, surrounded by freaky pins that were handed out by someone she couldn’t trust.

  “Does it seem quiet to you?” Cooper asked. They were back sitting on Emma’s blanket but were no longer touching the snacks. Claire was too nervous to eat, and it seemed that Cooper felt the same way.

  “Yeah,” Claire agreed. “Everyone stopped talking.”

  “Not everyone can keep a conversation up like you can, Cooper,” Emma said. “At some point most of us run out of things to say.”

  “Do you still feel okay?” Claire asked, looking at the steady red light at the center of Emma’s star pin.

  “Yes!” Emma said. “For the last time, I feel fine. It’s just a pin, and you’re nervous because it’s dark up here and all the stories about this place have gone to your head. There’s nothing wrong.”

  “Why isn’t Penny back yet?” Claire tried to sound calmer than she felt.

  “She probably is back. It’s dark. Any of these lights could be her.” Emma was getting annoyed, so Claire let the issue go.

  She looked around and saw that the students were mostly still and quiet, all looking up toward the sky waiting for the lights to start flying. Mr. Petsky said on the bus that a few meteors would appear before midnight, but the majority would start hitting the atmosphere at twelve o’clock. It should start soon. So far, the only one they’d seen was the one that appeared shortly after Penny walked into the woods.

  Two pulsing red lights caught Claire’s eye.

  In the dark, Claire saw two students from another group rise and begin walking toward the woods. She tapped Cooper on the shoulder and pointed at them. They both watched until the pulsing lights disappeared behind the thick line of trees.

  Claire looked back over toward Mr. Petsky. Should she tell him what she just saw? Even through the dark, she could see that Val was still sitting right next to him. She was hunched over looking at her left arm again. Just as Claire was about to say something to Cooper, he said, “Look,” and pointed toward the sky. Two more shooting stars streaked through the darkness.

  “I’m going to talk to Mr. Petsky,” said Claire. “Something weird is going on.”

  “I’ll come with you,” he said. “You coming, Emma?”

  “No, I’m not going to contribute to your irrational beliefs,” she said. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

  They walked over to their teacher, who was staring up at the sky with a blank look on his face, his red pin slowly glowing brighter and weaker in a steady rhythm.

  “Mr. Petsky,” Claire started. “I think two more students went into the woods.”

  Mr. Petsky didn’t say anything. He just stared up at the sky and didn’t seem to notice that Claire was even there, much less that she had just spoken to him.

  Claire turned to Val. “What are those pins?”

  Val rolled her sleeve down before Claire could see what she was doing. They locked eyes with each other. “They’re just pins.”

  “Where did you get them?” Claire asked.

  Val smiled. “I made them myself,” she said. “If you’re so concerned with the pins, why don’t you wear one? You’ll see they aren’t anything special, just pins with lights.”

  “What are you doing on your arm?” Claire couldn’t tell if she was getting angry or just panicking.

  Val didn’t answer. She just stared at Claire, grinning.

  “We’re not taking your pins,” said Cooper. “Why did two more kids just go off into the woods?”

  Val was still smiling. “Why don’t you ask them?”

  “Mr. Petsky,” said Claire. “Mr. Petsky!” This time she shook the teacher’s shoulder, but he still didn’t seem to notice that she was there. He had the same blank stare that Penny had before she wandered away. “What did you do to him?” she asked Val.

  Val just continued smiling and looked up at the sky. She didn’t say anything.

  “Come on,” Claire said to Cooper. “
We’re going to look for those kids in the woods.”

  11:25 p.m.

  For every bit that Claire hated the bluffs, the woods were a thousand times worse. It was much harder to see, and she kept getting poked by sticks and branches. She and Cooper would take a few steps each, then stop and scan the area for the missing students. They made sure to never lose sight of each other or to walk too far past the tree line. They didn’t want to lose track of the red lights coming from the rest of the group. If they went too far, they could become lost themselves. Every couple of minutes, they shouted Penny’s name but didn’t hear any response.

  “We’re never going to find anyone in here,” said Cooper. “I wouldn’t be able to find you if you walked ten feet away from me.”

  “I don’t want to give up,” said Claire.

  “The only thing we’re going to do out here is get lost ourselves,” he said. “We need to go back. Maybe Emma has an idea.”

  “Emma doesn’t even think anything weird is going on.”

  “We’ll just have to convince her, which seems like it should be getting easier by the minute,” said Cooper. “Come on. Let’s go back.”

  Claire took one last look deeper into the woods, desperately hoping Penny’s red light would appear and she could stop worrying. She shouted Penny’s name one more time and reluctantly agreed to leave the woods.

  They made their way out of the forest back toward the clusters of red lights. When they left the tree line, Claire was immediately relieved. Even though they hadn’t found Penny, she was grateful to be out of the woods. Cooper was right. The only thing that would have happened in there would have been getting lost themselves. As they walked toward their blanket, Claire’s relief about leaving the woods was replaced by concern. It looked like there were fewer red lights than when they’d left.

  Something caught her eye—three more lights streaked across the night. The meteor shower was picking up. Soon it would be midnight and bright streaks would fill the sky.

  “Uhh, Claire?” Cooper sounded concerned.

  “What?”

  “Where’s Emma?” They had reached the blanket, but Emma was gone.

  Chapter 8

  11:35 p.m.

  “Emma! Emma!” Claire and Cooper shouted over and over again. None of the other students seemed to notice their yelling. They were all staring at the sky. All of their pins were pulsing now.

  Cooper walked over to the tree line and kept calling for Emma. Claire ran to another group of three students sitting in a circle on a blanket. “Did you see my friend come by here?” The students didn’t respond, still looking up. “Her name’s Emma. Did you see her?” Still nothing. “Why won’t you answer me?” Their pins slowly pulsed red.

  The students didn’t acknowledge her. She looked up, but the meteor shower hadn’t started yet. It was only eleven forty. It wouldn’t begin for twenty minutes.

  “What are you looking at?”

  The three students all turned slowly to face her. All together, they said, “The Dark Star.”

  “There’s no such thing as the Dark Star!” Claire shouted at them. She knew she was panicking now. This was all too much. She wanted to find Emma. She wanted to find Penny. She wanted to go home. She wanted to grab Cooper and run out of the bluffs, down the hills, run away from the dark and into the light of Middleton. She wanted to run away from Val.

  “Claire! Claire!” Cooper ran toward her. “I don’t think Emma’s out there. I’ve been yelling for her, but she’s not answering.” He looked at the students. “Did they see her?”

  “They won’t say,” said Claire. “They said they’re looking at the Dark Star. They won’t say anything else.”

  “Dark Star?” said Cooper. “The thing Val was talking about?”

  “Yeah, do you remember what it was?”

  “No, but I remember when Val said it, it sounded familiar. I feel like I’ve heard of the Dark Star before Val talked about it. I was trying to think of where,” said Cooper. “It has to be those pins. That’s why everyone is acting so weird. I know I’ve seen that design before too.”

  “I think you’re right,” said Claire. She turned to face the group of three students. “You need to take those pins off,” she said to them, but they ignored her. “Take them off!” she shouted again. The students just stared at the sky, blank looks on their faces.

  “If they won’t do it, I will,” said Cooper. He moved toward one of the kids on the blanket and reached at her pin, but the student dodged his hand. Cooper shouted at her to take the pin off her shirt, but she ignored him. He reached again at the pin, but she put her arms up, blocking Cooper’s attempt. He tried to take the pin off a student sitting next to her, but he turned away too.

  Cooper gave up his struggle. Neither of the students commented on Cooper trying to take their pins. All they did was stare silently at the sky.

  “They won’t let me take the pins, and I don’t want to hurt them,” said Cooper.

  “It’s okay,” said Claire. “You tried to help. It’s not their fault or yours.”

  “Yeah,” said Cooper. “It’s Val’s.”

  Claire turned and saw Val still sitting next to Mr. Petsky. She was looking at the two of them and laughing. She had watched Cooper try and fail to take the pin away from the student. Apparently, she found it funny.

  “If she has the answers,” said Claire. “Let’s go get them from her.”

  Chapter 9

  11:39 p.m.

  “What are you doing to everyone?” Claire demanded.

  Val didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at Claire. She was calmly seated on the grass next to Mr. Petsky’s lawn chair. The teacher was still staring up at the sky like the students.

  “Everyone that took one of your pins is acting weird,” said Cooper, “and we want to know why.”

  “They’re just pins,” Val said, smirking at them. “If there is a problem, it’s you. Why would my pins make them act strangely?”

  “That’s exactly what we want to know,” said Claire.

  Cooper turned to Mr. Petsky. “What are you looking at?”

  The teacher calmly replied, “The Dark Star.”

  “What is that?” Cooper shouted at Val.

  “Leave him alone,” said Val. She locked eyes with Claire. “If you’re so concerned, why don’t you each take a pin? You’ll see they’re harmless.”

  “We’re not taking your pins!” Cooper shouted.

  “Mr. Petsky didn’t believe in the Dark Star when you told him about it before. Why would he believe in it now?” Claire was determined to get the answers she wanted out of Val.

  Val shrugged and looked away.

  Cooper leaned in very close to Val’s face. “What is going on? Why is everyone acting so weird?”

  Val’s smirk turned into an angry grimace. She stood up, forcing Cooper to take a step backward. “They’re going to the Dark Star.”

  “What does that mean?” Cooper had lost any confidence he had the moment Val stood up. She was doing that thing where she stood too close to him, but now it seemed much more aggressive than it had at school, like she might hurt him.

  “The Dark Star collects people from this planet,” replied Val, taking another step toward Cooper. He tripped on a root and fell backward, staring up into Val’s menacing scowl. “It needs them, and your friends have been chosen to be taken away. The Dark Star removes them from your planet.”

  “You’ve taken our friends?!” screamed Claire. “How do we bring them back?”

  Val turned and sat back down next to Mr. Petsky. “You don’t,” she said.

  Chapter 10

  11:42 p.m.

  Cooper scrambled to his feet and led Claire over near the tree line. Neither of them wanted to be near the glowing lights or Val. Cooper paced back and forth, repeating “Dark Star, Dark Star” over and over again, screwing up his face in concentration.

  Claire thought about how Val wasn’t wearing a pin. That made her distrust the pins even
more.

  “What are you doing?” she asked Cooper.

  “I’m trying to think,” he said. “I know I’ve heard of the Dark Star before. And the pins . . . I’ve seen that symbol before too. I’m trying to remember where.”

  Claire looked up and saw four more shooting stars fly across the dark sky.

  “The cult! That’s it! The Dark Star cult!” Cooper shouted. “I read about it in a book of myths when I was a kid.”

  “Who were they?” asked Claire.

  “They believed they could travel to another dimension. The book said the cult members all went off on their own one night in connection with—” He paused before looking straight at Claire. “In connection with a meteor shower that was supposed to begin at exactly midnight.”

  “What happened to them?” Claire asked, afraid to know the answer.

  “Their leader showed up a little bit before the cult formed. He told them that he could transport them to another dimension at exactly midnight. When they went away, some people in town got concerned and called the police. Officers went to investigate, but they never found anyone. The whole cult just disappeared.”

  “At midnight?” Claire said, looking at her phone. “It’s 11:44 right now. Do you think everyone’s going to vanish at midnight?”

  “Maybe,” said Cooper. “The police arrived a little bit after midnight, but there was no one there. They searched for the members of the cult for months, but none of them were ever found. They had a symbol too. That’s where I’d seen those pins before. The symbol was a black star with a red dot in the middle.”

  Claire felt a shiver go up her spine. “They just vanished? How is that possible?”

  “I don’t know,” said Cooper. “I remember thinking that it was strange how something so similar could happen here too.”

  Claire sucked in a quick breath. “What do you mean, it could happen here?”