Author: B Humphrey
Date: 2024-10-19 00:00:00+00:00
Description: Summer of the Black Star It’s the summer of 1984 in the sleepy town of Lakeshore Falls , where nothing ever happens—until a meteor crashes deep into the forest. Four best friends—armed with Polaroid cameras, Walkmans, and flashlights—set off to investigate. But this is no ordinary meteor. It’s an ancient artifact that warps time, reality, and memory. As reality shifts around them, they uncover strange creatures, cryptic symbols, and signs that the artifact has awakened something. A sinister government agent urges them to leave it alone, but it’s too late. With time unraveling and their friends
Publisher: Independently published

Also by B. Humphrey

Retro Horrors: The Lost Decade

Summer of the Black Star

The Arcade Incident

The Autumn Folklore Chronicles

The Forest Of Forgotten Names

The Witch Of Windspindle Hollow

The Burrowfolk Chronicles

The Phantom Finders Club

A Haunting On Maplewood Street

The Secrets Of Old Fort Tower

Ghosts OF The Infirmary

Dedicated to you. May you always find a reason to smile.

Summer of the Black Star

A Retro Horrors: The Lost Decade

Book meant to be read in no particular order.

Written by: B. Humphrey

Copyright © 2024 by B. Humphrey All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Contents

Chapter 1: The Crash

Chapter 2: The Glitch

Chapter 3: The Black Star Awakes

Chapter 4: The Government Agent

Chapter 5: Parallel Worlds

Chapter 6: Lost in the Abyss

Chapter 7: The Missing Kids

Chapter 8: Creatures of the Black Star

Chapter 9: Breaking the Loop

Chapter 10: The Final Countdown

Epilogue

Chapter 1: The Crash

The night the sky ripped open over Lakeshore Falls, Tommy Jacobs lay sprawled on his bed, headphones blasting “Jump” by Van Halen on his Walkman. He stared at the poster-covered ceiling of his room, lost in the rhythm, when the sudden flash turned night into day. His whole room lit up—bright enough to make him yank his headphones off, heart racing.

He rolled to his window, throwing it open, just in time to see the sky return to its usual ink-black, save for a strange streak of green trailing into the distance. It was heading toward the forest, the glowing streak fading fast.

He didn’t even think. He grabbed his Polaroid camera from the desk and bolted downstairs. “Where are you going?” his mom called from the living room, barely glancing up from her Star Trek novel.

“Just out!” Tommy shouted, already halfway out the door, the screen slamming behind him. He could feel the thrill spreading through his chest—a summer mystery in their sleepy town? This never happened. This was big.

He hopped onto his BMX, the wheels squeaking as he pedaled toward the trails where his friends usually met. If anyone else saw that light, they’d be just as curious as he was.

He arrived at the rusted old water tower five minutes later, breathing hard. The hideout sat just on the edge of the forest—an old relic of the town’s past that now served as their meeting spot. Daisy was already there, straddling her bike, her flashlight tucked into her jacket pocket.

“You saw it too?” she asked, eyes wide behind her oversized glasses. She wore her usual denim jacket, the sleeves rolled up. Tommy knew she never missed anything. If there was something weird in the sky, Daisy Carter would notice. “Yeah,” Tommy replied, sliding his bike to a stop beside her. “It was like…some kind of meteor, right?” Daisy shook her head. “Maybe. But meteors don’t glow like that. And they don’t fly that slow.”

Before they could say more, Nate Sullivan skidded to a stop, almost crashing his bike into a bush. His Walkman dangled from his belt, the headphones around his neck. “Did you guys—holy crap, you saw it too, right?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said, feeling a grin spread across his face. “We were just about to go find it.” Nate gave a nervous laugh, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Are you guys sure that’s a good idea? What if it’s radioactive or something?”

“Don’t be a chicken,” Daisy said with a smirk. “Come on, it’s summer. What else are we gonna do? Play Monopoly?” Just then, Sam Parker rolled up, his backpack clinking with tools and homemade gadgets. “I brought some stuff,” he said with a grin. “Just in case.” Sam was the resident tinkerer, always ready with some weird contraption. He had a flashlight, a pocketknife, and a spray can of WD-40 sticking out of his bag.

Tommy nodded, excitement buzzing in his veins. “Alright. Let’s go find out what fell from the sky.”

The kids pedaled their bikes down the winding forest trails, the night air cool against their faces. The trees loomed above, their leaves whispering secrets as the wheels crunched over gravel. It was quiet—too quiet for a summer night. Normally, the forest buzzed with the hum of cicadas or the hoots of distant owls. Tonight, however, the only sound was the soft whirr of their bikes and the occasional swish of Nate’s Walkman.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Nate asked, his voice cracking a little. “Positive,” Tommy said, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. “I saw the light heading this way. It has to be close.”

They rode deeper into the woods, past the old, abandoned summer camp that everyone in town said was haunted. The place always gave Tommy the creeps, but tonight it felt like the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something. After what felt like an eternity, Daisy slowed down, pointing her flashlight toward the treetops. “Look,” she whispered.

They stopped their bikes, following her beam. Up ahead, just beyond the clearing, a green glow pulsed from the ground. “There it is,” Tommy breathed. His heart pounded against his ribs as they wheeled their bikes closer, ditching them at the edge of the clearing.

The thing they found didn’t look like a meteor. It was a black, metallic object, half-buried in the dirt, with strange symbols carved into its smooth surface. It pulsed with an eerie green light, humming low enough to make their bones vibrate.

“That’s no meteor,” Sam whispered, pulling out his flashlight to get a better look. Tommy took out his Polaroid and snapped a photo, the camera whirring as it spit out the developing film. He shook it a few times, holding it close to the glow of the object. But when the image finally appeared, something was wrong.

“Uh, guys?” Tommy said, holding up the picture. It showed the crash site…but also figures in the background—blurry, shadow-like things that definitely weren’t there a second ago. “That’s…not possible,” Daisy whispered, her voice trembling.

Before anyone could say more, the object hummed louder, sending a ripple through the air. The symbols along its surface began to glow, and the ground beneath their feet trembled.

“Maybe we should go,” Nate stammered, backing away. “Wait,” Tommy said, feeling a strange pull toward the object. “We need to figure out what this is.” Sam crouched beside it, running his fingers over the symbols. “It feels like it’s alive. Or…aware.”

The humming grew louder, more intense, as if the thing was waking up. Then, without warning, a burst of green light shot out from the object, illuminating the entire clearing.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. The kids stood paralyzed as the light enveloped them, making everything feel distant and unreal. Tommy could see the trees around them, warped and twisted like a funhouse mirror. The shadowy figures from the Polaroid appeared—only this time, they were moving, creeping closer.

“Run!” Daisy shouted, grabbing Tommy’s arm. They bolted, hearts pounding, their feet barely touching the ground as they sprinted back toward their bikes. Behind them, the light pulsed again, and the air seemed to bend, twisting the forest into strange, impossible shapes.

Tommy’s lungs burned, but he didn’t stop running until they reached their bikes. They jumped on, pedaling furiously down the trail. The forest warped around them, shadows stretching like clawed hands. “Faster!” Nate cried, his voice panicked.

They didn’t stop until they reached the old water tower, collapsing breathlessly onto the grass. “What the hell was that?” Sam gasped, clutching his side. Tommy shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. “I don’t know…but something tells me this is just the beginning.”

Chapter 2: The Glitch

The night after their encounter with the strange object, time felt… off. Tommy couldn’t explain it. His alarm clock flashed 12:00, though he was sure he had reset it before going to bed. His Polaroid photos—the ones from the crash site—now lay scattered across his desk, even though he remembered tucking them into his drawer.

Something wasn’t right. He shook his head to clear the lingering unease and threw on his “Ghostbusters” T-shirt before heading downstairs. The house felt still, the kind of quiet that buzzed under his skin. His mom was in the kitchen, pouring a glass of orange juice and humming along to the radio, which played the morning weather report.

“Thunderstorms tonight,” the announcer warned cheerfully, though the sky outside was a cloudless blue. Tommy grabbed his BMX from the porch and pedaled toward Daisy’s house, the tires kicking up dust from the summer-dry road. He didn’t want to think too much about the weirdness with the clock—or the strange symbols etched into the artifact. He needed to meet up with the others and figure out what their next move was.

Daisy’s house was just down the block, its white paint peeling under years of neglect. Her basement was their favorite hangout—a dim, cluttered space filled with old comic books, beanbags, and a TV hooked up to a VHS player. Tommy banged twice on the basement window, and Daisy appeared moments later, sliding it open.

“Get in before my mom sees you,” she hissed, waving him inside. Tommy crawled through the window and dropped onto the worn-out carpet. Sam and Nate were already there, sitting cross-legged around a pile of Polaroids—the ones they had taken at the crash site.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” Sam said, holding up one of the photos. “Look at this.” Tommy leaned closer. The Polaroid showed the artifact exactly as they had seen it last night, except now one of the shadowy figures was gone. In its place, there was only empty space, as if it had never been there. “That’s impossible,” Tommy whispered, goosebumps prickling his skin.

“Yeah, well, impossible is starting to feel pretty normal,” Daisy muttered, adjusting her glasses. “This one changed too.” She held up another photo—this time, the symbols on the artifact had rearranged themselves, forming strange new patterns.

“How can photos change?” Nate asked nervously, fidgeting with the buttons on his Walkman. “That’s… not how Polaroids work.”

Tommy opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Nate froze, staring down at his lap in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Tommy asked, his pulse quickening. Nate looked up, his eyes wide. “I swear… I left my Walkman upstairs. But it’s right here.” They all stared at the Walkman in Nate’s hands. “You mean… it just appeared?” Daisy asked, her voice uneasy. Nate nodded slowly. “Yeah. I left it on my bed. I’m sure of it.”

A chill settled over the group, the weight of the night before pressing down on them. Something strange was happening, and they were only beginning to understand how deep it ran.

“Let’s try something,” Sam said, pulling out his backpack. He fished around inside until he found a radio receiver, one of his homemade gadgets. “This thing can pick up weird frequencies. Maybe the artifact is still giving off a signal.”

He plugged the receiver into the basement TV and turned it on. The screen flickered to life, displaying a static-filled image. Sam fiddled with the knobs, trying to tune into something.

For a moment, all they heard was the hiss of static. Then—just as Sam was about to give up—the screen glitched, and for a split second, a face appeared.

It was a man’s face, his eyes glowing with an unnatural green light. He stared directly into the camera, his mouth forming words they couldn’t hear. The image lasted only a heartbeat before the screen returned to static. “What the hell was that?” Daisy whispered, her voice barely audible.

Sam rewound the tape, but when he played it back, the man’s face was gone. It was as if it had never been there. “I don’t like this,” Nate muttered, hugging his knees to his chest. “Me neither,” Tommy agreed, though he tried to keep the fear out of his voice. “But we need to figure out what’s going on. That thing we found… it’s doing something to us.” Sam nodded, turning off the TV. “We should go back to the crash site. Maybe we missed something.”

The kids rode their bikes back through town, the summer sun blazing overhead. They passed the video rental store, the pizza parlor, and the comic book shop, all of which seemed eerily normal. But something felt off.

People they passed on the street looked at them just a little too long, as if they recognized the kids but weren’t sure from where. A strange tension hung in the air, like the whole town was holding its breath.

As they pedaled down Maple Street, a black car with tinted windows rolled past them, moving too slowly to be casual. Daisy glanced over her shoulder, her expression tense. “That’s the third time I’ve seen that car today,” she muttered. Tommy frowned. “You think someone’s watching us?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Sam said, adjusting his backpack. The car disappeared around the corner, leaving only the soft hum of its engine in the distance. “Come on,” Tommy said, shaking off the unease. “We need to get back to the forest.”

When they reached the crash site, the clearing was just as they had left it. The artifact still lay half-buried in the dirt, its surface pulsing with a soft, green glow. But something was different. “Do you guys hear that?” Nate whispered, his voice shaky.

The air was filled with a low, rhythmic buzz, like the hum of electricity. It wasn’t coming from the artifact—it was coming from the forest itself.

Sam pulled out his radio receiver and pointed it toward the trees. The device crackled with static, then suddenly tuned into a strange, otherworldly signal—a series of beeps and clicks, like some kind of alien code.

“That’s… not normal,” Daisy whispered, her eyes wide. Before they could react, the artifact pulsed, and the forest around them seemed to ripple. For a brief moment, the trees bent and twisted, as if reality itself was warping.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, everything snapped back into place. The buzzing stopped, and the clearing fell silent. Tommy’s heart pounded in his chest. Whatever this thing was, it was messing with time—and they were caught in its web.

“We need to tell someone about this,” Nate said, his voice cracking. “Maybe the police?”

“No way,” Tommy said firmly. “If we tell anyone, they’ll just think we’re crazy.” Daisy nodded in agreement. “We have to figure this out ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Sam said, adjusting his backpack. “But we need to be careful. This thing… it’s dangerous.” Tommy stared at the glowing artifact, a knot forming in his stomach. He had a feeling they were in way over their heads. And whatever was coming next—it wasn’t going to be good.

Chapter 3: The Black Star Awakes

The woods at night felt wrong. Tommy had always loved the forest—its quiet hum, the scent of pine needles, and the soft chirps of hidden insects. But tonight, everything felt warped, as though they had stepped into a place where the rules didn’t apply.

The crash site had changed. The artifact no longer sat silent and dormant—it pulsed, throbbing in sync with some unseen force, sending green ripples through the ground. The symbols on its surface twisted in hypnotic patterns, shifting every time Tommy blinked. “I swear that thing’s growing,” Sam whispered, his flashlight flickering as if it, too, sensed the presence of something unnatural.

The other kids exchanged nervous glances. The familiar rhythm of summer—the crack of baseball bats, bikes squeaking over gravel, and mixtapes playing from open windows—felt miles away. Here, in the woods, reality itself was coming undone.

Tommy swallowed hard, gripping his Polaroid camera as if it might somehow protect him. This was more than just a mystery. Something dangerous had been set into motion, and they were standing at the heart of it.

Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the trees, like the growl of a massive engine starting up beneath the earth. The kids froze. “What was that?” Nate hissed, clutching his Walkman like a lifeline. “I don’t think it’s coming from the ground,” Daisy whispered, shining her flashlight upward.

They looked to the sky. The clouds churned unnaturally, swirling into spirals as if some immense force was stirring them from above. Then, through the breaks in the canopy, they saw it—a black, jagged shape hanging in the sky, pulsing with the same rhythm as the artifact below. “It’s the star,” Tommy whispered, his breath catching in his throat. “The black star…”

The dark shape was no ordinary star. It loomed above them, pulsating like a heartbeat, and with every pulse, the forest seemed to shift—trees bending unnaturally, shadows twisting, and strange whispers curling through the air.

“I don’t like this,” Nate muttered, stepping backward. “We need to leave—now,” Daisy said firmly, already tugging Tommy’s arm.

Before they could move, a soft rustling sound broke the silence. The shadows between the trees shifted, and then… something emerged.

It moved like smoke, a humanoid figure made entirely of darkness, with glowing red eyes that burned through the night. Its form flickered as if it wasn’t fully tethered to this world, slipping in and out of visibility with every pulse of the black star overhead.

“Guys…?” Nate’s voice cracked as he stumbled backward. “What is that thing?” The creature slithered closer, its movements unnervingly smooth. It left no footprints, made no sound—just an eerie, predatory silence. “Stay together,” Tommy whispered, holding up his Polaroid camera. “I’ll get a picture—maybe it won’t like the flash.”

The creature lunged toward them. Tommy snapped the Polaroid, the flash exploding in the dark like a firecracker. The creature recoiled, twisting away, and for a moment, they saw something impossible—a glimpse of another world behind it, a place filled with strange, floating structures and swirling, chaotic skies.

“What the hell?” Daisy whispered. “It’s… not from here.” The kids didn’t wait to find out more. They bolted toward their bikes, adrenaline surging through their veins. The forest around them rippled and twisted as the creature gave chase, moving faster than seemed possible.

Tommy’s heart pounded as they reached the edge of the forest and leaped onto their BMX bikes. The creature’s presence clung to them, a weight on the back of their necks. “Ride!” Sam shouted, pedaling furiously.

They tore down the trail, wheels skimming over roots and rocks. The black star pulsed again, and with it came a strange, suffocating pressure, as if the night air was thickening around them.

Tommy glanced over his shoulder—the creature was still there, gliding through the trees like a shadow on fast-forward. But the further they got from the artifact, the slower it became, its form flickering like a weak signal on an old TV.

Finally, they burst out of the woods, skidding to a halt on the gravel path beside the old water tower. The creature stopped just at the tree line, its glowing red eyes watching them from the dark. Then, with one final flicker, it vanished into the forest.

The kids sat in stunned silence, gasping for breath.

“What was that thing?” Nate asked, wiping sweat from his brow. “I don’t know,” Tommy admitted, staring at the place where it had disappeared. “But I think the star… it woke it up.”

They needed answers, and fast. Daisy suggested they head to the drive-in theater that night, where old horror flicks were playing as part of a summer marathon. “We might get some ideas from the movies,” she reasoned. “Besides, it’s the only place still open this late.” Tommy agreed—if nothing else, the theater was a place to regroup. They grabbed their bikes and rode through town, the streets eerily quiet under the swirling sky.

At the Lakeshore Drive-In, the parking lot was packed with old Chevys and Volkswagen vans. The giant screen flickered with scenes from “The Thing”, and kids sat on car hoods with bowls of popcorn, cheering at the gory special effects.

The kids parked their bikes and found a spot near the back, far from the crowd. But as they watched the movie, something strange began to happen.

The shadows on the screen seemed to ripple, just like the forest had. Tommy blinked, convinced it was just his imagination—until he saw the creature from the woods, reflected in the windows of the cars parked nearby. “It’s here,” he whispered, nudging Daisy. She followed his gaze, her face going pale. “We need to get out of here.”

They slipped away from the drive-in, hearts pounding in their chests. The sky above them twisted and churned, the black star looming ever closer. Reality itself seemed to be coming apart—lights flickered strangely, and the air felt heavy with static.

As they rode through town, they noticed strange glitches all around them. Streetlights blinked out in odd patterns. Mannequins in store windows turned their heads to watch them pass. And at the video rental store, the “Open” sign flickered between red and blue, as if undecided on which timeline it belonged to.

“What’s happening to everything?” Sam muttered, gripping the handlebars of his bike. “I think the artifact is doing this,” Tommy said. “The black star—it’s warping reality.”

They pedaled faster, the sense of urgency building with every second. If they didn’t figure out what was happening soon, the entire town could unravel.

Chapter 4: The Government Agent

Morning broke slowly over Lakeshore Falls, the town draped in a hazy mist that clung to the trees. Tommy hadn’t slept—none of them had. The events of the night before haunted their thoughts, as real as the scratches on their bikes from the wild chase through the woods. Even now, sitting at Sandy’s Diner, the town’s only breakfast spot, they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still watching them. Sam toyed with a spoon, stirring his cereal aimlessly. “So… we agree that thing we saw wasn’t from this world, right?”

“Yeah,” Daisy said, glancing nervously out the window, her fingers curled around a cup of orange soda. “And whatever it is, it’s not done with us.”

“That black star,” Tommy whispered, staring at his untouched plate of pancakes. “It’s connected to everything—the artifact, the creature, the way time feels… wrong.”

“We need answers,” Nate muttered, chewing nervously on a piece of gum. “Because I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to end up like one of those missing kids.”

They all went silent. The stories of kids disappearing—rumors they had always dismissed as small-town myths—now felt like real warnings. And something told Tommy they were getting dangerously close to the same fate.

The bell over the diner door jingled, and they all looked up instinctively. A man in a long black trench coat walked in, glancing briefly around the room before heading to the counter.

Tommy’s pulse quickened. There was something off about the man—he was too calm, too focused, like someone who already knew exactly what he was looking for. He had cold, sharp eyes and carried himself with the kind of authority that made people uncomfortable.

“That guy’s giving me the creeps,” Daisy whispered, leaning in close. “What do you think he wants?” Before Tommy could answer, the man turned—his gaze locking directly onto them. “Uh, guys?” Nate said nervously, fumbling with his gum. “He’s coming over here.”

The stranger approached their table, his footsteps unnervingly quiet on the diner’s linoleum floor. “You kids look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said with a thin smile. Tommy’s heart pounded. “Who are you?” The man reached into his coat, pulling out a small black badge that gleamed faintly in the diner’s fluorescent light. “Agent Garrett,” he said smoothly. “I work for a division that handles… unusual phenomena.”

“Unusual?” Daisy repeated, narrowing her eyes. “Like what?” Garrett slid into the booth across from them, folding his hands neatly on the table. “Like meteor crashes that aren’t meteors. Time distortions. Creatures that shouldn’t exist.”

Tommy felt a chill crawl down his spine. “You know about the artifact?” Garrett nodded slowly. “I’ve been tracking it for years. Every time it surfaces, strange things start to happen. People go missing. Reality breaks. And it always leads to the same outcome—” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “—the Black Star consumes everything.”

The kids exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of Garrett’s words sinking in like a stone. “You’re telling us we’re dealing with something that… eats reality?” Sam asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“That’s one way to put it,” Garrett said. “Think of it like a tear in the fabric of time and space. The artifact is the key. If it isn’t dealt with, the Black Star will spread—warping everything it touches, erasing this town piece by piece.”

“Then why don’t you stop it?” Daisy demanded, crossing her arms. “Isn’t that your job?” Garrett’s expression darkened. “I’ve tried. But every time we get close, the artifact… slips through our fingers. It has a way of hiding itself, manipulating those around it.”

Tommy’s stomach twisted with unease. What if they were already being manipulated? “Listen,” Garrett continued, his tone grave. “The fact that you kids found the artifact means it’s already awake. And that means you’re part of this now—whether you like it or not.” Nate swallowed hard. “So what are we supposed to do? Just… wait for the star to eat us?”

“No,” Garrett said firmly. “You find the artifact, and you stop it—before it fully activates.” Garrett reached into his coat again, this time pulling out a small, metallic device the size of a pocket watch. He placed it on the table, and the kids leaned in to get a better look. The device had a glowing screen that displayed pulsing green dots, scattered across a grid.

“This tracker can detect energy signatures from the artifact,” Garrett explained. “Use it to find the fragments. The artifact isn’t just one piece—it’s broken, scattered throughout the area. You’ll need to collect them all before the Black Star reaches critical mass.”

“Wait—what do you mean ‘fragments’?” Sam asked, frowning. “The artifact is old,” Garrett said. “Ancient, even. It has a way of… embedding itself into reality. Think of it like shards of glass, spread out across different timelines. Each piece holds power—and together, they act as a beacon for the Black Star.”

Daisy stared at the tracker, biting her lip. “And what happens if we don’t find all the pieces in time?” Garrett’s eyes darkened. “Then your world ends. And it won’t be the first.”

Tommy felt the weight of the tracker in his hand, the cool metal pressing into his palm like a silent promise. This was real. They were the only ones standing between their town and total oblivion. Garrett stood, smoothing out his trench coat. “I’ll be in touch,” he said. “But be careful—the artifact doesn’t like being found. It’ll fight back. And if you get too close…”

He paused, his expression grim. “You might not come back the same.” The bell over the diner door jingled as Garrett left, his dark silhouette vanishing into the misty morning.

The kids sat in stunned silence, the enormity of their situation settling over them like a suffocating blanket. “So,” Nate said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “What now?”

Tommy tightened his grip on the tracker, feeling a strange mix of fear and determination bubbling in his chest. They had to do this. They couldn’t let their town disappear—not without a fight.

“We find the fragments,” Tommy said, his voice steady. “And we stop the Black Star.” Daisy nodded, determination flashing in her eyes. “Let’s do it.”

Sam gave a nervous grin, adjusting the straps on his backpack. “Guess I’d better upgrade some of my gadgets.” Nate groaned, running a hand through his hair. “We’re all gonna die, aren’t we?”

“Not if we do this right,” Tommy said, standing up. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.” As they left the diner, the tracker hummed softly in Tommy’s hand—its green dots pulsing, guiding them toward the next piece of the puzzle.

Chapter 5: Parallel Worlds

The world around them felt… thinner. As Tommy pedaled alongside Daisy, Sam, and Nate, everything seemed normal on the surface—familiar streets, sleepy homes, and the morning haze over Lakeshore Falls. But if you looked too long, stared too hard, you could sense the edges fraying. Streetlights blinked at odd intervals. Reflections shimmered wrong.

“Do you feel it?” Daisy whispered, glancing at the windows they passed. The glass seemed to warp, briefly reflecting things that weren’t there—faint versions of themselves, standing still in different clothes. Parallel versions, watching them pass.

“Yeah,” Tommy murmured, adjusting the tracker in his hand. Its green dots pulsed slowly, pointing toward the Old Library, where one of the artifact fragments waited.

The Old Library sat on the outskirts of town, its windows dusty and its stone exterior weathered by time. Few people visited anymore—it smelled of forgotten history, the scent of decaying paper and wooden shelves. But if the tracker was right, one of the fragments was hidden inside.

They left their bikes outside and pushed the heavy doors open with a groan. The air inside was cold and still, the silence pressing down like a weight. Tommy adjusted his Polaroid camera strap, and Sam pulled out his homemade EMF meter, the device flickering with low readings. “This place gives me the creeps,” Nate muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “It always feels like someone’s watching.”

“Come on,” Tommy whispered, holding the tracker out. “Let’s find this thing and get out of here.” The glowing dots on the tracker pulsed faster as they moved deeper into the building, passing rows of dusty bookshelves and old reading tables. The fragment felt close—just ahead, somewhere among the reference books. Daisy reached out to push aside a stack of newspapers——and the world shifted.

It happened so fast they almost missed it. A pulse of energy rippled through the air, and in an instant, the library changed. The shelves remained, but the books on them were different—strange volumes with unreadable titles and shifting symbols on their spines. The windows, once dusty and cracked, now gleamed with moonlight, though it was still daytime outside. “What the hell?” Nate whispered, his voice thin with fear.

“It’s a slip,” Sam said quietly, holding up his EMF meter. “We just… fell into a parallel version of the library.” Tommy’s heart pounded. The tracker still worked, but the green dots on the screen had rearranged themselves. “We’re not where we were,” he muttered. “We need to find a way back.”

Daisy crouched down, brushing her hand along the floor. “Look,” she whispered. There, scratched into the wooden floorboards, was a familiar symbol—one of the symbols from the artifact. It glowed faintly, humming with the same energy they had felt at the crash site. “The fragment must have caused this,” Sam said. “If we grab it, maybe it’ll pull us back.” Tommy nodded, gripping the tracker tighter. “Let’s find it. Fast.”

The further they moved into the parallel version of the library, the stranger things became. Books whispered to them, their pages rustling with voices that didn’t belong. Shadows twisted along the walls, forming shapes that flickered just at the edge of sight.

At one point, Tommy reached for his Polaroid camera—just to see if anything would show up—and snapped a quick photo of the shelves. As the picture developed, his breath hitched.

The photo showed them standing in the library, but someone else was with them—a blurry figure standing just behind Sam. “Guys,” Tommy whispered, holding up the Polaroid. They all stared at the photo, chills crawling down their spines. “Who the hell is that?” Nate whispered, his voice barely audible. “We don’t want to find out,” Daisy muttered. “Come on. We need to grab that fragment and get out of here.”

The tracker pulsed faster as they reached the reference section, its screen glowing bright green. Tommy shone his flashlight over the shelves, and there—tucked between two dusty volumes—sat a small black shard, humming faintly with energy.

“That’s it,” Sam whispered. “One of the fragments.” Tommy reached for the shard, but just as his fingers brushed its surface— The library rippled again.

The walls warped, the shelves groaned, and the shadows along the floor rose up, swirling into the shape of a creature—tall, jagged, and wrong, with too many limbs and glowing red eyes. “Grab it!” Daisy shouted.

Tommy snatched the shard, and the moment he did, everything snapped back into place—the shelves, the walls, the air around them returning to normal. The creature was gone, as if it had never been there.

They stood in stunned silence, breathing hard. The shard hummed softly in Tommy’s hand, its energy pulsing in sync with the tracker.

“That was too close,” Nate muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. “We’ve got one,” Tommy said, tucking the shard into his pocket. “Now we just need to find the rest.” As they made their way out of the library, the tracker beeped softly—its green dots flickering strangely. Tommy frowned, holding the device closer.

“Something’s wrong,” he muttered. “The tracker’s picking up another signal.” Before they could react, the screen on the tracker flashed, and the device emitted a burst of static. Through the noise, a voice crackled—distorted and faint, but unmistakably real.

“Help… don’t trust…” Then, just as quickly as it started, the signal cut off, leaving only silence. “What was that?” Daisy whispered, her face pale. “I think…” Tommy swallowed hard. “I think it was a warning.”

Chapter 6: Lost in the Abyss

The sky above Lakeshore Falls twisted like a dream slipping into a nightmare. Clouds boiled, black and heavy, while the distant pulse of the Black Star echoed beneath the fabric of the world, making everything feel unstable. Time no longer moved in a straight line. The more they tried to make sense of it, the more it bent—folding memories into places they didn’t belong. Tommy felt as though pieces of his life were falling out of his head, scattered like broken puzzle pieces.

He clutched the artifact shard in his hand as if it might anchor him to reality. But even the shard thrummed with something alien—a pulse that matched the beat of his own heart. “Are we sure this is a good idea?” Nate whispered, glancing nervously at the shifting woods around them. “We shouldn’t go back in there.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Daisy said, adjusting her glasses and shining her flashlight into the forest. “The tracker’s picking up another fragment deeper inside. If we leave it, the whole town is done for.”

“But what if the forest changes again?” Nate asked, biting his lip. “What if we get stuck this time?” Tommy tightened his grip on the tracker. “We’ll make it out,” he said, more for himself than the others. “We have to.”

The forest felt different this time—as if it had grown larger overnight, the paths twisting in unfamiliar directions. The trees seemed to hum with a low, unnatural vibration, like something alive was hiding beneath their bark, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.

Tommy kept his eyes on the tracker, watching the green dots pulse faster. They were close—just beyond the old clearing where the artifact first landed. Sam pulled his bike to a stop. “It’s happening again,” he whispered, pointing to the air ahead of them.

The space in front of them shimmered—like the surface of a pond rippling under invisible rain. The air distorted, warping the trees and rocks into twisted versions of themselves.

“It’s a portal,” Daisy said softly, awe and fear mingling in her voice. Tommy felt the pull of the portal, a strange gravitational force that seemed to tug at his very soul. There was no turning back now.

“Let’s go,” he whispered. They stepped through the shimmering air—and the world shifted violently around them.

On the other side of the portal was a place that shouldn’t exist. The sky above was an endless swirl of black and purple, dotted with strange, flickering constellations that seemed to rearrange themselves at will. The ground beneath their feet was uneven and slick, as though made from melted glass.

Floating structures drifted in the distance—broken pieces of their town, suspended in midair. They could see fragments of the diner, the water tower, and even the video rental store, all tangled in the chaotic landscape. It was as if their world had been shattered and scattered across an alien dreamscape.

“What is this place?” Nate whispered, his voice trembling. “It’s the abyss,” Sam said quietly. “We’re inside the artifact’s reality.” Tommy’s pulse raced. Time felt strange here—heavy, like they were swimming through syrup. Every step they took echoed endlessly, bouncing off unseen walls. They had entered a place where rules no longer applied.

As they moved deeper into the abyss, the air grew thick with tension—the kind that pressed down on their chests and made it hard to breathe. And then, without warning, the abyss began to twist reality around them.

They found themselves standing in front of the summer camp they feared as kids, though it looked abandoned and warped. Rotting cabins sagged under the weight of forgotten years, and shadows flitted behind broken windows. “How is this here?” Tommy whispered, goosebumps crawling up his arms. “It’s not real,” Daisy said, though her voice wavered. “It’s the artifact—it’s using our memories against us.”

The door to one of the cabins creaked open slowly, revealing a figure from Tommy’s past. It was his younger brother, Billy, who had drowned at the lake three summers ago. Billy stood in the doorway, dripping wet, his eyes blank and empty. “Why didn’t you save me, Tommy?” the figure whispered, water pouring from his mouth.

Tommy staggered backward, his breath caught in his throat. “You’re not real,” he whispered, clenching his fists. “You’re not real.” But the figure stepped closer, his expression unreadable. “You left me,” Billy whispered. “Now it’s your turn.” Daisy grabbed Tommy’s arm. “It’s not him,” she said urgently. “It’s just the abyss—it’s trying to break you.” Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to breathe. He had to focus. This wasn’t real—it was a lie, a trick.

He opened his eyes—and the cabin was gone. Billy was gone. They stood once more in the warped landscape of the abyss, the ground shimmering beneath their feet. “Stay focused,” Daisy said, gripping his hand. “The artifact’s trying to mess with our heads. Don’t let it.” Tommy nodded, still shaken but determined. They couldn’t give in to the illusions. They had to keep moving.

The tracker pulsed faster as they approached a floating monolith, its surface covered in glowing symbols. It pulsed with the same eerie light as the artifact shard they had found in the library—this was the core fragment. “It’s up there,” Sam said, pointing to the top of the monolith. “We just have to figure out how to reach it.”

Before they could plan their next move, the shadows around them began to stir. From the cracks in the ground and the dark corners of the abyss, more creatures emerged—twisted things made of shadow and smoke, their glowing red eyes fixed on the kids. “Guys?” Nate whispered, backing away. “I think we’re in trouble.”

“Stay together!” Tommy shouted, gripping the tracker like a weapon. The creatures closed in, their forms flickering in and out of existence. They moved faster than should have been possible, darting through the air like living nightmares.

Sam reached into his backpack, pulling out one of his homemade gadgets—a small device that emitted a burst of bright light. “Take this, you freaks!” he shouted, activating the device. The creatures recoiled, hissing as the light cut through them. For a brief moment, the path to the monolith was clear. “Go!” Tommy shouted. “Get to the top!”

They sprinted toward the monolith, dodging shadows and leaping over cracks in the ground. The climb was steep and treacherous, the surface of the monolith slick with strange, glowing energy.

Tommy reached the top first, his breath ragged. The core fragment sat in a small, glowing pedestal, pulsing with the same rhythmic energy as the Black Star. “Grab it!” Daisy shouted from below. Tommy reached out, his fingers brushing the fragment’s surface, and in that moment, the world fractured.

For a brief moment, Tommy saw everything; the past, the present, the future, all tangled together in a chaotic web. He saw Lakeshore Falls consumed by the Black Star, the town twisted into a broken dreamscape. He saw himself, older and alone, standing at the edge of the abyss, haunted by the friends he had lost.

And then, just as quickly, the vision shattered. Tommy was back on the monolith, the fragment clutched in his hand. “We did it,” he whispered, his voice trembling. But the victory felt hollow. The Black Star was still out there, waiting—watching.

The moment Tommy pulled the core fragment free, the portal began to collapse. The ground trembled, and the sky above them cracked like glass. “Go!” Daisy shouted. “Get out before it closes!”

They scrambled down the monolith, dodging shadows and racing toward the portal. The creatures hissed and snapped at their heels, but the kids didn’t stop—they couldn’t stop.

They dove through the shimmering air just as the portal snapped shut behind them, leaving the abyss—and its nightmares—behind.

Chapter 7: The Missing Kids

Lakeshore Falls felt heavier with each passing day. Something strange weighed on the air, as if the whole town was teetering on the edge of something no one could see. The kids knew that things were changing—slowly unraveling, one thread at a time.

The morning after escaping the abyss, Tommy sat on the front steps of Daisy’s house, holding the artifact fragments they had found so far. Each shard hummed faintly with its own energy, like the beat of a distant drum. The core fragment from the monolith pulsed the strongest, its rhythm syncing with the tracker in his hand.

But something was bothering him. He could feel the weight of the visions he’d seen in the abyss—the glimpse of a broken future where everything had fallen apart. And worse, he could still hear Billy’s voice in his mind, whispering: “You left me… now it’s your turn.”

Daisy stepped outside, zipping up her denim jacket. “You okay?” she asked, sitting beside him. Tommy nodded slowly, though the truth felt far more complicated. “Just thinking. We need to figure out what this thing is trying to tell us.”

Daisy glanced down at the fragments, her expression thoughtful. “I keep thinking about those stories—the kids who disappeared.” Tommy looked at her sharply. “You think this has something to do with them?”

“Maybe,” Daisy said. “What if the artifact has been here for a long time? What if it’s been… taking people this whole time?” A chill ran down Tommy’s spine at the thought.

Later that morning, they rode their bikes to Sandy’s Diner, hoping to overhear some local gossip. The diner was packed with the usual crowd—teenagers nursing milkshakes, parents chatting over coffee, and old-timers grumbling about the weather.

As they slid into a booth near the back, Ben Mackey—one of the older kids in town—was holding court at the counter, telling a group of kids about the missing children.

“I’m telling you, something weirds been going on around here for years,” Ben said, stirring his Coke with a straw. “Every few summers, kids just… vanish. No one talks about it, but it’s real.”

The kids leaned closer, listening intently. “My uncle told me about it,” Ben continued. “Back in the 70s, two kids went missing from the abandoned summer camp. People said they ran away, but no one ever found them. And then there was Jason Wheeler—you remember him, right? The kid who vanished a couple of years ago?”

Tommy stiffened. Jason Wheeler had been his best friend. “They say Jason got too close to something he shouldn’t have,” Ben said. “Some people say he found a portal—something from another world. And then, poof. Gone.”

Tommy’s stomach churned. Jason had vanished without a trace two years ago, leaving behind nothing but unanswered questions. Now, for the first time, Tommy wondered if his friend had fallen victim to the same thing they were facing now.

After leaving the diner, the kids gathered at Sandy’s house, spreading out the artifact fragments on the basement floor. The room smelled faintly of cat food, and Littleface and Ears McEarson—Sandy’s tall, talkative cats—sat nearby, watching with mild interest.

Sam flipped through a notebook filled with notes on the artifact. “So, we’ve got three fragments,” he said, tapping the page. “The tracker says there are at least two more out there. If we find them, we might be able to stop the Black Star from spreading.”

“But how?” Nate asked, pacing nervously. “The artifact isn’t exactly handing these things over. And what if one of those creatures shows up again?”

“We’ll be ready,” Daisy said firmly, adjusting her flashlight. “We just have to follow the tracker.” Tommy looked at the glowing dots on the tracker’s screen. One of the signals was coming from the abandoned summer camp—the same place Ben had mentioned earlier. “I think I know where we need to go next,” Tommy said, his heart pounding.

The old summer camp sat deep in the woods, hidden behind a tangled wall of trees. The cabins were weathered and rotting, their windows shattered and doors hanging on rusted hinges. Faded signs warned trespassers to keep out, though the kids ignored them as they made their way inside.

Tommy felt the weight of Jason’s disappearance pressing down on him as they stepped into the clearing. This was the last place anyone had seen him alive.

The tracker beeped softly, guiding them toward one of the old cabins near the edge of the camp. The cabin’s door creaked open with a groan, revealing a dusty interior filled with broken furniture and old sleeping bags.

Daisy shone her flashlight across the walls, revealing something strange—dozens of drawings, scrawled in black charcoal. They showed kids trapped in strange places, surrounded by swirling shapes and glowing stars.

Tommy’s heart raced as he recognized one of the drawings—it was of Jason, standing in front of the Black Star. “This is it,” he whispered. “Jason was here. He found the artifact.”

As they searched the cabin, the air suddenly grew heavy, thick with static electricity. The room began to ripple—the same way the library had shifted earlier.

“Not again,” Nate groaned, backing toward the door.

The world around them warped, and for a brief moment, they found themselves standing in another version of the summer camp—one that was darker, colder, and far more dangerous. The trees loomed larger, their branches twisted into claw-like shapes. And the drawings on the walls… they were moving.

“Stay together,” Tommy whispered, gripping the tracker. The cabin door slammed shut behind them, and the shadows in the corners began to shift and grow, coalescing into familiar shapes.

“Tommy…” a voice whispered from the dark. Tommy’s blood ran cold. It was Jason’s voice. He turned slowly—and there, standing in the corner, was his best friend. Jason Wheeler, just as Tommy remembered him. But something was wrong. Jason’s eyes glowed faintly, and his expression was empty, hollow. “You shouldn’t have come,” Jason whispered, his voice distant. “It’s too late.”

“Jason?” Tommy whispered, stepping forward. “Is it really you?” Jason’s form flickered, like a bad signal on a TV screen. “I tried to warn you,” he said. “The artifact… it doesn’t just take people. It changes them. It pulls them into the star, into its world. And once you’re inside…”

Jason’s voice trailed off, his gaze distant. “You never get out.” Tommy’s heart clenched. “We can save you,” he whispered. “We’ll find a way.” Jason shook his head slowly. “You can’t. The star doesn’t let go. But maybe… maybe you can stop it. Before it takes everything.”

Before Tommy could say more, the world shifted again—and Jason was gone.

The glitch ended with a violent snap, and the kids found themselves back in the real cabin, gasping for breath. The drawings on the walls were still, and the shadows had retreated to the corners.

Tommy clutched the tracker, his hands shaking. Jason was still out there—somewhere. And if they didn’t act fast, the same thing would happen to them. “We need to move,” Daisy said, her voice steady but urgent. “The next fragment is close.”

They followed the tracker’s signal deeper into the woods, their hearts pounding with every step. Somewhere ahead, the final pieces of the puzzle were waiting—and the Black Star was getting closer.

Chapter 8: Creatures of the Black Star

The night felt alive, breathing beneath the stars. As the kids rode their bikes through the streets of Lakeshore Falls, every shadow seemed to ripple, as though something beneath the surface of reality was stirring—hungry and waiting. The black star still pulsed above, its jagged shape faintly visible through the swirling clouds.

Tommy clutched the tracker tight in one hand, his Polaroid camera slung around his neck. The final fragments of the artifact were close, scattered somewhere near the abandoned summer camp and the old Lakeshore Drive-In Theater. He knew they had to move fast. Time was running out, and with each pulse of the star, the town grew more unstable.

“You think the creatures will come back?” Nate asked nervously, pedaling alongside them. “They never really left,” Daisy muttered, scanning the darkened streets with her flashlight. “They’re just waiting for the right moment.”

“Great,” Nate groaned. “We’re all gonna get eaten by shadow monsters. This is exactly how I wanted my summer to go.”

The first stop was the Lakeshore Drive-In, now abandoned, its giant screen cracked and leaning at an odd angle. The lot was filled with rusted cars—ghosts of a past summer, frozen in time.

Tommy shone his flashlight toward the entrance, and the beam flickered across faded posters of old horror movies—The Thing, Poltergeist, The Fly. For a moment, he almost felt safe, reminded of movie nights with Jason, back when life was simple. But the pulse from the tracker dragged him back to reality. “It’s in there,” Sam whispered, checking the device. “One of the fragments is somewhere inside the theater.”

They stepped through the creaking entrance gate and into the lot of rusted cars and shattered windows. Tommy felt a chill run down his spine. The shadows seemed thicker here, as though the black star had touched this place more deeply than anywhere else.

“Do you feel that?” Daisy whispered. “It’s like… something’s watching us.” Before anyone could respond, the air thickened with static—the same eerie energy they had felt in the abyss. The shadows between the cars began to shift and stretch, rising into twisted, humanoid forms. Creatures made of pure darkness, their red eyes glowing like embers in the night. “Guys…” Nate whispered, backing away slowly. “They’re here.”

The creatures moved silently, gliding across the lot with unnatural grace, their forms flickering as if they weren’t fully anchored to this world. “Sam, the light!” Tommy shouted. Sam fumbled in his backpack, pulling out one of his homemade flash devices. He flicked it on, and a bright, searing light exploded from the gadget, cutting through the darkness.

The creatures hissed and recoiled, their forms breaking apart into streams of shadow. But they didn’t leave—they regrouped, circling the kids with renewed intensity. “They’re not scared of it for long,” Daisy warned, gripping her flashlight tighter. “We need to find that fragment—now!”

Tommy scanned the tracker, his hands shaking. The signal was strongest near the projection booth, tucked at the far end of the lot. “This way!” he shouted, leading the others through the maze of rusted cars and cracked pavement.

The creatures followed, closing in with every step. They moved too fast—one second they were far behind, the next they were right on the kids’ heels. Nate stumbled, nearly dropping his Walkman, but Daisy grabbed his arm, pulling him forward. “Don’t stop!” she shouted.

They reached the projection booth, slamming the door shut behind them. The small room was cluttered with old reels of film, cracked seats, and a broken projector. But there, wedged beneath the projector lens, was a small, glowing shard—another piece of the artifact. “Got it!” Tommy shouted, grabbing the fragment. The moment his fingers touched it, the entire room warped.

For a brief moment, they weren’t in the booth—they were back in the abyss, standing on a floating piece of their shattered world. The creatures were there too, surrounding them on all sides.

“Stay together!” Tommy shouted, gripping the shard as if it might anchor them back to reality. With a jarring snap, the vision ended, and they were back in the projection booth. But the creatures were still outside, pounding on the walls, their red eyes glowing through the cracked windows. “Now what?” Nate asked, panicking. “We’re trapped!” Tommy held the fragment tightly, his heart pounding. They had to get out before the creatures broke through.

Sam dug through his backpack again, pulling out a small canister of WD-40 and a lighter. “I’ve got an idea,” he said with a grin. Before anyone could stop him, Sam flicked the lighter and sprayed the WD-40, creating a makeshift flamethrower. He aimed it at the window, and the creatures hissed, retreating from the burst of fire.

“Go, go, go!” Tommy shouted. They kicked open the door and bolted from the booth, sprinting toward their bikes. The creatures gave chase, but the kids didn’t stop—they pedaled harder than they ever had, racing away from the drive-in and into the woods.

The next fragment was somewhere in the abandoned summer camp, hidden among the ruins of old cabins and faded memories. The tracker beeped softly, guiding them deeper into the overgrown paths.

As they rode through the tangled woods, the shadows seemed to ripple again, and for a moment, Tommy thought he saw Jason—his best friend, standing just beyond the treeline, watching silently.

“Jason?” Tommy whispered, slowing his bike. But when he blinked, the figure was gone, leaving only the rustling leaves behind. “Tommy, come on!” Daisy shouted. He shook off the eerie feeling and pedaled faster, catching up with the others.

The camp looked worse than before—the cabins sagged under the weight of time, their walls covered in graffiti and creeping vines. The smell of rot clung to the air, and the only sound was the distant hum of cicadas.

“The tracker’s picking up something inside that cabin,” Sam said, pointing to the largest structure near the center of the camp. They approached cautiously, pushing open the warped door. Inside, the cabin was dark and cold, as if all the warmth had been sucked out. The floorboards creaked beneath their feet, and dust hung heavy in the air.

And then they saw it—the final fragment, sitting on an old bunk bed, glowing faintly in the dark. Tommy reached for it, but before he could grab it, the shadows in the room shifted, and a familiar voice whispered from the corner.

“You shouldn’t have come back.” Tommy’s blood ran cold. It was Jason’s voice. He turned slowly—and there, standing in the doorway, was Jason Wheeler, just as he remembered him. But something was wrong. Jason’s eyes were hollow, and his expression was empty, as though he was only a shadow of the boy he used to be.

“Jason?” Tommy whispered, his heart pounding. Jason didn’t respond. He stepped forward, his movements slow and deliberate, as if it took all his effort to stay in this world. “You can’t stop it,” Jason whispered. “The star is already here. It’s too late.”

“Jason, we can fix this,” Tommy said desperately. “We found the fragments—we’re going to stop the Black Star.” Jason shook his head slowly. “The star doesn’t care about your plans. It’s already taken me. And soon… it’ll take you too.” Tommy felt a lump rise in his throat. This wasn’t the reunion he had hoped for. Jason wasn’t really here—he was just a ghost, a warning from the other side.

“You have to let me go,” Jason whispered. “Before it’s too late.” Tears stung Tommy’s eyes, but he nodded. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll stop it. I promise.” Jason gave him a small, sad smile. “Goodbye, Tommy.”

And then, he was gone—fading into the shadows, leaving nothing behind but the cold, empty cabin. Tommy took a deep breath, wiping his eyes. It was time to finish this.

With the last fragment in hand, the tracker pulsed rapidly, guiding them toward the crash site where it had all begun. The Black Star loomed above, brighter and closer than ever, its jagged shape cutting across the sky like a cosmic wound. “This is it,” Daisy whispered. “We stop it here.”

They pedaled toward the crash site, their hearts pounding with fear and determination. The fate of their town—and their future—rested on what happened next.

And they were ready to fight.

Chapter 9: Breaking the Loop

The sky over Lakeshore Falls hung heavy, split open by streaks of green lightning. Clouds swirled in jagged spirals, and the black star burned brighter than ever, pulsing like a heartbeat. It felt closer now, as if it had folded space and time to loom just above the town, waiting to consume everything.

Tommy gripped the tracker tight in one hand, the five fragments of the artifact humming together in the other. Their pulses synced, vibrating like a countdown clock. He knew they didn’t have much time left—the Black Star was awake, and reality was starting to tear apart.

“It’s happening,” Daisy whispered, scanning the streets with her flashlight. The town around them shimmered with glitches—streetlights blinked in strange patterns, mannequins shifted positions, and the wind whispered words that didn’t make sense.

Tommy glanced at his friends, each one standing on the edge of exhaustion but determined to see this through. Daisy’s jaw was set, her flashlight steady. Nate fidgeted nervously, clutching his Walkman. Sam adjusted his backpack, filled with makeshift gadgets, ready to fight back against the shadows.

Tommy took a deep breath. “This is it. We have to finish this—before the loop closes.” They gathered at the water tower, the only place in town that still felt stable, at least for now. They sat in a circle on the cracked concrete floor, laying the artifact fragments in the center. Each shard shimmered faintly with energy, glowing brighter whenever they touched.

“Okay,” Tommy said, taking the lead. “We have five fragments. According to Garrett, once we put them together at the crash site, it should trigger the reset.”

“But what if it doesn’t?” Nate asked, chewing on the sleeve of his jacket. “What if it just… makes everything worse?” - “It won’t,” Daisy said firmly, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt. “We don’t have any other choice.”

Sam pulled out his tracker modifications—a few new buttons and dials he’d rigged to help stabilize the artifact. “If we sync the fragments correctly, it should shut down the star before it fully manifests. But…” He trailed off, frowning. “It’s not going to be easy. The fragments are… fighting each other. Like they don’t want to be whole.”

“Of course they don’t,” Tommy muttered. “The star doesn’t want to let go.” They fell into uneasy silence, the hum of the fragments filling the air. The weight of what they had to do pressed down on all of them. There would be no second chances. If they failed, the star would consume everything.

As they prepared to leave, the world around them flickered and shifted. One moment they were at the water tower; the next, they were standing in the driveway of Tommy’s house, disoriented and confused. “What the—” Nate began, but his words glitched mid-sentence, breaking apart like static on a broken radio.

The town was coming undone, pieces of different timelines colliding at random. Tommy’s house flickered in and out of existence, replaced by fragments of the old library, the summer camp, and the diner. A looping sequence played out before their eyes—a delivery man knocking on a door, over and over again, stuck in an endless glitch. “We have to move,” Daisy urged, tugging Tommy’s arm. “The loop is breaking down faster than we thought.”

They scrambled back to their bikes, riding through the fractured streets. Lights flickered. Trees shifted position. At one point, Tommy saw two versions of himself—one standing at the water tower, the other running toward the drive-in theater. The timelines were folding in on each other. “This is bad,” Sam muttered, checking the tracker. “We don’t have much time.”

The crash site sat at the edge of the forest, where the artifact had first landed. As they pedaled toward it, the world twisted around them, pulling them through fragments of parallel realities. They saw glimpses of a future where the star had won—Lakeshore Falls swallowed by darkness, the sky fractured into shards of black glass.

In one timeline, Tommy saw himself standing alone, holding a broken Polaroid camera, his friends gone. The star burned above him, and the town was nothing but ruins. “Focus!” Daisy shouted, snapping him out of it. “We’re almost there!”

They reached the crash site just as the black star pulsed again, sending a ripple through the air that knocked them off their bikes. The fragments in Tommy’s hand glowed brighter, reacting to the star’s presence. “Set them up!” Sam shouted, pulling out his tracker modifications.

The kids worked quickly, placing the five fragments in a circle on the forest floor, just as Garrett had instructed. Sam attached the modified tracker to the center, its dials whirring and clicking as it synced with the fragments. The air around them shimmered, heavy with potential energy.

Tommy felt the pull of the star—a gravitational force that tugged at his thoughts, his memories, his sense of self. It whispered to him, promising peace, an end to all the confusion and fear.

“Don’t listen to it,” Daisy warned, gripping his arm. “That’s what it wants.” Sam flipped a switch on the tracker, and the fragments began to pulse in unison, their energy building into a crescendo. The ground trembled, and the black star overhead flickered, as if it was struggling to hold its shape.

“It’s working!” Nate shouted, his voice filled with both fear and hope. “We’re breaking the loop!” Just as the fragments began to merge, the creatures returned—shadowy figures with glowing red eyes, pouring out of the forest like smoke. They moved fast, too fast, closing in on the kids from all sides.

“Protect the fragments!” Tommy shouted, grabbing his Polaroid camera. Sam activated his flashlight device, sending bursts of light through the clearing. The creatures hissed and recoiled, but they didn’t retreat. They knew this was their last chance to stop the kids.

Daisy swung her flashlight like a weapon, driving the creatures back. “We need more time!” she shouted. Sam adjusted the dials on the tracker, forcing the fragments to sync faster. The air crackled with energy, and the black star above them flickered again, its shape fracturing like shattered glass. “Almost there!” Sam shouted.

As the fragments merged, a portal opened in the center of the clearing—a swirling vortex that led back to the abyss. On the other side of the portal, Tommy saw Jason Wheeler, standing alone, his eyes filled with sorrow. “Tommy,” Jason whispered. “Help me.”

Tommy felt his heart break. Jason was trapped in the star’s world, a prisoner of the artifact. If they closed the loop, Jason would be lost forever. “You can’t save him,” Daisy whispered, her voice filled with pain. “If we stop now, the star wins.”

Tommy clenched his fists, tears streaming down his face. He had to make a choice—save Jason, or save the town. “I’m sorry,” Tommy whispered, his voice cracking. “I have to let you go.” Jason gave him a sad, understanding smile. “It’s okay, Tommy. Just… please remember  me.”

With a final burst of energy, the fragments merged completely, and the portal snapped shut. The creatures vanished, and the black star shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across the night sky.

For a brief moment, everything went still. The world held its breath, balanced on the edge of oblivion. And then, with a soft pulse, the loop reset. The sky cleared. The glitches vanished. The town of Lakeshore Falls returned to normal, as if nothing strange had ever happened.

The kids stood in the clearing, the fragments gone, their task complete. But the weight of what they had lost hung heavy in the air. “Jason’s really gone, isn’t he?” Nate whispered. Tommy nodded, his heart aching. “Yeah. But we stopped the star. That’s what matters.”

Chapter 10: The Final Countdown

The night was unnaturally still. The black star had shattered, its jagged shards scattered across the sky like fragments of broken glass, but the danger wasn’t over. Something still lingered in the air—an unfinished promise, a shadow of what could have been.

The kids stood in the clearing, panting, exhausted, and emotionally spent. The ritual was complete. The fragments had merged, resetting the loop and severing the connection to the abyss, but the cracks in reality remained. For Tommy, it felt like the town was holding its breath, waiting for one final shift—a last chance to put everything right. “We did it,” Sam whispered, slumping to the ground and tossing his backpack aside. “It’s over.”

“Is it?” Daisy asked, scanning the trees with her flashlight. “Because I still feel like something’s watching us.” Tommy didn’t answer. He was staring at the spot where the portal had been—where Jason had smiled at him one last time before slipping away forever. The weight of his choice pressed heavy on his heart, dragging him down like stones tied to his chest.

“Come on,” Daisy whispered gently, nudging Tommy’s shoulder. “We need to make sure everything’s really… fixed.”

The kids pedaled their bikes through the darkened streets of Lakeshore Falls, half-expecting the shadows to rise up and chase them again. But the creatures were gone—banished with the black star. The streets were still, illuminated only by flickering streetlights, and the air felt strangely heavy, as though the town was rebooting itself.

“Do you think we saved everyone?” Nate asked, nervously glancing over his shoulder. “I think so,” Tommy said, though doubt gnawed at him. “We reset the loop. Everything should go back to normal.”

But normal wasn’t what it used to be. As they rode through the empty town, Tommy saw subtle changes—houses that looked slightly different, people’s names on mailboxes that didn’t match what he remembered. It was as if reality had stitched itself back together—but not quite the way it had been before.

They passed the video rental store, its neon sign blinking erratically between “Open” and “Closed.” The posters in the window had changed—new movies that didn’t exist before, faces of actors Tommy had never heard of.

“This is weird,” Sam muttered, fiddling with his modified tracker. “It’s like… we’re in the same town, but not exactly.”

“It’s close enough,” Daisy said. “Close enough to count.” Tommy wasn’t so sure. They found Agent Garrett waiting near the old water tower, leaning against his black sedan with an unlit cigarette tucked behind his ear. He gave them a slow nod as they approached, his expression unreadable. “You did it,” Garrett said. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Yeah, well, neither did we,” Sam muttered, rubbing his eyes. “So… is it really over?” Garrett shrugged. “For now. You closed the loop and shattered the star. The town will be fine. At least, for a while.” Tommy frowned. “What do you mean, ‘for a while’?” Garrett lit his cigarette, taking a slow drag. “The artifact isn’t gone—it never really is. It just sleeps. Someday, it’ll wake up again. Somewhere else, some other time.”

Tommy clenched his fists. “So, it was all for nothing?” Garrett shook his head. “Not nothing. You bought time—for this town, for the people in it. Sometimes, that’s all you get.” He looked at Tommy, his gaze piercing. “And sometimes, that’s enough.”

After Garrett left, the kids stood in silence under the water tower, each of them lost in their own thoughts. The danger was over, but the emotional weight of what they had gone through lingered. “You okay?” Daisy asked softly, sitting beside Tommy on the grass. Tommy shook his head. “No. Not really.” - “You did the right thing,” Daisy whispered. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” Tommy muttered, his voice hollow. “But it still feels like I lost him. Like… I failed.” Daisy rested her hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t. You saved all of us. Jason would’ve been proud.”

Tommy swallowed hard, nodding even though the ache in his chest didn’t go away. Jason was gone, and no amount of reassurance would change that.

As they sat in the quiet, the air shimmered one last time—a faint ripple, like a pebble dropped into a still pond. Tommy stiffened, clutching his Polaroid camera. “What was that?” Nate whispered, standing up quickly.

Before anyone could answer, a figure appeared at the edge of the clearing—a boy, around their age, with a backpack slung over his shoulder. His face was unfamiliar, but something about him felt… off.

The boy looked at them, confused. “Where am I?” he asked. “What’s going on?” Tommy exchanged a glance with Daisy, his heart pounding. The loop was closed—but reality wasn’t finished with them yet.

The boy’s name was Eli, and after some careful questioning, the kids learned that he had been pulled through a glitch in time, trapped in the abyss for what felt like days. “I thought I was stuck there forever,” Eli said quietly, shivering. “Then, suddenly, I was… here.”

Tommy felt a strange sense of deja vu as he listened. Eli’s story mirrored Jason’s—but this time, they had saved him.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Daisy muttered under her breath, glancing at the sky. “The artifact might be gone, but reality’s still… cracked.” Tommy nodded. “We’ll fix it. Somehow.” Eli gave them a small, grateful smile. “Thanks for finding me.”

And in that moment, Tommy knew they had made the right choice. Jason was gone, but someone else had been saved. Maybe, just maybe, that was enough.

The sun began to rise, casting soft light over the town. For the first time in days, the sky felt clear. No more glitches. No more shadows. Just a quiet morning, full of possibility.

The kids climbed onto their bikes, riding through the empty streets as the first light of dawn touched the tops of the trees. The black star was gone, and the future was theirs to shape.

Tommy glanced at his friends—Daisy, Sam, Nate, and now Eli—and felt a flicker of hope for the first time in a long while. They had survived the abyss. They had broken the loop. And though the scars would remain, they would move forward—together.

As they rode toward the horizon, Tommy glanced over his shoulder one last time, half-expecting to see Jason’s ghost watching from the shadows. But there was nothing there—only the quiet streets of Lakeshore Falls, waiting for a new day to begin.

Epilogue

The summer heat lingered in the air, though Lakeshore Falls felt different now—like a familiar song, but with the notes just slightly off. Days passed, and life returned to something resembling normal. The black star was gone, and with it, the shadow creatures that had threatened to consume their town. But things hadn’t fully returned to how they were before. Tommy Jacobs knew that better than anyone.

It was a few days after the reset when Tommy found it—the Polaroid, tucked under his pillow. He didn’t remember putting it there. His breath caught as he pulled it out, the edges creased as though it had been handled many times before. The photo showed him and Jason Wheeler, standing at the crash site, both of them grinning like they hadn’t a care in the world. The problem was, that moment never happened.

Jason had disappeared two years ago, and Tommy had never seen him again—until the night in the abyss. Yet here he was, in this photo, looking as real as the day they first became friends.

Tommy ran his fingers over the image, heart pounding. Jason was still out there—somewhere, in some form. This photo was proof. And maybe, just maybe, Tommy could find him again.

Tommy had started noticing the glitches almost immediately after the black star shattered. At first, it was small things, streetlights flickering in unexplainable patterns, storefront signs changing every time he looked away. The old mailman greeted Tommy by name one day, then the next insisted they’d never met.

And it wasn’t just him. The others noticed it, too. Daisy told him her alarm clock had gone off at 4:44 a.m. every morning since the reset. Nate swore he’d seen two versions of the same cat crossing the street in opposite directions. Sam, ever the tech whiz, tried to map the anomalies on his tracker but gave up when the data wouldn’t stop shifting.

“We have to watch for signs,” Tommy had said one night, as they gathered in the basement of Sandy’s house, surrounded by flashlights, notes, and old Polaroids. “This might not be over.” They all agreed—if anything strange happened again, they’d be ready.

Eli had started remembering things, though he couldn’t explain where the memories came from. Fragments of other lives. A sister he’d never met. A home that wasn’t his, filled with people he didn’t know. Sometimes, late at night, he’d wake up in a cold sweat, certain he had just spoken with someone from another timeline.

“It’s the abyss,” he told Tommy quietly one day, sitting on the steps of the water tower. “It left pieces of other lives in me. I don’t even know which parts of me are real anymore.” Tommy knew exactly how he felt. The black star had touched all of them, leaving behind traces of something dark and unknowable.

But Eli wasn’t alone. None of them were. “You’re one of us now,” Tommy had said, slinging an arm over Eli’s shoulder. “We’ve got your back. Whatever happens.” Eli smiled, though there was still unease in his eyes. There was more to his story—something they hadn’t uncovered yet.

They were sitting by the lake one lazy afternoon when Agent Garrett returned, his black sedan kicking up a cloud of dust as it rolled to a stop. “Didn’t think I’d see you again,” Tommy said as Garrett approached, the familiar cigarette tucked behind his ear.

Garrett gave him a grim smile. “I told you—the artifact isn’t the only thing out there.” He sat down on the grass beside them, pulling a small notebook from his coat. “The black star was just one piece of a larger puzzle. There are other things—bigger things—out there. Some of them are waking up.”

The kids exchanged uneasy glances. “What do we do if they come here?” Nate asked, nervously adjusting his Walkman. Garrett smirked, tapping his cigarette against the notebook. “You’ll figure it out. You’re good at this stuff.”

He stood up, brushing off his coat. “If you ever need me… well, you know where to find me. Or maybe you won’t. Depends on the timeline.” And just like that, he was gone, leaving them with more questions than answers.

The sun was beginning to set over Lakeshore Falls, casting the streets in a warm, golden glow. The gang stood beside their bikes, the weight of the summer’s events settling over them like a second skin. Things weren’t the same—and they never would be. But they were alive, and together, and that was enough.

Tommy adjusted his Polaroid camera around his neck, glancing at his friends. Daisy stood beside him, her flashlight tucked under one arm, a determined look in her eyes. Sam fiddled with his newest gadget—a tracker built from old radio parts—while Nate chewed on the sleeve of his jacket, mumbling about how they were probably doomed.

And then there was Eli, standing on the edge of their circle, looking both lost and found at the same time. Tommy knew they still had a long way to go with him—memories to piece together, mysteries to unravel. But they’d get there. Together.

As the night crept in, the town of Lakeshore Falls seemed to hum with quiet possibilities. There were more mysteries out there. More shadows waiting to be uncovered. And if the black star ever returned… well, they’d be ready for it.

Tommy swung his leg over his bike, gripping the handlebars. The future stretched out before them—unknown, dangerous, and thrilling.

He looked over at his friends, a grin spreading across his face. “Here we go again,” he said.

And with that, the gang pedaled off into the night, their bikes kicking up dust as they rode toward whatever strange, wonderful, terrifying thing lay just over the horizon.

Also by B. Humphrey

Retro Horrors: The Lost Decade

Summer of the Black Star

The Arcade Incident

The Autumn Folklore Chronicles

The Forest Of Forgotten Names

The Witch Of Windspindle Hollow

The Burrowfolk Chronicles

The Phantom Finders Club

A Haunting On Maplewood Street

The Secrets Of Old Fort Tower

Ghosts OF The Infirmary

Table of Contents

- Also By B. Humphrey
- Dedication
- Chapter 1: The Crash
- Chapter 2: The Glitch
- Chapter 3: The Black Star Awakes
- Chapter 4: The Government Agent
- Chapter 5: Parallel Worlds
- Chapter 6: Lost in the Abyss
- Chapter 7: The Missing Kids
- Chapter 8: Creatures of the Black Star
- Chapter 9: Breaking the Loop
- Chapter 10: The Final Countdown
- Epilogue
- Also By B. Humphrey