The Plan

Chapter Twelve (Fall, 2000)

(8k words, ~35min read)

The full Astronomy Club played the arcade’s machines for three more hours before they decided they’d had enough. Then they headed to the clubhouse for the final initiation piece. They biked all the way to Bushkill Avenue and coasted down Myles’ enormous driveway. They then ran laughing into the woods toward the Observatory they’d all helped create.

Everyone felt whole. Completed. And the new members had a new feeling of ownership of the clubhouse. They’d built it when they weren’t members, but now that they were, they felt that the work now meant something.

“Last one there gets the pink bean-bag!” Myles said, stepping off of his bike and running toward the clearing.

Blink had been in the clearing before and began pedaling faster and barreled into the yard toward the path. “Gangway!” He yelled as he whisked by Langley and Marshall who were also running and passed Myles last. Mariah passed on her bike as well. Pretty was sprinting on his feet, sticking to the sport and laughed all the way there.

The bikers arrived first and ran in to claim their seats in the two comfortable, old lawn chairs.

The rest of the Astronomers were stampeding toward the clubhouse through the ankle-high grass. Myles, the weakest runner, ended up in last, the sixth to slap the nameplate  and enter the Observatory. Pretty was standing up front like a school teacher, grinning at the Sage.

Mariah and Blink noticed the slapping of the nameplate and gave up their seats to give it a tap before taking their seats again.

Myles looked around at the rosy, happy faces who greeted him. He was cheered that they were bound now, by an agreement secured by curbs and pixels. He looked at Pretty who stood smiling like he hadn’t seen Myles in a long time. And Myles was hit with an invasive sadness that struck him right to his core. He looked back to his Leader with soft eyes. It was like there was no House in the Woods to attack them all day, just all of them, friends, doing the shit that kids do. Not running for their lives. The House hadn’t been mentioned all day.

Myles remembered, he realized that there would be few moments like this, ones where he’d feel so… at home. At peace. Safe. With his pals. His unstoppable force. He swallowed and felt the tears coming to his eyes.

“I just realized I love you guys,” Myles explained and then choked a couple of sobs. And that was all. He took a deep breath and shook the feeling away. He knew what he said. He’d meant it. He didn’t say things he didn’t mean.

Nobody had a response. Nobody felt a response was necessary aside from a few understanding nods. There was nothing strange about Myles’ actions.

Everyone felt that some things are meant to be observed and noted. Not everything needs a reaction.

“We’re all here,” Pretty said. “Congratulations, Astronomers, at your passing of the initiation. I’m glad we were able to do that together. I just have one thing to address.” Pretty said. He spoke with grandeur that all of the Astronomers suddenly wanted to listen to.

“We have new members. New Astronomers. I don’t know exactly how or where they came from, but, as you all probably feel, they belong in some way.” he looked around the room. They seemed to agree with their expressions. They all seemed comfortable despite meeting each other only a few hours before. “And one thing that an Astronomer gets is a title. I’m the Leader. Langley is our Bug because he knows stuff and knows how to obtain information. and Myles is our Sage because he’s wise and thinks a lot about stuff. Usually, when we decide on names, you’ll say what makes you unique and we all decide on a name for you.” Pretty was about to call out one of the new members and ask outright, but then he sensed that it would be better to let them think and then speak when they were ready. So he waited.

Marshall, the cop’s son, was the first to speak. “I like to learn new things. Like history and information and new words. I’m a literary buff.”

Pretty nodded thoughtfully. “The Buff?” It didn’t hit home. But it was close. “No, that’s not it.” Myles and Langley were noticeably thinking as well.

“What do you call a guy who knows a lot of stuff?” Blink asked.

“A sage,” Langley said in an old-man voice.

“No, it’s something else. Like a scholar. But scholars don’t study for fun…” Mariah said.

“The scholar?” Pretty thought aloud. “Still no…”

“The Guru,” Myles said from the bean-bag. “That’s the word.”

That name clicked. “The Guru, that’s perfect,” Pretty said. “What does it mean?”

Marshall knew. “It’s like someone who knows a lot about one thing. But I’ll take it as you all think I know a lot about everything.”

The Guru. The fourth member of the Astronomers to be named.

“Welcome, Guru!” Myles said, throwing his arms open.

“Aye, welcome, Guru,” Langley said.

Pretty let the small celebration settle and then facilitated the next name to be given.

“Mariah?” He felt strange even speaking her name. “What about you?”

“I already know, Pretty,” Myles said. “She’s the Prophet. Or the Seer. She knew where the House was without anyone telling her. And she was the only one who actually was hurt by the novis.”

Pretty thought about it. Then he looked at the only girl in the clubhouse. Although the only female, she seemed right in her element. Right where she should be. And Mariah Smith seemed to like her name.

“The Prophet. You sure that’s not sacrilegious somehow? What about Acolyte? Or… Student? Monk?” She said.

“Wait, what’s an Acolyte?” Myles asked.

“It’s like a follower of a religion. I guess that doesn’t make much sense either. How about… what are those people called who can see the future?” She continued. 

“Uh, prophets…” Langley said.

“Soothsayers,” Marshall offered.

“No… not the word I was looking for, but that sounds cool,” Mariah answered.

“Clairvoyant.” That was Marshall’s last guess.

“What’s that?” Mariah, Blink, and Langley asked all at once.

“It’s someone who sees the future and just knows things,” Marshall explained. His title as Guru was reflecting his nature well.

“That name is bitchin’,” Pretty said. “It’s perfect, don’t you think? How do you say it again?”

“Clairvoyant,” Marshall repeated with a knowing smile. It was cool to know things other kids didn’t sometimes. He liked being the Guru.

“You’re right,” Mariah said, looking over to Pretty. “It’s pretty perfect.”

“The Clairvoyant. So cool. Man, these new titles are making the original members’ names look dumb.”

“Speak for yourself,” Myles retorted. “I’m the Sage, all-wise advice-giver and thinker second only to Frownileo.”

“Yeah, after Blink get’s his name,” Pretty said, looking to the kid still wrapped in a blanket. “So, what defines you aside from falling into rivers?”

“Too soon,” Langley muttered through a smile. He pulled the drawstrings on his hoodie and made the hole in his hood tiny.

Myles watched Langley do this and said, “It makes your hood look like an asshole.”

Langley began sniffing deeply through the small hole the drawstrings left. He took another deep breath, but by then the whole Observatory had erupted into laughter.

“I can drive cars,” Blink said after the laughter died down. He was betting none of them could do that and he was right.

“Can you really?” Langley asked, opening his hood up again.

“Manual and automatic. And I’ve driven a lot of tractors and lawn mowers. How’s that for a special skill?” Blink said.

“That’s… that’s pretty awesome,” Pretty admitted.

“Can you fly airplanes?” Marshall asked.

Blink laughed. “No way. Those are the next level.”

The Observatory quieted slowly. Now they were brainstorming the next name. “What’s the name for someone who can pilot a lot of vehicles?” Marshall asked himself aloud.

Langley scoffed. “A ‘pilot’.”

Myles and Marshall laughed. “Yeah, pretty much.”

They went back to thinking and considered Blink’s situation. He was one of those students at Winton Middle who kept to himself a lot. He didn’t have time between his dad’s business and school to do much else. He was probably in trouble for being gone so long today. But Blink was confident that he could fake being a weakling and say he fell into the river and was in there for an hour and was rescued by some other kids. His dad would probably be merciful then.

“Pilot,” Mariah repeated. “What’s so bad about that name?”

“Well, the thing is, you gotta be careful what name you give him right now. Once you get it, the name sort of sticks.” Pretty said. “But maybe it’s the name for him. What do you think, Blink? The Pilot?”

Blink shrugged. He looked smaller with his glasses. The same glasses that gave him his nickname. “Sounds cool enough. I mean, I am a pilot I guess. Yeah, sure.”

“Swell.” Pretty said. “So it’s official. I’m the Leader.” He pointed to Myles.

Myles said, “I’m the Sage.” Myles pointed to Marshall.

“Uh, I’m the Guru.” He pointed to Langley.

“I’m the Bug, you already know it.” Langley pointed to Blink.

“Pilot.” He pointed to Mariah.

“Clairvoyant,” She finished.

Langley shook his head. “That’s probably the coolest name. ‘Clairvoyant’.”

Pretty, still standing, looked at his Club. A formidable force especially now that building this clubhouse and sharing titles had drawn them that much closer. But now what? They’d built the clubhouse and named themselves and they’d done it together. It was only natural that the next thing they did was together.

“And we know what this means…” Myles said, looking at the wall next to the door.

Langley didn’t know what it meant at first. But then: “Carving! It’s time to carve their names!” He pumped his fist once. “You got the knife, Pretty?”

Pretty was leaning against the wall and nudged away from it. He walked to the front door. All eyes watched him. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his cub scouts knife. Troop 112, Pack 34. The knife his dad bought him when he’d just started cub scouts and abruptly ended when the son of a bitch left him and his mom. He’d kept the knife… he didn’t know why. It was very handy now. He handed it to Marshall to carve his name into the wood and make him an official Astronomer.

The carving took a lot longer than they thought and it seemed anticlimactic at first, but once he finished, the time seemed worthwhile. Marshall had copied the names and the fashion, putting his nickname, real name, and then the date, all separated by hyphens. 

Guru – Marshall Baker – 2000

The Guru received smiles and slaps on the back. He was official! He was an Astronomer! Then he handed the knife to Blink who had the steadiest grip on the knife. He etched his nickname and real name after it, letting the world know he was a part of the legendary Astronomy Club:

Pilot – ‘Blink’ Cuthbert Mayer – 2000

Finally, Mariah. She paused as she spelled her title. Marshall spelled it for her before she could ask. She nodded and spoke thanks.

Clairvoyant – Mariah Smith – 2000

They were all crowding around Mariah as she carved her name. They were mostly looking at their own names, but now that they were all on the wall, it looked complete. Names up there under ‘The Astronomy Club.’ It filled them with a sense of light and fulfillment. Now, they felt, they’d done everything they could at the time and there was no ‘now what?’ to ask. They could do whatever they wanted and just be the  Astronomy Club. Just a group of kids having fun because it was summer.

“One more thing,” Pretty said and then chuckled. “I feel like there has only been ‘one more thing’ for like five things.” He reached into his pocket. “This makes you one-hundred percent official.”

And he handed the Clairvoyant, the Guru, and the Pilot a little rectangular piece of nylon cloth embroidered with a little balloon on one side.

Each of the new members inspected the little piece of cloth. “Are these handmade?” Marshall asked.

Pretty bobbed his head. “My mom made them. Myles, Langley and I have ours on our backpacks that we usually take everywhere anyway.”

“Congratulations, new members!” Langley’s voice filled the room. He, Myles, and Pretty grinned and applauded until it eventually faded away.

And they felt there was little else to say as far as congratulation went. And at that moment, Mariah and Myles looked to Blink to continue the celebration. They didn’t know how or why, but they knew that he was the proponent of continuation.

Blink looked once at each of them and then tapped the flask full of vodka.

He then reached two fingers into his pocket and worked the object from his pocket and held it. Looked at it.

Pretty saw it and when the other members who were looking at Pretty saw he was looking intently at something, they followed his gaze. Eventually the whole population of the Observatory stared at the flask, full of something. They knew what a container like that was to hold, but did it really hold what they thought? Some sinful, forbidden drink for adults? Something that would change your mind so dramatically and get you addicted? Something that would destroy your brain?

Mariah only wondered what her parents would think of her drinking liquid that would scathe the throat. But it never crossed her mind to abstain; she was going to celebrate… 

No…

It was more than a celebration. It was another opportunity for growth. Strengthen their friendship bonds. Why did they need such strong friendship bonds? Strength in unity?

Blink unscrewed the cap and took a sniff. He jerked his head away at the sniff. “Yuck.” He took a drink and gasped the draught down his throat. “Don’t sip it. You gotta suck it down.” He offered it to the rest of the club.

The rest only looked at it like Blink was extending a loaded gun. Then, to everyone’s shock, Mariah took it. She knew they all were going to take a drink at some time, so she may as well get hers done now. She threw the square metal container back and let the stuff onto her tongue. She made the mistake of letting it wash her mouth instead of letting it pass quick. She grimaced, sputtered as she leveled the flask, and blinked a few tears away as she cleared her throat of the firm drink. As she regained her breath, she handed the flask off to Marshall.

Marshall Baker took a hesitating breath, heart pounding, and sucked down two ounces of Tito’s vodka. The flare of alcohol shocked him; he’d never had something so strong and had only dipped his pinkie in his parent’s wine which he considered nasty. But this was outright disgusting. He coughed and felt nauseous. He only thought he was going to throw up until Pretty laid a hand on his shoulder and held a hand out to take the flask.

Pretty Lewis had a stare-down with the flask and then shrugged. “Alright…” And put his lips to the flask that was still wet on the rim with the drink. Then he sipped it. That was a mistake. Nasty to the max. But now he needed to take a much bigger drink, not some wimpy sip. Ugh, it was so strong and disgusting. It was like drinking stomach acid. He realized that the faster it was drunk, the faster it would be over. But first, he’d share his hard-earned wisdom. “Don’t sip it. Do not sip this shit.” Then he took a gulp of it which roughed his throat up like sandpaper.

He let out a gasp of… some emotion he couldn’t explain. Relief? Accomplishment? And handed it to Langley.

Langley threw the flask back and took one shot’s worth of Tito’s before handing it off to Myles. Langley hadn’t flinched and was proud of himself as he felt the collection of alcohol settle warmly in his stomach.

Myles held the flask, looking down into the darkness of the mouth. He sighed, thinking he wasn’t ready.

“You’re never ready, Myles. Just drink.” Mariah said.

Myles shook his head once, started, hesitated, and then took his own drink. Yuck! What was this shit? He still gulped it, though it coursed a numbness all the way from his tongue, cheeks, and throat and splattered into his stomach where it simmered. Myles handed it back to Blink.

Blink swished the remaining dregs of vodka around, wondering if he should drink it or someone else. He looked around the room. “Any takers?”

Nobody made a move. Blink sighed and  slammed the last of the drink down his throat and screwed the lid onto the flask again. He let out a long gasp of satisfaction. “Wow.”

Nobody said anything for a long while; they were focused on how the strange feeling in their stomachs, that eerily warm, caustic sensation.

“What did we just do?” Langley asked. “Was that a good idea?” the Bug was looking at Pretty who shrugged. “But nobody tell anyone about this.”

That was a phrase Mariah was unaccustomed to. Not even her parents? She hadn’t kept a secret from her parents in a long time, and definitely not one this serious. Would she be able to keep the secret at all?

“Well, I don’t feel shit,” Langley said with an edge in his voice. “Blink, you brought it. Was that even enough?”

Blink shrugged. “It takes longer than a few minutes for it to kick in.”

“Have you done this before?”

Blink shook his head. “But my brother and Dad have. That’s how I know.”

“Then let’s wait in the driveway at least,” Myles said and stood up.

Langley jumped up. “Last one there is a rotten, rotten egg.”

Then it was a mad dash that left Mariah and Pretty leaving the Observatory together.

“There was no way I was going to win that,” Mariah said to Pretty.

“Fair.” There was an awkward silence Pretty saw coming from yesterday and he followed with, “What do you think?”

Mariah looked him right in the eye. “About what?”

He found the courage, the daring, to look her back in the eye. “What came to mind when I said that?” His inflection was designed to be completely neutral. It could mean anything.

You came to mind first, she almost said, but instead she shrugged. She pretended like she never picked up on his hints.

“I guess I was referring to being an astronomer,” Pretty said.

“Thanks for letting me into your club. I know Myles was against it and you or Langley must have talked him out of it. So thank you.”

“We made a rule that any Astronomer could invite anyone else into the club, but they had to pass initiation.”

“I see. Was Myles really the one who wanted us in the club? You didn’t make him invite us?”

Pretty shook his head. “Not completely sure what happened there, but it seemed important to him.”

They exited the woods and clearing through the tiny path behind the Willis house.

Pretty wanted Mariah to know about him more and know how he thought about things. And sometimes the randomest things were found interesting to others and you just had to try it. So Pretty said, “You ever wish you had superpowers?”

Mariah nodded. “Mostly moving stuff with my mind. Sometimes I’ll just be lying in my bed and the light will be on and I wish I could move things with my mind and turn off the light.”

Pretty said, “I sometimes wish I could be invincible and jump off of buildings and stuff and land without worrying about hurting myself. Or climb trees?”

Mariah laughed. “What if you went to war and nobody could hurt you and you’d just run through all the bullets?”

“They’d put me on a bombsquad for sure. They’d have me digging up landmines.” Then Pretty laughed suddenly. “What if I got blown up and just flew like forty feet into the air. All the terrorists we were fighting would be like: ‘Hey look, a flyin’ guy!’”

Mariah laughed twice at this and by now they had reached the garage.

“Hey, chumbos,” Myles said. “Langley and I are going to get some Caprisuns. You want one?”

“Yeah.” “Yes, please.”

The thin, scuffed white garage door opened and shut after Langley and Myles. It reopened in a minute and Myles backed out with his hands full of the silvery bags of fake juice. They were distributed and everyone found something to sit on in the garage.

Marshall sat on the four stacked bike ramps while Blink jumped on the riding mower just behind a bike. Pretty grabbed a couple of folding chairs and set one up for Mariah and himself. Myles sat on the rickshaw trike that he made Mabel pull him around on. Langley found a four-wheeled dolly that he, Pretty, and Myles used to swing each other around on in the driveway. Now he rolled around in the big space where Mr. Willis’s car was supposed to be.

Langley and Myles shook their heads and made a noise as Marshall pulled his straw off of the Caprisun. “You gotta just jab the straw through the clear plastic. That way you don’t have to worry about two pieces of trash,” Myles said and pushed his straw out of the plastic and then drew it out completely. Then he inserted it into the tiny hole in the top. “Like so.”

“Gimmie another Caprisun and I’ll do just that,” Marshall said. “You need proof and I’ll give it to you.”

Blink giggled through his straw.

In a minute or two there was the resounding chalky noise of hollow sucking through a tiny straw which quickly turned into a contest between every member of the Astronomers as to who could be the loudest. After Langley had nothing else to suck out of his Caprisun, he threw it aside and started yelling. Then Blink joined in and then Marshall and Myles. In the next ten seconds the garage was filled with primal screams from the light, undeveloped vocal chords which eventually died out, but Marshall and Myles yipped back and forth trying to be the last one to make a noise. Myles eventually won.

Marshall’s throat tickled and part of him still felt like he was going to throw up. Why did he drink that at all? Why did any of them drink it?

“Because,” Myles said, and looked at Marshall.

Marshall looked back, realizing his reflexes were slowing a bit. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but it was noticeable. “Really? Tell… wait did you just read my mind?”

Mariah and Myles nodded.

Pretty frowned. “Is that right?”

“How?” Marshall said.

Myles shrugged. “Maybe the drink? But it’s like I can see all kinds of stuff now.”

“I think you’re getting your drugs mixed up, buddy.” Langley said. “LSD and shrooms make you all… colors and stuff. Makes you see stuff.”

“Doesn’t acid do that too?”

“Maybe.”

They all went quiet again, letting the drink do its magic. Myles and Mariah were having trouble thinking straight, but they were also aware that they knew a lot more while they knew a lot less. It was a strange feeling, not foreign, but still new. Impossible to describe without using oddly spiritual adjectives. But they knew.

The two knew a couple of new thinks now. Like what Marshall was thinking or about to say. Like what Pretty was thinking and feeling. How he was at ease. Some feelings about what the future held. The alcohol had lost a grip on their rational sense and let in a different and new ability. It enhanced the fraise and opened their minds instead of limiting them and letting them lose their sense of reality. They knew it wasn’t the same for their friends, the other members. This was limited to Myles and Mariah.

“The fraise,” The Sage and the Clairvoyant said, like the twins from the Shining.

“The fuck?” Marshall said, scared by their speaking in unison.

“There are more of us,” Mariah said. Now everyone was quiet, the other four Astronomers looking at them, frightened.

“‘Fraisers’ is what they call us,” Myles affirmed.

“They also have abilities. Like you guys,” Mariah finished. She looked around with an incredible clarity, like she could feel the emotions of others. Like she could see into the lives of even the structure around her. She knew where the beams came from. She knew the story behind the roof; that it was previously a shed roof from Mr. Inge. It was like she’d known this always and was being reminded of it now. She could vaguely see the parts of people, what they intended, what they felt. She could sense Myles right now; he was experiencing the same thing.

Mariah found the part of Pretty. Pretty’s eyes, she could feel them. She understood his gaze like she was looking through his own. His feeling in his heart was strong for her, strong and gentle. Firm, hopeful, innocent, but unsure. Fearless leader, he was. And that firm feeling was a love for her. Not some ungrounded, weak love for her. It was an attraction deeper than what she looked like. He’d fallen for her spirit, her heart first. And that was clear to her. How could she not love him back?

And she knew, like she could feel his feelings, that he just wasn’t for her. That they were to meet others, that Pretty was their Leader and they didn’t want another.

Myles could sense everyones’ minds growing loopier and wavering. Their vision affected and their judgment being altered. What was smart, wise, and true was being replaced with something else. It was like their minds were becoming a neutral ground for anything to flourish, but for Myles, it was like he was given clarity on a different level. The alcohol was spent well on his and Mariah’s brains. They could see much better now that they were partly intoxicated. With the eye of their minds wide open, they saw past the third dimension and into the perception dimension, a dimension without numbers or logic, necessarily; It was like the whole place was where you could taste sound, catch ideas, and physically see the different colors of emotion. It was an ineffable category.

She and Myles looked at each other again, but they were past wondering about the feeling. It was like a dormant part of them was finally unlocked and they were at last able to explore it.

Myles realized there were more mysteries about his friends which he could explore and learn about if he wanted. Myles felt and knew that Blink and Langley had the darkest and toughest secrets.

And Mariah. He saw that she was telling the truth about the novis in the dream. And as he was looking at her, she could feel him looking at her both in being and in the physical world. She looked at her hand, remembering the memory with him. And she spoke to him in his mind as well: my past is my own and you’re only allowed to see what I reveal to you from words. Fuck off.

Myles was struck by her language. She’d never sworn from her mouth, but he didn’t expect that she’d swear at him in her mind.

The rest of the Astronomers had relaxed. They figured the spell of the Clairvoyant and the Sage was passed. They were wondering how else they could enjoy their drunken state.

“Let’s try to run around!” Marshall said, jumping up from the ramps he was sitting on. Pretty and Blink laughed at the idea and stood slowly; the alcohol was working its effects into the bodies of kids under one-hundred pounds. Each Astronomer drank a little more than one shot of Tito’s Vodka each.

All six Astronomers left the garage and headed back to the clearing to run around and see how drunk they really were. And they weren’t as intoxicated as they acted, but they had fun all the same. They spun in circles and saw who fell down first, over and over.

And after a while, they were all throwing up the small amount of liquor in their stomach and spat out the bile that coated their mouths, like a miniature and defective ayahuasca ceremony. Then they all lay on the grass in the clearing, a little circle of heads looking up from the window of trees and into the sky, partly cloudy. Pretty was next to Myles and Mariah, and Langley was opposite him, Blink and Marshall on either side of them. The taste of stomach acid was still present and their sobriety was returning. Myles and Mariah couldn’t use their fraise at will any more.

Marshall said, “My dad would kill me.”

“I’d get kicked out of my house,” Mariah laughed. She was unfamiliar with the taste of rebellion, but part of it was something else that had her doing this. She didn’t think she’d sinned by drinking, but it was a sin to break the law by drinking underage. Oh, well; it was over now. Just a one-time thing.

“Well, according to all of us, we never did that,” Pretty said, feeling happy and content on the grass, the girl he liked next to him, and his best friend on the other side of him.

“Nope,” Langley said.

“Ha. Ha,” Myles said. He didn’t know why.

“We need a plan, Astronomers,” Pretty said.

The rest of the Astronomers sobered even more. That was something they’d effectively forgotten about all day, but now they had to face it. Pretty was the first one of them who had the balls to bring it up.

“Yeah,” Myles sighed.

Langley hacked some more and spat. 

Mariah did the same.

“Not gonna lie, Mariah,” Blink started and then looked her in the eye. “I didn’t even think you were going to take a drink from the flask. And I didn’t blame you, but the whole thing… like it was illegal and everything, but it felt like it really needed to happen.”

Mariah nodded. “I understand it too. It just felt right even though it was definitely something we aren’t allowed to do.”

“It’s more fun when it’s not allowed,” Myles said and stood up. They needed to plan. It wasn’t something they could avoid.

Langley’s lanky body rose and then Marshall, Mariah, Blink. The Astronomers stood in a circle before Pretty broke it off and led them back into their clubhouse.

When they’d all been seated, Langley and Marshall battled over the last metal folding-chair so they wouldn’t be left with the pink bean-bag.

“Newbies get the pink chair.” “You’re a pink chair.” “I’d expect a little more professionalism from a fellow Astronomer.” “Screw you, chump.” “ARGHH.” Then both boys fell to the ground and reached for the chair and wrestled.

The rest of the Astronomers were smiling or laughing. Langley started making a show of it and grabbed the bean beag. He thumped Marshall over with the chair while saying: “Here’s your seat. I saved you the walk.” Marshall was stunned enough for Langley to get onto the chair. He sat and waited, looking expectantly at the Leader. “Plan.” The Bug said, hastily getting back on topic.

“The plan,” Pretty said. He was the first to sober up. He’d been responsible for things in the past, but nothing this big. “I mean… It’s more of a preparation. What can we do to be the most ready?” He looked at Mariah and Myles when he said that. Just because he was the leader didn’t mean he knew the most or had all of the great ideas: it just meant he called the shots.

“Well, I know we’ll be gone in a few days. So pack a couple of changes of clothes. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, really.” Myles said.

Pretty made a mental note. He knew that to keep people talking, the best thing was to stay quiet.

Mariah spoke: “The novis don’t like the light. It might be really unhealthy for them. So they only attack at night.”

“So could we fight back with flashlights and stuff?” Marshall asked.

“No, that’s like using a water gun to put out a housefire,” Myles said. “The sun would be the only light they really wouldn’t like to be in.”

“So we’re safe during the day. And what if we all just stay in town?”

“They’ll find us. They’d sneak around even if we were indoors. They’re quiet and they’re expert hunters,” Myles said as Mariah nodded.

“When are the novis going to attack again?” Langley asked.

Mariah shook her head. “I don’t know. But if we go there when they’re both there, they’ll be guarding the mirror. We have to wait for a night that they are hunting us. And I don’t know when that will be.”

“So there are only two novis?” Blink asked.

“Yes,” as far as Mariah knew. That was the most they’d seen.

“What if they just leave?”

“They can’t leave until they eat. They’re like… connected to The House. The House doesn’t want to move until the novis have eaten,” Mariah said.

“Eesh, we have to wait until they’re both out of their house…” Blink said. “I don’t like that. Waiting until they’re sneaking around hunting us at night and we gotta get past them and onto their home turf and find the Mirror. And what are we supposed to do once we get to the Mirror? Summon Bloody Mary?”

“I don’t know,” Mariah said. “All I know is the Mirror is our escape and it’s in the house.”

“We’re supposed to jump through it,” Myles said.

“Yes!” Mariah said.

The Astronomers were wondering about that now. Jump through the Mirror? Jump through a mirror? What the heck kind of talk was that? 

“Jump through the mirror,” Langley said. “Yes, very smart.”

“Honestly, I’m willing to believe something like that at this point. There are some strange things that have happened and strange things that are going to happen apparently.” Marshall said. He knew that at this point that nothing was off the table for it being too far-fetched.

The other Astronomers started to understand the reasoning. Why wouldn’t they need to jump through a Mirror to be safe? There were two massive lizard-gorilla-aliens in the woods wanting to eat them because of the creative juices in their system.

“Alright, but when will that night be? When is the Dark Night of the Soul?” Pretty said.

“We don’t know.” Myles said. That was the question of importance and they didn’t know. So what was the best answer they could give right now? Myles had a guess. May 18th, 2000; that was the same day he had the dream and the same day they came all those years ago. Why not? That was only about a week away.

“So… how do we know when they’re attacking? There’s two of them, right?” Blink said. “Because… how have I seen them a couple times without them killing me right then? They could have if they wanted.”

Mariah finally realized why. “Testing the pickings.”

The rest of the club didn’t understand. “What?”

She was quoting the words. Or the voice? From her dream. “They weren’t the real novis. Those things you saw were like projections of the novis. Like you were just seeing a picture of them, something that couldn’t actually kill you, just some ghost of it or something.”

Myles snapped his fingers. “That’s why they’re here without the House!”

“What if … what if it took a lot of energy to get their House here and they just wanted to scope us out first?”

“But what about your dream? How come we haven’t been attacked in dreams?” Pretty asked.

“It’s probably because I’m the Clairvoyant. Maybe since Myles and I have these mental powers, it also makes our connection with the novis a little stronger. To the point that they can cross over in dreams and cause us real harm.”

Myles shrugged. “Nothing like what happened to you has happened to me.” He looked at her four-fingered hand that she held in the opposite.

“So all we got so far is… pack some stuff,” Langley said. He was sitting with his folding chair backwards and his arms resting on the backrest. “What about when they start attacking? What if they get to Bushkill first and get Myles and I before we can warn you guys?” He sighed, shuddering. What if the novis wiped them out that easily? What a terrifying thought; They weren’t supposed to die, were they?

“If they get here first, you call me.” Pretty said. “I’ll gather all of the troops that don’t live on Bushkill and we’ll gather up and drive all the way to Myles’ house. His house is our rendezvous point. That’s where we all go when everything starts going to shit.”

“I have walkie-talkies.” Marshall offered. When the police station received new walkies for the cars and vests, Baker took ten of the old ones home for his kids. There were plenty for the whole Astronomy Club.  “Maybe we each get one. I have like ten.”

Pretty pointed at the Guru. “We’d all love walkie-talkies. Police-grade too? That’s awesome and now we know how to stay in touch. Mostly. How big are the walkie’s ranges?”

“Miles.” Marshall said proudly.

“Hm?” Myles straightened. 

“Oh,” Marshall saw the mistake. “Their reach is for miles.”

“Oh.”

“So they start attacking and we what.. Make a break for the trees? They’re just gonna chase us,” Langley said. “Especially if we’re all gonna make it to the House at different times.”

“No,” Myles said. “We all gotta get there at the same time.”

“We can’t get there at different times, we gotta all make it there together,” Mariah confirmed.

“This is weird. You keep saying things like you know exactly what’s going on. Why do we all need to be there?” Blink said.

“It’s like a prophecy. It might not make sense now, but it will and you just need to have some faith,” Mariah answered.

Blink sighed and then thought about his nickname carved up on the wall. The Pilot. He wondered if wherever they were going had bikes that he could ride.

Marshall put all of their thoughts together. “So we have our overnight bags all ready to go. Myles’ house in the rendezvous point once we start getting attacked. And this is because once we’re being attacked, we know the Mirror isn’t being guarded. We all gotta be together because we all gotta get to the Mirror at the same time, no man left behind. Once the novis are on the offensive, we need to attack which is also our defensive move because we’re just running away. And we’ll know that they’re attacking because it’ll be nighttime and… you can’t miss ‘em. Huge, black creatures. We’ve all seen them, haven’t we?”

All of the Astronomers nodded.

“And we keep in touch with phone calls and walkies,” Marshall said. “What else?”

Pretty was tapping the floor with his foot. He didn’t like this level of chaos. There wasn’t anything else to do aside from pack. “Does anyone have any weapons? Or things we could use as weapons?”

Nobody said anything as they thought. Mariah and Blink were the first to shake their heads. Marshall nodded as Langley said “My older brother’s decorative machete. It’s real, but like… really dull.”

“We might need it. What about you, Marshall?”

Marshall swallowed, still tonguing the taste of vomit in his mouth, wondering if he should reveal what he could access. “I know where I could get some guns. Maybe a couple of handguns. A shotgun, for sure.”

Myles was shaking his head. “No shotgun. It’ll just slow us down. The pistols, yes. If you can.”

Mariah didn’t react. She’d never shot a gun. Only Blink and Marshall had fired guns before. Blink shot his dad’s 9mm Ruger and a Smith & Wesson revolver. He didn’t know which one, but it was shiny and not outstandingly powerful.

To Pretty, Myles, and Langley, the original Astronomers, they knew little about guns, but they knew how to aim and squeeze. If it meant their safety, they were okay with learning on the fly. Guns were almost as scary as the novis, but they were something scary that was on their side for once.

“When could you get them?” Pretty asked. His voice had grown somber once the matter of guns had surfaced. These were tools that could end lives. They should be talked about accordingly.

“Only when we really need them. I can’t just have them ready to go. They’re in my dad’s gun locker and I should be able to get the code or guess it.

Pretty sighed. “Alright. That’s alright. That’s good.” He was stressed. Myles, who’d known him the longest, hadn’t seen his friend like this. It made him afraid. They’d had their day of fun and now it was time to make sure they were ready. Maybe they could play in-between.

“That’s all we can really do for now,” Pretty announced. The Astronomers exhaled; since their Leader said it was alright and safe to relax, they relaxed. Heck, it was still daytime.

“Let’s eat something. I’m starving after puking,” Langley said and they agreed.

The novis didn’t come that night.

What did happen that night was stargazing. Myles and Pretty talked while the Astronomers were eating and brought the idea to the rest of them. Six in favor, zero opposed.

Aside from Langley and Myles, the rest of the club disbanded for the day and they regrouped at an hour after dark. This part of the day was a silky sort of darkness. The stars were fresh and clean in the sky and the gazers just accomplished another busy summer day.

Pretty, Mariah, Marshall and Blink had all met and biked together, heading up to Bushkill. When they arrived, Mariah thought she’d fear the woods and the area more than she did. She knew the woods, dark and empty as they were, weren’t dangerous. They weren’t ready for unease and bloodshed.

Myles had the same feeling; The woods weren’t scary, they weren’t ready to unleash a haunted deadly horror onto the kids just yet. It was like there was a treaty over the no-mans-land of the woods.

The four Astronomers from town had tossed their bikes aside in Myles’ yard. Langley and Myles had been waiting quietly on the porch with a couple of blankets and two spray cans of OFF! bug spray.

Pretty led the other three to where Langley and Myles were sitting under a floodlight watching moths and gnats battering around.

The Leader sneered playfully at the Bug and Sage. “Why the long faces? Someone slap you the wrong way?”

“My face was never the same after your mom sat on it,” Langley said without changing a shade.

Mariah suppressed a smile while Blink laughed.

“And you, Sage?” Pretty said to Myles. “Why’re you so down?”

Myles didn’t answer with words. He stood, leaving the blanket next to his seat and embraced Pretty who returned it immediately.

They separated and Marshall grabbed the blanket. “Sure this’ll hold all of us?”

Pretty shrugged. “It’s been the Astronomy Club’s official stargazing blanket since last year. It’s actually just one of those Uhaul blankets that Myles’ dad took a long time ago because he liked it. It’s scratchy but it keeps all the grass down and doesn’t get wet very fast.”

“Hm. Guess we’ll just be cozy,” Marshall said.

“Yes. Like pandas,” Blink said as they all began walking toward the clearing.

“Pandas?” Langley said.

“Yeah. Don’t pandas always snuggle up to each other or something? Or is that koalas?”

“Once again, just think ‘your mom and I’. That should put it into perspective,” Langley said.

“Oh, fuck, suddenly I want to rescind my vote,” Marshall said.

“We don’t know what ‘rescind’ means, but you’ve already voted ‘yes’ and it’s final. No backing out,” Pretty said.

“I’ve never stargazed before. Is there a trick to it, or is it really just sitting there watching stars?” Blink said.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Pretty said.

Pretty and Langley opened the blanket and laid it down. The early-summer cicadas’ noise had amplified ever since they walked into the clearing. 

For about ten seconds, all six Astronomers just stood staring at the blanket wondering what to do next. Without realizing it, they all realized they were looking at Pretty. What next, Leader?

Pretty laid down. Mariah laid down next to him and he felt a bizarre thrill. Myles on Pretty’s other side. Langley next to Myles, Marshall next to Langley, and Blink between Marshall and Mariah. Once they situated themselves and stopped looking at where their feet were and if they were touching someone too much, they directed their attention to the heavens.

The darkened sky. It somehow was just as bright as day, but had a different variation of light. The sun revealed everything, but this light, the starlight was more of a personal, secretive ambiance. It was a special sort of moment that wasn’t going anywhere. It made you aware that this experience was something that was present and alive. There were stars! And look how beautiful! The awareness of the planet faded away. The only remnants of earth were the fringe of treetops you could see when you looked up. The little hands of leaves high above that framed the window of twinkling dark space. You forgot you were an older brother or sister and started to wonder about your own relationship with the universe and wonder if it really was the conglomeration and mixture, the random explosion of a Big Bang. Could something as random as an explosion create something so beautiful? Maybe it could. Or maybe Something or Someone created it.

Pretty was still focused on Mariah. He was wondering if he should make some kind of move toward her. Hold her hand? Move closer to her (he was already almost hip-to-hip)? And the more he thought about it, the more he realized the stars. He fell into a mode of thinking that seemed to be limited to the night’s sky. What if Mariah wasn’t the one? What if they were a happy little boyfriend and girlfriend for a while and then were nothing? And what if that was at the expense of having a long-lasting friend relationship? What if he could be her friend for life instead of turning her into a romantic relationship? What if he had the entire picture of her all wrong?  If he was going to get into a relationship with her and it didn’t result in getting married, wasn’t that the same thing as admitting you were going to break up at one point or another? It was then that Pretty decided Mariah was more than a crush. She was a friend and a person, living and breathing. She was someone he cared about and she, him.

Marshall didn’t have artistic friends. He didn’t have friends in general. Stargazing was one of the things he didn’t realize he could just go out and do. Now that he was here, he didn’t want to be anywhere else or be with anyone else. His heart was moved in a different way. He felt a new comfort when he spent time with other people who desired his company. As the stars in his vision elongated their points, Marshall Baker felt a tingle rushing through his body and several tears slipping out of his eyes.

Blink wore these glasses for reading things and found it more practical to keep them on. But to watch the stars, he’d rather use his own eyes. There was a feeling of authenticity to use his own unaided eyes and watch the stars. Jefferey would call me a pussy. You know what? Fuck him. As Blink thought this, he realized No. Not ‘fuck him,’… There was something else. It wasn’t Jefferey who was tormenting Blink. As he lay, he realized that the world was too big for Jefferey’s thoughts to get in the way. And not only that, but he felt sorry for his older brother. This was something he’d never felt before: a heavy soft heart for Jefferey who was… what if Big Bad Jefferey was hurting just as much as Blink? What if he felt like he had to beat on his younger brother to make him hurt just as bad? The Pilot of the Astronomy Club silently forgave his older brother for all of the hits, the names, the unkindness, the stealing and exhaled all of the negative thoughts that tried clawing their way to his mind’s surface into the stars.

She’d found peace, silence, and safety. Mariah sighed and her heartbeat fell into a slow rhythm.

Myles felt awful. Ever since first grade, he’d had friends. It was too easy for him since then; He still had those friends with him. They’d made a club and done pretty much everything together. So why did he have this terrible feeling (it wasn’t the fraise, he was sure of that) that he was going to lose them? They were safe now, looking up into the stars. But who was to say what was going to happen afterward? Everything was so neatly stacked right now and everyone seemed to be fine with it. He felt everyone, himself included, was going to die and they’d hit the next chapter of their existence…. And… then what? What was going to happen? Myles was terrified that he didn’t know and this feeling crippled him; He didn’t want to speak, he just wanted to stick with his friends and make sure they were all safe even if it meant danger.
“Shit.” Myles wiped his eye. “Fuck me.” His eyes had started crying. He started to wonder why. Why did this have to happen to them? What if this was the last time that they got to all be together and they’d all get hurt or wouldn’t make it to the mirror? It was like he’d already lost all of his friends. But the part that hurt was they were still here and he couldn’t tell them how he felt; that would just make everyone feel worse.

Myles felt his body shaking. There wasn’t a warning or a real thing to fear, but the lack of control was staggering. Pretty put an arm around the Sage’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Myles? Are you okay?”

Myles was trembling. “Pretty? What-what-what’s happening? Pretty, I’m scared.”

Marshall and Langley looked over. Then the remaining two Astronomers.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” the Leader and the Sage rose to kneeling position.

“Pretty, I’m so scared. I’m so scared,” Myles said as Pretty embraced him.

“Shh, it’s okay, Myles, it’s okay. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s going to be okay.”

Then Myles cried. He wanted to speak, he didn’t want to cry, dammit! He wanted to say why he was crying. He wanted to talk about just how scared he was and how dangerous this whole thing was and how unfair the whole thing was! But all he could do was shake with fear and frustration and sob. His frustration reached a limit and he buried his drooling face into Pretty’s shoulder. He couldn’t see any of the stars now. Just those bluish-green designs that appear when you press on your eyes too hard.

He felt a greater, warmer presence around him now. The rest of the members had joined in the embrace. And if he wasn’t mistaken, he could hear others crying too.

They held that position for a few minutes. Myles quieted down, feeling the souls and bodies of his friends gather around him, and thanked them.

Then all six of the Astronomers, without the least curiosity, laid back down and watched the stars again. 

Somehow all of the Astronomers felt older now. They had to worry about something real, something that they needed to take responsibility for. If only it was something they could explain and rationalize, it may not be as terrifying. But there was nothing they could do about it aside from wait.