Dark Star

by R. T. Martin

  Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

  All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

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  The images in this book are used with the permission of: © Illia Balla/123RF.com (meteors); © iStockphoto.com/da-kuk (cliff); © SKY2015/Shutterstock.com (night sky); backgrounds: © iStockphoto.com/AF-studio; © iStockphoto.com/blackred; © iStockphoto.com/Adam Smigielski.

  Main body text set in Janson Text LT Std 12/17.5. Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Martin, R. T., 1988- author.

  Title: Dark star / R.T. Martin.

  Description: Minneapolis : Darby Creek, [2017] | Series: Midnight | Summary: “An innocent extra-credit assignment to watch a meteor shower turns dangerous when a student goes missing. Will everyone make it out alive?”— Provided by publisher. | Audience: Age 11-18. | Audience: Grade 9 to 12.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016022759 (print) | LCCN 2016037651 (ebook) | ISBN 9781512427691 (lb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781512430998 (pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781512427899 (eb pdf)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Supernatural—Fiction. | Missing persons—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M37346 Dar 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.M37346 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016022759

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  1-41494-23355-8/5/2016

  Chapter 1

  Thursday 11:00 a.m.

  Mr. Petsky dropped the test onto Claire’s desk with a big red “F” written at the top. “This is not good, Claire.”

  She stared at it, feeling sick to her stomach while her teacher wound up and down the rows of desks passing out the rest of the exams. This was bad—really bad. Too many Fs. Claire was definitely failing and she knew it. Her parents were going to demolish her social life when they found out about this.

  “At least one of you studied,” beamed Mr. Petsky. “Val is the shining star of this class: one hundred percent, plus extra credit. Well done.”

  Of course Val got an A. She transferred to Middleton High two weeks ago and, ever since then, has only impressed Mr. Petsky. Meanwhile, Claire kept digging her grades into a deeper and deeper ditch. Now she was at the bottom of that pit looking at an impossible climb out.

  She had actually tried to study this time. The night before the exam, she read chapters fifteen through eighteen twice. How could this have happened? Claire liked Mr. Petsky. He was a good teacher, but he gave really hard tests, and science had never been her strongest subject. She was better at history or English, although she wasn’t particularly good at those either.

  The bell rang.

  “Remember, your next test is in three weeks!” Mr. Petsky shouted over the noise of students getting out of their desks and picking up their books and bags. “I recommend asking Val to study with you. Have a good day.”

  Claire left the room in silence with her head down and a sinking feeling in her chest. She pictured herself studying even harder for the next test and still getting it back with another “F” at the top. Even if she did manage to pass it, there may be nothing she could do to salvage her overall grade.

  “Claire! Claire!” Cooper was running down the hallway toward her. He had done this—run down the hall at full speed—every time he saw her since the fourth grade when they met. “How’d you do on the test?” As usual, he was out of breath.

  “Another F. I don’t think I can pass the class anymore.”

  “There’s still one more test though, right?”

  “Yeah,” Claire said. “But I think I’ve failed too many now. Even if I get an A on it, that wouldn’t be enough for me to pass the whole class.”

  “What are you going to do?” He nearly had his breath back.

  “Hope my parents don’t kill me.”

  They reached Claire’s locker, and she started spinning the lock.

  “Hey, Emma!” Cooper shouted. “Claire’s failing science!”

  Claire quickly turned around. “Coop! If you want everyone to know, why don’t you just use the PA system?”

  Emma came over from her locker just down the hall. “Mr. Petsky’s nice. He doesn’t want anyone to fail. He said that at the beginning of the year. I’m sure he’ll give you some project or assignment to do so you can pass.” Emma was the logical one between them. Even when they were kids, Emma never thought a problem was as bad as it seemed. She always had a solution.

  Books fell out of Claire’s bursting locker. Emma stooped down with her to pick them up. “I can help you with it, whatever it is, and we can study together for the last test.”

  “Thanks,” Claire said. “I’m more worried about what my parents are going to do.”

  “We should do something fun so you can take your mind off it for a bit,” Cooper suggested. “Want to see a movie this Saturday?”

  “That sounds great,” said Claire, turning back to her locker. She could use a little relaxation. School had been nothing but stress recently. It would be nice to do something—anything—fun. It would be great to see a movie, assuming her parents let her, but Claire knew that would be unlikely.

  “Are you guys going to the bluffs this weekend?” Claire spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. It was Val. Her sudden appearance made both Emma and Cooper jump.

  “Geez, what are you, a ninja?” said Cooper, holding his chest.

  Claire closed her locker and zipped up her bag. “Why would we be going to the bluffs?”

  “I told Mr. Petsky about a meteor shower that’s going to happen at midnight on Saturday, and he liked the idea of organizing a bunch of students to go watch it as an extra credit assignment,” Val said. “He gave out permission slips a week ago.”

  Claire remembered getting the permission slip, but she’d long since lost it, tossed it in a folder and never seen it again. Why waste a perfectly good Saturday night watching lights for school, much less for her least favorite subject? “No, we’re not going to that.”

  Val’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you should. You of all people could use an extra science lesson.” That was uncalled for. This was the first time Val and Claire had ever spoken to each other. She had no business insulting Claire’s grades. How did she even know Claire was failing anyway? Claire glared at Val, but quickly looked away. There was something about the way Val looked at her that made Claire uneasy. Val’s eyes never seemed to move. They were locked on Claire’s face.

  “I wouldn’t mind going,” Cooper blurted out. “I love the bluffs.”

  “You would like one of the creepiest places in Middleton,” said Emma.

  Val turned to lock eyes with Cooper. “You should come.” Val was standing too close to him. It was awkward. He took a step back, but Val took a step forward at the same time. Cooper looked like an animal being backed into a corner.

  “Uhh, I think I’ll pass,” said Cooper, nervously trying to look anywhere but at Val. “Besides, I didn’t get my permission slip in.”

  “If your parents call Mr. Petsky, it would be fine,” Val said. Cooper’s back was up against the lockers now. “If you don’t go, you’ll regret it.”

  Sounds like a threat, Claire thought.

  “We’ve
got plans anyway,” Cooper said. He was starting to sweat.

  There was something off about Val. Maybe it was just because she was a new student and the only thing Claire knew about her was that she was amazing at science class, but there was still something concerning about her. For one thing, she was incredibly pale. Her veins were clearly visible beneath the skin on her face. It reminded Claire of the skin on corpses she had seen in crime shows on TV. Val’s eyes were too steady and her movements too rigid. She seemed robotic.

  “Unacceptable,” said Val, scowling.

  “Whoa,” Emma said, ignoring Val’s comment. “You’ve got a tattoo?” Val’s shirt sleeve was rolled halfway up her left arm, revealing the bottom of a tattoo that reached her wrist. A group of squares and lines were inked onto Val’s skin. Some of the squares were smaller and some were larger, but they were all neatly arranged.

  “My parents would never let me get a tattoo!” Cooper said, sliding sideways along the lockers, trying to escape Val. She took another step toward him.

  Val rolled her sleeve down. “Oh, that. That’s nothing,” she said.

  “I like it,” said Emma, clearly trying to be polite, although she seemed a little uneasy as well. “Does it mean something?”

  Val turned and locked her eyes on Emma. She grinned. “You’ll see.”

  Chapter 2

  3:00 p.m.

  Claire got home after school, tossed her backpack next to the closet by the door, and scratched Milo, her family’s golden retriever, behind the ears as he greeted her. “Good boy,” she said. “Want to switch lives with me for the next week or so?” Milo tilted his head and walked away. “Well, thanks anyway.”

  “Claire?” It was her dad calling from the kitchen. “Come in here right now.”

  She recognized the tone. It was the same tone he used when he told her she couldn’t go on the class trip to the amusement park because she had gotten a D on a math test. Did he already know about her science grade, or was he mad about something else? Claire tried to think of what else she had done wrong but couldn’t come up with anything, at least not that had happened recently or that he didn’t already know about.

  In the kitchen, her dad was seated at the counter, and her mom was leaning against the cabinets. Both of them had stern looks.

  “I just got off the phone with Mr. Petsky,” said her dad. Claire’s stomach tied itself into a knot. He had actually called her parents. This was about as bad as it could get. “You failed another test. How many is that?”

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled.

  “Four. That’s what Mr. Petsky told me.” When he was mad, Claire’s dad liked to ask questions he already knew the answer to.

  “You’re failing the class right now,” her mom said. “There’s only one more test, and you may not be able to pass science even if you get an A on it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Claire said. “I studied really hard this time. I’m just not good at science.”

  “Science is hard for a lot of kids, but they still manage to pass the class. You, on the other hand, need extra credit to offset your embarrassingly low grade,” her dad said. “You’re lucky Mr. Petsky is holding a trip this Saturday to the bluffs to watch a meteor shower. You’re going on that trip to get the extra credit you need, and if you manage to do decently on the last test, he said you’ll squeak by with a passing grade. That way you won’t have to repeat the class.”

  “I was going to see a movie with Cooper and Emma this Saturday.”

  “Not anymore, you’re not.” The suggestion that she wanted to go to a movie rather than to the bluffs for extra credit made her dad even angrier, and there was no arguing with him when he was like this. “You’re going to the bluffs, and that’s final. You need the extra credit, so it’s decided.”

  “But the permission slip—I lost it, and you haven’t signed it.”

  “We personally told Mr. Petsky that you could go,” said her dad. “You don’t need the permission slip, and I’m not arguing about this anymore.” He picked up his phone and started scrolling through something. Claire knew the discussion was over.

  But she didn’t want to give up. “Please don’t make me go there. It’s—I don’t like the bluffs.”

  The bluffs were a few miles outside of Middleton. They were high up at the top of a series of steep hills that overlooked the entire town. They were also home to an incredibly thick forest. There were clearings, places you could sit and watch the sky, but a large portion of the bluffs was covered in trees. The bluffs were the last place she wanted to go, especially on a Saturday night with her teacher and a bunch of other students she may or may not know. She wouldn’t want to go there under any circumstances. Claire buried her face in her hands.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” Her mom had a softer touch, even when she was mad. “Is it because of what happened? It’s perfectly safe.”

  Every time someone mentioned the bluffs, Claire remembered the news stories from just before she started kindergarten. The Middleton High senior class went up into the bluffs for a camping trip right before graduation. When they didn’t come back right away the whole town laughed it off. At first everyone said it was probably just the senior class playing a prank, but the longer the kids were missing, the more worried everyone became. After five days, people really started freaking out. They put up posters everywhere. The news had a hotline for any information about the missing kids. People searched for months and months, but the kids were never found. The entire graduating class just disappeared. Eventually, the town moved on. Most people forgot about them, but Claire still remembered. Now whenever she thought about the bluffs, she thought about those missing students and couldn’t help but believe that something horrible had happened to them up there.

  “The bluffs are creepy,” Claire said feebly. “Can’t I just watch the meteor shower at home and write a report about it?”

  “There’s too much light pollution in town,” said her dad. “It’s a lot darker up there, and you’ll be able to see the shower better. You’re going, Claire, and I don’t want to hear any more about this.”

  “Besides,” said her mom, “your teacher and a lot of your classmates will be with you. Nothing’s going to go wrong.”

  Chapter 3

  Friday 7:30 a.m.

  The next day, Claire grabbed books out of her locker for her first class and heard, “Claire! Claire!” Cooper ran down the hallway as Emma walked behind him. “What movie do you want to see on Saturday? I want to see Alien Wrath, but Emma said she won’t go to that.”

  “Just for once, can you watch a movie that doesn’t involve aliens?” Emma rolled her eyes.

  “They’re out there, Emma,” Cooper said. Then he dramatically added, “We need to know what we’re up against.” He burst into laughter. Even he couldn’t take aliens too seriously.

  “I can’t go,” Claire said. “My parents are making me go to the bluffs to watch the meteor shower with Mr. Petsky. I need the extra credit.” She closed her locker and started walking to class. Cooper and Emma followed.

  “But the bluffs are so creepy,” said Emma.

  “That’s what makes them awesome,” Cooper said. “It’s so weird and dark up there. I think they’re cool.”

  “They’re not cool, Coop,” Emma said. “People disappeared up there. They went up and just—poof—vanished.”

  “Could be alien abductions,” Cooper said, winking.

  “You watch too many alien movies,” said Emma. “They’re starting to rot your brain. They probably just got lost and never found their way back.”

  “Can you guys stop?” Claire said. “I’m already freaked out because I have to go there. And this isn’t helping.”

  “Sorry,” Cooper said.

  “Wait.” Emma grabbed Claire’s arm and spun her around. “We’ll go with you.”

  “We’ll what?” Cooper looked over at Emma in disbelief.

  “We’ll go with you,” Emma repeated.

  “Why?” asked Co
oper. “We’re not failing.” Emma gave him a sharp look.

  “You guys don’t have to do that,” Claire said. “You need permission slips anyway.”

  “We’ll get our parents to call Mr. Petsky,” said Emma. “If we say we’ll get extra credit for it, what are the odds they’ll say no?”

  “Seriously, you don’t have to,” said Claire.

  “It won’t be so bad if the three of us are there together,” Emma said. “It’s settled, we’re going together.”

  Claire saw Emma elbow Cooper in the ribs. “Ow, what was that—” he started, but then cut off mid-sentence with the look that Emma was giving him. “Uhh, yeah. We’ll definitely go with you.”

  “Thanks, Emma. Having you guys there would make the trip a lot less painful,” Claire said. “And less scary,” she added. How awful could it be if her two best friends came with her?

  “Hey, it might actually be kind of fun,” said Cooper. “Up there in the dark by those freaky woods. I saw a meteor shower when I was five, I think, and it was actually pretty cool.”

  “It’ll be great,” said Emma.

  They reached room 205, where Claire had history class. “There’s only a few minutes before the bell, so I should head inside.”

  Just then, Val walked by the trio. “See you Saturday night,” she said, walking away before any of them could respond.

  “Oh, good,” Cooper stared after her. “She’s weird and nosey.” Cooper watched Val walk down the hall as a look of suspicion came over his face. “Is it weird that Val told Mr. Petsky about the meteor shower? Why does she care if the class all goes up?”

  “I’m sure she was just excited about it,” said Emma.

  “Or she was trying to show off,” Claire mumbled under her breath.

  Cooper continued, “But who really cares about science that much? And why does she care if we go? She was pretty aggressive about it.”

  “Maybe she was just trying to make friends,” said Emma. “She is new here.”