Page 32 of The Mist of Stars
When we reach the front porch, I investigate the windows. The place is empty and bare in an unnerving way. Still, being out in the open isn’t ideal, so I push open the front door.
The air smells dusty as we enter the foyer. When I glance down at the hardwood floors, I note that a layer of dust is, in fact, covering the wood with no footprints, which means … “No one’s been in here for a while,” I remark as I lead us further into the house.
She nods in agreement as she looks around at the high ceilings, bare walls, and the empty room beside us. “Someone cleared out all their belongings, too. But why?”
“I’m not sure.” The floorboards creak under our weight as we move deeper into the house.
I listen for any noises or signs that someone is close by. “It’s like the apocalypse happened.”
“Maybe that’s why Vision Me and that guy were discussing resetting time?” she suggests, remaining close to me. “Maybe we were trying to fix this world.”
“I think you might be right.” I stop in the kitchen, noting the bareness of the room. “I don’t feel like this is a pack-up-your-stuff-and-flee-to-the-mountains-doomsday sort of scenario. Most people wouldn’t take all of their furniture and belongings.” I open a cupboard—it’s empty. “Including plates and cups.”
She sketches a finger along the countertop, leaving a path in the layer of dust. “You think everything wentpoof?”
“Perhaps.” I rub my jawline. “With how much dust is covering everything, it’s been a while since it happened.”
She wipes the dust off her finger and onto the side of her jacket. “It might be a good thing they’re resetting time then.”
I shake my head. “You know what your dad would say about messing with the past and future.”
She blows out an exhale. “I know, but this is really bad.” She pauses, and then her eyes widen. “If they reset time, does that mean the world we’re living in is the reset world?”
Silence trickles by.
“Shit.” I yank my fingers through my hair. “You know, if it is, then that would explain a lot about the strange events that have been happening, including how a death walker ended up at your house. The past and future are cracking apart and meshing.”
“That can happen?”
“I’m not sure, but it makes sense. I also know someone who could give us an answer.”
“My father,” she catches on quickly, the corners of her pretty lips tugging downward. “I think he might already be aware something is happening. I think that’s why he was acting so weird.”
“If we tell him about this, do you think he’d talk to us?”
“I don’t know. He’s always been pretty hush-hush when it comes to his foreseer powers.” She scratches her brow, leaving a mark of dust on her forehead.
I extend my hand toward her face.
She slants away. “What’re you doing?”
I resist a sigh. “You have dirt on your forehead.” I reach for her again, and this time, she allows me to wipe the dirt away.
A little bit of progress, I think.
Well, until she says … “Just because there’s a chance that, in some form of our lives, you proposed to me, doesn’t mean I’d ever be that close to you in this life.” She sidesteps and inches away from me.
Any hope of her getting over hating me soon deflates, but I do my best to shake it off.
“How do we even get out of here?” she questions as she wanders back into the living room, leaving shoeprints in thedust covering the hardwood floors. “Because the other times I entered a vision, I didn’t get out on my own. It just happened.”
I try to recall my knowledge on foreseer ability. While the academy doesn’t teach much about it, my father is extremely strict when it comes to me learning about magical abilities and other aspects of the paranormal world.
“I think you have the control to do it,” I say as I trail after her. “It’s a matter of visualizing your way out.”
She faces me with her arms crossed. “What if it doesn’t work that way because I didn’t get here with a crystal ball?”
I shrug. “I guess we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”