Ainsley and I made our way back through the dark tunnel to the basement of the school.

It was slow going because we had to feel our way along in the dark. She didn’t say a word or ask about anything that had happened. I think she was stunned into silence. Just as well. I didn’t know what to say to her anyway.

I couldn’t imagine what we would find back at the school. There was no way to know how far the Black Moon Circle had gotten with its evil plan before we destroyed the altar. Part of me didn’t want to know. I was afraid that things might be pretty ugly.

After what seemed like hours, we finally saw light ahead of us. We had passed through the archway from the ancient tunnel and into the old foundation of the school, where a couple of overhead lightbulbs were burning.

“I’m really scared, Marcus,” Ainsley finally said.

“Don’t be,” I said reassuringly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I’m not sure if I was trying to convince her or myself.

We climbed up out of the basement and headed straight for the gym. The lights were on, but they were dim. The school must have been using an emergency generator. It made the already spooky, ancient corridors even creepier. My heart started pounding hard as we drew closer to the gym, because I truly feared the worst.

Ainsley stuck to me like a magnet. She gripped my arm with both hands and peered over my shoulder as if I could offer some sort of protection.

When we entered the gym, we were faced with a scene of total destruction. The glass in all the windows near the ceiling had blown out. The gym floor looked more like a battlefield than a basketball court. Huge chunks of granite, pushed up from below, reached nearly all the way to the ceiling. Several chasms dropped down to who knows how deep. Most of the wooden floor was nothing more than a jumble of splinters. The impossible scene was made all the more so because of the eerie silence.

What we didn’t see were people. It gave me hope that everyone had gotten out safely.

“Dude!” came a shaky voice.

We spun toward the stage, where the sound equipment was set up. From behind a large speaker, the DJ peered at us with wide, frightened eyes.

“Gotta hand it to you,” he said, his voice shaking. “You guys really know how to throw a Halloween party.”

I might think back and laugh at that someday. But probably not.

Ainsley surveyed the carnage, totally bewildered, and asked the obvious question: “What happened?”

How was I supposed to answer that? If she truly had no memory of the witches, it wasn’t something I could sum up in one quick and neat answer.

“I’m not sure,” I answered noncommittally. “Let’s get outside.”

We carefully picked our way across the destroyed gym to the main exit. As we got closer to the doors, we heard noises. There was life outside. We heard people talking, car doors slamming, distant sirens, and the squawk of walkie-talkies. We made it to the exit and looked out onto the parking lot, which was a scene of organized chaos. Emergency vehicles were everywhere. Fire engines, ambulances, and police cars filled the lot, their blue and red lights flashing.

Kids in costume were scattered about. Some were huddled together and crying while just as many wandered around aimlessly, as if in shock. Others were gathered in groups, recounting their experiences with adrenaline-fueled enthusiasm. Many kids were being treated by emergency medical people. There were a lot of bandages and temporary splints, but I didn’t see any truly horrible injuries…or covered bodies on stretchers. My hopes rose that nobody had been seriously hurt or killed.

In other words, there had been no sacrifices.

“Marcus!”

Theo ran up to us along with Kayla, who was still wearing her princess costume. The two were holding hands.

“Oh man, thank God you’re okay,” Theo said.

“What happened, Theo?” I asked.

He knew exactly what I was going for.

“I know, I know,” he answered quickly. “It was chaos, Marcus. Kids were running around and fire engines were screaming up and, oh yeah, the gym was falling apart. I looked away for five seconds, that’s all. And Ainsley was gone. We looked everywhere, but it was like she just disappeared and…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “She’s safe. We’re all safe.”

Kayla went to Ainsley and held her hands. Their familiar roles were reversed. Where Ainsley looked incredibly fragile, Kayla was confident and solid.

“Are you all right?” Kayla asked softly.

The look on Ainsley’s face was priceless. Her mouth fell open in shock.

“You…you talked” was all she managed to say.

“You don’t remember me talking to you inside?” Kayla asked.

Tears came to Ainsley’s eyes and she shook her head. “I don’t even remember being inside.”

Theo shot me a questioning look. I shrugged as if to say, Yeah, it’s true.

“Why?” Ainsley asked. “I mean, why are you talking now?”

Kayla gave her a tiny smile. “I guess I never felt as though I had anything worth saying, until you needed help.”

“I wish I could remember,” Ainsley said, crying.

“Maybe it’s better you don’t,” Kayla said.

The two hugged. Hopefully they’d be able to rely on each other to make some sense out of what had happened. Or at least to help each other get over it.

Theo pulled me away from the two and spoke in a strained whisper. “They all think it was an earthquake. The kids, the parents, everybody.”

“What are they saying about Ainsley being in the center of it?”

“Not a lot. I heard some rumblings about how they thought she was there to help clear the gym. You know, since she’s always the one in charge. Nobody thinks she had anything to do with it.”

“Good. That explanation makes a heck of a lot more sense than the truth.”

“What is the truth, Marcus?” Theo asked. “Is this over?”

I looked around at the chaotic scene—the frightened kids, the destroyed gym—and at the brilliant canopy of stars shining down on it all from above.

“I sure hope so.”

“Marcus!” Lu yelled.

She was on the back of Nate’s ATV, standing up in the saddle behind Nate as he tore up to us and skidded to a stop. Lu leapt off the bike and threw her arms around me.

“I thought you were trapped down there!”

“We were,” I said. “Ainsley got us to the tunnel back to the school. But she doesn’t remember any of it.”

“You’re lucky, O’Mara,” Nate said. “The whole deal collapsed. All those big boulders? Gone. They sank underground. Whatever was down there ain’t anymore. That clearing is now flat and empty like nothing was ever there.”

Lu said, “We looked to see if the opening to the cavern was still there, but it’s totally sealed off. What happened to the witches?”

“Buried. Along with their broken altar,” I said. “I think whatever hold they had over Ainsley was snapped when the altar went down, just like in the other stories.”

“Mr. Christmas!” came an angry voice.

It was the sour woman from the office. She strode up boldly, still wearing the Cat in the Hat hat, which looked even sillier given the circumstances.

“You have been suspended from this school and all of its functions. Do I need to call a police officer to escort you from—”

“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Call them over!”

“What!” Nate shouted in surprise. “What’re you doing?”

“I want to make sure you get what you deserve,” I said.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Nate exclaimed, furious. “I helped you!”

“I know,” I said. “And I want to make sure you get the credit.”

“Uh, you do?” he asked, totally confused.

“Absolutely!” I turned to the annoying lady and said, “Nate’s a hero. As soon as the earthquake hit, he risked his life to get kids out. Ainsley was in there trying to do the same thing, but she got trapped. If not for Nate, she might not have made it out alive.”

“Is that true?” Ainsley said as she walked over to join us. “You saved me, Nate? I don’t remember a thing.”

Nate was thrown. “Uhhh, hey, don’t listen to me. O’Mara knows what happened.”

“If Nate hadn’t been here, this disaster would have been far worse,” I said. “He saved a whole lot of lives tonight.”

I may have fudged some of the details. Okay, a lot of the details. But the bottom line was the absolute truth: Nate had saved a lot of people, including Ainsley and me.

Ainsley went right to Nate and gave him a big hug.

“Thank you,” she said.

Nate was about as shocked as I’d ever seen anyone, ever. He wasn’t sure how to react but then relaxed, gave in, and hugged her back.

“Hey, no problem,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Theo and Lu did their best not to burst out laughing.

The cranky lady in the hat looked almost as confused as Nate did. Seeing Nate and Ainsley together must have been like a glimpse through the looking glass for her.

“Oh, I see,” she said with disappointment. “That’s very commendable, Mr. Christmas. Well done.”

The woman backed off awkwardly and left. Her thunder was completely gone. She really wanted to bust Nate for something.

Nate got off his bike, took Lu and me by the arms, and led us away from the others.

“You gonna tell me exactly what happened?” he asked.

“What happened is you’re a hero,” I said. “Yeah, I made up some stuff, but what you really did was way bigger than that. You saved a lot of lives.”

Nate looked baffled. He was wrestling with pride, fear, joy, and total confusion.

“So what were those people? I mean, they weren’t human.”

“Sometimes things happen that can’t be explained,” I said. “This is one of those times. But it’s over. Martin and Tomac won’t be coming back to school. And I don’t think there are going to be any more weird accidents either. You did a good thing tonight, Nate. Better you just let it go and don’t try to understand.”

Nate looked sick. He backed away toward his bike.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he said. “I’m getting outta here before anything else happens.”

“Good idea,” I said.

“Just one more thing,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know who you guys are, but I’ll ride with you anytime.”

“I’ll remember that,” I said.

He was about to get on his bike when he thought of something else. He walked over to Kayla, who was standing with Theo. As he approached, Kayla moved a little closer to Theo for protection. Theo puffed up his chest and stood tall to protect her.

“Easy, Poindexter,” Nate said to Theo dismissively. “Don’t get all twitchy.”

Theo backed off, relieved that he didn’t have to protect Kayla from the bully.

Nate turned to Kayla.

“Look, uh, Kayla,” he said awkwardly, “I’ve been kind of a jerk to you. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Kayla smiled sweetly and said, “Thanks.”

Nate perked up with surprise. “Hey, you talked! Did everybody hear that? I got her to talk! I did it! I win the bet! Yeah!”

We all reacted with blank stares. Nate got the message and calmed down.

“Uh, oh, never mind,” he said, embarrassed. “I get it. Not cool. Sorry.”

He skulked off toward his bike, but Ainsley got in his way. Nate froze. The two stood staring at one another. Everybody was ready for Ainsley to tee off on him. Including Nate.

Ainsley smiled and said, “Could you give me a ride home? I’m really tired.”

Nate brightened.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Hop on!”

“Wait one second,” she said to him, and then came over to me and Lu.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure why, but I feel like I should thank you guys.”

“No worries,” Lu said. “We’re just happy everybody’s okay.”

“There’s more to this than you’re saying, isn’t there?” Ainsley asked.

“Maybe,” I said with a chuckle. “But it’s over now. The story’s finished.”

Ainsley gave me a confused look, then nodded thoughtfully. I wondered if she would ever have any memories of her brief reign as high priestess of the Black Moon Circle. I sure hope not.

She backed toward Nate’s bike and said, “See you guys on Monday? Big cleanup to do here. Everybody’s gotta pitch in!”

She was back to her old self. That didn’t take long.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” I said.

“Bye, Ainsley,” Lu added.

Ainsley gave us a quick wave and hopped on the back of Nate’s bike. Nate fired up the engine, gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up. With a roar, the two took off and rode into the night.

“I guess stranger things than that have happened,” Theo said as he walked up with Kayla.

“Gee, you think?” Lu said.

“Ainsley has no memory of what she almost did,” Kayla said.

“Hopefully she never will,” I added. “She was being controlled by some very bad people. But they won’t bother her anymore.”

“I’m not so sure I want to know who they were,” Kayla said.

“You don’t,” Theo said with authority. “It’s best you try to forget the whole thing. I know I’m going to.”

“You saved her, Kayla,” Lu said. “You saved everyone.”

“I was just trying to help her,” she said. “Ainsley’s always been so nice to me.”

“Things are going to get a lot better around here,” I said. “For everybody.”

“Kayla!” someone shouted.

A guy stood on the edge of the parking lot waving to her. He looked pretty worried. No big surprise.

“My dad,” Kayla said. “See you guys on Monday?”

We all exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.

“No,” Theo finally said, taking the bullet. “We came here to try and put things right. Now we’ve got to go home.”

We all looked to Kayla, wondering how she would react to that. She thought about it and nodded as if she understood. Or maybe she didn’t really want to understand, but she accepted it.

“I knew you guys were a little different,” she said. “Different is good.”

“I always thought so,” Lu said with a smile.

After a few quick hugs, with Theo getting the longest along with a quick kiss on the cheek, Kayla ran off to her father. She looked every bit like a princess running home from the ball.

A very strange and exciting ball.

I reached around my neck and pulled out the Paradox key.

“Ready to go home?” I said.

“Absolutely,” Theo replied.

“Can’t wait,” Lu added.

The three of us walked past random kids and emergency personnel, headed for the school and the first door we could find.

“Hey,” Lu said, “it’s Halloween. What are we going to go as?”

“A hibernating bear,” Theo replied without hesitation. “I need a nap.”

“What about you, Marcus?” Lu asked.

“I’m done with Halloween. As far as I’m concerned, from now on it’s a straight shot from summer to Thanksgiving. No stops in between.”

I inserted the Paradox key into a door that wasn’t visible from the parking lot and opened it to reveal the Library. Holding the door open, I let Lu and Theo enter first. Before going in myself, I took one last look at Coppell Middle School, then lifted my gaze to the sky, where the stars seemed a little less bright.

“Hey,” I asked as I followed them through, “when’s the next black moon on Halloween?”