Sam imagined his dad waking up and finding him missing. If it happened right now, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Sam was close enough to hear him if he yelled through the open window, and he probably wouldn’t get grounded just for coming out here to stargaze. But if he actually went somewhere—an hour’s walk on foot—things could turn out quite a bit worse. He and Dani might return from their trip to find a dozen police cars parked in the street. His dad wasn’t one to panic, but finding his son missing in the middle of the night might do the trick.

“It’s two thirty in the morning,” Dani said. “What time does your dad get up for work?”

“Not by four thirty, I know that.”

“Does he have a habit of checking in on you during the night?”

Sam thought about it. He was pretty sure neither of his parents had done that in years, but there was no guarantee his dad wouldn’t do it tonight, so soon after moving to a new place. He might just lean in through Sam’s doorway after using the bathroom or something. If he did, the glow from the alarm clock would be enough to give away the empty bed.

“We have to go at night?” Sam said.

“Yes. It’d be crazy to try it during the day. Trust me.”

For a moment Sam said nothing.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do this,” Dani said. “I understand. It’s just that you’ll never believe what I need to tell you, if you don’t see this place for yourself. I wouldn’t believe it, if I hadn’t seen it.”

Silence, except the sounds of the night. Seconds passed.

“Okay, let’s go,” Sam said.

“Good.” Dani slid off the table and stood. “I need to get something from my house. I’ll be back in two minutes.”

“I need to do something, too. I’ll meet you here.”

She nodded and disappeared into the darkness toward her own yard. Sam turned back for his. Less than a minute later he was in his room, silently opening his top dresser drawer and feeling for a pen and a notepad. He took them both to his nightstand, and used the soft pool of light in front of the alarm clock to write a message:

OUT WITH A FRIEND. NOTHING

DANGEROUS, I PROMISE. BACK BY 4:30.

By no stretch was it going to keep him from being in deep shit, if his dad actually discovered him missing. At best it would keep his dad from calling the cops—at least until 4:31.

He left the notepad open on his pillow, then slid back out the window into the night. He closed the window behind him. By the time he reached the picnic table, he could see Dani already standing there. She held something out to him.