CHAPTER 33: BENEATH THE WATCHING STARS
The stars did not return to normal.
For three nights, the pale line of unnatural lights remained stretched across the sky above Chicago, silent and unmoving like the gaze of something too vast to name. People noticed, of course. Social media filled with theories, fear, religious warnings, and wild excitement. Scientists searched for explanations. News channels called it a rare celestial event. But deep down, people felt what it really was, an unease that settled in the chest without reason. Children asked strange questions before sleep. Dogs barked at empty corners. Even the wind seemed to move more carefully, as though the world itself understood it was being observed. Kevin watched all of it with growing frustration. The Order had found the perfe
