We got back to the house just as Natalie and Jason arrived. We were all out of breath.

“What did you see?” Marie asked between big gulps of air.

“It was,” Jason panted. “Fucking weird.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Us too.”

“Did that thing,” Natalie asked. I could tell she was looking to see if I still had my hatchet. “That spider, did it attack you?”

The slam of the front door interrupted me before I could explain.

“I thought I’d see you again,” Jeremy said from the porch. “Here, grab a glass. Once time started moving again, I refilled the champagne.”

We did and assembled around the yard like we did before. But the giddy hopefulness was gone.

“Do you think it’ll work this time?” Natalie asked.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Jason said.

“Well,” Marie looked up from her phone. “Here goes.”

We started counting down.

“Five, four, three, two, one!”

“Happy New Ye-”

The ground began to rumble beneath our feet.