Chapter 1:The Thrift shop artifact
The bell above the door of Maple Creek’s only second-hand shop chimed a rusty note, and Ethan Hayes tumbled inside, dodging a sheet of autumn rain. High school had finally let out, the weekend had arrived, and Ethan had one singular mission: finding a vintage denim vest before the Friday night bonfire at the old quarry.
As he rummaged through a rack of 1980s windbreakers, something caught his eye on the bottom shelf, half-buried under a box of cracked cassette tapes. It was a heavy, tarnished silver signet ring, engraved with the unmistakable image of a howling wolf framed by a crescent moon.
Jackpot, Ethan thought, slipping it onto his middle finger. It fit with eerie precision, as if molded for his exact hand dimensions.
He dropped three crumpled dollar bills onto the counter, waved at Mrs. Higgins behind the register, and stepped back out into the chilly dusk. But almost instantly, the world shifted.
Across the street, the local mail truck rumbled by, and the sound felt like a jackhammer inside Ethan’s skull. A golden retriever behind a picket fence stopped barking mid-stride, let out a terrified whimber, and scrambled under a porch.
Ethan frowned, rubbing his temples. "Great. A migraine before the weekend. That's just fantastic."
