Jon Stone left something special behind.
23
Ryan Seborg
Ryan was still awake when his sister came home. He was up in his room, lying in bed with his feet on the wall and headset on, listening to a podcast about the Lonnie Zamora UFO encounter in New Mexico. Back in junior high, Ryan and Josh had listened to old radio shows all night, streaming one show after another about UFOs, alien encounters, and how the government misled the public with lies and misinformation. Other kids were obsessed with rock bands or sports. Ryan and Josh were obsessed with learning the truth. They scoured the internet for leads, filed Freedom of Information Act requests, and posted to hundreds of message boards. The truth was out there, as real as a white light on a dark horizon. They devoted themselves to catching it, but the light had remained out of reach. It was like a race they vowed not to quit. If they could reach the light, the truth would be revealed.
The overhead light flicked off and on, off and on, and off.
Ryan angrily pulled off the headset.
“Turn it on.”
The light came on.
His sister, Bethany, smirked from the door. Ryan lived at home with his mom and dad, his younger sister Bethany, who was twenty-two, and their baby sister, Clare, who was nineteen. His brother, Robert Anson, was twenty-four and the lone Seborg sibling to leave the nest. Robert Anson had joined the Navy. Ryan, being twenty-six, was the oldest.
Bethany said, “Loser. Why are you still up?”
“Shut up and get out. You’re gonna wake Mom.”
“I’m not in your room, stupid. I’m in the hall. I have not transgressed your precious door space.”
Bethany suddenly frowned, leaned toward him as if for a better look, and touched her chin.
“What’s on your face?”
Ryan touched his face and checked his fingers. White.
“Powdered donuts.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Go to bed.”
Bethany continued to stare, but after a moment her expression softened.
“Seriously. You’ve been in that exact same spot all day. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You look depressed.”
“You’re depressing me. Go away.”
“Do you get up to pee or do you just wet yourself?”
Ryan threw a package of powdered donuts at her.
“Go!”
Bethany stalked away.
Ryan listened until she entered her room, then swung his feet from the wall and sat up. He slapped his laptop closed, shoved it aside, and glared at Josh’s computer. The desktop’s tower stood tall on Ryan’s desk. Ryan had been glaring at it since he’d found the secret file with the boring crap Josh downloaded for that bimbo Skylar Lawless. He felt like peeing all over it.
Ryan said, “Like she’d ever screw you, you moron.”
Ryan was livid.
“Get real, dude. What were you thinking?”
The computer didn’t answer.
Ryan wadded up an empty powdered donuts package and threw it at the computer.
“Asshole.”
Ryan’s eyes fluttered and the computer blurred. Josh had abandoned him. He had cut Ryan out, gutted their dreams, and disappeared without so much as a kiss my ass. Ryan ached so badly he thought he might die.
“You were my friend.”
Ryan clenched his eyes. He rubbed his face and smeared powdered sugar.
The cell phone on the bed by his leg buzzed.
Ryan wiped his eyes and nose and checked his phone. He didn’t recognize the number. Some idiot dialing a wrong number, maybe, or Russian scammers. Ryan sent the call to voice mail and tossed the phone aside.
His phone buzzed again and Ryan snatched it up.
“What the fuck?”
Same number.
He sent the call to voice mail.
“Idiot.”
Buzz.
Ryan jabbed the phone to answer.
“Wrong number, dipshit! Stop calling.”
“It’s me. Ryan, it’s me. Can you hear me?”
“Josh?”
It was Josh, but he was speaking more quietly than Josh ever spoke and he sounded hoarse.
“Yeah. Ryan, listen—”
“Fuck you!”
Ryan jabbed his phone to kill the call. He jabbed his phone hard two more times, killing it dead.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Ryan answered in a blind fury.
“What?”
Josh was crying and trying to speak through the sobs.
“Please, Ryan, save this number. You gotta. This is the number I’m using. Please.”
The rage Ryan felt vanished. Josh was crying and gasping and his voice was shaky. He sounded afraid.