Marissa stared at the Lock Screen on her phone. She was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to believe what she was seeing. Call from Richard and a small circular photo of him shone from the screen as the phone vibrated in her hand.

This couldn’t be happening. The call went to voice mail and the screen went dark. She had come out here on the one year anniversary of Richard’s disappearance. Come out to the place where his camping gear had been found. She’d come here to get closure. To say goodbye, even though they had never found his body. He was gone. Presumed dead.

This couldn’t be happening. Call from Richard, photo of his face smiling into the camera. There wasn’t even supposed to be cell service here. The lack of cell service was just one of many things that had made it difficult for the search parties last summer.

This couldn’t be happening. The call went to voicemail and the screen went dark. Richard’s cell phone was in a box in her garage along with everything else the search parties had found at his abandoned camp site. The battery should be dead after not being plugged in for over six months. She had kept it charged way too long after his disappearance so she could look at his pics and listen to his voice on the voice mail. But six months ago she had turned it off for good.

Then her phone binged. A text message flashed across the screen.

Richard

Dammit Ris, please pick up. I know you are holding the phone in your hand. I know you see this. Please. Answer. Please.

Marissa stared at her phone. It rang again. Hang shaking, her finger hovered over the screen but she was unable to make herself swipe to answer. It went to voicemail, then immediately rang again.

This time she made herself answer it. No sooner had she swiped right when her body began to tingle all over. She was surrounded by white light.

The phone fell from her hand.

***

William sat at the campsite where his brother had disappeared two years ago and his sister-in-law had disappeared a year ago today. He was armed to the teeth; an automatic rifle, a pistol in his side holster, knives strapped to both thighs, grenades, bullet proof vest, extra ammo, anything and everything he could strap to his person. He sat in the dark with his automatic rifle in one hand, secured by a strap over his shoulder, and Marissa’s cell phone in the other. He needed answers and he was going to get them.