Ryan had no idea where they were supposed to take their investigation now. It feels like they reached some sort of dead end- Luke had been here, yes, but he was gone now.

They had tried to get some kind of info out of Brock, but it was no use. Their earlier suspicions of Brock were just them being paranoid.

Brock and Bryce had become great friends in the short amount of time they had been here, and Ryan was starting to warm up to Brock too.

They had both learned that Brock's only intentions were to keep them safe in this big city. Brock was just a nice, caring guy who worried a lot for others and was a little lonely. Then again, who wouldn't feel lonely all by themselves?

Brock had explained to them that the reason he lives on his own at 18 is because his parents were dicks and he needed to get away from them. He didn't really have any friends besides Luke, and now that Luke was pretty much nonexistent…

“It's okay, Brock! We'll be your friends!” Bryce had said, standing up with a smile. “There's no need to be all sad! Come on, let's go put on a movie!”

And that's how they all got to where they are now- in a pile on Brock's couch, a movie playing while nobody watches it. Bryce and Brock were both asleep.

Ryan sighs quietly, shifting around to try and make himself comfortable. Bryce's legs were stretched out across Ryan's lap. That itself wasn't much of a problem, because normally Ryan could just move them and be okay. But Bryce's legs were long, and he couldn't move them enough without waking up Bryce.

So he sighs, leans back, and pulls out his phone. To his surprise, there are some text messages waiting for him.

Unknown number: ryan i know you and the others are all looking for me [11:03 PM]

don't think i dont see you guys walking around [11:04 PM]

please go home.  [11:04 PM]

Ryan stares down at the messages for a moment and shifts nervously. There was only so many people who knew his number, and the only person who would send these was Luke. But where the fuck did Luke see them? Wouldn't they have seen Luke if Luke had seen them?

He thinks back to the past few days. They hadn't gone outside much. The only time they actually went out into town was when Brock took them out for lunch earlier today. They had walked around a bit, and then…

And that's when Luke must've spotted them. But how? It had been so crowded that day, how would Luke be able to spot him of all people? Why not Bryce, who pretty much towers over everyone?

“Ryan? Ryan….” Bryce sits up awkwardly, rubbing his face tiredly. He looks at Ryan curiously, moving so that he can look at Ryan's phone. “What's that?”

Ryan looks over at Bryce, then moves his phone to show the messages. “Just some weird messages someone left me. Probably Luke.”

Bryce squints at the light and pushes the phone away. “Ugh. That… that doesn't matter. Come on… I wanna show you something.”

He climbs off the couch, and shuffles over to the door where his shoes and sweater are both sitting. Bryce throws the sweater on over his shirt, and puts on his shoes as he looks over at Ryan expectantly. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Ryan, realizing what Bryce wants, quickly gets up and slips his stuff on. “Where are we going? What about Brock?”

Bryce grabs the keys and leads Ryan out the door, still looking a little tired. “I… I saw something weird while we were out. I don't think it's something Brock would want us to see, though, so we have to go while he's asleep.”

Ryan hesitates. “But you're pretty tired yourself, Bryce.”

“That's okay,” Bryce smiles. “If I fall asleep while walking, you can carry me back. But I doubt I'm gonna fall asleep. We're going on an adventure, Ohm, and we're gonna solve this mystery. Trust me, it'll be great.”