{"id":2311,"date":"2021-10-23T13:31:17","date_gmt":"2021-10-23T20:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2311"},"modified":"2021-10-23T13:31:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T20:31:17","slug":"what-he-wanted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/23\/what-he-wanted\/","title":{"rendered":"What He Wanted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write about a missing person nobody seems to know or remember.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It started with an anonymous missing person tip on the city police website. In the following weeks, flyers began to appear on utility poles like an unlikely pox, spreading out in all directions from the city center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the news picked up the story, it was to tell everyone about the \u201cmysterious disappearance\u201d of Kyle Smith, assistant to the city council secretary. Bob Keller, the council secretary was nervously vague when asked what kind of person Kyle was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI, uh, guess I would have to say he was quiet,\u201d Bob said. \u201cI mean, I can see all his employment and pay history, including his signature on hundreds of documents that passed through my office, but\u2026.\u201d He cleared his throat. \u201cTo be honest, I don\u2019t remember ever seeing him, much less talking to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news anchor\u2019s face replaced the pre-recorded interview. Her smile was practiced and plastic; completely out of place given the nature of the story. \u201cPerhaps the most mysterious part of this entire case is that no one we interviewed had any recollection of Mr. Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolice have combed his residence in the Graham Tower complex for clues. All they were able to determine was that he had lived there for nine years, and not a single neighbor recalled seeing him. DMV have provided this photo from his current driver\u2019s license. If you see this man, please call the hotline at the number below.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her plastic smile extended to near-unrealistic proportions. \u201cNow here\u2019s Susan with the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Sid muted the TV above the bar. \u201cAnybody here recognize this guy?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were grunts of dissent and shaking of heads. The patrons quickly lost interest in the subject and began pleading with Sid to switch the TV over to the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chyron scrolled beneath the game. \u201cMissing 42 days: Kyle Smith\u2019s car found abandoned off I-5. Police fear missing man dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShit.\u201d Ally waved Sid over. \u201cAnother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pulled a bottle of imported beer out of the cooler, removed the cap, and exchanged it with her empty. \u201cProblem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a leak in the department,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one was supposed to pass anything to the press until we were done processing the car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the \u2018feared dead\u2019 thing? Is that legit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ally grunted. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty much been the thought after the first week. Now it\u2019s just down to figuring out how, when, where, who, and why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it odd that someone could work in city hall for years, and no one remembers him? Not even his direct supervisor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou saw the picture,\u201d she said. \u201cHe looks like an \u2018everyman,\u2019 the type that spy agencies love to use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think he was a spy?\u201d Sid asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNah.\u201d Ally took a long swig of her beer. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t be an assistant secretary for city council here. Maybe in a city close to a military installation or a major financial and intelligence hub.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think you\u2019ll find the guy responsible?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, yeah. It\u2019s just a matter of time. The sick fuck has been sending us empty texts from Smith\u2019s phone, but it never stays connected longer than it takes to send the text. It\u2019s always when he\u2019s on the same tower as me. I think he\u2019s in sight of me when he texts, but we still haven\u2019t seen him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ally\u2019s phone chimed. She checked the message. Another blank message from Smith\u2019s phone. She called her supervisor. \u201cJust got another one. Verify the location, I\u2019m locking down the bar.\u201d She lifted her beer and spilled a bit of it on her way to her lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a spasm,\u201d she said, \u201cprobably stress and not enough sleep. Go lock the doors. No one\u2019s leaving until we find that phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle had thought he\u2019d enjoy the little city sprouting unexpectedly in the middle of miles upon miles of farmland. The big city where he\u2019d grown up was too loud, too crowded, and he felt too seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He landed a job the second day he was in the city and moved into an apartment in a midsized complex. Still too crowded for his liking, and he had some neighbors that felt intrusive and nosy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was close to one year after he\u2019d started working for the city council that he was already starting to feel too many eyes on him. He spent his free time hiding in the back stacks of the library where the rare and reference books were hidden. Then he found it; the book that contained a collection of rituals to bind demons to do one\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t believe it, of course. He wasn\u2019t stupid or superstitious. Still, he sounded out the nonsense words of one of the rituals there in the dim light of the library\u2019s forgotten stacks. Feeling nothing, he chuckled and put the book back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle walked home, annoyed at the people he passed that said, \u201chello\u201d or \u201cgood evening.\u201d He just wanted to be left alone. If everyone around him could just ignore him, that would be ideal. He already did everything he could to keep his head down at work and not have cause for his boss\u2026or anyone else\u2026to speak to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next couple of years, his refusal to engage with anyone approaching him or trying to speak with him began to pay off. He could come and go, unmolested and untroubled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had no interactions with anyone beyond that which was required to live his life. Kyle bought a coffee at 7:15 on his way to work every morning, requiring only the words \u201cAmericano, black,\u201d and \u201cthanks\u201d on his part. He knew his job inside and out and had the files his boss needed ready and waiting before he was asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grocery store\u2019s self-checkout was a major boon. It didn\u2019t require Kyle to speak to anyone, ever, and was always clear on his late Thursday night shopping trips. With his utilities and bills paid automatically through his bank, and his paycheck going into his account rather than a check, he fell into a solitary rhythm rather quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle was living in his perfect world, or so he thought. However, the day came that required him to speak to his boss. He hadn\u2019t taken a vacation in nine years, and he wanted to get approval for a month off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He entered Bob\u2019s office, leave request in hand. \u201cI\u2026uh\u2026would like to\u2026um\u2026get some time off, please.\u201d He laid the request on the desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council secretary continued staring at his laptop screen, not acknowledging Kyle\u2019s presence. He continued to scroll through whatever he was watching, clicking occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle walked around the desk to see what was so engaging. It was cat videos. \u201cBob? Mr. Keller? Hey. Could you sign my leave request?\u201d He waved his hand between the screen and Bob\u2019s face to no reaction. He tapped him on the shoulder; nothing. Feeling desperate, Kyle slapped Bob\u2019s face. Still nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent the rest of the morning wandering downtown, trying to get anyone to acknowledge his presence. It was as though he didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a flash of inspiration, he went to the coffee shop where he\u2019d ordered his coffee. Not only was he rudely pushed aside by anyone around him, but no one responded to any complaint, threat, tap, pinch or slap. It was the same at the grocery store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After spending the day determining that no, he wasn\u2019t invisible, and yes, he felt very much alive, he sat on his couch to figure out what he would do. He fell asleep pondering what could be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he woke, he showered and changed, and decided that with or without Bob\u2019s signature he was going on vacation. He carried his suitcase down to the garage, where he found his car had been stolen. Kyle dialed 911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c911 dispatch, what is your emergency?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy car\u2019s been stolen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello? 911 dispatch. Are you unable to talk?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle yelled into the phone. \u201cMy car! It\u2019s been stolen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, if you\u2019re not going to speak, I\u2019m going to hang up now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle screamed. \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call disconnected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He decided to take another tack. Maybe he really was dead and didn\u2019t know it. He went to the police website and tried to report his stolen car. The form told him to call 911 for vehicular theft. Trying again, he entered a missing person\u2019s case for himself from their non-emergency contact form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle walked into the police station and found that he could go anywhere without question, assuming the door was unlocked. He followed one of the officers through the locked partition into the back of the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By wandering about and looking at everyone\u2019s desk, he figured out which detective was assigned his case. Ally\u2019s phone sat next to her, unlocked. He picked it up to get her number and sent a text from his phone to hers. He typed \u201cI\u2019m Kyle Smith and I\u2019m standing right next to you,\u201d and hit send.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her phone chimed and showed an empty text. He tried again four more times over the next few minutes, every one of them empty on her phone. He watched as she looked up the number and discovered it was his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her next few hours were spent setting up a response team that could tell her what tower the texts were coming from. When she discovered that the texts had been sent from the area of the police station, officers scrambled, trying to locate him, although one said his phone was no longer \u201cpinging,\u201d whatever that meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle began putting up missing posters with his picture, sending the printing job online and having them delivered to his post office box. The police staked out the post office and never saw him walking in, opening his box, and walking out with the stacks of flyers. On a whim, he attached one to the police car\u2019s driver-side window. They didn\u2019t notice it until their replacement got there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After weeks of being unable to get anyone\u2019s attention, including Ally, he decided to make it easier for her. He rode with her in the ride-share she\u2019d taken to the bar. Neither she nor the driver noticed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bar patrons were busy with the game, and Ally was suitably relaxed. No matter how he tried to get in her way, she avoided him. He put his hand where she\u2019d been about to set her beer down, and her arm deflected so that she set it down just beyond his hand. Kyle texted her again. \u201cI\u2019m right next to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She raised her beer again and he grabbed her wrist. \u201cI\u2019m right here!\u201d he screamed into her ear. Despite spilling some of her beer, she still didn\u2019t notice him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked into the mirror behind the bar and saw a shadowy figure standing behind him. When he turned to look, it wasn\u2019t there. He looked back in the mirror, and glowing orange eyes appeared on the figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voice that rumbled through his head left no doubt that he was hearing the figure. \u201cAre you not pleased? You got exactly<\/em> what you wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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