Pale clouds moved across a dark sky. A minor chord swelled on synthesized strings. The words They Slipped Through materialized onscreen. They faded after a ten-count, and the words A HazyGurl Production replaced them. The music stopped, and the sky glitched, cutting to a dimly lit room and the face of Tanya, known to her followers as HazyGurl. She smiled darkly at the camera.
"Hey, everyone," she said. "I'm HazyGurl, and this is the first video in a new series called They Slipped Through, where I examine instances of people who went missing under mysterious circumstances, cases that remain unsolved to this day, where almost no evidence indicates foul play. I know it's a compelling topic for a lot of you. If you've enjoyed my deep dives on places like the Wheeler Mansion or the haunting music of Eldritch Youth, you'll probably appreciate this series. If you're here because you like my makeup tutorials or watching me play video games, I'm sorry."
As Tanya watched the video back now, her hands trembled like brittle branches in the wind. They hovered over the keyboard, wanting to type or edit or reupload. It was unclear. Everything was unclear.
"I'm starting this series because this topic means a lot to me. After this first video, you'll see why." The video cut to a headshot of a man in his early twenties. His hair was styled in an intentionally messy way, with curls that came over the tops of his ears and flared from behind his neck. He smiled in a subtle way, showing no teeth. It was a photo of a photo she'd clipped from a magazine. "My uncle disappeared before I was born. His name was Bentley Mills, and he wrote game reviews for Interphase magazine. If you're an old school gamer, you might even know his work."
The video cut back to Tanya.
"Even though I never met him, my uncle's disappearance hung over my whole childhood like a dark cloud. He was my mother's twin, and she was never the same without him. Given all this, he's still a mystery to me and not just the way he disappeared. See, Mom was deeply affected, but she almost never talked about him. I never knew why Mom pored over news articles, called the police asking all sorts of questions on more nights than I could possibly count, and sometimes wouldn't leave her room for days. She was sick, Dad would sometimes say, but he never elaborated. It was this big secret, and not knowing made things seem … I don't know the right word to use. Haunted, maybe? I don't know. That makes it sound more dramatic than it was."
Tanya had almost cut those last few lines. She'd rambled a bit and couldn't decide on a word to use, but ultimately, she believed leaving in moments where she stumbled would show she was a real person.
"I think the right word is restless," she said. "Everyone, everything seemed restless. For a little girl, it was hard to be around. Things got a little better after he was declared dead in absentia, meaning we had at least some closure, especially after the service, but Mom still never talked about him. Everything I'm about to say is public record."
An alert on Tanya's phone broke the spell of watching herself speak. She paused the video and checked the message.
Good to talk? It was from Athena.
Instead of replying with a text, Tanya video-called her. Her lifelong friend answered, sitting out on her apartment's balcony. Dusk bathed the surrounding buildings and trees in gray. Athena took a pull from a vape pen.
"You doing all right?" she asked, all of her usual energy absent.
"I'm more worried about you than anything. Have you heard from him?"
Athena shook her head. "No. Not even sure I want to."
"I saw he deactivated all his socials."
"Yeah. Don't know what that's about."
"Have you talked to his parents?" Tanya asked.
"What would I say? Your son sent my best friend a dick pic and dropped off the face of the earth?"
"It just might be good to check if they've heard from him. I get you don't want to talk to him anymore, but maybe you want to know if he's okay?"
Athena took another drag from her pen and rolled her eyes. "He can fucking die in a hole."
"You don't mean that."
"Probably not, but …"
"Yeah, I get it."
Athena frowned and looked at something in the distance. When she faced Tanya again, her expression had changed.
"What about you? How are you holding up?"
Tanya coughed out a dry laugh. "I'm fine. Seen one dick, seen 'em all."
"That's not what I mean."
"What … oh." She remembered their dustup over the maybe imaginary Russell. "I don't think you were playing a joke on me, if that's what you're asking."
"No, just … I know you spend a lot of time examining dark subjects, and …"
"You want to make sure I'm not going schizo?"
Athena lowered her gaze. "No, well, maybe."
Tanya felt an offensive pang, but a breath later, it dulled and faded.
"To be honest, I'm not sure," she said. "I know something weird happened that night. I'm just not sure what."
"I'm worried about you."
"Don't be. It'll work out."
"You're such a man sometimes."
"Maybe you should just date me then," Tanya said.
They both laughed at that despite their respective distress.
"Anyway, I guess I just wanted to check in," Athena said. "Call me anytime, seriously."
"I appreciate it. You do the same."
Tanya cast a sideways glance at her paused video. She remembered recording it, feeling like she was showing a real part of herself to the world for the first time. Off-brand but authentic, with none of the overacting from her gaming content or makeup tutorials, none of the horror host sensibilities from her paranormal deep dives, and it had paid off. The first They Slipped Through video had increased her subscribers by thousands.
Would Frank be a subject for a future video?
The thought was intrusive, heavy, and exciting.
"You there?" Athena asked.
"Yeah, I'm here," Tanya said. "Hey, how would you feel about paying Frank a visit tomorrow?"
"I don't know, maybe."
"It might give us some answers. Plus, you can give him a piece of your mind."
"I'd like that," Athena said with a laugh. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"I'll be fine."
"All right, cool. Text me when you're free. I'm off work tomorrow."
"Will do. Take care."
"You too."
They disconnected, and Tanya looked back at the paused video on her laptop. Tanya on video had her lips parted, showing teeth. Her eyebrows were raised. She looked both vulnerable and determined. It was crazy to think this video had been the beginning of her success. Crazier still, she didn't feel successful now. Too much had happened over the last few days to destabilize her world. From the phantom Russell to the troubling chat with Vanessa to Frank sending that sext, it seemed things were falling apart.
She closed her browser, then her laptop. She shut off her lights and got into bed.
____________________________
Outside, Russell stood in the thinning woods and watched the light go out in Tanya's bedroom window. He smiled a knowing smile as footsteps approached. Frank came to a stop beside him and followed his gaze. The men clutched hands and looked at each other. Their eyes glowed vivid tangerine, the same color of the god that made them.
Inside her room, Tanya dreamed of a city made of neon and wires, awash in gleam and grime. There were flying cars, and everyone wore leather. Clouds shaped like massive fishbones drifted across an indigo sky, and a fiery sun set in the east.
In the woods outside her window, Russell and Frank retreated into the dark.