The Void Read online

  “It’s never too early. Call them. It’s worth a try.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you back.”

  Talking to the police wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it was going to be. Weren’t these the guys who were meant to serve and protect us? I got put through to three different departments until I finally had someone to talk to. The woman sounded bored, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I had caught her at a bad time – like in the middle of a nap at her desk or something. She perked a little when I explained the reality show to her.

  “So, let me get this straight. The premise of the show was to stay in solitary for two weeks? That’s it?”

  “Well, yeah, but…”

  “And you lasted four days?”

  “Almost six really, but—

  “What I would give for two weeks of peace and quiet like that,” she mused. “And to get paid for it, too. Bliss. Maybe your friends decided they really liked the solitude, you know? I wouldn’t worry about it. A few days, you say? Hell, I have friends who don’t use their phones for weeks at a time.”

  I inhaled deeply. “Is there anything I can do to find them? Can’t you—

  “Don’t you have the number of the production agency, or, what did you say that guy’s name was? Lenny—

  “Larry,” I tersely corrected even though the name was clearly not going to make a difference.

  “Can’t you call Larry? He’s the one that set this whole thing up, isn’t he?”

  Did this woman only talk in questions? “I told you already. He’s not replying to his emails. Isn’t there someone who can track this?”

  She sighed. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you, this doesn’t sound like anything to worry about just yet. Give it another day or two. If you still haven’t heard from your friends, then we’ll see if there’s—

  I cut the call. That was the biggest problems with mobile phones, the inability to slam the phone. Cutting a call didn’t have enough aggression to it. I phoned my mother, knowing she was waiting for me.

  “They won’t help me. Apparently, it’s not urgent enough.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ryan, I don’t know…Hang on, your father wants a word.”

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” My father’s voice was so much louder than my mother’s, and I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Something is up. Are you sure this whole thing was legit?”

  “I mean, yeah, I think so. I was in there, so it wasn’t made up or anything. Also, I pressed the buzzer, and I was let out. Larry even interviewed me after.”

  “Just Larry?”

  The same strange feeling came over me every time I thought about The Void. I had never been on a reality TV show before. I’d never been on the telly at all. With nothing to compare it to, I liked to think everything was normal. The odd feeling I got was nothing more than my own anxiety flaring up again. Wasn’t it?

  “Just Larry. Is that odd?”

  “Ryan, something about this doesn’t sit well with me. You must’ve at least seen one other crew member while you were there.”

  “I was locked up most of the time. I did meet the other contestants, though.”

  “Have you heard from them?”

  “I phoned Elton, but he wasn’t much help. The other woman, Melanie, well, I don’t even know who she is. We didn’t have time to exchange numbers,” I said.

  “So, how did you phone this Elton guy then?”

  “Have you heard of Elton Rigby?”

  “No? Should I?”

  “I guess not. I mean, I hadn’t either before this. He’s a standup comedian. His real name is Bob Store, but he goes by Elton Rigby. Anyway, he was one of the other contestants. He was easy to look up. He also left before the time was up.”

  “And you called him?”

  “I did. He didn’t seem to know much. He invited me over for a drink,” I said as I recalled the strange conversation I’d had with him.

  “Did you go?”

  “No, he’s in Melbourne. Although, even if he lived next door I wouldn’t have gone. He’s not my cup of tea.”

  “Call him again. Ask him if he met anyone else but Larry.”

  “Okay. Uh, Dad…” I paused. “Do you really think something is going on here? I mean, Elton and I both got out. So if anything, uh, you know, bad was supposed to happen, then surely it would’ve happened to us too.”

  “I guess. Still, I’m not going to feel comfortable until we hear from Jon and Keri.”

  “I’ll call Elton now.”

  I wasn’t looking forward to speaking to Elton again, and braced myself for the boisterous voice that would boom loud into my ear. I’d never done well with loud people. The more noise someone made, the more I retreated into myself. It took a certain type of person to make me come out of my shell, and Elton was definitely not it. I retrieved his number from my phone history, and waited for him to answer. The phone rang and rang but he didn’t pick up. Ten minutes later, I tried again. This time he picked up as I was about to cut the call.

  “Eh?”

  “Uh, hello? Is that Elton?”

  “Hmm.”

  “Sorry, did I wake you? It’s Ryan. Uh, from uh…The Void.”

  “Oh. Yes. Hi. What’s up?” he asked with as much enthusiasm as a popped balloon. Compared to the conversation we’d had the time before, it was as if I was speaking to another person.

  “Is this an okay time to talk?”

  “Sure.”

  “Well, okay, uh, I was just wondering if you saw anyone else when you got out of the pod that day? You know, when you hit the buzzer. Did you see anyone else but Larry?”

  “Nah.”

  I squeezed my eyes in frustration. What the hell was wrong with this guy? I regretted wishing he wasn’t so flamboyant. A little bit of enthusiasm would’ve been nice right about now. Or, at least, more answers than one word each time. Either I’d just woken him, or something else was going on with him.

  “So just Larry?” I clarified.

  “Just Larry.”

  “Don’t you find that a bit strange?”

  “Eh? Don’t know.”

  “Elton, uh, is everything okay? You seem a bit distant.”

  “I’m in Melbourne,” he said and chuckled ever so slightly. This was the most animated he’d been so far, so maybe we were getting somewhere.

  “Good one,” I said with a forced laughter. Stroking his ego was not what I wanted to do right now, but if it got some answers out of the guy it was worth a try. “I was just thinking, don’t you find it a little strange that we didn’t see anyone else there? I mean, this was for some reality TV show, a show where each of us could’ve walked away with money if we’d stayed in the whole time. Which means whoever was hosting this thing needed to make sure they could pay us all.” I sighed. “What I’m trying to get at, is that surely a proper TV show would’ve had more people around? Isn’t it weird that we only met Larry? And he said he came up with the show’s concept, which is cool and all, but why would the creator of the show fetch us from the park, take us into the pods, and interview us when we get out. Why only him?”

  “God, you’re giving me a headache.”

  I frowned. “Wow, sorry,” I said sarcastically. “Don’t worry about it then. I was only—

  “No, I’m not saying you’re giving me a headache. Ah, listen, Ryan mate, you just caught me at a bad time. I…let’s just say I’ve been partying a little too hard lately.”

  “Partying? Oh, well, that’s not a bad—

  “Alone,” he interrupted. “I’ve been partying alone. How’s that for comedy?”

  “Oh. Sorry.” What was I supposed to say to that now? I’d called about one problem and he was giving me another.

  “So, let’s go back to the issue at hand. Larry. Yeah, you know, it is a little bizarre that he was the only one we met. I didn’t think about it at the time. I was far too concerned about the fact that we were about to enter two w
eeks of isolation. Also, I’d never done anything like that before, so I had no comparison. Then, coming out, I was a little…well…a little bummed out I guess you could say. I’m not sure I made a great impression in there.”

  I felt an immediate kinship with the guy, and I wondered if I’d perhaps been a bit too harsh on him.

  “Hey, at least you lasted longer than I did. Not only did I last a few days in there, but I had a bit of a meltdown just before coming out. So, yeah, I know what you’re going through. I’m so angry at myself all the time now. I want to go back and redo it all, and I hate that everyone is going to see me like that. I was a mess in there. I honestly never thought it would be so hard. Now that I’m out I feel like I could’ve done better, but inside that place…it was…I don’t even know how to put it into words.”

  “It was like the room sucked the life out of you,” he said.

  “Exactly.” I felt better than I had in a long time. My parents had been encouraging, but speaking to someone who had actually been there was so much better. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked a bit more gently this time.

  A heavy sigh resonated through the phone, and if he wasn’t all the way in Melbourne, I’d swear I felt it. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay. How ‘bout you?” he asked. Not that I wanted Elton to be depressed or anything, but I really preferred this side to him. Was this Bob Store?

  “I’ll be okay, too. I’m just worried about Jon and Keri. Like really worried. It’s not like them.”

  “So you really knew Jon beforehand?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he’s the one who told me about the show. He swore me to secrecy. We thought it would be clever to both go in and share the money if only one of us made it.”

  “Ah, so you’re still getting money!”

  “No, we had conditions. I didn’t make it long enough. Anyway, I don’t even care about that money now. I just don’t know why they haven’t been in touch. Neither Jon nor Keri.”

  “Are you guys close?”

  “I’ve known Jon since I was a kid, and Keri and I have been friends since they’ve been together. My mother and Jon’s mother are best friends, and Alison—that’s his mum—is worried because he hasn’t been in touch. It’s just weird, you know. For both of them not to answer their phone like that. For both of them not to be in touch. I called the police and they say it’s nothing to worry about. But I know them. This isn’t like them. For one, Jon would’ve called me the moment he walked out just to boast that he’d made it. Keri would’ve called to see if I was okay. What the hell is going on?”

  “Shit. Do you think they’ve been in an accident? Maybe they’re in some hospital somewhere.”

  “I’ve tried that. I called every hospital in that area. I’ve gone to their house too, and nobody has seen them. It’s like they’ve just vanished.”

  “You don’t think…nah…”

  “What?” I asked.

  “This probably sounds stupid, but you don’t think they’re, well, still there?” he asked.

  Elton’s observations mimicked my own fears. Each time one of the hospitals told me that they weren’t there, I wasn’t surprised, because I had a strange suspicion that they were still sitting in the same pod. But why? “Why?” I asked him. “Why would they still be there? I mean, we got out.”

  “I don’t know. Shit. This is weird.”

  “What about Melanie?” I asked. “Do you know anything about her?”

  “Melanie?”

  “The other contestant.”

  “Oh, yes. I forgot about her. Quiet one. Bit bland. I wonder why they chose her.”

  And just like that I was back to talking to Elton. There had been something about Melanie that I had liked, even with such a short meeting. I thought she was the opposite of bland. “You obviously didn’t know her then. Damn. It’s not like I can go around calling every Melanie in the phone book. So, how do we find Keri and Jon?”

  “I don’t know, but damn this is exciting.”

  I cut the call. I didn’t even bother saying goodbye. If he thought it was exciting that my friends were missing, then I didn’t want to talk to him at all. My phone rang, and I saw his number flashing on my screen, but I didn’t pick up. I was happy to talk to Bob Store, but not a guy who thrived on disaster. Instead, I spent the next hour searching on the internet for anything that might catch my interest. I tried everything. I put in Keri and Jon’s names. I checked out all the social media pages. I looked up people in the TV industry called Larry. I did a street view search of Victoria Point hoping to find something familiar. I’d watched the movie Lion not so long ago. If that guy could find his home town from Google Maps, then maybe I could find this, too. I was about to give up hope when something came to me. I typed the name into the search bar, then dragged the little yellow man onto my marker. I zoomed in, moved the cursor around, and there it was.

  Chapter 32

  Elton

  That Ryan kid was an asshole. Selfish little prick. I’d been having a good conversation with the guy, and just like that he put the phone down on me. Why? Because I said that Melanie girl was bland? How should I know that Ryan had a crush on her? Oversensitive idiot. I’d always been good at English, back in the day before my comedic days. Bob Store had wanted to be an English teacher once upon a time. He always thought he could rid the world of illiteracy, one young kid at a time. When I become Elton Rigby, I thought I could use my English in my skits, but I soon noticed the low-blow comments were the ones which got me the most laughs. Despite coming out of a long drug induced comedown, I was ready for another line. I had some left in a small container, which was impressive. It wasn’t often I was left with anything after a binge night. I must’ve known I would need some more. I took a line, then lay back down, thinking of Ryan. My English skills couldn’t be gone, could they? He probably thought he was better than me, but he wasn’t. I needed a unique way to describe the asshole that he was. Butt nugget? No, that was too juvenile.

  “You’re an abominable excuse for a human being, a vile, opprobrious, obnoxious, arrogant, boorish, uncouth…uh…millennial!” The last word made me smile. I hated most millennials. Someone once told me I didn’t like them because I wished I was one myself, but that wasn’t true. I didn’t mind not being young, especially if it meant not being someone who cuts a call in the middle of a conversation. My parents may have been boring, but they’d at least taught me how to behave. Maybe that was my problem. Perhaps I needed to stop marketing to the youngsters. Fart jokes could only get someone so far, no matter how funny I still found them. I’d wow them all with my great command of the English language. Maybe I’d rebrand myself. I’ll call myself…what would a good name be for someone who doesn’t bend to social constructs? I grinned, sat up and took another line. Bob Store. That’s what I’ll call myself.

  I stared at the big Y on my wall and decided it would stay. It would remain as my constant reminder to always question myself and the world around me. I had lived too long as a man I didn’t like, a man most people didn’t like. Maybe that’s why Ryan had cut the call, too much Elton going on. I couldn’t avoid the show coming out for the world to see, but I could use my breakdown as Elton Rigby as the end of one era and the start of another. I’d gone on the show in the hopes that I would show the world what I was really made of, and reignite the dwindling flame of my career, and that was exactly what I intended to do. I felt a slight moment of panic as it dawned on me that I had no more drugs left, but then I stopped. Maybe this new me didn’t even do drugs. I grinned as the title of my first stand up show as Bob Store came to mind: Avoiding The Void.

  Chapter 33

  Jon

  I woke in a panic, and for a moment I didn’t know where I was. For some reason I thought I was at the gym, and I couldn’t figure out why on earth I would’ve fallen asleep there of all places. Had I passed out?

  “Hey, what’s going on?” I asked as I sat up, expecting to see another gym instructor, or a client peering down at me. Instead I saw Keri lying on the
bed, and I suddenly knew exactly where I was. “Shit.”

  “What? Are they here?” Keri shot out of bed as quick as a fox, then stood there searching the room in confusion. She must’ve fallen asleep too, and by the way her gaze darted around the room, I could tell she was in that half-sleep, half-awake phase she often got when she woke abruptly. I usually found it funny, but right now I didn’t want to look at her for fear of seeing my own crazed look in her eyes. It was better to pretend I didn’t look quite so harried.

  “We fell asleep,” I said to her.

  She sat down so hard on the bed I thought she was going to break it. “Ah no. I thought—

  I nodded. “I know. I know. Me too. I woke up thinking I was at the gym. I wonder how long we’ve been asleep for.”

  “It feels like a long time, but who knows.” She curled her feet up into her, and wrapped the blanket around her. It wasn’t ever cold in this place, but it wasn’t hot either. It was that perfect temperature that you always thought you wanted. “What are you thinking about?”

  I looked at Keri, surprised by the sound. I kept fading in and out. “Huh?”

  “You looked so far away.”

  “I was thinking about the temperature.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I waved my hand around. “Here. The way it’s not too hot or too cold. I remember hearing once how you can never appreciate the good without the bad, and I never believed that. I sort of get it now. I want to feel cold enough to crawl into bed with layers upon layers with you, drinking hot coffee and watching old movies like we used to. Or so hot that we walk around without clothes on and hope like hell that Wrinkles doesn’t spot us.”

  A small smile danced on Keri’s face, not as wide as it usually was, but a smile nonetheless. “I’ve never heard you talk like this before.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m losing it a bit.”

  “No, don’t be sorry. It’s nice.”