The final reply posted before I could turn off my phone. Not coordinates this time. Just a .gif. A cartoon stick of dynamite, fuse burning down.
The post read: “Check the news.”
The post count was climbing. 34 replies. 67. 89. Each one a coordinate, tightening the net like a snare. Then, reply #98: 41.8810° N, 87.6300° W — the exact spot my desk chair was sitting on. tnt imageboard
I didn’t stay to see the coordinates. I ran. Out the door, down the fire escape, into the alley. The air was cold. The coordinates from the board were fresh in my mind: the alley behind my building. I was already there. The final reply posted before I could turn off my phone
I spun around. My bed was empty. But the closet door, which I always kept shut, was open an inch. A cartoon stick of dynamite, fuse burning down
Then I found it. Thread #7,342. The photo showed the front of my apartment building in Chicago. Posted six hours ago. The title: