Time since leaving Kansas: 8 hours and 29 minutes.

Kyle had found himself in the egde of Colorado, at the cusp of Utah. He hadn't done much outside of drive and stop to eat. But so far, there were no complications.

The barrage of Goosebumps books he had backed were enough to hold him over during any breaks he had, curing him of his boredom until he drove on.

He soon stuck at truck-stop restaurant/gas station to get something to eat. While waiting for his order, he texted his mom to let her know he was okay.

His main destination was for Oregon.

Oregon was where his brother went to college. And this was his best shot.

It was over 20 hours away by vehicle. An ambitious drive, but a risk he was willing to take.

But as he finished his meal and was prepared to drive off once more, his phone buzzed.

He answered the call as he slipped inside the camo truck. He expected it to be his mother or Charlotte, not bothering to look at the number.

"So." A deep voice said, immediately making Kyle shudder and recoil slightly. "You made it out of Kansas."

The voice was deep, sounding somehow distorted. There was a certain eloquence to it, however. Some sort of accent that didn't seem quite English, but also didn't exactly sound American.

"..Who... who is this?" Kyle asked, his voice that of weariness and caution.

"My name's not important. Think of me as.. your therapist. You, the troubled teen. And I your shrink." The mysterious caller retorted.

"Go ahead and start up that truck of yours. Ditch that truck-stop. And head to Utah." The caller said, before abruptly ending the call.

Kyle gasped, looking around and snapping his head everywhere frantically.

How did this person know where he was?! What kind of vehicle he drove?!

His hands trembled as he yanked the door open, stepping out and looking alll over the area. He couldn't see anything, anyone that was mysterious or suspiscious.

He paced around the area, lingering as if afraid to continue.

Only, he wasn't exactly afraid.

Very cautious, yes.

But... he had always liked risk. Danger.

Part of his ghoulish mindset, really.

For a long time, he loved danger. Thrill. Doing dares, dangerous stunts on skateboards. Leaping down steps, jumping over couches. He had broken a few bones over the years with it, and it was something his mother always scolded him for. And probably a large part of her hesitance.

He wondered if this caller was a stalker. A psycho. Or a serial killer. Or maybe all three.

He had read many horror books, seen many movies just like this. People stalked on road trips by psychopaths.

Was that what this was? Being stalked by some stalking-psycho-serial killer leaving him cryptic phone calls?

If so, he was in serious trouble. The psycho would likely do what was usually done in the horror books and movies he was so obsessed with: Continue stalking him and go on playing mind-games with him before eventually killing him off and burying his body in the woods. Maybe sinking it in quicksand or a peat-bog in a swamp. With no end to his madness.

"This.. is gonna be the coolest road trip ever." Kyle smirked to himself.

The best road trips to Kyle were the horror ones.

His mother would certainly not enjoy how enthused he was over this.

But what was the point of life without a little danger? A little excitement?

He started up the car again and drove off.

...

Time since leaving Kansas: 8 hours and 41 minutes.

Kyle did in fact wind up going to Utah. It wasn't far off at all at that point.

He found himself in a small town, his mind racing between the goal of finding his brother and wondering who it could be on the other end of that strange phone call.

He finished eating another meal in his car when his attention was suddenly diverted by a familiar figure coming out the Dairy Queen he had eaten at.

A male biker with black sunglasses on. Long, messy brown shoulder-length hair and a red bandanna on his head. A faded blue jacket, black finger-less gloves and black shir, with blue faded pants and black cowboy pants.

He met the typical description of a biker, and he also met the description of something that shook Kyle to his core.

This.. was Lance Martin...Kyle's deadbeat father.

Kyle gasped, practically shaking now.

He had started off this journey to find his brother. And here, he had already found his father? This wasn't what he had expected, not what he was yearning for primarily.

But he still yearned for some of that family that had left him. Due to his own resentment towards his father, this wasn't ideal. But it was a start.

And maybe.. just maybe, he knew where Kyle's brother was.

This was his best shot. He couldn't believe his luck.

He only briefly wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, if this was his own desperation fooling him.

But he couldn't just stand by. Like he told his mother, he had to take the chance. This road trip was all about chances.

He paused. He was somewhat haunted, seeing the man that had all but ditched him. But he would not let his emotions get the better of him.

Lance got into a red car, and Kyle followed after him in his truck.

Fairly quickly, he was led further into the outskirts away from the small town. Kyle was now following his father on a dirt road. He'd slow down a bit, let a few cars in front of him to not look too suspicious. But he kept his determined attitude and not once, did he let that red car leave his sight.

Soon enough, the red car pulled into a small neighborhood. Kyle stopped, watching the red car closely as it eventually parked in front of one of the small houses lined up alongside each other.

Kyle paused, bracing himself.

How should he go about this? He contemplated it for a while, before he decided to just drive up to the house his father had parked at a few minutes later.

He wasn't going to confront his dad about leaving. No, he had to focus on his goal of his brother.

His brother was the one he had wanted a relationship with. Not his father. A lost cause that Kyle resented.

Kyle walked out of his truck and up to the house. He knocked on the door, and Lance answered pretty quickly.

Almost immediately, Kyle recoiled slightly and leaned his own frame back away from the man.

Seeing his father like this was.. was so odd.

"Uh... who might you be, son?" The man squinted. He looked Kyle up and down.

That made Kyle shudder. His father was looking at him again, after all this time. He wondered how Lance had changed. How he had stayed the same. If he remembered the same things Kyle remembered. If he even spared a thought to the family he had left behind.

But then, the man removed his sunglasses and squinted.

Somehow, that shook Kyle to his core. Seeing his father's eyes.

The same eyes that had caused him distress, pressure. Never showing real life. Only using Kyle as an oppruntity for himself. To live vicariously through his soon.

"Oh my God, Kyle!" Lance exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "It's you! It's you, it's my boy! You're all grown up!"

Lance suddenly leaned in and hugged Kyle tightly, surprising him.

Kyle was bitter at that. As if Lance wasn't the one who had left him in the first place. As if this reunion was something that even needed to happen. As if it wouldn't have happened if his father just stayed.

He felt nothing but coldness in the hug as a result.

"You're all growed up, wow!" His father chuckled with a bit of a southern twang.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm all grown up." Kyle replied in a bitter manner, cold.

Slowly, Lance pulled back. "Do you.. do ya wanna come inside?

Kyle was hesitant. Something about being with him now had stirred something strange in him. But nevertheless, he agreed to it. If he was going to get any information about his brother, he had to.

...

Kyle was apprehensive, to say the least, when he walked inside.

It was an alright place, but there was a certain aroma to it that just made it not so easy on the eyes for him. He had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He supposed it was all due to the bad taste his father had left in his mouth.

Lance leaned over a mini-fridge almost as soon as Kyle walked in.

Kyle squinted. His father was acting so casual about it all. As if it hadn't been years since they had seen each other. As if he wasn't the one who walked out on Kyle to begin with.

Lance treated it more like a casual meeting between work buddies, rather than a reunion between long lost father and son.

Kyle could feel his heart drop slightly, just hoping it wouldn't feel like this when he found his brother.

Lance pulled back from the mini-fridge, offering Kyle a beer. "Here, have a drink."

Kyle was somewhat stunned, squinting at his father. "Um.. I'm not 21 yet. I can't.. drink." He shrugged.

"Aw, c'mon. Like ya said, you're all growed up. Consider it your transformation into bein' a man!" Lance gave a chuckle, giving his son a pat on the shoulder.

Kyle, if he was being honest with himself, felt a little too hurt now.

His father had all but ditched him. Kyle swore he felt nothing for the man, but seeing Lance act so casual with him without a hint of remorse... it hurt him.

And what did the adults he knew do when they were upset?

Drink, of course.

Kyle, on instinct, just swiped the beer from his father and chugged it down.

"That's the spirit!" Lance laughed, slapping his own knee. "Wow, son! You sure chug them suckers quick. Let's see how long you can keep it up."

So, Kyle did in fact "keep it up."

He chugged another beer.

And another.

To drown his sorrows, to make him forget he had gone on this road trip to feel a hole in his heart left by his family.

And because of it, he ended up passing out.