Type 88

The Truth

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At 11:30 p.m., Corey Janis sat on the roof of his one-bedroom, single-story house. He was holding his girlfriend, Emma, as he cracked his fifth beer of the night. He had bought a six-pack for the two of them, but she wasn't drinking.

Emma leaned her head back, resting below Corey's chin. She was trying to convince him to quit his job and join some free-living twenty-somethings who called themselves the Seekers. They gathered in front of capitol buildings and government agencies to camp out, smoke dope, and fuck under the guise of protest. They woke up at the crack of noon and spent a couple of hours asking anyone who would listen to stand up and push their lawmakers to find the source of the voice. "God? Terrorists? We don't care, but we deserve the truth."

Corey was interested in the truth, because this whole thing scared him. He was also interested in spending what could be the last days of his life getting daily action from Emma. If he had to put up with the granola gang to do it, so be it.

Fuck his job, anyway. It wouldn't be easy telling his boss, because half of the guy's floor had already quit. But fuck that guy too. He'll get over it. If the deadline came and passed, he knew he could get his job back. The boss always needed people.

Emma grabbed Corey's beer and took a drink.

"Thought you weren't drinking?" Corey said. "I can get another snack pack if you wanna stay up all night." He reached under her shirt.

She pushed his hand away. "You gotta get up for work tomorrow, don't you? Don't want you hungover, missing inspection. How is this world gonna survive the deadline if it's not stocked with bug zappers?" Emma smiled and turned to face him. Her dark brown eyes faded into the night sky around them.

Corey brushed her hair back. "Nah, you talked me into it," he said. "Fuck that place. I'm in. Let's seek the truth."

Emma smiled and kissed him. She put her finger on his chin, and unbuckled his belt with her other hand. She whispered into his ear, "I think I found a lead."

Corey laid back and gazed into the night sky. The end of the world could come. This was the way to see it out.

"I'll pay attention," he said. "If you repeat this broadcast three times."

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