What

The ?: Question Series, Book 2

Ten years ago, Ruby Yepez’s world was shattered when her daughter, Gracie, disappeared without a trace. After a decade of the August Girls media frenzy, dead-end leads, and sleepless nights, the public has finally moved on—and so, painfully, Ruby has, too.

But just as the noise fades, a new chaos arrives at her door when her estranged older daughter, Franki—strung out and desperate—reappears, only to vanish once more and leave behind her teenage son, Teddy. Determined not to fail another child, Ruby pours herself into giving Teddy the safety and love he’s never known.

For a time, it works. Teddy begins to believe in something better—friendship, stability, maybe even a future. But as the months pass, fractures start to form as old wounds reopen, support crumbles, and Teddy once again finds himself navigating a society that seems to keep abandoning him.

Then, one morning, everything changes. While Teddy roams the halls of his school, he’s hit with a chilling sense of déjà vu just before he’s surrounded by panic, screaming, and a distinct popping sound. As the past and present collide, he and Ruby are left to wonder, What is going on?

Content Warnings: Addiction, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Gun Violence, Missing Persons

©2025 Anthony Prebor (P)2026 Anthony Prebor