Stray Signal

Eleven-year-old Ren finds an old walkie-talkie at a garage sale and connects with a mysterious kid named Sage. When Sage goes silent and then sends a desperate call for help, Ren must cross town to find someone they have never actually met.

You are Ren, and you are eleven years old. On a lazy Saturday morning, you ride your bike to a neighborhood garage sale and spot a battered old walkie-talkie sitting in a box of junk marked 'one dollar.' It is army-green with a cracked antenna and a dial covered in dust.

Something about it feels special. You hand over your last dollar coin and tuck it into your backpack.