Name.

About two hours had passed since Michael left, and he still hasn't returned. It makes me more uneasy. And although I try to stop it, my unease gradually turns into negative thoughts and slowly fills every corner of my head.

What if he doesn't come back? What if he also disappears? What if...

"Ah... you guys!" The voice came from behind us.

I turned around and a dark-skinned woman ran towards me.

With panting breath, she said, "Thank God. I'm relieved to meet you guys."

I also wanted to say the same thing. Maybe so did Emily. I knew because I felt her grip on my pants slightly loosen.

For a moment, she tried to catch her breath. "Phew, I'm really relieved to meet you guys. At first, I thought I was the last person on earth."

I was surprised because I had also thought the same thing.

"I even thought about committing suicide. Dumb, right?" she smiled awkwardly.

I tried not to look at her. I almost did it.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Fiona," the woman said.

I nodded. Fiona smiled, looking at me without saying anything else. Maybe she was waiting for me to introduce myself too, but I didn't. Finally, Fiona's attention shifted. She looked at Emily next to me.

"Your little sister looks scared." Fiona crouched down and stroked Emily's hair.

"Don't worry," she said. "Everything will be okay. You have your brother here. And I'm here too."

"Ah, she's not..."

I tried to explain but Fiona didn't listen. She continued to talk to Emily. Oh well, it doesn't matter.

Again I looked around, searching for Michael who still hasn't returned.

Ten minutes later, I heard the sound of a motorcycle engine from the direction where Michael went before. Fiona and Emily looked in the same direction, so I was sure I didn't mishear.

A few seconds later, from behind the parked cars, a motorcycle appeared. I didn't recognize the tall man driving it, but on the back seat, I saw Michael and a fat man sitting close together.

The motorcycle stopped right in front of us. The three of them got off almost at the same time.

When Michael saw Fiona, he said, "Wow, you're great, kid. In a situation like this, you can find a beautiful girl. It seems we don't have to worry about mankind becoming extinct."

The tall man behind him snorted and said, "That's not a funny joke in a time like this."

"Ahaha, sorry," said Michael. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Fiona only smiled stiffly.

The man behind the tall one did not say anything. He only bowed his head.

"Talking while standing like this is not comfortable," said Michael. "I see a cafe over there. Let's talk there."

We gathered at the cafe that I had just destroyed earlier. I looked at the window without glass, a chair lying there. I grimaced remembering what I had done and what I almost did.

Thinking about that made me curious. Is it true that my shadow did not appear in the glass? Or is it just an illusion?

Although curious, I had no plans to check it. The problem is if when I check my shadow is really not there, what will I do?

"Why, kid? Thinking about suicide again?" Michael said startled me.

"Suicide?" Fiona looked at Michael. "What do you mean?"

"I found this kid here trying to commit suicide," said Michael.

I hope he doesn't do it. I was indeed about to do it, but... I don't want to be mocked. Especially at a time like this.

They looked at me, waiting for me to admit. In the end, I could only nod resignedly, ready to be mocked.

"Well, looking at the situation, I think that's normal. Although I think you give up too quickly," said the tall man who looked relaxed.

"I agree,"Fiona said." I'm actually embarrassed, but as I said earlier, I also thought about doing it." Fiona smiled slightly towards me.

While the fat man remained silent.

I am relieved that they did not mock me. This might be not the right time to play around with teenagers like me, but I am still relieved. It turns out they are good people.

"Okay," said Michael. "It's time for us to talk about our condition. As you can see, people disappear except for us. I don't know why. But for now, we have to share information. Tell us who you are and what you know. Maybe from there there is a clue that can help us. Starting from me, my name is Michael Crawford."

Michael told the same story as he told me. After he finished, he said, "It's your turn."

"Rafael Jefferson," this time the tall guy said. "When I went to campus with my friend, suddenly my friend disappeared. People around my campus also disappeared. I checked my campus, no one was there. In the end, I stayed silent at the front steps of my campus until Michael appeared."

"Okay, next," Michael said.

"My name is Jack," said the fat man next to Rafael. "Jack Hamilton. I am the owner of a meat shop near here. When I was working, my customers suddenly disappeared one by one until only I was left. Not long after, I heard the sound of a motorcycle, that's when I met Michael and Rafael."

Michael looked at Jack for a moment before saying, "Next."

"My name is Fiona Anderson. I am a teacher at a nearby school and I love children." Fiona looked at Emily softly and smiled. That answered my confusion why she had only been talking to Emily this whole time. "When I was teaching today, my students suddenly disappeared one by one. I tried to find help but couldn't find anyone until I met this child and his sister."

"She's not my sister." I smiled thinly.

"Huh?"

"This is Emily," Michael said, answering instead. Emily herself remained silent while bowing her head deeply. "We found her in that store. It seems everyone disappeared including her mother while she was shopping there."

Fiona nodded understandingly.

"Lastly, it's your turn, kid."

Michael looked at me. I nodded gently.

"I..." I don't need to introduce myself, I reminded myself. "As you can see from my uniform, I am a sophomore student at Raspbury High School. Since a few days ago, a new student named Alex appeared in my class."

I explained everything. About me not being able to see the new student, about one by one my friends disappearing and some other details.

Michael looked at me for a few seconds before he started speaking again.

"It seems you guys also realize it," Michael said. "The most stand out thing is this kid's story. That new student, it seems like he's the one causing all of this."

"Given that it happened a few days ago," said Rafael, "I think that conclusion is correct."

"So Alex is the one causing all this madness?" said Fiona. "Then what should we do?"

No one answered.

"Does anyone have anything to add?" said Michael.

I shook my head. Jack and Fiona also did not answer.

"Not for now," said Rafael.

There was silence for a few moments, everyone seemed to be processing the newly obtained information. Including me. Maybe there's a clue, but nothing comes to mind.

"Okay, I'll admit something now," said Michael. "Actually, this is not the first time I've experienced something like this. That's why I can be calm like this."

Instantly, I looked at him. So did Rafael, Jack, and Fiona.

Michael said, "This happened about two years ago. At that time, I was still working at a mineral water company. Something similar to what this kid said happened to me."

I gulped. Really? Something like this happened before?

"At that time," said Michael, "suddenly there was news that there would be a new employee named Benjamin. But when the new employee came, although all of my other coworkers greeted him, me and one of my friends did not. That was because we could not see him."

It does sound like what happened to me.

"From there," said Michael, "one by one my coworkers disappeared until only I and that friend were left. Confused, we then searched, trying to find people who had not disappeared like I did earlier. We found some people. But we could not find anything about what was really happening. Finally, that friend suggested something very shocking."

Michael stopped and looked at us one by one. We waited in silence. If what Michael said was true, he might have clues about what was happening. And more than that, he might know a way out of all this madness.

" The only way to get rid of all this is to kill the new employee Benjamin. Maybe if the cause of this event dies, everything will return to normal," Michael said. "And we did it."

As Michael spoke about his friend, I immediately remembered Mai. That's why I believed Michael knew what he was talking about, but...

"That's impossible," I said. "How can you kill someone who can't be seen? I can't even touch him!"

"We did it," Michael said, smiled.

A strange smile. I have a bad feeling about this. I can tell there was another meaning behind that smile.

"How?" I finally asked.

Instead of answering, he asked me, "What's your name?"

"Eh? Me?" Without realizing it, I pointed to myself. "Why suddenly...?"

"Just answer it," Michael said.

"I ..." I hesitated to tell him. I knew it was just a coincidence, so I never thought about it. I knew it was strange and suspicious, but it was just a coincidence. Even though the chances were small, coincidences could still happen, right? Even so, if others heard it...

"What's wrong, kid?" Michael said. "Hurry up and tell us your name," he added, urging the me to speak.

I lowered my head. In a situation like this, I knew if I lied, the situation would get worse. When they knew the truth, they would be more suspicious of me. There was no other choice, I said it.

"My name is..." I said. "Alex Walker."

Suddenly all eyes looked at me. They looked at me with a disbelief and surprised look. Even so, I was still intimidated, my body was cold and sweaty.

"I knew it." Michael grinned at me.

Suddenly Michael grabbed my wrist.

"Alex, huh? As I suspected." His grin became wider.

"W-what do you mean?" I said.

"You asked earlier, right? How do you kill someone who can't be seen?" he said. "We didn't do that. You remember my colleague earlier? Just like you, he had the same name as the new employee, Benjamin. And we killed him."

***