Library.

"You're Alex and you're the one who caused all of this."

Michael held my hand tightly. Grinning as if finding answers to everything. In that situation, I could only stay silent, unable to refute.

I will say it again, I didn't know anything about all of this, even though it is a fact that our names are the same. And... If he knew the connection between the name Benjamin and me, the situation would get worse.

"What are you trying to say, Michael?" said Rafael. "Don't tell me you want all of us to kill this kid together?"

"Indirectly, yes," Michael said.

"Don't be silly," Rafael said. "Let me guess, after this you're going to tell us to kill each other one by one like in horror movies? Besides, not one of us knows if you're telling the truth or not."

"Of course," he said, "but why would I lie at a time like this?"

"Well, the possibility is still there," Rafael replied, indicating he didn't believe what Michael had said.

"Think about it," said Michael. "Think about how much of a chance it is for someone's name to be the same in a situation like this. It's not possible for it to be a coincidence. Besides, I have proof."

I gulped. Proof?

"How much do you think luck is needed to survive a death like the one that happened to him?" Michael said. "I appeared and stopped it just as he was about to tear the artery in his hand. A second too late and he would have died."

"Tha-that's not proof!" I said.

But he ignored me and continued, "The strangeness is explained if he's the one who caused all of this. Easily, he could have set the time to act like he was going to kill himself right in front of me."

I agreed that it was strange. But still, it was unintentional. I had nothing to do with all of this.

"And one more thing," said Michael, "you remember my friend named Benjamin? He was the one who suggested to kill that unseen figure and this kid showed the same thing. Do you realize the similarity? His own death. That's the key."

No, no, no, that's wrong. I did it just because I felt hopeless. I thought I was all alone in this world. There was no hidden intention behind it.

I looked at Raphael in panic, hoping he would stop this insanity.

"Listen, Michael," said Rafael. "If what you're saying is true, what's the reason for this kid, and also Ben, to give clues? Your argument is still not logical."

"Don't you understand?" Michael said. "This has nothing to do with logic. He's not human, I'm sure of it."

"And one more thing," Rafael said still looked skeptical. "If he really did it, why did he admit to having the same name? Logically, he should have lied."

"That's reverse logic! This kid is trying to confuse our minds," Michael said.

"No, I didn't--" my words were cut off by Rafael.

"Maybe that's true," said Rafael, making me tremble. "But I want to hear your story in more detail. I mean, regardless of what kind of creature Ben your friend is, is it true that you killed him just because he had the same name? What's your basis for doing that? What makes you sure he's not human? Did you ever consider what if your suspicion is wrong?"

"That's..." This time Michael was lost for words.

"What did you do during that time?" Rafael said. "You should have found something, right? If it were me, whatever happens, killing my own friend would be the last thing I would do."

Michael was silent. I cheered in my mind, feeling relieved to be out of the corner. I really wanted to shake Rafael's hand and thank him right now.

"I don't know if you're honest or not," Rafael said, "but I understand that you're hiding something."

Rafael stood up from his chair.

"Alex, that's your name, right?" Now he turned to me. I nodded without thinking.

"You want to clear your name, right? If that's the case, come with me," he said.

I hesitated and asked, "Where?"

"The library," he replied. "If Michael is speaking the truth, strange events like this have not only happened once. Something like this cannot be unrecorded in history. There is a chance that we can find something there. That's better than killing you, right?"

I winced. Soon after, I nodded.

"I agree with him," said Fiona, opening her mouth after not speaking for so long. "Whatever the reason, killing is not the answer. There must be another way."

Fiona stood up and followed us. Beside her, Emily hesitantly got off her chair too. She looked at Michael for a few moments, then followed us. As for Jack, he didn't move at all from his chair.

Michael sighed. "Okay, I was wrong."

I stopped. So did Rafael and Fiona. We looked at Michael.

"Don't misunderstand," Michael said. "I don't want to kill people either. I just shared what I know. If there is another way, of course I wouldn't talk about this."

Michael fell silent for a few moments, appearing to be considering something. Soon after, he said, "If we're going to take the long way, we need to prepare a lot of things. One of them is food. Jack and I will take care of that while you're at the library. What do you think?"

He looked at us waiting.

"Much better," Rafael said.

"Okay," Michael said forcing a smile. "Okay, see you later then."

***

Revaria Library, the largest library in this city. To enter it we have to go down the stairs because this library is built submerged several meters into the ground.

Once we entered, we were immediately greeted by thousands of books on all sides of the room.

Honestly, I'm not too familiar with this place. I rarely come here. Only a few times, and never for long.

"I'll search the internet, you can try looking for books on these shelves," said Rafael.

We nodded. He then walked to the row of computers in front of us. Fiona walked to a shelf with Emily beside her. I walked to another shelf.

I picked up a book at random, about the greatest wars in history. I put it back. I walked a little further away, looking at the book titles for a moment. None caught my attention.

As I was a bit hidden, Fiona looked in my direction. I knew she was watching me. Although Rafael has trusted me, Fiona still suspects me. It's understandable, really. If it had happened to someone else, I would be suspicious too.

I sighed quietly, once again looking at the book titles. I was a bit confused, how do you find a book that may not be among the thousands of books here? Besides, there is no librarian to ask. My only hope is Rafael. On the internet it should be easier.

"Any clues, Rafael?" I asked.

"No," he said. "Not yet. It's hard to find the right keywords. Hm... when I entered 'invisible creatures', what came up was ghosts."

I looked at him. He was googling to find information, or so he said. But I knew that website. It was one of the social media that's been booming lately. What was he really doing?

Rafael turned to look at me. I quickly grabbed a book in front of me, pretending to read it. It seemed like he realized I was watching him.

"Alex," he said, looking at me seriously. "Your book is upside down."

Shoot. He was right.

"Don't you know?" I said, closing the book. "If you read a book upside down, you'll remember it twice as fast."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Of course."

I lied.

It seemed like either I had successfully hidden it well or he didn't care much, Rafael returned to looking at the computer screen in front of him.

***