You unzipped your bag and turned to face Alex, who was concentrated on his laptop, his fingers tapping anxiously on the wooden table. Nico had just been gone for a few minutes, and you assumed she was already searching around in Amy's room. You took out the jacket Alex had given you a few days earlier and didn't get a chance to return it sooner.
You looked back at Alex once again and saw him calling Nico. "This is Nico." You heard Nico's answering machine. "Do people even leave messages anymore?"
Alex sighed deeply, too many times this day, and frowned. "Please, Nico, I can't apologize enough. Call me back so we can talk. (Y/n) and I are still at Timely, just waiting." Alex ended his messaged and placed his phone down. Gulping softly, you used your powers and gave the jacket to Alex. Alex ripped his eyes away from his laptop screen and saw his floating jacket.
When Alex looked at you, he noticed that your eyes were glowing blue, signaling that you were using your abilities. He looked around to check whether anyone had seen you, but the place was deserted, much to his relief. Alex gently took the jacket from you, and you stopped using your powers. You clutched your bag and took out your phone, hoping for something to take your mind off things. Alex grumbled and slid his laptop in front of him as he slid his chair closer to you. "Hey..."
"Hi..." You mumbled.
"I'm sorry." Alex apologized, looking down at his keyboard. "I shouldn't have said those words to you earlier. You've been a great friend, and I just said those things to you in your face."
You shook your head. "It's okay. Maybe I overreacted. You were right. I'm just a new member of your friend group, and I shouldn't have kept—"
"No, it's okay," Alex reassured. "You had your reasons. You're a great asset to the team."
You softly scoffed, weakly smiling. "I haven't done anything in the team. I'm more like a hindrance."
"No, you're not."
"Hm..." You replied with a hum and a tighter hold on your luggage. Alex glanced down at you, his lips pressed together. You sighed as you looked up at him. "The one who deserves an apology here is Nico." You told him. "You should've told her everything."
Alex leaned his back to his chair, hanging head low in shame. "I apologized so many times. I felt responsible for Amy's death. I didn't know what to do, I..." He shakily took a deep breath. "I couldn't bear to attend to her funeral knowing I should've done something more."
You chewed your inner cheek and looked away. "I shouldn't have said that. All of you were grieving. Who am I to know what happened? I came here almost a year after her death."
Alex stared at you for a moment as he saw you bringing your legs up to hug them. You bit your bottom lip as you stared out of nowhere. "I've been... hearing a voice." You confessed unexpectedly, catching Alex off guard.
'Shut up.'
"A voice?" Alex asked curiously. "What voice?"
"I don't know her." You admitted. "But... I'm so tired of her."
'Ouch.'
Alex shifted in his position and faced you properly. "What is she telling you?"
'Tell him that he's the biggest nerd I have ever seen.'
"She told me you're the biggest nerd that she has ever seen." You scoffed while Alex looked at you incredulously. "I-I meant what was she telling you before."
Alex's laptop beeped, alerting him to something as you opened your lips to speak. When Molly texted you, Alex diverted his focus to his laptop while you looked down at your phone.
Molls:
I'm not home.
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion after seeing Molly's message.
(Y/n):
What? Where are you?
Molls:
Dale and Stacy brought me to my second cousin Graciela.
(Y/n):
Wait, what? Is it because they know that you know?"
Molls:
I think so. I can't believe they would do that to me.
(Y/n):
I can go there. Help you get out and find a new place to stay?
Molls:
Graciela seems fine and sweet, but I'm sneaking out.
(Y/n):
That's dangerous!
Molls:
My parents left something for me. I have to find out what it is.
Molls:
Don't tell anyone yet. I'll text you later.
"(Y/n)..." Alex gasped as he kept his eye contact on his screen. You looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Alex looked at you back and smiled. "It's decrypted."
You pushed your chair closer to him and listened to the file while Alex immediately contacted Nico. "What I want to know is what Victor's gonna do with that box." You heard Tina's voice in the video. "Holy shit." You whispered.
Victor's box was surrounded by your parents in red robes in the video. Just like the last time you saw them, except this time you noticed they had no idea what was going on. 'Probably the first ritual.' You moved your gaze closer to the television and noticed Molly's parents, the Hernandezes, were still alive and well.
"Nico, it's me again. You guys better get over here. It's decrypted." Alex instructed Nico before ending his voicemail again. He joined you in watching the video. "Brooks here is going to get into it." You and Alex heard Leslie state to the group. "Just follow the light, Brooks. When it comes for you, go with it."
"Whatever you say, Mrs. Dean." Brooks, who was the blonde-haired volunteer, replied. "I'm ready."
Alex instinctively covered your eyes when Brooks started undressing his robe off from his body instead of the adults doing it. You scoffed and grabbed Alex's hand. "Hold on, I wanna see!"
"Nope, you do not want to see it." Alex scolded. "It's tiny anyway."
"What?"
"Nothing."
You put Alex's hand down and watched Brooks confidently lay on the glowing box. Victor closed the box, and the same bright light dazzled your eyes. You and Alex temporarily closed your eyes from how bright it was until the light slowly died down. "It's still horrifying." You muttered, earning a nod from Alex. Victor opened the box and saw that Brooks was nowhere to be found. "So, what was that, like, a magic trick?" Dale asked in confusion in the video.
"It's not magic," Victor grumbled.
"Where'd he go?" Stacy asked.
"It's the pure conversion of matter to energy in a form that can be absorbed by the human body," Victor explained. "The math has existed for a while, but no one's actually done it until now."
"What do you mean, his energy's been converted?" Robert questioned, still confused as to what was happening. "He's dead?"
"And we killed him?" Janet asked in horror.
You winced and quickly looked away while Alex continued watching, also disturbed by the video.
"It isn't a death." Leslie declared. "He lives on in another. Eternal."
You slammed the laptop shut, causing Alex to jump in surprise. Alex turned to you, and you shook your head. "I'm sorry, I... I can't watch or listen to it anymore."
Alex nodded in understanding. "Okay. Let's wait outside for your sister and the others."