We all glanced at each other; Mason and I are still not sure what to say about that. Come to think of it, back at the police station, a lot of posters of missing people were pasted outside the police station’s place. There was a lady in her mid-30s asking some cops about her husband’s whereabouts.

Mason was the first to break the silence, "Yes, we will be careful; don’t worry about us.” he said while messing up Alex’s already messed up hair.

Alex scowls at him, “I am serious, Mason. I read it online 19 people have gone missing so far belonging of different age groups in these past 3 months, this is no joke, and even the police have no clues about these people’s whereabouts yet.”

Mason takes a sip of wine in a gentlemanly style. Alex cringes at this sight. “Christopher, would you spare us some details about what happened back at that night and today’s police station? Perhaps it can give us some insights about what’s happening in our Haltin city. Mason suddenly yelps, “Ow, Ow it hurts, stop Alex!”

I look at him confused. Alex was sitting closer to Mason, I look below the table, Alex was pressing her foot hard against Mason’s foot.

"Chris, you don’t have to talk about that night, but we would really appreciate it if you would talk about your visit to the police station.”

She says it with a little worry. Mason looks at me with concern, “Sorry about that. No pressure on that, Chris.”

“I am totally fine, fellas. It was nothing. He could not even lay a finger on my hair.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Alex says then goes back to eating the side dish, while Mason tries to steal her beef’s piece.

But I was sure they were not convinced, even though they should be. I internally groaned, people were giving me that same look, and I didn’t want its rewind.

I focus on the other part, “Back at the police station, they mentioned they saw the intruder around 3:20 am heading towards my apartment, he looked exactly like Jones, and he was wearing sunglasses.”

“Hmm, that’s sus.” Mason interrupts, Alex glares at him, and he murmurs something about keeping quiet.

I continue, “After that, he was seen sprinting from my apartment towards the exit at somewhere around 4:15 a.m. Then, in other CCTV footage near a convenience store, he was seen screaming too loudly to say it would have been a normal human scream and then sprinting to the other side of the street."

Alex asks, “Where was he last seen after that?”

“One of the officers said he was seen last somewhere near the intersection, taking a left turn. After that, he was not seen in any cameras.”

Mason raises his eyebrows and says, “He looked like Jones, but was not Jones, you mentioned ‘actual Jones’ was clearly at the club, so he was some Doppelganger, ghost, or something. That’s creepy, he was not armed with anything, right?”

I play around with the beef piece with my fork, unsure of what to say, but I speak up anyway, “No, he wasn’t armed.” I lied.

The footage that the cop back at the station showed me flashes in my mind, After pausing the footage at one point, I could clearly see him holding a stun gun he took out to check it once; near a convenience store. I met Adam’s work partner, and he told me to be careful and call us immediately if I found anything suspicious. They said they were not sure if the intruder would come back again or not.

“He won’t come back again, would he?” Alex asks.

"Well, mostly no, because a second attempt is riskier.” I respond.

“I hope the predicaments are right, we don’t want to lose our awesome, Cook.” Mason rises to his feet and motions his hands towards me.

Alex sighs, “Both of you look out for each other, okay? This city is taking an odd turn already this year.”

Mason says, "Yes, Madam, we would, you too should look out for yourself, even if you live out of city, okay?”

“I will be fine, Cuz, don’t worry about me. Anyway, Chris, did you get any gist about missing people’s cases, Chris?” Alex said.

“Ahh…, no, I just overheard a lady asking about her missing husband to a cop, they said they were still looking for him.”

Mason tilts his head to one side and asked, “What did the cops have say about that doppelganger?”

“They have started an investigation on him today; Adam, a cop, said he would call me if they got any clue about him.” I said while taking a bite of beef.

“Let’s hope this problem gets sorted out; we all already have some work to do.”  Mason said while folding his hands, he was not wrong about that. Assignments, exams, and he was also working a part-time job at a café, Sometimes he would practice basketball at our college’s court with his other buddies.

“How long are you staying at Haltin?” I asked Alex.

Alex replied, “I will stay here for a couple of days, I would need to go after that, the clothes still need some more work, for the upcoming event in my college.” She is a fashion design student. 

"Alex, remember to send pictures of your design, having criticism from a great critic like me won’t hurt.” Mason chimes in.

Alex huffed, “Oh, shut up, no one asked your opinion, Mason.” Mason laughed and began taking the dishes to the sink.

I smile. Well,  Alex always shares her designs, especially those for events, with us and Mason’s parents. Why does she do that? Well,  she says she does not know herself.

“How is your college going, Cuz?” Alex asks Mason.

He groans, “It could have been fabulous if it were not for those assignments, there are so many, who made them?” 

I try to repress my chuckle. Meanwhile, Alex was also doing her best to not tease him about his problems.

“You good, Mason?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I am good, Basketball practice took a toll on me today. The new guy joined the basketball club late, but he is really competitive and has a lot of stamina too.”

“Hmm, let’s see how long he can maintain it, could be beginner’s luck too, Cuz.” Alex says while placing the washed plate in the rack Mason gave her.

“Nah, he ain’t a beginner, you should have seen him, while he was in the court.” Mason said and he almost got lost in his thoughts, was his mind flashing back to time in court? Not sure on that. 

“Who is that guy again?” I asked Mason.

Mason exchanges glances with Alex, and smiles, Alex grins. What was so funny about my question, I think to myself. But them doing that is not a good sign.

“That guy's name is Michael; at least that’s what I heard from others.”

Alex looks at me with teasing.

“Why are you both looking at me like that?” I asked them.

Alex gives me a sly smile similar to that of Mason, “Rare of you to ask about others, Christopher.”

The sly smile must be genetic in their family, I think to myself.

Before Mason could add something else to this discussion, I said to him, “Didn’t you mention before you needed my help with one of the assignments?”

Mason whined, “Oh, come on, Chris, not now-”

“I am helping you now, bring your study materials.”

“But-”

I interrupted him, “No buts.” I began taking out my own study material and motioned for him to hurry up.

Alex lightly knocks on my shoulder, “I see changing the topics, huh?” She asked teasingly.

I completely ignored her and said, “Mason, let’s finish that assignment today itself, Now or Never.”

Mason heads to his room to get his stuff, muttering something about unfairness.

Later, he comes back to the dining table and says, “Christian, I will get back to you.”

I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever, let’s get this done quick.”

“Alright, good luck, boys, with your homework. I will head to my slumber.” Alex said while heading towards the guest room.

“Goodnight Princess.” Mason said it with an annoyed look.

“Goodnight.” I told her.

She smiled and closed the door.

I looked at the clock, it was 10:30 pm. Well, I hope this homework can be tackled soon. To my surprise, Mason gave me a determined look.

“We have class tomorrow and even basketball practice; let’s get started.” He said.