FLAW: FORTY-SEVEN

**ALEX POV**

I borrowed Auntie's car to go to school. I went there not to attend my class but to meet someone. Someone who could help me with my plan. I found this plan exhausting, but it was the only way.

While on my way, I found myself stuck in heavy traffic. It was only ten in the morning, but the traffic was already quite heavy.

It was fine. I was not in a hurry. I was not going to a class anyway. To keep myself busy, I grabbed my cell phone and searched for a few things about something strange happening in the world. The first result that appeared was a website that listed fifteen strange things that had happened recently. I found myself clicking on the website and reading the article.

Most of the contents were familiar to me – the apple tree in Egypt, the cactus in Antarctica, and lots more. But one caught my eye, and unfortunately, this one happened in our city. The article described it as "Mass Sleep Paralysis." It stated that almost half of the population in this city claimed that they had experienced sleep paralysis. What made it mysterious was that all of them experienced it on the same night and at the same time.

That's not all. They also claimed that they saw a demonic entity sitting just above their body, immobilizing them. They named the demon Incubus after the infamous evil spirit believed to be the supernatural cause of sleep paralysis. But what scared me the most was the last sentence.

"Claimers stated that it wasn't a dream." I read and was startled by the honk of a car behind me. I looked at the road and realized it was moving. I quickly stepped on the gas and drove my car.

After half an hour, I reached the school. There weren't many students around because they were all in their classes. Instead of walking toward the college department, I headed to the SHS Dept. After all, that's where I needed to go.

Along the way, I passed by some SHS students busy chatting with their friends. Soon, I reached the club rooms. I immediately went to the Enigma club room. When I stood in front of the door, I extended my hand to knock, but before I could do it, the door opened.

Wernie, a club member with braided hair hanging on her right shoulder, greeted me with a smile instead of surprise.

"Oh, Kuya? What are you doing here?" she asked while still wearing her sweet and contagious smile.

"I wanted to talk to Trevor."

"Oh! Pres is not here. He said he's not feeling well. If you don't mind, you can talk to Dao. I know it's about the 'world is changing' thing," she said, emphasizing the last phrase with a quote-and-quote hand sign. I just nodded in response in agreement to what she said. "Okay. Just go in; I have something to attend to," she bid farewell. Wernie left the room, and I was left standing at the threshold of the door. Of course, I hesitated. I still feel shy in front of them.

"Oh! Kuya, come in!" Calli invited while holding a tower of folders. I noticed she was struggling with her load, so I quickly entered to help her. I didn't use my telekinesis since it wasn't really that necessary.

"Why do you have so many of these?" I asked in amazement as I took half of the pile from her. She placed the folders on the table, so I also put mine on the desk.

"These are all about the Mass Sleep Paralysis case."

"Really?" I replied in surprise and then opened one of them. The personal information of a girl greeted me. There was a picture on the right, similar to an ID photo.

***

Name: Mikaela Gozman
Gender: Female
Age: 19 years old
Please put a check.
___ Employed; Company: ______________
___ Student; Institution: Delford University
___ Others, please specify:_____________
Case: "Sleep Paralysis"
Notes:
• 3:00 AM on 27th March 20XX.
• Incubus sighting.

***

After reading this, I opened another one until I realized that I'd gone through several folders.

You can't blame me. I'm curious.

"Caught your interest?" Calli asked, noticing that she'd been watching me while I read the files. She probably noticed, hence her question.

"All of them are from this school. Wasn't that strange?"

"Not just that." Calli stood up from where she was sitting earlier and went to the back part of the divider. "Come. We have something to show you," she invited, and I immediately followed. When I saw the back of the divider, I realized that there were computers here. Three computers, to be exact. In front of the computers was a guy busy typing on one of the keyboards as if hacking or doing something intricate. It's Dao.

"Dao, can you show us the master list of the Mass Sleep Paralysis Case?" Calli ordered in a soft and gentle voice. Dao nodded in response and went to the far-left computer. He pressed something on the keyboard, and a spreadsheet appeared on the screen.

I looked at it and wondered why they were all females. The only difference was their course and age. It's weird to think that they're all females. But what's more intriguing is how the club got hold of this information.

"How did you get all of this?"

"Humans are easy to trick," Dao replied in his usual cold and stoic voice.

"Dao made a survey website," Calli added to make Dao's answer clearer to me.

"Do you believe that this is true? That it's not just a coincidence?"

"Coincidence doesn't exist," Dao criticized, making me more confused. Is it just me, or does Dao like to speak in a way that requires critical thinking to understand him? All his words were not direct to the point, forcing you to be critical in thinking to understand him.

"Dao wants to say that coincidence doesn't just happen. He believes that there's a scientific reason behind coincidental circumstances," Calli explained, but I still couldn't comprehend it. I just nodded even if I didn't get it.

"About your question... yes. We believe that this is not just a mere coincidence if you put it in your way. Even though these happenings contradict my belief in science, Incubus is real even if I don't want to believe it." Confusion was written all over my face. Now I understand him even less.

Like, what the heck is he talking about?! Can he just speak in a way that I can understand?!

"As you can see, Kuya Alex, all of the victims are females, and Incubus only attacks females. Using that superstition's claim, we believe that Incubus is responsible for this. And not just that. All of them showed symptoms of PTSD. It means that they really went through a terrifying and traumatic experience," Calli explained, making a point. But the PTSD was not concrete support for their claims. It's normal for people to be traumatized when they experience such traumatic moments.

"Besides that, we also found this," Dao added, and it seemed like he pressed something on the keyboard. The middle computer showed a line graph similar to what they showed us when we first came here. "This energy shift happened on the same night and time they experienced sleep paralysis," Dao explained while still looking at the computer screen.

"After all, these things are not new nowadays. When you showed up, everyone started to believe that the world is still left undiscovered," Calli stated. Guilt spread throughout my body when she said that. I just couldn't believe that they experienced this horrifying phenomenon.

"Don't blame yourself. It won't get you anywhere. I believe that you have something in mind, that's why you came here. What is it?" Dao asked emotionlessly and then faced me. He still wore this stoic look as if he's resurrected from the dead. I wondered what happened to him.

Is he Sky's long-lost brother?

"I have this plan, and I really need your help."

"Oh my god! Kuya Alex needs our help!" Calli exclaimed with joy while showing me her face full of excitement. She leaned closer to hear me better. "Go on."

"We'll start with this one," I pointed to the computer containing the master list of mass sleep paralysis victims. The two looked at it to confirm what I was pointing at.

"What about it, Kuya?" Calli asked in confusion.

"If Incubus really did this, then I'm sure he has plans to harm his victims. I heard that sleep paralysis is deadly if you don't manage to wake up."

"I don't understand, Kuya Alex. What are you implying?" Calli asked again while Dao remained silent, sitting and listening to Calli and me.

"He's implying that he wants to get rid of this supernatural entity." I nodded in response to Dao's answer to Calli's question. It seems like he already knows what I'm referring to.

"With your club's help, I can make my job easier. You'll inform me of the latest case, and I'll take care of it."

"Sounds like a great idea. That'll surely lower the casualty rate in the future. But have you ever thought that when you use your ability, you're just making it worse?" Dao asked.

"I'm totally aware of that. That's why I decided to start while there are still few of them. The sheet will be destroyed eventually, even if I don't use my abilities. The sooner, the better."

"Ahh! I get it now!" Calli exclaimed after understanding my plan. I just nodded even though I wanted to facepalm. A bell sound caught our attention, and Calli and Dao looked at the computers.

A dialogue box appeared on each computer with the word "notification." Dao immediately faced it and began pressing the keyboards.

"What is it, Dao?" Calli asked in confusion while approaching the computer in front of Dao. I also went closer to eavesdrop.

"Another ES."

"ES?" I asked.

"Energy Shift," Calli replied. Another line graph appeared, but this one was recent according to the info. And I was surprised to learn that the center of it was here in our school.

"According to Justin, they found a dead 2nd-year student in one of the CRs," Dao said, surprising me with the news. Even Calli covered her mouth upon hearing the news from Dao. I hate to say this, but it has begun.

******

I was on my way home after learning from Justin about the incident that happened at our school. He told us that the death was very mysterious because the body was crucified. Dao suspected that the Incubus did it because, according to their master list, Angelie Terran was one of the victims of the mass sleep paralysis case. After our conversation, I bid them farewell. I also told them not to mention my visit to their club and my plan with the three of them.

I'm trying to get the incident out of my head, but I can't. Lots of questions popped up, but there's this one question that I've been repeatedly thinking about.

How am I supposed to stop this so-called Incubus? With the number of victims, I can't possibly address them one by one. And besides, we don't know when he'll attack or who he'll target!

"What did I get myself into?" I muttered while focusing on driving. It didn't take long for me to reach home. As expected, Sky and the others were already home as Lola's car was parked outside. I parked Tita's car beside Lola Vemine's car. Once I made sure everything was okay, I quickly got out and headed for the door. I twisted the knob and gave it a push to open.

"Oh, Alex!" Maica greeted me as I entered. I glanced at the source of the scream and saw Trisha, Maica, and Sky comfortably sitting on the couch. They had snacks in front of them, and the TV was on.

I gave them a smile, more like a forced and not-so-happy smile. Seeing them was just too painful for me, knowing that they could be in danger one day, and it was all because of me.

"Where did you come from?" Sky asked lifelessly while looking at me. I couldn't tell them the truth, so I thought of an excuse, and luckily, I already had one.

"I went to the mall."

Sky trailed his eyes all over my body as if he were observing it. "What did you do there?" Sky asked again.

"I just cooled off and strolled around." I didn't receive any more response from Sky, but I did notice Trisha staring at me. She even squinted her eyes. "I'll change my clothes."

"Just get back here if you're finished. We have something to talk about," Sky suddenly said, and I just nodded. What are we going to talk about? "Anything," Sky said telepathically. I ignored him and went straight to the room. I almost forgot he could read minds.