“Okay. So first of all, my name is Ruth Antunez,” I introduce myself. “It is nice to meet you all. Anja I already know well, but I don’t think I have talked to the other three of you in any significant capacity.”

“Oh, how do you know Anja?” Zoe asks curiously.

“She’s my ex-girlfriend,” Anja answers dully. I nod to confirm this.

“Oh yeah!” Zoe exclaims, realization dawning on her. “I never made the connection that it was you!”

I catch the slightest glimpse of annoyance on Ashley’s complexion. She doesn’t like that we are discussing casual gossip. I decide to shift back to the subject of the group’s activities.

“I have vaguely been aware of the activities of your group for a while,” I explain. “As I’m sure you have all realized, I would often sit not far away from your group in the library. I would usually be too focused on studying or doing homework to catch anything you talked about. But every now and then, I overheard a strange word or phrase. Something about shadows or personas . This caught my attention because it reminded me of this.”

Now having their full attention, I take off my own backpack, unzip it, and pull out a case for a video game: Persona 3 FES, released in 2007 (2008 in North America.) The cover depicts a white silhouette of the robotic character Aegis next to a pentagram with several Greek letters embroidered on it.

“Wait, you’re a gamer?” Nova asks me excitedly.

“Not personally. But I have siblings and cousins who are, so I was distantly familiar with this franchise,” I explain. “I decided to do some research in my spare time, and I learned that this game series was actually inspired by real world tales of people travelling into a sort of shadow world, which goes by many different names. The one that caught my interest was one of a group that operated here in Texas, The Thieves in the Night . They allegedly existed in the late 80s and 90s. Like in the video game series, the group consisted of high school students. It was also the most prominent tale of this kind of activity in recent history. I assumed that you were inspired by the tales of this group.”

“Well, that’s true in a sense, I suppose,” Ashley admits. “Although I wasn’t aware they inspired a video game series. Nova and Anja, did you know about this?”

“I knew there was a series called Persona , but not that it was inspired by the Metaverse stuff!” Anja marvels. “We gotta play that sometime, dude!”

“Metaverse?” I ask. “So that’s the name you refer to it as? That one has not been used in any of these games. How were you able to access this world?”

Ashley shakes her head. “Nope, you finish first. Then we’ll consider telling you the full story.”

“Fair enough,” I agree. “Anyways, I was aware of your group for a while because of this, but I assumed that you were simply fans, and that the story of the Thieves was just an internet creepypasta or folk tale. That said, it did seem rather odd… most of you did not seem like the type to be interested in those things. While all outcasts in some way, none of you had any inclination towards occult subculture. Anja in particular I knew to be someone who didn’t believe in anything supernatural. So a small part of me wondered if there was something more to this. But I mostly put it out of my mind. That is, until I got a message from Anja’s cousin.”

“What? Lily?” Anja questions. “She messaged you?”

“Yes, she did,” I confirm. “She said that there had been a post put on tumblr.com from someone who taught at our school. She sent it to me as a warning.”

“Oh, so did you two know each other from when you dated Anja?” Nova questions.

“We exchanged contact information during that time, yes,” I confirm. “Although at the time of that message we hadn’t talked in years.”

“She did say she was gonna contact everyone she knew,” Nova reflects, seeming impressed with Lily’s comprehensiveness.

“Okay, so you knew that there is a predator at this point,” Ashley recaps. “But how did you know that we were planning on going after them?”

“Well, I had to assume that Lily had told her cousin Anja about the post as well,” I explain. “But even still, I disseminated the information myself to be on the safe side. But I’ll get to that later. First, I want to go over my observations about the blog post itself.”

“Yes, please do,” Ashley urges. “I am very curious as to how you knew that Coach Everheart isn’t the culprit.”

“Wait, she already knew that?” Zoe questions.

“I think it’s safe to say now that Ruth here was the one slipping notes into my locker,” Ashley explains. “Am I right?”

“You are,” I confirm. “It was a hunch I had. I analyzed the blog post very deeply, and there was something about it that didn’t add up. It felt far too deliberate. For one, the poster shares details about their plans, the student that is being targeted, and even their own personal history. This shows, at first glance, that the predator is very incompetent. That said, the poster stops just short of giving any names or identifying details. The student’s description in the post is one that could apply to many students at the school. In addition, I discovered that the post was made on a blog that had just been created the previous day. The e-mail address associated with the account was a burner, which had also been created that day. And Lily somehow knew about this seemingly obscure and unknown blog the day after it was posted. At the time, the only other people who had interacted with the post were those deep in Tumblr’s so-called “MAP” community, and I can’t imagine Lily would be involved with that. Something was very clearly not right about this.”

“You know, Lily never did share what her source was,” Anja comments.

“Ask yourselves this. The poster was clearly smart enough to not tie the account to an existing e-mail address or give any identifying information. But if the user was intelligent, why would they make this post at all, and risk raising any suspicion whatsoever? Why would they seemingly not anticipate their IP being tracked? The wildly inconsistent levels of competence displayed by this poster led me to come up with a theory. That being that this blog post was created as a cover-up, or as a smokescreen to mask a deeper secret. Now, this theory has problems. First of all, it raises the question of how the culprit managed to route the post through the IP of Coach Everheart’s house.”

Anja raises her hand suddenly. “I think I know, actually!” she cuts in excitedly. “Um… can I interrupt?”

“Hmm? You know something?” Ashley questions, frowning. “Well, let’s hear it then.”

“I was talking to Mr. Castro yesterday, at region!” Anja explains. “He said that last weekend… you know, the same time of the blog post… Coach Everheart had a work party! I think the real culprit must’ve been there and snuck over to his computer and made the post!”

This bit of information is quite a bombshell. If true, it would cover what I considered the biggest hole in my theory. There is shock and excitement all around the group. Even Ashley’s eyebrows raise at this.

And then, before my heart had a chance to slow down again… I hear a gravelly deep voice, coming from a source I can’t see, which is laughing. “You did good Anja,” the voice applauds. “We’re finally starting to figure this out!”

“I’m sorry,” I plead, short of breath, “Which one of you said that?”

Zoe giggles. “Oh, that was Ted! Let me show you!” She reaches into her backpack and pulls out… a live armadillo. I suddenly remember the armadillo-like creature I saw inside the jungle.

“Greetings, lass. My name is Ted, and I’m here to help you all catch that fiend!” he asserts.

“Um… hello there… Ted… please give me a moment.” I dive into my backpack and grab my inhaler.

While I am taking a puff of it, the others discuss. “We need to find out who was at that party!” Nova asserts. “That will narrow it down! Someone go ask Mr. Castro about it during band!”

“I think it’d be easiest for me to do it,” Anja offers. “After all, I’m the only one who’s supposed to know about it, so it’ll look the least suspicious.”

“That is a very useful bit of information, Anja,” Ashley praises. “I think we might be onto something.”

“That makes so much sense now!” Zoe exclaims. “But oh my gosh… I’m not letting anyone use my computer next time we have guests over! That’s terrifying!”

“Coach Everheart is exceptionally easygoing,” Ashley comments. “It’s not hard to imagine that he wasn’t keeping a very close watch on his guests.”

“And you know what? He was really adamant about it not being him when the police were taking him away yesterday!” Anja continues. “He was saying like, ‘oh I need a lawyer, oh there must have been a mistake.’”

“That’s like one of the few useful things I’ve learned from my mom,” Nova comments. “If you get arrested, and you’re guilty, ask for a lawyer. If you get arrested and you’re not guilty… definitely ask for a lawyer.”

“True. The police in this country are sketchy as shit,” Anja rants. “Who knows what kinda shit they’re getting up to during interrogations that they’re not supposed to do?”

“Yes, I’m not very happy with how the police act either,” Ashley agrees.

There’s a brief pause. Then, Zoe says, “Wait, did Ashley and Anja just… agree on something?”

I chuckle, having finally caught my breath again. “I take it that’s rare?”

“When we’re discussing economic issues, yes,” Ashley explains. “But you know, I’m really not aligned with the Republicans on social issues. Except for second amendment rights, if that counts.”

“Are you feeling better?” Zoe asks me sympathetically.

“Yes, I am. Thank you,” I answer. “I think I owe you the conclusion to my side of the story now.”

“Yes, let’s hear it,” Ashley agrees. “We still have plenty of time before class starts, so let’s finish this up.”

“Anyways, I knew that your group is a huge fan of a supernatural vigilante group- although I had no idea it was real at the time- and that there was a predator at the school who was cleverly masking their own operations. I decided to try and solve both mysteries at once. So I devised a plan, which I started carrying out Monday morning. I went into the band hall and started a conversation with Diana Coleman.”

“But wait, you’re not in band,” Ashley points out. “Wouldn’t Mr. Castro have kicked you out?”

“No, because I happen to be good friends with his… um, a student he is close to. He would’ve recognized me.”

“You mean Mason?” Anja asks curiously. “They have a sort of father-son relationship going on.”

“Oh, do they really?” Ashley questions. “I suppose that explains why he lets Mason get away with being a nuisance.”

“It is Mason who I was referring to,” I admit. “Although the circumstances of their relationship are something that must be kept a secret, so that’s all I’ll say on the matter. I assure you it is nothing malevolent, though.”

“That is reassuring to hear!” Zoe says, relieved. “So, you went and talked to Diana?”

“Yes. I know that you and Diana are friends, and that Diana is an incurable gossip. I figured if I told Diana about the blog post, she would spread it to Zoe, and that she would tell Ashley. That way, even if Anja hadn’t told you already, my bases would be covered. In the process, Diana would also presumably spread it around to more people and keep them on alert.”

“Good thinking,” Ashley compliments. “And this is when you slipped that first note into my locker?”

“That is correct,” I confirm. “Although I did not know where your locker was, so I had to come up with a story for Diana as to why I needed to know. Since both you and I are known to have dated other girls, I told her that I had a crush on you and wanted to give you a love letter. She agreed to tell me the location of your locker. That said, I also told her to keep it a secret, since I didn’t want you to know who I am yet.”

“That explains that weird thing Yonca told us,” Ashley comments. “So you’re my ‘secret admirer’ then?”

“Um, you don’t actually like her like that, right?” Zoe questions nervously.

“Of course not. Don’t worry,” I assure her. Zoe looks immensely relieved at this.

“Oh yeah. It’s all coming together,” Nova comments. Anja laughs at this, so presumably it was some kind of inside joke between them.

“I then went to the library and tried to listen in to see if you all had gotten the message yet. I was pleased to hear when Anja arrived after me that you had.”

“Wait!” Nova asks in a panicked tone. “Does that mean that you overheard… uh…”

“Overheard what?” Anja asks curiously.

“Uh… nothing. Never mind,” Nova replies, thoroughly unconvincingly. Anja now looks very suspicious of him in a mischievous way.

“So, the next day,” Ashley presses. “You dropped in on us again.”

“Yes. Well, it’s at this point that I need to issue you all an apology. I left my phone in the library on purpose and used it to record your conversation that morning.”

There’s a twinge of annoyance passed through the air by all of them. Ashley comments, “Okay, that’s it. No more talking about Metaverse stuff in the library.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Nova agrees. “Still, she did it for a good reason, so I’m not really mad.”

“I would’ve 100% done the same thing in her place,” Anja admits. She looks at me with a sense of respect.

“…Well, anyway. So that’s how you knew we were meeting this morning?” Ashley asks, still sounding a bit annoyed.

“Yes… but first, I had to make sure you all did not give up the chase after Coach Everheart was taken in. I hastily dropped the second note into Ashley’s locker before lunch ended. I got extremely lucky and found the band hall deserted, so nobody caught me.”

“Had you been there any later, you would’ve run into the all-region crowd who decided not to go to any of the next period,” Ashley observes. “I see… and that brings us to today.”

“I knew that you were all planning something the next morning, and that you seemed very serious about actually being able to access the supernatural. I got curious and decided to tail you… once again, I must apologize.”

“Ha! So you were the stalker all along!” Anja teases.

“I saw the four of you gather out a window, and I thought it was odd that you met out there instead of in the library as usual. You walked into the band hall, and I watched you go into this back practice room from the hallway. I quickly hid close to the room in hopes of seeing or hearing something…”

“And then you got sucked in with us when we went to the palace,” Ashley finishes. “So now we’re all caught up.”

“Wow! That’s incredible that you figured all of that out!” Zoe praises. “I think Ruth should join our team! She’ll be really helpful!”

“That is up to her, Zoe,” Ashley halts her. “But Ruth, you should know that this entire situation with the Metaverse is highly confidential. If you do not want to join in our mission, we will leave you alone if you swear to yourself to absolute secrecy. Otherwise… we have a problem.”

“Ashley! Don’t threaten her!” Anja scolds her. “Ruth said she wants to help. I’m sure she’ll want to come with us for the rest of this!”

“I would like that,” I confirm. “I am insatiably curious about this supernatural world you have found yourselves travelling into. And, of course, I want to stop the predator before they are able to hurt anyone.”

“Well, other than offering your brainpower, there is not much you can directly do without a Persona, assuming we end up going into that jungle again,” Ashley comments.

I think back to the eccentric outfits they were all wearing while we were in there before. “I see. How do I go about getting one of those?”

From there, the others give me a crash course in the workings of this “Metaverse.” The description lines up surprisingly well with the video game series in some ways, though there are also notable differences. I exchange Skype information with everyone else, and they add me to a group chat where they coordinate their activities. Our next step for now is for Anja to ask their band director about other teachers who were at the work party later today. With all of us working together, I’m sure we will corner the culprit soon...