ALIBI

11:47 PM

Rain was falling heavily outside St. Augustine University. The roads were empty, the trees were moving with the wind, and the whole campus was silent.

Nobody was supposed to be outside after 10 PM.

But someone was still awake.

Inside the old university library, a young man was sitting alone. His name was Daniel Hayes. He was 22 years old and a final-year psychology student.

He was looking at an old photograph.

There were five people in the picture. All of them were smiling.

But Daniel was not.

He slowly turned the photograph and read the words written behind it.

"One of us will die. And the rest will pretend they know nothing."

His hands started shaking.

He looked towards the library entrance.

"Who's there?"

Nobody answered.

He stood up and put the photograph inside his jacket. Then he started walking towards the door.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

One new message.

Unknown Number:

You should have stayed silent.

Daniel stared at the screen.

Another message arrived.

Unknown Number:

You have exactly three minutes.

He quickly started walking.

But before he could reach the stairs, all the lights went off.

The whole library became dark.

"Very funny," Daniel whispered.

Then he heard footsteps.

Slow footsteps.

Someone was coming towards him.

"Who's that? Stop playing with me!"

There was no answer.

Then a voice came from behind him.

"Daniel."

He stopped moving.

He knew that voice.

"Please..." Daniel whispered. "Not you."

The footsteps stopped.

A few seconds later, something fell to the floor.

And then everything became silent.

8:15 AM — The Next Morning

"STUDENT FOUND DEAD INSIDE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY!"

The news spread across the campus very quickly.

Students were gathering outside the library. Some were crying, some were taking pictures, and others were just standing there in shock.

The police had already arrived.

Nobody was allowed to enter the library.

Daniel Hayes was found dead near the second-floor staircase.

The police started investigating the place.

A young professor was standing near the entrance. His name was Adrian Miller. He was 31 years old and taught psychology at the university.

He looked at the library from a distance.

Something was not right.

Daniel's phone was missing.

His wallet was still there. His money was untouched. There was no sign of robbery.

Then why was he killed?

"Professor Miller?"

Adrian turned around.

A police officer was standing behind him.

"Yes?"

"Did you know the victim?"

"Yes. He was my student."

"Was he having any problems recently?"

Adrian stayed quiet for a moment.

"Not that I know of."

The officer wrote something in his notebook.

"One more thing, Professor. We found something in his classroom."

"What?"

The officer took out a small piece of paper.

There was only one sentence written on it.

EVERYONE HAS AN ALIBI.

Adrian looked at the paper.

For some reason, he felt uncomfortable.

"Who wrote this?" he asked.

"We don't know."

Adrian slowly looked towards the university building.

Hundreds of students were standing there.

Everyone looked shocked.

Everyone looked innocent.

And everyone was saying the same thing.

"I was not there last night."

10:30 AM — Psychology Department

Five students were sitting inside an empty classroom.

Nobody was talking.

Their names were Ethan Cole, Mia Anderson, Ryan Blake, Sophie Williams, and Daniel Hayes.

But Daniel was dead.

His empty chair was still there.

Mia was staring at it.

"Do you think he was murdered?" she asked quietly.

Ryan gave a nervous laugh.

"Obviously. Why else would the police be here?"

"Shut up, Ryan."

"What? I'm just saying."

Ethan was sitting near the window. He was looking outside without saying anything.

Sophie suddenly spoke.

"We should not talk about last night."

Everyone looked at her.

Mia frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

Ryan leaned forward.

"Sophie, you are acting strange."

She looked directly at him.

"Am I?"

Before Ryan could reply, Ethan finally spoke.

"Did anyone receive a message?"

Nobody answered.

Ethan took out his phone and showed them a message.

Unknown Number:

Four of you are still alive.

Mia covered her mouth.

Ryan stood up immediately.

"What the hell is this?"

Sophie started crying.

But Ethan was not looking at them.

He was looking at Daniel's empty chair.

Then he whispered something.

"He wasn't supposed to die first."

11:02 AM — Somewhere on Campus

A person was sitting inside a small office.

The curtains were closed.

A computer screen was glowing in front of them.

On the screen, there was a folder.

Its name was

ALIBI — FIVE SUBJECTS.

The person opened the folder.

There were five photographs.

Four were marked with question marks.

One had a red cross over it.

Daniel Hayes.

The person slowly smiled.

Then opened a new document and started typing.

Subject 01: Removed.

Subject 02: Unstable.

Subject 03: Lying.

Subject 04: Knows the truth.

Subject 05: Knows nothing.

The person stopped typing.

A phone started ringing.

They answered it.

A familiar voice came from the other side.

"Is everything going according to plan?"

The person looked at Daniel's photograph.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

There was a short silence.

Then the person replied.

"Of course. Nobody suspects me."

The call ended.

The person closed the laptop and walked out of the room.

On the desk, there was a student attendance register.

Five names were written on the last page.

But something was strange.

Daniel Hayes was marked

PRESENT

for tomorrow's class.

Sometimes, the most dangerous person in a room is the one who looks completely innocent.

~ To be continued