My name is Wallace Steiner. If you’re reading this, I’m probably dead, and there’s something crucial you need to know about Annalise Tran. The real Anna has been killed and her body has been taken over by a shapeshifting, flesh-eating alien. It is highly intelligent and very dangerous. It will no doubt deny these claims and try to cover its tracks. No matter how natural my death seems, no matter what that thing in Anna’s body says, I have been murdered. Please, whoever is reading this, don’t let that monster get away with it.

He knows he’s being reckless and stupid, typing this when she—when it is right there watching him. He knows that if it does decide to kill him, the note on his phone will probably never be found. Or that, in the off chance someone does find it, they won’t take it seriously. But it still gives him a tiny sliver of hope that, no matter what horrid fate befalls him, the truth will still be out there.

***

Wally fished through his pockets for his phone and asked to see the video again. I obliged, holding Anna’s phone up to him and hitting play. He typed frantically as he watched, and continued to do so even after the video ended. I moved closer, trying to get a better view. “What’re you doing?” I asked.

He turned away to block my view of his screen. “Just jotting down some notes,” he replied harshly.

I decided not to push the matter. Above all, I needed to prove to him that I came in peace. I waited until he was finished typing before going over everything I knew about the murder. Which wasn’t much. First, I told him about the strangulation marks I found on Anna’s neck, and how they seemed to have been made by a weapon rather than human hands. Then, I shared my theory that the killer knew the area well and had planned their route beforehand. Finally, I mentioned Anna’s hairpin, which had gone missing at some point between when she was captured and when I discovered her body.

“Wait,” Wally interrupted. “The other day, you told me you lost it in the woods. So that was a lie? Wait, what am I saying, of course it was a lie. Everything you’ve said these past few days has been a lie.” He shot me a pointed glare. His fear was giving way to rage.

I looked down at my feet. “I admit, I lied to you before… but everything I told you just now is the truth.” He scoffed at that, and I began to grow frustrated.

“Listen,” I said, raising my voice, “you’ve already seen everything. You already know I’m not human, so it’s not like I have anything left to hide.” Wally flinched, reminded of who—what—he was dealing with. I cursed myself for getting so defensive. I needed to handle this delicately. “Sorry, it’s just… I don’t know nearly enough about Anna. All I have are bits and pieces from her videos and texts. I want to know who killed her, but I have nothing to go on. I just arrived on this planet a few days ago, I have no idea where to start and I… I think I need your help.”

He stared at me, bewildered, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I wondered if that was because of the apology, the plea for help, or both. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s say you are telling the truth. What can I possibly do? There’s no body,” he gestured to me for emphasis, “no murder weapon, no evidence of her death other than your word and that video. I know even less about what happened than you do. I didn’t even know it happened until just now.” He didn’t fully believe me, but at least we were making progress.

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“You may not know anything about Anna’s murder,” I said, “but you were her closest friend for years. You probably know more about her than anyone else. Did she have any enemies? Any stalkers? Anyone at all that would want to hurt her? It isn’t much, but I caught a girl staring daggers at me in her expository writing class.”

Wally perked up at that. “In expos? Can you describe her?”

I tried to recall as many details as I could. “She was skinny, really pale. Um... she had super dark bags under her eyes. Her hair was… reddish-brown, I think?”

Wally's face lit up. “That’s gotta be Lizzie Petrov! She used to torment Anna all the time back in high school, until she finally got suspended for bullying. Her life kind of spiraled once she got to college. I don’t know the full details, but I heard she started getting into hard drugs. And she definitely still holds a grudge against Anna.”

Finally, we were getting somewhere; we had our first suspect. “If she lives on campus, she might know her way around these trails… and it sounds like she had a motive. Do you think she’d be unhinged enough to kill Anna?”

As Wally considered the possibility, his eyes fell. “Maybe,” he muttered, but I could see doubt and fear return to his features. He didn’t think Lizzie was the culprit at all. In his eyes, she was a scrawny, sickly, possibly drug-addicted human being, while I was a flesh-eating monster capable of taking down a full-grown deer with ease. It was obvious Wally still thought I was the killer, and given the circumstances, I couldn’t blame him. But to quell his doubts, I would need to confront them.

“Look, Wally, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me.” Wally opened his mouth as if about to object, but decided against it. I pressed on. “I wouldn’t either, if I were in your position. But if you think I’m the killer, then how do you explain the video I showed you?”

Without missing a beat, Wally replied, “You could have easily faked it after taking over her body. It doesn’t even show her being attacked. All you would need to do is drop the phone, fake some screams, and put on a black glove to end the video.”

Expecting that response, I countered, “Sure, let’s say I had the foresight to fake the video just in case someone found me out. But that would mean I have Anna’s hairpin in my possession.”

Wally shrugged dismissively. “Okay, fine, you have her pin. So what?”

“To take Anna’s place, I needed to impersonate her to the best of my abilities. I even practiced matching her handwriting. Granted, my imitation of her wasn’t perfect, but not for lack of trying. I did everything I possibly could to sound, act, and look exactly like Anna.” Realization dawned on Wally’s face. He could tell where I was going with this.

“You and I both know Anna always wore that pin. So,” I concluded, holding back a triumphant smirk, “if I’ve had it all this time, why haven’t I been wearing it?”

Unable to come up with a rebuttal, Wally begrudgingly crossed his arms and remained quiet. He didn’t want to admit it, but I raised a good point. It seemed he would accept my story, at least for now. I held out my hand. “So, do we have a deal?”

He shifted his gaze from the ground back to me, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. “A deal?”

“You won’t tell anyone about me, and in return I will do everything in my power to make sure Anna’s killer is brought to justice. With your help.”

His eyes narrowed, considering my proposition. Then, he turned away, looking off into the distance where the sun had just finished dipping below the horizon. “Fine,” he grumbled, refusing to shake my hand. I withdrew it with a smile.

We walked home in silence, with Wally giving me a wide berth. I could tell that, even though he had agreed to work with me, he still didn’t trust me. But I could live with that. No matter how precarious our relationship, I was in desperate need of an ally.