Page 71
Story: Our Last Echoes
“She always seems a million miles away,” Liam said. “And Dr. Kapoor is more, like,intenselypresent. Like she redirects gravity with the sheer force of her personality.”
“And you really think she might be one of those echoes,” I said. “But in the video with Ashford, it didn’t seem like she was in on any of it.”
“So she was lying. Or she didn’t know.”
“An echo is a weaker version of the original. Fading,” I said. “Dr. Kapoor doesn’t seem like a pale imitation of anyone.”
“I suppose.”
“You almost sound disappointed.”
“I’m trying to decide which is worse—my mum being replaced by an evil twin, or my real mum covering up what’s going on here.” He nodded toward the window. “The mist is gone.”
I sat up, disentangling myself from him, and saw that he was right, though the sky was slate-gray, thick clouds dimming the light. “I should probably go.”
“Knowing Dr. Kapoor, she’s not going to let a few disappearances get in the way of a full day’s work,” Liam said.
“I’d almost forgotten I’m doing an internship,” I said.
“Well, you haven’t actually managed a full day’s work without being set upon by the supernatural,” Liam pointed out. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your hair’s all mussed,” he said.
I felt along my braid. It had come loose, snarling out from the careful plaiting. I made a face and combed it out, letting the hair spill in waves over my shoulders.
“You look quite wild,” Liam said. “Like a mermaid or something.”
“The kind that’s friends with lobsters?”
“The kind that lures ships onto the rocks, maybe,” Liam said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Oh, you should,” he assured me. He kissed me lightly, and somehow this time it was a bit awkward. Like we needed to practice saying goodbye. “Be safe.”
“I can promise careful. I can’t promise safe.”
“Let’s be honest. We’re talking about you. You can’t promise careful either,” he said. “I should walk you back.”
“And then you walk home on your own, and I worry about you,” I said. “Vicious cycle.”
“You aren’t the worrying sort like I am,” Liam said. It was true, and he smiled a little to show that he didn’t think that was a bad thing, exactly. I cared what happened to him, but I didn’t fret the same way.
“Fine,” I agreed. “My white knight.”
“Just give me a sec to find socks,” he said, looking dubiously at his luggage. I snorted and stepped out into the hall. I padded toward the front door and had just reached the middle of thehallway when Dr. Kapoor appeared, stepping out from the kitchen. She saw me and froze.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she snapped. I blinked, unsure what I’d done to earn quite so pointed a response. “I told you not to let anyone see you right now. You—” She stopped. Looked at me again, more focused this time. My stomach dropped.
Liam emerged. “Found ’em,” he declared, waving his socks aloft. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were home. I— What’s wrong?”
“You thought I was her,” I said wonderingly. With my hair a mess, with dark hollows around my eyes from lack of sleep and crying—I might have mistaken myself as well.
Liam’s gaze switched swiftly between the two of us. It would have been comical if the moment hadn’t been so tense.
“You know about—?” Dr. Kapoor whispered, but she didn’t finish. Didn’t want to be the first to say it outright, I guess, in case she was wrong.
“The girl that looks like me,” I said.
“Then it is true,” Liam said. He sounded sick. “You’re... you’re one of them.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71 (Reading here)
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114