Page 89
Story: Our Last Echoes
He looks sick.
KAPOOR [echo]: I’m still me, or very nearly. That’s the note I’d like to go out on, not babbling away with a mad song in my mind.
HARDCASTLE: Not here.
NOVAK: Don’t do this.
KAPOOR [echo]: My choice. And I don’t know how long I’ll be able to say that about anything, so let’s get it done before I hurt anyone.
She and Hardcastle walk together. Not far—Hardcastle stays at the edge of the mist. Vanya’s echo walks a little farther, behind a rocky outcropping and deep enough into the mist that they won’t be able to see. Still Joy looks away, whispering to the girls. Kapoor keeps the camera trained onHardcastle, as if it can provide some extra barrier between herself and the act.
When it’s done, Hardcastle walks back slowly, his face set and hard.
KAPOOR: Will...
HARDCASTLE: Don’t. It’s done. Let’s not talk about it.
NOVAK: Let’s just get out of here.
She stands, holding the girls’ hands. Hardcastle steps between her and the boat. He looks at the ground, the gun in his hand, his jaw tense.
NOVAK: Will?
HARDCASTLE: We can’t bring them both back.
NOVAK: Of course we can.
HARDCASTLE: Those things are time bombs. Eventually, she’s going to go off.
NOVAK: She’s a toddler, Will.
HARDCASTLE: We don’t know what they’re capable of. You really want that in your house? They’ve gone after their doubles first, Joy. You want your little girl’s throat slit by a monster with her face?
NOVAK: Will!
HARDCASTLE: The double stays.
KAPOOR: Will, calm down. We can—
She steps toward him. He points the gun toward her.
HARDCASTLE: I’ve killed you once today, Vanya, and I really don’t want to do it again. But I am not bringing that monster back. I won’t be responsible for what it does.
Kapoor lets out an angry hiss of breath, but she doesn’t try toget closer. She grips the camera so tightly the whole view shakes, as if by witnessing she can somehow prevent what is happening.
NOVAK: We don’t even know which one of them is which.
HARDCASTLE: You do. You know. You’re her mother. Youknow.
He swings the gun around and lowers it. It points at one of the girls. Novak makes a startled noise and pushes both girls behind her.
HARDCASTLE: If you don’t tell us which one it is, I won’t have a choice.
Still she doesn’t move.
HARDCASTLE: Okay.
He steps to the side, getting an angle on the nearest girl, and his finger starts to tighten on the trigger. The girls shriek and quail.
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