Chapter 50. The End

Carla stumbled away from Caroline, blindly reaching back to pull Benji close to her.  

“H-how…”  

“When?” Caroline continued with a mocking tone. “What? Where? Who? Blah, blah, blah.”  

She smiled. “You know what I am. I know that you know. Let’s skip to the part where I pull your body out of the woods while sobbing about how I couldn’t save you. They go on a manhunt, kill my copy, I skip off to my new life, and maybe return in a couple of decades when they let their guards down.”  

It was horrific, hearing those words come out of the same mouth that had once said, ‘I love you.’ But one question nagged at Carla, and she had to know.  

“Was Caroline ever a real girl? Did you kill her and…” she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

“She was one of many, many of one,” sang the creature, cheerfully, as if it was not watching Carla’s reality shatter at its feet.  

She had shared