Chapter 9 - THE OTHER ETHAN
Harris dragged Ethan out of 9B.
The black mirror remained uncovered.
The duplicate stayed behind the glass.
Watching.
Back in 9C, Ethan locked the door.
Then laughed bitterly.
“Great. Now we’re using the lock.”
Harris ignored him.
Ethan turned.
“You knew 9B existed.”
“I knew the room existed.”
“You said don’t investigate.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t say there was a mirror in there.”
“There wasn’t.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“What did you seal in that room?”
Harris looked exhausted.
“Nothing.”
“Try again.”
Harris finally admitted it.
After Margaret disappeared, he collected every surviving mirror from the ninth floor.
Bathroom mirrors.
Closet mirrors.
Decorative glass.
He locked them inside 9B.
Then covered the walls.
For almost twelve years, incidents dropped.
Then tenants began seeing doubles without mirrors.
Hallway.
Elevator.
Windows.
The phenomenon had changed.
Or adapted.
“What is that black mirror?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
“I don’t.”
Then a knock came.
Three soft taps.
Harris froze.
Ethan looked at the clock.
10:14 a.m.
Not midnight.
Rule One did not apply.
A voice outside said:
“Ethan.”
His own.
Harris whispered:
“Don’t open it.”
The voice continued:
“I know why you forgot Mom’s last words.”
Ethan approached the door.
“Tell me.”
“Because I have them.”
Harris grabbed him.
Ethan shoved him away.
The duplicate outside said:
“And you have something I don’t.”
“What?”
Silence.
Then:
“I can’t remember Dad’s face.”
Ethan stopped.
His father’s face was clear in his mind.
Gray beard.
Crooked nose.
Scar above left eyebrow.
The duplicate continued:
“I know his voice. His jokes. His hands.”
Then:
“But when I picture him, there’s nothing.”
Ethan looked at Harris.
“What if it isn’t copying?”
Harris whispered:
“Don’t.”
“What if it’s dividing?”
The knocking stopped.
Then the other Ethan said:
“That’s what Lucas figured out.”
Rule Nine.
Never trust the man inside.
Maybe “inside” did not mean inside the apartment.
Maybe it meant inside one body.
One memory set.
May you like
One identity.
Incomplete.
