Chapter 59 The Producer’s Cut
The red carpet felt like a tongue under my feet. It was thick, soft, and terrifying. One moment, I was in a wheat field, bleeding and gasping for air. Now, I was in a city that looked too bright to be real. The "producer" stood there with a smile that showed too many teeth. He didn't look like a master or a scientist. He looked like a man who owned everything you saw.
"What is this?" I hissed, pushing Kael behind me. "I ended the story. The author closed the door!"
"Oh, Eara," the producer laughed. He smoothed his black suit. "The author is just a girl with a keyboard. I’m the one who buys the cameras. I’m the one who sells the tickets. You didn't escape. You just got promoted."
I looked at the black limo. My father sat in the back, his face kind and warm. It was the face from my happiest memories, before the labs, before the screaming. He beckoned to me with a hand that didn't have any scars.
"Come on, Eara," my father said. His voice was like honey. "The premiere is starting. We’re finally going to be a family again."
"He’s a liar," Kael whispered in my ear. His hand was shaking as he held my arm. "Eara, look at his eyes. They’re too perfect. People aren't that perfect."
Kael was right. My father’s eyes didn't have the sadness of a man who had seen his daughter suffer. They were like glass beads.
"I’m not getting in that car," I told the producer. "I’m done being the star. I just want to live."
The producer's smile didn't fade, but his eyes turned cold. "You don't understand, Subject 702. You are a multi-billion-dollar brand. You can't just 'live.' There are toys to sell. There are sequels to films. If you don't get in that car, we’ll just replace you with the 'Perfect Eara' again. We have her DNA on file."
"She’s dead," I said. "The author erased her."
"We have backups," the producer replied. He snapped his fingers.
From the shadows of the tall buildings, dozens of women stepped out. They all looked like me. Some had long hair, some had short. Some were wearing battle armour, and some were in hospital gowns. They stood in a circle around us, their faces blank.
"A whole army of you," the producer said. "But you’re the original. You have the 'spark' the fans love. Don't make me use the copies."
My heart felt like it was being squeezed. They had turned my soul into a factory. Every time I fought for my life, I was just creating a new "version" for them to sell. The revenge I wanted wasn't just against a machine or a lab anymore. I wanted to burn the very idea of me.
"Kael," I whispered. "Can you still use the purple fire?"
"I’m empty, Eara," he gasped. He was pale, his shoulder soaked in blood. "The jump through the door took everything."
I looked at the silver pen the producer was holding. It wasn't for writing. It was a remote control.
"One last chance, Eara," the producer said. "Get in the car, and Kael gets to live in a nice house in the hills. He can be a gardener. He can be a dog. Whatever he wants, as long as he stays out of the shot."
"I’m not a dog!" Kael yelled. He tried to lunge at the producer, but two of the Eara copies grabbed his arms. They moved with mechanical speed, pinning him to the red carpet.
"Stop it!" I screamed.
The producer stepped closer. "Then sign. Not a contract this time, just a release form for the movie."
He handed me a tablet. On the screen, I saw a video playing. It was me. It was everything that had happened since Chapter One. My mother is dying, the furnace, and the black hole. It was all edited with exciting music and flashy titles. It looked like a game. It looked like a joke.
I felt a cold, sharp rage settle in my chest. They hadn't just tortured me. They had turned my trauma into entertainment.
"You think this is a movie?" I asked, my voice low.
"It’s a hit," the producer said.
I took the tablet. I didn't sign it. I smashed it against the edge of the limo's open window. The glass shattered, and the video of my life turned into a hiss of static.
"The movie is cancelled," I said.
I didn't use fire. I didn't use magic. I reached out and grabbed the producer's red tie, yanking him toward me. I snatched the silver pen from his pocket and jammed it into the limo’s gas tank.
"Eara, no!" my father’s voice screamed from inside the car.
But it wasn't my father’s voice anymore. It turned into a high-pitched, digital screech. The limo began to melt, the shiny black paint turning into thick bubbling tar. The "father" inside dissolved into a pile of wires and speakers.
"You’ve ruined the set!" the producer shrieked, trying to crawl away.
The Eara copies began to twitch. Without the remote, they didn't know what to do. They started to walk in circles, bumping into each other like broken dolls.
"We have to go, Kael!" I grabbed his hand and started running toward the edge of the bright city.
"Where?" Kael panted. "The sky is fake! The grass is fake!"
"Then we find the edge of the world!" I said.
We ran past the screaming producer and the glitching copies. We ran until the red carpet ended and turned into grey concrete. But as we reached the end of the block, the world didn't stop.
A giant wall of glass rose in front of us. It stretched miles into the sky. On the other side of the glass, I saw a giant room. There were people the size of mountains walking around. They were wearing headsets and carrying clipboards.
We were in a jar.
"Eara, look!" Kael pointed up.
A giant face peered through the glass. It wasn't the reader. It wasn't the author.
It was my mother. But she was wearing a lab coat, and she was holding a microphone.
"Subject 702 has reached the glass," my mother's giant voice boomed, shaking the very air. "Emotional peak achieved. Prepare the harvest. Drain her while the adrenaline is high."
The floor beneath us turned into a giant magnet. My feet stuck to the ground, and I felt the power being sucked out of my skin.
"Mom?" I whispered, looking up at the giant woman.
The giant version of my mother didn't smile. She reached down and tapped on the glass with a fingernail the size of a shield.
"I'm not your mother, Eara," she said. "I'm the lead designer. And you just finished the tutorial."
The glass wall began to move toward us, ready to crush us against the fake city.