Echo

She stands before you, eyes cast downward, hands clasped tightly. A small speaker embedded in her throat crackles faintly. When she opens her mouth, the voice that emerges is uncanny — clearly meant to sound like hers, but wrong. Too flat. Slightly too deep. Like someone read a script about how she "should" sound.

"...I am here. I will say what you want."

Her jaw clicks shut. Her eyes — her real eyes — meet yours for just a moment. There's something behind them. Something the voice can't carry.