I got the call at 3am. The lead actress at Verrick Theatre walked out mid-run, nobody knows why. They wanted me. The theatre's an hour past the last gas station, black stone building, no sign out front. First day I get to the dressing room and I see it—something taped to the mirror at eye level. My hand shakes reaching for it.

The note is handwritten. 'The understudy always knows the lines. Check scene 3, mark 14. You'll understand then.' - L

Mark 14 is stage left. I find a scratch in the floorboards shaped like an X. Under the X: a Polaroid. It's Lenore. But her eyes are wrong. Completely black.

In the background of the Polaroid I see the dressing room mirror. And in that mirror's reflection is another girl. That girl's holding a camera.

There's an envelope behind the mirror. Dozens of Polaroids. Each one shows me in the dressing room. But I haven't taken any photos. And in the background of each one: that girl. Smiling.