Hide and Seek (Part 4)

"You'll love it here. It's really fun," Elizabeth's niece, Amy, said while bouncing around Emily's room.

Emily lay silently on the bed, as if nothing could pique her interest.

"Oh, by the way, this is Patty." Amy cheerfully handed the doll she had brought to Emily.

Emily turned her head and said a faint "thank you" before sitting up cross-legged on the bed. Meanwhile, Amy, who was observing the room, was drawn to a doll placed in the corner. She picked it up and admired it, saying, "It's so beautiful. Does she have a name?"

But Emily, with her back turned, didn't respond at all. Sensing that something was off, Amy put the doll down and asked, "You... don't talk much, do you?"

"You shouldn't have come here," Emily said in a low, eerie voice.

"Why not?" Amy asked curiously.

Emily slowly turned around, her face full of strangeness. She held the doll Amy had given her beside her head, its face already disfigured from being squeezed. "You'll get hurt."

"Cut! That was great!" David clapped his hands. This scene had been nailed on the first take, which was encouraging for everyone.

Little Scarlett almost fell to the ground at the sound of the "cut." The oppressive, eerie feeling Catherine had exuded when she turned her head just now had made Scarlett's legs go weak. If the director hadn't called out in time, she might have ended up sitting on the floor. How scary... But is this what making movies is like? Scarlett suddenly felt a rush of excitement. It was indeed very interesting, completely different from theater. She wanted to go up and share her thoughts with Catherine, but as she looked up, she noticed that Catherine was still quietly sitting on the bed, her eyes distant, lost in thought, and still giving off that eerie vibe.

At that moment, Al, who had been watching from among the crew, walked over and picked Catherine up. She struggled violently at first but finally calmed down and came back to herself as Al gently comforted her.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pacino," Catherine whispered as she leaned against him.

"It's okay, but I think..." Al started to say something comforting, but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Jodie, who didn't say anything but simply gestured to herself and then to the crew, who were quietly heading downstairs. Al nodded in understanding, put Catherine down, and stepped aside for Jodie.

"Hey, Cathy, you did great just now," Jodie said, sitting down in front of her.

"Thank you, Jodie." Catherine seemed to be in a slightly better state of mind.

"I think you might have something on your mind. Would you like to talk about it with me?" Jodie asked further.

The little girl bit her lip and said nothing. She couldn't understand why this scene, which she had rewritten, almost made her lose herself! In the original Hide and Seek, the director used a close-up with a blurry background to highlight the disfigured doll, creating a terrifying atmosphere. When Catherine wrote the script, she changed it so that the doll and the little girl's head were aligned, emphasizing the girl's abnormality. This change required the actress to rely on facial expressions to convey the horror, a challenge for the girl's acting skills.

After several days of filming, Catherine certainly didn't think this would be difficult for her, but when she got into character and finished the scene, it felt as if she had sunk into quicksand. It was as if something was pulling her soul out of her body, dragging her deeper and deeper into something that was about to swallow her whole. If Al hadn't snapped her out of it, who knows what might have happened next.

Looking into Jodie's blue eyes, the little girl felt an impulse to tell her everything, including the worries that had plagued her lately. But as soon as the words reached her lips, she instinctively swallowed them back down. A voice seemed to echo repeatedly in her ears: You must never speak of it!

So, after a moment of silence, Catherine forced a smile and said, "Jodie, you're not Clarice, after all."

Jodie gazed at Catherine, then shrugged after a long pause. "Okay, I won't ask anymore, but I want you to know, you can talk to me anytime if you need to, alright?"

Catherine nodded.

The crew then paused the young girl's scenes, not only to let her rest but also to prepare for the evening shoot. Mrs. Brown also unusually gave her a break. Accompanied by Grace and Sparrow, Catherine took a stroll around the town of Woodland. Jodie, whose scenes had been completed for the day, joined them, as did Scarlett and her mother, Mrs. Johansson, who had been a film producer, which was why young Scarlett was so passionate about acting.

Although they didn't walk around for long, Catherine's mental state improved somewhat. With Scarlett, an enthusiastic and fiery little girl, by her side, Catherine couldn't retreat into the shell of Emily she had built for herself. Scarlett seemed to be naturally flamboyant, unrestrained by anything, and she chatted non-stop along the way. While it was somewhat exasperating, it also brought Catherine a long-lost sense of relief. However, she still didn't dare to have too much physical contact with Scarlett.

Eventually, Scarlett and her mother returned to New York. Scarlett's role was small, with only the indoor scene being significant. Since that scene was completed, there was no need for them to stay. But this time, unlike Christmas, the two girls exchanged addresses—though Catherine hadn't initially wanted to, she still wasn't very good at saying no.

As night fell, the crew prepared to shoot the key scenes: the father murdering Elizabeth, the daughter fearfully calling the psychologist, the psychologist's rushed arrival and confrontation with the father whose personality had changed, and finally, the psychologist and Emily escaping to a nearby cave where the psychologist shoots the father.

After several test shots confirmed that the three main actors were in character, David smoothly completed the earlier indoor chase scenes. Although Catherine still seemed dazed after filming, the intense immersion into her character like that morning did not happen again.

"Alright, this is the final scene, and then we can wrap up," David said loudly after checking the time. It was getting a bit late, and Catherine didn't have much time left. If they couldn't finish, they'd have to postpone until the next evening, which would be problematic, as only the New York scenes remained after this one.

"David, the rock structure inside the cave isn't very solid, so we can't hang large lighting equipment," Bunari said as he walked over.

David gestured toward the cave entrance. "Can't we use stands to support them?"

"Of course, but it will only achieve about two-thirds of the effect you want," Bunari shrugged.

David pondered for a moment, then went to inspect the cave entrance. "In that case, let's hang smaller equipment and keep the lighting as dark as possible to create a strong contrast. But don't make it so dark that we can't see anything."

With this problem resolved, the preparations were nearly complete. Al, Jodie, and Catherine had finished their warm-ups as well. Despite this, David had wisely instructed someone to prepare hot water, knowing that Al and the others would soon be soaking in water, and the February temperatures in New York were still very low.

After a few test shots of the scenes before entering the cave, David began the official shoot. The father chased his daughter into the cave, followed by the psychologist, who arrived with a gun. Inside the cave, the psychologist cornered the father but was nearly overpowered by him. The daughter's sudden appearance confused the father, allowing the psychologist to retrieve the gun and, as the father turned vicious again, she fired. After the gunshot, the father collapsed into the water in the cave, and the psychologist and daughter embraced, crying, while the cave remained eerily silent, the music from a floating music box echoing through the space.

"Watch out!" David, about to call "cut," shouted a warning instead. The lighting rig above Jodie and Catherine's heads suddenly fell. Everyone gasped, and Jodie barely had time to look up when she felt a sudden force pushing her aside. The next moment, there was a loud crash, followed by the splash of water as the lighting rig smashed onto the rocks and shattered, and both Jodie and Catherine fell into the water, sending up a huge spray.

"Check on them, make sure they're not hurt!" David shouted as crew members quickly jumped into the water and rushed to the two actresses, with Al, who had been playing the "corpse," immediately leaping up to join them.

Soon, with the help of several crew members, Jodie and Catherine were pulled out of the water. Both looked shaken but, thankfully, unharmed. David, barely containing his anger, ordered them to be taken back inside to dry off immediately.

Catherine sneezed hard, pulling the blanket wrapped around her tighter. The feeling of being soaked in icy water was terrible—she really admired Al for playing the "corpse" for so long.

She listened carefully and could still faintly hear David's angry shouting. Thinking back to that moment, she felt a bit of lingering fear. She hadn't known what was happening, only instinctively sensed danger and pushed Jodie. Thankfully, they had only been frightened; she couldn't imagine what might have happened otherwise.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Grace, who was accompanying Cathy, quickly got up to open it. It was Jodie, wearing a thick robe, just like Catherine, having changed into dry clothes.

"Hi, Jodie."

"Hi, Cathy."

They greeted each other simultaneously, and after Jodie sat down in front of Catherine, they both asked at the same time, "Are you okay?"

This made them pause, then they both burst out laughing. Jodie then softly said, "Thank you, Cathy."

"It's nothing. I think if I hadn't reacted, you would have protected me," Catherine said sincerely, with a slight smile.

Jodie stared into her green eyes for a moment, then looked up at Grace. "Miss Grace, could I have a private talk with Cathy?"

"Of course, go ahead." Grace nodded and then left, closing the door behind her.

Catherine looked at Jodie curiously, wondering what she wanted to say. But Jodie didn't speak immediately; she just kept looking at Catherine, as if her gaze was piercing into the little girl's soul, making her nervous. Just as Catherine was about to ask what was going on, Jodie suddenly reached out and pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing her cheek against Catherine's.

Catherine felt her face flush, that subconscious feeling of rejection surfacing again, but this time it wasn't as strong as before. She wanted to push Jodie away, but her body felt weak, as if she had no strength at all.

Then she felt Jodie's lips brush across her cheek, making her breathing quicken. She heard Jodie whisper in her ear, "I know what's troubling you, Cathy. I also know what you're trying to reject. And I know that from the moment we first met, you knew what kind of person I am. So I want to tell you, some things can't just be thrown away because you want to. Since you can't cut it off, why not accept it? If it exists, it must have value."

Then Catherine felt Jodie gently touch her lips, and those blue eyes appeared before her again, as if declaring, "Catherine, we share the same soul!"