“Never mastered his Noise,” the Mayor continues, looking at Davy, whose Noise–
I can’t say what his Noise is like.
“Never followed an order he couldn’t get out of. Couldn’t capture you. Couldn’t take care of Viola. Only ever showed improvement because of your influence, Todd.”
“Pa–” Davy starts.
But his pa ignores him.
“You are the son I want, Todd. Always you. Never this waste of space.”
And Davy’s Noise–
Oh, Jesus, Davy’s Noise–
“LET HER GO!” I shout so I don’t have to hear it. “I’ll shoot him, I’ll do it!”
“You won’t,” says the Mayor, smiling again. “Everyone knows you aren’t a killer, Todd.”
He pushes Viola forward again–
She calls out from the pain of it–
Viola, I think–
Viola–
I grit my teeth and raise the rifle–
I c**k it–
And I say what’s true–
“I would kill to save her,” I say.
The Mayor stops edging forward. He looks twixt me and Davy and back again.
“Pa?” says Davy. His face is twisted and crumpled.
The Mayor looks back at me, reading my Noise.
“You would, wouldn’t you?” he says, almost under his breath. “You’d kill him. For her.”
Davy looks back at me, his eyes wet but anger rising there, too. “Don’t, Todd. Don’t do it.”
“Let her go,” I say again. “Now.”
The Mayor’s still looking twixt me and Davy, seeing that I’m serious, seeing that I’d really do it.
“Just put the gun down,” I growl, not looking at Davy’s eyes, not looking at his Noise. “This is over.”
The Mayor takes in a long breath and lets it out.
“Very well, Todd,” he says. “As you wish.”
He steps away from Viola.
My shoulders relax.
And he fires his gun.
{VIOLA}
“Todd!” I shout, the sound of the rifle shot blasting past my ear, erasing everything but him, the whole world reduced to not knowing if he’s all right or not, if he’s been hit, if–
But it’s not him–
He’s still holding up his gun–
Unfired–
Standing next to Davy–
Who falls to his knees–
Sending up two small clouds of dust as he hits the rubble–
“Pa?” he asks, his voice pleading, like a little kitten–
And then he coughs, spilling blood down his lips–
“Davy?” Todd says, his Noise rising like he’s the one that’s been shot–
And I see it–
A hole high in Davy’s chest, in the fabric of his uniform, just below the base of his throat–
And Todd runs to him, kneeling down beside him–
“Davy!” he shouts–
But Davy’s Noise is staring at his father–
Asking marks sent everywhere–
His expression shocked–
His hand reaching up to the wound–
He coughs again–
And gags–
Todd’s looking at the Mayor, too–
His Noise railing–
“What did you do?” he shouts–
[TODD]
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” I shout.
“I removed him from the equation,” the Mayor says calmly.
“Pa?” Davy asks again, holding out a bloodied hand towards him–
But his pa is only looking at me.
“You were always the truer son, Todd,” the Mayor says. “The one with the potential, the one with the power, the one I’d be proud to have serve by my side.”
Pa? Davy’s Noise says–
And he’s hearing all of this–
“You effing monster,” I say. “I’ll kill you–”
“You’ll join me,” the Mayor says. “You know you will. It’s only a matter of time. David was weak, an embarrassment–”
“SHUT UP!” I shout.
Todd? I hear–
I look down–
Davy’s looking up at me–
His Noise swirling–
Swirling with askings and confuzhun and fear–
And Todd?–
Todd?–
I’m sorry–
I’m sorry–
“Davy, don’t–” I start to say–
But his Noise is still swirling–
And I see–
I see–
I see the truth–
Here at the last–
He’s showing me the truth–
The thing he’s been hiding from me–
About Ben–
All in a messy rush–
Pictures of Ben racing up the road towards Davy–
Pictures of Davy’s horse rearing–
Pictures of Davy firing his gun as he falls–
Pictures of the bullet hitting Ben in the chest–
Pictures of Ben staggering out into the bushes–
Davy too scared to go after him–
Davy too scared to tell me the truth after–
After I became his only friend–
I didn’t mean it, his Noise is saying–
“Davy–” I say–
I’m sorry, he thinks–
And that’s the truth all over–
He is sorry–
For everything–
For Prentisstown–
For Viola–
For Ben–
For every failure and every wrong–
For letting his pa down–
And he’s looking up at me–
And he’s begging me–
He’s begging me–
Like I’m the only one who can forgive him–
Like it’s only me who’s got the power–
Todd?–
Please–
And all I can say is “Davy–”
And the fright and the terror in his Noise is too much–
It’s too much–
And then it stops.
Davy slumps, eyes still open, eyes still staring back at me, eyes still asking (I swear) for me to forgive him.
And he lies there, still.
Davy Prentiss is dead.
{VIOLA}
“You’re insane,” I say to the Mayor behind me.
“No,” he says. “You’ve been right all along, both of you. Never love something so much it can be used to control you.”