Replay: Tiptoe

By K. Weikel

"Sometimes it's better not to ask questions."

Things are about to take a dangerous turn as you begin to dive into Karika's past, one where Chris, Peter, Oliver, and even Max are entangled in. What dark things have been hidden from you, and what sins will come to light should you dig deeper? How will your mentality stand against things that could kill you--and would you return after dying, should you this time, or is it your last?

| BOOK 3 IN THE REPLAY SERIES

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. Weikel Publishing
• Release date: Mar 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463391129

K. Weikel

K. Weikel uses her three-dimensional characters to tell stories of life and adventure and magic."The One-Hundred" won the Wattys Award in 2015 and has reached over two million reads. Weikel has also won the 2017 Writers Awards for Building Monsters. She has written 60 books, including her first manga, "Katharsis". To learn more, visit her website: http://www.kweikel.comSERIES:Underdogs (4)Replay (13)Katharsis (1)The One-Hundred (6 Books, 1 Short Story, 1 Novella)The Haunted Mansion (4)The Blood Room [3 Alternate Endings]TRILOGIES:Dead MenMaskless TrilogyTrapped TrilogyCOMING SOON (1)DUOLOGIES:The Unnamed DuologyStop; GoSTAND-ALONES:WaterloggedThrough the Dimension of NightmaresWhen the Sky EatsCreatures of the BelowNord and the BordSamenessBuilding MonstersDollhouseThe Vampire's CarnivalKrystal's WorldLabyrinthFiguresMatchCagedList X

Book preview

Replay: Tiptoe

Book 3

By K. Weikel

Replay: Tiptoe

K. Weikel

Published by K. Weikel at Smashwords

Copyright © 2018 by K. Weikel

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people, if you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other Books by K. Weikel

The One-Hundred Series

The One-Hundred

Untouched Water

Tamir

Damian’s Deeds

Dametria

The One

The Deal

Human

The Unnamed Duology

The Unnamed

The Elite

The Maskless Trilogy

Hiding Behind A Mask

Hiding Behind A Name

Hiding Behind A Face

The Trapped Trilogy

Trapped

Wiped

Grounded

The Haunted Mansion Series

The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Band Room

Revenge

The Replay Series

Amnesia

Reboot

Tiptoe

Stop

Sameness

Building Monsters

The Blood Room (Alternate Endings 1, 2, And 3)

Krystal’s World

Caged

Figures

Catrina Billowson

The Vampire’s Carnival

Labyrinth

Dollhouse

Match

Chapter 1

Everything okay, Cora?

You leap from your spot at Karika’s voice, your body going into survival mode. Whose finger is that? It isn’t hers; she has ten digits. Could it have been from the guys that came here with the guns? What kind of stuff happened out here while you guys were in the storage area?

Yeah, you say, your voice cracking. You quickly bend down to snatch up the fork off the ground, stomach turning. Just dropped a fork.

Her brow furrows and she steps forward. You look pale. Are you feeling okay? You aren’t having another panic attack, are you?

You shake your head, concerned for your safety and trying not to let it show.

No, no I’m good, you say, letting the fork clatter into the sink as you dart by her. The boys sit at the table, bickering passive-aggressively, and you suddenly just want to leave the place in general. However, the last time you went out on your own, you were caught by Greasy and Fedora and were shot.

Could those have been the guys that were here earlier?

Cora, you sure you’re alright? Karika asks, her brown eyes filled with concern for you. You nod your head and try to smile.

I’m going to go for a walk.

Karika furrows her brow. Are you sure? You don’t seem to be in the condition to walk off by yourself in the cold. Besides, she says, her voice dropping a decibel to keep her words from reaching the guys, you saw the butterfly. You need to be extra careful.

An icy-hot arrow flies down your spine. What if you saw the butterfly because Karika would be the one to kill you? No, that couldn’t be it. She’d never hurt you, right? Or maybe you could get hurt because of her. Maybe those guys are pressuring her about something and if she stops paying up, they’ll decapitate her or something, or go after her friends and family.

Paranoia wins.

You need to get out of here.

I will. Don’t worry. I’ll—I’ll be back later. Promise.

Clutching your phone in your hand, you dart back through the kitchen, nerves on fire as you push the door open. Suddenly, you wish to be back where you had been, snuggled up next to Chris or at the River with Peter. Either of those situations would be better than finding a finger under Karika’s sink.

A gust of chilly wind meets you as you head in any direction. Toward the cemetery?

No, you tell yourself, pulling your sweater tighter around you as another gust makes you shiver. You need to know what Karika is mixed up in and if you’re in any danger, and you need to figure out if Peter, Chris, Oliver, and Max are jumbled up with her. You know where her house is. You know where her key is.

Your heart is in your throat as you scan your surroundings, hoping no one is following as you silently thank Chris for showing you around in your last reboot. Peter’s been glued to your side all day, as was Chris last time. You’ve had no time to yourself, so it’s a strange, lonely feeling being alone, especially after what happened when you did go off on your own.

Sure no one’s following you, you begin to sprint as your phone rings. Pulling it out, you see Peter’s name across the screen. You shiver, your body warming up quickly as you exercise.

Hello? You say, stopping to walk as you try to sound as if you haven’t been running the past minute.

Where are you?

Peter’s strong voice comes through the phone as worried and desperate.

I’m walking. Don’t worry, I know the address to the shop and I can put it in the GPS on my phone if I get lost.

I don’t think it’s best for you to be going off on your own in a town like this.

You sigh, Karika’s apartment in view. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.

I don’t think you understand—

He cuts off, the line going dead in a flurry of static. Pulling the phone away from your ear, you see an unknown caller is trying to reach you. The optimistic side of your heart jumps to conclusions, hoping it’s You Know, but the other side of is afraid. You Know said that if he disappeared from this world, there’d be people who could potentially kill you. Could this be them?

You answer the call and put it up to your ear, not saying a word.

Static.

The line goes dead.

Your heartbeat is in your throat.

If I ever get in contact with you again, you’ll know it’s me.

That’s what You Know said before saying goodbye. Would he try to reach out so soon?

You exhale.

If it was You Know, then wouldn’t you know? You wouldn’t be dubious?

Then again, if it wasn’t... what does that mean for you?

Walking briskly, you open your contacts and delete his number, finally doing what he had told you to do before. You wipe your messages clean and you call history, keeping the one from the unknown caller. Just as Peter advised, you dart into your settings and turn off all location permissions and even your connection to the internet. What would you need it for right now, anyway?

Surprised and actually impressed at yourself for somehow getting to Karika’s apartment, you lift the rock in front of her door and pull the key out from underneath. Feeling like a burglar, you unlock the door and step inside. With a quick turn to lock the door, you shove the key into your pocket.

The last time you were here, Karika explained to you that there were hidden weapons in the walls, floors, and even the furniture. If the same rule applies to things she finds important or secretive, you expect to find something hidden away that might give you some clues as to what’s going on in Karika’s life. Maybe seeing the butterfly is something good. Maybe it means that this isn’t the right reality and it’s a warning that this isn’t the right path to take. If so, then that means you need to learn all you can before you reboot again.

You start with the floors. Scratching your nails gently across the surface you find the little pocket that Karika had pulled her knives from when you saw her get shot. The memory pains you, but you move on, nothing else in the hole.

Carefully, you put the piece of wood back and continue your search as you reach the carpet. You find two secret latches in the walls, both harboring guns, and about five more weapons hidden in the living room. She must be either paranoid or hiding something... or maybe she’s trying to protect herself against whatever forces she’s up against. Whatever the reason, that severed finger won’t get out of your mind. You have to find something. Asking her might just—

A knock at the door.

The blood in your veins turn to slush as you feel your fingers tremble.

You run quietly into her bedroom as another round of knocks breaks through the air, and you shut the door, trying