Replay: Lifeline

By K. Weikel

"Whether you're here for the rest of your life or you're here just until you regain your memory, your presence will leave a fingerprint on each of us."

It was him. The whole time, it was him. How could he not have told you? Following that is the surfacing of the notion that it's him the note had been talking about. It was him you weren't supposed to fall in love with, and him who you were supposed to help. You can't help but feel terrified at the thought that maybe you'll have to die to keep him safe. The only worry you have when it comes to that is: will you ever wake up again?

| BOOK 6 OF THE REPLAY SERIES

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. Weikel Publishing
• Release date: Dec 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463865033

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: Lifeline

Book 6

By K. Weikel

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is currently coincidental.

Text copyright © 2018 K. Weikel

Jacket photograph copyright © 2018 by K. Weikel

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact [e-mail]

Jacket design and photo-illustration by K. Weikel

The text of this book was set in Calibri. Chapter titles set in Bedtime Stories.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Replay: Lifeline / by K. Weikel. – First paperback edition p. cm.

Copyright © 2019 by K. Weikel

All rights reserved. No part of this public action may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic of mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brie quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Printed in the United States of America

Imprint: Independently published

Other books by K. Weikel

The Replay Series

Amnesia

Reboot

Tiptoe

Crimson

Glitch

Lifeline

The One-Hundred Series

The One-Hundred

Untouched Water

Tamir

Damian’s Deeds

The One

The Deal

Human

The Blood Room

Alternate Endings 1, 2, & 3

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

Nord and the Bord

Creatures of the Below

Stop

Sameness

Building Monsters

Krystal’s World

Caged

Figures

Catrina Billowson

The Vampire’s Carnival

Labyrinth

Dollhouse

Match

Chapter 1

"Max!"

The cry lurches from your throat as you watch brain matter hit the ground before you. Max? Max was You Know all along, and… and…

Tears fall from your eyes like waterfalls as you deny any of this happened. Your breathing shallows out and you back away from the gruesome scene. So… so much blood. And Karika—

You lean over and your stomach wretches, acrid bile exploding from your throat.

C…ora… Oliver gasps, still tied to the chair, blood dripping from his mouth. Pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together, but not perfectly. You can’t… your brain…

You wipe your mouth as Karika rounds the chair and strides over to you, the gun spinning around her finger. She squats down to your level as you hiccup, the nasty taste of puke in your mouth. Her eyes are filled with pity for you as she shakes her head and touches her gun with her other hand.

I was taught not to point a gun at anybody unless I planned to use it on them, she says. It’s the best rule.

You find you can’t meet her eyes at first, your head spinning and your heart pounding, making your head light. You finally set your jaw and clench your fists, meeting her eyes, fire in your own.

What are you going to do now? you ask, your words dripping with venom. In the beginning, would you have been able to stand up on your own spine if approached with this, or would you collapse and crumble?

Karika shakes her head again and looks off to the side, her eyes falling on Oliver.

Well, now that Max has paid for what he’s done, there’s no point in having you here anymore. But seeing as you and I have the same thing going on with the butterflies, I can’t just let you go.

You swallow hard, keeping your intense gaze on Karika. Then what are you going to do with me?

Karika gives a sad smile, pain in her eyes. Don’t treat me like your enemy, she pleads gently, pouting. I had no idea it was you my guys grabbed until you started searching for Max. Something about what you were saying made it click that you were intertwined with him. I honestly thought we could be friends… and we still can be. Especially now that you can’t leave the city.

You grimace as she stands up and adjusts her tight pants.

I couldn’t leave, anyway, you say.

Karika strides over to the guy with the eyepatch and hands him her gun, waving him away. She unties Oliver, who struggles to stand as she backs away from him, anger in his own eyes as he uses the wall for balance, holding his side. His pale skin is purple and swollen, dried blood on his white shirt. He quickly reaches into his jacket pocket and Karika shakes her head.

I took your gun away from you, remember, Ollie?

He grimaces. I told you not to call me that, Karika, he growls, tears lining his bottom lid.

Karika shakes her head a third time. You’ve always been so hung up on the past, Oliver, she says, turning to lean against a yellow car as he stumbles over to you, falling at your side, short of breath. Still, he reaches out and pulls you close, his warmth immediately overwhelming you. No wonder you’ll never be happy.

She purses her lips as Oliver glares at her.

Let’s go, he whispers to you, a knot in your throat as you avoid looking at Max’s body.

Please do, Karika says on a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, acting as if Max’s death was nothing short of an inconvenience. I need to clean up this mess.

You grit your teeth, training your eyes on the girl you thought was your friend. The girl you thought you could trust, a girl you had felt safe with despite warnings from the guys.

A fire lights in your chest, pushing past the rain.

You won’t get away with this, you tell her, your voice laden with razor blades. I’ll stop you next time.

She shakes her head, her expression turning serious as she gazes off into the distance. You might think twice about that once you remember who Max is… unless he never really revealed what it is he would do for me.

You narrow your eyes.

Cora, let’s go, Oliver pleads, grunting as he loses some strength, using you as a crutch. He’s so heavy… I… think I need to go to the hospital.

You turn your attention to him suddenly, your aching stomach twisting once more with worry, and you nod, his pale face drained of all color except for the bruising.

Here, Karika says, striding to the wall behind the car she sits on and plucking a set of keys off a hook. Take the Jag.

She tosses the keys across the floor, the both of you glaring up at her. She isn’t fazed by it and walks right by the both of you. I have another one, anyway.

Oliver grunts in pain. Karika.

His voice makes her stop at the stairs, but she doesn’t turn around. He grits his teeth, his breath shallow.

I’ll kill you.

Karika is silent for a moment. I know.

The stairs creak with her ascension and Oliver bows over, nearly hitting the cement below. You struggle to keep upright as you pull him back up, your mindset switching into survival mode.

Do you… remember how to drive? Oliver asks, letting out a small chuckle that turns into a groan of pain, his eyes having trouble focusing. You swallow.

I… think so, you tell him. Can you try to stand?

He nods, pushing up from the ground with a cry as he stumbles into you, nearly making you topple over. He clutches his ribs.

I’ll direct you to the hospital, he grunts as he struggles to take a step forward. You nod and keep your eyes away from Max, blood and gore making the ground somewhat slick.

The moment the two of you reach the car, you open the passenger door and help Oliver slide in. By the time you’re in the seat and have it somewhat adjusted, he finally is able to get his seatbelt on. Putting the keys in the ignition, the car purrs to life and you pull forward, anxiety crushing your larynx as you head out the upward slope. The moonlight drapes across the trees and ground, coating everything in silver.

Your eyes catch on something daintily landing on the windshield as you slow for a turn. 

Is that… Oliver asks, his eyes trying to focus on the insect.

You nod. The butterfly.

It takes off, a trail of crimson following behind it.

Radio static fills the spaces between Oliver’s wheezing gasps and his quiet directions. The worry filling your guts distracts you from what you’d witnessed back at Karika’s.

You Know was Max the whole time, and Max was right under your nose, telling you the wrong names. Is that why you were so comfortable around him? Is that why he seemed so familiar to you?

The knot in your throat swells.

So much for a distraction.

Turn left, Oliver grunts as he shifts in the passenger seat. You nod and obey, the car moving easily at your command.

I’ve always wanted… to ride in a Jaguar, Oliver wheezes, coughing just after. Too bad this is how it had to happen.

Your heart constricts, and you see the small hospital before you. Parking, you jump out of the car and race around to Oliver’s side, helping him open the door the rest of the way. Walking up to the entrance, he uses you as a crutch, the door sliding open automatically. Immediately, two nurses come to his aid and question you, and you explain to them you’re okay and the blood on your clothes is from Oliver. They tell you to wait in the waiting area; that they’ll come to get you in a bit. Nervously, you wait, picking at his sleeves and wearing them out all-the-more. He’d been holding his ribs at one point… could Karika’s guys have broken them?

That thought fills you with an ice-cold pin-prick of dread. A broken rib could puncture his lungs…

You run your fingers through your hair, needing even more of a distraction.

With shaky fingers, you pull out the phone from your back pocket. Its screen is now cracked for whatever reason, but the LEDs inside are untouched. No games, no pictures, no messages, and that stings more than you can bear.

Your fingers cover your mouth as you quietly sob by yourself in the empty waiting area, the sound of the television the only other thing you can hear. Technically, this would all be no big deal, right, because you can just reboot? You saw the butterfly a few times, and that… means you’ll reboot, right? Karika said hers meant she was going to die, but… what about the red smoke? She never saw it. And the glitch where the guys remember you?