Replay: Black

By K. Weikel

You were his scapegoat. Is choosing him a good idea? Probably not.

He won't give you up and you aren't ready to get rid of him either. Can you find a way to forgive and love the monster this man has become?

With Karika falling off the deep end, the five of you need to find a way out of the tunnels and fast--before you're gunned down by her men.

| ALTERNATE ENDING 2 OF THE REPLAY SERIES - YOU KNOW

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. Weikel Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463345733

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: Black

Book 9

Alternate Ending 2

You Know

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 © 2020 K. Weikel

Jacket photograph copyright © 2020 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: Black / by K. Weikel. – First paperback edition p. cm.

Copyright © 2020 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

First published on Radish Fiction

Imprint: Independently published

Other books by K. Weikel

The Replay Series

Amnesia

Reboot

Tiptoe

Crimson

Glitch

Lifeline

Ghost

White

Black

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

When Dead Men Bleed

Through the Dimension of Nightmares

When the Sky Eats

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

Déjà vu

Chapter 1

The gears lifting the stone doors squeal, Karika pulling a knife from her pocket. She snaps it open, her eyes glinting with craze as she reminds her goons not to shoot aimlessly or they’ll hit her, too.

The guys glance back at you, the moment feeling like an eternity.

Your eyes flick to Ronnie, a flare of anger welling within you as he meets your eyes. If he’s as slippery as he’s shown you, then could he get everyone out… or he could doom you all?

Ronnie turns away as Peter presses his finger to the earpiece in his ear, everyone beginning to disperse.

Cora? Oliver says, pulling you out of your trance as Chris turns to head up the half-ladder in the trapdoor. Let’s go.

You grit your teeth and swallow, that bit of irritation still lingering as you turn away from Ronnie. He follows the two of you over, Peter striding over to the closest door. Thankfully, the hall behind it seems empty.

Sorry, you guys, Karika smiles. She twirls the knife in her hand, the wound in your stomach throbbing at the sight of it. But none of you are getting out of here alive.

Peter ducks under the door, followed by Oliver. As you lean down to follow suit, your eyes trail back to Ronnie. He’s standing stiffly, glowering at Karika, his frame trembling.

Hey, you snap, standing upright and grabbing his wrist, tugging it toward the door. Don’t be an idiot.

Ronnie’s gaze catches on yours for half a second. There’s a fire, an anger that seems to burrow so deeply in his eyes, it sends a tremor of fear through you. It makes you hesitate. 

Bullets rip through the space.

You hit the ground as one slams through your thigh.

Ronnie acts quickly, stepping in front of you as he squeezes his trigger. He unloads his clip on the surging group of goons that pile into the room as you attempt to stand, your leg on fire. Karika walks slowly in Ronnie’s direction, a sadistic smirk splitting her face in two.

Your stomach lurches as red fills the ground.

Shoving the sudden sickness down, you feel a strong hand grab yours and yank you through the door. Ronnie, cursing, follows just after. Oliver releases you, a bullet slamming into the wall just past his head.

He winces as the four of you sprint down the passageway.

We need to split up, Peter says as he folds his tablet in half and slips it into one of his large pockets, zipping it shut so it won’t fall out. You grumble to yourself in your mind about the depth of guy pockets, hoping to distract the agony in your thigh. 

"We need to get her and Chris alone again if we can," Oliver reminds the group, speaking quickly as his eyes flick down to the wound in your leg.

Or we can just drop her into a casket, Ronnie snaps, slowing and turning to walk backwards. He lifts and cocks his gun, squeezing the trigger.

Gore explodes at the other end of the hallway.

The four of you duck into another tunnel, Peter turning to Ronnie and talking fast.

Your tracker is still on her. She’s wearing that earring you got her for her birthday.

Ronnie nods, his back pressed against the dirt wall as he peers around the corner.

You press your hands against your wound, fire licking your veins as Oliver watches you carefully, his hand on your shoulder to help with stability. 

Good, Ronnie says. There’s a lot of them coming down the hall, so we have to make this quick.

Oliver speaks in hushed tones as he turns to you. If any of us disappear, keep moving. We’re either dead or trapped. If we’re trapped, we’ll find a way to contact each other, eventually. If we’re dead… Oliver’s eyes pull from yours as his ears turn red, his own fears pulling through. Then don’t forget us.

You open your mouth to respond when Ronnie presses back, holding his gun low at his side.

We have to move. Now.

Peter nods as Oliver squeezes your arm gently. A goodbye?

You turn to him just as Ronnie wordlessly reaches out and grabs your wrist, pulling you deeper in the tunnel. The two of you follow behind Peter, Oliver disappearing from sight. A few moments later, there’s a loud crashing sound coming from where he’d disappeared, drawing the attention of the mob after him.

Peter and Ronnie make eye contact as Ronnie reaches up to press a button on his earpiece.

Get her out of here, Peter instructs.

Ronnie nods. Your wish is my command.

Peter stares long and hard at Ronnie before he walks away, going down a rather quiet passageway.

Normally, I’d have to turn back and save Oliver’s butt, Ronnie mutters, reaching around and pressing the button on your earpiece, the electronic device blinking to life. You follow him deeper into the tunnel as he brings his phone out of his pocket and presses the screen. But there’s something I have to do first. Hopefully Twinkle Toes can survive for the next thirty minutes without me.

The guys’ voices all reach through the earpiece.

Peter’s first. 

Oliver, you’re headed for a dead end. Find a way out of there.

Don’t get turned around without me, Ollie-boy, Ronnie says into the earpiece with a smirk, the both of you taking a sharp right turn.

Oliver grunts, a curse following. Can’t go that way, you hear him murmur.

Chris, you need to move faster. Karika’s going the same direction as you and she’ll be on your heels in no time.

Good thing I’m on the level above her, Chris replies to Peter under his breath.

Either way, you’re going to run out of floor soon, Peter comments.

Ronnie gives a small laugh as he pulls you into a dark room, a group of people passing by.

"Chris smash, Ronnie jokes, peeking out of the doorway to make sure the group’s gone. Avengers, assemble!"

Going dark, Peter says curtly.

Ronnie tilts his head toward the hall and you follow behind as he walks quietly along the dirt floor. All the passageways are made of a mix of dirt, concrete, and wooden beams. Every now and then there’s a cluster of steel.

Ronnie’s eyes search the area as he dips into a brightly lit room, weapons hanging from the walls like one of those spy movies. Ammo and racks with other various weapons sit on either side. You spot a bow. Is archery really something some of these guys do? 

Ronnie presses the button on his ear after saying, Going dark for a sec.

He walks over and unhooks a small handgun for you, holding it out.

Gingerbread taught you to shoot, right?

You nod, taking the gun in your hand.

Still have that strap around you?

You nod again.

Good. This should fit in that pocket. Just take out the knife.

You nod and turn away from him as you lift your shirt. He returns to looting the place with no comment and grabs some vests from the wall.

You loosen the Velcro on the black strap around your ribcage and pull it down around your hips, careful not to brush the bandage helping your stab wound from Karika heal. The pocket attached to the strap makes a loud ripping sound as the Velcro releases itself, and you pull out a small pocketknife. You slip the small handgun within it. He’s right, it’s a perfect fit.

Ronnie turns back around and places a vest