False Awakening

By Arianna Fox

Chris Coleman, A man trapped in a dream within a dream. Erik Kane, CEO of New World Corp. and politician seeking world domination. Taryn Johnson, a Rebellion soldier dedicated to portecting the world from Kane's insidious plan. Will Chris, Taryn, and the Rebellion stop Erik Kane? Does Chris have the ability to manipulate his dream world, help the Rebellion and save the world? Or will Kane fulfill his ultimate plan to overtake humanity and cause utter chaos and destruction?

As the lines blur between dreams and realities, how will you know what's real and what's not?

Join the Rebellion as they journey through multiple realities, travel through mind-bending dreams, encounter close calls, twists and turns, and experience false awakenings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gridiron Publishing
• Release date: Apr 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201406578

Book preview

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False Awakening

Arianna Fox

Published by Gridiron Publishing, 2022.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

FALSE AWAKENING

First edition. April 27, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Arianna Fox.

Written by Arianna Fox.

"To the world it will be a surprise

How a smart man will succeed and rise

And you must stop him at all cost

Or hope will eternally be lost.

He wants a new world – his very own

When his company has fully grown."

FALSE AWAKENING

By Arianna M. Fox

FALSE AWAKENING by Arianna Fox is available online with major retailers as well as on www.ariannafox.com and for personal author signatures.

ISBN: 978-0-578-42380-7

Original Publication Date: November 1, 2018 ©

BOOKING INFO:

Arianna M. Fox | Mike & Trisha Fox

www.ariannafox.com | www.splashdw.com

[phone] | [e-mail] | [e-mail]

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/afoxauthor/

INSTAGRAM: @afoxauthor

TWITTER: @afoxauthor

LINKED IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arianna-fox/

YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/ariannafox

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at any form of contact as listed above.

Book Cover Design: Mario Lampic

PHOTOGRAPHY: Maggie Shirk Photography

Project Direction, Creative Design & Formatting:

Mike Fox | Splash Designworks LLC

Book Editing: Ian Gorman

Project Coordination Assistance:

Splash Designworks, LLC

CONTRIBUTIONS:

Mike & Trisha Fox

Acknowledgements

I would be remiss without thanking everyone that has helped me in this long but rewarding journey, so I want to acknowledge everyone and give them the proper credit that they deserve. It’s been a hard process, but with these people helping through everything, it’s all so worth it.

First off, I want to thank my amazing parents, Mike and Trisha Fox. False Awakening would literally not be what it is now without my parents. Not only do they offer incredible support when I need it most, when I’m writing or even editing, but they also help me with the entire storyline, and they are the main ones pushing and promoting my book on all social media platforms. My parents give me everything I need to keep going, and are always encouraging and enjoy me reading some of my latest chapters.

Next up, I want to give epic thanks to Candy Abbott with Fruitbearer Publishing. Although we didn’t go through the entire publishing process with her, she did help with getting the perfect person to edit my book, and the perfect person to design the cover of False Awakening. She is a big help for this book, and I thank her for the time and energy she invested into helping this book become a success.

I also want to give big credit to Mario Lampic, who is the cover designer for False Awakening. His work still continues to amaze me, and it’s very professional. Every time I look at it, I’m astounded by the amazing dreamlike effects and the perfect capturing of the ideas I and my parents had in mind.

I would also be remiss without thanking my editor, Connie Rinehold. Thanks to Connie, False Awakening was transformed from a mediocre book with many redundant words and descriptions to an amazing novel with clear words, much more descriptive text – and many lessons for the future of my writing. Connie went through the good, the bad and even the ugly with me during the entire process, and I am grateful for her incredible help.

I also want to thank the awesome community of The Aetherlight: Chronicles of the Resistance, which is a steampunk online game. I’ve been able to meet the community on other platforms and they’ve helped me out tremendously with many different facets of False Awakening. I want to thank all of those Aether-peeps that have helped me along the way.

I want to thank God for everything He has done to help me, the family, the book, the entire process, and life. I give glory to God for everything that He’s gotten us through. Without Him, there would be no inspiration for writing, and certainly no False Awakening.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank you. Yes, you! The reader. I want to thank you for reading this book. I truly hope you enjoy it, and I can’t wait to embark on this adventure alongside you in this tale of a dream within a dream… Within a dream.

- Arianna Fox,

Girlpreneur, Author and Inspirational Speaker

Foreword

There are very few young people I know that can impact others, inspire, radiate energy, power and passion like Arianna Fox can. And to think, she’s only twelve years old!

As an active contributor, Arianna’s writing skills have infused K.I.S.H. Magazine with impacting articles full of wisdom, truth and experience rarely seen by such a young author.

False Awakening is a suspenseful thrill ride of epic journeys, mind-bending scenerios, and characters you come to know and ride alongside with.

Arianna’s talent, passion and incredible comprehension of creativity, imagination and storytelling shines brightly - not only in this book, but in her contributions to K.I.S.H. Magazine, her speaking events, and all her writing. And all who know her are inspired, touched and impacted by her.

It is an exceptional honor to be a part of Arianna’s journey as she continues to radiate her talents and passion in everything she does!

This is Ari’s second book, and her writings continues to gain speed and momentum. Eyes are peeled for the next one!

- Dr. Kishma A. George

CEO of K.I.S.H. Magazine

"Dreams feel real while we’re in them.

It’s only when we wake up that we realize

something was actually strange."

- Dom Cobb, Inception

"Have you ever had a dream, Neo,

that you were so sure was real?

What if you were unable to wake from

that dream? How would you know

the difference between the dream world

and the real world?"

- Morpheus, The Matrix

Prologue

The man looked around. Where am I?

He looked behind him, to make sure no one was following him. He had that strange feeling that someone was close behind.

Hello?

Suddenly, he heard a leaking sound.

His eyes widened as water gushed everywhere. It swept him all around the house, the current fast and uncontrollable. Stop! But it didn’t. The water rushed the man to a lonely bedroom and instantly, the water went away.

He noticed two strange things about the room. One was that it was a girl’s room. He could tell by the once-pink walls that were now tattered and destroyed, and by the pink, empty crib with a mobile. The man saw that the mobile had a few different items: a fluffy cloud, a black eye, a blue eye, and a bus.

The second strange thing was that the entire room was burned to a crisp. He saw letters on the wall, though some were missing.

T A R

The man tried to study it closer, since the whole place was blurry, but the R slid down the wall to the squishy gray carpet.

He heard a baby cry.

Hello? the man asked, making sure he wasn’t hearing things. The baby cried again, screaming loudly as if it were in pain. The man darted around the room, trying to find the source of the screaming.

Waaaaa!

I got you! It’s going to be okay, he said as he found the baby in the previously empty crib and picked her up. She looked about two months old.

The baby stared up at him and spoke in a grave voice. I need your help. No one else will help me – no one else can help me, but you.

The man almost dropped the baby in disbelief. Wha-- Who are you? The baby’s unusual clear black eyes looked up toward the ruined T A R on the wall. That’s your name? Tar?

The baby blinked twice, fluttering her black eyelashes. When she opened her eyes, they became a freakish color of blue. The man’s eyes widened as he stepped backwards.

I need your he-e-e-e-elp…

The baby disappeared.

No! He looked around and realized he wasn’t in the baby’s room anymore. He was in a city with a bridge a bit farther away from him. The edge of the bridge looped around itself like a silly straw looped crazily by a playful kid. He didn’t know bridges could do that.

Fire bloomed around him.

No one was there except him. It was all burnt, like the baby’s room. The bridge was still looped, but now charred. One half of the street sign was gone, but the man could still read the other side.

N. SUEÑ

Am I in Mexico? he wondered, after seeing the special letter. Abruptly, he changed locations again. Ugh, not again….

He found himself in a workshop with lots of blueprints. One was for a jacket, and the other was for a coin with an R on it. Why would they need a blueprint for that?

Then, the room was burnt. Just like all of the others. This time, he could smell the scent of something burning.

Leaves started to fall, and the first thing he thought of was September. He didn’t know why. Looking around, he saw a table with materials, and right next to it was the exact same table with the exact same materials on the exact same place! Wait, what?

The floor poured out underground like liquid being sucked into a hole. Caught in the flow, he got sucked in also.

As the liquid cement-looking substance carried him all around and underground, scenes flashed. He didn’t recognize any of them.

A woman with straight black hair, mixed complexion, and teasing, taunting gray eyes, sitting on a chair.

A snowy mountain with a bridge.

A book sitting on a table, next to a standing Asian man. He looked old, wise. He turned around with a smile, but the liquid cement swished the original man away to another scene before the Asian man could say anything.

Frosted Flakes. Hey, is that--

Underwater. But the man could breathe, and he could see the surface on every side of him – it was sunset.

A dead man wearing a suit in a dim room, his eyes a striking blue.

A machine with a picture of his own face. What would they want with my--

Every time he thought of something, it transitioned to a new scene. He saw an African-American woman with a braid-ponytail on her phone. She was wearing an Aéropostale shirt.

The scenes changed faster and faster. He saw a blonde Caucasian woman with smiling, light green eyes.

A makeshift-looking room with a bed and tea on a bedside table.

A sedan on its front tires and its back tires five feet in the air.

A bright red car speeding faster than the limit.

A nice-looking airport.

A bomb-and-gunfire riddled dig site on a rainy night.

An almost familiar woman with blood all over her face.

Stop! Please, just stop.

Chris. Everything stopped, and he was in front of a woman. She looked as if she could have been the baby from the second scene. "Chris, I need your help. Please. I need you to listen to me. I know how strange this seems. But you