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  REPLAY: PERIDOT

  Book 13

  Alternate Ending 5: Chris

  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 [email protected]

  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: Peridot / by K. Weikel.

  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

  Road work ahead? Uh, yeah, I sure hope it does.

  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

  Green

  Red

  Crystal

  Peridot

  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

  Return to the Haunted Mansion

  When Dead Men Bleed

  Katharsis

  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

  List X

  Anthologies

  Among Other Worlds by Nathaniel Luscombe

  HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS BOOK

  Replay: Peridot has several alternate endings. Begin at Route 0 and follow the instructions or click on the link.

  There are:

  3 Good Endings

  7 Okay Endings

  1 Other Ending

  10 Bad Endings

  Can you find them all?

  ROUTE 0

  CHAPTER 1

  The room you’d fallen asleep in materializes around you, the morning light barely breaking through the windows.

  Bam!

  You hit the ground, swearing Karika embedded her footprint in your back.

  Karika curses at you as you stand to your feet, staring her down from the other side of the bed as you wipe your mouth.

  “How dare you choose Chris,” Karika spits, her eyes as wild as her hair. “How dare you. After all we’ve been through.”

  “You’re no good for him. Especially now that you remember everything,” you snap.

  You hear feet thumping up the stairs.

  “You don’t know that!” Karika throws a pillow at you, hitting you in the chest as you knock it away. “Wasn’t it you who told me people can change? That I can change, no matter how far I’ve dug myself into this dark hole?” She grits her teeth. “You should have chosen Max. You two hypocrites belong together.”

  “If you didn’t want to lose Chris, then maybe you should have fought against your selfishness.”

  The door slams open as your rough words hang in the air.

  “What’s wrong?”

  You grit your teeth at Ronnie’s question. Why him? Why did it have to be him, of all people, to walk into this room? Especially after Karika’s insult.

  “Why couldn’t you let me be happy?” Karika whispers, angry tears welling in her eyes. “Why didn’t you just leave this alone?”

  “You want this to happen again? Have another dozen reboots, go through all this, and then redo it ten more times? Because that’s how everything tumbled down in the first place, remember? That’s how your dad dies. That’s how you die.”

  “What’s going on?” Ronnie cautiously walks into the room, holding his arms out. You remind yourself where your gun is. Not to use it, but to make sure Karika can’t get to it.

  It’s under the bed on your side.

  “If you want him, Karika, you’re going to have to fight for him. You don’t deserve him. You’re a virus he needs to sweat out.”

  Karika grimaces. “And you’re an imposter waiting to kill us all.”

  You take a daring step forward as she lifts her chin. Ronnie intervenes, grabbing your shoulder. “Whoa, whatever’s going on, I think we all need to calm down.”

  You wrench away from Ronnie and step back. “Yeah, Max is right.” You stare Karika down. “You don’t want to upset the person who’s supposed to be protecting you.”

  You turn on your heel and stride out the door, bounding loudly down the steps. The guys are in the living room, eyes trained on the balcony above it. Do they ever spend time at home? The reminder of dust around Oliver’s house tells you rarely.

  “Mornin’, Cora,” Frank huffs as he stands from his recliner. “Everything okay?”

  “Peachy,” you remark as you head into the kitchen and grab a glass like you’ve lived here for years. “I was hogging too much of the bed and it ticked Karika off.”

  You fill the cup with water and take a sip, the lie slipping easily off your tongue. Maybe Ronnie has rubbed off on you… and a bit more than you’d like to admit. “Give it an hour. She’ll cool down and then we can do whatever she wants to do today.”

  You catch her gaze as she glowers over the balcony. You give a sickeningly sweet smile and lean against the counter. “What do you have planned today, princess?” The words taste awful on your tongue. “We can bring Chris along, if you’d like.”

  She narrows her eyes and bites her cheek right as Ronnie appears, his eyes revealing his bewilderment. It’s rare you’re ever so hostile; that’s one reason you and Oliver got along so well.

  But things have changed. You’ve lived four lifetimes.

  And this is a year before two thirds of these people knew you existed.

  Oliver stands from the couch and makes his way to you as Karika spins around to dart back into her room. You catch Ronnie’s prying eyes before skirting your attention away, a sudden sickness welling inside you.

  “What’s wrong?
”

  You take a sip of your water as Oliver stops beside you. Wiping your mouth, you shake your head. “Nothing. It doesn’t concern you.”

  You turn to walk away so you can get ready for the day, but he grabs you by the wrist.

  “Cora—”

  “Let go,” you grind, snatching your hand away as you reach the base of the stairs, sunlight streaming through the clouded glass on the front door. “Everything’s fine.”

  “You aren’t acting like yourself.”

  “How would you know?” The words leap from your mouth before you can stop them. “You abandoned me, remember?”

  The aftertaste of your quip scratches your throat as you rest your hand on the railing of the stairs. With a guilty sigh, you close your eyes and sit on the steps.

  “I’m sorry,” you whisper as Oliver comes to stand in front of you, concern lining his features. You hear the faint sounds of Ronnie trying to calm Karika down. “It’s just… there’s a lot going on right now and Karika and I…”

  Oliver waits as you bury your face in your hands. It’s as if you’ve suddenly become a stranger to yourself. You feel like… Karika.

  Another wave of nausea washes through your system as you close your eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Oliver. I didn’t mean to say anything to hurt you, I’m just…”

  Oliver shifts to sit next to you, his warmth inviting as you stare at the floor.

  “I know,” he says. “You must be really hurting.”

  You bite your cheek. “I am.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  With a shake of your head, you say, “Don’t be. None of this is your fault.”

  “Then do you want to talk about what’s going on?”

  You inhale slowly, mulling it over as you begin to feel like a broken record. “You wouldn’t believe a word.”

  “Cora.”

  Ronnie’s rigid voice makes you jump. He’s clumping down the stairs and stops a step higher than you. He squats, his knees nearly in your back and his hand gripping the railing for stability. “Care to explain?”

  “No,” you sigh finally, leaning against the railing. “It’s not my story to tell. It’s Karika’s. I’m simply a background character.”

  The guys stare at you for a long moment before Ronnie speaks.

  “Why’d you choose Chris?”

  Your nerves alight and you spin around to face him as your mouth dries out. “What?”

  “I mean, why did you want to take him with you guys instead of any of us?” Ronnie gives a slight pout. “Maybe I wanted to go do something with you.”

  You place a hand over your heart and take a steadying breath in. For a moment, you were scared he remembered.

  “Could be because Karika likes him,” Oliver suggests to Ronnie as he eyes you suspiciously.

  “Karika doesn’t deserve him.”

  You bite your tongue. My, how your words have a mind of their own today. Could be the sudden onslaught of territorial instincts over one of your husbands in a past life. A past reboot, if you will. Whatever maturity you’d gained from four lifetimes is washed away by the heightened emotions of a traumatized and confused girl in her twenties.

  “Buddy… With all due respect, you don’t know either of them—”

  You stand to your feet, cutting Ronnie off. “You’re wrong. I know them very well.”

  You turn to ascend as Ronnie and Oliver slowly rise. “Don’t give me those looks. Like I said, it’s a long story and I don’t want to explain.”

  Oliver grips your arm roughly, making you inhale as your body tenses, ready to fight if necessary. His voice is low, barely audible as the weight of Ronnie’s gaze makes your neck tingle. “You’re going to have to after saying something like that.”

  CHAPTER 2

  You grit your teeth and take a step toward Oliver, mostly closing the gap between you. “I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face: I’m not here to hurt anyone, and I’m not a spy for any of your rivals. How about instead of interrogating me, you try to find the guy who shot Frank?”

  Oliver steadies his gaze, the green in his irises glowing with embers. All it takes is one leaf to make them ablaze.

  Ronnie leans down next to you, his breath against your ear sending a chill through you. “How about instead of lying to all of us, you let us in on your little secret so no one else gets hurt?”

  Your eyes flick to Ronnie in your peripheral. “Is that a threat, you hypocrite?”

  Ronnie glares in tense silence for a moment before inhaling sharply. “Hey, Oliver. Guess what? My name really isn’t Max.”

  You spin to your childhood friend, your teeth gritted. “Seriously?”

  Ronnie shrugs. “We’re both walking dangerous lines, Cora-bear, and I’m not one to pull my punches.”

  “What danger are you in, buddy?” you grind.

  “Whatever danger you’ve brought with you, best friend.”

  Ronnie’s eyes stay locked on yours, the wheels turning in both your minds. You’re standing between two guys who have almost killed you in previous reboots. What makes you think they won’t do it again? Your ties to them? For all they’re concerned, you’re a Trojan Horse.

  Oliver pulls you toward him, snapping your attention from Ronnie. Your gaze clashes with his.

  “You don’t seriously believe I’d double-cross any of you guys.”

  Oliver shrugs, the pain in his irises seeping into his stony demeanor. “It’s like you said, Cora. I don’t know you anymore.”

  There’s a pang in your heart as you take a step back. Oliver’s eyes switch to Ronnie as well, definitely filing away what Ronnie’d brought up. They’ll have a hard conversation about it later.

  “Look,” Oliver huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Whatever’s going on—”

  “You guys have permission to kill her.”

  Your eyes snap on a figure at the top of the stairs. Karika grins down at you, that crazy glint you remember so well in her eyes as triumph fills her face.

  “Or I can do it myself.”

  She flashes the gun that had been under the bed, the blood draining from your body. Why hadn’t you grabbed it before you left? And you had focused so hard on where it was so she wouldn’t get it…

  Ronnie stands upright, both boys on high alert as your jaw tightens.

  Anger overtakes your panic as you keep your voice steady. “Last time that happened, it didn’t end well.”

  “Yeah, well, last time, Peter was there to stop me.” She licks her right canine tooth. “But considering the suspicions against you, I don’t think either of these boys will help.”

  You grit your teeth as Karika aims at your head.

  Oliver takes a step up, his shoulder blocking most of your body as Ronnie steps closer to him. Are they… shielding you? After all that?

  Karika frowns. “Figures. That’s no fun.”

  “Karika.” Oliver’s voice is steady, like he’s talking to a frightened cat. “Put the gun down.”

  “How is it she can be so mean to you guys and you still stick up for her?” She groans, checking the clip as Oliver takes another few steps up toward her. “I mean, she spent four lifetimes with each of you and obviously never cared about your feelings.” She pouts dramatically. “Too bad you can’t remember any of it.”

  Oliver’s two steps away from her now. “Karika, put that down. You don’t know how to use it.”

  “Wrong, wrong, wrong,” Karika breathes, placing the barrel against the soft part of her chin and smiling down at you. “You’re lucky I don’t pull the trigger, Cora. The only reason I haven’t yet is because I haven’t seen the butterfly.”

  Oliver rips the gun away, grabbing her shoulder to stabilize her. Her smile fades, but its sparkle remains in her eyes.

  “Count your lucky stars, Cora. Because as soon as I see those wings, you’ll have a pair of your own.”

  Oliver guides Karika up the stairs after Ronnie takes the gun. You’re planted, breath hitched. Karika’s re
sponding snappily to Oliver, but you can’t make out her words as your pulse kick-drums in your ears. Long gone is the friendship you thought you’d forged with this maniac of a woman. You thought you could create peace in the midst of her chaos… but every effort proved futile. Turns out you were standing in the eye of the storm.

  You will save Chris from her, even if you have to rewrite the stars.

  Ronnie holds the gun out, his blue-hazel eyes locking on yours. You huffily take it and try to push past him on the stairs, but he puts an arm out to stop you.

  “Nope. We’re talking about this. Now.”

  You shove his arm away. “Bite me.”

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “You promised me you’d keep my secret as long as I kept yours. So what the frick was that?”

  “An ultimatum,” Ronnie returns with equal force in his tone. “If Karika’s going crazy and you’re acting weird, that means something is up, and it could mean trouble for all of us. If I knew what was going on, I could help you get around—”

  “Is Frank aware you work for Akner?”

  Ronnie’s eyes flicker as you scrape the bottom of the barrel for blackmail. You grit your teeth and gulp, discomfort rising. After all you’ve been through, all you’ve learned about Ronnie, you realize he’d throw you under the bus at a moment’s notice. That’s the whole reason you’re in this mess in the first place. He changed a long time after this moment, a year before he popped back into your life for real. Anything, everything you have on him, especially with the odds against you, might just get you out of a tight spot when you need it.

  “I’d be very careful how hard you press me,” you whisper tersely to Ronnie as you get in his face. “Because you’ve screwed me over more than you realize, and I have so much dirt on you, you’ll be six feet under when it all surfaces, suffocating from lack of oxygen.”