Reboot Page 7
When he landed back at Miramar and was transported straight to the hospital, he was in and out of consciousness. Some of it was a purposeful sedation, but much was just his condition. He did not realize he was being rescued and spent his fleeting moments awake swinging and screaming at anyone around to fight off an imaginary attack. William kept him sedated for the first few weeks at the hospital. When Christopher finally woke up, Kevin, the only member to fend off his kidnappers, was sitting with him. He called William in.
William sat down next to his old friend and explained what had happened. He gave it to him straight. When he told him about Michelle and Bob, Christopher cried and disengaged from everyone. He didn’t talk to anyone for days, just lay there looking up. He complied with the nurses and doctors, but didn’t respond to any attempts they made to converse with him. Several days later, he broke his silence, but only to apologize to Jill, Amy, and Robert during each of their shifts. All of them told him it wasn’t his fault. He only replied, “It was,” and then returned to his period of silence.
A week later, Christopher woke up while Robert was sitting there. He said a simple, “Thank you.” Robert said nothing, just nodded. Nothing else needed to be said between the friends.
It took a few months before humor returned to the group. Jill was the first to crack a joke. Christopher wanted to get out of the hospital room for a bit. Jill volunteered to take him for a roll around the grounds. She showed up with the wheelchair he had used for years as part of the illusion. When she rolled it into his room, she said, “Get in, brittle boy.” He cracked the first smile any of them had seen since he returned.
A year later, Christopher still had a few surgeries to go before he would be done with the wheelchair, but he made the best of it. The way his house was set up was already adapted for one, so it worked out well. The group was back to playing video games together, having dinners, and anything they could to get back to normal life.
As a thank you, Christopher invited them all over for a dinner party at his place. Besides the SanSquad, William and Roger were invited. Christopher laid out a great spread. Pasta, steaks, grilled salmon, salad, and fresh vegetables. Anything anyone could want. After they ate, he invited them into his gaming room. They sat on the couches as Christopher rolled in front of them.
“I want to say thank you. Thank you, obviously, for saving my life, and thank you for being my family. I could not have made it through without each of you. I want to apologize for putting all of you in jeopardy. I thought I was being safe, but I took too many chances and didn’t properly explain everything to you. That will never happen again.” He raised a glass. “For the friends we have lost along the way. For the mistakes we will not repeat. For our future.”
There was a hardy round of glass clinking as the entire group toasted together.
“And thanks to the great planning of a few of my former comrades, we have nothing to worry about.” Christopher raised his glass in the direction of Doug, Roger, and William. The others looked at them curiously. “They don’t know?”
Roger said, “It’s something that never came up.”
Robert was there the whole time, but felt confused, as well. “What are you talking about?”
Doug explained, “When we rescued Christopher, we left one camera running so everyone out there, including Ying, could see what happened. Everyone saw you beat Ivan to a pulp. They also saw me shoot Ivan in the head. Based on the messaging that is going around, they are scared to mess with any of us.”
“Now it is showtime.”
Amy asked, “How long have they been in the box?”
“Long enough,” said Christopher, with a smirk.
What Did You Think of Game Master: REBOOT?
First of all, thank you for purchasing Game Master: Reboot. I know you could have picked any number of books to read, but you picked this book and for that I am extremely grateful.
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About the Author
David Clark is an author of multiple self-published thriller novellas and horror anthologies (amazon genre top 100) and can be found in 3 published horror anthologies. His writing focuses on the thriller and suspense genre with shades toward horror and science fiction. His writing style takes a story based on reality, develops characters the reader can connect with and pull for, and then sends the reader on a roller-coaster journey the best fortune teller could not predict. He feels his job is done if the reader either gasps, makes a verbal reaction out loud, throws the book across the room, or hopefully all three.
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Other Works
If you enjoyed this book, be sure to check out his other published shorts and novels. Feedback and reviews are always welcome.
Novels
The Ghosts of Miller’s Crossing – A modern day paranormal thriller in the tradition of such great novels as “The Shining” and “The Exorcist” - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQH9XNB
Anthologies and Short Stories
Dark Water Syndicates – Postcards from the Void - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G8YBY9Q
Hellbound Books’ – The Big Book of Bootleg Horror 4 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C2N9ZL
Hellbound Books’ -Shopping List 2 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0776LFHJM
Highway 666 And Other Tales to Speed your Descent into the Abyss -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F64HP4X
The Splurge – A collection of Horror Inspired Holiday Parody -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMSPMRY