As it pierced Maxim’s defenses, Ari grabbed onto his mind. She pushed the virus into the code of his port, and watched as it began to eat at him. If she let him go now, he would only have a headache, at worst maybe a coma for a few days. She held on with everything she had.
Remembering the code that kept Patrick stuck inside the VR, she duplicated it. Repeating it over and over, she couldn’t give Maxim a chance to escape. At the same time she attacked him, he began poisoning her. She felt the warm tentacles of the virus wrap around her brain. She didn’t have anything left for a defense and could only focus on holding onto Maxim’s mind. At first the pain lived behind her eyes, black dots dancing in her vision. Then it continued growing into a bright light that blocked out all else.
There were sounds. Someone screaming in the distance. Maybe Maxim? She couldn’t let go. If she died, Maxim would die with her. She had to make things safe for her family and friends. The faces of her old family and new flashed in front of her. Sketchy and his wife Sue. Joe, Tricky and Blur. Marco and her mom blipped by in a warm memory as the pain intensified, and she couldn’t hold the scream in.
Then Patrick appeared. Patrick who was kind and lovely, who she could have loved in a different life. Lastly, she thought of Reed. She wanted so badly to make things safe for Reed. She never could, and part of her never could really think of a future without him. In a snap, all the light went out.
In the pure silence of darkness, she began floating away.
Chapter 34
Ari floated in the darkness with no concept of time. It could have been hours, days, or years. It didn’t matter. In that darkness, she wasn’t cold or scared. A silent numbness poured over her mind, protecting itself, floating in a cocoon of warmth and peace.
After some time, the safety started to melt away. Pieces of the darkness broke away, making way for dreams. Dreams were not always a safe place for her. Maxim’s face, frozen in anger, stared at her. Unable to move or run, she was forced to watch the man she tried to kill. She had no idea if she accomplished it.
Then the face morphed, and the dreams became more like memories. Her life flashing before her in snippets, like a puzzle with pieces scattered all over the board. They didn’t go together right, but she recognized some of them.
She picked out her father first. Tall and strong, he smiled at her. “Ariana.” The curl of the “r” rolled around his mouth and it was the first sound she heard for as long as she could remember. He didn’t say much else, but kept her small hand inside his, keeping it safe and warm. She wasn’t alone.
Then a particular face kept reappearing, turned sideways, inverted, or something just perfect. It was him. There wasn’t a name to that face at first, but she knew that he was special. The curve of his jaw fit her hand perfectly. The twinkle in his eye made her smile. She ached to touch his soft lips, but for some reason she couldn’t reach that far.
She couldn’t remember his name, but that didn’t matter. Something in her was tied to this perfect face. Leaning into the sound of his voice, she could almost feel the touch of his soft hand against her face. With that single word, her insides warmed, and she realized she was home.
Chapter 35
One Year Later
Waves crashed at the shore, startling Ari out of her thoughts. Not that she could remember what stole her attention. Maybe she was napping again. As the water pulled back out to sea, she rubbed an arm absently. The sun began its descent behind her, and a slight chill blew in from the ocean.
Someone from behind wrapped a blanket around her. She jerked back to see who it was. She shouldn’t be that easily surprised.
“Sorry, I thought you may be cold.” Reed’s voice wrapped around her, doing more to warm her inside than the blanket.
“Thank you.” She lifted her chin in demand.
A demand Reed was more than happy to fill as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He left too soon and sat in the chair next to her. His hands reached out to her feet and placed a sandy bare foot in his lap.
“How’s the ocean treating you today?” His kind smile lit the whole beach as he asked the familiar question.
“It’s happy today, but I think it’s getting restless.”
“A storm coming in?”
Ari shrugged. “Maybe.” She turned back to the sea and they watched in silence.
The past year had been a series of waking up, or re-learning life all over. When things got too overwhelming, she came to the ocean. Its rhythmic pushing and pulling reminded her that it didn’t have to all come today.
They say she was lucky to be alive. She didn’t remember what happened but had pieced together the past year from what others say over dinner. Blur and Ari both slipped into VR comas. They had enough credits on their card that no one kicked their unconscious bodies out for a day, which was enough time for Marco and Joe to find them. Rumors confirmed Maxim’s death. That was a good thing, they told her.
Blur woke from his coma first. He didn’t have as much trauma. He and his sister lived not far from Ari and her family. They came over sometimes. Tricky was trying to learn how to surf. Ari remembered watching her freeze in the harsh cold. There was no surfing today though.
“You’re right. Tricky is coming over on Sunday,” Reed replied.
Ari didn’t realize she spoke that last part out loud. “Who’s here today?”
“Your mom and Sue are cooking soup. Sketchy is working on the shed.”
“Sketchy is always working on the shed,” she replied to the familiar comment.
“Yes, and maybe one day it will be complete.”
She rubbed a spot on her knee. A familiar scar but she couldn’t remember from what. Agitation crept into her arms as she struggled to recall the accident but couldn’t. Rubbing her arms, she tried to change the subject.
“Don’t you have to work?” she asked. She couldn’t remember when he came back into her life or why. He was gone and now he was back, a warm comfort she couldn’t image life without.
“I finished my work for the day. Now I’m enjoying the view.” He kept his eyes glued on her.
“Marco?” She remembered Marco. He brought Reed back, sneaking off on VR trips behind her back. Marco was sneaky like that. “Marco brought you back, right?”
“Yes, I came as soon as I heard what happened.”
“Your mom hates me.”
He chuckled. “No, she doesn’t. She happy living with Tom, and I’m happy here with you. Marco’s still out working with Joe. He’ll be back in time for the holidays.”
Panic gripped her as her heart sped up. “He’s not going back in the virtuals, is he?” She couldn’t remember why she should be worried, but her body responded with fear.
“It’ll be okay. Remember, he’s helping Joe with the antidote to the virus. He’s being cautious. Everyone is being warned.” He rubbed her cold arm. “Want to go back in?”
A silent tear plopped on her hand and she wondered where it came from. From what she lost? A silent echo in her heart told her something or someone important was missing, she repeated what she knew.
I’m Ariana Mendez. I’m eighteen years old. I fought for freedom, for my family, for me.
“You okay?”
She nodded and stood, pulling him up with a hand. Things may be missing, from her mind and from her heart, but she couldn’t change that today. Reed’s warm touch centered her, called to her when she was lost and alone. It filled those pieces that she worried she’d never get back. And for today, that was enough.
Thank you for sticking with Ari through HACKED, the conclusion of the Hard-Wired Trilogy.
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Dark Rising Series
Thirty years ago, dark magicians unleashed new power on the earth fueled by demons. Governments toppled, millions died and magicians ended up on top of the food chain. Pick up Deanna Browne’s DARK RISING series and binge read now!
DEMON RISING
Some sacrifices cost more than death…
UNHOLY SUNDERING
Survival isn’t guaranteed…
DARK ALLIANCE
Peace comes at a price…
Also by DeAnna Browne
Dark Rising Trilogy
Evil Etched in Gold - Short Story
Demon Rising
Unholy Sundering
Dark Alliance
Hard-Wired Trilogy
Hooked
Glitched Reality - Short Story
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Hacked
About the Author
DeAnna Browne graduated from Arizona State University with her BS in Psychology. She finds it helps to corral those voices in her mind and put them to paper. An avid reader and writer, she has a soft spot for fantasy with a touch of romance. Despite her love for food and traveling, she always finds her way back to Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, children, and pet dog.
Follow her at:
www.deannabrowne.com
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