All Chapters of After Three Years: She Wakes Up: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

[Connor]I hardly had time to process what I was seeing before the shock of his words hit me like a brick--or more precisely, a drone.Josh Maloy, my sister's fiance, was ordering me to "activate the drones." Drones he shouldn't even know I had, unless that's the kind of thing my sister discusses as pillow talk. And even if he knew about the drones, he shouldn't know that they'd be able to do much more than document what was happening around them. My first instinct would be to assume that wasn't what he said, that he had mistaken his words. Except, the way he looked me dead in the eye and said it with such clarity, as if he'd know my response, as if he understood exactly what those drones could do, makes many uncanny moments fall into place. Because, unless things changed, or secrets leaked, there are only two people in the world knew exactly what my drones were capable of beyond flying around taking footage and mapping spaces. Thanks to Titan's ingenuity and my access to discreet

[Connor]A type of hush fell over me as I scooped away the rocks and stones between me and the now fading signal, losing strength as the wearer's heart rate slowed, her body signs slipping away. I could hear the sound of myself panting, the rush of others coming to help me, even Gerald shouting something over my shoulder about "not hurting myself."It all became nothing, fading into the background, the sound of her name on repeat within my mind.Ariana. Ariana. Ariana. Ariana.....The gloves I had stolen from the police officer were torn, my skin red and bleeding beneath the stripped leather.But I couldn't stop.Not until I saw her. Not until I knew she was safe.This was all my fault. I failed her again. What was the point in having all this money and technology at my fingertips when I still failed at keeping the most important people in my life safe.Like my sister, Allison.And my...friend?Ariana.Is Ariana my friend? Gerald is my friend, and yet I trusted he'd be fine. If anythin

[Three Days Later][Connor]My sister woke up for the first time just an hour ago. I should be grateful, ecstatic, relieved……but I couldn’t. Half of my heart was still dark and closed so I wouldn’t feel the weight of my shame and guilt like a block of lead threatening to crush me under its weight. “The wreckage has been cleared, sir,” Gerald reported as he brought me a coffee in the adjoining hospital room I had turned into a base of sorts while my sister recovered. “And all of the bodies identified except for two–an elderly gentleman and a young woman. My heart skipped. “Is it…” Gerald shook his head. “No, she doesn’t match Ariana’s profile. I’m afraid Dr. McKenna is still missing. The police are suggesting…” he hesitated, “they believe Miss Ariana might have used the explosion as a way to go off the grid.” I shook my head, pinching my lips, the thought of her hiding away from her problems, from us, curdling the bitter taste of coffee on my tongue. “She’d never do that,” I stated

[Ariana]I woke to the sound of beeps and whines. An old familiar sound–one I have woken up to far too many times in the last few months.Even before I opened my eyes, or processed the crisp surface of the sheets beneath me, I knew where I was. I was in a hospital room. Again.Carefully, I opened my eyes. I blinked once. Twice. My vision blurred around the edges, the room dark and unclear, the world swimming, making me dizzy. Reaching up, to touch my face, I find several bandages, as well as an oxygen mask that is taped down in place to keep it from moving. Carefully, I remove the mask.The air tasted dead, sterile, and smelled so strongly of plastic and disinfectant that I reached for the mask again to block the acrid stench. Wherever I was, it wasn’t HMG’s top of the line facilities. Nor was it any hospital I knew of in the greater Bay Area. This felt like a facility of another sort–the kind that builds weapons instead of rebuilding people. Which means, wherever I am, is probably

[Ariana]The forest trails were surprisingly dry yet cool beneath my feet as I stumbled down hard-packed earthen trails that were scarred by the deep tread of mountain bikes. These pathways were well used, and following the deepest marks, I made my way as swiftly as I could on bruised legs and bare feet.I had no idea of how long I've been running, no clue as to where I was except that the forest was thick, the air clean and crisp with a faint touch of salt. The trees around me were tall with shallow roots that connected them to one another in cathedrals that reached to the heavens, touches of blue sky painted with white fluffy clouds peeking around the overhead canopy. Redwood trees? A coastal town? I didn’t know California well enough to know exactly where I was, but the redwood trees and direction of the sun were a dead giveaway that I was indeed still in the Golden State. The faint scent of charcoal told me that wherever I was had experienced a forest fire recently, although that