Dead Wake Book Review Novels & Stories

But now that I thought about it, death by axe would be quicker if not messier but as long as the weapon was not blunt, I would at least have a quick death. Death! What a dreary concept. Truth is, I felt so empty inside, it was like I was already dead. Whatever that liquid had done to me, it hollowed me out changing me into something new. But the process felt incomplete, there was a final step I seemed to missing. How did I know that?

“Not the kind that stays fixed. It felt more like your mind trying to make sense of everything we’ve just been through. And frankly, it’s enough to undo anyone.” I stayed quiet. “It’s the weight of it all—Jacob, the safe house, your mother, the burner phone and notebook, going back to that house, the tapes, the officer, the envelope, the photograph, the breach. Your mind doesn’t just shelve that. It rearranges it—distorts it—until it feels like something you can survive.” He let out a breath, slow and worn. “Honestly, it’s surreal we lived all of that in one night. It felt like time collapsed—like we walked through a week and came out the other side before dawn.”

You'll find your life is just beginning. He passed away that day.

“Almost? What happened? What changed?” Dawn moved forward. Its presence was heavy. Troubled. Changed. “I watched Kade kill a deer. Watched life end. Watched consciousness cease. Watched something become nothing. And I thought perhaps I was right originally. Perhaps existence is terrible. Perhaps death proves nothing is superior. Perhaps erasing everything would be mercy.” Silence. Heavy. Terrible. Frightening.

Maybe I’m sitting calmly in the café reading a very unexciting book when I twitch once and fall face-first into my frappucino. DeadGirlWalking: I am done living in fear of what is inevitable. I need to feel alive again. SleepingBeast: You think me murdering you is going to make you feel alive? DeadGirlWalking: No, I think knowing that my day is coming soon will make life a lot more interesting until it does. And then when it finally does, I won’t have to think about it anymore at all. SleepingBeast: That’s dark. DeadGirlWalking: You’re homicide-for-hire and you’re calling me dark?

I insisted. Silence fell between us. He looked back at the book. Then at me. Then back at the book again. “You’ve been reading it?” he asked. “Yes.” “How far?” “I don’t know… halfway, I think.” “And what is it about?” he asked. “It’s about a boy,” I said slowly. He didn’t interrupt. “They threw him into a well,” I continued. “Left him there to die.” Drake’s grip on the book tightened slightly. “He didn’t die,” I added.

I could feel myself drifting off, the exhaustion taking over. Jason chuckled, but it was distant. "Yeah, yeah," he murmured, holding me just a little tighter as I fell asleep in his embrace. *** A chime in my head woke me up. [New Mission: Keep Jason Safe Award: Good Karma Penalty: Jason's Death] I didn't know these came in my sleep too. I didn't know when I fell asleep exactly, but I was drenched in sweat, the room still cloaked in darkness. My body felt clammy, and something didn't feel right. I sat up, instantly cooling down as the air hit my skin.

I whispered, trailing off as I searched for the right word. Terrifying didn’t even cover it. The idea of souls wandering, unaware they were dead, searching for answers they would never find—it settled heavily in my chest. The story wasn’t just dark. It was tragic. Endless. Unfinished. I closed the laptop halfway, then stopped, hesitated, and opened it again. I stood up slowly, my injured leg protesting as I shifted my weight, and carried the laptop over to the couch. I sank down, leaning back against the cushions, pulling my legs up slightly as if that small movement could shield me from the weight of everything I had just read.

Vivienne Waking up felt like crawling out of a grave with broken bones and unfinished business. My body was heavy, not the normal kind of tired but the deep, ugly exhaustion that came after too much blood loss and too many hits taken without a wolf to patch the damage. Every breath dragged through my chest like rusted blades and my stomach burned where the dagger had gone in, a dull, throbbing reminder that I had come dangerously close to dying like a stray in the woods. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar at first. Pale stone, carved beams, soft light from a lamp that had been dimmed on purpose.

"Because my mission is complete. I confirmed Subject Seven reached Stage Six. I transmitted her healing demonstration. I verified the bond acceleration with the Shadow Peak Alpha. That information is worth more than my life." "Then your life ends here," Liam says quietly. "Actually, it doesn't." Vance pulls something from his pocket. Small. Metal. A dead man's switch. "This is linked to explosives planted throughout the camp. Medical tent. Mess hall. Weapons depot. I release this switch, two hundred wolves die." He looks at Neah. "Including all the ones you just healed." The room goes silent. "What do you want?" Neah asks. "Safe passage. I walk out of here. You let me go. Everyone lives."