Author's note
Sorry I didn't outright say the next chapter was a bonus ending on the previous page. It somehow felt disrespectful to say I had written an alternate ending on the the very same page I had killed Nine and Twelve. Anyway, this is the bonus--or alternate--ending. I wrote it to include some of the ideas I had that I couldn't fit inside the main novel, and to try out some new ones just for fun. It's lower effort because I put most of my energy into the main ending. Either way, I still enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. I'd love to know which ending is your favorite, if you care to share.
How it works:
It restarts at the helicopter scene. The events of the main novel still occur. The only events that diverge are after the Nine and Twelve get handcuffed. Additionally some of the events in Lisa's monologue from the main novel may overlap in this ending, but are not rewritten here for the sake of redundancy.
I'll let you get back to the story. Enjoy!
Bonus Ending
24 Hours
Nine
I squint up at the helicopters through the strong wind and dust whipped up by the propeller blades, and watch passively as more than ten police officers repel down. They're overdressed in black Kevlar, visored helmets, and heavy boots, as if we plan to harm them. I don't resist as I'm savagely slammed face-first into the dirt, hands behind my back to be cuffed, next to an equally submissive Twelve, though I'm surprised they're arresting Lisa as well. Shibazaki yells at the helicopters, waving his arms, but over the noise of the helicopters I can't hear what he's saying, and neither can the pilots. He seems angry.
They stand us up, shove us down into three separate police cars, and send us to the nearest police station. Somehow, the media is already there, and multiple lenses are pointed in my face as we're steered into intake. An officer seizes my hands, rolls my fingerprints, and when they're done, take me to a room that doesn't even look like a cell. It has a padded chair with a small metal table, and a wooden desk with an office chair behind it. Some guard seats me on the chair and chains my handcuffs to the table. The floor is carpeted and has plaster walls. This room looks far too friendly. Why the hell am I here?
An older, bearded man dressed in a suit walks in and sits behind the desk. He opens up one of the desk drawers and withdraws a clipboard.
The man smiles at me and says, "Let's get started, shall we?" He taps the clipboard.
"Get started?"
He uncaps a pen. "With your psych evaluation."
"NO" I yell, struggling against my cuffs, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"The more you cooperate, the sooner we get this over with. Let's start with going over your first memories of the Settlement," he says with a grin.
I groan.
When he finishes evaluating me, I'm finally slammed into a jail cell, which is honestly preferable to that horrible psychologist's office. I see that Twelve's not here, and luckily Lisa's not either. I'm all alone for about four seconds until the media shows up and puts their cameras right up to the bars and start pestering me.
"Sphinx 1, Sphinx 1, why did you do it?"
"Tell us about the experimental orphanage."
"Can you tell us about your break-in to the mental institution? Is it true your mother is there?"
YOU ARE READING
Across the Water
AdventureA decade-old document. A cryptic lead. Should Nine undertake a strenuous journey with his weakening body to uncover the truth about those in his past, or are his questions best left unanswered?
