Revenge (Book 3 in the Rise Trilogy)

The Awakening

The Awakening

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...

All I see is white. Everywhere is white. I squint in the brightness as I slowly sit up. I keep hearing this annoying beeping noise you would normally hear in a hospital...

I whip my head around and see the T.V. in the upper corner of the room. There is a tube up my arm and I see the heart monitor beeping with every beat of my rapid heart.

I look down at my stomach and move my hands to feel my body and quickly realize the gunshot wound, the deep cuts and bruises I got when I fell and when I was blasted by a cannon, are gone.

Beginning to panic again, I carefully to out the tube in my arm and wince slightly in pain before I slip out of my hospital bed. I shiver in my thin hospital dress as my feet touch the cold tile ground.

I walk towards the tall glass window and look around and down below to the sounds of the honking cars, sirens, and the sounds of daily life that is the city...

What's going on?! I think in my head. Breathing heavily, I back up from the window and stagger backwards to sit back on my bed.

I haven't seen things like this in over two years... but no... it can't be...

I'm back in the 21st century.

Connor

"What if she does not wake up?"

"She will," Haytham says sharply to his son. "She has to."

Connor slowly slouches back into his chair beside Riley's bed while Haytham stands on the other side looking down at her. Connor reaches out again and takes her soft warm hand that is not bandaged and holds it in his large one.

It has been two weeks since they came back from New York. Haytham and Connor have talked much about how to deal with Lee and the pasts they never shared with one another. It has been a good bonding and father and son type of experience for the both of them. But there is still and probably always be this sort of space between them that will never truly be filled.

The two of them mostly stay in the room with Riley and on rare occasions will leave for various things that need to be done around the manor or homestead. Doctor White will come in throughout the day to see if Riley has made progress or to clean her wounds and apply fresh bandages again.

It's the same routine every day. But nobody complains.

The entire homestead has been in to see her at least once and now it seems the entire place is under a gloomy spell until she awakens.

Riley has to wake up.

Riley

"Come on, Riley, just breathe," I pace the room in front of my bed as I run my hands nervously through my hair. "How in God's name am I back? Did I die? Did my time run out? Did-"

I nearly shriek as the door of my hospital room is opening and I hear the voices of different people as they walked in.

"...no, I do not believe that-" A tall man with short blond hair dressed in a black suit comes in first followed by a group of different people that I don't recognize.

They all seem to be startled that I am awake and walking right now.

The man with the short blond hair looks at me and then clears throat before speaking. "Welcome back, Miss Anderson." I say nothing as I stare at him with uneasiness. This man looks oddly familiar. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. But they will have to wait. You're going to have to come with us."