Agent Benjamin Ripley

Chapter 14

It felt like I was watching someone else's life. It was like a movie. Pictures flashed around me, and I saw myself receiving an award from a man in a suit. I saw Alexander I saw myself running with Erica as a silo blew up behind us. I saw a scene where I was shaking hands with Zoe, Warren behind her. I saw Warren's betrayal. I saw the moment I realized Murray was the mole. I saw myself laughing, playing on the beach with Ashley and Nefarious. I saw me desperately trying to diffuse a bomb. I saw I saw many different things. Acts of love, hatred, betrayal. Then, I saw the deaths. I saw the death of Warren, as he took a bullet to the stomach. I saw the day I was shot too, Erica above me, screaming. I saw myself shooting Joshua Hallal in the head, and Erica crying over his body. I felt a surge of jealousy at the scene too. I saw Murray Hill's hand reach into his pocket, and take out the cyanide pill. I remember... everything.

I jolted up, still on the floor of the room. Ian and Zoe were sitting above me. 

"Zoe... I remember." She looked up, overjoyed. Her green eyes were sparkling again. Ian left the room to grab Mike and Erica. I twisted my face up, thinking. 

"So... Do you think we should play a prank on Mike and Erica and pretend I think my name is Bernard?" Zoe slapped my arm. I looked at her. Zoe isn't one for violence, unless hog-tying a man. 

"You idiot! Mike wouldn't care, but Erica... She knows how to kill a man in three seconds and you want to make her mad? Haven't you seen how depressed she is? She almost killed herself looking for you!" She chastised me. Mike entered the room. 

"Hey, man." I smiled. Mike rushed over and tackled me with a hug. He pinned Zoe as well, covering her face. Her shouts of protest were muffled by our laughter. I was let up by my best friends, and I turned to the woman in the doorway. 

"Hey, Erica." (What should Erica's nickname be? Ideas please!) I opened my arms. Honestly, I don't know how she felt. Maybe she didn't love me anymore. Her eyes widened, and she did the last thing I would've expected from Erica Hale. 

Erica ran at me, her brown hair streaming. I winced, expecting her to jump at me with a flurry of vengeful punches. She collided with my chest, enveloping me with a hug. Dumbfounded, I leaned into it, tears coming to my eyes as well. 

"I'm back, Erica. I'm back." I smiled softly into her hair, and kissed her head.