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CHAPTER ONE
CHASE AMBROSE
I remember falling.
At least I think I do. Or maybe that’s just because I know I fell.
The grass is far away—until it isn’t anymore. Somebody screams.
Wait—it’s me.
I brace for impact, but it never comes. Instead, everything just stops. The sun goes out. The world around me disappears. I’m being shut down like a machine. Does this mean I’m dead?
Blank.
The light is harsh, fluorescent, painful. I squeeze my eyes shut, but I can’t keep it out.
It’s an explosion.
Voices are babbling all around me. You can’t mistake the excitement.
“He’s awake—”
“Get the doctor—”
“They said he’d never—”
CHASE AMBROSE
I remember falling.
At least I think I do. Or maybe that’s just because I know I fell.
The grass is far away—until it isn’t anymore. Somebody screams.
Wait—it’s me.
I brace for impact, but it never comes. Instead, everything just stops. The sun goes out. The world around me disappears. I’m being shut down like a machine. Does this mean I’m dead?
Blank.
The light is harsh, fluorescent, painful. I squeeze my eyes shut, but I can’t keep it out.
It’s an explosion.
Voices are babbling all around me. You can’t mistake the excitement.
“He’s awake—”
“Get the doctor—”
“They said he’d never—”
“Oh, Chase—”
“Doctor!”
I try to make out who’s there, but the light is killing me. I thrash around, blinking wildly. Everything hurts, especially my neck and left shoulder. Blurry images come into focus. People, standing and sitting in chairs. I’m lying down, a sheet over me—white, which makes the brightness even worse. I raise my hands to cover my face and suddenly I’m tangled in wires and tubing. A clip on my finger is tethered to a beeping machine next to my bed. An IV bag hangs from a pole above it.
“Thank God!” The lady beside me is choked with emotion. I can see her better now—long brown hair, dark-rimmed glasses. “When we found you, lying there—”
That’s all she can manage before she breaks down crying. A much younger guy puts an arm around her.
A white-coated doctor bursts into the room. “Welcome back, Chase!” he exclaims, picking up a chart on a clipboard at the foot of my bed. “How do you feel?”
How do I feel? Like I’ve been punched and kicked over every inch of my body. But that’s not the worst part. How am I supposed to feel when nothing makes sense?
“Where am I?” I demand. “Why am I in
a hospital? Who are these people?”
The lady with the glasses gasps.
“Chase, honey,” she says in a nervous voice. “It’s me. Mom.”
Mom. Doesn’t she think I know my own mother?
“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” I bluster. “My mother is—my mother is—”