The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 177

It was brief. So brief it was almost imperceptible.

"The lab?" Quinn sounded utterly bewildered. "No, of course not. I've been with Archie this entire time. He misses you so much. Yesterday, he even drew a picture and said he wanted to give it to you the second you walked through the door."

She paused, her voice growing cautious. "Garrison, is something... is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Garrison replied. "Just asking."

Archie's voice suddenly echoed from the background, sounding as if he were calling from across the living room. "Aunt Quinn! Look at the spaceship I built!" Quinn answered him warmly before speaking back into the receiver. "Garrison, Archie's calling for me. Just please be careful out there. I'll be waiting for you."

"Yeah," Garrison muttered.

He hung up. The screen faded to black, reflecting his own face—pale, hollow, and utterly exhausted.

"Stop torturing yourself, Dr. Foster. Let's go grab some food," Wyatt said, giving Garrison a hearty slap on the shoulder. "You're going to pass out from low blood sugar if you don't eat something."

Garrison massaged his temples and finally nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

*

Out on the endless expanse of the Antarctic ice, the vehicle rolled to a stop.

Josh didn't hit the brakes; it simply died on its own.

The battery needle had plunged below the red line ages ago. Now, it rested firmly at zero. The engine gave one final, pathetic shudder before the entire world went completely silent.

Josh sat with his hands resting on the steering wheel, unmoving. He stared at the dead dashboard for several seconds before giving it a gentle pat. "Good job, buddy," he whispered. "You did well."

"You did well too," Professor Harrison said, patting his shoulder.

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