Awakening Quotes

“Even if I did feel bad for Darian, I wouldn’t admit it. Siding with anyone who violates The Protectorate would make me Noncompliant. That would make me almost as corrupt as him. To side with those who violate The Protectorate is strictly forbidden and punishable by a week in the Terrorscape.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Without the Dreamscape, we can’t sleep.
My parents remind me all the time about stories their parents told them, of how things were in the Manic Age. The time before our bodies were upgraded to sync with the amazing invention called the Dreamscape. Thirty-eight years ago, people actually had to fall asleep on their own and, sometimes, they would toss and turn for hours. My grandparents said when sleep, in its mercy, did come, it often brought with it horrible images I’ve heard people used to call nightmares.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Darian murdered them in cold blood. That’s a crime punishable with life in the Terrorscape, where you experience the worst nightmares imaginable.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“What?” he says all innocent-like and shrugs. “I like it. Besides, I paid good money for that artwork.” A smirk plays on his full lips.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“I run my fingers along its rough edges a moment, remembering the day Darian and I borrowed his dad’s carving knife and engraved our initials in place.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Ladies first.” He places a hand on the ladder and gives it a pat.

As I step in front of him, my shoulder brushes against his chest.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Maybe he’s accepted our fate as well, I tell myself and hope it’s true. As much as I’m unhappy with the pairing, I hate that I must be just as much of a disappointment to him.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“He already knows I’m his binding mate since I’ve been appearing in his dreams too, but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to contain his loathing for me.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“He’s not the Darian of my childhood—the one that played jacks with me on the sidewalk, despite being a year older. Nor is he the Darian who stood up for me when Asher bullied me and called me Carrot Top until I cried.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“The time before our bodies were upgraded to sync with the amazing invention called the Dreamscape. Thirty-eight years ago, people actually had to fall asleep on their own, and sometimes, they would toss and turn for hours.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“This was Darian One Sterling.
A murderer. And my childhood friend.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“She stares straight into the camera, eyes narrowed. She wears an expression I’ve not seen from her before. Disgust? Defiance? She looks nothing like the woman I’ve known my entire life.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“It’s hard to believe we’re barricading ourselves against the one boy who used to protect me.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Everyone has to die at some point, so the thought of passing on together while holding hands with my one true love has always sounded like an amazing fairy tale. It reminds me of the old Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, and of the powerful love they shared.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening

“Nobody wants to be born a One. One’s have the shortest lifespan. They must turn themselves in to The Protectorate for termination at age twenty-five. If I were ever going to feel sympathy for Darian, it would be because of that. Knowing he’d die the youngest of all the citizens is probably what made Darian go mad.”
― Shannon Duffy, Awakening