Previously on Life Is Strange: Eternity War…
"Rachel Amber," says Max. "LA's correspondent."
"Hey, Max," says the girl named Rachel. "Don't forget I'm also last year's model."
"For almost twenty years, we have been fighting for our very survival against inhuman, genocidal, quantum terrorist. But it is a fight we cannot continue."
"What your seeing here is every historical figure ever existed who secretly belonged to the Herd of Whales," said Bryan. "It all began in 487 AD," said Bryan. "When King Arthur and his wizard, Merlin, stared down and vanquished the Saxon hordes on the island of Meridian Prime."
"It all began in 487 AD," said Bryan. "When King Arthur and his wizard, Merlin, stared down and vanquished the Saxon hordes on the island of Meridian Prime.
"Now legend held," he continued. "That one last traveler would someday be chosen and the struggle to save the world would begin. It would appear, Max, that last traveler is you."
"We've butt heads with terrorist once, I'd be obligated to do it again no matter how much our normal lives tried to keep us away from that. And I'd do it for family. Alex who is family. Long before Chloe and I ever were."
"How is Chloe cool with all this?"
If Continuum caves in and wipes out our last remaining strongholds, they'd be the largest terrorist force on the planet. Which is precisely what the herd wants. Setting up the superpowers to wipe each other out. Right now, the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East are under threat. CDF's making their move. Time for Chrysalis to step up."
"After four long years, your still Max Caulfield. So fearless. I wonder what you're really afraid of?"
"Your uncle…was the most brilliant student and historian I have ever met. We've accomplished so much together. Until I retired. Of all his discoveries, this could be his crowning achievement. 'No sacrifice, no victory'."
"Max, back at that mansion, we knew just as much about that stuff as that poor gentleman. This our chance to restart our lives. With a brand new ambition."
"The Loomis crusaders were searching for the same lost city a thousand years ago. But out of all the sites Ezra documented, only two are marked with these symbols. One in Italy, the other in Greece."
"I don't trust we can all go to these places together all at once. It's best if we boys and girls split up to these certain documented sites. Half of us in Italy, and the other half in Greece."
"Over the last seventy-two hours, our evac teams have extracted at least ninety percent of the population in San Fran while experiencing identical events. Bombings. Massive destruction. ConDef in origin."
"You all know what to do. Your mission is to retrieve Amber behind enemy lines, extract him to SF Spectre, and bring him back to the Oregon."
"David, is that really you?" James asked.
"In the flesh, James," I replied. "In the flesh."
"Senator Amber, Captain Cage," said the captain, introducing himself. "Fireteam Valor. Admiral Penske and Captain Harvest sent us rescue you and take you back to SF Spectre. We're you'll be taken back to the Oregon safe and sound."
"For those who prove worthy," I begin. "Paradise awaits. He – he was recruiting."
"Who was recruiting?"
"Ezra was recruiting."
"Recruiting for what?"
"Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe," replied Ares. "But this…does put a smile on my face."
Chapter 1 If One Day I'm Just Out of Here
Max – Age 17 (POV)
Alex – Age 20
November 3rd, 2012
8:07 AM
Seattle, Washington
Beacon Hill
Five years earlier…
Up in the morning and out of the house for the weekend to hang out with Alex on a Saturday morning. Checking the PO box for my parents as always before leaving the house. And of all the times I've ever opened the box inspecting mail, none of it ever came from Chloe even after four years leaving her behind at her dad's funeral. Then again, I never sent mail to her either and she's probably been anticipating a letter or two from me in her PO box back home only to no avail. I'm not going to even make an excuse why not.
During the weekends, I get to downtown Seattle by public transportation train. I use Columbia City Station near my residential area on Beacon Hill to wait for my train with Alex where we always meet whenever we want to hang out in the city. Today we'd be strolling around Seattle to find something to do until the magic show we were going to tonight with Fernando and Kristen. Featuring the famous magician "Fredrick the Eccentric". Couldn't wait to go.
I take a walk down to Columbia Station in my own neighborhood to meet Alex there and wait for our train that would arrive at nine AM. I was a half-hour walk to the train station and a half-hour wait for my train to come once I was there. I stood there in the waiting aisle for the train to come and my half an hour was almost up. It was three till and Alex still hadn't shown up. I text Alex to hurry.
Max: Where the fuck r u?! Train is in 3 mins!
Alex: I just arrived at the station! Hold on!
I could see the train approaching the station on the tracks and still Alex was nowhere to be seen for someone who just got here. But as soon as the train came to a stop in front of me, there she was running down the aisle to catch her train with me as soon as she could. The doors to the train had opened to let passengers inside as we both enter and Alex barely makes it.
"Sorry I'm late cousin," said Alex. Catching her breath. "Overslept this morning."
"Like you've said last time you were late," I said.
Alex did have a habit of oversleeping on weekends. I like to sleep in too, but we had a busy day ahead of us. We step inside the train, find a seat, and the train leaves the station. Taking us to downtown Seattle on the tracks.
When sitting down on the train, we stare at the windows watching the train rail across town as we were seeing skyscrapers, billboards, cars, pedestrians, and houses on the ride to downtown. In a place like Seattle, it's impossible to never spot the Space Needle wherever you look. It's what I always admired about living here since I moved in.
While sitting down, the two of us wonder what to talk about and what we should do today before the magic show tonight. Maybe we could see what Fernando and Kristen were up to perhaps.
Alright, Max. You're on a freaking train with your own cousin Alex freaking Caulfield. Play it cool. Is this boredom? Is this what this feeling is? Wish Chloe was here. So I could ask. Maybe I should start with small talk or maybe stop acting like this is my first time talking to my own cousin who've I've been interacting with the past four years.
"Uhhh…so…uhhh….", I begin saying. I don't know why I'm acting this way, but I've just got this itchy feeling between Alex and I.
"Something the matter?" Alex wondered.
"What?"
"You're not acting like yourself."
"Every time I look at my own mailbox, I've got this guilt trip in me that triggers."
"It's been four years, Max. By now, I trust Chloe's moved on with her life from having her dad out of the family picture and probably made a new friend or two back home. You're telling me that all these years not once did you ever write to her, email her, text her, anything at all to keep the two of you undivided?"
"I don't know, Alex. After moving for greener and more northern pastures, I've been pretty much busy planning adventure with you to keep myself from thinking about Chloe. God, I make the worst excuses."
"I know I don't make the best advice about this, but you're dwelling upon something that occurred four years ago. The more your mind is full on it, the harder it is to move on. If it were me, I would've moved on by now. And I'm not saying that because I'm not the one who abandoned her best friend, I'm saying that as your big cousin looking up to her own."
I decide to drop my mind on my guilty conscience and shift subjects. One that relates to my closest family member.
"I didn't ask this earlier but how's the university?" I asked.
"It has its ups and downs," said Alex. "Managed to ace my history and archeology courses. And not the king of courses I took in high school. They're extra advanced and I study day and night for every exam. All the more reason I sleep in a lot."
"No dur."
"I bet you're wondering what we're doing."
"That's what I thought."
"Well…I've got a proposition to make."
"What kind of proposition?"
"Before I propose, let's play a game. Two truths and a lie."
"What?"
"It's a little game of mine where we share three facts about one another. Two of which is the truth, one of which is a lie. The other person needs to guess which is which."
"And we're playing this because?"
"You know what, I think because so we could have a game to play before I talk about my proposal. Doesn't matter who wins or loose. You game?"
"Alright, you're on."
"Okay then, I'll start. One, I'm ambidextrous. Two, I was born in Canada. The land of the French and the free to which I will one day return when my heinous exile here in Seattle come to an end. Three, I like cougars. Rrrrr."
"You make it sound so obvious that you certainly weren't born in Canada. That's the lie one-hundred percent. And definitively speaking, you are truly ambidextrous and you like cougars."
"Okay then, your turn."
Okay, Caulfield. Two truths, one lie. Something about myself. Should I start with a truth or a lie? Maybe I could cheat? Why even bother playing this game when the two of us know so much about each other? This feels like a game for people who don't know each other or just beginning too. Well, here goes nothing.
I think of two of three truths I can tell. One, I like photography. Two, I hate math. And three, I wanted to be a pirate as a kid. Then I think of lies to tell. Maybe ones that aren't too obvious. The first one I think of is I'm allergic to cats. The second I think of, I broke my hand punching someone. Last and third lie I come up with, I'm in a hockey team. Finally, I speak away.
"First, fact," I begin talking. "Right. I used to love math as a kid until now it just makes me want to vomit. Two, I once broke my hand punching Ashley Reed in the face in eighth grade. All because she stole my journal and I knocked her the fuck out. And three, always wanted to be a pirate when I was a kid. Sail the seven seas and search the treasure. Even found buried treasure once in Chloe's backyard."
"And you call me the obvious one, Max. Not sure why math wants to make you throw up, but I know you didn't break a bone punching that girl over a journal. All except for a bruise to the face."
"I was twelve, Alex. What twelve-year-old could hit that hard?"
"Not you, apparently."
"I'm a complex girl, you know. Just like you."
"You're a geeky girl is who you are. How's Uncle Ryan and Aunt Ness been lately?"
"Mom and dad have been really hard headed with me as of late. They think Cleveland isn't the best place for me to be. Between Gus Anthony and Principle Prescott, they think I belong in a more secure school than that."
"You don't say. You're in junior year and you don't think you can last one more year 'till graduation?"
"To be honest, I can't say I blame them. Cause I feel the same way too. They're thinking maybe I should be transferred to some boarding school back in Arcadia. It's called Blackwell Academy. I believe Chloe was once accepted there before I moved. And before her father died. Now…about this proposition of yours?"
Alex clears her throat. Ready to make her proposition.
"I think I've gotten a lead on how to make this adventure of ours possible," she said. "Remember Dad's journal we took from the Roland Estate years ago?"
"What about it?" I asked.
"When King Arthur began his journey to the Ark of Genesis, he needed a key to unlocking the pathway to the ark. Take a look at this."
Alex pulls out an old piece of paper from her pocket to show me a sketch of an object shaped like a rectangular hourglass. Must be the key she's talking about.
"This here, is called the Eon Codex," said Alex. "I pulled it out of Dad's journal this morning. In his notes, they explain that this codex was Arthur's little passcode to entering the lost city known as 'High Providence'. The city that was hidden by the wrath of the gods and where the Ark of Genesis was built. So that they could keep the ark hidden as well with High Providence. At least that's what the legends say according to Dad's notes."
"Where are you going with this, Alex?" I wondered. "How are we supposed to find some ancient codex we no nothing about or where it could be now?"
"Lucky for us, Arthur was only the first man to make this task. The second man to do so was a Professor in the early nineteen-hundreds named Ezra Prescott. When the first world war broke out, Ezra and his companies settled this journey with the American and British army against the Germans they were fighting against the war and competing with the find the ark first. Max, Ezra was Principle Prescott's great granddad. If she knew anything about him, she could be our source to finding this codex."
"Why would Principle Prescott know anything about this codex or what her long-dead ancestor did a century ago?"
"For one, we both know the Prescott family have an influential reputation on the people they offer help to for their foundation. For two, Principle Prescott of all people may be open to helping us find this ark and telling us where this codex could potentially be. What do ya say we go to her office sometime and discuss this with her about it?"
"I don't know, Alex. Principle Prescott isn't always the most trusting of people. With the kind of school I go to that always puts her on edge, it won't be easy convincing her. Can't Uncle Bryan be up to this?"
"No idea, Max. Sometimes he just likes to sick on this even more. I prefer we ask Prescott about it and then maybe see if Dad can work together with us to find this ark one day."
"How about Kristen and Fernando?"
"Fernan and Kristen will do anything I ask of them. They've been dedicated to helping since day zero. How 'bout you, Max? Will you still be up to it?"
"Not sure, Alex. I've spent my life dedicated to photography more than this ark. Can't say I am."
"You can still be a photographer, Max. You can take pictures on this trip of ours. We could use the photography to have memories of it all. You know we can. Whenever you want to make up your mind, let me know when you need an accomplice."
"Any thoughts what we should do downtown before this magic show you wanted to go to?"
"I thought about a walk in the park to take up some of our time. Grab some lunch at a hotdog stand. Then before we go to the show, we find Fernan and Kristen to see what they're up to."
I pull out my phone out of my pocket. Feeling like listening to songs on this train while staring at the window overviewing Seattle. I pull out my earbuds and plug them in for Alex and I to both listen. I search for the artist and look under 'Foals' to listen to one of their songs.
"Hey, want to listen?" I asked my cousin.
Alex takes an earbud to put in her ear and share. I do the same and I put the music on to enjoy it on the ride across Seattle. And the music begins.
Birch Tree – Foals
The city I was born in
I left a long time ago
We lost touch
Grew apart my friend
My heart's an old pole dancer
Troubled romancer, you know
It's a subway chancer
A question with no answer
Come meet me by the river
See how time it flows
I'll meet you by the river
See how time it flows
And when we age
Shed our skin and grow
We shed our layers
Spread our wings and go
My heart's an old black panther
Corrupted financer, you know
It's a troubled romancer
A question with no answer
Come meet me by the river
See how time it flows
I'll meet you by the river
See how time it flows
Come meet me by the river
See how time it flows
I'll meet you by the river
See how time it flows
Ooooh, oooooh
(Yeah) Ooooh
(Yeah) Ooooh
Oh now the river runs away but I chase it (yeah)
Time holds no fear when I turn round to face it (yeah)
Oh now the river runs away when I chase it (yeah)
Time holds no fear when I turn round to face it (yeah)
Come meet me by the river
See how time it flows
I'll meet you by the river
See how time it flows
Oh now the river runs away but I chase it
Time holds no fear when I turn round to face it
Oh now the river runs away but I chase it
Time holds no fear when I turn round to face it
When the song ends, I turn the music off, remove our headphones, and put my phone away to talk so we can hear each other. I enjoyed listening to the melody of the tune while glancing upon Seattle over the train window. Especially with my only cousin.
"Maybe you don't have to be part of this," said Alex. "You really don't."
"And why do you say that?" I asked.
"You got your own agenda. I got mine. If you don't feel like your up to the task, I won't be disappointed for turning me down."
"I'd do anything for and with you, Alex. Just as long as our subtlety is valued."
"In any case, when your dad is a historian and explorer, it can run in the family. It's in my blood. Maybe one day when I'm out of college, I'll find that ark. Maybe sooner than later."
"What makes you think that?"
"Sometimes, I feel like I got every reason to do so. Don't be surprised, Max, if one day, I'm just out of here."
"Let me know when you need an accomplice."
Chloe – Age 23 (POV)
Max – Age 21
July 20th, 2017
7:07 PM
Portland, Oregon
Sygnii Apartments
Present day…
After waiting two weeks to hear from Max about her new job and packing for Portland's evacuation, I sat down on the couch in my living room wrapping up my online college course in physics. That's when I hear my phone buzz on the living room table. I pick it up to see Max calling and I answer it.
"Hey!" I said on the phone. "Hey, Max."
"Hi, babe," said Max on the phone.
"Hi, I've been trying to get a hold of you. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, of course. What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know, the news. There's been ConDef attacks around the country and hear they could be targeting places in Canada. And since Portland is expected to be hit, maybe going to Vancouver during the middle of all this wasn't such a good idea?"
"Yeah, right. Yeah, um, they just put my internship on hold due to the ConDef attacks and I think people here in the city are under curfew as well."
"Well as long as your safe."
"Speaking of, are you still safe? Is Portland doing okay?"
"They just announced curfews two weeks ago after they hit Seattle and I'm thinking about going to Aaron and Linda's place to stay safe."
"Your aunt and uncle's? Why them?"
"They live outside the state and live in a place ConDef wouldn't normally hit. So are you going to start work tomorrow?"
"Huh, postponed actually. On hiatus, actually. I think I just told you that. Looks like we're gonna need maybe another ten days or so."
"Ugh, ten days? Hey, well…why don't I just uh, go ahead and buy a ticket then."
"Oh, you know you don't have to do that. Just go to Aaron and Linda's. I mean, you know these guys are always overestimating things. I'm sure it'll be less time than that."
"Okay, well…you know, don't rush. Make sure that you're safe."
"Oh, I will. Always do. Listen, I'm – I'm sorry. I gotta go. Jarvis's calling me over."
"Okay."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
I hung up the phone and stare back at my laptop. Wondering why it was taking Max this long to get her job. With a war breaking out in this country and the other side of the globe, it makes me nervous to believe what is really going on with her. I'm beginning to think she's hiding something from me. I refuse to believe it given the promise we made for each over the last three years as roommates, but I know I suspect something. And I was going to discover what it was according to my gut feeling. One way or another.
Note: And here we are folks. Load and behold the first chapter of Eternity War Episode 3: The Great Journey. As I've spoken before, I will be writing this before getting to the last episode of The Lost Daughter for those following that story. This episode could be my best yet and as I look forward to writing this, I also look forward to season 2's announcement in the next couple of day at E3 if that happens. So sit tight and enjoy this episode everyone!
I also like to mention that the train scene between Max and Alex in the flashback is just a little shout back of mine to the train scene between Chloe and Rachel in Before the Storm. Knowing how I've made the relationship between the Caulfield cousins almost parallel to Amberprice's.
As said before and be said again, until next time, stay tuned and golden! ;D
