Please don't read this if you haven't watched/played Episode 4: The Dark Room. This fic contains some heavy spoilers. You have been warned!
Apart from that, enjoy!
"Chloe! Look out!"
The moment Chloe heard those three final words, she knew in the back of her mind that her fate was sealed.
She instantly twirled around, eyes ablaze as she raised her gun, prepared to shoot down anyone that dared to even try take Rachel away from her a second time. She refused to let that happen, not when so much had been taken away from her already.
"What the fu-" She never even got to finish her sentence, the words dying in her throat as the piercing sound of a gunshot filled the crisp night air and an unimaginable pain pounded against her skull. In that moment, there was nothing but the pain, so extreme and intense it was beyond her own comprehension. Darkness swirled in the corners of her vision, and she suddenly became completely oblivious to the world around her. She briefly registered herself falling backwards, with nothing but the ground below her to catch her. The noise around her seemed to grow quieter and quieter until there was nothing but silence- such a peaceful silence from the commotion her life had been drowned in the last few years.
And just like that, Chloe knew she was going to die.
She felt herself unceremoniously hit the ground, directly next to Rachel's shallow grave. Even with her senses failing her at such a fast pace, she still couldn't block out the putrid smell of her rotting body. Even now, moments before her death, reality wanted her to know that Rachel was truly gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. Like she couldn't do anything about Dad. Like she couldn't do anything right now, at her own death. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do anything about any of those things. Chloe almost considered it a blessing that she was leaving this shit-stained world sooner than later- she'd had enough disappointment. She was so tired, and she no longer wanted vegence against Nathan, the Prescotts, and everyone that had wronged her. In those moments, all she wanted was some peace.
As she stared hopelessly at the night sky, her mind slowly drifted to a distant memory of her and Rachel lying against the cool grass one night together in this exact same spot, beer bottles scattered carelessly around them that Rachel had convinced a friend to buy them. She remembered Rachel pointing out the constellations to her with their fingers intertwined, as Chloe had listened intently with a crude joke thrown here and there. In those moments, Chloe had never felt so alive, so complete, and so happy after losing her dad and Max. Ironic, how this same spot would become their final resting place together. Side by side, dying in a way neither of them had deserved. Chloe would have laughed at the situation if it hadn't all been so unfair.
How long ago had that been? Months? Weeks? With the world around her so blurry, with her mind in a haze of panic, she could hardly remember. And it scared her; it scared her almost as much as discovering her dad was gone, or learning Rachel was missing. It terrified her that she was losing her most precious memories so quickly at such a rapid pace, and all she could do was wait for it to happen.
In that nostalgic calm, with nothing left to do but evaluate the things she had done in her life, Chloe suddenly realised how stupid she had been. It hit her like a ton of bricks, a shattering realisation that hurt almost as much as the merciless pounding within her skull. She had blamed so many people in her grief for Rachel and Dad, had pushed so many away. She'd pushed her Mom away, and treated everyone like shit. She had become a hollow shell to the innocent 13-year-old that had once grinned to her Dad's camera with her arm swung around Max's shoulders. In those moments, Chloe had wished more than anything to have more time- to make things right. To show her Mom that she wasn't angry anymore, that she could be better. She wanted to show Max the world, kiss every freckle that scattered across her nose and tell her she loved her, wanted to thank her for coming back to her after all these years.
But the cruel truth throbbed within her mind- she didn't have any time left. All she had now in the final moments of her life was silence and regret.
With the last spark of life she had left, Chloe forced herself to glance to her right, where Max's petrified face greeted her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and Chloe hoped hers conveyed how much she loved and adored her. If she was going to die here, she at least wanted Max's final memory of her to be the love she was willing herself to express to her at this moment. She was beautiful. Chloe thought. Stunning. The light shone around her, briefly remind Chloe of an angel. Yes, Max was indeed an angel. Her angel. An angel that she hoped, one day, could forgive Chloe for leaving her just as she did all those years ago.
And so, in the final moments of her life, Chloe prayed.
God, if you really exist, if you really are there, please listen. I don't care about you ignoring all the other prayers I did. I don't care if you ignored me begging for Rachel to appear back in my life, or Dad to come back by some fucking miracle. But please, please, just for once, listen to me. I know I haven't been a great person. I've done a lot of shitty things. I'm sorry about that. I'm really sorry. But please, please let Max make it through this. She deserves it. She needs it. I love her. I love her so much. I should have never dragged her into my bullshit. Let her live a full and happy life. Let her become the famous photographer she always wanted to be, let her find someone else, someone better than me. Let her find the happiness I could never have given her to begin with.
And finally, as the darkness around her swallowed her vision whole, she had but one final conscious thought.
Don't worry, Dad, Rachel. I'm coming.