TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGER WARNING!

This story contains some triggering elements like suicide attempts, self-harm, sexual acts, blood/violence, deaths. It also contains some heavy elements like depression, suicidal thoughts, self-destructive behaviors. If anything of these offends you or anything from the tags, please don't read this story.

A/N: Thanks for the support. This is my first creative writing/fan fiction I've written. I got very inspired by Life is Strange universe and decided to just give it a shot. :)

Cover Art is by bigb3ar-2nd
Please check out his other amazing works at:
bigb3ar-2nd deviantart com

Max Caulfield
Prescott Dormitory - Room 219
October 13th, 2013 7:43 AM

Max wakes up in her bed in the complete darkness of her room, stirring herself from her deep slumber. She rolls towards the edge of the bed, reaching towards the nightstand. Her hand pats clumsily for a few tries until she successfully finds her phone. She pulls the phone towards her, illuminating her puffy, fatigued eyes.

It is 7:43 AM. Max's eyes continue to zone into the blinding backlight of the phone. Her eyes were still swollen from all the crying she did in the previous night.

Chloe…I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you.

Max continues to struggle to digest everything that has happened in the past week. Chloe's funeral was only two days ago. All the events that led up to her funeral were a blur to her. Just like with all the other photo hopping she did, with all those moments: preventing Kate's suicide, breaking into Blackwell's pool, and finding Rachel's body, never actually happened.

The only thing that undoubtedly did happen was Chloe's death. Nathan shot her, and Max cowered in the corner of the restroom, completely powerless. Along with that moment, a part of Max died as well.

It should have been a blessing for Max to be able to spend a week with her best friend. For the two Arcadia Bay pirates to have one last final adventure together. To search for Rachel Amber. Sometimes in life, you don't even get that first chance. Don't even get the chance to correct your mistakes, and mend broken relationships.

The phone backlight shuts off, as her face returns back to darkness. She still has that photo of the blue butterfly in the restroom. With just one photo hop, she could make everything right again...But then, the town will be destroyed by the tornado.

Max couldn't stop thinking about what Chloe's mind was going through right before her death. With the broken relationship with her parents. Her very good friend Rachel, that she loved, went missing for months. And her awful best friend that left her when she needed her the most, but never wrote or texted for five years. Max hates herself for this. Why couldn't she have been there for her? If only she was there, perhaps maybe...Chloe's soul would be more at ease. To know that she was never alone. That someone in this world loved and cared about her. Even if it is just one person.

Chloe's final words continue to haunt Max's mind.

"Wherever I end up after this..in whatever reality...all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours."

Max's eyes begin to tear up when those words echo repeatedly in her fragile mind. An indescribable anger boils deep inside Max. She despises herself for having this power. In the future, what if something similar happens again? She will continue to be powerless again to do anything. And again, she will always feel empty. Forever.

The phone vibrates, breaking the silence of the room, creating a gentle soft light onto the ceiling. Max scoots closer the edge and squints towards the phone. It is a text message from Mom.

Mom: Max, your father and I are on the way. I know this is early, hopefully my text doesn't wake you up. (7:46 AM)

Mom: Google Maps says it is going to take about 7 hours. We will probably be there close to 3PM. Sleep in, honey. We will be there soon! (7:46 AM)

Max's parents couldn't make it to Chloe's funeral. So instead, they're driving from Seattle today to spend a full week with her, as well as pay their respect to Chloe. The last few days, they sensed the intense sorrow in their daughter's tone in the phone calls they had. They both took work off to come down and comfort her. They even insisted for her to take a week off school and stay in the hotel with them.

That is probably not a bad idea. Yesterday, Max took a stroll back to that dreaded bathroom near the entrance of the school. Almost instantly her body became paralyzed in fear and she froze in place. That door will forever be a constant reminder of her inability to save her best friend.

Max blinks her eyes, as a few drops of tear flows smoothly down her face. She leans forward again to grab the phone to reply to her Mom.

Max: Thanks. Can't wait to see both you and Dad. I'm going to go back to sleep. (7:48 AM)

She returns the phone back to the nightstand and collapses back to her bed. There are no follow-up text messages from her mother. She probably didn't want to disturb her anymore. Despite the teary face, Max starts to grow very sleepy and passes out.


A faint whisper echoes into Max's ear. Sudden chill expands slowly throughout her body. She tenses up in pure dread and fear.

Who was that voice? The voice sounded like a ghost, but it isn't anyone that Max could easily recognize. Could possibly just be her dream seeping into the cold reality for a brief moment.

Her phone begins vibrating, shaking the nightstand. Slowly gathering her limited courage within her body, she rolls over to the edge of the bed to pick it up. It's 12:36 PM and her mother is calling. They must be getting close now. Max swipes the phone, bringing it up to her ear.

"Hey Mom." Relieved her Mom is calling after that eerie moment. "How far are you guys?" There is a brief silence on the other end of the line. Her mom always goofs up with putting on her blue-tooth headset or accidentally butt-dialing her several times in the past. In a slightly more irritated tone, "Hey Mom, are you there?"

"Max, it is nice to finally hear you today. I hope you had some good sleep. We're supposed to be there in three hours. But we are running late." The young brunette smiles, just alone hearing her mother's voice relaxes her nerves. They will both be here soon!

She pauses for a little bit, slowly letting in the thought of her parents arriving later today, warms her tense body. "No problem. Tell Dad to drive safe."

Her mom pulls away from the phone to relay her wish to her father. There is a brief pause with incomprehensible muttering, that is followed by her dad's signature chuckle.

Max giggles, almost shedding some tears of joy. Just hearing their voices brings so much happiness to her. And just wait until they actually come. "I can hear Daddy's laughter." Max lets out an exhale of joy. "Can't wait to see you guys!" She is already feeling better.

Her mother laughs, sensing that her daughter is going through a lot. But she continues to keep everything positive as possible. There is again a moment of silence, as her mom thinks about what to say next. "Honey, wake up first and meet your friend, Kate." She lets out a sigh against the phone. "We both love you."

Her eyebrows furrow a little bit, confused with her mother's statement. How does she know I was going to meet up with Kate? She must have mentioned it earlier in the week and totally forgot about it. Her mind was a blur during that time, not fully aware what happened last week. Max casually asks, "Mom, how did you know I was going to meet up with Kate?" She didn't want to sound like she's making an accusation. "I probably mention it before, huh?"

The phone lets out two beeps, as she looks down, seeing the call got dropped. Must be a shitty reception. Immediately, she swipes the 'Call' button to call her back. But it went straight to the voicemail. So probably bad reception on the other side. No big deal.

Max springs onto her feet, much more energized than before. Just a few more hours, her parents are going to be here. Exactly what she needs. She quickly put on her jeans, pink t-shirt and the usual gray hoodie jacket. She opens the door and walks into the quiet hallway.

There is no one else in the hallway. Feels eerie and desolate when it is usually full of life. Dana is usually blasting her music with her doors open, but maybe she decided to be more considerate towards her neighbors today. Guess it is for the better no one is here, because of all the crying she has been doing in bed, she wouldn't want anyone to see her face. She makes a quick stroll into the restroom to wash up, which also completely void of life. Odd. But could be because the morning rush is over. She hurries her way towards Kate's door, but then all of a sudden froze in front of it.

Shit, I probably should have texted her first, to tell her I was coming over. Max brings her palm right square into her face, in disappointment. No point in doing that now. Max gently knocks on Kate's door and politely takes a step back, tucking both her hands into the front pockets of her jacket.

Kate opens the door partially. She seems distracted as she initially dodges eye contact with Max. Finally, she sets her eyes on the brunette and smiles. "Hey Max! I thought you were going to give me a text before coming."

Max's mouth drops opened, and her hands quickly reveal itself from her jacket. "I know. I know. I'm sorry." Max gives an apologetic hand gesture. "I slept in and was talking to my mom just a few minutes ago. Totally meant to call you."

Kate shakes her head and brushes a few stray dangling hairs, smiling, "No worries Max. How are your parents? Are they arriving soon?"

"In a few hours," Max lets out a huge smile.

Kate crosses her arms and grins. "It's a blessing to see your smile, Max. It brings so much joy in the air." She relishes the moment of seeing the tortured photographer finally smiling again. She has been very depressed after the death of her best friend. Kate uncrosses her arms, "Please come on in. I'm not doing anything." Kate clears her throat and opens the door some more to signal Max to come in. "Other than just watching some depressing news on my computer." Kate pout her lips with a sadden expression.

Max walks in passing by Kate and taking note there are some subtle tears in her eyes. "Oh no. I'm sorry." She frowns.

Kate flinches away with a nervous smile. "Don't worry about me. Please come in."

Max continues further into the bedroom with Kate closing the door after her. The brunette stops in her path and turns around. "What type of depressing news?" She hopes she isn't being too nosy and treading onto Kate's personal matters. After all, that is what she is great at doing.

Kate walks past Max, towards her computer. "Yeah, there was an…" She briefly pauses to take a moment to clear her throat. "An accident." She takes a deep breath to clarify herself. "Car accident that happened on the 101 South. A bit north of Arcadia Bay."

Max stares at Kate with a blank look. Even with her Kate's back towards her, she senses something is wrong with the long silence. She turns around to face her and continues, "Max, is your parents flying or taking the train from Seattle to Portland?"

The hipster's eyes drift to the side. "No, they're driving here." Her eyes return back focusing on the church girl.

Kate's eyes widen a bit, her mouth slowly opens as if she was about to say something. She pauses for a bit, then the realization finally hits her. She turns to her laptop letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh don't worry Max. The accident happened two hours ago." She takes a step towards her laptop, looking at the video playing on the screen. "But still, may the soul of those two people find rest. As well as their families."

Max still haven't moved at all as she continues to stare deep into the far distant. There is just something unsettling with all of this. Finally, she walks steadily towards Kate's laptop. Tragedies like this are usually very depressing to watch. Because she still has the time-rewind power but is too afraid to use it because of the consequences it will have. A part of her always wants to fix the lives of people, but she knows she can cause much more destruction to the world. However, her concerns is a little different this time. Just an odd feeling.

The video coverage of the news is blurry, but it wasn't showing the scene of the accident. It must have finished the on-site coverage and jumped back to the newsroom with the reporter.

The male news reporter continues on with his report, "Their names has not been released as we are only told the victims are residents of Seattle. The local sheriffs are currently contacting the relatives of the victims first…"

Despite Kate's reassurance, the brunette's face went deathly cold. Her breathing became shallow. Max isn't a superhero anymore. Her mind is still crumbled from last week's experience.

Kate's attention turns towards Max, who was right beside her, gently grasping at her own arm. Max ignores Kate, as she frantically reaches for her phone. She unlocks the phone and went straight to the call logs. Her eyes scan through the list of recent calls. There is a very short duration call sent to her mother at 12:38 PM, which has to be the one that went straight to the voice mail. But there are no calls received from her mom at all today. Nothing. She never called Max today.

The church girl turns her entire body around, with both arms reaching to the shocked girl. "Max! Are you okay?"

Her words didn't have any effect at all. Max went completely dazed. Physically, she is standing up, but her mind is in a state of disarray. Kate can feel the poor girl's body trembling. In fear.

Max's phone lights up again, this time with a phone call. With an unknown caller from the 503 area code. This is Arcadia Bay's area code. She continues to stand there like she is in some sort of trance.

Kate peers over her shoulder, looking at the ringing phone, then right back at the frightened girl's face. She then wraps her arm around Max's shoulder. Both girls are trembling right now.

Max snaps out of it, taking a deep breath and swipe the call to answer before it goes to the voicemail. She takes another breath, shakily raising her phone to her ear. "This is Max."

"Hello. Maxine?" It is an older male on the phone. "Maxine Caulfield?"

The brunette slowly flutters her eyes, keeping them closed. "Yes."

The voice on the phone continues, "Hi, this is Deputy Robert Ericson from the Tillamook County Sheriff Department."

Instantly, Max releases her grip, dropping the phone. It crashes into the carpet, with her body following it, shortly. She went to her knees, holding up by her two hands. Her body went completely numb and all the sound around her became muffled. The news coverage from the laptop and Kate's desperate screaming. It all sounds like she is being held underwater. Drowning.

Kate grabs Max, but she doesn't fidget or respond. Not acknowledging anything else at all, she lifts her head, eyes scanning all around the room in a circular motion, looking past the church girl.

Kate picks up Max's phone, talking to the caller. Finally, the brunette wee able to clumsily focus on Kate, with her eyes sluggishly following the blond girl, pacing back in forth. Max couldn't hear anything clearly anymore.

Kate circles close to brunette, in desperation, talking to the person on the phone. Then suddenly, she drops down to the ground, handing over the phone, and her other hand gently pressing on Max's shoulder. The dazed girl's head slowly turns towards Kate, looking past her and ignoring the phone being held. The caller wants to talk to her, but she shows no interest in it.

Kate takes the phone back to her ear and resumes her circles. Max's eyes continue to follow her movement until the blond girl stops in her path. Kate turns around to look at Max, with eyes wide opened. Her mouth drops opened, her hands quickly covering her mouth. Tears emerge from her eyes as she drops the phone, as well. Her body crashes down to her knees right beside Max.

I knew it.

A/N: This story does jump between the timelines, so the next two chapters will be building the alternate timeline. Please leave any feedback and critique. I'm a newbie at this and always like feedbacks (be gentle lol) on anything.

(8/20/16) I rewritten this chapter to fix several mistakes, flowing for better effect.