Max groaned at the new flashes of memory entering her mind as she changed the timeline yet again.

As she slowly came to her new environment, she found her head and body ached, while something was restraining her arms and legs.

Max's eyes widened in horror as she realized where she was. "Oh, fuck!" God no… I'm back here again?! I thought I fixed everything! Max struggled with little success against her bonds as she shook her head in anguished disbelief.

"What did you say, Max?" Mr. Jefferson asked in his suave, oily voice.

What? Jefferson should be in jail, not here… Max thought, panicked despair overwhelming her mind.

"Jesus. It's like you're back in my class. You're still spacing out. It might be cool if you took one of your patented selfies now… The transformation between the old Max and the new Max…"

Max was only tangentially listening as she managed to free her left foot covertly. She was, however, unable to free any other limbs.

"Anyway, answer my question, please."

"Eat shit and die!" Max cursed venomously at Mr. Jefferson's face. Not that she knew his stupid question anyway.

"Good answer, good answer," Mr. Jefferson smirked sarcastically.

Some blood abruptly dribbled down both of Max's nostrils, which Mr. Jefferson noticed immediately. "Hey… Your nose is bleeding! Probably gave you too big a dose. Sorry about that, Max." He grabbed Max's face to examine it, despite her attempt to wrench out of his grasp. He wiped the blood away. "But considering you're about to die, a nosebleed is a first-world problem."

Max turned to where Victoria should have lain, only to see the blatantly empty, white floor.

"Oh, I had to let Victoria Chase go," Mr. Jefferson muttered creepily.

Max looked up in surprise, the briefest flickers of desperate hope in her eyes. "You let her…"

"Don't be stupid, okay?" Mr. Jefferson scoffed derisively. "She's exactly where she deserves to be."

"No…" Max gasped, sinking into dismay and despair at the realization.

"Oh, as if you care," Jefferson shrugged callously.

Max looked away, feeling both sorrowful and conflicted. Then her eyes hardened and she glared back up at Jefferson.

"Your iris… That… dilation like a shutter… the pictures you're taking of me now. Too bad you pissed away your gift. You could have won the contest, but you destroyed your own beautiful photograph… What a waste." He frowned slightly, though Max couldn't really tell if he was sincere or not. "Sorry. I burned all your stuff. I got a little carried away."

Fuck! Max reeled as the realization struck her like a sledgehammer. He burned my diary! That's why I'm still here.

"Especially since you've developed from nerd to hero within a week." Mr. Jefferson continued. "There's something… weird going on with you."

The bunker rumbled as the huge storm outside buffeted the well-protected position, causing the lights to flicker.

"Whoa! Did you see how crazy it is outside?" Mr. Jefferson chuckled. "Like I said… something weird."

No, I was too busy being drugged and dragged here, Max thought bitterly.

"There's that fear," Jefferson smiled in sinister satisfaction. "Oh, Max… It's an honor working with you on these final sessions. I hope these images will be appreciated for what they truly capture. The loss… of youth." Jefferson sighed. "At least… that's the last lecture you'll ever have to hear from me… And I promise you… no more nosebleeds."

"Mr. Jefferson…" Max begged pleadingly, fear tainting her voice as her composure and defiance cracked. "Please… don't do this. You don't know what's happening."

"Shh-shhh… Quiet…" Jefferson gestured in faux reassurance. "Quiet, Max."

Gasping in fear of her impending fate, Max writhed against her bondage, knowing how badly she'd fucked up now. "Please!" She screamed. "Don't do this!"

Ignoring her terrified pleas, Jefferson filled a syringe with lethal doses of anesthetic and strode nonchalantly toward his victim. "I promise, this final dose won't hurt." He pushed the struggling Max's head to one side to expose the left side of Max's neck and pushed the needle in.

"NO!" Max cried out as she felt the painful prick and felt the pressure and coolness of fluid being injected in. Tears streamed down Max's face. This? This is how I'm going to die? She thought in horrified disbelief.

I failed you, Chloe… no one will find Rachel's body now. Or us. Kate… Victoria… are dead too. The storm's going to destroy the town. Jefferson will be the only one to make it out of this alive. I'm… I'm so sorry, Chloe… I couldn't save you… Goddamnit! God fucking damnit! Max continued to wriggle despairingly like a dying fish, but with time, her muscles weakened as the drug took effect.

Max gasped as her muscles became limp, breathing became difficult, and her head became foggy. Chloe… Kate… William... at least… I'll… be… with you all...again… Please… wait...for me...

Watching the life fade out of Maxine's eyes, Mr. Jefferson let out a smile and set to work cleaning up.

Clatter! Clatter! The sound of the bunker door opening abruptly startled Mr. Jefferson, who dropped what he was holding and rushed by the entrance to the room, grabbing a camera tripod as a makeshift weapon.

David Madsen walked slowly into the room, both hands clutching a sidearm, but he was scanning to his left, and failed to see Jefferson hiding in ambush to his right.

Jefferson swung the tripod down hard, striking David's lower arms, causing him to drop the gun in pain. Angered, David tried to land a punch on Jefferson, but the latter rammed him with the tripod, knocking all the breath out of David in a painful way.

"GAH!" David gasped, doubling over in intense pain.

Taking advantage of this, Jefferson lifted the tripod high above his head and brought it smashing down on the older man's head. There was a loud crack and David crashed to the ground unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Mr. Jefferson sighed, "Another body to clean-up, what a mess." He strolled over to his syringe cart and began filling a needle with considerably large amounts of anesthetic.

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New Oregon Times

October 12, 2013

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