A scream tore Max from her sleep and brought her rapidly upright in her dorm room.
Her heart thudded frantically against her ribcage and she looked back and forth searching for immediate danger. Hazy late afternoon sun poured in from the open windows and drenched her skin, Max squinted against the light and raised her hand above her brows until her vision adjusted. It took her a few moments to register that not only had she accidentally fallen asleep and missed her afternoon classes, but the screaming was coming from outside and from multiple people.
Max pushed herself up to her feet and nearly jumped a foot into the air when the sound of her phone falling to her mat startled her. She was seriously on edge but she ignored it and padded forward to lean over the windowsill and see for herself what the hell was going on.
What the…?
Oh GOD - what the fuck!?
She hit the floor in seconds, stumbling and flailing to get away from the window – the sight below – and threw a hand over her mouth with the sudden urge to retch. She felt dizzy, rushing filled her ears.
Bodies…b-bodies everywhere… Blood?…so much blood.
What!?
What!?
I can't-
Oh fuck. Oh shit fuck. I think I'm gonna be sick.
Oh god.
Whatever was going on outside right now, she couldn't make any sense of it. People weren't supposed to look like that. What was going on? Is this even real?
She could feel the bile burning up her throat and was certain she was about to faint at the same time when there was a loud bang down the hallway outside her door and fresh screaming broke out, people running and thumping echoing through.
A groan escaped her lips as the corners of her vision began to lose focus.
Everything that happened next was a blur.
Her door flew open and slammed against the wall. Someone entered her vision and her mind told her – Kate. Blonde hair, blue eye, a soft voice yelling her name and arms around her waist to tug her upright.
Idle surprise that such a small girl could be so strong. "Max! We have to go NOW!"
She didn't know if it was instinct or not but she had the sense to grab her camera bag as Kate pulled her by the arm out of the room, running. Desperate.
Chaos ensued around her with people everywhere in the hall.
Shouting, screaming, violence.
Kate lead the way, Max followed. Fast.
People were fighting in front of the door.
A tall athletic girl slammed some jock guy against a wall, pulling him off the blood covered girl on the ground and freeing up the entrance in the process.
Dana? Juliet?
Max hardly had time to process what was happening right in front of her before Kate took initiative and they found themselves sprinting down a staircase. "Max, we've got to hurry!"
Stumbling through more open doors into brightness, fresh air, the view from the back of the dorms.
"MAX!"
She recognizes that voice, a guy's – Warren.
He's next to her, breathing heavily, arms out protectively in front of her and Kate.
Over her should she sees why. Freezes on the spot.
Can't think.
Can't see past the corpse on the ground.
Fresh blood pooling, soaking concrete.
Warren's yelling, Kate's yelling, somewhere her name is being said.
Warren shoves her urgently. Not soon enough.
Hands seize her from behind.
A high pitched scream of horror escapes from her lungs—
She thrashes wildly.
Pain, slashing, the sensation of her throat being ripped open by teeth.
Terror.
Nightmare.
"GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF—"
"Max! Hey, hey - wake up."
"Shhh, Max, it's okay. You're having a bad dream."
"C'mon Maximus, we got you."
Slowly her eyes open.
It's dark, and while her vision adjusts to the darkness Max realizes that she's no longer on Blackwell Academy grounds, and there are two pairs of eyes – brow and blue respectively – looking down at her with worry. Rain pounds against their surroundings, wooden walls and ceiling, lashing in rough sheets with quick gusts of wind.
"Warren? Kate? Wha –"
A hand moves from her right side to cup her cheek, the metallic ring bands cool against her skin. She moves her head to see Kate laying next to her under their shared covers – just how she had fallen asleep before – and the blonde spoke softly, reassuringly, "You're okay Max. Just take it easy. You sounded really scared."
Of course, it was just a nightmare… that already happened to me. To us. I've had it more than once before.
"Yeah man. Didn't sound like a good time. Sorry we had to wake you." Max followed the voice with her eyes to Warren, sitting in the fold-out chair next to the window a few feet in front of her and Kate. He was smiling in attempt to lighten the mood, but as always concern was evident in his eyes for her.
Max groaned and groggily moved to prop herself up on her elbows for a better view of everyone. Kate lowered her hand from the side of her face to let her. Barely enough natural light filled the small room of their shelter, considering the small storm raging through the night, but it was enough to make out the outlines of her friends' features and the glisten to their eyes.
The thin walls and roof vibrated with the constant lashing of the rain but remained sealed – reinforced by random scrap and material to help keep it out. Max reminded herself that they were safe enough, allowing her heartrate to slow to a steady, regular rhythm.
Out of the corner of her eye an obvious leak had formed behind Warren's seat, where he perched on watch by the one window not boarded up, unfazed as he watched her carefully like a protective and loyal dog.
Kate's curled up against her side in their makeshift bed where they sleep, a tattered throw-away sleeping bag and picnic blanket salvaged from the Arcadia Bay camping grounds encompassing them. Tired but kind sapphire eyes follow her every move, Max felt a twinge of guilt for waking her friend up.
"Ugh, sorry guys. I didn't mean to worry you," Max moved rub her eyes with the heel of her palm, voice raspy from exhaustion. She turned to look down at Kate, "and I didn't mean to disturb you."
Kate shook her head, her loose hair falling around her face with the movement, "It's nothing, Max. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Nah. It's just the usual. I'm fine."
Kate frowned and Warren, from his seat, leaned over and picked up a bottle to offer to Max, "Here, you should have some water, it'll help."
Max is all of a sudden hyperaware of the dryness of her throat and the way her tongue feels swollen from dehydration. Despite her thirst she frowns at the bottle in his hand. Even in the dark she can tell from the way it sloshes about that there is only a quarter left at most, and in their situation every drop of clean water is precious…
"I shouldn't. We should save it."
"Max-" Warren frowns and insists, "-Go on."
Kate nods in agreement with him so Max relents with a tired sigh and takes the bottle. She can't deny how thirsty she is right now, nor how exhausted and sluggish she feels with every fibre of her being. Bark scratches against her through shirt as she leans back against the tree trunk, unscrewing the cap and taking slow sips, savouring the way each drop of liquid helps to sooth her raw throat. Warren's frown softens with slight relief, and he turns his attention back out the shaking window.
Another gust of wind batters their shelter in the trees, the whole place shudders and reverberates through to Max's bones. She exhales with relief when she feels she's had enough of her ration, placing the bottle down by her side.
Kate herself also sighs, although it sounds more like a yawn to Max, and she shifts to prop her head on Max's lap like a pillow. They do this with each other sometimes. Max finds it comforting without having to talk. She lifts her hand to rub small, comforting circles on her small friend's shoulder with the heel of her palm. Kate hums sleepily, then coughs.
Max frowns to herself again. I really don't like the sound of that. Kate's been coughing more and more recently…and I'm worried she's getting sick.
Warren must have had a similar train of thought because when he speaks he's low and solemn. "We're going to run out of food tomorrow," he slumps down into the back of his seat, "and we have to wait for this storm to be over before we can do anything about it. I can't even see anything out there right now. I'm sorry girls…"
Max's heart sinks to see him like that. Warren tries so hard to look after us and be the hero, it's not his fault that this shit is happening. We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him.
"Don't be, Warren. We'll figure something out. We've made it this far, and you've done such a good job of being our superhero." She reassures him.
Kate hums a wordless agreement as Max continues to comfort her with soothing circles. Max can tell the words had the right affect on Warren, because his posture perks up a little from his chair, and she can just make out a small smile from across the room.
He always smiles whenever I compliment him.
Warren stretches his arms above his head, then stifles a yawn, causing Max to realize something.
"Hey Warren, do you have an idea of the time?"
"Uhh, well since I can't see the moon or anything, I'm just going to take a stab in the dark and say sometime around midnight?"
Max furrows her brows. "Warren…" She starts, but he cuts her off.
"I know, I know what you're going to say Max. But I'm fine. You girls need to sleep."
It's pretty obvious that Kate is still tired and dozing off on her lap, but Max herself feels alert and awake despite her exhaustion, and if her calculations are correct then Warren hasn't slept in a day – too busy looking out for them.
"You should rest. Trade places with me."
He makes a sound like he's about to protest, so she beats him to it this time. "I'm serious Warren. You need to sleep and you know it, you've done a great job but I can take over now. Besides, I'm feeling wide awake."
"Are you sure…?" He hesitates, but she can tell he would rather stretch out and rest in the warm bed right now.
"Positive. I'm getting up now."
"…Okay." He relents.
Carefully, Max coaxes Kate off her and gently lays the blonde down to free herself from the covers. The blonde coughs quietly to herself, but otherwise makes no other movements or protest, clearly on the precipice of sleep. As Max removes herself from the bed she allows herself a fond smile at her friend, then trades places for the plastic chair while Warren crawls under the comfort of the sleeping bag.
"Thanks, Max." He murmurs tiredly.
"No, thank you Warren. I hope you get a good rest."
"Wake me up if anything…interesting happens."
"Will do. Goodnight." She whispers back, watching over her two friends while the cool plastic of the small chair presses against her back.
No doubt he'll be out like a light in less than a minute.
A shiver runs up her spine. Without the warmth of Kate and the sleeping bag there's a noticeable temperature difference in the air with the violent weather outside.
A September storm.
Their accommodation isn't perfectly weathertight but it's better than how it was when they found it. Or rather, when Max rediscovered it and led them to safety. Her eyes trailed around the small room, making out all the shapes in the dim light.
It was hard to believe that only two weeks ago they had stumbled their way through the entrance of the dilapidated tree house she had once named the "Secret Pirate Fort" (now but a shell of its former 'glory'), and since then they'd made their own renovations to make it more liveable. The 'windows' had been boarded up by Warren with scrap wood, Kate and Max had repurposed an abandoned torn blue tent fly to line the walls, which doubled as both insulation and waterproofing.
The one 'real' window faced outwards – westward – where they could see anything or anyone on the ground below the entrance, the thick of the treetops, and on a good day part of the sea on the horizon of the bay. It was an old truck door that they'd come across in a scrap pile along a forestry track, and Warren had proved his creativity useful by incorporating it into the wall. Since the windup lever worked it was also functional, they could lower and lift the window whenever they wanted.
Max shivered again, so she leaned over her side and picked up another makeshift blanket to cover her legs. Much better. They'd found this too in the campgrounds on a food mission, along with some other supplies from campers who had abandoned their sites after the…breakout. Food was one thing, but spare clothes, matches, cooking gear, torches… it was all invaluable right now. Anything they could get their hands on and could be carried back in time without being spotted they took. Other than that, all they had were the clothes on their back and whatever they had on them that afternoon their real-life nightmare had begun.
Just like in the dream… It's hard to believe this is all happening sometimes, Max thinks as she looks fondly at her resting friends. Warren, Kate... I'm so glad I have you guys, and that we have each other.
It was easy to zone out and lose herself in thought while the rain continued to methodically tap tap tap against the window. Warren was right, it really was impossible to see if anything or anyone was outside right now. Hopefully that was a good thing. They'd been constantly on edge, and nightmares hadn't really helped anyone… Max least of all, and it seemed she was most prone to them.
In her sleep, Kate released a few small coughs. Max felt her heart sink again. It was hard enough seeing her friend, once bubbly and upkept and happy, now tired and dirty and lacking weight to her frame. Warren feared better, he always had a strong build, so it wasn't as obvious. Both of her friends had dishevelled, dirty hair, a layer of grime and blood stains to their clothes. Try as much they can to keep clean it wasn't exactly easy to maintain hygiene lately.
If we cant find enough food, clean water and medicine soon… Kate's condition can get really serious, fast. I don't think we can afford to get sick right now. Even worse, if it's something that might turn her into one of those…things… ugh. I can't even stand to think of poor, sweet Kate going through that.
And I really have to give it to Warren…thank dog for him and his obsession with zombie and apocalyptic movies. When shit hit the fan, he was the only one of us who jumped to the right conclusions and was prepared to get us out of Blackwell and to safety… then he knew just how to make a safe shelter and look after for us. We wouldn't have made our escape without him.
Max sunk her head into her hands and sat like that for some time, with her elbows propped on her knees for support. She could feel the matted, greasy mess her hair was as she ran her fingers through it. Oh, how she wished for a hot shower right now to wash away the… everything… and make herself feel more human again. Normal.
She shifted in her seat and moved to fiddle with her bracelets, staring at them absentmindedly in the dark. God I would love for something in my life to be normal right now… I wonder if that'll ever be possible again.
With her finger she lightly traced the injuries up and along her arm: cuts, grazes and bruises she had accumulated over the weeks. She can tell just how weak she's gotten just by sitting up. I know that Kate and Warren look worse for wear, but I bet I look just as bad if not worse. I can tell I've lost a lot of weight and… I feel tired all the time. I wonder if I could recognize myself in the mirror with all these cuts and my blood stained clothes. Mad Max – Zombie apocalypse warrior…
Even if it were daytime she doubted the glass she now looked out would reflect anything back at her.
Max sighed again. There wasn't a lot in terms of entertainment and they were still several hours away from sunrise, supposedly. This whole end-of-the-world scenario they had going on had really messed with their sleep schedules while almost always hungry and exhausted.
She kind of wished one of her friends would wake up so she would have someone to talk to. Then again, it was nice to have some time to herself to think without Warren always checking up on her or worrying Kate with her thoughts when she should be worrying about herself.
The one piece of wall that wasn't covered in recycled tent had a few small drawings, mostly faded with age, and as her eye caught sight of them she felt a twang of longing and nostalgia in her heart.
Max reached out and placed her palm on the nearest – a cat, painted with finger paints, a semblance of her childhood best friend's pet Bongo from when they were young. The brunette allowed her eyelids to fall and breathed in deeply, childhood memories washing over her. Memories of two girls playing in the forest, adventures and games, laughter and imagination.
It feels like a thousand lifetimes ago that Chloe and I were here. We were such hyperactive kids, pirate BFFs always on the run and getting into trouble. We'd gotten the idea in our heads that two pirates deserved to have a secret fortress high into the trees, and we'd practically begged Chloe's father for months until he relented and agreed to help us build one.
Max smiled at the memory as a small, fond warmth grew in her chest.
There was no way William didn't know that making a tree fort here in the hills was illegal, but he loved Chloe so much, and it was easy to see where she got her mischievous nature from. Now that I think of it he probably knew that there'd be no stopping us and he wanted to make sure whatever we got up to was safe… Joyce would have had a fit if she knew, and grounded all of us – William included – but he was such a good father. He probably had fun helping us build it as much as we did, and it was just our secret between the three of us.
The corner of her eyes stung and Max had to suppress a sniff, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion of the memory of the man who had been like a second father to her when she was young. Oh William, I'm so sorry for what happened to you…
A crack of thunder somewhere above the bay broke her reverie and made her jump, staring back out the window into the direction of the ocean. Out there in the storm was her hometown, where all her childhood memories came from, and she couldn't help but wonder what became of her childhood best friend who had joined her on all those years of adventures.
I'm so sorry I lost touch with you Chloe, after losing your father and me moving away… I wonder what happened to you.
Where are you now, my Captain Bluebeard? Are you out there somewhere in that storm? Are you safe?
I hope you're okay.
I miss you.