Final Masquerade
Max can't focus and her vision is foggy, but the image of Chloe slowly falling to the ground is clear and etched in her memory forever.
She thinks it's rather fitting that such a small needle would turn her world upside down, reminding her of all the small changes she'd made that ended up changing her world drastically. Oh how foolish she had been before, thinking she could fix everything with her power.
She tries to raise her hand, to rewind and erase this wretched memory from Chloe's mind. Her hand barely moves, and for a moment she is full of hope that she would end it all, that it would only remain in her memory, a sacrifice she is ready to pay for Chloe's life.
She feels the power tingling in her fingers, her whole being, but she is so unfocused she can't release the power and save both of them in the worst possible moment.
Instead, she feels herself collapsing onto the cold ground, the smell of Rachel's corpse corrupting the air so much it even hurts to breathe. There's nothing Max wants more in that moment than to fall asleep, but she forces herself to remain conscious at least for a moment, to try and save Chloe again, despite the poisonous smell of death penetrating her lungs.
Tears are running down her cheeks and she finally realizes how powerless she truly is. Breathless, she still refuses to give up, praying to whatever God there is to help her as she tries to grab Chloe's gun, but someone pushes her hand away.
She raises her head to finally look the culprit in the eye, and she's even more shocked than before. She has expected Nathan, Principal Wells, even David, but the person standing in front of her is none other than her teacher, Mr. Jefferson, the one person she trusts in Blackwell.
Mustering all the strength left in her body, desperately fighting the chemicals in her system, she manages to ask a question she's been dying to ask. "Why?" she gasps, choking on her own saliva and air.
Mr. Jefferson seems amused for a moment, leaning down until their lips are almost touching, and she chokes even further at the close proximity, shaking her head furiously, begging her useless body to move back from that monster. "Why, Max?" he whispers with a smirk dancing about his lips, the disturbing sight making Max shiver, "And here I thought you were special, that you would understand it. Art is my motivation. How can you not realize the beauty in tragedy I so desperately try to show the world?"
Max is terrified at the answer, and somehow manages to back away a few inches from her former idol. She curses herself for not realizing it sooner, Nathan was probably only a pawn for Jefferson to groom – a red herring for her and anyone else who wanted to investigate, hiding the true mastermind.
She thought herself to be a spider, creating a web with her powers, trying to catch her pray, only to be caught instead.
A part of her is relieved that Chloe got a merciful, fast death, a comfort she is sure Jefferson would not let her have. The photographer feels the void swallowing her, and her last conscious thought is still about Chloe even as she realizes her own death is near.
Not much to say here. This is my take at Episode 5. Chapters will get longer.