Episode One: Broken | Broken~ Lifehouse
The loud alarm blaring over the intercom is deafening to my ears, but honestly... that's the least of my problems. I'm hiding here, behind the stalls in the girl's bathroom in the immediate aftermath of a murder. Nathan Prescott, son of the apparent "King of Arcadia Bay" has just shot and killed someone I just realized is Chloe Price... Chloe Elizabeth Price… The girl I grew up with and abruptly left 5 years ago without a call or text.
I don't need to look to know she's dead, the heavy thud of her body hitting the linoleum, and Nathan's desperate, pleading cries assure me of this.
"Oh… shit! No no no no…" he cries, shaking the now blue-haired Chloe's limp, lifeless body.
I curl myself into a ball, hugging my knees even tighter to my chest as I cry. My sobs are loud and painful, but thankfully the alarm drowns them out. The only sound that registers is that of someone else barging into the bathroom, tackling Nathan to the ground.
"I'm sorry...I-I'm so sorry" the boy cries hysterically, "I'm sorry".
"Cram it you little shit", A harsh, rough voice says, followed by a metallic clanking sound.
I figure it's the security guard, he's the only one I know of that has handcuffs.
Whilst the man cuffs and aggressively pulls Nathan to his feet, he sends in a call out to call the police. It doesn't take long for the authorities to arrive, and, within 10 minutes, the whole school has been evacuated and police swarm the small room to whisk Nathan off to god knows where. They're gone so fast that none of the officers even bother to look around the bathroom, so no one finds me or even knows I'm here.
The guard is the only one left in the room when the officers leave, and seconds after the door shuts… he begins to cry.
"Oh, Chloe. I'm so sorry. I couldn't get to you in time".
That's when it hits me.
The security guard's name is David Madsen... Chloe's stepfather.
I- I don't know how I know this ...or why, but I do. And this realization makes me feel even worse. I try to keep my cries quiet, but it's no use... I can no longer hold my pain back and promptly burst into full-blown tears.
David remains silent, but I hear him quietly get up and wander over to my corner of the bathroom.
"What the-".
I flinch a little when he gasps and rushes up to me, clearly not expecting to find anyone.
"Are you alright?" he asks.
I don't reply.
"Did you see what happened?".
I still don't reply.
"Are you hurt?", David asks more calmly this time, losing his rough, demanding demeanor.
I look up at him and shake my head.
"Can you tell me your name?".
I swallow hard, my throat feeling dry and raw, "M-M- Max" I mutter.
David lets out a light sigh and gives me a forced smile, once again radioing for a medic.
"Can you move?".
I nod, slowly and reluctantly uncurling myself from the fetal position.
"Come on, let's get you out of here, Max".
He grabs something from beside me and shoves it into my bag, then, helps me get to my feet.
I struggle to hold myself up, my legs feeling like jelly.
"Easy…" David warns, holding me by the arm until I steady myself.
I swallow again, feeling an odd pressure build in my head as David slowly leads me around the corner of the stall to where Chloe's body lays.
There's a heavy black tarp obstructing my view, but that doesn't stop the blood from flowing out from under her.
The sight and smell of blood hit me like a ton of bricks, and I'm so overwhelmed that I can't help but dry heave, "Oh, god".
"Don't look, kid" David instructs, continuing to force me along as he struggles to maintain his composure.
"Oh, god," I mutter again, my voice catching in my throat, "C- Chloe…".
David has a small reaction to me saying his step-daughters name but I don't really get to see it because the next thing I know everything goes black.
The pressure in my head overtakes me, drowning out all my senses as I feel myself fall to the ground.
Ice cold rain pelts on my skin as I struggle my way up the cliff leading up the lighthouse. The strong harsh wind tears through the treetops. I'm trapped… trapped in a storm again, just like I was in my dream earlier in class. I don't know how, or why I'm here… I just am.
A glowing, translucent ghostly looking doe stands before me, acting as beckon in the storm. I follow it, dodging obstacles as I continue to ascend to the top of the cliff.
Once there, My eyes widen at the storm, it's intensity heightened since the last time I saw is so loud… the wind sounds like screams as it blows past my ears. The top half of the lighthouse that I thought fell on me lays in the dirt, wobbling around in the wind.
I look out unto the Bay, seeing the monstrous tornado tearing at the once calm beaches. Debris is already being swept up and thrown all over the place. I look around me, catching sight of a stray newspaper caught in the brush. I bend down and pick it up, reading the date and headline.
"What the…" I mutter, seeing the date on the newspaper, "October 11th… that's this Friday".
My mind whirls around what this means, just as the paper is torn from my hands.
I swallow hard, taking a few steps back, the storm growing more and more intense as the seconds pass. The tornado inches closer and closer to the town, and I can hear it, hear the winds tear into the beachside buildings.
I bend down, pressing my knees to my chest and my hands to my ears.
The wind continues to grow as it drowns out every other sound until all that's left is white noise...
I groan a little, my head clearing of fog as I open my eyes.
"C- Chloe…" I mutter again, feeling a hand resting on my shoulder.
"Hey… hey, can you hear me?" an unfamiliar voice asked, it's owner giving my body a gently jostle.
I nod absently and rub at my head, "W- what… happened?".
The person sighs, "There was a school shooting… you got caught in the middle of it".
I swallow hard, I… I got shot? I blink a few times, seeing the person talking to me is a paramedic.
She sees my momentary panic and reassures me that I'm fine.
"You just blacked out sweetie, nothing to be worried about".
"What… where's Chloe?" I demand, my voice cracking slightly at the pain I'm trying to hold down.
I know full and well where she is… or, how she is, but… that doesn't stop me from asking.
The paramedic doesn't even look me in the eye, she just sighs and apologizes. "I'm so sorry".
I try to hold back my sobs but… it's impossible. I allow them to overtake me as I dissolve into pitiful tears on the front steps of Blackwell. The security guard must have left me here after I passed out.
"No, no… please no. Please, not her!" I beg, "Not, Chloe".
A few students are trying to crowd around me, trying to see who David heroically pulled from the bathroom.
One of the students is Warren Graham, a 16-year-old sophomore. He was one of the first people I met when I started school, next to Kate Marsh of course. Everyone implies that he has a major crush on me, and I admit that he is a really kind and sweet kid but... I just don't like him the same way, he's like my brother.
"Max! Hey, Max!" He calls out, trying to catch my attention.
I cringe a little and shift away at the sound of his voice, "No…, please… Chloe".
The paramedic sighs once more and snaps at somebody above me, signaling them to get the students to clear out. I figure it's David because I hear his voice break through the load voices of the students.
"You heard the woman, beat it" he snaps, the harshness in his voice lesser than it was previously.
Once all the students have been pushed behind police barriers, David comes up and kneels in front of me.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asks.
I look up at him, my eyes stinging from crying, "Chloe…".
"Was she your friend?".
I nod vigorously and bury my face in my hands again, "Oh, Chloe…".
I start shaking slightly, pain and anxiety rising in my chest.
"*sigh* We should get you checked out," David says as he and the paramedic lead me over to an ambulance that waits idly nearby.
As I'm being tended to, listening as one of the doctors say I passed out due to shock, I watch David walk off to the parking lot. A taxi cab just rolled up and my heart sinks when I see who jumps out.
Joyce looks almost the same as she did when I left 5 years ago. I mean that in the sense that she's still pretty, but… right now, she looks almost as scared and terrified as I feel.
They're too far off for me to hear but... Joyce falls to her knees when I assume David tells her about Chloe.
Tears well in my eyes once more as I watch her cry.
"Oh, god…" I mutter, keeping my hands pressed tightly over my eyes.
I'm glad that the paramedics and such left me alone as I cry, it's not that I'm ashamed to be seen crying. I'm ashamed at the fact that Chloe will never know that I came back. She died knowing and thinking that I abandoned her.
"*Ahem* Are you Maxine Caulfield?".
I jump, a new voice suddenly joining the many others surrounding me.
I look up and try to blink away my tears, "H- huh?".
There's an officer standing before me, a small notebook in hand, "Are you Maxine Caulfield?".
I nod and sniffle, slightly confused.
Why do the police want to talk to me?
"My name is Officer Berry and I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding what you saw in the bathroom".
I swallow hard.
What I saw? I- I didn't see anything.
"I-... I" I begin, my voice catching in my throat.
I don't want to do this, I don't want to remember the fact that I watched my best friend get murdered and had done nothing to stop it from happening.
I don't want to think about what a shitty person I am for abandoning my best friend.
"Give the kid some space, Berry," a harsh voice says from the background.
I peer over the officer's shoulder, seeing David march back over to where I am.
"She's been through enough already".
Joyce pushes through the crowd and rushes up to me, throwing her arms around me as she hugs me.
"Max, sweetie. Are you alright?" She asks.
I shake my head and hug her back.
"She's gone," I sob, "I- I loved her, Joyce. I loved her and now she's gone,"
"I know, I know. She loved you too, Max... she loved you too," Joyce replies, hugging me tighter.
Why is it now that I'm realizing that I was in love with Chloe? I mean, we've always been a bit more than 'just friends', but why is this happening now... why now that she's gone?
"I should have done something... it should have been me" I cry harder, "It should have been me".
"Stop, Max. There wasn't anything you could do... M-maybe it was just her time to go" Joyce says as she desperately tries to comfort me.
I- I just lose it at that point and start crying hysterically, feeling myself slowly losing grip on reality.
"Try to breathe, Max," Joyce instructs, seeing me struggle to catch my breath. I shake my head and continue to sob, honestly not caring if I hyperventilate.
"Just breath".
I don't want to stop crying but I eventually do and allow Joyce to calm me, even though I know she's feeling just as destroyed and distraught as I am.
"Okay, sweetie… you need to let go now. This nice officer needs to talk to you".
I sniffle and nod, reluctantly pulling away from Joyce, "O- okay".
The officer comes up to me again a sad, sorry look on his face, "I'm going to need to take you down to the station and ask you a few questions" he says.
"Is that really necessary?" David asks, "Can't you just ask her here?".
The officer shakes his head and David sighs.
"We'll drive her there," Joyce says, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Sorry, I can't let you do that. She was a witness but we don't know if she had any involvement," the officer says, tapping his foot impatiently on the asphalt.
"N- Nathan," I mutter in a small, pathetic voice, catching the attention of all 3 adults, "He… she s- shot her. He shot her and she's dead".
"Berry, come on. The girl is obviously traumatized, give her a few days to recover and then I'll drive her downtown myself," David says, stepping in between me, Joyce and the officer.
"We don't have time, David. We already have the Prescott kid in custody. We've gotta get all the evidence we can get before that little shit's "Big Daddy" finds out what happened".
"Then I'll go with her,".
The officer sighs heavily, "You're not going to let this go… are you?".
"Like hell I am! That fucking bastard killed my little girl, by weeks end his ass better be behind bars… or worse".
"David!" Joyce snaps, even though there's not much fight in her voice.
I whimper a little bit when David and the officer help get me to my feet and lead me over to the cop car parked nearby.
"Give me your hands, kid," the officer snaps before allowing me inside the vehicle.
I obey, not realizing what's happening until I feel the cold metal of handcuffs around my wrists.
"The fuck is that for?!" David snaps, putting a hand on the officer's chest and moving him away from me.
"It's procedure, David… you know that" Berry replies, removing the guard's hand from his person.
"I- It's okay," I mumble in a deadpan voice, "I- it's okay".
At this point, I honestly don't care… I just want this to be done… I want all this to be over with. I want to wake up and find that all this was a dream so I can go and tell Chloe that I came back and that we can be pirates again and take over the world together. I sigh weakly, knowing that's impossible, that this is my unfortunate reality.
I allow the officer to sit me in the back of the cop car, trying to ignore the staring eyes of my peers.
This isn't the first time I've been in a police car… The first time was with Chloe… the day that William...died.
Joyce's hadn't been able to pick us up from the house after the accident, so she sent two officers out to get us after giving Chloe and me the news.
I shake my head abruptly, not wanting to relive or remember yet another traumatic experience in my life.
Anyways, I sit alone in the back of the car, with David riding shotgun.
I cringe internally at that word, "gun" even if it was said inside my head.
The car bumps along the road, the only sound audible (besides the police scanner) is that of the handcuffs. Only… The chains aren't shaking because of the uneven road… it's shaking because I'm shaking.
My hands and whole body are shaking and I didn't even realize it until now. I make a fist with my hands, desperate to steady myself. I close my eyes again, feeling warm tears stream down my cheeks.
Just breath, Max… it's only a few questions… just… tell them what you know, I think to myself, trying to remember the exchange of dialogue between Nathan and Chloe.
I vaguely remember hearing something about drugs and maybe a deal of some sort, and… now that I actually think about it, I don't really remember much about anything that happened before Chloe got shot.
I close my eyes and wait for this whole ordeal to be over, my mind running circles around itself.
Finally, the cop car comes to a stop a few minutes later and the officer rounds the vehicle and opens the door for me, allowing David to help me out.
"You alright, Max?" He asks, leading me inside the small police station.
I nod absently, feeling my body continue to shake with sadness and anxiety.
"C- can you take these off now?" I mumble once we're inside.
Officer Berry nods and gestures for me to hold my hands out as he removes the handcuffs, "There you go, kid. Now, this shouldn't take too long. I'm just going to ask you a few simple question, okay?".
I nod reluctantly and rub at my wrists, "Okay".
"Exactly what were you doing hiding behind the stalls of the girl's restroom this morning?" The officer asks, writing what I say down even though there's a tape recorder set out in front of us.
We've been in this room for two hours now, going over and over what happened and what I remember. Despite it being relatively quiet in the room, the clock ticking away on the wall sounds 10 times louder than it should in my head.
I swallow hard and shrug, "I- I just went in there to splash water and then I took a picture of a b- butterfly and… N- Nathan came in and s- started talking to himself and-". I stop, suddenly feeling unable to catch my breath. "I already told you all that I know. I have n- no clue why Chloe would try to blackmail him. I haven't seen her in 5 years!".
The officer nods and rests his pen down on the cold metal table we're both sitting at, "I know. Now, why don't you tell me a bit about Chloe? What was your relationship with her?".
I blink, feeling tears beginning to sting my eyes. "I- I… she was my best friend. S- she still is. I never meant to leave her… I didn't want to move away. We were supposed to grow up together, we were supposed to travel the world with me and be my Laura Croft. I *sniff* I wanted to write her back, I did, I did! I just couldn't bring myself to do it and I'm sorry… I'm so fucking sorry, Chloe. I failed you, I'm sorry… I'm sorry".
And with that, I dissolve into tears again, unable to hold back my emotions.
The officer sighs and reaches for recorder on the table, pressing a button to stop it.
"Alright. I think that'll do for now, Max. I'm sorry you have to go through all this but any and all information on what happened will help,".
I barely even hear him. I just continue to cry, my heart aching for the girl I left behind.
"Come on, we're done here".
I nod and sniffle weakly, allowing the officer to guide me out of the small, stuffy room.
The moment I step out of the room, I nearly run into someone. Arcadia Bay had never been known for having a high crime rate, but the moment we step out of the questioning room, the whole place is buzzing with energy.
"What's going on here?" Officer Berry asks, grabbing and stopping another officer as he passes.
"We just got a lead on the Rachel Amber case! Apparently that Madsen fellow got an anonymous tip about a Prescott owned barn in the woods with a bunker filled with perverted pictures of students from Blackwell. We gotta go now before whoever's responsible catches wind and tries to make a break for it".
I blink, startled by what I just heard, "What?".
Neither of the officer's reply, acting as If I'm not even there.
Blackwell students? Who would be taking pictures of Blackwell Students? I think to myself, jumping slightly when the officer continues to usher me away from all the action.
"Alright, kid. This is where I leave you. Do you have parents to call to come pick you up?".
I shake my head and swallow, my throat feeling dry.
"Any friends?". I think for a moment then shake my head, not knowing anyone with a car.
"Well, then. I'll see to it that one of the officers makes sure you get home safely okay?" Officer Berry says, gesturing to one of the other cops.
I nod and hug myself a little, trying to take up the least space as possible.
"Try to take care of yourself, Max," He says before storming out the door followed by about 6 other cops who bare bulletproof vests.
I look up at the officer left as he gives me a small patient smile, and leads me back into the small front room of the station. "I'll get you your things in a minute, kid," the young officer says, clearly trying for polite conversation, "And… condolences".
I sniffle a little and rub at my face a little, only able to give a small nod in response. "Here we are, one cell phone and tote bag," the man says, handing me my belonging that Officer Berry took before I was questioned.
"T- thanks," I mutter, gratefully accepting my things back. I take my phone in my hand and it's only then do I realize that my hands are still shaking. I grip my phone as if to steady myself out, praying the cop didn't see, which thankfully he didn't seem to have.
"Okay. Ready to go? It should be a quick ride back to Blackwell".
I nod and swallow hard, somewhat reluctant to return to the place my best friend was just murdered.
Sighing, I throw my tote over my shoulder and follow the young police officer out to his squad car, allowing me to sit up front.
The whole ride in uneventful as expected, the officer (Officer Reed) making minimal talk, knowing that I'm not exactly in the chatting mood.
Once I've been dropped off at Blackwell, I quietly shuffle across campus, thankful that the quad is relatively deserted.
All the students have most likely been asked to stay in their dorms for the remainder of the day, but that doesn't stop everyone. I caught sight of a few odd students milling around the front of the school smoking or whatnot.
Anyways, I eventually make it up to my room, the stairs taking its toll on my energy. This whole day has been both emotionally and physically exhausting, not to mention mentally too.
So, once I get into my dorm room, kick off my shoes and fall onto my bed, I start crying.
My sobs are hard and painful, leaving my chest heaving for breath.
Every tear I shed is for Chloe, they represent every second I didn't spend with her, every second she thought I'd abandoned her.
I cry and cry and cry until I'm left weak and shaking, my small frail body twitching every so often.
I close my eyes and sniffled, letting the pain of the day wash over me until I fall asleep.