Disclaimer: I don't own Life is Strange, and I'm making no money off this fic.
Important note to the reader: This fic takes place inbetween the 1st and 2nd Life is Strange comics. If you haven't read the comics, then the only thing you need to know is that Max's powers are glitching on her, and her and Chloe are on the road. The rest isn't important to this fic. Also, the comics are really good, and I recommend reading them.
This fic was edited by Figure08 on 1/22/2019
Chapter 1: Control
Max had felt a lot of terrible emotions in her life: Fear, anxiety, anger, despair. But through it all, she had felt a certain level of control. Even though she had faced the notion of death head on, even though she had uncovered dark secrets and disturbed the very nature of reality, even though she had been beaten, trapped, and abused, she had felt like she could handle it.
But now she knew the truth. She had only pulled through things because fate had let her. She didn't know what fate was, some sort of god or the whim of an uncaring universe. But whatever fate was, it was a complete jackass. She was at the mercy of that jackass. She was gifted powers beyond her control and used them to the point of burnout. And now, they were short circuiting.
She sat in the passenger seat of Chloe's car, staring out the window, refusing to show her face. Her mouth tasted like iron, and blood pooled on her lips. She listened to Chloe say "Are you getting hungry Max? We could pick something up on the road."
Max didn't answer.
"Hey," Chloe prodded. She poked Max's side in a way that would have mildly stung, had she done it once. Seeing how this was at least the eighth time, it hurt quite a bit. Max winced.
"Max?" Chloe's voice took on an edge of concern, "Are you alright? You gotta talk to me here."
"No. I don't." Max murmured. "It won't matter, nothing I say will matter."
"Hey, hey hey hey, Max, don't talk like that. We haven't even been on the road that…oh. Max,look at me."
Max sighed and turned her head to look at her friend. Bright red blood dripped down Max's shirt and stained the cotton.
"Ah, fuck." Chloe breathed.
"Just like all the other times." Max muttered. But at least, she could stop the disaster that had begun this regression. She took a deep breath.
"You'll miss the stoplight if you keep staring at me." Max informed in a dry tone. She pointed to the light up ahead turning from yellow to red.
"Shit!"
Chloe stomped on the breaks and the car screeched to a halt. Another car sped past from their left, the car that would have t-boned the pair had Max said nothing. The seatbelt dug into Max's chest as she was launched forward, and the next moment filled Max with utter dread.
"Are you getting hungry Max? We could pick something up on the road."
Max felt sick. Completely sick. There was a weight in the bottom of her stomach which seemed to absorb air meant for her lungs and turn it into poison, that threatened to climb up her throat and burn her from the inside. Tears ran and mingled with the blood. A single sob escaped her lips.
"How long will I be trapped?" She whispered to the jackass god.
"What?" Chloe asked.
"Just…stop the car, Chloe. Now. Please." Max's words were broken.
"Ya, of course," Chloe sputtered back. Her eyes were wide and her hands fumbled as she turned the wheel.
Max opened the door and stumbled out onto the shoulder. The pair had found themselves at a 4 way stop in a lonely, tree filled part of the world. The air was cold, almost icy, and it smelled of ripe blackberry bushes and pine trees. Not that Max could actually smell it, as blood was clogging her nose,but she could imagine the smell; the smell of home. Max's legs shook as she made her way over to a nearby bus stop plopped herself down, nearly blinded from tears.
Rain began to fall, hitting her arms, and chilling her to her bone.
She tried to breathe, but it was in vain. All she could manage was hysterical sobs. She wiped her tears, which only managed to spread the blood on her face.
"Hey, hey, Max!" Chloe shouted, running after her, completely at a loss. She stopped dead when she saw her friend's blood stained face. "Shit! Have you been jumping?"
Tears were Max's only reply.
"Okay, okay." Chloe sat next to Max and fumbled in her pockets. She produced some napkins which must have been sitting in the jacket awhile, as they looked quite worn. She tore one in half, putting a bit of the napkin up each of Max's nostrils. Then, she wiped Max's face clean. "Tip your head up Max, it will help."
Max tried to do as she was told. She wasn't used to this, being the one that needed saving. Chloe was usually the emotional and illogical one. But in the past year since they left the Bay, Max had watched Chloe become strong. They were both adults now.
But, as Max cried on a public bench, having her face wiped and cleaned, she felt more like a helpless toddler. The rain had picked up to a steady drizzle.
"Alright, deep breaths." Chloe said, trying her best to sound soothing, "Come on Max, tell me what-"
In an instant, Chloe was gone, along with the rain. Max gasped.
She watched Chloe's car come barreling down the road.
No.
She hoped beyond hope that Chloe would see her and stop the car, but she just kept heading towards the stoplight. Max closed her eyes and turned away as she heard the sound of screeching tires and metal on metal.
'Selfish.' Max thought 'I was selfish to leave the car!' Absolute panic gripped her. She had to fix this.
She hauled herself off the bench and walked down the road. Her legs were shaking so hard she thought they might fall off. Her breathing was out of control, she dragged in painful breath after painful breath. The rain began to fall again.
She felt extremely sick. She had to save Chloe. At any cost. She held out her hand, and turned back time.
This was her first actual attempt to turn back time for a while. She hoped she could still do it. She felt a familiar pull, an iciness around her that the crisp Washington air could never match. She rocketed backwards, a thrilling head rush. For the first time in a long time, she felt in control. She felt good.
Her control was rewarded. Once more, Chloe's car came zooming down the road. Max made sure she wasn't standing in its direct path. She waved her arms.
"Chloe!" She yelled. It was a bit off, as she still had the napkins in her nose. The car screeched to a halt. Max breathed a sigh of relief.
Chloe rolled down the window. "Max? What the hell?"
"Hey um, can I get back in the car?"
"Uh, ya, fuck. Just get in!"
Max nodded and climbed back into the passenger's seat with a grin on her bloody face. She got herself situated, and realized that she wasn't crying anymore. In fact, she felt great. Every atom inside her buzzed with life.
"Your hands are shaking." Chloe noted.
"Ya," Max laughed, somewhat hysterical. "I just saved our lives."
"By jumping." It wasn't a question. "Did you do it on purpose?"
Max pursed her lips, "It's complicated."
They approached the stoplight and watched the offending car zoom by.
Chloe scowled, "All the garbage people are out driving tonight. Just perfect."
The two drove past, and Max breathed a sigh of relief. No jumping. That was a good sign.
"So, Ms. It's Complicated," Chloe said. "Start talking."
Max inhaled, the rush from the jumping was wearing off and leaving her with a heart beating out of her chest. Her head pounded and she could hear blood rushing in her ears. "I was stuck in a time loop. That garbage person who zoomed by t-boned us, and I kept jumping back to right before it happened, on accident."
"T-boned us? Shit. Is that how you ended up out of the car?"
"No…" Max bit her lip "I tried to stop the accident by just getting out of the car, and time reset again. I was stuck. I managed to flag you down, but only after…"
"I got into the crash again." Chloe finished.
"Ya."
Chloe sighed. "Fucking perfect. Well, I'm glad we're not dead, but holy shit Max, look at you! You're covered in blood, and you're shaking, and…were you crying?"
Again, Max felt that helpless feeling, like she was a kid again. The rush of jumping was completely gone now, and the poison weight in her stomach returned.
"Just a little. I was…stuck. I couldn't do a damn thing about it. My powers just kept making me relive it all. I just…I just…" Her voice rose and new tears sprang from her eyes. "I was scared."
Max felt faint. The world around wobbled. Blood dripped onto her hands. The napkins were failing her. "I think I'm going to throw up"
"Okay."
Once more Chloe pulled over.
Max stumbled out and emptied the contents of her stomach onto some unsuspecting blackberry bushes. She looked down, and wished that she hadn't. Blood was mixed with the vomit. Hopefully just from her nose. The rain had started up, and it was pouring much more than before.
Chloe chased after, holding Max's hair back with one hand, and placing her other on Max's forehead. "You're-you're burning up." She informed.
Max wiped her lips and tried to stand, but her knees were wobbly. Chloe steadied her.
"Alright, fuck the one-year thing," Chloe said. "We have to get you better. We're finding a motel, and you're going to take it easy until you're alright."
"No, I'm fine." Max tried to insist. That weight in her stomach seemed to get heavier, a feeling of hopelessness hung in the air. She didn't want to take it easy.
"You're not Max. You need a stable place to relax until your powers stop fucking you over. I'm not giving you a choice in this."
Max's heart deflated. The rain intensified drenching both her and her blue haired guardian. Before she knew it, she was sitting in the car staring at the ceiling with two new bits of napkin shoved up her bleeding nose.
"Keep your head tipped up." Chloe said from the passenger's seat. "It will help."
They drove in verbal silence for awhile. The only noise came from the soft radio or the pounding of the rain.
Chloe finally broke the silence. "Are you getting hungry Max? We could pick something up on the road."
A jolt of terror went through her, and she quickly took in her surroundings. There was still rain.
"Ya." Max replied, still broken from her recent wave of sickness. "Something easy, like maybe soup."
Chloe nodded. "I'll take care of you."
Max felt no reassurance.