Life is Strange
It All Has To End
Author's Note: This is a oneshot I came up with during the wait for Polarized. This is how I imagined it ending and while I wasn't far wrong, I still feel this is a pretty good ending. Please review and let me know what you think.
Max's rewind power stopped at the same point it had been doing for the last three times. She was quickly running out of options on the table.
"Wait, Mr Jefferson." She called as he turned to get the syringe full of anaesthetic strong enough to kill an elephant. "Can I please have one last request?"
"Okay, how can I resist those Bambi eyes?" Jefferson muttered. "Okay Max, what is it?" Max thought for a second. Asking him to put music on hadn't worked. Neither had asking him to turn off the lights. And she'd rewound after asking him to take one last picture of her because things had been going really badly.
"My throat's getting really scratchy. Can I please have some water?"
"Of course, Max. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable." Max couldn't help but be disgusted by the note of sick and twisted love in his voice. His type of endearment sickened her to the stomach. Just as she finished drinking from the cup, she heard the familiar crash of a door getting kicked in. Springing into action, Jefferson grabbed the tripod from by the cart and took position along the wall next to the door as usual. Max had practised her timing and studied the distance, and now she picked her moment perfectly.
"David, look out!"
"How did you..." Jefferson was speechless that Max knew exactly who was going to come through the door. He shook it off quickly before taking a swing with the tripod as the door opened. Thanks to Max's warning, David was able to duck out the way in time before raising his gun. Jefferson brought the tripod swinging round and cracked David across the knuckles. His pistol discharged violently but harmlessly into the wall before David's damaged hand let go of the gun. Jefferson swung upwards, smashing it into David's chin and sending him sprawling backwards. As before, Max pushed the cart with her free foot, sending it crashing into Jefferson's backside. The distraction bought David a full five seconds to drag himself to his feet and raise his fists in a guard position.
"No gun, no balls!" Jefferson teased as Max pulled against her bonds with a newfound strength. If this went badly, she needed to make a beeline for the door.
"Jefferson, it's over!" David growled, getting ready for a fair fight as Jefferson dropped the tripod.
"You are not going to stop me!" With that, Jefferson ran to a shelving unit along the wall on the other side of the room. David ran over to tackle him into the wall, but Jefferson suddenly pulled a gun and fired. It was over in a second. David slumped over the sofa, blood spreading on his shirt over his chest.
Max tore her way free of the chair in that instant. The tape around her arms gave out at the exact same second. Once she'd quickly stood up, she only had to wrench her ankle free. Jefferson realised what was going on, so he swung round and fired at her. Quickly, Max used her rewind power. It never affected where she was, only the objects around her. As the duct tape on the arms of the chair repaired itself and went slack from not having her arms trapped, the bullet went back into Jefferson's gun. As he swung back to his original position, the other bullet tore free of David's chest and followed the second one back into the clip. David was also flung back into his original place as Jefferson did a running moonwalk back to the door. Max's rewind stopped abruptly as a crashing pain tore through her head. She'd tried to rewind too much, and was disoriented for a second as blood poured from her nose again.
"No gun, no balls!" Jefferson teased again as Max shook off the headache and dizziness.
"Jefferson, it's over!"
"You are not going to stop me!"Jefferson ran over to his shelving unit again. Once again, he managed to pull the trigger, causing David to drop dead. At that moment, Max jumped over the sofa. She landed awkwardly by the door before racing out of the dark room. Realising what was going on, Jefferson fired at her. As she slammed the door shut, six small bullet holes appeared in it before a series of sharp clicks signalled the clip was empty.
Max didn't know if he had any spare clips on the shelf, and she didn't plan on sticking around to find out. She raced up the stairs and through the hatch, before stepping into the Prescott's old barn and the fresh air. She gratefully gulped in breaths of sweet freedom before taking off at a breakneck speed.
Max ran for ages before tripping and rolling down the edge of the embankment that ran next to the junk yard. As she picked herself up, her eye caught the car park and saw something incredible. Chloe's truck was still there. Max remembered her leaving the keys in the car and the door unlocked in case they needed to make a quick getaway.
"Chloe, you truly are my guardian angel." Max muttered to herself. Without hesitation, she jumped in and reached for the keys. Sure enough, they were in the sun visor, exactly where she'd left them. Jefferson must have given up on the truck after not finding the keys in Chloe's pockets. Max's day improved as she turned the key and listened to the sweet melody of the engine firing into life. Still a bit groggy from the drugs, she did a three-hundred point turn and tried to aim in the general direction of the gate. The barrier was down, so she put her foot down and smashed straight through it. The vandalism alarm went off while she sped off down the road.
As she drove, Max's eyes filled with tears. The stereo had switched on when the engine started, and a song Max recognised as one Chloe and Rachel Amber made together. It was a punk track, because Chloe was oblivious to the existence of any other kind of music and for a second Max half expected to look over and see Chloe demanding to know what the hell she was doing in her driver's seat and to get out of her truck. But no, Chloe was gone now. As much as that thought made Max want to vomit, she pushed it aside as far as she could. She couldn't afford to focus on that right now.
As soon as she focused properly, Max realised that everything had happened at once. There was a car that was speeding up behind her that Max realised at once to be Jefferson's. Not only that, but the sky had darkened. A soft drizzle was gracing the windscreen and in the distance Max could see the menacing column of the tornado. Lightning flashed within its vortex as it ripped the seabed straight off the ground while drawing ever closer to Arcadia Bay. Max knew exactly where she needed to go and what to do. This had all started with the lighthouse. It would end the same way.
Max drove through Arcadia Bay, desperately wanting to stop and help people she loved. Joyce, Warren, Pompidou; even Victoria deserved better than to die in a tornado. No one deserved to die in fear. All around her, people ran for their lives. Some of them were even considerate enough to yell things such as 'Wrong Way' at her as she drove through the town. They were totally oblivious to her plan and had their own lives to save, yet they still took the time to try and warn her exactly what she was getting herself into.
Max parked at the entrance to the cliff before jumping out of the truck and running up to the lighthouse as fast as she could. She made decent ground fighting against the wind before she heard Jefferson slamming his car door shut
"I'm armed, Max!" she heard him yell over the gale force winds. "That cliff leads to a dead end either way! Just give up and make it easy on yourself! I promise it'll be painless!" Thinking fast, Max took cover behind one of the trees, hoping to god that it wouldn't suddenly be uprooted and send her packing. If that were to happen, she would be killed instantly. As it stood, Max ripped a small branch off the tree and readied herself.
Eventually, Jefferson managed to fight his way up to the tree she was huddled behind. As he swung his pistol round to check behind the tree, she swung the branch. The gun discharged violently but harmlessly into the ground as Jefferson's damaged hand released the pistol. Max spun the branch menacingly as she got ready to fight someone who was nearly twice her size.
"No gun, no balls!" she yelled aggressively as she swung again. Jefferson managed to bring his arm up in time to shield himself, causing the branch to break uselessly on impact. Max swore and dropped the splintered pieces of wood that were left in her hands. Jefferson dived for his gun, but Max stepped on it before using her rewind power to back him up to when he swung around to check behind the tree. The gun hadn't moved because she was in physical contact with it, but Jefferson thought he had it in his hand. As he struggled to comprehend what the hell was going on, Max picked the gun up and threw it over the edge of the cliff. Now the pair of them stood on even ground. No one had a weapon. It was all about whose will was stronger now. Max sprinted off just as Jefferson caught sight of her.
Not bothering to work out what just happened to his gun, he gave chase. The chase led up to the very edge of the cliff. The tornado was cutting very close to the lighthouse, just as Max was hoping. Just as the pair of them neared the lighthouse, she heard a click behind her. To her horror, she turned to see Jefferson holding a gun to her head. Then it dawned on her. Jefferson must have grabbed David's gun as well. The two guns were totally different, so he wouldn't have any spare ammunition, but even one round would be enough to kill.
What are you going to do now, Max?" Jefferson sneered as Max brought her foot up between his legs. He yelped and dropped the gun. Max kicked it away before trying to remember what little self defence she knew. If her plan didn't work, she was at least going to make Jefferson bleed.
Jefferson blocked Max's first punch before delivering four strong uppercuts to her stomach and flooring her. She rolled to the side quickly as his shoe made contact with the ground where her head had been. Thinking fast, she grabbed a stone from the ground and smashed it into the arm Jefferson raised to block. He stumbled back under the force of the impact, cursing like a sailor. Max swung again but Jefferson was ready this time and caught her wrist, twisting it viciously and causing her to drop the stone. Running on an adrenaline surge, he threw her forwards causing her to land in a muddy puddle.
"Don't you see, Max?" Jefferson ranted as he scanned the ground looking for his gun. After failing to find it he walked over, flipped Max onto her back and slammed his fist into her stomach. She let out a groan as she rolled onto her side. "If you'd just cooperated, we could have been safe in our darkroom together! But no, you just had to ruin everything! I tried to give you a chance at living after the storm, but now we're so close to it, there's no way to get back to the darkroom before Arcadia Bay gets torn to pieces! All I wanted was for you to be safe, warm and beautiful, and to look back and say that I was the reason for that. If you hadn't resisted, we could be in a warm room with hot chocolate, cameras and a working heater. As it stands, we're forced to stay on a cliff in the cold and wet while probably catching pneumonia!"
"Maybe I was wrong about you." Max gasped as blood dribbled from her mouth and nose from the punches to her stomach.
"Am I finally getting through?" Not quite believing his apparent triumph, Jefferson picked Max up before wiping the worst of the mud off her. "I'm going to treat you well, Max. Don't worry about anything." Jefferson held a hand out to Max. She hesitated a second before taking it and burying her head against his chest. Overjoyed, Jefferson picked her up and spun her round in a massive circle before realising how close he was getting to the edge of the cliff. He took a second to stop the vertigo before backing up. Max's plan had worked like gold. Jefferson looped his arm around Max, pulling her to him as he kissed her on the top of the head.
"I was wrong. You're not insane." Max murmured. Jefferson cupped her chin in her hand and tilted her head upwards, leaning in for a kiss. The look in Max's eyes stopped him dead. "You're a monster!" she growled fiercely. As Jefferson registered this, Max shoved him backwards.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jefferson screamed.
"It all has to end, to have never started." Max said to herself as she extended her hand before stepping backwards. Jefferson reversed his actions before reversing the twirl he'd done with Max. Only this time his arms were empty. Because Max had stepped back, he'd not been able to pick her up again before retracing the spin. Max stopped her rewind just as Jefferson got to the edge of the cliff. As he reoriented himself and wondered where she'd gone, she launched into a ferocious kick. Jefferson was sent packing over the edge. Immediately, Max followed him over, launching herself from the cliff. They were both picked up by the current of the tornado and dragged into the body of it. As they swirled in the body of the tornado and neared the eye of the storm, Max began to have trouble breathing. As she tried to focus on what she was doing, flashes of memories played in front of her. Except that these memories were ones she didn't remember. They showed Victoria being shot by Jefferson, Chloe being drugged and setting a tongue record on video, her jumping off the roof of the Blackwell girls' dormitories and so on.
Instantly, Max knew that these were other realities that had all been caused by her rewind power. Also, these were the very fabric of the tornado. This was the result of all those realities that simply wouldn't work crashing into each other. This would be the end of the world if she didn't stop it. As her field of vision narrowed from lack of oxygen, Max spotted Jefferson swirling around near the eye of the storm. As she fought for consciousness, she felt herself being dragged towards the eye herself.
As she neared Jefferson, she grabbed him by the shoulders. Max focused on the flailing man, time around her started rewinding. Since the Tornado was made of multiple alternate realities, Jefferson was pulled into the rewind even though Max had hold of him; but people and objects in contact with Max when she used rewind couldn't be rewound too. Jefferson let out a horrifying scream as his body was fragmented and torn apart.
"How?" he gasped before he fully fragmented. As Max watched, he was slowly split into a million separate pieces, each one a part of each alternate reality. A cloud of blood bloomed into the air before being scattered into the tornado.
"Goodbye, Mr Jefferson." Max gasped. Finally, she felt her lungs empty. She tried repeatedly to draw more breath, only to find it impossible. Instantly, a calm peace washed over her. She instantly knew there would be no more bullcrap. She would die then and there, but Arcadia Bay would get a tomorrow. As she drifted off into a permanent sleep and reality seemed to collapse, her brain could only register one last thought.
'I love you, Chloe.'
Line Break!
The girl opened her eyes, blinking quickly to adjust to the harsh sunlight that blinded her. Looking around, she took in her surroundings.
"How the hell did I get in the Blackwell girls' dormitories?" she muttered to herself. "Oh, that's right. I was out drinking with my girlfriend." Her head feeling like it might split open from the hangover, the girl sat up, just as the girl in question walked back into the room. Her chestnut hair was wet from the shower she'd just had and it seemed to glow in the sunlight when she stood in line with the window.
"You had some amount of alcohol last night!" she said. "You just wouldn't stop would you, Chloe?"
"No, you're right." Chloe muttered. "But you have to admit, that's one of the reasons you love me."
"Yeah, it is and I do." she admitted. "I also know what you want right now, but I have class and your parents will be missing you."
"Don't ever call my step-dictator a parent." Chloe muttered as her girlfriend opened her wardrobe and started changing without even bothering to be modest.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, knowing exactly what was wrong as she pulled her nightie over her head.
"God, you are such a tease." Chloe muttered. "If you don't want me throwing you on the bed and jumping you, then you will tell me where the hell the toilets are, right now."
"There are none in the dorms for some stupid reason." Her girlfriend said. "You have to go to the main building to crap."
"For god's sake, can they do nothing right here?" Chloe swore under her breath. She'd hoped to avoid risk of David seeing her on campus since she wasn't a student any more, but she was getting desperate. Quickly, she ducked out the door and raced through the dorms before making her way outside and across campus. She ducked into the main building to see that the massive clock in the hall was stopped just before 11:00. It was at that moment, she spotted Nathan Prescott in the hallway. This was perfect. She'd had evidence for ages that he was dealing drugs to kids. Now she had the perfect blackmail opportunity. Just as he looked up, she stormed over to him.
"What the hell do you want?" he said, an edge of panic to his voice. Chloe was about to reply when David's unmistakable voice cut through the air.
"Chloe Price, get your ass over here!"
"Get into the girls' toilets and wait for me there. I'll deal with you in a second!" Chloe growled at Nathan. Chloe went over to David and waited for the ball-busting she was going to get from being on campus.
"You've got five seconds to tell me why you're here and it'd better be legitimate." David said with all of his ex-military bravado. Suddenly, as if an angel had whispered in her ear, Chloe knew exactly what to say.
"Mum text me earlier to say you've forgotten your lunch again. It's at the diner when you're free to get it."
"Okay, thanks. Now get the hell out of here." David said in a voice that showed no thanks at all.
"Am I at least allowed to use the loo before I go?" Chloe asked with her usual attitude.
"Fine, you have five minutes and then you'd better get gone."
"Can we make it six?" she asked. "I hate odd numbers."
"You have four minutes then. Better get a move on." With that, David strutted off down the corridor. Chloe knew she didn't have long, so she dived into the girl's toilets and found Nathan muttering worriedly to himself.
"I hope you checked the perimeter as my step-ass would say." Chloe said, checking all the cubicles to make sure they weren't occupied. The conversation dissolved from there. Two wrong remarks later, and Nathan grabbed a gun from his coat and aimed it at her.
"Where did you get that? Come on, put that thing down!" Chloe's cockiness was gone in an instant. Her life was now on the line.
"Don't ever tell me what to do! I'm so sick of people telling me what t-" Nathan was abruptly cut off as he fell forwards, the gun slipping harmlessly from his hand. Behind him stood a girl in a grey hoodie with brown hair. She had a small hammer in her hand and a determined expression on her face.
"Hey there, Chloe."
"Max Caulfield, is that you?" Chloe was in a deep state of shock. "How the hell did you…"
"There's no time. You need to call your stepdad."
"How the hell do you know David?" Chloe asked.
"I'll explain everything later, just call him!" Without another word, Chloe took out her mobile and dialled the number she'd saved to her phone only so she'd know never to answer a call from.
"David, it's Chloe. Nathan Prescott just burst into the girls' toilets with a gun. Max knocked him out with the fire alarm hammer, you need to get here now!" Chloe hung up before David had chance to respond. About a minute later, he and three other security personnel burst in armed with Tasers and handcuffs. They cuffed Nathan's hands behind his back just as he started to recover.
"Chloe, I'm sorry you had to go through that." David said to her. "I see now that I was so obsessed with keeping you safe that I just put you in more danger and made you nearly as paranoid as I was. I'm sorry for all I've put you through."
"David, all you need is to speak to a counsellor." Chloe said. "It's like you say, combat will do things like this to you."
"Maybe you're right, but if principle Wells gets wind of the fact I'm talking to a counsellor he might worry about whether I'm fit for my job."
"We'll discuss that hurdle later." Chloe said. "I promise Mum and I will get you through it. In the meantime, Max, come with me a second. There's someone I need you to meet."
"Don't leave the campus. The police may have questions." David called after them. Max struggled to keep up as Chloe hurried to the front doors. Just then the girl Chloe was waiting for arrived. Quickly, Chloe brought her over to meet Max.
"Max, I want you to meet my girlfriend. This is Rachel Amber."
"Hey, Rachel. It's nice to meet you." Max said, shaking her hand.
'I did it.' Max thought. 'I saved her.'
"Are you okay, Max?" Chloe asked. "You look spaced out there. Are you high?"
"No, I just thought of something." Just then, Max noticed Rachel's camera. "Are you a photography student like me?"
"Yeah, I love photography." Rachel told her.
"Have you ever heard of a photographer called Mark Jefferson?" Max asked.
"Was he another one of those old-school nineteen-hundred ones?" Rachel asked.
"If you have an iPod or phone I'll Google him for you." Max said. Without a word, Rachel handed over her phone and Max typed Jefferson's name in. Surprisingly, nothing came up. There were a few named Mark Jefferson, but none of the pictures were anything like the Jefferson she'd had the displeasure of knowing. Joy burst inside her. She'd actually obliterated him from history.
"Did you find him?" Rachel asked.
"This is him." Max lied, pointing to the one in the middle.
"He's quite fit." Rachel mused, nodding approvingly
"You're into men now? You are so dumped." Chloe joked.
"You can't dump me, I've got half your underwear in my closet!" Rachel said loudly so that the whole corridor could hear.
"Max, do me a favour and get that hammer from the girls' toilets." Chloe said deviously. "I think I know someone else who needs an early nap."
"What hammer?" Rachel asked.
"We'll tell you later." Max said as police officers thundered down the corridor past them and dragged Nathan from the girls' toilets kicking and screaming.
"What the hell is going on?" Rachel was getting impatient now.
"I think you'd better come with us. We'll fill you in on everything." Chloe said as she looped her arm around Rachel. As the three teens laughed and joked together, Max felt truly contented. She felt bad that Jefferson had died in that level of agony, but he deserved it. Everyone was alive and well, and more importantly they were happy. Max knew that this was truly the way it all had to end.
END!