Chapter 1: I Of The Storm

Maxine Caulfield stepped out of her Uber to a familiar building. The building that is familiarly foreign to her now.

It had been 10 years since she last stepped foot into Blackwell.

10 years since she last came back to Arcadia Bay.

10 years since she had seen any of her schoolmates from the class of 2013. Or what's left of it.

It had been 10 years since that freak storm.

10 years since she defied fate and made the decision to save Chloe.

10 years since she and Chloe decided to leave this place behind for good and start afresh somewhere else.

And it's 10 years of regret and guilt and trauma that she had to live with every day.

'It's the price we have to pay for staying alive' was what Chloe Price always said days after tearful days, nights after sleepless nights.

It's been 10 years, but the nightmare of that wretched week still haunted her.

Kate jumping off the roof, hitting the concrete with a loud splat.

The sound of bones crunching when Chloe got run over by the train.

Brain matter spilling out when the bullet went through Chloe's skull.

Flashes going off as Max laid helplessly on the ground, whimpering.

Victoria begging Max again and again to save her, and Max failing every single time.

The sharp prick of the needle on her neck, over and over and over again.

Bodies and bodies piling along the streets of Arcadia Bay.

So when she received an invitation from the Blackwell Foundation two months ago for the Charity Ball in Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of Storm Ingrid, she was stunned into tears.

Max had tried her best to erase her existence amongst people from Arcadia Bay. She had been running for 10 years and yet her past still managed to catch up to her.

She had been based in Asia for the past four years but apparently someone from Blackwell saw her photographs auctioning at a charity event in Vietnam and managed to track her down through the gallery and got hold of her email address.

Nothing much was written in the email except for an invitation to join the charity ball and a request for her to donate one of her photographs to the charity auction.

She was uncertain if she was ready to meet the ghost of her past so soon. After all, it had only been a decade.

She thought of just donating some of her works for the charity auction as a form of redemption, then wondered who would be generous enough to part with their money for an auction in a small town like Arcadia Bay.

Probably just the Prescott. And she wasn't keen to meet them.

She was sure neither the Prescott nor the residents of Arcadia Bay would be keen to meet her either.

After all, the people of Arcadia Bay would be better off never seeing the cold-blooded killer that allowed Storm Ingrid to wreck their hometown and murdered hundreds of innocents.

There was so much blood on her hands.

Too much death because of her.

Max was determined to run away from Arcadia Bay forever. She was a coward. She had been ever since she got into that old truck and left Arcadia Bay with Chloe the moment the storm subsided.

She was a coward and she was not ready to change that anytime soon.

That changed when she received an email from Kate, writing to her on behalf of the committee of Blackwell Foundation, and as her capacity as Max's friend.

Kate Marsh, one of her few good friends from Blackwell Academy.

Kate Marsh, the girl that was drugged by Mark Jefferson.

Kate Marsh, the girl that was bullied by the entire school into suicide.

Kate Marsh, the girl who almost jumped to her own death.

That Kate Marsh was alive and she really wanted to meet Max.

Next thing Max knew, she was on a plane flying back to America, preparing herself mentally for the ultimate reunion.

She wondered how many Blackwell students from the 2013 class would be there. How many of them were alive?

She shuddered just thinking about that question.

She knew she would find out really soon.

Max stepped into the campus and looked around, taking everything in. The charity ball would be held the next day at the school gym — in memory of the students who lost their lives in the storm — and Max had arrived a day earlier in Blackwell to see what had changed since the storm, and to make sure her photographs for the auction had safely arrived at the venue. Max also wanted to see if she was ready to face everyone in Arcadia Bay after all these years of running. She was pretty much ready to bail at the slightest discomfort like she had done the past 10 years.

Blackwell Academy looked different now. The fountain where she used to sit and daydream were gone, so was the statue of Jeremiah Blackwell. She wondered if that statue had been moved or was it destroyed in the storm.

Replacing the statue was 5 foot tall stone monument. On top of the monument was strangely a doe sculpture made of brass, its eyes seemingly staring straight at Max.

Memory of the doe spirit began to flood back.

The doe running towards the lighthouse in the storm.

The doe prancing around the junkyard where Rachel Amber was buried.

The doe strutting on the streets after the storm.

She was watching your every move.

Max blinked hard and the memory of the doe spirit was buried at the back of her head, like the many things she had buried from 2013.

She focused her attention on the stone monument instead. On the monument was a plaque that read, "In Memory of the Blackwell Students who fell in Storm Ingrid 2013". Below these words were a bunch of names. The names of all those students who were killed in the storm.

The storm that Max created.

Max stood rooted on the ground and stared at the monument but could not register any of the names listed on the plaque. No matter how hard she tried to read them, the names on the plaque just appeared to be gibberish to Max. Her brain seemed to have blocked off her ability to read. The noise in her brain, however, was getting louder by the second.

You killed us! You killed us! I killed them!

You allowed this! You allowed this! I allowed this!

Murderer! Murderer! I am a murderer!

She felt a sudden wave of anxiety hitting her like a ton of bricks. Her heart started racing, cold sweat formed on her forehead and her hands turned cold.

She couldn't breathe.

Couldn't breathe. Couldn't breathe.

She struggled to catch her breath.

Oh no, oh no, oh no!

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's all my fault!

Max started gasping for air.

"Max Caulfield!"

Someone had hugged her from behind, embracing her tightly, effectively pulling her out of her anxiety attack.

"Max! I missed you so much!"

Max recognized that voice. After 10 years, Max still recognized that voice. The same voice that asked her what she was doing up on the roof, the same voice who told Max that she was in a nightmare and couldn't wake up unless she put herself to sleep. Eternally.

"Kate?"

The dirty blonde hair girl let go of Max so that they could have a good look at each other.

Kate had grown taller, her blonde hair long and flowy and no longer tied up in a bun. She looked radiant and so much more cheerful than when she was in Blackwell Academy.

"Max! It's so good to see you again! I thought I lost you after the storm. You wouldn't believe how relieved I was when I found out you're alive!"

Kate gave Max a hug again and started crying. Max started shedding tears of her own too, wrapping her arms around Kate and bringing her close.

"Kate, I'm so so so glad you are alive too. I was so afraid that I would never see you again." Max sobbed.

Max never dared dream of the day she would meet Kate again because she never knew if that day would ever come.

A sinner didn't deserve to dream.

But here she was, reunited with Kate. Max was never religious but at this moment, she thanked God for letting Kate lived.

"Max, you look awfully pale. Are you alright?" Kate asked, holding Max's hand. Kate's hands felt soothingly warm against Max's icy cold hands.

"Just feeling a little overwhelmed from everything. I'll be fine." Max replied, then realized there was a man behind Kate. He gave Max a smile.

"Oh! I'm so happy to see you that I forgot to introduce my husband. This is Jacob." Kate's husband held out his hand and shook Max's hand.

"Jacob, this is the high school friend I told you so much about. Max. She literally saved my life in school. I would probably not be here if it's not for her." Kate beamed as she said this, causing Max to blush.

"I heard so much about you, Max," Jacob said. "Thanks for looking out for Katie."

Max just stared silently at the couple, not knowing how to respond. Saving Kate from the rooftop seemed like an eternity ago, yet it also seemed like yesterday. She had nightmares of Kate jumping off the rooftop so often that sometimes even she was confused if she really did persuade Kate from taking her own life.

Sensing Max's awkwardness, Kate asked Jacob to help the Blackwell Foundation with the setting up of the charity ball first, while she spent some quality time with her good friend.

"Let me bring you on a tour of Blackwell. Lots have changed since you last came here." Kate said, looping her arm around Max's arm. They walked like this towards the academy building, like no time had passed.

"Wow, Kate. You are married. I'm sorry I wasn't here to attend your wedding." Max rubbed nervously at the back of her neck.

"It's okay, Max. I tried looking you. Couldn't find you on Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat. I'm actually really impressed that you managed to stay away from social media at this time and age."

Max looked down guiltily. It's not that she had stayed away from social media. It's just that she had taken a conscious effort not to connect with anyone from Blackwell nor Arcadia Bay. She did not use her full name for her current Facebook account and her profile picture was that of a waterfall. It's not that easy to find her on Facebook.

"I even went looking for you at your home in Seattle a year after the storm but you had moved." Kate revealed.

"Oh my gosh, you did?"

"Mhmm. I was so disappointed when I knew you moved," Kate said, giving Max a bittersweet smile. "Where were you?"

Max recalled what it was like after the storm ripped Arcadia Bay apart.

Traveling back to Seattle with Chloe. Trying hard (but failing) to forget that she chose to let the storm ruined the lives of every innocent people from her hometown. Having nervous breakdowns so often, her parents decided to move to Boston, as far away from Arcadia Bay as they could.

"I went to a college in Boston," Max explained as briefly as she could, "Thought it would be a nice change. Changed my phone number too after I lost my phone."

Kate hummed in response, not entirely convinced but was too kind to probe any further. The storm had changed the lives of many people and everyone's coping mechanism was different. Escaping was probably how Max coped with the stress of witnessing the destruction of Storm Ingrid.

Kate understood this too well and she wasn't going to judge.

They stepped into the hallway of the academy building. Not much had changed at all. There were posters of the charity ball everywhere, together with posters of an upcoming theatre production of Hamlet by the students of Blackwell. An occasional "Go Bigfoot" and "Support Otters" posters were pinned on the billboard.

"The academy building was pretty much intact after the storm. Only the roof needed repairing, which is great so they took the chance to upgrade the door and lock to the rooftop, so no one could ever try jumping off any roof again." Kate chuckled at the irony of it. "I guess Jeremiah Blackwell was looking over this place, although his statue was destroyed in the storm."

Max heaved a sigh of relief. At least the school was not destroyed and the students were able to get back to school sooner.

"You seemed to have changed a lot, Kate. You are so much more outgoing than before."

Kate laughed. "If you tell me 10 years ago that I would be in Blackwell Foundation committee organizing charity balls and parties for Blackwell alumnus, I would probably think you are crazy. I guess the storm has brought out a stronger side of me. After all, you saved me from myself and I want to pay it forward by helping others, especially those devastated by the storm."

Max listened with admiration in her eyes. She was impressed as much as she was ashamed. Impressed with how much Kate had grown these 10 years. Ashamed that she chose to run away instead of staying behind to help after the storm.

"Wh- what happened to you during the s-storm? You don't really have to a-answer if you feel uncomfortable." Max stammered.

It's been a long time since Max felt this nervous. Must be the power of Blackwell. This place always managed to turn Max into a nervous wreck.

Kate looked at Max empathetically. It was obvious Max was still carrying the shadow of the storm with her after all these years. "After you visited me at the hospital, I was discharged the next morning right before the storm struck and I managed to get out of Arcadia Bay with my parents unharmed. I really thank God for this and I believe it's a sign from Him. Staying alive to help rebuilt Arcadia Bay and Blackwell."

Kate looked into Max's eyes, her voice softened. "I also went through counseling sessions organized for Blackwell students after that. Many of us had survival guilt and PTSD after this and I think it really helped all of us who survived the storm."

Kate stepped forward and held onto Max's hand. "Have you been to any counseling session after the storm?"

Max hesitated. She remembered the only therapy session she went to. She poured her heart out. She revealed she had time powers. She confessed she caused the storm that destroyed Arcadia Bay. The psychologist listened and nodded like he understood. Max was diagnosed with delusional disorder. Her parents were advised to put her in the system.

Max rewound.

She never went to a counseling session since.

"No… It didn't help."

Kate gave Max's hand a gentle squeeze. "You can always talk to me. I may not be a counselor but I am a really good listener. Ask Jacob. I can listen to him talk for hours and not fall asleep." Kate joked, drawing a chuckle from Max.

Kate had changed so much. Gone was that timid girl standing on the rooftop of Prescott Dormitory threatening to jump because she was drugged and bullied. It almost felt like their position had changed like Max was the one on the verge of falling over and Kate was the one supporting and encouraging her to step away from the edge.

Max really appreciated the concern from her good friend.

"Thanks, Kate. I will be sure to take up on your offer one day and I'll talk so much you'll beg for me to stop."

Kate giggled. "Try me, Max. I'm all ears."

Kate brought Max on a tour around the classrooms. The photography classroom looked really different now with Mark Jefferson's photographs totally replaced. The seats had also been rearranged.

Max was hit by a sense of nostalgia. She could almost remember discovering her time powers in this very classroom.

"After that monster was arrested, they almost shut down the photography course in Blackwell. Fortunately, Victoria helped to pull some strings from her parents' gallery to have a new replacement teacher for this course."

"Victoria did that?" Max was surprised. That school bully actually went out of her way to get a new photography teacher for Blackwell.

"Yup. She did a lot to help rebuilt Blackwell after the storm."

"Never expected that from Victoria Chase."

"Victoria is a changed woman, Max. She actually started Blackwell Foundation and has raised a significant amount of fundings for the rebuilding of Blackwell as well as Arcadia Bay." Kate explained with a smile.

"Wow Kate, for you of all people to say that about her, I would really want to meet her now to see for myself how much she has changed," Max replied with an amused laugh.

"Victoria and I had long put our past behind us. Besides, Victoria is dying to see you too. She's the one who heard about your works exhibiting in Asia and managed to get hold of your contact through her network."

Why of course. If anyone was able to track her down, it's Victoria Chase with her networks from Chase Space. But at this moment, reconnecting with Kate had been such a wonderful experience that she secretly thanked Victoria for it.

Kate walked with Max out of the academy building and towards the dormitory. The dormitory looked quite different from what Max remembered. Most significantly, the dormitory no longer had the name Prescott Dormitory written on it.

"Chase Dormitory?" Max exclaimed when she finally saw the name on the plaque besides the dormitory's main entrance. "I hate the Prescott but whatever happened to Prescott Dormitory?"

"It was flattened by the storm, like many of Prescott's properties."

"And they didn't rebuild this?"

"Well, they lost a great deal of money when Storm Ingrid swept through and destroyed most of their properties and land." Kate lowered her voice and said solemnly. "Furthermore, after the murder of Nathan, I heard Mrs Prescott sank into depression. The Prescott moved shortly after the storm, selling everything they had in Arcadia Bay, or what's left of it."

Max hated the Prescott but even this information was too much for her. A memory which she had suppressed for a long time suddenly hit her. Nathan Prescott was killed by Mark Jefferson before the Vortex Party. The same Mark Jefferson who drugged her and killed Chloe. She knew Jefferson would kill him but she did nothing to prevent it.

Blood on your hands. So much blood on your hands.

Max took a deep breath. These voices had been plaguing her since October 2013.

But she deserved it.

She knew she deserved it.

All of it.

Mark Jefferson still haunted her in her dreams. It was always so vivid — the prick of the needle, the flash of the camera, the cries of Victoria — even though Max knew he was gone. It was all over the news, Mark Jefferson being arrested for abduction and murder, and sent to prison.

For a while, the photography industry gossiped and laughed over the rumors of him getting beaten and sexually abused in prison every day for what he had done.

Max didn't care. He could rot in hell.

But Max wasn't going to ask Kate anything about Mark Jefferson. She's sure it was as traumatic an experience for Kate as it was for her. She just hoped Kate had recovered and moved on from this terrible episode. Max hadn't and she wasn't sure if she would ever recover from the Dark Room.

"So Victoria Chase donated money to get this rebuilt? I never knew the Chase has that much money." Max changed the topic, not wanting to dwell on the Prescott anymore.

"The Chase didn't exactly donate the money for the reconstruction of the dorm. Victoria helped to raise the rebuilding funds by holding a few auctions and gala dinners to the clients of Chase Space. She was really good with her marketing and these fundraisers were so successful it even attracted some Hollywood stars to attend. So the dorm was named after her, for her effort."

Max nodded, trying to process this information. Seemed like Victoria finally used her wealth and status for something good.

Kate brought Max into the dorm for a quick tour. The hallway of the dorm looked more lively than before. Brighter colors were painted, with brighter lights lining the hallway. There were photographs and art pieces hanging on the walls, which Kate explained were the works of the students in Blackwell. The dormitory almost had a nice, artsy feel to it. Not surprising. This was not named Chase Dormitory for nothing.

There were still individual slates outside each dorm room. Unlike her days in the dormitory, all the slates were filled with rather encouraging stuff. There didn't seem to be signs of bullying, nor "will bang for Jesus" kind of offensive writings. On the billboard, was a huge "Stop Bullying" poster and a hotline number to call that ensured anonymity of the caller. Seemed like Blackwell was finally doing something about the bullying situation in school.

"That's all there's to see in the dorm. The rooftop is out-of-bounds, obviously, so we couldn't go up to take a look." Kate smiled.

Perhaps it was good that the Prescott Dormitory was destroyed. So much of the bullying happened here and Kate almost jumped off that roof. So fuck you, Prescott Dormitory.

Kate walked Max out to the courtyard when her phone beeped.

"Oh, Victoria just text me. They need help at the gym. Max, we really need to have a proper catch-up, perhaps over tea," Kate gave Max a knowing grin, "But I gotta get back to help the guys with the charity ball. Before I run, key in your number for me. I still don't have your new number." Kate shoved her phone into Max's hand. Max keyed her number into Kate's phone obediently, knowing that this time, she would definitely be keeping in contact with Kate.

"Kate, can you also help me check if the photographs I'd donated for the auction had safely arrived? The logistic company told me they would be dropped off today."

"Victoria's in charge of all the auction items. I will check with her." Kate gave Max a tight hug before going back to the academy building.

Max took out her camera and explored the courtyard. The benches had all been restored with plaques to thank the donors for their donation. The Tobanga totem was strangely still around. It still looked the same and Max wondered if it withstood the storm while the whole dormitory was destroyed.

She snapped a photo of the Tobanga.

At that very moment, her phone rang and Max jumped, startled by the loud ringtone penetrating the silence in the air.

She took out her phone and saw an unknown number. She answered it anyway.

"Maxine Caulfield!"

A familiar, bitchy, voice pierced right into her ear.

"You disappeared for 10 years, and you think you can just waltz into Blackwell and not say hi to us? How dare you?"

Good ol' Victoria Chase. Was Kate sure she really was a changed woman?

"Hello to you too, Victoria. And it's Max. Always Max. Never Maxine."

"You sure about that? Not MC Price?" Max could hear Victoria sniggered as she said this. In what way was Victoria Chase different again?

"That's just a pseudonym I use for my works. Why are you calling me? Who gave you my number?" Max was getting irritated. Her day was going too well for it to be ruined by the Queen Bitch of Blackwell.

"Katie Bunny gave your number to me."

Katie Bunny? Victoria and Kate were on pet name basis?

"Anyways, Max, your photographs have arrived safely this morning. They're in safe hands, obviously, since I'm Victoria Chase." Victoria let out a high-pitch laugh, almost bursting Max's eardrums.

"Alright sure. That's all I need to know. Bye Victoria." Max was ready to hang up.

"Don't be rude, Max. We need to have a chat. After all, it's been 10 years since we last met. Besides, I still need you to sign some papers for the auction." Victoria said matter-of-factly. "I'm really busy right now, so why not I send the documents over to your hotel later?"

"You don't have to, Victoria. I can go over to the gym now to sign them. I'm still in Blackwell." Max began to make her way to the academy building.

"You can't come into the gym right now. No unauthorized personnel allowed during setup. Look, I'll drop by later at your hotel. I'll buy you dinner too, as thanks for your donation. Surely you're not going to reject your old dorm neighbor after you MIA for 10 years, are you?"

Passive aggressiveness? Wow, Victoria, that's real classy. How on earth was she different from the bitchy Victoria from 10 years ago?

"Alright fine. I'm staying at the Bay Hotel. Just bring the documents over. I don't need your dinner."

"Wow, Max. It's just a friendly dinner from your friendly dorm neighbor. Don't need to get your panties in a bunch. Whatever. I'll see you later at 7. Au revoir, Maxine." Victoria replied, obviously trying to rile Max up.

Max huffed. She was riled up. Victoria Chase always had that effect on her.

This was going to be a long day.