LIFE IS EGNARTS
"Being enlightened is no longer enough; you must apply. Being willing is no longer acceptable. You must do.
Make it count." - Ryan Daniel Montgomery
Prologue: smaerD nahT regnartS
October 7th, 2076 – Arcadia Bay
The long drive from Los Angeles was well worth it for the young couple seeking tranquility. The beauty of Arcadia Bay had been untouched by time for many decades, and maintained its old-time appearance despite the advancements in technology. That was one of many qualities that attracted the couple, a young man and woman, to the town. However, the female in the passenger side had an age-old connection to Arcaida Bay that dated back several decades. Her mother and her grandmother were from the bay, and this was more of a homecoming for her than anything else.
She was a bright student with a passion for painting. She enjoyed putting her paintbrush to the canvas with short effortless strokes, much like the brunette kept her hair. She dressed in vibrant colors that were nearly as bright as her blue eyes, and often times the brightness she brought into any room she walked into. Freckles were sparse across her cheeks and the bridge of her small nose, as well as across the top of her chest. She was the spitting image of 'plain' as some people said, but that never got her down. All she needed was the love and support of her boyfriend Ray, and her College goals laid out before her to have a happy life.
Even though she loved painting, perhaps it was the pinch of rebel in her that drew her toward a more graffiti style in her more recent works.
It felt like it was only yesterday she was last in Arcadia Bay. She was always there in her dreams. Always revisiting old friends and having full conversations and interactions that felt so real. She could never quite explain it when she tried to tell people. Her vivid dreams of Arcadia inspired her art, and often times gave her a glimpse into things she should not have known about her friends and family.
The long ride began to take its toll when the young woman began to doze off to sleep from the tranquil feeling of the vehicle cruising along the road with extremely light traffic making their journey easier than anything in Los Angeles.
When the car stopped, she heard Ray speak.
"We're here."
The girl perked up immediately and took a deep breath through her nostrils. Her eyes were as wide as a doe's in the headlights when she looked over to her grandmother's house. The front porch was vacant for once, as she was so used to the elderly woman sitting and watching the squirrels.
"Sorry…I…kind of dozed off." She said with a half chuckle.
Ray, her dark skinned boyfriend and aspiring director, smiled and reached over to place his hand over her shoulder. "Hey don't worry about it. We should get in before it gets too late. Your grandmother has a spare room right? Is it cool if we stay over?"
"She usually doesn't like company." The woman explained. "My mom's next door. She takes care of her…so it's fine if we crash there instead of here." All the while, the girl stepped out of the vehicle and looked up to the house. The chill of the air prompted her to fetch her white cotton jacket from the backseat of the car. "I just want to see her first."
"Is your dad around?" Ray asked while he got out of the car himself. He opened the back door soon after and fetched a box of two dozen donuts that he'd bought along the way. "I'm sure he'd love these. Unless granny has a sweet tooth?"
"He may be on patrol." She checked her wrist, and her watch's strap generated a thin glass-like panel that served as her phone's interface. "He hasn't flooded me with messages, so he must be at work. I hope he isn't still mad that I totaled my car…"
Ray walked around the car and stood beside her. "It's fine. Time heals all wounds, right? He'll forget it soon enough."
Silence fell over the freckled girl. Time healing all wounds was something she wasn't certain of…especially when she gazed upon her grandmother's house.
The girl walked onto the porch and let the memories rush past her mind. The two rocking chairs and the wooden table between them brought back fond memories of her childhood. There was a broken ape statue beneath the table that was missing an arm and its head that reminded her of a particular day where she was playing a little too much.
("Wow, even after all these years…Monkey-Man is still broken. Grampa never did get around to fixing it. Granny was super pissed that I knocked it over. Still sorry…")
Once her eyes left the rocking chairs, she settled her sights on a rock wedged beside the welcome mat. The girl squatted down and picked the rock up just enough to slide the spare key into her grasp.
("Ha! Mom strikes again! Thanks for the spare key…but granny really needs the Prescott card key system. So much safer…")
Once she opened the door, the girl stepped inside the warm living room and found it vacant. Her grandmother was probably in bed, her grandfather was probably out shopping, and her mother was certainly not present. The next best option was to explore the house and make themselves at home.
The old woman's eyes opened and stared at the ceiling. It felt like an eternity since she last opened her eyes.
("Where am I?")
She scanned around herself, but it felt difficult to move. Her body felt stiff, and she ached all over whenever she tried to move. What startled her the most wasn't her aged body, but the sound of rain falling increasingly hard after a few seconds of tranquility.
("Oh no…the tornado! It's coming soon! I've got to get out of here…somehow.")
The door to her bedroom opened, and the spitting image of her youth walked in with a taller young man behind her. She seemed reluctant, but respectful of the elderly woman's rest.
"Grandma?" The girl spoke.
"Oh, hey…" The elderly woman sounded a bit confused.
("What the fuck is going on? What did I do? I…I totally fucked everything up…!")
The elderly woman's thoughts were in total panic mode as her near perfect replica moved over to her bedside and pulled up a chair. "Grandma," the girl said with an excited smile. "This is Ray. I've talked about him with you a couple times. How are you feeling today?"
("God…what do I do? What is going on…?")
The old woman was quiet. She looked back and forth between the two, and decided to play along…as best she could. "I'm…I'm doing great. Uh…" She lingered on the sentence and looked at her apparent granddaughter.
"Grandma Max, you remember my name don't you?"
Silence.
("What…I'm…her…grandma?")
The girl smiled optimistically. The worry in her eyes was apparent, as she wanted her grandmother to get better.
Max's eyes loomed on the girl for several seconds, but she got a peek at the name woven into the jacket she wore. "Chloe." She said quietly. That name brought a sting to her heart and a smile to her face. "I could never forget you."
Truer words had never been spoken by a living being in quite a long time. It was so true that the old phrase about the truth hurting made Max wince.
"That's great!" Chloe kissed her grandmother's forehead. "Sorry to burst in on you like this. I figured Grampa would be home or something. But uh…I'm in town. For a while." She nodded as she spoke, with a jittery fingers on her knees. "The big city has become too much. It's kind of taken away from my creative process. Coming home sounded like a good idea."
"We brought treats, too!" Ray gave his best smile, hoping to win over Max with his enthusiasm if nothing else. "Unless you're not into that sort of thing. Can I get you anything?"
("I better go along with this. Maybe I can get back to where I was. Everything just…stopped. What's the last thing I saw…?")
Max cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Thanks…Ray. Chloe, make yourself at home. 'Mi casa es su casa', as they say…"
"You're the best! Thanks. I promise we won't make a lot of noise," Chloe stood up and straightened herself out. "Do you mind if we use the spare bedroom? I promise not to make a mess with my paint…"
"It's fine. Really…I don't mind…" Max spoke quietly, feeling oddly familiar with the girl suddenly. "Chloe." She paused. "What year is it?"
"2076."
"Wow…" Reality sunk it's cold talons into Max's psyche. "…Did a tornado ever….hit Arcadia Bay?"
Silence befell the young couple. Chloe reached over and held her grandmother's hand gently. "You know we can't talk about that grandma. Mom says it's not healthy for you."
"Please," Max squeezed the girl's hand desperately. "Please tell me if it happened. I need to know."
Chloe frowned deeply and exhaled. "Grandma…"
Ray interrupted eagerly. "Hey, we should…uh…" He motioned his thumb over his shoulder. "Get everything situated and get comfortable first, right? We will have plenty of time afterwards."
Chloe shifted her eyes to Ray then back to her grandmother. "Yeah…you're right." She smiled and stood slowly. "We'll talk later, okay? Get your rest…" She hesitated. "I love you. I promise we'll talk about this a little later."
As Chloe walked away to join her boyfriend, she couldn't help but think to herself. She went through all the motions of getting her stuff situated, but her mind was drifting.
("I hate keeping things from her. I can only imagine what it feels like…reliving that trauma. The story always changes…sometimes Ms. Chloe survives….sometimes Ms. Chloe dies. I can't help but feel like my mother named me after a fictional character. My mom believes grandma's stories about rewinding time…but …I just don't know…
It feels like she's stuck in a crazy dream. Tortured by it. A lot like the dreams I… have.")
Once Ray and Chloe were settled in, they both lay in one another's arms watching television with the volume down. Chloe's grandfather was going to be home any minute, but the two were very tired from their drive. A small nap was in order.
("A dream of darkness.")
("A dream where nothing survived here.")
rebmeceD th12, 6666 – aidacrA yaB
The entire city of Arcadia Bay was in ruins and mostly reclaimed by nature. The sky above was purple and dark with rapid moving clouds overhead. The streets were littered with abandoned cars and remains of destroyed homes. A massive hurricane stood frozen in time in the distance which Chloe assumed was the source of the occasional whistling of wind that blew past her ears.
("This is my dream. I don't like…bringing it up. The tornado is…not something I discuss anymore.")
Whispers of the past, present, and future echoed through the nightmarish night draped in depressing gray and black colors. She stepped out into the middle of the street and faced down the foreboding swirl of chaos miles away from where she stood.
("This is where my paintings come from. Sometimes…it's inhabited…even while in ruins. No one ever…acknowledges it.")
The world around her began to populate with ghostly figures from an unknown time as she walked the street. The ghosts lived their everyday lives and barely took notice of the girl walking through them.
("Maybe there's something I have to do. Something I have to fix? Why do I end up here sometimes…?")
Even with the unknown facing her, Chloe roamed the streets of Arcadia's nightmarish world. Until she came across her only physical friend in it; an elderly homeless woman.