Life Is Not Normal
Chapter One: Repairing the Cracks
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that, it started with a kiss now we're up to bat!" sung the radio – The Game of Love by Carlos Santana, with vocals by Michelle Branch and supporting vocals from Max Caulfield and Chloe Price. The two sung the track on a repeat as they drove down to Portland from the side of the road, taking a slightly longer route to avoid having to go past Arcadia Bay. Chloe put it best: "More time to 'rawk out'! Max and Chloe, shaking their thang and looking damn sexy doing it!"
Just over two and a half hours after they'd set off, in Portland they'd arrived with the only goal in mind being to find the elusive Bible Girl, bringing the wondrous gifts of friendship and a rabbit. Chloe turned to her friend, for one final streetwise point to explain one last thing to Max before they made it to their ultimate destination
"Kate's a sensitive girl, wouldn't you say?" She asked.
"About as sensitive as anyone from her background, who almost went through with what she planned because of people literally being as cruel as you can get. Not to mention what the truth was"
"Max, this girl is a wallflower. Be careful with her"
"Max, we may not even get onto the topic of the video…"
"I don't mean that silly. I mean…literally everything fucking thing EXCEPT the video"
"Chloe I won't literally say to her after knocking on the door, by the way that storm was destructive and took every person you've known for the last month away from you, and I caused it. Oh, and you were a plaything for a person you put a heavy amount of trust in. I'm not that weird"
Chloe looked at her and smiled. Then, in a moment of beautiful bad taste, in a Chinese accent she said "Young grasshopper, you are not as wise as the world around you is!"
"Sensei, I perform crouching tiger hidden dog for you" She returned with a smile. Max was certainly gathering more confidence being around Chloe, or at least that was obvious for the last week. Right now circumstances were her trying to build herself back up to where she was by Thursday, which for her was 6 days ago. For Chloe, it was 2 "I'm sure Kate just wants to be shown that someone did make it. That and I have no idea how she is anyway"
"I know. I texted Mum, step-hero, Justin, Trevor. I think the radio towers were all severed during the storm: wait, no, I know for certain that is true. They may all be dead though" She said with the same grave expression as a Cop. She could see there was solid traffic up ahead, so she leaned back, put on the handbrake and reached into her pocket; she only had 5 cigarettes left, and right now she just needed one. She gripped the stick of tar between two fingers, and then between her lips. She motioned to Max if she wanted one, with Max too taking one and smoking it. Max took a strong, deep inhale on the cigarette and held it in like a repressed emotion "Wow" Chloe commented "Your first cigarette?"
"Yeah" Max confirmed
"Man Max, you are certainly hardcore. On my first cigarette I almost vomited"
"Well what did you expect your 13 year old lungs have think about the Nicotine?"
"Touché"
"Merci belle dame aux cheveux bleus" Max snapped back, smiling a self-impressed smile, pleased with both her language skills and her general company.
"Jesus Max. Well if the Canadians invade, I know exactly who I'm teaming up with" Chloe smiled back "Me and Max Caulfield, taking on the world, just like when we were…"
"Pirates?"
"Yes. EXACTLY like when we were pirates". Chloe noticed the traffic still up ahead and honked her horn "Why the fuck you got Traffic? On a Saturday of all times!" She looked to her left – a Newspaper stand stood there "Max, let's get a Newspaper. I got the cash for it. As hard as it we need to stay informed"
Max sighed a deep sigh, emotionally preparing for the mental scars to be stroked by an almost certain likelihood of the E6 Tornado being blazed all across the front page. Turning to Chloe, who handed her $1, she gave the bravest nod she could go. Jumping through the car door, she quickly ran over to the stand, taking a single paper, and then sprinting back to the car. She looked at the front cover – but the front cover wasn't the story she expected it to be, especially in the wake of that storm. The front cover read the headline "Portland Pounder reaches 20 victims". "Chloe. It's not the front page" Max said mild disgust "It's just thi…AHHHHHH!" Screams followed as she had a second vision…
A black room, no features, no light, the only thing inside is a man with a knife in his hand and blood up his arm. His face and his body are obscured, as is the body he's leaning over. The only thing that is for certain is what he's crying out in shock. Maybe he's in sorrow. All Max can see and see is a man leaning over and screaming at a body…
"…AHHHHHHH!" The scream stopped. Max looked to the side, and looked at Chloe "That…was…horrible! I hate this new power"
"Can tell Max 'Head' Payne" She said "What's this bullshit!" She then snapped, looking at the front page "Who cares about these 20 people – where's the storm?" She took the paper and skipped through Page 6; there, on half the page was an article on the Arcadia Bay Tornado "Half a page. Fucking half a fucking middle fucking page!" Chloe spat, in disgust.
Max took the article, and what it spoke about was how the storm came in out of nowhere, with some passages comparing it to the 1986 Hurricane that hit England. They wrote that the figure of victims has already reached triple figures, and however many got out when they had the chance was unconfirmed, given that the signal towers and powerlines were severed during the storm. The final part of the article read that the Prescott's had bailed on the city, and that whether they'd be using their insurmountable funds to help the town or claim insurance payments on their current ventures that failed remained to be seen. Max looked at the part where it said "triple figures": HUNDREDS were dead. That phrase stuck in her mouth like bile, and the question of the A and the B choices rebounded around in her head. She looked at the paper, and took an inhale with her cigarette.
"Not anymore!" Max tore the butterfly photo in two and watched it float off into the distance. She stared off into the colossal storm as it grew in strength and power, making its way steadily towards the town – it reminded Max, inappropriately, of Pac-Man with the way that it moved slowly across the ocean to devour the town. She stood, solemn yet vicarious, watching it unfold.
"I'll always be with you Max" Chloe said.
"Forever" Was the reply.
"Well, it's not like I have a choice now do I?!" Chloe shouted, as she shot out a hand, landing right across Max's face. The strength of the hit knocked Max right over, blood pouring from her nose. She held up her hands to protect her face, but the much bigger Chloe was on top of her, arms pinned down by her side. Chloe looked a mass of blue fury, leaning right over Max and holding her down "Oh what, what you going to do? Rewind, bring the picture back? Bring that motherfucking TOWN of innocent people back? Oh I'm SO SCARED OF SUPER MAX! Go on, use your powers, and get me off you!" She lifted a hand towards her back pocket, and Max wanted to use that hand to push her off but she couldn't even move. What Chloe produced was a cigarette, and a lighter "So, you save me cos you want, what, some smoking hot kiss? Or maybe a little more – like with me and Rachel?" Max was paralyzed with fear "Choose Max – NEW CHOICE BITCH! I burn your mouth, or I stick this cigarette someplace else? A little pain, or a lot. It's not much different to me, is it? IS IT?!" The one free hand grabbed Max by the neck of her t-shirt, and tugged at it much like a rowing motion. Max closed her eyes as she felt herself become naked in a tear of cloth. Naked and afraid, she whimpered under Chloe's weight. Cigarette right in front of her face, "You made the wrong choice Max!" Chloe snarled "You made the wrong choice! Max, you made the wrong choice! Those variations repeated around and around as the cigarette went towards her…
"Max, wake up!" A new scream came from Chloe. Max looked up at her, slightly terrified. "Chloe looked back at her "You really are messed up aren't you? Please don't look at me like that – I would never hurt, and I could never hurt you"
"I know Chloe. I do know that, I swear" She looked at the road, and saw they were approaching Kate's "Take the right" She said "No, it's…like the nightmares I had before. Like, bad juju or something. I'm just lucky you're here with me – I know I'm a pain, but with memories from the past haunting me, and visions from the future really splitting my head open, you are the best person I could do it with"
"Max, you were there for me, I'm here for you"
"Take a left"
"No problem Cap'n" She smiled.
Following the instructions, they made it to the door, as per the premonition. Max checked the Postbox, where it did say 'The Marsh Residents', and Chloe gives the letterbox a beat "Good, means they're in. Let's me chum and not chumps Time Girl".
"Well," Max thought "There are some parts of the Premonition that actually ring true"
Chloe had the rabbit under her arm and her and Max ran to the door, and her own little beat that mimicked Chloe's "Well, I'm flattered young Skywalker" She said. That was one difference at least.
Then both of them stood, waiting for the door to open, as expected, and sure enough the door opened big and wide, to a clueless Kate, who opened the door outwards with tissues in hand. She looked up, as per the visions, and just said "Yes!" as she grabbed Max with a vice-like grip and hugged her totally.
"Hi Kate" Max awkwardly begun "You're kinda choking me right now"
"Oh sorry" Kate said as she brushed Max down "It's just…after the storm, to hear someone made it, it's a miracle to see you survive. You saved me Max, and I'd like to think that you surviving is the work of God"
"Erm…yes, maybe" Max started "We…we bought you a rabbit" Yep, it was really that smooth.
"OK. I mean, he's no Alice but I would happily take him thanks" She took both Chloe and Max by the hand and lead them into the house. "Mum, Dad. We have some visitors: some friends from Blackwell" Kate continued leading them through the house to the kitchen, which was almost sickeningly white. It was like a hospital ward which would likely make Kate even more uncomfortable as one would naturally assume. It did, however, provide tranquillity at least to the place, which would be good for all of them. "Take a seat" Kate offered "Tea or Coffee?"
"Well, you know me Kate" Max joked "Tea, like the old times"
"Coffee. Milky, please" Chloe answered "I'm Chloe by the way – I drove Kate to the hospital when she came to visit you"
"Oh hello. Sorry, I should've asked. It's great to meet you – a friend of Max is a friend of mine" And she walked off to fetch the required drinks. Outside the door, she could only look at the pair of them and shed a single tear of happiness that they were all fine.
"Well she's just so diddums" Chloe started.
"Please, don't be patronising; she's a lot stronger than she looks"
"Can tell you like her. By the way, not sure if I said it, but you did a great thing talking her down from that roof; the time when it was just Max the person and no-one else and you did it. I hope you know that"
"I feel…weird about you. I never thought about her on that clifftop, and how can I tell her…"
"Wait up" Chloe started "Tell her? That's your plan – I thought your plan was to say hi and go. Do you think she could ever live with you if you did indeed tell her the truth, no, never mind that, who's to say she'll believe you?"
"You believed me"
"Touché. Again" She said, despondently "But you could prove that to me, and it was something you had control over. These 'headaches', what's even up with them?"
"Tea and Milky Coffee – Max, I know you like the flavoured teas so I got you one" Kate came back in, tea on tray and a smile on her face. She placed it down "So Chloe, what do you do?"
"I fixed cars, back in Arcadia Bay. Not officially, more like freelance tweaking and tuning, tyres changes and sh…"
"Please don't swear" Max started "I'm pretty certain Kate doesn't want that"
"OK, sorry" Chloe continued "But yes I worked at that after I dropped out of Blackwell 2 years ago. My stepdad had a lot of tools and cars so I worked on them and other peoples too"
"What did your stepdad do?"
"He worked at Blackwell – David Madsen, the security guy?"
"Ohhhhh…" Kate begun "He was never very nice to me…"
"Well, sorry. For what it's worth he saved mine and Max's life. How he is, or how my Mum is I don't yet know"
"I understand. There are people in Arcadia Bay I haven't yet heard from and don't know about yet, even people I don't…love, but I still fear for their wellbeing"
"Well Kate, you're a better person than me. Many people in the Bay I still haven't given a thought to, probably never will. Didn't know their names, their jobs, who could be alive or dead, didn't think on it"
"That's sounds sad" Kate said, but not with pity, instead with curiosity "What about your Mum? What does she do?"
"Worked at the Diner – Joyce"
"Oh she was sweet. Was always nice, and always asked me how I was doing, being motherly and warming. I hope she's fine"
"Me too, thank you. Max and I got lucky; we decided to go off to the Cliffs across from the Bay – through the woods and to the Lighthouse. We decided that the dense trees would keep the wind away from the two of us, and then we made it up to the Lighthouse. We…we…saw it" She choked slightly on that last line.
"That is lucky. I never would think a cliff would be a safe place to be during a Tornado, and oh my, I wouldn't be able to watch something like that – I can barely watch R rated movies. I was already back here by Friday morning when my parents came to collect me from the hospital, so…maybe God was watching over me too I guess"
"Say, do you mind we don't talk religion?" Max asked "Just…I find it a slippery topic"
"OK, sure. Hey, I just need to go check on my parents really quickly, but I've got some things to show you. I'll only be a second"
Chloe and Max sat drinking as they watched Kate leave the room and once Kate was past the door, Chloe turned to her and gave a big smile and a longing look into the eyes and started leaning closer, and closer, and closer, then kissed Max right on the lips, which instantly reciprocated. The kiss was romantic, slow and tender, and only interrupted by Kate coming back to the room.
"Guys! My parents and sisters are still in the house – you guys can't be doing that here!" Her tone was more light than bothered, and Chloe and Max only really responded by smiling wryly. In Kate's hands were pictures of a very light hearted nature – it was a book about bullying that she'd started writing in the hospital back at Arcadia Bay that was already at the end of the first part. She passed the pages around, first to Max and then Chloe.
"Whoa, this is rad!" Chloe immediately said "There's a future in this Kate, I just know it!"
"Yeah Kate, I always love looking at your pictures – so lively and colourful"
"Lynn likes this one the most out of all the books I've done. She's my 10 year old sister; Alyx doesn't yet know as I haven't shown it to her yet, but I hope she will. She just wants to do her thing"
Then they were joined by a tall man, circular glasses and a receding hairline, dressed in an all-black suit "You must be Max, right? I don't think I ever got to thank you properly for everything you did" He walked over to Max, and extended both arms out and he took the girl in a hug not much tighter than the one Kate gave her – he did, however, last much less time "Me and the girls were all grateful for your bravery and dependency for Kate" He took a walk around and put his hands on Kate's shoulders, an affectionate gesture that Kate wholeheartedly returned "I…I wouldn't what you've happened if you weren't there. To an extent, I kind of blame myself; I wonder if I could've done more, should've done better. I wonder if I'd known what on Earth she was going through…but you were there for me" Holding back the tears, he hugged his daughter to him as she smiled. Letting her go, he looked at Max and Chloe. "Max, is there anything we can do to repay you?"
"Mr Marsh, you…"
"Richard, please. Always Richard; I insist. And my wife is Suanne, if you meet her. And I have to offer you both something"
"That's fine"
"Well Max, and…?" He motioned towards Chloe "Where are you living, after the storm?"
"Chloe, and in the back of my truck. We got a tarpaulin cover as we drove out of town but it's mighty uncomfortable"
"OK, so you need a place to stay, and probably work until the town becomes more functional right?"
"Richard, that's too much!" Max insisted.
"You take pictures right Max? My church is looking for an internal Wedding Photographer, and they have very regular Weddings there; you can earn good money and I can guarantee you that job" He smiled as Max smiled too "And Chloe, I overheard you say you were good with cars. Again, I know a few people who could use someone like you. And you guys can stay here, until you can leave, rent free but if you want any extra food, you pay for that"
Chloe and Max looked at each other, simply reacting by giving a solid fist bump, turning and saying in unison "Deal"
"OK. You don't mind sharing the guestroom out the back – I would give you the nicer ones, but we've got people coming. Kate, did you remember that your cousins are coming over tonight?"
"Yes. It'll be nice" She replied, smiling still
"Oh Richard, if you've got peo…AHHHHHHHHHH!" Max started talking, when yet another vision came over her.
The image was of Richard and Suanne kneeling over and crying into their shoulders. Kate reads the front-page of newspaper and hands it to Max, as her and Chloe keep Lynn and Alyx away from the commotion as Max laid the paper down and looked at the front-page. The headline read 'Portland Pounder escalates to Murder!', and the article in question explained that on a field not far from where they lived, the body of Lucy Marsh, daughter of Allen Marsh, niece of Richard Marsh, had been found with almost 20 bone fractures, multiple deep bruising and internal bleeding as a result of severe beating; this number was significantly higher and injuries far more violent than with previous attacks but it was believed that it was the same man; the shape and momentum of the wounds wrote out any chance of it being a copycat, and that she'd died after going missing over the weekend. There was a picture of healthy Lucy Marsh in the paper as well – a slim 5'8" girl with dirty blonde hair, like Kate, and brown eyes. The article spoke of a painful death, and Max felt the hurt they all felt in that moment…
"…AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream stopped. Chloe leaped out as Max steadied and she held her.
"Max? You OK – you having another…erm…[looking for the right word]…moment?"
"Yes…yes I did. A big one" She looked up to Richard and Kate, and saw that not only were they perplexed, but there were also the other women of the Marsh house standing over her: Suanne, looking mildly disgusted, and Alyx and Lynn were both there, shaking Kate and asking her things in her ear, presumably about Max. "Say, Kate, I know it's a weird time with everything, but I really fancy out of our signature tea sessions. I really just need…caffeine. I have caffeine withdrawals – it's why I occasionally scream"
Chloe in turn interrupted "Say folks – our new folks. Do mind if Max and I have a chat out by the front?"
"What the fuck Max?" Chloe tried her best to keep her voice in the street – walls have ears and her and Max never wanted the neighbours to start talking.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you STILL plan on telling the religious girl about the Supernatural truth behind the storm? About the Supernatural truth about…well…you!"
Max flapped her arms by her side like a confused chicken "I'll put it in a way she'll understand! I'm not that ignorant…"
Chloe rubbed her arms in return "You know…she reminds me of that rabbit – wise, caring, all loving. Something you need to keep an eye on…I want to protect her Max, and I know you do too. This idea of telling her is hella stupid; but at least you're doing it on your own turf at least…"
"Wow!" Max sounding mildly impressed "Normally I'm the emotionally centred one!"
"Well, NORMALLY I'm the emotionally fucked up one Max – now it's changed, and I need to watch out for you; you made a choice that you should never have had to make, with no idea how it would come out. You didn't know if Kate lived, which buildings would get irreparably fucked up, if anyone else you loved died, and I want you to know that I'm not sleeping with you because I'm grateful that you chose me, I'm sleeping with you – and I love you – for the way you are and who you are" She then hugged Max tightly "Tell me, in the car, while we were in that jam, you fell asleep until it cleared, and I parked up at the side of the road, you had a nightmare. For the sake of our friendship, please tell me what it was"
Max shook her head "I…I…can't Chloe. I'm still trying to figure it out myself"
Chloe let go of the hug, and stared at her.
"It was at the Lighthouse. I tore the photo and you…attacked me"
"Attacked you?"
"You beat me to the floor, stripped me and burned my body with a cigarette. Like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out, and I know you don't think that, but I just keep thinking it"
"Well cut it out – like you said, you know I don't think that. They're only nightmares; they can't hurt you in reality"
They turned to see Kate stood away from them. She was wearing some new clothes, she stood slightly taller than normal in new heels, and a single white dress that had a solid front and back, no shoulders and came slightly above the knee "Max, I know a good tea shop in the town centre. They do all kinds of tea – Flavoured, Exotic, Alcoholic. It's called Tea Galleria; it's a 30 minute drive. I do need to get out, and I think you do too"
Chloe turned to her "Well Mad Max – you can drive. I'll stay here, Richard needs a hand with the gearbox in his Focus, don't worry, I'll be fine"
Max was still in the exact same clothes from the night of the storm, and despite the shower she'd had before leaving, she was feeling pretty funky. Certainly if any boys came talking to them throughout the night, Kate would be the one getting the attention, which would be too bad for the both of them. Max was quiet on the drive over to Tea Galleria, which was fine because Kate was too; every time Kate looked over to her to try and talk, she seemed to get greeted by an aura of silence; not in a cruel way, but in a detached, nothing-to-say-so-say-nothing kind of way. Max was thinking of how to break things to her, and Kate was thinking how great it was that the person who saved her life was still alive. She was also thinking about many other things – there was the Portland Pounder in the papers, there was her future that may be wrecked by what she did at Blackwell, namely in the Vortex Club video which her parents, in private, still preached to her about. Her aunt was the worst at this, and despite the distance from her, it was still hard to shut it out – it was most likely that, not Nathan, Victoria or Mr Jefferson, that almost made her jump. Max was just driving along, quietly happy yet outwardly solemn "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Another vision came, and Max held on along enough to see Kate grab the wheel…
Kate stood in the Dark Room, back in Arcadia Bay under the Prescott Farm. She flicked through the various binders with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Chloe and Max watched from a distance, attempting to give her some of her own peace of mind. Then she got onto her own photo album, and sick feeling immediately turned to sadness. Looking at one particular photo, where she was tied down and laying on her side, doe-eyed expression of confusion, her hand and feet bound with duct tape, managed to bring tears out of her eyes, and in turn Chloe and Max. Looking at the pictures, she walked across the room, to the very familiar Officer Brody (who had assisted Berry in her case), who only gave a nod, walking away and to leave Kate to talk with a tied and bound Mark Jefferson, expression across his face of apathy and guilt, and Kate looked sickened with rage "I hate you" She said "I hate you with the hate that God laid down upon the Egyptians, and I hope you go straight through all the Circles of Hell" Before spat on his face and walked out, Chloe and Max following without even stopping to look.
"…AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream stopped, and Max realised they were still driving.
"Those Caffeine withdrawals are getting really bad Max. Let's just get there and we'll sort you out" Kate said.
Tea Galleria was certainly a very outwardly friendly looking place; the best way to describe it could easily be that it was something like a 'Tea Bar', where most of the people in it were actually dressed closer to what Kate was wearing than Max. The two girls sat facing one another, seemingly content with the company they were keeping. Kate spoke first:
"I don't know if you heard…they just announced on the news that Blackwell was only partially ruined. Mostly the dorms took it the worse. Luckily, because of the End of the World party most people were OK"
"No I didn't. When did they announce that?"
"Radio, at about mid-afternoon. They read out a quick list of newly found…deceased. Daniel, Brooke, Juliet, Victoria all didn't make it"
Max stopped to think about that "I spoke to Victoria, while you were in the hospital; I blamed her for putting you on that roof, and she cried out to me about how sorry she was, about how she wanted to take it back"
"I appreciate. I'll talk with her tonight when I pray" She glanced down at the menu looking to make a selection "Tell me Max, why did you want to come out with just me tonight? What's the purpose of this tea session?"
Max looked up, surprised but not confused "I wanted to come out with you because you're my friend Kate…"
"Max, you were quiet at the house. I did love talking to Chloe – and by the way, I totally ship the pair of you -" She smiled at the awkward way she phrased that "- but it's clear to me that you wanted to tell me something away from her" No matter how direct Kate ever was, she always held that same caring expression.
Max sighed "You were always too smart for most of us Kate. The world's a far more caring and happy place with you in it, that's for certain. Look there's many things I have to tell you; mainly I know what happened to you at the Vortex Club last week"
Kate looked up "You got Nathan?"
"It…it wasn't Nathan…Nathan may have drugged you but he was working for someone higher up. Erm…" She pulled out her phone "Take a listen to this" And she played the voicemail message on her phone, with Nathan just pouring his soul out to Max about everything, including his involvement and regret with what happened to Rachel and herself. It named Mark Jefferson as the person chasing him, and then going after Max "I'm sorry Kate. David Madsen and the police raided his Dark Room, on the Prescott Farms, found the folders of loads and loads of girls, some of whom had been missing for months. Yours…yours was the worst. Chloe and I raided it after we visited you in the hospital, and the set-up was just sickeningly good; lovely equipment to only be used for that messed-up…stuff"
Kate looked in shock "Mr Jefferson? How? I helped him, I respected him, I stayed behind after lessons to get notes from him and help him set up classes for the following days teaching. I-I-I discussed a possible merging of clubs, I gave him deals on the Meals on Wheels program at school, I…I was so nice to him, like with everyone. Why…just why me?"
"Kate, it's not your fault. He's a very nasty man, but no-one knew. Wells didn't know, I didn't know, David didn't know. I know one thing and that is that none of this was ever your fault" Max put her hand out across the table to hold Kate's, which was returned by a simple, nice smile into Max's face "Well we're here to drink tea, let's make our orders"
"That's a plan Batman" Kate awkwardly replied, but her embarrassment was immediately corrected by Max's subtle laugh at her new use of 'lingo'. A waitress came over, and took the order, and the two immediately went back to talking.
"Kate…can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. I assume that wasn't the question"
"Oh no! Of course not; it's just there's something on my mind. I…I made a choice a while ago, and I feel I did the wrong thing…"
"Max, I know how you feel. Remember, I'd made a choice and I was going to stick with it, but I had someone there to tell me stop. I know, Max – I really do"
Max shifted uncomfortably, feeling this weird need to get her troubles off her chest "OK…" She begun nervously "…what's your view on God given gifts?"
"Well, the Biblical interpretations are about the gifts of the Spirit. Max, I wholly believe you have those…why?"
"Ohhhh…God help me" Max begun "I have…certain other types of gifts"
"You mean artistically? Max you do take great photos…"
"NO!" She accidentally snapped, nervously, before noticing that other people in the shop were looking at her "I mean…no. I mean gifts like something you'd see in a Sci-Fi movie?"
Kate looked confused "I don't know Max – this sounds very…conjured to me, and I don't like it. With the storm, and the Portland Pounder, and my suicide I don't think I could take much fantasy right now"
Max suddenly changed topic, as they notice the waitress coming back over with their tea, when suddenly she notices something…
The waitress comes to give her the tea, but the falls over, onto Kate's bare legs and she yelps in pain, and suddenly the place is in disarray.
"Look out!" Max when, as the tea splashed towards Kate, but due to her moving the tea just landed on the seat next to her – not a drop landing on her body. Max looked to Kate, who looked in apparent surprise, before the waitress became immediately apologetic and offered a free replacement of their orders. Kate looked at Max, as Max seemingly continued on like nothing happened "So…what about the Portland Pounder – sounds a weird name for him?"
"Well…ah…they suspect it's a man who's been drugging women in the Portland area and beating them, like a BDSM thing…sorry, how did you know what was about to happen with the tea?"
"Well, that's what I'm talking about Kate – when I say I have gifts that's what I mean"
"So, you can see the future?"
"I can now – I used to…" She could feel herself becoming exasperated "…it's hard to explain, but when we were on the side of the road after leaving the Bay I predicted a truck hitting us so I drove us out the way before it hit us. If I hadn't we would've been dead. After that I saw you answer the door to us, and then we drove down here to see you"
"Well…I…I glad you did, but…there's no other way you could've known about my being home – how you could've found out my address? No?"
"Kate, do you have a cousin called Lucy at all?"
"Lucy?! Yes, she's coming over to visit us tonight, her and my other cousin Paul – you'll like them both, especially Lucy. She's a sweetheart just like you"
Max suddenly felt a shift in the mood "I think you need to give her a call. Check she's OK. I have a feeling that…she's not OK"
The new tea tray came over and Kate took a sip from her cup, as she rang her phone under the desk, ringing Lucy to check on her like Max had told her. It went straight to answerphone. Kate started breathing noticeably heavier and hurried "Why do you think she's not OK?"
"I saw tomorrow's paper, when I was back at your house…these powers are weird to me – they're new to me – but these visions come painfully and sometimes suddenly. I could control the tea one, but not the truck, not visiting you and not seeing your cousin's name in the paper tomorrow morning saying she'd been killed by the Portland Pounder"
Kate looked bemused at her "Max…the Portland Pounder has never killed anyone he's taken. For the last year he's taken 20 girls, drugged them, bound them and hit them with whips and things. The girls are then untied, tossed into an unmarked van and then dumped back home with no actual sexual abuse done to them. The chance he could murder…"
"Kate, I only plan to tell you what I saw. But you haven't told me yet why they call him that"
Kate took another sip of tea, as did Max – so far this evening the only real time the two had drunk tea together "A newspaper made a mean joke about it; they said that he did BDSM but never actually…inserted. They started saying he 'pounded' the victims hard, and then the name stuck. That's why I went to Arcadia Bay; I wanted to avoid that horridness, but instead I found something else…" She started to shed a tear "So Max, I've told you that. I've rung Lucy, she's not picking up, you bought me a lovely rabbit – I know he's no Alice, but I'm sure I'll grow to love him just as much – but you haven't told me the whole truth"
Max checked her watch – it was getting late. She started doing her usual stuttering and mumbling when she found it hard to answer a question or a statement "Kate," She begun, "You remember when we were on the girl's dorms, and you told me you wish you could turn back time and stop everything at the Vortex Club? What if you could? I could. Last week I got these powers I can't explain, but I could stop time, turn it back and then change things. You remember Jefferson's lecture on the Daguerrian Process: I didn't know the answer so I wound back and corrected myself – I could never have answered that otherwise. You following me?"
"Max, where else are you going with this?"
"I'm getting to my point. So say, instead of simply using it to answer questions, or to remember things I may otherwise have forgotten, I started using it for bigger things. For instance, what if I saw my best friend Chloe get shot last week by Nathan, and I went back and set off the fire alarm to keep her alive? What if I saw my other favourite person jump off of the top of the girls dorms at Blackwell, and you turned back time so you could talk her down? Say you found out that Rachel Amber's disappearance had a greater purpose, and you used that power to find the truth, because you could?" She could see Kate showing an expression of complete and total belief, but also confusion "But say that what I did had greater consequences. What if those changes caused a snowstorm, then an eclipse, then a double moon, then finally an E6 tornado that could knock houses down like cards?" Kate's expression was still silent, but emotions were silently bubbling "And…" Max was trying to now do the hardest part of all of this, the confession "Say that the way to fix it, was for me to wind back to when Chloe should've died. But, because I love Chloe so much…I just couldn't do it. Say I rejected that chance, rejected the power and I let the storm happen?" Max bowed her head, drained of all her emotions, just able to sip tea. Then she looked up, and saw a heart breaking picture – Kate was sat there, lip quivering and tears streaming from her eyes, but she never sniffled or sobbed, she just quietly let the tears come out. She had no make-up to smear, but she did have a genuinely happy face that was now broken down to nothing. Max looked her solemnly in the face, she reached her hand across the table…
SLAP! Kate, in probably her first physical altercation ever, slapped Max right across the face, not enough to move her but enough to sting as the hand made contact with the face. All the patrons of the Tea Galleria turned around to see this small petite girl from the well-respected Preacher family crying as she'd slapped her friend right across the face, and then ran straight out. Max followed, throwing down $10: "Keep the change!" She yelled.
Kate kept walking and crying as Max ran after. She turned around the face her "I don't know if I can ever look at you again! You…you did all that?"
Max looked quizzical "You believe me?"
"Of course I believe you Max! I know you would never lie to me and I know you would never have got here without some sort of guidance. Coming right to my house without the address first? So yes I believe you – I believe that you would rather a storm destroy thousands of lives than you having to give up your friend. My God gave up his only son so humanity could live. But, I know you don't like to look at the religious part of it…" She was now starting to sob properly "…I had a life at Blackwell – I did have friends, not just you but others. I had so much up there that now is lost forever. The people, the coffee shops, my violin, the programs I co-ordinated, even Alice; it is all gone now! I know you lost things too, but…" She teared up, and continued walking off "I'm going to walk home!"
"Kate, it's an hours walk back to yours and there's some dangerous criminal out there; it's not safe!"
"Please Max, just let me go!"
Max watched painfully as she walked off into the distance, back to the house where she'd originally said that they should go out. Max felt her phone vibrate: Chloe. She picked up "Chloe…I might have fucked this right up the ass"
Max set off a lot later just to let Kate closer to him, but not so far that if she did try something she'd lose her. Max pulled up to the front of the house and just saw Suanne, a woman she'd yet spoken, but just looked angry. Her only word inside the car was "Fuck"
Suanne looked bitter "Listen Max, the only thing she told us about was your finding out of what happened to you at the Vortex Club. She just told us that then went upstairs crying her eyes out. Your blue-haired friend is up there with her now, and we are thankful that you told her and that you've restored for vitality for us all, but let me make one thing clear: make her cry like that again, and you'll wish you'd never come to Portland". She only allowed Max to make a simple affirmative nod, before being allowed passed and heading up the stairs.
Max knocked on Kate's door, and opened it to see Chloe sat on the bed, with Kate curled over in the foetal position on the bed, looking towards her with wet eyes.
"Hi Max" She said, weakly.
"Hi Kate" Max replied, nervously
Chloe got up and whispered to Max as she went past "You did the right thing when you told her, and it's good you did. She just needed some time to get over it" She kissed Max on the cheek "She's fine now, go talk to her" Then she left the room. Max took Chloe's place on the bed. Kate just stayed facing forward.
Max spoke first "For what it's worth, I never failed to save you. I always knew how to keep you safe"
"Thank you" She replied, still weepy "I'm sorry I hit you; I just didn't really know what to feel at that point. I've never hit anyone before, but I had all these feeling…"
"It's not a normal situation Kate; I might have reacted that way if given a bit of a chance. Please don't feel bad for that"
Kate smiled a bit, still with a small amount of sobbing "You're a good person Max. And your friend Chloe's a good friend too; not just for you but also for me. She didn't need to be kind to me this morning but she is kinder than many I've known in my life" Kate looked up to her "You know, I always wanted you and Warren together, but you and Chloe I can deal with as well"
"A classic power couple" Max joked.
"Oh like The Big Bang Theory"
"You watch that?"
"No, but I've heard of it. You two are like Sheldon and Amy – Shamy" She smiled "You two could be…Pricefield"
"I like that Kate: Pricefield it is!" Max stroked Kate's head "And you know, we both value you the same. How about, to include you, we make it…Marshpricefield?!"
"Sounds like something Warren would come up with" Kate smiled "Can I ask you Max, when you did make that choice, what went through your head? What did you think of – and I already know how hard you guys had to try to get there, but what about the actual thoughts going through your head?"
Max paused, contemplative and quiet, the emptiest her head had been since actually making the choice. She looked at Kate and explained "I thought that the truth that we had discovered would never be discovered again. I didn't know if the truth of what was happening at Blackwell was actually going to come out if me and Chloe didn't stick with it. I thought of everything I'd learnt about everyone and myself too would've been for nothing. It's selfish I know, and some nights I have the worst nightmares about the incident; I didn't think everyone would be dead, but I knew it could've happened, and I'm sorry Kate. I'm sorry for me, and everything I ever did" She paused, as Kate took the hand rested on her head and held it in her own hands "I was thinking, since we know there's survivors for sure, why don't we go visit the Bay when some more get found? We can drop off some gifts maybe?"
"Let's bake cookies!" Kate cheered "We can loads of types – chocolate chip, white chocolate, strawberry, peanut butter"
"I'd like that. Kate, you are love, you are life" Max said as Kate sat up straight and hugged her deeply. "Have you heard from Lucy yet?"
"Erm…" They were interrupted by the sound of loud cheers from the hallway, followed "Where's Lucy?" Suanne called, before another voice answered "I am not totally sure; we didn't travel together" The second voice was distinctly male with a slightly throaty quality to it, but had a very nervous, anxious tone to it like he was guilty or just shy. Kate and Max got up and walked to the noise.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a man, 6'4", big and muscular but with a soft, clean shaven face. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt that showed off every part of his musculature, and baggy loose jeans that were a worn washed out blue. At the bottom of the stairs stood the Marsh family and Chloe looking incredibly relaxed in spite of this monstrous presence. Kate saw this big man and went running down the stairs and hugged the big guy who uncomfortably returned it. He looked up the stairs to Max, who stood there, unsure of what to do.
"Max" Richard begun "This is my nephew, Paul. He works at the gym just on the other side of town" Max came down the stairs and put her hand forth to shake his hand "Nice to meet you" She began, but then came a vision…
The black room, the screaming man, the knife, the blood on the arms, the girl slumped over. Details were all still vague, except for one: the figure of the man was now clear for Max to see. And she saw this stranger, Paul Marsh, muscular and big, keeled over and weeping with blood on his sleeves. Max in this moment was panicked; she was stood in the presence of a likely murderer. And what about Lucy – she was still missing. It seemed too much of a coincidence that she's going to be found dead, and he's going to be stabbing someone; it seemed likely that Paul Marsh was the Portland Pounder the papers talked about.
