She tried to think of anything else except their destination, but Max couldn't shake the foreboding feeling. At least her and Chloe hadn't ran into any more trouble on their way to her truck. Chloe was quiet as she drove. Max assumed that she simply didn't know what she could say to make this trip any better. Max finally broke the silence trying to remain positive.
"It's weird but I don't feel drained like I usually do when I use my power."
Chloe tried to stifle a yawn before replying, "Maybe you are getting stronger. Like the more you do it the longer you can go?"
"Maybe…" She said unsure of the answer. "Must have leveled up my time lord endurance stat." The brunette added with a small snort.
"Nerd alert." Chloe replied with a teasing smirk as she glanced over at the brunette.
Max looked out the window as they entered town. "I hate the idea of going back to the dark room but there is something else that has me creeped out more. The thought of going to class tomorrow...how can I sit in the same room with Jefferson when I know what he is? What he has done to me?" She looked back over to Chloe with distress.
The punk met her eyes and held out her hand for Max to take. The brunette curled her fingers with Chloe's.
"Don't worry about that. I'll find a way to take care of it so that you don't have to. All I want you to focus on is what we need to take care of at the dark room. One step at a time Mad Max." Chloe directed her attention back to the road. She had a determined gleam in her eye that she often had when her and Max set out to do something risky. It had always made her feel safe even as kids, as if Chloe could deal with anything.
"So tell me more about your power. We are getting into some heavy shit and I don't want to mess anything up. Now that I'm rewinding with you, I need to know how it all works so I know your limitations. Everything you know."
Max scooted across the seat so that she could be closer to Chloe while still holding her hand. She was happy that Chloe was taking this more seriously and viewing her power less as a toy and more as a tool to be used with care.
"Well the annoying part is that I'm discovering more about it from experience. Would have been helpful if that blue butterfly had left me a manual. So what I know about it changes all the time. I have some basic things though that seem consistent enough."
Max found herself snuggling into the tall girl's side as she spoke. She felt like she was slowly bringing the old Chloe back as time went on. Everything seem to be returning to those days and it made her feel more comfortable. The blue haired girl looked at her sideways with a mischievous smile while she continued to drive .
"Hmmmm you're really distracting you know that? You're suppose to be briefing me Maxaroni. Please?"
"Sorry…" muttered Max with a blush.
Not sorry
"Well, first things first as I mentioned before, items in your possession travel back in time with you but that also means that anything that happens to your body travels back with you as well."
"Try not to get shot or stabbed, got it."
Max frowned at that but went on, "There is usually a limit to what I can rewind. The most I've been able to push to has been about five minutes or so. When I hit that limit, time can't be rewound past that point. The weird thing is that I feel like that limit has grown. Back there with Victoria, I turned back a little more time than I usually can and I didn't reach my limit before stopping."
"Huh, well let's say it's five minutes to be on the safe side."
"Also, using my power is draining. The day that we used it a lot in the junkyard I felt like I overdid myself. Later when I needed to save Kate it stopped working all together."
"So rest and snacks for the Max."
"Duh, that's always a given." Max snarked.
"Brat." Chloe quipped letting out a small chuckle.
Max could see they were now reaching the end out of town. It wouldn't be much longer before they would reach Harry's old country house and the dark room. They had both agreed that Chloe would park the truck before they reached the turnoff so that it wouldn't be spotted. Max continued her time powers 101 lesson.
"Well, you've been with me through a time jump. There is normally only a moment of time that I can interact with before I'm brought back to the present. This last time was more of a hard reset. We remained in the same timeline without skipping ahead. Maybe it was because you came with me."
"Could be." Chloe shrugged before glancing over at Max, "You could take a picture before we get out of the truck, and then we can use it to jump back safe and sound when we are done.
Max nodded. She began to notice that the town was fading away behind them as the scenery turned to forest. Max felt a tightness in her chest. A snake had slithered out of a dark hole within herself. A place that she didn't like to acknowledge was there, that still haunted her.
Hold that stare there! Stay Still!
The viper began to wrap itself around her heart and slowly squeeze. They were leaving the town behind them and each mile signaled the snake to constrict harder. Her mind felt like it was beginning to race in a dozen different directions, stumbling in the dark, each concluding that something terrible would befall them.
What if Jefferson catches us there? Could we get trapped? I might not be fast enough. Jefferson stopped me from rewinding before….what if Chloe gets hurt. I...I can't watch her die again. Please.
"Max…" She could hear the tenderness in Chloe's voice. "You're shaking. It's going to be alright. I'm here." She felt the punk let go of her hand so she could wrap her arm around her small quivering frame. The snake began to uncoil itself ever so slightly causing Max to draw a sharp breath and let it out quickly.
"What...if...I'm not strong enough Chloe?" Her own voice sounded as if it was coming from some place far away, barely a whisper on the edge of sound. She felt herself sinking into Chloe's embrace as if it was a place she could hide herself away in.
"You're like the strongest person I know Max." Chloe rubbed the brunette's side to reassure her. She leaned over planting a few soft kisses on the side of her head. "You saved my life so many times, you saved Kate's, you've already stopped Jefferson and Nathan once before. If you're not strong enough then no one is."
Max clasped her hands together in her lap. "I wish I could be more like you. You're never afraid. I don't know how you do it. Even when I told you about the times you were shot." She said staring down at her feet.
There was a silence and Max could hear Chloe take a breath and swallow before she replied, "Max sometimes…" her voice sounded as if it was treading on untested ground, "Sometimes I am afraid. The things I am afraid of aren't always physical, so you don't see them. Sometimes living can be just as scary as dying. When you have to live with or through something. There were days where I thought dying would be easier."
Max looked over to her placing her hand on the punk's leg. She hesitated a moment before asking, "What are you afraid of?" A frightened look came over Chloe's face. Her mouth was open, as if to give voice to a thought that her mind was trying to decide was safe to reveal. She turned her eyes away from Max her expression a combination of vulnerability and shame.
"I am afraid I'm going to be too much trouble. You're only doing all of this because you don't want me to die. But...it would be easier if I did. It would be easier on everyone. I feel like I'm just waiting on you to figure that out too."
"...That isn't true."
Chloe still wasn't making eye contact, her eyes were locked on the road. "I am just afraid you're doing all of this because you feel guilty for leaving and you feel like you owe me. What happens when it's all over? You might get tired of me. Tired of my bullshit. If you haven't noticed I have a lot of it."
"I'm never giving up on you Chloe. You mean so much to me. Much more than you know. I just suck at expressing it. I always feel like I'm going to say the wrong thing."
Chloe chuckled and smiled shaking her head in disbelief. "You do so much better than you give yourself credit for. She looked over to Max, hoping that what she had said hadn't hurt her, "I'm sorry that I get these stupid thoughts."
Max leaned over giving the girl an affectionate peck on the cheek. "I'm the one that asked. I don't want their to be any secrets between us."
The pair drove the rest of the way in a much more comfortable silence. Max still felt like this whole affair was dreadful, but connecting with Chloe had made her feel better. Chloe's fears were something that Max could actually allay. They pulled the truck over just before they reached the road that Harry Prescott's house was on.
"Alright selfie time. How do you want me to pose?" Chloe asked as she shoved her keys in her pocket. Max scrounged around in her bag for a moment before pulling her camera out. She smiled and wrapped her arm around the punk's neck pulling her in close.
"Like this." Max drew their faces close and Chloe lingered a moment gazing into the brunette's eyes. There was a sensitivity to it but also a flash of playfulness that Max was beginning to grow very fond of. It was as if a whole conversation was transmitted between them in a split second and everything they wanted to tell each other was said. Chloe finally pushed in locking her lips with Max's.
The camera's flash went off but the kiss didn't quite end as the polaroid dangled in the air. As they began to part, their lips still close to each others, Max felt Chloe drag her tongue across her bottom lip seductively. The fury let out a small moan appreciating the taste. Max's heart skipped a beat. She had provoked that from someone? She never thought she was capable. Her face felt hot and she knew there was no way that Chloe couldn't see her cheeks burning.
"I'm kinda hoping like your thumb got into the shot so we can take another." Chloe said with a grin. Max plucked the photo from the camera giving it a shake and inspected it. Even with the kiss the shot was angled well in her opinion. It was exactly what she had been feeling, all thousand words that had been spoken silently between them had been captured in a moment of time.
Max gave her a smirk and replied, "Nope it's perfect." Chloe gave her a feigned pout and got out of the truck holding the door open for her. Max scooted out and Chloe closed the door behind her. The couple began to make their way up the road toward the Prescott house.
"Don't worry, if we see Nathan or Jefferson I still have my gun so I'll shoot em'. Then you rewind and I'll do it again and then we can keep that up until you get bored." Chloe said as she pulled out David's revolver.
"I don't want to kill anyone Chloe." Max replied as she placed a hand on her other arm. She eyed the gun in the taller girl's hand anxiously.
"Oh alright hippie. I'll only shoot him once. But I'm totally aiming for the dick."
Max let out a small but nervous laugh. She did appreciate that Chloe was trying to take her mind off of what they were about to do. "Don't even joke about that. I hope no one is there."
"Me too Bat Max." Chloe concluded quietly.
The two girls took a shortcut through the woods and it wasn't very long until they could see the barn in the distance. It looked even more ominous than the first time but much to Max's relief no one was parked outside. The couple entered through the hole in the side of the barn as they had the first time. Max had to redo breaking the padlock using the leftover pulleys. She tied the rope to the old engine and kicked it as she had done previously. She made her way down and Chloe was giving her a knowing smile.
"So that's how you did it Maxgyver."
"Yep, I had to rewind to get the engine back in place so I could...wait. You saw that? Just now?"
"Of course I did silly…" It took a moment for Chloe to realize why Max had asked and now was wearing this curious look. "I mean I did. I just rewound with you." A giddy smile slowly began to tug at her lips. "And you didn't even have to hold on to me. I just got chills. This is sooo cool."
"I'm just glad this thing is finally working out in my favor." Max said dryly. She didn't like surprises, especially ones that involved her power but at least this one seemed good.
Chloe put her hand on the small girl's shoulder still grinning. "I keep telling you, it's fate. Even your power knows." She glanced down at the metal hatch that led to the dark room her smile slowing falling into a stubborn grimace. "I'll go first, let's get the evidence we need." Max watched as Chloe opened the hatch revealing the stairs that now looked as if they led straight down to hell itself. The brunette lagged behind allowing the taller girl to go first as they descended into the bunker.
Max swallowed hard forcing down the lump in her throat that seem to be building while she watched Chloe punch in the code to the bunker door. She pulled it open and looked back at Max seeing the terror in her eyes. She approached the brunette who had come to a halt. Her legs were refusing to budge as every fiber of her body wanted to run in the opposite direction. Chloe took her hand interlocking their fingers.
"I won't let anything hurt you here Max. You have to be strong for me now. I need you Super Max."
Max knew that Chloe was right. They had to figure out this storm and the answers they were seeking could be here. She nodded solemnly drawing herself up and forced herself to enter the dark room still holding onto Chloe for support.
Oh Max. This angle highlights your purity, see?
She could hear the words dripping from the walls. There was no one here but she felt something clawing at the back of her mind. Max shook her head trying to shake herself out of the mental trap that threatened to snap shut on her.
"I'll be right here. I'll keep an eye on the door. No one is getting past me. Take all the time you need…" Chloe smiled slyly, "Uh no pun intended. If anything comes through that door I'm blowing it away."
Max just nodded as she began to carefully investigate the room. It looked the same to her, even the equipment hadn't been moved. She tried to be as thorough as she could searching each cabinet and equipment case. This seemed almost like a waste of time as she checked every nook and cranny. She decided to tackle the hardest part last as she stood in front of the locker that held the red binders. She opened it and felt her heart sink to her stomach as she began to read over the names of the victims. Max began to pile the binders on the desk and on the floor as she emptied the shelves. She couldn't find anything hidden in the locker after everything had been removed. She sat down at the desk and picked up the first folder flipping through it's contents.
Max could feel her stomach twist itself like a contortionist as she scanned over the pictures, it made her want to puke. She could recognize Jefferson's demented style in the photos, and the thought of her being able to actually acknowledge that he had one made her feel dirty. There was nothing of use among the pictures and Max looked up to see Chloe guarding the entrance with her gun. It made her smile and she steeled herself before picking up the next binder. She made her way through three more folders before she couldn't continue. Jefferson was a true monster but there was nothing among this smut that could help their case.
Chloe heard the binders clatter to the floor behind her. She turned to see Max sweeping them off the desk and kicking them as they hit the floor. She saw one skid across the room as she approached. The brunette buried her head in her hands and Chloe put her hand on the small girl's shoulder. Before she could speak Max cut her off.
"It's hopeless Chloe, there's nothing here that can help us. Just all of Jefferson's bullshit. I can't keep going through all of this."
Chloe scanned the desk as she rubbed Max's shoulder and her eyes caught something that had been hidden under the binders. It was an envelope that had Nathan's name written in cursive. "Agent Price strikes again. Look Max." She pointed to the envelope on the desk directing the brunette's gaze.
Max's eyes lit up as she snatched the letter off the desk. "Chloe you're a genius."
"Can we rewind that?" Chloe replied with a grin. She noticed there was a small booklet that was hidden underneath the envelope that she seized from the desk. She flipped through it skimming it's contents. The pages had characters that she had never seen before and below each one a letter of the english alphabet.
Max had already opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. "This wasn't here last time. Nathan must have taken this with him before we got here on Thursday." She read it outloud to Chloe.
"Nathan,
As I have said before let us keep all communication on our dark room matters on paper. Let me remind you that you are only to contact me via the burner phones I have supplied in the case of emergency. This will be my final time informing you of this process. I have spoken to J on the matter of the pictures you took of K. He assures me that they are of the quality that we need.
Normally, I would be proud of this occasion but you were reckless and J had to be there to clean up after you. This is unacceptable, you nearly put our operation in danger. Prove yourself. Take these pictures to the totem and perform the ritual yourself. I trust you know the place. My men reported that you were present there last week. I have included the instructions on how to carry out the procedure. These must be completed precisely as written. Do not fuck this up. It must be done by Wednesday the 9th. We are on a strict time table.
Regards,
Your Father"
Max's eyes were wide as she stared up at Chloe in bewilderment. "What the fuck?"
"I don't know Max, sounds like some freaky shit. Is there more?" Max flipped to the next page but she couldn't read it. It looked like an alien language to her.
"I...I can't read what this says." She turned to Chloe again holding it out for her to see. She didn't like any of this. They came here for answers but now they had even more questions than before.
"This was with the envelope." Chloe handed Max the booklet and watched the brunette slowly thumb through it's pages as she had. "It looks like it could translate that gibberish. It doesn't say what language it is." Max put the letter and book down plucking the envelope up from the desk. She turned it upside down emptying the pictures of Kate that Nathan had taken onto the desk and stared at them with a quiet horror.
"They are actually doing something with them. I can't imagine...Jesus, Chloe…" Max stammered. She fumbled with the contents of the envelope putting everything back. She stood up with it and the translation book in her hand. Chloe hugged her but Max just stood there in stunned silence. Chloe pulled away and held onto the small girl's arms. Max seemed to be staring into the abyss, a million miles away. The blue haired fury shook her and Max's eyes refocused on Chloe. Her face was screwed up into a worried but angry expression. Max had seen that look before when something had hurt someone Chloe cared for.
"We are going to do something about it. I told you I wouldn't let you be afraid of this place anymore. We are going to rewind anyway. You and me. We're going to thrash this place." Her eyes were smouldering with rage and Max wasn't quite grasping what she was suggesting. Chloe pulled away and walked over to the camera that was set up on the tripod. The one that Jefferson had used to take pictures of her.
She ripped the camera from it's perch throwing it violently into the wall shattering it into a thousand pieces. Max continued to watch the display as the tightness in her chest, that had been there the entire time, began to subside. Chloe swung the tripod like a bat breaking one of the pictures on the wall. She hammered it until the frame was completely destroyed and the legs of the stand were crooked. She was panting softly and looked to Max expectantly as the mangled tripod rattled to the ground.
"Let your inner rebel come out." Chloe said.
Max glanced down at the desk she was standing next to. She backed away from it and propped her foot against the drawer giving it a kick. The desk toppled over sending the computer monitor flying and the binders spiraling across the floor. Max smiled. This felt good. It felt liberating.
"There you go Maximus Rex!"
Max hooked her fingers behind the cabinet that had housed the red binders and threw it to the ground with a loud crash. Chloe pulled the trolley away from the wall spinning it into the middle of the room before giving it a boot flipping it over. The needles and vials crunched against the far wall next to the remnants of Jefferson's camera. Max seized the monolight and began to drag it over to the expensive printer. She held it like a club as she brought it down on the printer cracking the light into and smashing the printer's electronic display.
Chloe had already opened up the black equipment trunks turning them over and dumping out their contents so that she could stomp on them with her boots. Both of the girls paused for a moment. They looked at each other and then down to the couch. Both of them moved behind it and each took a side.
"One...Two….fuck yo couch!" Chloe shouted as they flipped the couch over onto the coffee table. Max was standing beside Chloe now holding onto her as she giggled uncontrollably. The punk held her by her side with an arm as she proudly surveyed their work. The room was a wreck.
"Not bad Caulfield. Not bad at all." Chloe said with a grin turning to Max. The brunette returned a smile and pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you Chloe. I love you." She buried her face into the punk's neck. Max loved smelling the familiar Chloe smell, and the embrace that held her the same way every time they came together.
"I love you too, Max." Chloe's voice always had that hint of playfulness to it, a certain sarcastic sassiness, but whenever she said those words there was another tone that was rare. It was sincere and it came from deep within from the hidden girl that Max wanted so badly to have all to herself.
Max pulled away looking up at Chloe. "I am taking the envelope. I'm not going to let Nathan do anything with Kate's pictures. We can translate the letter later."
Chloe's eyebrows furled in thought. "But if we time jump with it won't that mean that Nathan still gets to use it and we just have a copy in the new timeline?"
"...Shit. You're right." Max bit her lip as she tried to think of an alternative. "Well...my normal rewinds have been longer. This would be the longest one I've ever attempted, but if I can do it then it means that Nathan doesn't have the instructions."
"Are you sure you want to risk it?" Chloe shot her a worried glance.
"We have to see if it works. Besides, then I'll know my new rewind limit."
Chloe agreed reluctantly and Max started to leave. She turned to see the punk raise both her hands up shooting two birds to the empty room. She spun around in a circle so that the hidden cameras in the room could record it from any angle.
"Eat shit and die Pervscotts."
Max chuckled and took the girl's hand. They walked up the stairs entering the barn and exited out of the hole that they had came in. Cutting through the same shortcut through the woods, they stopped halfway and Max turned to Chloe holding her hand out to her for the rewind.
"I want you to stop if it gets too much. Don't overdo yourself." Chloe clasped Max's hand in hers and the world around them blurred. This time they could see the leaves and trees blowing in reverse and the wildlife retracing their paths. This rewind seemed different to Max. She felt more powerful, more in control, and the world showed no resistance as she rewound more time than she had ever before.
Max flashed a smile to Chloe, signaling everything was alright, which the punk returned. To the brunettes amazement she began to see the ghostly images of themselves begin to walk backwards toward their current position. She released the rewind as their past selves came close. The world bowed to her wishes as it resumed it's normal time clockwise. A feeling of relief washed over her. She finally felt like she was in control of this power.
"Wowsers Chloe, it worked!" She turned to look at the undisturbed barn in amazement.
"I knew you had it in…" Chloe was interrupted as she felt something warm start to pool under her upper lip. Max spun around to see why she had stopped and she looked like a doe in headlights. Chloe wiped under her nose with two of her fingers holding them out in front of her. Both of them looked down at her blood stained fingers and then back at each other
A/N
This project started out as just practice for me. It has been a way for me to work out my feelings for both the game and in real life. You don't know how happy I am that people are reading it. Yes I mean you. I am so grateful for the follows and favorites. I was hesitant to leave a note because I like my work to speak for itself. I feel like there is a lot of me within these chapters. But I couldn't help but take the time to leave a thank you note. I hope that you stick with me as I work through this adventure. Feel free to message me any time or even leave a review. Your support makes my day and inspires me.
Your partner in time,
Dukkha
