The sight of what was Arcadia Bay tormented Max more than she thought it would, driving through what was their home, is now a ghost town, a place that was once full of life now had none at all, except for a few animals running around and some birds flying off in the distance, that was something to comfort Max a little, at least, something had lived, she thought in her anguished mind.
They frequently had to pull over to move something out of the way, a fallen tree, a piece of an old landmark and sometimes, even dead animals or bodies, the poor souls that didn't make it out in time. This weighed on Max heavily, physically, but also mentally, she was utterly exhausted from it all, but Chloe was always there to comfort her, to help her through the agony, Chloe could see the pain in Max's eyes, the sorrow that was slowly tearing her apart, could she handle all of this?
"It's fine Max, I've got this one, you stay right here, okay?" Chloe said as they pulled up to another body, another that was lost to the storm.
"Okay Chloe, but don't leave my sight, promise?"
"Of course, Max, don't be so worried, I'm not going far and this'll only take a sec, I promise."
Max observed Chloe leave the car, feeling sorry for her needing to move yet another body, although she was hurting, she could see it in Chloe too, she was blaming herself, she didn't think she was worth it. But she was, to Max, Chloe was Max's whole world, her best friend, her guide, her support, she completed Max, they were one together.
Chloe returned quickly, just like she said she would. She entered the car and noticed the sad look on Max's face, she reached up onto her shoulder, trying to give Max some comfort. Max turned her head and noticed Chloe gazing right into her eyes, with a smile on her face. She didn't say anything, it was just a simple smile on Chloe's face, a look that said, it's okay, we're okay and we'll make it out of this, I'm with you, now and forever and it was enough for Max to return a reassuring smile towards Chloe, despite the pain she was going through.
Chloe eased her foot off of the accelerator as they approached the Two Whales. Despite the carnage of the storm, it was still relatively intact, maybe there was some hope yet, that some survived the fury of the hurricane. Max had said that Warren, Frank, Joyce and Pompidou were holed up inside there during the storm, taking shelter from the debris that was flying everywhere at the time.
Max could see the look in Chloe's eye, she wanted to go check inside the Two Whales and check for survivors, but Max didn't know if she was ready to do that, if she saw another dead body, especially Warren's, Frank's, Joyce's or Pompidou's, that she would break down and never be able to forgive herself, for being so selfish.
"Chloe, I can tell by the look in your eye that you want to go in there... but I don't know if I can, I can't take any more of this."
Chloe looked up at Max with an understanding look on her face, but that didn't stop her from wanting to look inside, even if it bought her suffering.
"I know Max, but I've got to look, I need some closure on this, you don't need to come in if you don't want to, I'll be okay, I promise."
"No, I'll come with you, you're right, I shouldn't be so scared, it's the right thing to do."
"That's the spirit, Max, I knew you wouldn't let me down," Chloe said with an appreciative smile on her face.
It didn't look it from the outside, but the Two Whales was very dark inside, there was no light coming in because it was covered in more debris than Chloe originally thought.
"Hey Max, it's hella dark in here, but my phone is flat so I can't use it as a light, how about you?"
"Me too, don't you have your lighter on you? You take that thing everywhere."
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot, thanks for reminding me, Max." Chloe dug into her pocket and there it was, it would have to do for a source of light, it was almost out of gas, but that wouldn't stop Chloe from searching the Two Whales to the brim.
"Fuck it's dusty in here," Max complained, feeling like she was about to cough her lungs up from the inhalation of the smoke and dust.
"Yeah, I'm guessing that's pretty normal after almost getting leveled by a hurricane, Max," Chloe remarked with a teasing grin on her face.
The light filled the room, more than either of them expected, it was just a small cigarette lighter after all.
Chloe reached out with her hand, signalling Max to hold it, Max complied and laced their fingers around, searching for any signs of movement, but there was nothing, there were no bodies and no blood, maybe they had made it out alive, but nothing was set in stone, better not get my hopes up Max thought to herself.
"Do you see anything?" They both said to each other in nearly perfect synchronisation.
"Jinx, you owe me a soda," Chloe quipped at Max, poking at her tummy and tickling her, causing Max to burst out laughing inside the Two Whales. Even now, being battered and beaten, Chloe and the Two Whales brought happiness to Max, like neither of them had ever changed, but they had, for better or worse, she thought to herself.
"Stop that or I'm going to wet myself, Chloe!"
"Oh, we wouldn't want that now, would we, Miss Caulfield? Chloe said with a sly look on her face, teasing Max with her hands as she finished tickling her.
"Okay, we have looked everywhere and nothing is here, can we leave yet?"
"Sure, Max, you win, there's nobody here, maybe some people got out after all, not all hope is lost Max, you've just gotta believe that some made it out."
"I know Chloe, it's just hard is all, after everything we have been through, I can't help but feel like there's nothing left, I'm almost all out of hope."
"I get it, Max, I really do, but you can't and you better not give up, I'll always be here for you, now, wipe that sad look off of your face and let's get out of here."
"That's the spirit, we'll get through this, together, forever."
They both clambered back into Chloe's truck, sluggishly lifting themselves back into position, seat belts on and they were ready to go, to leave Arcadia Bay, their old, now broken home, ravaged by the storm.
Chloe accelerated once again and they eventually hit the open road, but still no signs of life anywhere, no cars passed by and there was no one hitchhiking from the storm either, but at least they didn't need to clear wreckage off of the road this time, it was smooth sailing from here and the nearest hotel was only a few miles away. The day had flown by, hours had only seemed like minutes while they were driving through the remains of Arcadia Bay, it was almost night time as the sun was setting over the top of their heads.
"Ahh fuck, not now, please not now!" Chloe yelled as the car began to rattle and slow down at a drastic rate.
"Chloe, what's wrong? The car isn't breaking down is it...?"
"Sorry Max, but that's exactly what's happening, I thought the mechanic back in Arcadia would have fixed this piece of shit, it cost me a lot of money after all!"
The engine was making unsettling and loud banging noises, Chloe eventually gave in and pulled over.
"Okay Max, looks live we've got two choices. Either we walk all the way to the hotel in the damn dark, or we wait until the morning so there's slightly less chance we get murdered."
"Chloe, I'm exhausted and I know you are too, let's just wait until the morning, please?"
"Sure, but it's hella cold outside, I don't think it's best we sleep in the pickup, even if there is barely any room in here, how about we take shifts sleeping? You can sleep first."
"Okay Chloe, thanks for letting me go first, I feel like I'm going to collapse any second."
"I know, Max, you've been through who knows how many time dimensions, you deserve a good rest and good dreams, now come over here and get comfy."
"I always wanted my own personal body pillow," Max remarked with a cheeky grin on her face.
"You know it, Caulfield, I'm all yours."
Max leaned backwards towards Chloe and placed her head against her chest, she was warm and Max loved the feeling of Chloe against her, the warmth that was inside of her, the soft and delicate touch of her hands and her presence in general, it was soothing for Max.
Chloe looked down into Max's eyes, leant down and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight, buttercup."
Max closed her eyes and near instantly fell asleep, she was at peace, for now.