Chapter 9

Moment of Desperation

Max felt as if she had been hit by a freight train. Her muscles ached and felt horribly weak. Her vision was blurred, and she felt confused and disoriented. She could just barely hear Mr. Jefferson's voice. He was looming over her, snapping photos. "Ah, yes," he said in a voice far more menacing than Max had ever remembered. "The slightly unconscious model is often the most open and honest," he said, "No vain posing." Max's clothes felt hot and stifling, even though the room was cold. She was under a blindingly bright lamp. She could feel Mr. Jefferson position her feet differently. Struggling to move, Max tried to move her head up. Mr. Jefferson stepped over and shouted, "Hold that stare there! Stay! Still!" His voice was harsh and violent. Mr. Jefferson walked back over and tried to snap a photo of Max's face. Max tried to move her face away from the camera. Mr. Jefferson stood up instantly, and he furiously spit out, "Oh Max! You messed up my shot!" He walked over, and said in a low voice, "But don't worry. We have all the time in the world. For now. I knew you were special the second I saw your first…selfie." He snapped several more photos. "And yes, I still hate that word." He walked over and said, "You're much different than Rachel, always looking in the wrong places. Poor, poor Rachel." He chuckled maniacally. Max tried to move again. Mr. Jefferson thrust his hand down on Max's neck, forcing her to stop, "Don't move!" he snarled. "Thanks Max," Mr. Jefferson said, "If only Nathan could see this setup…He tried so hard, but you can't just throw a few subjects around and call it art, but then you can't expect a cohesive style or theme. But he had an eye for shadows." He continued taking his shots, and Max kept struggling to move, but she was still so weak. She heard everything Mr. Jefferson was saying, and was fully aware of what was going on, but she just couldn't do anything about it. She barely had the strength to speak. Mr. Jefferson continued his ranting, "It's just too bad you're so nosy Max! But this room is under 24/7 surveillance. All I had to do was text you from Nathan's phone, and you fell right into my trap. You should've focused on schoolwork, not private detecting with your little friend." Max's eyes opened wider. "Chloe," she whispered. "Yes, Chloe, right. She has a troubled history like most Arcadia Bay dropouts. Good thing she wasn't with you or I would've been forced to kill her. Even if I had, nobody would've been surprised. Or cared. Though I promise people will care when you die tonight Max." He went in for some more close up shots. Max once again tried to get her head out of the way. Mr. Jefferson shoved Max's head in the ground and growled, "Max, please do not move so much!" Mr. Jefferson pushed Max's head into the ground harder with every word. If she hadn't been so weak, Max would've yelled in pain, "I need you posted and framed my way!" He removed his hand, and Max shed a tear. "Maybe a new dose will calm you down," Mr. Jefferson said. Max began to panic, and she weakly flailed around, desperately trying to loosen herself. "Do not move," Mr. Jefferson said as he picked up the needle, "Or this will hurt…much." Before Mr. Jefferson had a chance to fill the syringe with the narcotics, Max kicked the tray out of his reach, and the bottle of narcotics spilled all over the floor. Mr. Jefferson cursed her and shouted, "You never really listen do you? In fact, you never really listened in any of my classes! If you had, you might've seen all this coming! You remember in my class, how I told you that I could frame you in a dark room in a moment of desperation? Didn't think so." He stooped down and his speech softened, but not in a kind way. "But you are a fighter though." Max suddenly remembered Mr. Jefferson saying those exact words in class. Max saw Mr. Jefferson's cruel puzzle now. He had often talked of shadowy art, and of contrasting light and dark. Had he been throwing riddles at her, and yet she had never noticed? Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes at her and said, "Remember my number one rule: always…take the shot." He pricked her neck with the syringe, and everything faded to black. When she woke up, everything was different. Mr. Jefferson was gone, and she was tied to restraining chair. She shuddered and thought to herself, 'I can't believe that just happened. He is so sick!' Max assessed her situation. She was tied up, but not with any kind of metal restraints, merely duct tape. She began struggling, straining her legs to try to snap the tape. She couldn't free her arms, but she freed her right leg. The tape snapped. 'Oh thank you God!' Max thought. She was startled to hear somebody groan beside her. It was Victoria! She was on the floor, obviously drugged. Max was horrified. "Victoria!" Max said, "Victoria! It's me Max, can you hear me?" Victoria opened her eyes and said, "Max…Oh…Where are we, what's happening?" Max replied, "You've been drugged like Kate, and me. Do you remember how you got here?" "I don't know," Victoria said sobbing, "Wait, you warned me about Nathan. I went to Mr. Jefferson for help and he was acting so weird. That's the last thing I remember. I can't move my hands, help Max!" Listen carefully," Max said, "Mark Jefferson kidnapped us. He's using Nathan as well. Jefferson is very dangerous! We have to get out of here before he gets back." "Max," Victoria said, "What's going on? I thought you said Nathan was dangerous but it was actually Mark?" "I was wrong," Max said, "I should've known that Nathan couldn't do this all on his own." "Do what?" Victoria pleaded, "What's going to happen to us? Oh please get us out of here!" "I'm not going to let that swine get away with this!" Max said, "I just need you to be strong. We need to act while we're clear headed. If he doses us again we could forget everything." "I'm not strong Max," Victoria said, "Look at me. Look what I did to Kate Marsh! Now she's in the hospital and I'm here." "Kate wants us to get out of here," Max said, "and then we can go see her again OK?" "I'd do anything to see Kate once more," Victoria said, "Just to tell her I'm sorry." Max nodded, "You will Victoria…You will." Suddenly, a door opened. Mr. Jefferson stalked in. Max sat erect, and glared at him. Mr. Jefferson grabbed Victoria, and threw her at the other end of the room. There was a large closet, and he slammed the door. Max could still hear Victoria's muffled crying from the other end. Mr. Jefferson looked at Max and said, "I see your awake now. Sorry for my rude entrance, but I can't have other people like Victoria intrude on our photo session. She'll have her photo ops, but you won't see them either. In fact, you won't see, hear, or smell anything ever again. Mr. Jefferson walked over to a switch, the lighting turned pinkish-red, and everything looked darker. Mr. Jefferson walked back to his camera and began taking pictures. With a twisted smile on his face Mr. Jefferson laughed and said, "I'm getting some spectacular images here Max. I know Victoria would kill to be in your place but she doesn't understand our…connection. You're the winner Max. I choose your portrait. You try too hard Max. You all have the same doe-eyed look when you come here, replaced by fear when you realize what's about to happen." "Mr. Jefferson," Max asked, "Why are you doing this?" Mr. Jefferson chuckled, "Very good question Max," Mr. Jefferson said, "But that's not for you to know. It wouldn't matter anyway because you'll be dead tonight." "Yes," Max said, "You're a psychopath! And this is your last session." Mr. Jefferson stood there, and said nothing for a while, but then he spoke, "On the contrary Max," he said, "I'm so sane that nobody knows you're here tonight. And don't even get me started on your partner. I had enough of those faux punk losers in my Seattle days. Well, at least you're not one of them. It's just such a shame that you know that all of this is going on. It's better when they don't know. Like pure, sweet, Kate." "Kate believed, and she survived," Max said, "You failed to break her. She's stronger than ever! She'll outlive you!" "Well she'll certainly outlive you," Mr. Jefferson retorted. "Who knows? Maybe I'll pay Kate a visit soon to retest her faith." "You will not get away with this!" Max said, "I want you to know that!" "Then why did you blame David Madsen for stalking Kate? Of course he was the only person who was about to find out the truth. Irony. I know that the Prescott's are going to have a major scandal when the town finds out what their elite son has been doing for homework." "He's as sick as you," Max said. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't judge people Max. But that's why Nathan should've never been at Blackwell." "That makes two of you!" Max said. "I helped Nathan realize his vision," Mr. Jefferson said, "You used him!" Max said. Mr. Jefferson replied, "I prefer the term manipulated. Like with an image. Nathan was easy to twist around. I became a sort of father figure to Nathan. It often happens in teacher/student relationships. It was kind of touching there for a while." "Did you tell him about all of your plans at Blackwell?" Max asked. Mr. Jefferson said back, "Don't be stupid Max. I told him what he needed to hear. In return, I gained access to the Prescott fortune. How do you think I paid for all of this glorious Dark Room equipment? How else could I get these new drugs for my subjects." Max glared at Mr. Jefferson. "Rachel Amber was your victim," Max said, "Not your subject." "Oh, Rachel Amber," Mr. Jefferson said, "That's the real tragedy. Nathan thought he could be an artist like me. Instead, the idiot gave her an overdose." "Rachel," Max said, "You killed her! Why? Why!?" Mr. Jefferson donned a snarling look and said in a mocking tone, "Why!? Why?! Listen to me. Rachel is dead. But no tears, Los Angeles would've killed her anyway, so look at it as a favor to her." "You're evil!" Max said, "Oh I see," Mr. Jefferson said, "You're good because you stopped your friend from beating Nathan up." "I cared about him more than you do!" Max said. "No!" Mr. Jefferson yelled, "You don't! Nathan thought he could actually mimic what I do with a camera and subject. Like father, but not like son!" "Where is Nathan now?" demanded Max. "Dead and buried." Mr. Jefferson said in a low voice. Max took it in. That's why nobody had seen Nathan, Mr. Jefferson had murdered him before the party. Mr. Jefferson continued, "After what he did to Rachel I knew I couldn't keep him as a protégé for much longer. Now the police will never find his body. Don't you get it now Max? I can't compromise my vision with amateurs." "You are an amateur!" Max said, "Look at the trail of death you left behind. You can't blame this all on Nathan!" "I love your spirit Max," Mr. Jefferson said, "But I like my models to be seen not heard. So I'll have to make sure, there's nothing left behind…of you." Mr. Jefferson walked to the camera and said, "I see why your instant camera is so appealing. You don't need a computer to print your work out." He left, and Max tried to think of a way to get out. Suddenly, she saw her diary. There were photos in there that she could use to get out of there! Max rewound time back to when Mr. Jefferson had begun to leave. "Wait!" She shouted, "Mr. Jefferson!" Mr. Jefferson turned around, looking extremely annoyed, "What is it Max?" he snapped. "My diary." Max said, "What did you do to it?" Mr. Jefferson huffed, "Don't worry Max, nobody's going to read it. Thanks for reminding me." He walked over and looked inside. "Oh," he said with a tone and look of disgust, "Look at your selfies! What a waste of talent, you could've done so much better!" Mr. Jefferson walked over to a drawer and took out a lighter. "How about we forget about all of this crap," Mr. Jefferson said. He turned on the lighter, and put it to Max's diary. "No!" Max shouted. Mr. Jefferson smiled sickly as her diary burned to ashes. He let the burning diary flutter to the ground. "That's what San Francisco would've done to your work," Mr. Jefferson said, "They would've burned it." Max glared furiously at Mr. Jefferson, who chuckled and picked up a photo of Max while she was unconscious. Mr. Jefferson said, "Now this is true art. Sorry Max, but selfies don't qualify." Max said nothing, and Mr. Jefferson left the room. Max ground her teeth and stared at her ruined diary. She suddenly began to cry. She was trapped, and about to die. She looked up at the ceiling and said, "God…please. Please save me! Save me!" She closed her eyes sobbing. "What is it Max?" It was Mr. Jefferson, his arms crossed, staring at her. Max was startled, he had returned without her even seeing him. Mr. Jefferson said, "It's like your back in my class. You're still spacing out! It might be cool if you took one of your patented selfies now." Max could hear thunder boom above her head. Max gasped. Was it the storm she had dreamed about? Was it actually coming true? Another muffled thunderclap. It was coming true! She tried moving her leg, it was still loose, but she didn't let Mr. Jefferson see. "Anyway," Mr. Jefferson said, "answer my question!" "You're a monster!" Max said. "Good answer," Mr. Jefferson said. Max stared up at Mr. Jefferson, and then her nose began bleeding. "Hey," Mr. Jefferson said, "Your nose is bleeding." Mr. Jefferson reached down to wipe it, but Max threw her head to the side. Mr. Jefferson grabbed Max's hair and yanked her head still, before wiping it off. "Probably gave you too big a dose," he said, "Sorry about that. However, considering you're about to die, a nosebleed is a pretty small problem." A huge thunderclap exploded just outside, and even though it was muffled, it sounded massive. The lights flickered on and off before going back on. "Did you see how crazy it is outside?" Mr. Jefferson said, "Well Max, it's been an honor working with you on these final sessions. The last thing I need you to know is that it really is a pity that you decided to throw away your gift. A real artist needs to show his work to the world. To be…innocent." "Or guilty!" Max said. Mr. Jefferson chuckled and said, "That's the last lecture you'll ever have to hear from me. Mr. Jefferson began walking over to his drugs, which were designed to kill. "Please!" Max said, "Don't do this! You don't know what's happening!" "Quiet!" Mr. Jefferson said, holding his hand above Max's head. "Quiet Max." He walked over to his desk. Max thought quickly, she said, "Mr. Jefferson! Please…Can I have one last request?" Mr. Jefferson said, "Oh, you got me Max. How can I deny that face?" Max thought for a bit what would best bide time, she said, "I…I want you to take one last picture of me. I want to be your best subject." Mr. Jefferson raised an eyebrow and said, "I almost don't believe that, but I'm glad to see you're learning something from my classes." Max knew that would entice him. Mr. Jefferson took his camera, and snapped a photo, but then went back to grab the deadly needle. Max tried struggling, but the restraints to her hands were too secure. Mr. Jefferson walked over, and holding the needle, said, "I promise this final dose won't hurt." He shoved Max's head into the chair. Max couldn't struggle or do anything. His needle was about to inject its lethal poison into her when Max heard the massive door to the Dark Room open. "What?!" Mr. Jefferson said, dropping the needle. Max gasped. Who was it? Mr. Jefferson grabbed a tripod and held it over his head like a baseball bat. The man came in. It was David Madsen. Mr. Jefferson swung, but David was prepared. He fired his gun but missed. Mr. Jefferson swung again, this time hitting David in the face. David fell over. Max yelled, "David! The camera beside you!" David picked up the camera, and threw it hard at Mr. Jefferson's face. It hit its mark, and Mr. Jefferson's cheek bore a bloody red mark. David got up "No gun," Mr. Jefferson said, "No brains. Right Madsen? Right!?" "That crap's not gonna work!" David said, "The more you talk, the more scared you get!" Mr. Jefferson spat and screamed, "I'm the expert down here, redneck!" Spittle flew from Mr. Jefferson's crazed mouth. "You are not going to stop me!" He grabbed David's gun and shot. David dodge the bullet, and flung his iron-hard fist at Mr. Jefferson's face. He missed, and Mr. Jefferson pointed the gun at David and shot again, missing. David was within grabbing distance of Mr. Jefferson, and he reached for the pistol, trying to wrench it out of Mr. Jefferson's hand. Mr. Jefferson yelled as David pried the gun out of his hand. He shot into the floor, and dropped the gun. David grabbed the gun and smacked Mr. Jefferson across the face with it, before flinging it across the room. Mr. Jefferson got up and ran for it. David scrambled for him. Mr. Jefferson stopped him, pointing the gun right at David, before saying, "Goodbye redneck!" Max suddenly saw that Mr. Jefferson was underneath a lighting lamp. Max used her free leg and tugged the cord. The lamp fell right on top of Mr. Jefferson's head. As he got up, David had ran over, and his rock-hard fists slammed into Mr. Jefferson's face. He fell to the ground, and tried to get up, before David gave him another bone shaking punch to the face. Mr. Jefferson went limp, unconscious. David ensured he was out cold, before running over to Max. He undid the restraints. "Oh Lord Max," David said, a look of extreme worry on his face, "Are you OK? Are you alright? Can you move?" "Yes," Max said smiling, "Thank you David, thank you." "Don't thank me," David said, "You brought me here." Mr. Jefferson began stirring David clenched his fists and said, "Let's wrap up this freak first." He walked over, and landed a steel strength pummel to the face. Mr. Jefferson was well and truly out cold. "He won't be going anywhere when he wakes up," David said. "Except you are going to prison forever, or worse." Max looked at Mr. Jefferson on the floor. Finally he would be brought to justice. She looked for her cell phone. Fortunately, Mr. Jefferson hadn't destroyed it, and it lay on the table next to Mr. Jefferson's car keys. Max tried to remember when she had been kidnapped. That was at 10:30 at night. It was now 1:45 in the morning. Chloe would be looking for her. She also needed to know where Joyce and Frank were. If they were trapped in the storm, they might be killed. She opened her phone. No signal. She looked at the table to see Mr. Jefferson's car keys sitting there. She picked them up and thought, 'Sorry Mr. Jefferson, but you won't be needing these anymore.' She was going to leave, but not before giving her thanks to the man that had just saved her life. "David?" Max said. David stood up. "Are you OK?" David didn't respond immediately, he just looked around and said, shaking his head, "Look at this place. It feels like Hell." "Jefferson was going to kill me," Max said, he said. Suddenly his teeth gritted together, and his gaze went back to Mr. Jefferson. "I always suspected that freak." He said. Max shook her head, "I never did," Max said. "You shouldn't have to suspect your teacher." David said. "He wasn't a real teacher," Max said, "He just wanted to lecture. It was all a part of his sick plans." David replied, "I guess I looked just as suspicious when you told Principal Wells that harassing Kate Marsh, and I don't blame you. I'm sorry for accusing you of dealing drugs. I had no evidence and only said it out of anger. Please forgive me. I treated Kate and you like crap. I know she's a good person, but I'm not. I hope I get to tell her that soon." "Me too," said Max, "I think that would make her very happy." "I knew Nathan Prescott was a threat," David said, "I just waited too long to neutralize him." "Jefferson already did," Max said, "They had some sort of weird father/son thing going on, but Nathan killed Rachel and Jefferson was using him as a scapegoat." David glared down at Mr. Jefferson and said, "That pervert was pulling all this crap right under my nose too. I could've stopped him and Nathan if only…If only I wasn't so stupid." "No," Max said, "I should've told Principal Wells that Nathan had a gun, and almost used it. I put the school in danger." David looked at Max and said, "We all make decisions we regret. Some, like me, more than others. But I have to admit impressed by you and Chloe and your investigation. I had all the high-tech toys while you had each other." "We make a good team," said Max. David sighed and said, "That's my problem. I'm not good at teamwork. Never was…Even in the service." "I can't even imagine what you went through," Max said. David shook his head, "I'm not going to make any excuses for my behavior. I tried to be a good soldier, but I wasn't so great. I tried to be a good father too…But now that Joyce kicked me out…I have nothing." "I'm so sorry about that," Max said, "Even then, I didn't want you to get kicked out." "I should've never set up those surveillance cams," David said, "or kept those files." "I'm going to tell Joyce I was wrong about you," Max said, "She loves you. It's pretty obvious." "I try not to use my service as an excuse but," David looked at the ground and continued somberly, "It's hard to come home after war. To see people that you care about die in front of you. Most people don't know or care what's it's like…except Joyce. She gave me hope. A new life." "And you saved mine!" Max said gratefully, "Chloe she…she would be so proud of you." "I just want to see her safe with her mother," David said, "I need to start repairing my relationship with her, maybe she won't call me dad, but at least she might stop calling me step-troll. So, where is Chloe?" Max decided to hide the truth. She didn't need to tell David that Chloe was thinking about murdering Nathan, and besides, she wouldn't. Nathan was already dead. "Um, David," she said, "She was pretty stressed out, so she went back to her house before I was kidnapped. She's OK." "Oh thank God," David said, "I'll go back there whenever Joyce will let me. I just hope that Chloe will at least hear me out." Max then said, "David, Victoria is locked in the room adjacent to here." "What?!" said David, "There!?" "Yes." Max responded. David rushed over, and slammed his shoulder against the door. It nearly gave. He crashed against it a second time, and then a third. The door broke down. When it opened, Victoria was on the ground crying, "Oh thank you!" she kept saying through sobs, "Thank you! Thank you!" David helped her up and then said, "Victoria? Are you OK? Can you walk?" Victoria said, "I don't know, I'll try." Victoria struggled to her feet but couldn't stand. David carefully supported her, and took her over to the sofa to lie her down while the drug wore off. She fell asleep quickly. After making sure Victoria was alright, Max said, "David, I have to go outside to get some air, and use my phone." "Of course," David said, "Go on Max. You're a brave soldier. I'm glad Chloe has a best friend like you." "Go on now," David said, "You've seen enough of this room. Max left the Dark Room and went upstairs. She needed to save Chloe. Looking at the storm, she wondered if she'd ever be able to find Warren.