21st October, 2013

'Hey, kid! You awake?'

The man's voice was the first thing I heard as I came too, sitting up, trying to make sense of my situation. The speaker was none other than Frank Bowers, the driver of the RV. Currently, we were parked up, with someone else driving.

'A little groggy... thanks for the rescue.'

He grunted in response. 'Yeah. You owe us. We were on our way to meet someone.'

That made me think... what was it one of the snatchers had said? "What is Prescott's man doing here?"

"Prescott's man."

Frank was a pretty sketchy guy but there was no way he would stoop to that level, surely. I had to know. 'Frank... I know it's none of my business...'

'It probably isn't, but what do you want to know?'

'One of the men shouted something about it being 'Prescott's man' when you rolled up. He didn't mean-'

Frank interrupted me, raising his voice. 'Don't you go assuming, now. It's a complicated situation.'

'Bullshit. You're taking me right to him, aren't you? I thought we were like, I dunno, frie-'

'I told you not to go assuming. You know what? Fuck this. Andrew! Can you explain everything to the lady? I'll drive.'

A voice came from the cabin. 'Sure. Head as deep into the next city as you can.'

'We're gonna have to get a new RV because of her, fuck sake. Thank God we ditched the lab, huh?' Frank replied, leaving this section to take the wheel from this 'Andrew.' He appeared from the cabin, tall, muscular with dark brown hair and green eyes. In a sling over his shoulder was an automatic rifle. An M16 of some variety. He leaned against the wall of the moving vehicle, eyeing me carefully.

'I'm only going to explain this once. Listen up,' he said, speaking in a very western accent. 'Both Frank and I worked for Prescott for a while. Frank mostly just peddled drugs to his underlings and associates. Sometimes used the RV for carrying more... unsavoury cargo. That's irrelevant. I'll put this bluntly - I'm the man who has been tracking you since you pulled your little stunt at the marina. REALLY pissed off old Sean, that did.'

So this was some super shady type guy, then. Great.

'I know what you're thinking. "Why rescue me, then?" Well, that's because Prescott's gone off the rails. Ever since his son died. Sent a lot of his goons to their graves in some sort of crime war. And now, he's crazy about you. Making sure whatever you found at the marina doesn't ever come to light. We have orders to take you alive, but if you pose any sort of threat they will not hesitate to open fire, do you understand me?'

I nodded.

'Anyway, grass is always greener on the other side, right? So, I wanna cut ties with this guy before he gets me into some really deep shit. We were heading up this way to cut a meth deal with some guys before we ran into your... situation. I knew you were in this direction, but we had no idea we'd run right into you.'

I had to interrupt. 'Is Frank in on this?'

'Yes. He has his own reasons. Please don't interrupt me again. Now, you're here because if they find you, I've run out of time. I'll be stuck working for this asshole until my dying day, which will be pretty soon if things carry on the way they are. I gotta strike now, while he's obsessed with you. Once you're out of the picture, he'll be completely unreachable.'

'Why?'

'Man's involved with some real bad guys based in Seattle. Real bad. Drugs, racketeering, human trafficking, corporate terrorism, you name it. Once you're gone... he goes, really. Off the map. The entire Prescott empire goes to these guys, and he gets off Prescott-free. Excuse the pun.'

It was good to finally get some answers, even if they did terrify the bejeesus out of me. The man's effort at humour did little to lighten my mood, but it did make me feel a little safer, at least.

'Where are we now?' I asked tentatively. I would never forgive myself if we were halfway across the country, leaving Kate and Chloe to their fate. The man must have read this.

'Relax, we're still in Oregon. We're heading into Beaverton. Gotta grab a new RV now you're with us.'

Beaverton? Score! We were right next to Portland. But I was still chastising myself for not having an emergency meetup location planned.

'I hate to ask, but may I use your phone?'

'Are you dying?'

'What?'

'Are you dying?'

'...No?'

'Then no.'

'But I need to call my girlfriend! Make sure she's okay!' I had to admit it, calling her that did feel good. My raised voice also got a 'HA!' from Frank.

'When we stop for new wheels, you can find a payphone or buy a burner and call her.' And that was that. There was no arguing with this man. I sighed, and looked at the floor in defeat.

'Fine. So what's the plan?'

He stopped, closing his eyes briefly to think. 'I'm still supposed to be working for Sean. I'll keep his hounds off our trail, for now. We have to strike before he gets too suspicious. At the moment he locks himself up 24/7, paranoid bastard. We're working on a way to get him exposed while it's still possible. But one thing at a time,' he chuckled. 'We need to get new wheels. Rest up until we get there. Then you can call your girlfriend or whatever.'

'Alright. Thanks. One more thing-' I said.

'Yes?'

'Am I your prisoner now, or something?'

'Or something. Just do as you're told, and we'll all get through this.'

I still wasn't entirely sure whether or not to trust this man. Either way, it was out of my hands now. Just do as you're told, Caulfield. How hard could it be?

It was about an hour's drive into Beaverton. The sky had darkened exponentially, and rain now pelted the tarmac relentlessly. Pathetic Fallacy at its finest, I thought, lying on a sofa-bed in the RV. The only other thoughts in my head were mostly about Chloe, and how she had to be okay. I don't know how I would carry on if she wasn't. She could take care of herself and Kate, right?

And then there was Warren. I was under the impression he was Frank's business partner - was I wrong? Was it temporary? Did Warren end up out of his depths in his newfound job? If Frank was around, Warren had to be close by.

'Frank?' I called out.

'What?' He replied.

'Where's Warren?'

'I'm not his fuckin' mother, I don't know.'

I kept silent following his less than courteous answer. Whatever, it was an answer. Still, it meant he was likely alive at least, so that was one less anxiety on my mind. Fantastic, more room for the rest.

I had another question for him.

'Where's Pompidou?'

Frank sighed audibly. 'With Warren. Can you please stop with the questions for a while and let me drive?'

So once more I shut my mouth until we finally pulled up outside a showroom. Frank cut the engine, and left his seat to address me.

'There's a payphone down the street, turn left and you'll see it. Andrew will watch from here until you get there and then burn this piece of junk. I'm going to go and make the deal. No funny business, alright?' I nodded in agreement. Frank shoved some coins into my hand, and I stood up, stretching.

After leaving the RV and turning left, I saw the payphone. I started towards it, keeping my eyes open for anything suspicious.

After a short walk in the rain, I came to the payphone. I scrambled to put my change in - I was so desperate to call Chloe. My heart was pounding against my ribcage, and I felt a lump in my throat as I pressed the buttons, punching in Chloe's number. I was halfway through when I remembered that we had thrown our phones on a train track in Arcadia Bay. Fuck!

There was still a way I could, perhaps reach Chloe. I wasn't so sure whether or not we were on good terms but... I had to try. I watched as Andrew drove Frank's RV past.

Instead of Chloe's, I entered in the number of David Madsen's cellphone. Once again I held the receiver to my ear.

He answered swiftly, voice deep and dark.

'Hello?'

'Mr Madsen? It's me, Max Caulfield.'

He paused for a moment. 'Oh, uh, hi Max.'

'I'm not interrupting anything, am I?'

Another cautious pause. 'Not at all. What can I do for you?' He sounded really down.

'Are you okay?'

'Doing just fine, but that isn't why you called.'

Damn. So much for trying to be nice.

'No, uh, it wasn't. Do you know if Chloe got a new phone? We kind of... lost ours.' I gave a nervous chuckle.

'I'm afraid I don't. Sorry, Max.'

'Don't worry about it, Mr Madsen. Thanks for your time.'

'Sure. And... you can call me David.' With that, he hung up.

Fan-fucking-tastic. No Chloe, no Kate, no Warren, just two assholes and an RV. And some guns and no shortage of drug money.

I walked the short distance back across the road. The aforementioned RV had been replaced by a spanking new top of the line... I'm not even sure what it was. It was big. Luxurious. Frank leaned against it triumphantly, beckoning me over.

'Take a look at that, kid. Tell me you ain't wonderstruck.'

'It's... stylish,' I managed. He was right, of course. We would certainly have a good base - with the drawback of sticking out like a sore thumb. 'How did you get that so fast?'

He grinned boyishly. 'I guess you could say paying the 'advanced service fee' has its perks.' Oh great, you're proud of bribing people. Good going, Frank.

'Frank... I need to ask you something.'

He shot me a quizzical look. 'What?'

'I have to go somewhere... in Portland. It's really important,' I breathed out.

He briefly considered my request, then shrugged his shoulders. 'I dunno. Maybe. Anyway, get in the RV. Andrew's torching the old one. We're gonna go and pick him up now.'

He held open the door of the vehicle. Oddly courteous, for a man like him. I couldn't help but be amazed by how expensive this thing was, and looked. Shiny stuff everywhere. Anything you would find in a house was here. And it had that great new car smell. We weren't even in a car.

Despite my wonder, I casually took the seat beside the driver's. After a few seconds, Frank came to sit beside me. He started the RV, and smiled.

We were on the road again. I assumed we were following Andrew, waiting for him to find a good spot to dispose of the old RV. Eventually, the road became rougher, and bumps more frequent as we drove deeper into the countryside. All I could think about was Chloe. We'd be reunited soon. I'd find a way.

I didn't even notice that we had stopped until Andrew boarded the RV.

'It's done. Let's jet. Find a place to set up for the night.'

It was obvious that Frank and Andrew had a detailed plan - one I did not know some of the details to. And I still had to get into Portland. The White Cap. Maybe finally get some answers. But for now, it was getting late, and if I was to make any progress at all, sleep would be invaluable. Drifting away seemed impossible with everything on my mind, but as the time passed, I felt myself fall into a restless trance.

The darkness and rain was extremely disconcerting. One second, I was lying down on a bed in the RV - the next, I found myself on a street, in a city. My heart was beating like crazy, and I was really thirsty. I stuck my tongue out to catch the falling raindrops. Slowly, I became more aware of my body. Somehow, I was taller, more lean, and muscled. I felt a beanie on my hand, and there was a cold, metallic weight in my hand: a gun. Chloe's gun. I examined it, the moonlight illuminating the black finish, reflecting the blue tint of my nail polish...

Blue nail polish? I looked down. I was wearing a leather jacket, a white tank top, blue ripped jeans...

I was Chloe.

It was then when I 'awoke.' The vehicle had stopped moving, and I felt blood trickling down my nose. Frank sat there, looking at me worriedly.

'Max? You awake?'

I nodded, my head pounding.

'What the hell was that?'

Hell if I knew. Another vision?

If that was true... then that could only mean worse things were to come.

Author's note

Hi. Apologies for the late upload, I've been bogged down with boring school stuff. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to keep to a weekly upload schedule. Expect a new chapter every two to three weeks.

While I'm writing this, I would like to ask - how are you enjoying this? Before LiS, I was writing a novel, and I turned my nose up at the mere mention of fanfictions. But I couldn't not write about this game. So, it's not my usual writing style. Leave a comment or a review, and I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks for your time.