Chloe picked up her Queen, and knocked over one of the horse-shaped pieces on the board. Her queen - which was constructed from some nuts and bolts, as several pieces were missing from the chess set - took the enemy knight's place.

"Checkmate."

Victoria squinted at the board. "Well, fuck," she cursed as she sat up straight.

"I win!"

"You always win! Shit, I never knew you were actually smart…"

Chloe only chuckled.

"Chloe…" Victoria began, her tone suddenly serious, "why…back in high school, why were you such a...a…"

"Delinquent?" Chloe finished with a raised eyebrow.

"I...yeah, I guess. I'm sorry. You're obviously a smart person. Why did you throw that away?"

Chloe frowned as she formulated her words. "I...I don't know if there's a really good answer for that. Not a simple one, anyhow. After my dad died...we had such a strong bond. Losing him was...devastating. Then Max left. Right after the funeral. I pretty much never heard from her again...not until she returned to Blackwell years later, anyway. But when she left, I was alone. I had a hard time connecting with anyone at Blackwell while I was there. Only a few. I was the poor girl on scholarship, who wore clothes that were old and torn up and maybe too small. I felt like everyone was judging me. The only way I could protect myself was to pretend I didn't care what anyone else thought. To be a rebel against everything and everyone. Looking back, I know that was stupid, but...but I was in pain, honestly. That was how I coped."

"Were you mad at Max? When she returned?"

Chloe scoffed. "Of course I was. For about ten minutes. After that...I was just so ecstatic that she was back. It was like nothing had ever changed between us. Other than my dad, she was the only other person in the world I had a solid bond with."

"What about your mom?"

Chloe sighed. "I...I loved her. I did. I know she tried really hard to be a good mother to me, and I appreciated it, even if I was a terrible daughter. But...we never really had the same bond. Not like I did with my Dad, or Max. And when David came along...I think that broke any bond we had. I felt like she was trying to replace Dad."

"Were you mad at her for finding love again?"

"No! Well, maybe a little, yes. But I think I was more angry that she was trying to force this new relationship on me, with David as some sort of a "father figure". I had a father. He died in a car crash. No one could replace him. I wish she could have understood that, understood me. She moved on - I don't begrudge her that - but I hadn't. I needed more time. I was still grieving."

Victoria reached her hand across to gently grasp Chloe's wrist.

"Chloe...I am so sorry. I know I didn't help with your problems; I was such a bitch back then. Sometimes I wish I could travel back in time, for the sole purpose of slapping myself in the face and telling younger me to grow the hell up."

Chloe laughed. "Yeah...if I could go back in time, I think I'd have a few choice words for myself, as well."

Victoria laughed with her. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say."

Monday, October 15th, 2018

Timeline 2

Max and Chloe

Chloe laid in bed, silently staring at the ceiling. Her head throbbed from crying all night. She hadn't slept a wink either - how could she, with so many thoughts racing through her mind?

What kind of a world does this? Who does this? She recalled when she spoke those words between sobs so many years before, when she and Max had found Rachel's body. The questions held true today. Only this time, she had an answer: the Prescotts.

She knew greed drove people to do unspeakable things, but this...using murder, torture, and any other tools available to coerce a young girl with time-travel abilities to destroy a whole town? Kill countless people? All for what?

Chloe shut her eyes and listened to the sound of sizzling from the kitchen, just outside her door and down the short hallway. Max had woken up (if she had even slept - Chloe didn't think either of them managed to sleep that night) a short while before, gave Chloe a quick peck on the forehead, then got out of bed. Now, Chloe surmised, she was cooking in the kitchen.

Chloe groaned and pushed herself up. A part of her just wanted to stay there and think, but she knew she needed to clear her mind, and return to the thinking later. She forced her legs to carry her through the doorway and to the kitchen. Max appeared to have mixed together some batter for making pancakes. Chloe appreciated the gesture, but honestly, she didn't have much of an appetite right now. Still, she stepped towards the unaware brunette, and wrapped arms around her slender body. Max stilled, frying pan in one hand, spatula in the other, ready to flip the half-cooked pancake. Max leaned backward into the embrace. The pair stood there silently for a moment, taking comfort in one another. Finally, Max set aside the frying pan and spatula - away from the burner, so she didn't char the pancake- and turned around to face Chloe. She brought her hands to either side of the blonde's face and cupped her cheeks gently. Chloe saw her own sadness reflected in Max's eyes, then Max brought their lips together for a gentle kiss.

Chloe shut her eyes, and brought her forehead to Max's when they parted. "I love you," she said in barely more than a whisper.

"I love you, too." Max pecked her again on the lips, then buried her head in Chloe's shoulder. They remained silent in their embrace. Chloe was so thankful for Max - when she called her yesterday, Max had come quickly, and had hardly left her side since. She held Chloe all night. She was there right when Chloe needed her.

"Max...thank you. For everything. For being there when - "

Knock knock knock.

Both girls pulled away and looked to the front door.

Knock knock knock.

Now who the fuck is knocking at eight in the fucking morning? Chloe thought bitterly. Her ire was growing rapidly.

"Let's just ignore it. They can come back later," Max suggested. The frown on her face showed that she, too, was irritated by the interruption.

Knock knock knock.

Chloe snapped. "Seriously? FUCK OFF!" She roared at the door. She grit her teeth and turned her attention back to Max, shaking her head. "I can't believe this ass-"

RATATATATATATA!

Chloe reflexively pulled Max down to the ground, and threw herself over the brunette. Glass shattered. Dust spewed out from new holes in the walls. Bullets were flying everywhere. Chloe's heart pounded in her ears.

There was a pause in the gun fire.

Any sadness was forgotten in Chloe's sudden adrenaline rush. "Max, get to the bedroom. Climb out the window. Go to the truck. Stay low. Go, now!" She instructed as she pushed herself off of Max to give her space to flee. Max looked at her once, wide-eyed with terror, and obeyed.

BAM! ...BAM! ...BAM!

Whoever had just opened fire into their apartment was now trying to break down the newly bullet-ridden door. Chloe sprinted to the small side table by the door where she kept the truck keys and snatched them up, praying that this shooter didn't decide to start shooting again. She then sprinted to the bedroom and locked the door behind her. Max had the window open and was climbing out - to their fortune, the dumpster below had the lid closed, so they could easily step on top of that.

Thank God we took the cheap unit, Chloe ludicrously thought to herself.

Before climbing out, Chloe grabbed her phone and wallet. She grabbed her backpack from beside the bed, hastily pulled out a few of the drawers in the dresser, and stuffed random clothes - she didn't bother to check what, precisely - into the bag. A loud crash from the other side of the bedroom door told Chloe that the front door had been broken in, just as she followed Max out onto the dumpster, then down to the ground. Chloe took Max's hand and led her to the truck a few yards away. She fumbled the truck keys with shaky hands, and barely managed to stick the key into the driver side door to unlock it. She quickly hopped in and leaned over to open the door for Max, who swiftly pulled herself in and shut the door. Chloe did likewise, started the truck, backed it out of its spot and sped away.

"Holy shit!" Max breathed beside her. "What...what…?"

Chloe's heart and mind were both racing. It took her a minute to formulate a coherent thought.

"Max, call nine-one-one. Tell them what's happened and where we are right now. I'm not going to stop until either I see blue lights behind me or we find a police station."

Max's hands trembled as she felt around in her pockets for her phone and called.

"Oh God...someone just tried to shoot us...we-we were at our apartment, we're driving away now...we're on Highway One-Twenty-Nine, heading southbound...please, please send someone…"

She continued to describe the truck and gave the license plate number, as well as the address for their apartment, and begged them to send someone right away. She soon hung up.

"Okay...just-just keep driving, she said, and officer is on the way to meet us."

Chloe nodded. She glanced over at Max. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Max glanced down at herself. "I...I think I'm okay. Are you okay?"

Chloe quickly glanced down at herself. "I-I think so. Am I bleeding or anything?"

Max looked her up and down carefully. "I don't think so."

Chloe kept driving for several minutes longer, as the road continued into a quiet area. Forest lined either side of the road, and their truck was the sole vehicle around. She dared not to slow down, lest their attacker was catching up in a car. Soon she saw a police vehicle in the rear-view mirror turn its lights on. She pulled over. Never before had she been so happy to see a cop.

As the officer- and his partner, apparently - stepped out of the vehicle, Chloe took a moment to grasp Max's hand and give it a squeeze. "We're going to be okay," she assured the journalism student. "We're through the worst of it."

She put her hands back on the wheel as the officer approached her window. He tapped on it with his knuckle.

"Step out of the car please, ladies," He said. His partner was on the passenger side, instructing Max to do the same.

Chloe happily obliged.

"God, we were at our apartment, and then - "

"Is the dashcam off?" the officer called over to his partner. Chloe realized he was holding his baton in his hand.

"Yeah," the partner replied sheepishly.

"Bodycam too?"

"...yeah."

Chloe and Max locked eyes - something was very wrong here.

Chloe looked back at the officer. "Look, can you please just take us - "

WHAM!

The cop swung his baton and struck Chloe just under her right cheekbone. The force spun her around, and she slammed into the hood of her truck. A strong hand grabbed the back of her collar and was soon dragging her away.

"CHLOE!" Max screamed. Chloe glanced up at her as she tasted blood in her mouth. Max was starting to raise her right hand as the rookie gripped her shoulder, but Chloe shook her head. Max froze, anguish written across her face.

Chloe was dropped on her knees, several yards in front of her truck. The throbbing in her cheek caused her to groan in pain. She heard a small rustle, and knew it was the sound of a gun being removed from its holster.

"Nothing personal, kid. Sorry."

She heard the click of the safety mechanism being disengaged. A part of her mind refused to process what was happening - she remained motionless, in complete disbelief. She looked up once more at Max, who was again raising her hand. She was about to shout "No!", but the other officer interrupted her. He quickly pulled his pistol from his side, and pointed it at the cop behind her.

"Drop it!" The partner ordered.

"What the fuck are you doing, rookie? You heard the chief!" the voice behind her boomed.

"I don't give a fuck. This ain't right," the rookie cop replied.

"Rookie, either you drop that weapon or-"

BANG!

The cop behind her grunted in pain, and toppled over.

"You son of a-" he started. Instinctively, Chloe spun around, and seeing that the man, lying on his back, was still in reach, drove her fist into his face. He was knocked cold.

Chloe fell back to catch her breath, not realizing until now that she was hyperventilating. Before she knew it, Max was at her side, clutching her desperately.

"Oh God, Chloe!" she sobbed.

"I'm okay Max," Chloe responded with an unusual calmness. She glanced at the cop who nearly executed her in the middle of the highway. He was unconscious but alive - the bullet she could now see had struck his vest. She glanced up at the rookie cop as he approached.

"Oh, shit," he said. His hands gripped the sides of his head, the handgun still in one of them.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He looked at the unconscious officer and brought the gun down in front of his face to examine it.

"I just...I just shot my fucking partner…"

"He was going to kill me," Chloe said. "Why? Why was he going to shoot me?"

The rookie seemed to suddenly remember the two girls on the road beside him. "I...I don't know. We got a call from the chief right before we got the call from dispatch. Told my partner here that there could be a call, and we were to answer it...and... I-oh God…I thought this was some kind of a joke or something...shit, shit, shit!"

Chloe glanced at the rookie's nametag. "Officer Carleton," she said, "you saved my life. Our lives. Thank you. Why did the chief want us dead?"

Officer Carleton seemed to calm down somewhat. "I don't know - something about a favor to somebody. I don't know who you are that you've got the police chief coming down on your head, but I recommend you get the hell out of dodge."

"Yeah...you too," Chloe suggested.

"Yeah...I will probably be halfway across the country by this time tomorrow. Good luck, girls. Keep your heads down."

And so they left, the rookie leaving in the squad car in one direction, and the girls in their truck, in the opposite direction. The unconscious officer they left at the side of the road.

For twenty minutes, the girls sat quietly, watching trees pass as the truck continued down the empty road.

"Chloe...what is going on? Why are people trying to kill us?" Max asked.

Chloe searched for an answer. "I don't know," she finally said. "The Prescotts...somehow they know that we know. They're trying to silence us."

"But how?" Max asked. "How could they know?"

"I don't-" She began. Suddenly it dawned on her.

"Max...in the lab, the security camera!"

"What? I thought that was just for show!?"

"So did I," Chloe said. "But...it must not be. They must be using it. That's the only thing that makes sense."

"But then...then they must know that we've been bridging with another reality… "

Chloe pondered that for a moment. "My adviser… When he and the other grad students got back from Switzerland, he said I would be the only one working in the lab. I just thought that was a lucky coincidence, but but he must have known what was going on, and let me continue. Hell, maybe they've been expecting this for years... it's the only reason I can think that I would even get into grad school. I mean, with my background and crappy grades from my undergrad studies, I'm sure I don't exactly strike people as scientist material."

"I don't know about that," Max replied. "If you're not scientist material then I'm not journalist material, either. I don't think they would have gone through all of the effort to include you if you weren't necessary to their plans. Whatever those are…"

The two were silent for a time. Chloe finally broke the silence.

"Max… What do we do?"

"I don't know," Max admitted. "If they're that eager to kill us… We need to be very careful. I think we need to find a bank, or an ATM. We need to try to do cash transactions only. They might be able track us if we use our cards. "

"Or our phones… We better turn those off. Take the batteries out. We don't want them tracking us with that, either."

Chloe took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Max, who pulled the battery out, and did the same for her own.

"Done. Good thinking grabbing some clothes too, by the way. That totally didn't occur to me."

"That was a risk I probably didn't need to take," Chloe replied. "But… I guess it's a good thing I did. I don't really know what all I got in there, I kinda just started grabbing stuff and shoved it in."

"We'll find out," Max said. "For now, let's find a bank. Then we have to drive as far away from here as possible. Find a motel somewhere where we won't likely be recognized. Then we'll figure everything out from there. Can I ask you something? "

"Sure."

"Why didn't you want me to use my power?"

Chloe sighed. "I… I don't want you to create more storms, just for me. I mean, I'm flattered that you would, but you don't need to do that to yourself again."

"Chloe, what do you think losing you would do to me? We are so lucky that rookie cop saved us. If he hadn't… I don't care what the consequences are, you are the most important person in my life, and I will do whatever is in my power to keep you safe. Okay?"

"... Okay," Chloe agreed. She supposed it was only fair - if their positions were reversed and she had the powers, she would do whatever it took to keep Max safe.

Chloe held her hand out, and Max took it. They remained hand in hand as Chloe drove.

Timeline 3

Chloe Surviving

Chloe couldn't believe it. Or, at least, she wished she could say she didn't. But the Prescotts sending people to kill her and Max in another reality honestly didn't shock her at all.

Chloe glanced out of the SUV window. Snow was blowing down furiously, making it difficult to see anything. She sighed and could only hope it would let up soon. She wouldn't be able to accomplish much in this storm - not without risking getting lost, and succumbing to hypothermia. She wished she had better accommodations, but this SUV would have to do for now. She wondered if this is what the bandits who previously occupied the camp did: sheltered in the cars. Not the most comfortable way to spend the winter, but better than freezing to death out there.

Chloe remembered a time a few winters ago when she and Victoria had to huddle close together to sleep at night. A blizzard prevented them from getting a fire started, so they shared a tent and blanket to share body warmth and not freeze. Chloe's heart lurched a little at the memory - she missed Victoria. Over the years Chloe had grown fond of the blonde, and Victoria of her. Her absence was not unnoticed.

Chloe wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders and returned her focus to the laptop. Another movie played on it while she waited out the storm - some film about a dinner party while some comet or asteroid or something was passing overhead. Much better than that awful remake of the Wicker Man she watched earlier. Her attention was elsewhere, of course. She was still working through the swirling emotions in her mind from the previous day's revelations, and the attempted murder on her and Max in another reality. At least the laptop was spewing out warm air from its exhaust fan.

Chloe sighed and pressed the space bar on the laptop to pause the movie. She folded the laptop and then just stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. She thought about her progress on the PQD: she had the cooling coil, but no coolant. She had a laptop battery, fully charged and ready to go, sitting beside the coil in the shed. But she had nothing to power. She had been so distraught the previous day that she immediately fled back to camp without accomplishing her mission and finding the quantum core. Chloe mentally cursed herself for that.

No matter. She would go back. Once this storm let up…

That left one more component unaccounted for: the coolant. Now where would she find a tank of liquid nitrogen just laying around?

I have a few ideas, Blue intruded. Chloe jumped a little.

Holy shit! How are you guys? Are you alright? She asked.

Pretty shaken up. I'm struggling to keep it together. But I have to right now. For Max.

You guys have a first aid kit, right?

Yep. Thankfully we didn't need it today, Blue answered. Apparently I'm sporting a nasty bruise though, from when that asshole hit me with his stick.. Max is… trying very hard to not look at it.

She's worried about you.

I know. God… I just want to pull over right now and hug her and never let go.

Understandable, Chloe thought. Were you guys able to get money out?

Yes, Blue answered, but not a lot. Five-hundred dollar daily withdrawal limit. For each of us. Plus the one hundred and fifty between us that we already were carrying. One thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars. Enough for short term, but long term… we may need to get creative. I just filled up at the gas station too; now we are just getting as far away from town as possible to find some small motel to crash at.

Good plan.

Chloe sighed and continued to stare out the window, watching as giant snowflakes streamed by, carried on a howling winter wind. She almost wished she had saved that packet of hot chocolate for a time like this. Almost - watching Blade Runner with a mug of steaming hot chocolate - as watery as it may have tasted, with no milk or cream to add to it - was one of the best times she'd had in years. But now, she was tense with anxiety about her own situation, and that of her alternate-reality self.

Chloe shook her head sadly, and reopened the laptop lid to try to finish watching the movie.

Timeline 1

Max Alone

Max was silent as trees flashed by on either side of the road. It sure was a beautiful drive, going down to Arcadia Bay. But God knew she never thought she'd be heading this way ever again. Once she graduated from Blackwell, she had vowed to never return to the damned town - the town that stole her Chloe away - despite the promises she made to Joyce.

Welcome to Arcadia Bay! Read a sign she approached in the car. It had a cute illustration of the lighthouse underneath it. Fuck that lighthouse.

She reviewed the last twenty four hours of the other timeline in her mind. Things were happening so fast - the previous revelation the day before was shocking, and now Noir and Blue were running for their lives. How did everything turn to shit so fast?

She shook her head. Focus, Max. You can't help them right now, but you might be able to help people here.

Soon she was pulling onto the main street, with the beach on the left and the Two Whales diner coming up on the right. Joyce would be on shift, she knew. Chloe's mother had been kind enough to offer Max a place to stay, - she could stay in Chloe's old room, if she wanted to. Max knew she could never step foot in that room again. Instead, she had booked a room at the motel and politely declined Joyce's offer. Joyce didn't push the issue.

Out by the harbor, several ships sat abandoned and rusting, their corroded exteriors gently rocking with the ocean waves. The warehouses were dilapidated and unused, even crumbling in some parts. The streets, where people used to happily shop and gather, were empty, and the windows of said shops were papered over with For Lease signs stuck out front.

Soon Max was pulling into the motel parking lot. Max only shook her head sadly at the peeling paint of the motel walls. She stepped out of her car and proceeded to the office.

A middle aged woman stood at the wooden counter, her gaze fixated on a TV in the upper corner. Max cleared her throat to get her attention. The woman settled her eyes on Max, and didn't say a word.

"I have a reservation for Max Caulfield."

The woman turned around to pull a key off of the wall, then turned again to hand the key over to Max. "How will you be paying?" she asked.

"Credit card, please. It's awfully quiet in town. I lived here years ago; it used to be so much more...alive. What happened?" Max asked.

"Fishing industry died. The fisherman weren't catching anything more. Most of them moved on to greener pastures. Or...seas, I guess. Soon the rest of the town was following, too. Pretty soon I'll be closing up shop, too."

Max nodded and paid for the room. It was early evening, so she still had some time to kill. She hadn't planned to meet Joyce and David until the next day, so she figured today would be a good day to wander around town and do a little digging, if possible.

First thing's first, though - she dropped off a few bags in her motel room, then got back in the car. A short drive later, she was sitting outside of the florist's - luckily, this shop hadn't gone out of business yet. She browsed around and found a small but beautiful arrangement of white roses with tiny blue forget-me-nots interspersed between the larger flowers. That was the winner - Max paid for the bouquet and returned to her car. She laid the arrangement gently on the passenger seat and headed to the cemetery.

Finding the spot where Chloe had been laid to rest beside her father was easy. Finding the strength to approach and lay the flowers down was hard. Max managed to do it without breaking down right away. She knelt by the grave and set the flowers down, and remained in that crouched position as she spoke.

"Hey, Chloe," she began. "I uh...I'm sorry I haven't visited since the funeral. Shit...I'm no better than when I left you the last time, am I?"

Max let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry Chloe, I really am. I really miss you, too. You shouldn't have had to die the way you did. It's not fair. I mean...I know that you're still alive in one timeline, and just...barely surviving in another. But that doesn't make your death any less real. God… it was so real. I still can hear that gunshot, and…"

Max stopped to try to compose herself, but was unable to to stop the tears from streaming down her face.

"I can't stop hearing it. I can't stop seeing your body in the middle of that… filthy bathroom floor. And letting you die… letting fucking Nathan Prescott murder you, I don't know if it was worth it. This town has just been dying slowly. You told me once... in another timeline where you were sick, that not… not accepting your request was just delaying the inevitable. Arcadia Bay has just been dying slowly, and I think that sacrificing you was just delaying the inevitable. And none of these sorry bastards will ever know what you sacrificed for them."

Max wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. You deserved so much better. So… so I'm going to save you from that other timeline, no matter what it takes. I promise."