Chapter 29
Max opened her eyes to the sight of a lighthouse overlooking the devastated remains of a town below. As the remnants of Arcadia Bay came into view, a caravan of dump trucks sped past in the opposite direction, blocking her line of sight. Momentarily disoriented by the brightness of the headlights, the brunette's eyes blinked rapidly, having become desperate to survey the damage left in the wake of the storm. With her vision coming back into focus, Max was taken aback by the extent of the damage. Aerial footage provided by helicopters had been shown during the media coverage, but the images on screen paled in comparison to witnessing the devastation first hand. Taking note of the distress in the brunette's demeanor over the scene before them, Ryan reached out to clasp his daughter's hand.
"Sweetie… how are you holding up?" he asked with concern while keeping one eye on the road.
"It's… it's just a lot worse than I remembered," Max stammered out in response, trying mask the fact that she was seeing the damage for the first time.
Ryan slowly exhaled before offering the brunette a solemn nod and a reassuming squeeze of her hand before returning his full attention to the road. As the car proceeded closer to the town, the damage became even more pronounced. The news reports looked to be fairly accurate from what Max could tell. The center of town had been the hardest hit, caught directly in the storm's path leading to Blackwell; the structures had largely been reduced to rubble. Whereas, the outlying regions on the northern and southern edges of town managed to maintain a semblance of their structural integrity. Outside of clearing some of the major road ways, it appeared as though very little had been done in terms of actual clean up, as initial efforts had been focused on rescue.
Having entered the town proper, the only road available to them was through the heart of the town down Arcadia Bay Avenue. Unfortunately, the route also required traversing directly passing the Two-Whales Diner. Their pace having slowed to a crawl due to the National Guard directing traffic, Max had ample opportunity to recall the traumas of the destruction during the trip down memory lane. Little more than charred remains of the wood frame occupied the site that had formerly been the diner. After the explosion resulted in the deaths of those inside, the storm had nearly removed any trace of what had transpired.
No longer able to withstand the torment of the site, Max forced an effort to look away, only to be startled by another stark reminder of the storms devastation. Towering over the vehicle, the sight of the whale carcass proved to be quite imposing as they crept passed. Barely able to question why the whale hadn't yet been removed, the brunette was faced with additional images of the horrors faced in the alternate timeline. Further down the road, Max encountered more destruction that conjured memories of what she witnessed while on route to the diner that night. Rubble and debris lay everywhere; in the midst of collapsed apartments was the image of the Alyssa falling to her death and downed powerlines recalled the fisherman that had been electrocuted before managing to save them both. An overturned truck brought the image of the man pinned underneath to the forefront of her mind. The sound of the man screaming still rang in the brunette's ear, as he called out frantically for assistance. Desperate, the brunette had been able to free the man, but the image of her failed attempts remained burned into her subconscious.
The sights and sounds that came with the return to Arcadia Bay eventually overwhelmed Max. Anticipating the onset of a panic attack, she forcefully turned away before closing her eyes in effort to suppress the ghosts around her. Having learned the location of the temporary shelters for the survivors, Ryan turned off the main street to proceed in that direction. The worst of her symptoms now in remission, the hipster's eyes opened to the site of the shelter as they approached. Proving to be as depressing as expected, from the outside, the site appeared to be little more than a collection of olive green tents. Now at the outskirts of the complex, they were stopped by an officer to inquire their names and reason for being there, who subsequently directed them to the tents. Unable to delay any further, Max reached for the phone to inform Chloe of her arrival. Upon selecting the appropriate contact, the brunette's impatience turned to distress as the phone rang only once before going to voicemail.
The interior of the tents matched the depressing exterior Max had observed on approach. Upon entering the first tent, the desperation in the air was palatable to the brunette. The minimal amenities consisted primarily of small cots and curtain walls to afford a measure of privacy to the occupants. Maneuvering through the tent, Max came face to face with the heartache caused by the storm. Therein, was a teenager still overcome with grief as he hid his face in his hands and cried. Further in, the brunette came across an intense argument between two people, seemingly choosing to lash out over trivial matters as their preferred method of coping with the trauma.
With no blue haired girls in sight, Max considered moving on to the next before spotting a familiar individual out of the corner of her eye. Approaching slowly, the brunette recognized the person as Samuel, the spirit animal talking janitor, formerly of Blackwell Academy. Noticing her approach, the man's face brightened as the sight of a familiar face.
"Why hello, young Max. I'm relieved to see that you are well."
"Hi Samuel… what are you doing here? I heard you got out before the storm hit."
"I did young Max, but I had to come back, come back to help… however I can. Is that why you have returned?"
"Sort of… I came back to find someone… have you seen Chloe Price?"
"Oh, Miss Price… never before have I seen a girl dealt a worse fate. I haven't seen her since this morning though… but Mr. Madsen was around earlier."
"Thanks Samuel… tell the squires I said hi."
"You're welcome, Max," the former janitor replied before offering his predictably creepy smile. "They already know."
Grateful to be finished with that conversation, Max found her way back to the entrance of the tent. Samuel was nice enough, but the brunette couldn't help but be creeped out by the man, always rambling on about what the squires had told him. Refocusing on the task at hand, the brunette made her way to the next tent. The entire complex of shelters had been laid out in a square with an open space occupying the interior of the square. While on route, she managed to spot a familiar looking mustachioed man.
"Hey David," she exclaimed after running to greet him.
"Hey Max," he replied, seeming to have to force a smile on his face. "I didn't know you were coming back… Chloe didn't mention… she was pretty upset when she got her."
"Yeah… I wanted to surprise her… where is she?"
"She's probably still back at the house digging through what's left of the place."
"Okay, thanks," the brunette replied, but before she could take her leave, David had stopped her to offer him some parting words.
"And thanks Max… thanks for looking after her. Chloe's going to need you after what happened to Joy… after what happened to Joyce… and she's all I got left."
After returning to offer David a hug, Max bid him farewell before departing in search of Chloe. Since the Price house was within a couple of blocks of the survivor area, Ryan stayed behind to talk with David and other survivors to learn more about what had transpired since the storm hit. Initially, he had been reluctant to let his daughter go alone, although he eventually consented, but only under the pretense of remaining in contact via calls or text messages.
Agreeing to her father's terms, Max set off in search of the brunette. Unfortunately, the search had to take place in her old neighborhood. Weaving through various piles of debris, the brunette took in the scene of the damaged homes overlaid with images from when she had lived here. Some houses fared better than others, but the damage was relatively minor when compared to the devastation inflicted on other areas. The extent of the damage seemed to vary significantly from house to house. Older houses tended to fare better, with the damage limited to missing portions of the roof or walls. Newer houses, on the other hand, typically sustained more damage, often with substantial portions of the structure missing or having collapsed.
Finally reaching Chloe's house, Max paused for a moment, unsure of the reception she would receive from the brunette. Swallowing hard before gathering her nerve, she pressed on towards the house. The Price residence had fared relatively well, having only lost most of the roof and a portion of the southern wall to the storm. Having reached the entryway of the front door, which had been left open, the brunette called out Max sheepishly.
"Chloe… Chloe, are you here?"
"Max?" the brunette shouted a moment before sticking her head over the upstairs railing. "Max! What are you doing here?"
The words weren't even out of her mouth before she came rushing down the stairs to greet the hipster. Clearly overjoyed by her arrival, Chloe threw her arms around the brunette and held her in a tight embrace.
"I was so mad at you," the brunette managed to gasp out through the tears. "I thought you couldn't come back yet?"
"I know, Chloe… I'm sorry," Max said, succumbing to tears of her own. "I was scared, but I realized… I realized there was only one thing that scared me more… and that was losing you."
"Jeez… you must love me or something," the taller girl countered with a mischievous smirk.
"Oh… shut up," the brunette snapped back before surprising Chloe by pulling her into a kiss.
If these were to be her last moments with Chloe, Max planned to make the most of them. Eventually the two girls settled down after getting reacquainted with each other, before venturing upstairs hand in hand. When the brunette arrived, Chloe had been searching through the remains for any item of sentimental value. As they entered what had been the master bedroom, Max saw a myriad of items laid out on the floor, before coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of photos of William on the floor. The two girls just shared a knowing look of compassion before sitting down to sort through them together.
