Even though Nathan had described the tornado as huge, and Chloe already knew from conversations with Max about the previous week that it was big enough to wipe out Arcadia, there was no way she could prepare herself for the actual view of the storm.
After having struggled out of the door (and leaving it open, and the doomed lighthouse at the mercy of the elements), Chloe had led the four outside. However, she'd only managed to climb outside and forward a few steps before the ferociousness of the storm assaulted her.
The wind was like a giant wall of ice. It was cold, solid and impassable. But it was more than that. It was alive. It reached out to Chloe, grasping her with its icy hands, burrowing deep into her body, freezing her from inside, pushing her back and making her bend into the wind to avoid being blown off her feet.
And there was the rain. When they were inside the lighthouse, the rain was making a good racket against the walls of the structure, but, even after listening to it, Chloe found herself completely unprepared for the naked viciousness of the rainstorm. It was sheeting down in slabs, huge raindrops that were exploding as they hit the solid ground. Huge raindrops that hurt when they hit you and, within a few moments of being outside, Chloe was completely drenched and freezing. She wrapped her arms around herself in a vain effort to keep warm, but to no avail. She could also see, through eyes blurred with the rain cascading off her eyebrows like some sort of demented Niagara Falls, Max, shivering, her own arms tied behind her, stumbling forward as she tried to stay upright. More than once she fell, but Nathan was there to keep her upright.
The tornado itself was huge. Nathan had alluded as much, but it took Chloe actually seeing it to register just how much trouble Arcadia was in. It was like a giant maw, sucking everything and everyone up without remorse or a second thought.
Hungry, that was the best word to describe it. Hungry. Insatiable. Mindless.
And huge. The size was almost incomprehensible, taking up most of the bay.
She was brought back to reality with Jefferson calling her name.
"Ms Price!" he shouted, motioning to her and she looked up, her eyes streaming. "If you wouldn't mind," he said, pointing to the edge of the cliff.
"If you seriously think I'm going to do you any favours," she screamed, "you're even more insane than I gave you credit for."
"Insane?" said Jefferson, smiling in spite of the weather, "my dear, I'm not insane."
"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that," said Chloe. "I'm not helping you kill me. In no lifetime would that ever be a thing." In response, Jefferson merely raised his eyebrows and pointed the gun at Max. Immediately, Chloe's heart sank.
If Max dies, it's all over.
"Wait," she said, her voice cracking, whether from emotion or the strain of shouting through the storm, she wasn't sure. "Don't hurt her."
"Then you know what to do," said Jefferson. "And do it quickly, we don't have much time." He looked up at the tornado, settling in the bay.
"If I do this…"
"No!" yelled Max.
"… you won't hurt her?" asked Chloe. It pained her to ignore her girlfriend, but she was thinking ahead. Far ahead.
"You have my word," said Jefferson.
"Forgive me, but that doesn't count for much," said Chloe.
"True," he said, smiling, "but that's all you're getting." Chloe thought for a moment, then dropped her head, nodding in defeat.
"Ok," she said, "you…"
"…No!"
"…win." She looked sadly at Max, who refused to meet her gaze, then she looked back at the smiling teacher. "Could I have a last moment with my friend?" she asked, then, putting a slight hint of desperation in her voice. "Please?" Jefferson looked at her with a quizzical eyebrow, then nodded.
"Be quick," he said, then he and Nathan moved away to give the friends some space, the gun still trained on Max. Chloe quickly crossed over to Max, who pointedly turned away from her, refusing to even acknowledge her presence.
"Max, come on," said Chloe. She moved in front of Max, but again, Max turned away. Aware they were being watched, she tried again. "Max, baby, please look at me." She paused, as Max still looked away. "Please?" she repeated, and Max finally turned to her, but without saying anything. However, her tear-streaked eyes told the whole story. "Maxi-pad," she said, again, trying to smile, "you need to be strong, yeah?" Max looked up into her eyes, and finally spoke, but when she did, her voice was so wooden and devoid of life that it almost broke Chloe's heart. However, she knew she had to stay strong for Max.
"I guess it's karma," said Max. "I leave you, so you leave me."
"Not at all, Max, I…"
"Don't try to justify it, Chloe," she said. "I know."
"No, you don't, Max," said Chloe, urgently. "Look, we don't have much time, so…"
"You don't have much time," said Max. "I have plenty…"
"Max, snap out of it," hissed Chloe. "Listen to me. I'm doing this for you, remember?"
"Really? Doesn't fucking feel like it," snapped Max, looking directly at her girlfriend. "Because it seems to me you're just leaving me. But it's okay, really. I mean, I guess I know how you felt five years ago now."
"Max…"
"No, it's fine, Chloe," she said. "Go. Just go."
Chloe had had enough. She grabbed Max by the shoulders and shook hard. "Max, snap out of it, for fuck's sake," she hissed. "Don't you see I'm fucking doing this for you?"
"How?"
Chloe sighed. "Max," she said, her voice heavy, "we've got the photograph, remember? Just remember how things go down here, so you can come back and let me know what we need to do to get out of this. Jefferson knows about your power, but not about the photo-thing, yeah? So we still have the upper hand."
"But what if it doesn't work?" said Max, looking up at Chloe for the first time. "I'd be…"
"Max," said Chloe, "it will work. It has to work. As things stand, there's no way out of this."
"But you're gonna leave me…"
"I know baby," said Chloe, pulling Max into a tight embrace, "and know I don't want to, but there's no other choice. If I don't, he'll hurt you, and I need to protect you at all costs. So go. Bring me back and tell me how to finish this fucker off, once and for all, okay?" She held Max tighter, both girls crying freely. "Stay strong, Max-a-million. Stay strong for me. Don't let him win. But don't show him your strength. He needs to believe you're broken, otherwise he'll never let you go. Okay?"
"Okay," sniffed Max.
"Look, I know this won't be easy," she said, "and I hate to do this to you, but this is all on you now. In a few moments, I'll be out." She paused and looked Max directly in her eyes. "I love you, Max. I trust you. I have faith in you." She paused again. "I'll see you again. Soon."
"Count on it!" said Max, trying to smile. Chloe looked at her girlfriend.
"Bring me back, my love," she whispered, her voice carrying on the wind. "And please, love, don't look now."
The two girls parted, Chloe heading for the cliff edge, and Max turning away, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed. Jefferson watched dispassionately as Chloe approached the edge and looked over.
"I don't have all day," he called, and Chloe looked over to him.
"Bite me," she said, her voice lost to the winds as she took a deep breath and sneaked a final look at Max.
I'm so sorry, my darling. I can't do any more now. It's all on you.
Come on, Chloe, brave up. This isn't the end, and Jefferson's comeuppance will be sweet as fuck.
She took a final deep breath and closed her eyes, shifting her weight forward and stepping out. She felt the wind on her face as she lost her balance. Gravity took over and she kept the image of Max foremost in her mind, concentrating on both that, and her feelings of total love until she hit the rocks below and knew no more.
