DEAR MAX, I can never decide which I would hate more. You as you are, staring blankly at the ceiling not seeing shit. Or you disappeared to whereverthefuck without me. At least when you were gone I could believe you were having the time of your life. Here I don't even have that. The doctors are clueless. One of them even told me to pray for you. Do I look like a fucking Christian crosshugger?
You haven't gotten any other visitors. They tried to kick me out the first few days but I told them I'm your sister and they believed it I guess. Or maybe they were sick of me threatening to break shit if they made me leave. I like to think I'm just that charismatic.
I guess honestly I don't hate you for any of it. Leaving me, acting all weird and shit, dying on m the accident or whatever. None of it was your fault. Please get better. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you.
I'm okay. Thanks for asking.
-Final Timeline, Chloe's Journal, October 17th
Max was ready. She knew exactly where she was going and what she needed to do when she arrived. The familiar white light overtook her temporarily, but she reached up blindly like she knew she did before. From her horizontal position on Chloe's bed, she grasped Chloe's hand to sit up.
Chloe said her next words in the script. "Never took you for such a photohog."
And Max did so in kind. "I never took you as one for selfies, either."
"Touché, Caulfield." She tugged on her shirt and Max spied the bandage sticking out, exactly like last time.
Next would be their conversation about last night, where Max indulged her caring instinct to convince Chloe to open up. It wasn't completely successful, but it made them both feel better. At least, Max thought so.
Regardless, the lull before that was what Max needed. She looked around and saw that familiar barrier—not approaching, this time—about a foot inside where the walls of the room would be. It gave off that faint shimmer, but if Max was right, it wouldn't be there long.
She raised her hand as subtle as possible and pressed herself into a fast-forward. Auto Max could handle this next part. As expected, the world lost its saturation as it continued onward. There was no white barrier visible anymore. Using as much care as she could, she carefully controlled the force of her power to ever-so-slightly faster than normal speed. If it wasn't too fast, she could still listen in.
Their conversation continued as expected. Chloe said her problem wasn't really a problem, something Max didn't believe for a second, even then. After that, David knocked at the door, sending Chloe into a freeze. Even the sound of that man's voice was enough to shake her, and Max couldn't blame her.
After that was the twenty minutes she had lost, presumably fast-forwarding by accident. No need to go through that conversation again. As Chloe finished digging in her closet for clothes to change into after her shower, Max phased into her older self, trying to match her pose as close as possible, before dropping her power.
Chloe's voice dropped slightly in pitch—back to normal—as she spoke. "Feel free to take what-?" She cut herself off. "Did you just rewind on me?"
Max wasn't quick enough. She released her power after Chloe had already turned around, and her shadowing wasn't perfect.
Chloe continued, eyes squinted in suspicion. "I've seen it enough times to recognize that shift. You did some funky time travel thing. Another prank? Is a bucket of water gonna fall on my head when I leave the room?"
"Uh, no. Nothing like that." Max figured it was best not to hide anything. The hypocrisy of the situation wasn't lost on her, considering the Chloe she had avoided coming here. "I'm photojumping right now, actually."
Suspicion melted into surprise. "Oh, hell." Chloe tossed her clothes on the bed and sat down next to Max. "On purpose this time? You're really pulling it fucking close if you came back from that photo I took. Alright, lay it on me, Super Max."
"Calm down, Chloe. We're in no rush. I can stay here as long as I need." It was true. The white border that had appeared when she first arrived was now gone. Her power itched for her to return, and her headache was flaring up again, but those were both easily ignored. "It turns out that if I fast-forward through when I should go back, I can avoid it. I'm here until I decide to return."
"Hold up." Confusion, now. "You can fast-forward? And stay in the past forever? How far in the future are you from? You must have already done your super training montage if you're discovering new powers."
"Not really... I'm only jumping back from Saturday, around noon."
"So you've discovered how to do that in only two days? That's pretty cool."
Max shook her head. "I think I could always do it, but I didn't realize I was. All those times I zoned out I think I was really fast-forwarding."
"That... actually makes a whole lot of sense. So, what brings you back to today? Something bad happen that we need to stop?"
"Uh, kind of. We need to go to Nathan's party tonight so I can talk to him. I think he has something to do with what Old Max was up to, and we won't be able to afterward."
Chloe smirked. "What, people finally get fed up with his 'woe is me' rich kid shtick and break his jaw? Cause I wanna see that."
"I'm not entirely sure. From what Victoria said, he got angry about something during the party and drove off. He hadn't come back yet, and this was the easiest way to find him."
"Fair enough." Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "We crash his party, interrogate him, and find out what he knows."
"He invited us, actually," Max said. "When we didn't show last time, apparently he made a big fuss about it."
"Damn, there goes my carefully concocted plan of sneaking in. Guess we'll do it the boring way." She slid herself closer to Max. "So, what's the plan until then? I doubt you'll bother with classes, considering."
A plan. Chloe was putting a lot of faith into Max that she had one, which she supposed made sense. She was technically from the future, and judging from the last time she unexpectedly photojumped, Chloe was told to trust whatever she said. Normally being restricted to only a few minutes made every second to pass on information count, it seemed.
"Uh, not much, I guess. I need to text Nathan for the time and place, but we're free until then."
"Hell yeah!" Chloe cheered. "No point in school, no point in homework. You know what I'm thinking? Movies, then dinner. That cash stepdouche left for us should be plenty for some grub." She stood and swept her clean clothes off her bed before heading to the door. "Let me take a shower right quick, while you decide what you want to watch. You know my preference, of course."
"Um, not really."
Chloe stopped mid-stride. "Oh shit. Right, sorry. Blade Runner." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "It's my favorite movie. Our favorite. Do you remember seeing it?"
Max shook her head. "But we can watch it together, if you want. I'm sure it's great if you love it so much."
"Alright," Chloe said. Her bout of energy at the idea of watching a movie had faded. "I'm gonna go take that shower. Don't go anywhere."
She left the room, mood spoiled from the looks of it. Her joy at something as simple as watching Blade Runner didn't last when faced with the reality that Max couldn't share in it. Max hated that she had done that to her. When were her memories going to return? At this point, she was thinking they weren't.
Waiting for Chloe, Max pulled out her phone and texted Nathan for his address and the time they were supposed to show. Surprisingly, he answered almost immediately.
Nathan: fck right forgot you didnt know the place. everyone elsell be there abt 7. vortex club + u.
Me: Is it okay if Chloe comes too?
Nathan: sure w/e. figured youd bring her along anyway
Me: Thanks Nathan
That dealt with, Max waited patiently for Chloe to return. Though she had already spent so much time in her room, she simply couldn't help herself but to snoop a little. It was in her nature.
She still needed to dig through the closet again for a change of clothes, but there was no rush. Chloe would be awhile, and Max knew what she would wear, anyway.
There wasn't a TV set up where she could see, and she hadn't spotted one hiding in the closet, so she figured that Chloe would play the movie off her laptop or they would go downstairs to watch it there. The laptop itself was locked, no helpful note telling her what the password was.
To find something interesting, drawers were always a valuable option. The top few held loose paper and trash, wrappers and cans that Chloe had felt too lazy to throw away. A few scraps of paper had scores of angry writing on them. FUCK THE WORLD. LEAVE ME ALONE. And even I CAN'T SLEEP, a message repeated on the walls of the room itself. Very Chloe.
The bottom-left drawer was less cluttered, considering it held only one thing. A ringed book covered in stickers and sharpie. Chloe's journal. There was no guarantee that Chloe even used it anymore, but regardless, looking through it would be too much for even Max. Chloe hadn't read Max's either. She shut the drawer and moved on.
Max opened the bottom-right drawer and saw only crumpled pieces of paper stuffing the entire thing full. She reached in and smoothed one out. The paper was covered in half-finished doodles and sketches of a person. From the hair and freckles on the ones detailed enough to have them, they were of Max.
She pulled out another one and saw the same thing. Even more unfinished pictures of herself. Chloe's art wasn't bad, but whatever the reason, she had thrown them all in here.
Digging through more of Chloe's art, Max spotted something shoved in the very back that wasn't a piece of paper. She pushed the papers out of the way, grabbed on to it, and came away with a small metal box. It was about the size of an Altoids tin, only much deeper. The top was on the container but was easy to slide off.
She knew exactly what it was the moment she looked inside. A handful of blades and small knives stacked within. Max wasn't supposed to see this. No one was supposed to see this.
She closed the box and slid it back into the drawer. As she did so, the door to the room opened with its familiar creak. She was back early.
"Uh, Max." Chloe's voice came from behind her. "Whatcha doin' there?"
Max straightened and turned around, like a caught and embarrassed child. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I didn't mean to go through your stuff. I was just looking around.'
"What did you find?" Her words were slow.
"You're pretty good. I saw those drawings you made of me." Max thought about lying or trying to slide by it, but Chloe knew. She knew what Max saw. "...and the knives."
"Dammit, Max." She didn't say it in anger, more like a sigh filled with sadness or desperation. "I didn't want you to find that stuff. You really are such a snooper."
"I'm really so-"
Chloe cut her off. "Don't apologize. It's alright. We talked about it, you know, it's okay. No secrets between us." A pang of guilt radiated through Max. "And I should've figured, knowing how much you like to dig through my stuff. You always have. It's part of why I-... of who you are."
She walked over to where Max was standing and pushed the drawer closed with her foot. "I'm just embarrassed, I guess. It's not a big deal."
Max reached down and held Chloe's hand in hers. "Don't say things like that. Your problems are real, even if you don't think so."
Chloe looked down at their hands clasped together. "Can I ask you something?" A silent nod from Max. "In the next couple of days, before you came back... did I ever tell you something kind of important? About the two of us, I mean. I've been meaning to want to say it, but honestly I don't know if I can. I don't want to narc on my future self if I haven't, though."
It was clear what she was referring to. It hadn't gone so well when it happened, but they had gotten through it. "Don't worry, Chloe. You did, girlfriend."
A sigh of relief escaped Chloe, and she seemed to grow taller as the stress from wondering left her. A smile crossed her face, and Max couldn't help but to return it.
"Did it go great? Was I smooth about it?"
A lie for an answer, telling her what she wanted to hear would be easy, but it wouldn't be right. Even if this conversation wouldn't exist for more than a day, Max couldn't lie to her. Not to her face.
"Not at all. I kind of ran off when you told me," Max said as Chloe's eyes widened in surprise. "It's a bit of a long story, trust me. Why don't you get the movie set up while I tell you?"
Chloe reluctantly released Max's hand and moved to grab her laptop. She opened it in her lap as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Alright, Caulfield," she said, her smile returned. "Tell me everything that happened. And I expect a happy ending after that twist of an opening."
"Don't worry." Max took her seat next to Chloe on the bed. "It all worked out in the end."
Minus my disappearing act, of course.
•••
"Man, every time I watch that movie I love it even more. What'd you think?"
"I really enjoyed it," Max said. "Very 80's. And I loved Pris's hair."
Chloe tugged on her own. "I said the same thing the first time I saw it. I think I could pull it off, don't you?"
"Definitely."
Chloe closed her laptop and stood up to stretch and Max did the same. They hadn't moved at all during the movie, preferring to spend their time holding each other as they watched.
"So," Chloe said as she grabbed the machine and set it back on her desk. "I dunno about you, but I'm starving. We could go to Two Whales if you really want, though honestly I'd rather not, if that's alright."
"Hmm... Chinese?"
"Perfect. Let me grab my coat and let's roll!"
•••
With not much to do until the party at seven, Max and Chloe spent the day watching movies. Chloe took it upon herself to jog Max's memories with all the movies she couldn't remember seeing, and though nothing came back to Max, she enjoyed the time they spent together.
She told Chloe the highlights of the next couple of days, including traveling back and learning that Nathan had something to do with everything. The details were left unspoken, and Chloe didn't push. The fact that Chloe had no idea Max had left was something she chose not to mention.
The Prescott estate was only about a mile outside of town, which meant that it was easy for them to arrive at exactly seven.
The building itself stood tall, pillared and proud exactly how Max imagined a rich person would live, though some things immediately stood out to her as odd. The yard was vast and clear of trees, but the grass was growing tall, as if it hadn't been mowed in at least a week. She could see an outdoor pool, uncovered despite the cold season. And loose leaves covered almost everything outside. Wouldn't the Prescotts have groundskeepers to deal with that?
An entrance gate was placed on the road leading in, a panel beside it to open it or call ahead, but the gate itself was wide open, letting Chloe drive straight through.
"Well," Chloe said as she found a spot to park the truck. Max recognized both Nathan's and Victoria's vehicles outside. "I say we head in, grab some booze, say hello, then try to get Nathan alone. Should we take a backup pic, in case this goes south?"
"Do you think it will?" Max honestly hadn't considered it, though anything was possible.
"Never hurts to be safe." Chloe shrugged.
Max agreed. There wasn't any risk in not doing it. She slid her phone out of her pocket and snapped a quick photo of herself.
"We all good?" Chloe asked after she put it away.
Max nodded.
"Then let's crash this thing."
They filed out of the truck and walked up the steps to the front door. It was cracked open slightly, and Max could hear several voices chatting inside. They entered, taking care to close the door behind them, and were almost immediately called out.
"Whoa," Justin was in the entrance way, walking in front of the large steps leading to the upper floor. In each hand was a beer, and from the looks of his he had already begun drinking himself. "Didn't expect you two gals to show. Right on you for makin' it, though."
"Hi, Justin," Max said.
"Heya," Chloe added.
He called into the room he was heading toward. "Yo, Chloe and, uh, Max are here!" Justin waved them in with a beered hand and they followed him to where the party was.
He led them to the living room, where someone had pushed the couch to the center of the room, and some chairs in front of it, leaving seats in a small circle. There was a fireplace at the end of the room with a small flame burning, warming the room and bathing the room in a warm glow.
Justin took a seat next to Trevor on the couch and passed him one of the beers. Victoria was seated in a chair across from them on her phone, but looked up when she heard Max and Chloe enter. Surprisingly, she was in very casual clothing: a loose blouse and comfortable pants. Even her makeup was only enough to look presentable, compared to the perfection she usually strived for.
"Wow. I honestly didn't expect you two to show. Nathan will be glad to hear it." She said that last sentence dry and terse, like she would have preferred they didn't show.
Chloe answered immediately. "Oh, don't act like that, Vicky." Victoria scoffed and rolled her eyes at the nickname. "You know you're happy to see us."
"As if."
"Speaking of Nathan," Max piped in before they could bite each other's heads off, "where is he?"
"He's upstairs, I think," Justin answered. Victoria had gone back to her phone. "He'll be down soon, don't worry. Come on, grab a seat, grab a beer. They're in the kitchen." He lazily waved across the hall where he had come from before. "I was just telling Trevor about this cool movie I saw."
"Yeah, sure, I'll drink," Chloe said before heading to grab one. She must have known Max didn't want one. She wasn't against alcohol; she rather wouldn't have wanted one in this setting. Maybe if it was only Chloe with her.
"You aren't gonna have anything, Max?" Trevor asked. "How about some bud? I brought some if you're interested."
"Uh, no thanks."
"Alright, cool." He didn't press her on it, thankfully.
Justin spoke up. "Hey, if you're just giving it away..."
"Not a chance."
Max was feeling self-conscious being the only one still standing, so she took a seat in one of the loveseats, leaving a spot for Chloe beside her.
By the time Chloe returned, Justin had already continued his tale about his crazy movie. It didn't sound that interesting to Max, but maybe it was one of those that was way funnier if you were on drugs.
Victoria was only half paying attention. She was too focused on whatever was on her phone to provide an audience, so Justin was only talking to the three of them.
Right when Justin was getting to the best part, I swear, a crash from the stairs near the entrance interrupted him.
"Shit. Fuck. I said shut it." It was Nathan's voice, clearly, and he entered the room soon after. His hair was disheveled and his nose was bright red.
"Don't worry about it. I'm back now." He looked up and saw Max and Chloe sitting there and stopped. "Holy shit, you two actually made it."
"Uh, hi Nathan," Max said. "Yeah, we're here."
"I told you, V." He threw out a lazy hand toward Victoria, and she only hmm'ed in response. "Now the party can start. Fuck yeah!" He wandered over to an empty seat and collapsed down.
Something seemed off about him. He didn't look drunk, from what Max could tell, but his movements were wide and over-corrective. She noticed his leg shake constantly as he sat.
"So..." Chloe began. "When's everyone else gonna show? It can't be just us, right?"
"This is it." He spread his arms wide. "No one else wanted to come. The whole club's been shit like that since Jefferson murdered that bitch, whatever her name was."
"Come on," Trevor cut in. "Don't say stuff like that." He turned to Chloe. "But yeah, he's right. The club's kind of died since that happened. Really killed the vibe."
"Shut up, Trev. I'm speakin' here," Nathan snapped at Trevor, then continued. "Anyway, yeah. So it'll be us for tonight. Maybe next time we can convince the rest to show. I think Dana could use the company, at least."
This entire situation wasn't much of a party. Two weed bros talking to no one but each other, Victoria who had barely said a word and was on her phone, and Nathan, who was clearly both ornery and out of it. Staying at this 'party' for much longer wouldn't help much, she felt.
Chloe seemed to have the same idea. Max felt her bump her knee and nod her head toward Nathan, signaling that she wanted to do something.
"Hey, Nathan?" Max called out.
"Yeah?" he spat out.
"Can Chloe and I talk to you for a minute? In private, preferably."
"Sure, whatever." Nathan waved them out toward the kitchen. Justin and Trevor had gotten into a heated argument about something and didn't notice them leave, but Victoria raised an eyebrow as they passed.
In the kitchen, Nathan leaned against the counter. It might have been to have somewhere to stand, but Max wondered if he could stay still if he hadn't.
"So, what's the big question?" he asked.
Chloe looked to Max to start.
She took a moment to think about what she wanted to say, wanting to get information without letting on too much. She shouldn't technically remember some of what she saw.
"Victoria told me that before my accident, the two of us talked about some stuff. I just want to know what you told me. And if it had anything to do with your dad." At that last sentence, Nathan's eyes opened wide.
"What? What about my dad?" Nathan crossed his arms.
"We're just wondering if you knew anything," Chloe said. "We want to know what Max talked to you about, and since she can't remember, we're coming to you."
"I don't care. That shit we went over is between me and Max, and frankly, I don't fucking feel like going over that again." He raised a shaking arm to rub the back of his head. "Look, you don't make the kind of cash my dad does without doing some illegal things. That's how it works when you move in those circles."
"Where is your dad now?" Max asked. "Is he still here?"
"Off in Finland or some shit. From what I gathered, things got hot, so he skipped the country. My mom went with him too, for some reason."
Chloe pressed. "Do you know why he left?"
Nathan thought for a moment, unable to stand still. His foot tapped the ground, and he kept scratching his arm. Eventually, he came to a decision.
"I... can show you. But you gotta promise me this stays between us. He tried to get me into it, but it didn't take. It's nothing good."
"Look, we promise." Chloe was getting fed up. It looked like she wanted to get out of there. "Just show us what you know, and we'll drop it."
"Please, Nathan," Max added.
"Alright. But it'll be a bit of a drive."
He left the kitchen and went to the front door without even waiting for a reply. Before leaving, he called out into the living room. "Yo, we're going to head out for a bit. Try not to break anything."
"Wait, what?" Victoria stomped into the entranceway as Nathan opened the door. "You're leaving? You're the one that wanted to get everyone together. You can't just fucking leave."
"V." Nathan's voice was calm. "We'll be back soon. Have fun with Justin and Trevor. It's fine."
Victoria grew redder in the face, and Max thought she was about to explode in a shower of anger and vitriol. However, she restrained herself to a shaky whatthefuckever under her breath and stomped to the kitchen, presumably to get another drink.
That dealt with, Nathan led them to his truck and ushered them to get in. Max and Chloe took the back seat while Nathan hopped in to drive. Max didn't especially trust him to, considering that his shakes still hadn't gone away, but she said nothing. As long as they didn't crash, she would finally get some answers.
"So how far is it to whatever you need to show us?"
Nathan shrugged as he backed the truck out to leave. "Like, ten minutes. We'll be quick about it."
•••
Thirty-five minutes later, Nathan drove the truck down a dark dirt path in the woods. There was no moon out that night, which meant he was seeing with only what light his truck provided. At no point during the trip had he checked his phone for a map or directions, which meant he knew exactly where he was going. Either that, or they were hopelessly lost.
Just about when Max was about to speak up, Nathan turned a dark corner, revealing a large building looming through the trees. It was the only structure they had passed in a while, and as he maneuvered in, they knew they had arrived.
The barn was rickety and old, clearly unmaintained. Many of the wood boards were missing, letting light and rain through, and the ones that remained were rotting from the moisture. Notably, yellow police tape covered the entrance, though most of it was loose on one end.
"Come on." He parked the truck and took the keys. With no hesitation, he got out and made his way over to the front.
"Uh, Nathan," Chloe said. Her voice wavered. She and Max exited as she spoke. "What the hell is this place?"
"I said I would show you. Come on!" He waved at them to follow.
Chloe leaned in to whisper at her ear, quiet enough so Nathan couldn't hear. "If he tries to pull some shit, you're good to rewind and warn me, right?"
Max nodded. Max didn't think this was a great idea, but if she wanted answers, she had no choice but to follow.
When they caught up to Nathan, he had already torn down the tape and pulled the barn door open. Inside were dozens of old machines and parts stored on unstable upper floors. In the center of the barn was an opening. Both halves of the hidden door were wide open, and stairs led down to a basement. Nathan went straight down the steps.
The bottom held a door that didn't fit in with the rest of the barn. It was much newer and made of metal. A keypad, presumably to unlock it, was situated on the wall beside it, but it was unnecessary, as Nathan easily pushed the door open. It swung silently on its hinges.
Max had no idea what to expect, but what she found wasn't it. A small room filled with empty shelves led into a larger area. A couch wrapped in plastic sat in the middle, directly in front of a part of the room with a white floor, surrounded by photography equipment. Expensive cameras and flash umbrellas stood watching by.
The pictures on the walls only added to the eeriness. Dark photographs of women bound, looks of agony and pain in their faces. Max knew instinctively that this place was evil.
"Okay, so." Chloe was the first of them to speak after taking in the room. "What the fuck? What is this place?"
"This is what you wanted to see, right? The shit my dad was trying to get me into? This is where Jefferson took those girls."
At that news, Chloe flared up. She practically leaped at Nathan to get in his face. Something was wrong, though, in that her movement seemed sluggish to Max, like playing a video game with a poor connection.
"You took us to a fucking murderer's lair? You couldn't have just told us back at the party?" Her mouth moved a half-second after Max heard the words. "And what do you mean your dad was trying to get you into this? Did you have something to do with Jefferson and all that girl he killed?"
"No! I swear." Nathan backed up several steps, but Chloe stayed right on him. He was cowering under her glare. "He tried, okay? He tried. Max was the one that kept them off my back. She's the one that dealt with them. Called the cops or some shit, I don't know."
"What about your dad? What'd he have to do with it?"
"I don't know exactly what," Nathan said. Max blinked and suddenly his hands were up. "I think he paid to have this place built. But now he's on the hook for a lot of what's happened, so that's why he's fucked off to Sweden or wherever."
Another blink and Chloe was looking back toward Max. She seemed to waver slightly, though her feet stayed firmly planted. "Does any of this ring a bell, Max? I don't really know what to make of it."
Max couldn't respond. The swaying gradually grew worse and worse until everything went sideways, the floor tumbling up to the walls.
"Fuck! Not again..." a voice said. Max couldn't make out its owner. The tile rushed up to meet her, and she couldn't move a muscle to stop it.
She was out before she hit the ground.
•••
On pure instinct, Max wrestled herself past the blank, empty darkness of unconsciousness into that strange realm of visions. It was similar in layout to last time, though the endless plane had the courtesy of dropping her where she had left, relieving the need for another long walk. One thing was strikingly different, however.
The floating rocks had decreased in number. Where before there were a few dozen, now only ten remained. Beyond them was the nothingness, exactly as before.
A familiar voice called out to her from somewhere above.
"Oh. Welcome back."
A/N:
You just can't get away...
Thanks for reading.
Next chapter: 1-4