Chapter 6

"Are you sure about this?" Warren asked as he got out of his car and jogged over to join Chloe, who was staring with hatred at the dilapidated barn in front of them. "That thing looks like it's ready to fall apart. And what's with all the police tape all over it? There's so much it looks like someone used it to have a streamer party!"

"Trust me." Chloe assured him. "I'm hella sure. This is the only place in Arcadia Bay that would be Max's own personal hell. There's nowhere else she could be."

"So she's in there?" Dana asked sceptically.

"If The Outsider was telling the truth, it's more like the entrance to whatever negative space she built for herself is in there." Chloe corrected her. "And it's not technically in there, it's in the place that's underneath it." Swallowing the acid that was threatening to rise in her throat, she advanced inside while drawing her revolver in case something tried to pay them a visit. To her relief, it was all quiet. Everything was as the police had left it. The hatch covering the stairs was open and the yawning darkness looked just as inviting as ever. She climbed down in there, reassured by the fact that she could hear everyone behind her. In the absence of Max, they were all she had. And the very thought that Max sealed herself away deliberately.

'Stop it!' she scolded herself. 'Focus on that later.'

Just as before, the blast door of the darkroom was sealed tight. But Chloe remembered the code from when she and Max had invaded the place. She keyed in 542 and watched in satisfaction as the door beeped and the light turned green. She gripped the door and turned the wheel on the front to open it, surprised at how weightless it felt. It was still a challenge because the glossiness that plagued the world made the metal of the wheel feel like plastic, but the pneumatic mechanism swung open with virtually no resistance. Knowing it was pointless, she wiped her hands on her jeans as they headed inside.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Warren said as he followed her in. "Makes driving a nightmare. I can barely hold the wheel."

"Amen." Chloe nodded, her focus kept rigidly on the room in front of them.

"It feels like my fingers are numb and everything I touch is coated in oil." Alyssa griped. "I can't wait until we fix this."

"I know it sucks." Chloe said, choosing to show some sympathy to keep everyone on task. "I had to show you what we're dealing with and I'm glad you're with me. Now can we please focus on what we're doing?" From that moment, silence reigned. They fanned out as Chloe went to the computer to check the surveillance records while everyone else looked around in awe and fear.

"What is this place?" Dana asked.

"It's the darkroom." Chloe told her as she sat down. "To her relief, the police had copied the files but hadn't deleted the originals. They must have been planning to use them in court. "It's what Jefferson and Nathan got busted for. They would roofie girls and then bring them here and take pictures of them while they were barely with it." She was grateful that the binders had all been taken. The last thing she needed was one of the girls finding one with their name on.

"That's fucking sick!" Juliet couldn't hide a horrified expression.

"It is." Chloe nodded as she browsed through the records. "They got Max. She travelled back in time using a photo she took in class and sent David a text to warn him. Not that he remembers that. She also foresaw a tornado but that never happened. Maybe she did something in another reality that stopped it. Chain reaction or some shit." Just then, she found the file she was looking for. It was later than the rest and showed movement in the room. She was about to play it when Steph spoke up.

"So I gotta ask this: with these girls, was it just photos or was there other stuff?"

"Steph!" Dana shrieked with a scandalised look on her face as Chloe grabbed a fancy-looking pen off the desk and launched it like a throwing knife at Steph. At her satisfying yelp of pain, Chloe turned back to the computer and hit the play button. On the screen, Max walked into the darkroom. She went over to the chair that she'd told Chloe they'd seen when they were first in there, the one Max told her Jefferson had kept her duct taped down to when she was a prisoner, and sat down in it. As Chloe watched, Max vanished. There were other files, too. People around her age who must have been the members of the High Seas coming and going using the chair.

There was no doubt about it, the chair was definitely the portal. Max had made herself sit in it and had used it to get where she needed to be. But there was only one clip of her doing it. The other times it was the four other people. That was when it dawned on Chloe: She didn't want to leave the place she'd sealed herself away in. She'd chosen that chair specifically because she was only going to use it once. Because the very thought of having to sit in it again removed any temptation to leave. It would make leaving a mental endurance test. The realisation made the tears spring to Chloe's eyes again. This time, there was no stopping them from spilling over as she watched on.

"Are you okay?" She jumped a mile as she felt Warren's hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, a vicious glare burning in her tear-filled eyes.

"Considering what I just told you about this place, it's not the best idea to sneak up on someone here, is it?" she snapped. Warren backed off quickly, raising his hands in surrender.

"Hey, I'm sorry." His tone was gentle and Chloe realised that he genuinely hadn't meant any harm. "You're right. I think this is one of those things that unless it affects you personally you're not going to get it. I can't even wrap my head around the thought of Max being brought here. It makes me sick. Now, did you find what you were looking for?" Chloe let out a shaky breath and clenched her fists. It was a crude yet effective way to stop the tremors that were plaguing her. God dammit, Max was going to be in major trouble when Chloe found her!

"I did." Chloe nodded. "I was right. Max used this place as the gateway. One hell to another. That chair is the access point. She did it-"

"-so she'd never want to leave." They all looked over at the sound of the new voice. Someone was sitting in the chair. But it wasn't a member of the High Seas. This was someone who, from a quick glance at everyone's faces, no one recognised. Chloe did though, if only barely. Whereas before there had been a timid girl who was too shy to make a fuss and who looked after everyone unconditionally with a sense of caring that made everyone feel loved, now she stood tall with an aggressive foreboding that felt totally out of place. Still though, there was no doubting that it was her.

"Kate?"

Author's Note: Another week, another chapter. The plot's really starting to thicken now as we approach the halfway point. Speaking of plots, can anyone recommend any other butterfly-effect-style games with good stories? It seems to be becoming its own genre but I haven't really explored it too much beyond Life is Strange and Until Dawn. And I never got chance to finish Until Dawn. So yeah, if anyone's got any recommendations, that would be pretty awesome. I might check some of those out in the future. Thanks in advance, guys. Stay safe out there and I'll see you next week.