* Sunday, October 12th, 7:30 am, After the Funeral *

Sunlight weakly seeks the curtains of the window, in vain, as the westward facing window won't have a direct view for hours yet. Max wakes from the Storm, heart fast and reactions slow. It isn't the fear that wakes her.

It isn't the bushy presence in front of her face, either, though she wants to gag after the first deep inhalation. Dirty blonde strands fill her mouth, inducing that gag which threatens to become much worse. Dammit. What a way to wake. She creaks apart her arms, still fiercely hugging herself, to wipe away the offending hair. Dammit again, it's a rat's nest.

Kate shifts, but doesn't wake, still flat on her back with one hand fallen from the bed. These beds are not made for two. Reflection offers insight. Though, that's probably the point.

She extracts herself from the bed, taking care to keep Kate undisturbed. A creek accompanying her grabbing shoes and bag, a whisper from the door, and Max is about to enter the hall. Wait. She pulls out her camera, the first time in days now. Covert movements later and Max leaves the photo with a note on the back:

Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone - Burgess

Max chuckles at herself, knowing both how lame it is and that Kate would appreciate it. I wonder if she's read "A Clockwork Orange". With the whole her-okay-with-me-like-liking-a-girl, maybe I'll get it for her. In the hall, Max takes a moment to rethink that idea. Or maybe I'll start her on something less... invasive. Like "Fight Club" or "Breakfast of Champions". She approaches her dorm. I wonder if Victoria's up.

She is indeed, though has yet to vacate the premises. She jumps a bit when Max enters the room, still wearing yesterday's clothes. Gah, this whole floor will go to the wolves if the fashion queen doesn't adhere to her own dress code. 'Thanks Caulfield. Scared ten years out of me.'

Max notices where Victoria is standing, what she was doing. Is she- 'Snoop much, Vicky?' At least she has the capacity to look ashamed.

'I, uh. I. Yeah, I suck. But in my defence, you left your pictures out. Sorta.' She shuffles them back together when Max notices the top one. No!

'Don't touch them!' The brunette hurries over, all but ripping the stack out of the other girl's hands. Her speech degrades dramatically. 'How could you- I can't even- Just, just leave.'

Surprised by the fervor behind the smaller girl, Victoria digs her heels in. 'Hey! What gives? Max, this is some of your best work. That top one, with you and that girl-'

'Stop. Just stop Victoria. Just-' The shaking is so much, Max threatens to drop the photos even as she has to refrain herself from crushing them. Not these photos. Not from the week... the week with Chloe. The week I can't have. No one gets to see these.

'Max? Max, you're scaring me.' Victoria looks crestfallen, and worried. I must look crazy. The blonde tries to deflate the situation. 'I'm sorry Max. I'm so sorry. Why-?' Knowledge. 'Oh. Oh my God. Is that-?'

'...Yes. It's Chloe.'

''Oh no. I'm so so so sorry. I'll leave, I'll go.' She turns at the door. 'Uh, sorry for crashing in your bed. Again. And, uh, thanks.'

'Wait!' What am I doing?! 'You saw them. Let me explain.' Can I? I'm lying through my teeth. How do I explain time travel pictures? Victoria hesitates. 'D-don't worry, I won't bite.'

'Okaaay.' They sit on the freshly made bed.

'So, where to begin?' More like how. What lie is going to work here?

Let's start with some truth. 'She and I bumped into each other the other day. You see, I guess I never really explained. After the move years ago, we never talked. Or wrote, or had any contact. I, uh, I didn't know how to deal with it. I was 13, okay? Her father just died, I just left the state. For forever, I thought.' Inhale, exhale. Think this through, but not too hard. 'We had a fight but- but it's Chloe. My best friend. She still is. Uh, was.' Come on, keep it together. 'Anyway, that picture is the morning after we snuck into the pool.'

'Wait, Max Caulfield broke into the Blackwell pool?'

'Uh, it's not really breaking in when you have keys.' Explain, Max. 'Her step-dad's head of security.'

Rolled eyes. 'Yeah, of course. Just theft, then illegal entry.'

'Vicky...'

'Yeah, sorry. Just never thought you had it in you.' She smiles. 'You little criminal.'

Max blushes. But it still hurts. To not really have these memories. Except for myself, this never happened. She flips through the pile until one photo causes her to drop the rest. This one.

'Max? You okay?' Victoria starts mumbling to herself. 'Of course not. Idiot. Not you Max! What is it? Which one-?'

'the butterfly...'

Looking down, Victoria's face is blank. 'I don't get it.'

'this. this photo. i took it in the bathroom. after j-j-jefferson's class.' She can't hold it in any more. 'i was in there when nathan came in. i took this picture just before. before.' The memories rush back. It's too much. A person can't hold this much in. Not her. It needs out. It wants out. And Max must let it. Full sobs wrack her body. 'God, why? Why did you need her? Why did you make me! WHY WAS I EVEN THERE!'

The taller girl embraces her. 'Damn it! Max, calm down. You're okay. I'm here. You're safe now. I'm here-'

'YOU'RE NOT HER! YOU CAN'T BE HER! I SEE HER BUT I CAN'T TAKE HER WITH ME! I CAN'T TAKE HER BACK! EVERYONE ELSE BUT I CAN'T HAVE HER!'

'Max! Why? Why are you doing this? Why keep this, this reminder of death?' Max pushes against her, looking to distance herself. Victoria holds on. 'Why are you hurting yourself holding on to this? All you're doing is hurting yourself over and over.' Gripping the smaller girl, she moves to take the picture.

NO! 'NO!'

Everything stops for a moment.

A long moment.

The sort of moment that only Max can experience.

No! It's just a blip. A little blip. I didn't rewind. Everything will be fine. Just let go...

The two of them are still frozen, but time progresses. Quite a bit of time. The bathroom scene plays over and over. Both versions. Max trips the alarm. Max sits and weeps. Nathan ends up doubled over, gasping for breath. He fires. Chloe escapes. She dies. She dies. She dies, she dies, she dies...

Max snaps out of of the nightmare. Curled into a ball, head on a pillow. Victoria sits next to her, hand on shoulder and humming a tune. How long? No clocks are visible, but her neck is stiff. Must have fallen asleep.

'You had a panic attack. I know you're confused so listen. It lasted three, maybe five minutes. You felt like your were dieing, right? Yeah, a panic attack. After that, you cried and fell asleep. Maybe a hour?'

Max feels a shake. 'Look up, Max.' She does. 'Now, look. This is something that happens to many other people. But, Max, you got to deal with it. I want to help. So, talk to me. What is this picture? Why is it so important to you?'

'...victoria. it's my only way to reach her. my only way back...'

That thought has been floating in the back of her mind. Subconscious. A wound that won't close. I can still go back. It's the safety net Max has been holding on to. The image of a world with Chloe in it, of them sharing life again. Chloe grounds her mind, makes the day bearable. Because I can still choose differently. I can still bring her back when I want to. An infectious thought. A dark thought. I can still kill everyone and bring her back. It's not a good thought. Not one a person should know. I can bring her back and-

'Max, I don't understand but I'm here. Talk to me.' Max feels wet where Victoria's cheek touches her head. 'You scaring me. But I'm here. I want to help.'

'...i...'

NO!

'...i was in the bathroom.'

No.

'...i took the photo.'

Don't. Don't it hurts.

'i saw nathan come in. i saw him acting weird.'

it hurts

'and chloe came in. i saw... i saw the gun. and the fire alarm. i could stop it.'

NO YOU CAN'T YOU'LL KILL EVERYONE YOU CAN'T STOP NATHAN YOU CAN'T SAVE CHLOE-

'...i feel like i still can...'

YOU. CAN. NOT. HAVE. CHLOE.

'...help me...'

Pause.

A normal pause.

A thick, worried, pregnant, full of pain and self doubt, full of all the things not spoken, full of a week that never happened and a future that won't happen pause.

But just a normal pause.

'God, Max. God damn it.' Anything left of Victoria's makeup is running away. 'This is so heavy. This is so much more than a person can- It's terrible. Just, just terrible. To see that...' She hugs even tighter. 'I don't know what to say here.'

'i don't know what i want to hear.'

'I knew you were around when out happened. Everyone was. But no one said anything about you in the room.' She gasps. 'Oh God. You saw it. You saw it happen.'

'yes.'

KEEP YOUR HAND DOWN YOU CAN'T STOP THIS YOU CAN'T-

'That's, um, that's why.. All of this. That's why you are so...'

'hella fucked up.'

'No! Well, yes. But. But you should be doing something. See someone. Get help.' Victoria is reaching through her purse, pulls out a breath mint box. 'These are... These are for my anxiety. Not like, you know, drug drugs. Real doctor prescribed stuff. Twice a day. Keeps me level.'

Max breaks a wry smile. 'you? anxious? nooooooooo.'

A shove on the shoulder. 'Don't be a bitch.' A reciprocated smile. 'It works. I've been on them for about a year. Saw a shrink a few times too. Like a check up.' She strikes a haughty pose. 'I need to make sure my beauty goes more than skin deep.'

Giggle. 'thanks.' But serious again. 'but this might be beyond that.'

'No, Max. You need help. We both do. And Kate, too. But this is some professional-level crap. We... we aren't going to be enough.'

'...i can't explain why i can't talk to anyone.'

Except to Chloe. But I left her. Had to.

Pitched voice. 'Why not? You think you're unique? Other people have been through this.'

not like this. not like you.

SHUT UP!

make me

'Max, this is traumatic and fucked up on so many levels. And considering how we tie together with all this... I don't know if it's appropriate for me to help you.'

'no! victoria, you have no clue how much you've helped.'

Yeah, she can replace Chloe.

I said shut up!

Maybe you can get her to dress all pirate-like. You should be captain though. To the victor goes the spoils.

I'm not replacing Chloe. I can't. But... but maybe I can still have a friend like her.

Ree-Play-Sing!

No. I just need- I need to see how far I can trust her.

'i don't need meds, vicky. i just need to figure out how to live.'

To live with the guilt.

'to live with the guilt.'

'What? It's not your fault. You can't change what happened.'

Wrong.

'yes i can'

Bomb dropped. Shots fired. Am I going to do this?

'Wh-what do you mean?' The concern has a spark of fear. 'Max, you can't change the past. No one can.'

'Yes. I can.'

'O-okay, Max. this isn't funny. We've left Crazytown. You can't change the past.' The mixture of fear and anger is an ugly combination on Victoria. 'This is not funny.'

Max goes on the offensive. 'No. This is serious. I can prove it.'

'WHAT? You seriously believe I'm even going to entertain the idea that-'

Thump-thump-thump

'Max! Wake up!'

'Juliet, not now!'

'Victoria? What? Nevermind. You both have got to come see the bay!'

* Sunday, October 12th, 7:30 am, After the Storm *

Sunlight bathes the Price family as Max stands at the door, holding breakfast. Joyce sits quietly, stroking her daughter's blue locks as she slumbers next to her. David stares out the window, beholding the eastern mountains as light breaks through.

Max carefully places the tray by the door, pulling out her camera. I need to capture this. Only Joyce notices, but continues to smile down at Chloe.

Click.

Perfect.

'Hope you got my good side.'

'Every side's your good side, Joyce.'

She beckons to Max, lowering her voice to a more cospiritory level. 'David told me something interesting this morning, Max.'

She blushes, unable to maintain eye contact. Why am I being weird about this? 'I assume it has something to do with me... and Chloe?'

'Yes.'

'And you are okay with that? With... us?'

Joyce's face lights up at that thought. 'Now why on earth wouldn't I be?'

Max leans in and pecks the matron on the cheek. 'You know you're the best, right?'

'Kiddo, don't you know it. But...' The abject horror on Max's face must have been evident. 'Oh, stop, nothin' bad. But, you two need to take care of each other. And as strong as she is, Chloe is so fragile.' She stares at her daughter, a mixture of concern and love. 'No, not fragile. Brittle. She's stone. She picks her spot and stays there. But when something comes at her from the wrong angle, she breaks.'

'Or she breaks it.'

'She's broken a lot of things.'

'Heh, yes she has.' Max tries to project "earnest", but isn't quite sure what face that is. 'Joyce, you know how much your daughter used to mean to me. Double that. Triple it. That's where I'm at now. And I know she's there too. I don't think I physically could do anything to hurt her.'

'Well, that's a relief. Though you got some intensity I hadn't seen before Max. Oh, to be young and in love again.' Joyce looks over at her husband, still staring out the window. 'One out of two ain't bad.'

That word throws Max in a tailspin. Love? I mean, I love Chloe, sure. But in love? Is- is this chaos we got "true love"? Sounds sappy, but kinda right.

'I'll give you one last piece of advice, then, as unwanted advice can be. Don't forget there world.' The intensity of her voice, quiet but gravely serious, made Max take these words to heart. 'You two are going to going to be focused on each other, a lot and exclusively. For a while at least. But don't forget about the other people that exist outside the Max-and-Chlo world the two of you will build. You don't want to burn the rest of the world down just for each other.'

AHAHAHAHAHA! Nope! You'll just drown the world for each other!

Gut check. The smile drains as rapidly as the happiness Max was just feeling. Sure, I didn't burn it down. Just unleashed a category crap-high hurricane on our world. Our home. So we could be together.

'Oh, honey, don't worry.' Joyce mistakes the reasoning behind Max's mood shift. 'I know you girls. I'm not worried about it. Or anything with you two. I know you two will be amazing.'

'Th-thanks Joyce.' The brunette let's Joyce's gaze sooth her. She's got mom-vision. See all with the right kind of stare. 'So, anyway, how about breakfast? I know it's not going to be up to your standards but the doctor said to have something light. And if you get sick, call them immediately.' Max retrieves the container of hospital delicacies. Bland oatmeal, assorted fruit. Oooh, jello! Bleh, lime.

Joyce nudges Chloe awake. 'Come on, Smurfette. Wake up.'

'Blreg-gurg-lurp.'

'Come on honey. Breakfast.'

'Blerkie?'

'Sorry, no bacon.'

'Plerncrks?'

'No pancakes. Oatmeal.' Joyce shifts, trying to shake her daughter to limited success. 'Up. Now.'

Practically rolling onto the floor, Chloe attains uprightness and stretches theatrically. 'This is a terrible way to wake up. This is worse than the Bacon Lie of 2012.'

'That was yesterday, Chlo.'

'Yes. And today there isn't even the promise of bacon bits.' She looks at the spread. 'Oh, jello!'

'It's lime.'

'Rats.'

The meal is quick, and quiet. Partially because of the hour. Partially because Joyce is already a bit talked-out. But partially because David is so distracted. Chloe is the one to break him out of his funk.

'Hey, Earth to Step-space-David... Shoot, should have thought this one through. Hey David, wassup?'

He's pensive. Still has a thousand-yard-stare look. 'I don't know. Somethings... off.'

'Wow, very descriptive.'

His funk breaks. 'Yeah, I know. But there's something going on I can't put my finger on yet.'

'Sure it wasn't the little green men?'

Don't discredit him just yet Chloe. He did manage 90% of the- the Jeffershit stuff. 'And that's our cue to get some air. And coffee. You're really cranky without caffeine.'

'Feed me Seymore.'

'That is amazingly fitting. Bravo, really.'

'Meanie. Anyway.' She looks between the two adults. 'Parental unit. Step-parental unit. We are off.'

'Don't go too far girls.'

'Actually, Joyce, we're... we're going to go see about volunteering.'

'We are?'

A nod.

'Okay, seems we are. Goodnight.'

'Chlo, it's barely past eight.'

'Then why's the moon out?'

'That's the sun.'

'So that's where vitamins come from...'

'Dork.'

The girls leave the room with one happy woman and one thoughtful man in their wake.

The banter persists throughout the walk to Kate. Max told her counterpart they needed to get the blonde out of her room for the day, at least. But the chit-chat takes a weird turn. Too many people active in the halls. Too many of these people being kids. A few are still sleeping on gurneys and makeshift beds, just outside the room doors. Before they're halfway there, the ambient busy-noise superseeds their conversation, and they continue in relative silence to their destination.

Max, on impulse, stops Chloe just outside the door. A brief but tangible kiss silences the question on the tall girl's lips, repacing it. 'Behave. And your mom and I talked. She thinks I'll be good for you.' The door is opened.

'Wait!' Chloe attempts to voice her questions (plural now) but the response comes much too late, with a petite blonde already walking over from the far side of the room. Kate, what are you wearing? Worn flannel and jeans, a big change from her normal attire. The smile, of course, comes standard.

'Max! Get me out of here! The boredom is crippling.' She hugs Max and turns to the bluenette. 'You must be Chloe!' Another hug, this one a surprise for the tall girl. Kate examens her. 'Hmm. She's not nearly as scary as everyone makes her out to be, Max.'

'Yeah, she's a gangly teddy bear. Just watch the elbows. And the teeth. And the general malaise of punk wafting from her.'

'I think she smells nice.'

'Can't tell. She made me nose-deaf years ago.'

'Wait, your nose could hear?'

Chloe's bewilderment at the situation hits critical mass. 'I've died. I've died and become a wallflower.' Taking charge, she grips Kate at the shoulders, making sure she makes eye contact. 'Okay, so this is Kate Marsh, age 18, approximately one Max in height, home address 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney. I may have made some of that up.' She beams down at her before pulling her into a hug. 'I gotta thank you kiddo. You gave my Max friendship and kept her occupied before she made her way back to me. Which means you are now a friend of mine. Sorry, hun. Package deal.'

'No, wait! You can't mean that! I haven't even made a good first impression yet!'

'Aww, that's adorable!' Chloe turns to her girlfriend. 'I'm keeping her in the divorce. You can have the silverware.'

Kate gives it her best to keep up with Chloe in motor mouth mode. 'B-but who gets the fine China?'

'Oh, and sassy? Yes, you are a keeper.'

'eeep'

Max tries and fails to maintain a serious demeanor. 'Dial it back Chloe. You're at an 8. I need you at a 6.'

'Gotcha. So, Katie. Do you know what Max has on the docket for today?'

The girl recovers, mostly. 'Yeah. Blood drive first. Then, um, we can do clean-up crew I think? Mostly we have to wait for Max's dad. He's not far, right?'

'Well, he said he found a motel about an hour out of town. But he was in the car for like 12 hours yesterday, and the emergency personnel have probably only gotten more strict we traffic flow.' She turns to Chloe. 'I forgot last night. Kate says Principle Wells had been by Blackwell. The classrooms are a mess but the new dorms stood up pretty well. They'll be examining them for damage but we might get the okay to pick through our stuff later.'

'Cool. My truck will help. I'll, uh, I'll see if it's needed.' But fifteen minutes later the tall girl is standing in front of a National Guard soldier. 'What do you mean I can't drive?'

Max and Kate are calmly waiting in the chairs, getting swabbed and prepped to give blood. Ignore the needle, ignore the needle. It won't hurt- OUCH! She yelps a little and stares her own needles at the nurse. She's not even paying attention. Kate endures without a sound.

As Chloe goes off on the soldier the two of them sit patiently, waiting to finish. 'Um, Max, why isn't Chloe giving blood?'

'Well, Chlo can't. She, uh...'

'I'm a stoner. Can't give blood. Doctors are afraid the THC might work better than their TLC.' She plops down in front of them. 'So, I can't drive. They're going all Big Brother and controlling the traffic flow of the town. Too much screwed up out there, they say.'

Shoot! Gotta see when we can go over to Blackwell. I desperately need a new change of clothes at least. 'Can you call my dad again, then? He should be close and I want to make sure he can get to us.'

'Sure. Hang on.' She dials, blank face and anticipating. She goes wide-eyed and laughs. 'Nope, not Max... Yeah. It's Chloe... Great to hear you too Mr. Caulfield... Fine, Ryan... Giving blood... Well, I gotta keep the patients from turning into punkers... You sure? I thought vampires were the ones that use the moon... Ha! Yeah, she's here, wait a minute...' She hands the phone off.

'Dad?'

'Hey honey! I got your message.'

'Yeah, talked to Mom. She said you passed out hard.'

'Long ride, and I stopped to fill in with some more supplies the news said was needed.'

'Dad, you don't have to...'

"It's my hometown, Max. Yeah I do.'

Yeah you do Dad.

'So where you at? You close?'

'Actually being directed to a parking spot by the hospital now. They have a supply drop-off set aside in an outpatient building or something. I should be walking through the doors soon.'

'Okay. I, uh, I don't know how to get you to us. Just head straight to Joyce's room, we'll meet you there.' She gives the room number and hangs up after exchanged "Love yous".

The warmth of protection only a parent can give settles on Max's shoulders. He's here. I missed him so much. And Mom. Dog, I hope she can come help soon.

Chloe is staring at Max, presenting an odd demeanor. 'You've missed him a lot, huh?'

Yeah.'

'Me too.'

Max doesn't need to ask what she means. Or rather, who she means.

By nine the three of them are heading back up stairs. The hits kept coming after Max's talk with her father with the official numbers rolling in. Twelve hundred injuries, for a hospital that can deal with only seven hundred beds. About two hundred and fifty still missing as reported by family or friends.

Four hundred and thirty one people confirmed dead.

Warren and Brooke no longer among the missing.

I killed two more today.

The couple were located overnight, as the search expanded out of the town proper. Max refused to get the details, knowing she couldn't help. Most definitely couldn't help the way she knew was exclusively within her capabilities.

I let four hundred and thirty one people die for Chloe and me.

The only good number was twenty nine. That's the number of third graders missing on a hiking trip, taken with eight adults in tow. All twenty nine of them, and their chaperones, made it back during the morning, thanks to Red Cross and Guard efforts in locating them.

Chloe is worth four hundred and thirty one people to me. That's the world I killed.

Max can't handle anything else today. No new pressure, no new loss. Nothing. She needs to get up stairs and hug her father. But...

The big but, as much as she's numbing herself to the knowledge assaulting her, at least the deaths are something she prepared for. Or tried to prepare for. The numbers themselves, the cold hard facts about the friends she let die, those are the nightmares she will have. She knew death. she's seen death a dozen times, more, in person. She's seen her Chloe die over and over. It's her actions and inactions that caused these deaths, but... But not her guilt. Her responsibility to take the onus for them, but not her guilt.

Max doesn't know where this place is coming from, she doesn't know why she feels the pain and sadness but not the recrimination. Maybe that will come later. For now, her tears are waiting to fall, unlike Kate's. For now, she thinks about a way to make them count. Maybe I'm broken. Chloe keeps staring at her as they make the trek up the stairs She thinks I'm going to do something drastic. I need to get her away from everyone soon. Talk about how I'm not going to start powering-up again. She is distracted, barely seeing where she's going. Thoughts circle one another, evasive. There's so much death. But...

But why is the hospital really this big. Arcadia Bay has- had only a population of just over seven thousand. Why do you need enough room for a tenth of the people in town? A little less if you count the whole county. The facilities are much too extravagant too. Top-notch MRI, CAT scanners, EKG, pick your acronym. It's way too much for the Bay.

This final thought leaves Max in a worse mood as she walks into the room. Joyce and her father are chatting and laughing by her bed. Joyce is more focused, both eyes seem to be tracking the conversation. David, standing quietly by his wife, never-the-less hangs on Ryan's every word.

'Yup, the whole bottle. I have no idea, still, why they needed the cat to smell like perfume.'

Chloe chimes in. 'Bait. We needed to lure the clerk away from the front so we could get candy.'

Ryan quickly gets up and sweeps his daughter in a hug. 'My big girl. Er, I mean, my young woman.' He spins a bit, Max's feet leaving the floor. 'Thank Dog you're okay.'

She giggles, transported to age six all over again. After watching "All Dogs Go To Heaven" Max insisted that there obviously a Doggy God, since regular God would be too busy helping all the people and a good doggy needs a lot more attention than that. It's stayed in their vernacular ever since.

'You too Chloe. Wow, you grew up. Love the hair.'

She returns the hug. 'Thanks Ryan.'

'So, I can see why you stole my girl's heart.'

Aghast, she turns to the bed. 'MOM!'

'Wasn't me.'

Max coughs. 'Um, I kinda told my mom last night.'

Wheeling on the younger girl. 'What? No warning?'

'Sorry...'

Kate, still out of place, finds the strength to chime in. 'What's going on?'

I am an idiot! I don't even know if this is going to be cool! Her religion has a whole set of rules about this stuff. 'Um, well. Chloe and I are...' The hesitation has Chloe step over, searching for a hand to offer support. 'We're a couple. We're dating.'

'Yup, Katie. Snogging and the whole bit.'

A smack to the shoulder. 'not helping.'

Kate stands there, working through all the information. Everyone else grows still, realizing how touchy a subject like this can be.

The petite blonde finds her voice. 'Well, Max, I can't say I'm not upset.' A sharp breath from Chloe. 'I mean, all the misery of the last week and you keep quiet about the best news you have. Totally not fair.'

'R-really?' The breath Max didn't know she was holding escapes, deflating the stillness. She reaches out for her friend.

'Of course really.' Kate embraces her. 'You're a good person. Doesn't matter what you are, just who. We... we're sisters.'

Chloe mouths words to Max. Told you she a keeper. The brunette can't agree more.

'Yeah we are.' Stupid tears. Stupid worry. 'You don't know what this means, Kate. I almost expected, I don't know... You to be all "Get thee behind me" or something.'

Kate looks her dead in the eyes, not six inches away. 'I'm serious Max. You've shown me nothing but love and understanding. You saved me. I don't care what any book says, God couldn't put someone there last Tuesday unless He loved us both. Anyone who doesn't understand that can go tell it to the birds.' New hands wrap them both up, holding them together. Chloe.

Joyce dabs at her eyes with her blanket. Ryan finally understand what's happening, connecting the dots about who this new person is. But David. David smacks his temple and exclaims. 'The birds!'

A chorus of questions, mostly What?

'What's been bothering me. All day, out the window, the birds have been flying inland.'

'So, David?'

'So why are the seagulls going inland? I could have sworn I saw the herons leave too.' He lurches into motion. 'I need to see the Bay.'

The teenagers follow, trying to keep up with David in full detective mode as he circumnavigates the hospital searching for a westward window. When they do find him, he's looking blankly at the horizon.

'...look...'

Max doesn't understand. Clear skies, calm waters. Just like yesterday. But the photographer in her notices the details. There's something wrong. What? And then it hits her. Just. Like. Yesterday. The water, the water isn't moving. Her own gasp leads to a question from Kate.

'What is it?'

'The water... there's no waves. No tides. It's completely still. Look, it's like glass. Even from here we should see whitecaps as the tide changes. Or uneven shading. or at least fuzziness. But it looks like a perfect mirror.'

David lowers the mini binoculars he pulled from somewhere on him. 'It is. I can't see perfectly from here, but it looks completely flat.'

Max's shoulders weigh down. Realization. No dream this time. I did nothing this time. Why? Her girlfriend's arm reaches around her shoulders. Chloe isn't staring outside. No, the look on her face is reserved for Max. It communicates the same thoughts in Max's head. There's another Storm coming.

Hello and thanks for reading. Just a little update before the next chapter, a few things are potentially going to change. First, I won't necessarily be alternating back and forth like I have for now. Events need to unfold at their own rate and certain things I have planned won't feel appropriate to shoehorn into specific time slots. I try to envision how long a conversation is, or how long it takes to travel, but with a bunch of firm breaks planned in scenes, I have schedules planned. Second, I may dwell in one world much longer than the other, and I will be devoting whole chapters to one. Third, as you may see for the word count, this one clocks in at about 5.5k. This still feels a bit thin for me but we will be progressing into the meat of the story I have planned now. No more set-up, no more "tears" and "breaths" all over the place. The action will begin, though I hope my voice in this story remains the same (if you enjoy it) or gets better (if you aren't there yet).