Chapter 11

Chloe pulled out of the parking lot as quickly as she could and headed for the main entrance to the town. She was flooring the gas and really putting the truck through its paces already. Still, Max could understand. She wanted to be out of there just as badly. She would have grabbed the shotgun to cover them if the sight of it didn't physically repulse her. That and the fact Chloe hadn't mentioned if it was loaded or if there were any shells in the back. She didn't plan on checking for herself. The fog barrier was getting closer and closer. There was no point making more fuss than she had to.

Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid the engine noise. A glance in the wing mirror showed a horde of the cloaked figures chasing after them. It unnerved her how little noise they made and it made Max question what they actually were. The man from the well had been quite vague about it. He said that his wife had hold on them, but did that mean they were manifestations of the townspeople's dark sides and she was controlling them by their greed or negativity? Max tried not to think about it. If trying to understand her rewind power made her head hurt, she knew she had no chance to understand this. Chloe was right. This was probably way over their heads. If the opportunity ever came up, they'd come back with more people and try to fix things. For now though, it was more important they lived.

Suddenly there was a thump from Max's right as the truck lurched. She yelped and looked over to see one of the apparitions chasing them had grabbed onto the edge of the window seal and was clinging on to try and slow them down. His nails dug in so harshly that they looked ready to break apart and yet he showed no signs of pain or fatigue despite his precarious grip. Chloe masterfully cut past a nearby trash can close enough that he slammed into it and was torn from the truck. Max could see him lying in a heap on the ground, but what really unnerved her was the lack of guilt she felt. Was she just more able to come to terms with things now after all she and Chloe had been through- able to rationalise how much sympathy someone deserved based on their actions towards others- or was she just so messed up it had stopped affecting her now. Worryingly, a large part of her was leaning towards the latter. In truth, she really had quit trying to make too much sense of it all ever since Hurricane Arcadia.

Just as the fog barrier came into view, they were smashed into from the side. The truck skidded to one side as Chloe wrenched the wheel hard enough to pull them into a spin. The engine stalled out just as they skidded to a stop. Chloe tried the key, but it only made a pathetic spluttering noise. Knowing that there was too little time to focus on it, she grabbed the shotgun and jumped out as Max followed her. If things went south, she wanted to have her rewind ready.

Chloe was striding ahead and Max could see she was livid. She'd only just got the truck and it was already probably dented. But she'd only just got the shotgun too, and she was clearly ready to try that out as well. Max still didn't know if it was loaded and hadn't seen Chloe check at any point, but that didn't mean she hadn't. Or maybe she had a way of telling that Max didn't know about. Did the shells make it weigh more? She honestly didn't know. But at that moment it didn't matter as she looked up at the figure of the woman hovering in front of them. As they watched, she cast a hand to one side and a similar fog barrier appeared to Max and Chloe's left. The figures that had been trying to catch up to them were completely cut off. Chloe readied up with the shotgun as the woman's feet touched the ground and she walked slowly towards them.

"Please, girl. Whatever weapons are ubiquitous to your time, we both know they won't kill me. The fact that you've secured a way out shows you met my husband and he undid whatever you wished for. He wishes to atone for what he did to me. But that thing in your hands will not help you now."

"The wish was undone." Max nodded. "I have back what was taken from me." The figure turned to look at her, tipping her head to one side curiously.

"I see. So you were drawn in because something was stolen from you. I wondered why there were two. That's never happened at a single festival before. You say it's been given back? That balance has been restored? Tell me: how is this girl to you as a person? Do you think she has done enough to atone for what she's done?"

"I thought you were out to kill us because we were stuck in here in the first place?" Max was unable to hide her confusion. The woman on the other hand seemed to find it almost amusing as a smile quirked at the corners of her mouth.

"Child, I am here to punish the greedy. My disciples only attacked before because you tried to leave. We allow plenty of time for people to atone. After you met my husband, their task would be to capture you and bring you to me before I make my judgement and allow you to leave."

"That's a lie!" Max snapped. "One of them tried to cut her head off! And it wasn't an intimidation tactic, either! That was a pretty sincere attempt on her life!"

"Oh, really?" She turned her head to gaze at the barrier as though she were seeing right through it. Considering that this was her domain, Max and Chloe weren't prepared to put anything past her. For that same reason, they kept their attention focused on her as she turned to look at them again. "The one who disobeyed me shall be punished. At very least, you have my apologies for what occurred. However, I can't let that affect my judgement. To this day, only one has ever managed to leave this domain. So many are so unrepentantly greedy that they warrant only death."

"Well Chloe isn't one of those people." Max told her resolutely. "Chloe hit rough patches throughout her life but since we got together she's done nothing but try to be a better person. She's managed to get her life together and she's doing well at it. And the truth is that I would be nothing without her. She's saved my life on more than one occasion and that's just tonight. She's definitely earned forgiveness."

"I see." The woman said as she flicked her wrist, causing a small tear in the barrier that was holding back the figures. "If that is the case, she will have the property she took that one of the little ones left behind." That was when they saw a smaller figure step through the barrier. Even before it pulled its hood down, Chloe recognised it as the owner of the card she'd picked up. She instantly felt the colour drain from her face as she realised that she'd given it to the man in the well. A gripping fear began to take hold that quickly turned into shock when Max reached into her pocket. When her hand emerged again, the very card Chloe had given to the man in the well sat in Max's hand. Chloe could only stare with a stunned expression on her face as Max handed it to her like nothing was wrong.

"You know you were right about something, Chlo-bear?" She was unable to hide the smug grin as she handed it to her wife. "This thing really is shiny as fuck."

"Max, why do you have this?" Chloe asked, unable to hide her confusion.

"Because you promised to give it back to him yourself." Max reminded her. "Also I have a rewind power and a distinct lack of trust for anyone who hides in a well and has light-up face tattoos. I had to check he actually had given me my power back and hadn't just tried to swindle us out of something that could really be our lifeline."

"God I love you!" Chloe threw her arms around Max, practically crushing the breath from the smaller woman.

"Go on." Max gasped out as she was released from the bone-crushing embrace. "Go give it back." Chloe could barely contain her relief as she walked over to the boy, who pulled down his hood as she approached. His stare was just as empty as the others until she placed it into his outstretched hand. When that happened, the humanity instantly flooded back into his eyes. As quickly as if she'd blinked, the cloak had vanished. It was like it was never there at all.

"Oh my god, thank you so much! I thought I'd lost this!" With that, he took it and ran off like everything was normal. Perhaps it was for him. He hadn't even give her a backwards glance. Why would he? He didn't know her. He probably hadn't even seen her at any point. The boy she'd just seen may not have even been aware that anything was out of the ordinary for her. To him, she was just a stranger who'd found what he'd been looking for.

"It is done." The woman's voice jolted her back to the here and now as she turned to face her again. "You have done well. Throughout the existence of this space, only one has ever gained the right to freedom. Today, you have now become the second. Take the gifts that have been given to you and leave." As they looked towards the edge of town, the fog barrier parted. The path ahead was mostly darkness, but Chloe could still make it out. Without pause, she and Max raced for the truck as the woman slowly faded away and vanished from view. Her purpose was apparently done so she had no need to linger. Chloe tucked the shotgun in before climbing in after it and turning the ignition as Max climbed in next to her. This time, the truck roared into life as she put it back into gear and aimed for the gap in the barrier. They sped through it, trusting themselves to the darkness that lay ahead.

But as soon as the darkness hit them, it was gone. It was as if they tore through some kind of black veil that they hadn't seen before and were suddenly back on the same road they came down in the first place. Except instead of driving into the town, they were now facing away from it. The morning sunrise almost blinded them as their eyes struggled to adjust to the change in light levels. Chloe pulled over and cut the engine as the two of them frantically rubbed at their watering eyes. It took a very long and painful while for them to finally be able to see straight again. And when they could, they were greeted by the unwelcome sight of the burned out husk of Chloe's old truck seeming to glare jealously back at them.

"Oh come the fuck on!" Chloe snapped as she glared right back in the truck's direction. "Haven't I been punished enough here?"

"I know it meant a lot to you, Chloe." Max said as she leaned her head on Chloe's shoulder, reaching up to rest her hand on her back. "Do you want to see if anything's salvageable?"

"Nothing will be." Chloe sighed, shaking her head. "That new instant camera I got you was in there, wasn't it?"

"Yes, your belated wedding present is little more than ash now." Max nodded mournfully. "That's why I haven't taken a single photo the entire time we've been there. Not that I would have wanted a photo of much that we just experienced. Still, at least I have William's old one waiting for me back home. That's the one that has all the memories in it."

"You said it, sweetie." Chloe said, landing a kiss on top of Max's head before putting the truck in gear again and pulling back out onto the road. They reached the end of the road and Chloe took a right, setting course for home. They hadn't exactly had the peaceful and fulfilling honeymoon they were hoping for. Quite the opposite, actually. But no matter how explosive life got, they would always be able to find the time to have one more adventure together. On this occasion, that would involve scraping together the resources they needed with the money Vanessa would be sending over in an hour or two. Hell, it could even be fun. A tale of two women surviving on a budget as they draw their honeymoon to a hasty and unplanned conclusion. Maybe they could even be pirates again and just pillage the resources. But whatever happened, they would face it as they always did: together.