Chapter 10: Second Chance
Max found herself not in the past, but once again in the void. This time, however, all around her she found recent moments playing in reverse around her. Each moment, the time jumped further into the past and the visages of her past accelerated.
We will sever your link to the present.
You will not return.
The storm will come.
This is your final chance to save her.
Her breaths came in short bursts as she watched all the people whose lives she jeopardized for this chance. Lives that depended on her putting her own life on the line to save. But, if it had to be Chloe or her, she would gladly make that trade. Even for just one more day with Chloe.
Some mote of power yet remains.
The reversal of time slowed, and Max found familiar images from before the storm all around her. The Dark Room. The Everyday Heroes gallery. Seeing Kate in the hospital.
We cannot defy fate.
We will give you whatever help we can.
You have but to ask.
"Whatever support you can send," Max replied, not sure even what she should ask for.
Defeat fate, awakened child.
The familiar sound of a Polaroid being fed out of the camera pierced through a curtain of white. Blinking away the light, Max found herself in Chloe's bathroom, dressed in Rachel's punk attire. The clawing anxiety that this wasn't the right time was banished by the sound of fluttering wings. Whipping around, Max found the bird she let in to spare it from crashing into the window.
She was in the right timeline. Stepping out from the bathroom, she found no signs of a white boundary, she could even see out the window on the far side of the hall.
Am I back? Really back?
Stepping over to Chloe's door, she flung it open. There, sprawled on her bed smoking a joint, was her heart's only desire. The girl she knew since she was small, grown into an angry punk. "Chloe!"
"Shut the damn door!" Chloe shouted, holding up the joint with one hand, motioning at it with the other.
Max barely had the presence of mind to pull the door closed behind her as she rushed over to the bed. Flinging herself over, Max landed on the bed and on top of Chloe. Her arms instantly snaked their way around her neck and pulled her in tight. "Chloe!"
"Fuck, Max," Chloe groaned, having barely slid the ashtray out of the way before Max landed on her. She snubbed out the joint. "What's gotten into you?"
Heart aflutter, Max just held Chloe tight. Her breath caught in her throat as her heartbeats turned from elation to a thundering tattoo that painfully squeezed her chest with each beat. Keeping her mind in the present with Chloe became a struggle, as racing thoughts and nightmarish memories assaulted her mind.
"Max! Max. Max…" Even Chloe's voice started to fade under the thumping in her ears as Max struggled to keep herself in the present. Each heartbeat sounded in her ears, distorting into a distinct click.
Just as the Dark Room surrounded her, trapping her there in the chair, a warmth pressed into her—wrapped around her. The smell of cigarettes and weed drowned out the sterile air of the bunker. Though her heart still pounded in her chest, it didn't hurt quite as much. No longer strapped to a chair, Max found herself sitting on the edge of Chloe's bed, Chloe's arms around her.
It took a couple of minutes for the episode to pass, but with Chloe holding her, whispering reassurances, it wasn't complete and total hell. Her whole body trembling, Max leaned into Chloe, muttering her thanks as she felt like death had released its grip on her. "I… I think I'm okay now."
Chloe gave Max a squeeze. "You sure?"
"Yeah… sorry."
"The fuck was that?"
Max shook her head. How could she even begin to explain everything that happened? "I-I'm not sure. They started a few days ago." As soon as the words left her mouth, Max wished she could take them back.
"Max, you haven't…"
Thankfully, Max's phone started going off, derailing the conversation. She dug in her bag, barely hearing Chloe saying something about it going off constantly. When she fished it free, she found a dozen missed calls from Warren. She accepted the call, bringing the phone to her ear.
"Thank God! Max!" Warren's voice practically shouted at her through the phone.
"Warren? What's—"
"What did you do, Max? I am totally tripping here!"
"What do you mean?" Max replied, chancing a glance over at Chloe to find her looking a bit angry. She really did not like Max sharing her attention with others.
"Max, one minute we're standing by Tobanga, the next I'm in my dorm room and my phone says it's the 9th! Ten days ago!"
Max bolted to her feet. "You remember? The 19th? Plan A?"
"The plan that's way too damn risky? Yeah."
Max scoffed at the comment, her free hand resting on her forehead so she could give it an anxious rub. "We can still try to find another way, but right now we gotta go with Plan B and C. Have you heard from Kate? Does she remember?"
"I don't even think I have her number." A few moments passed, then he spoke again, "Okay, I do have it, but I haven't heard from her."
Lowering her hand, Max looked over to find Chloe glaring at her. Each moment talking to Warren seemed to only fuel her ire. "Okay, can you get a hold of her? She should be in the hospital. Yesterday was… You know. Hopefully, she remembers, if not, can you fill her in for me and tell her that Chloe and I will be there later today to pick her up? We need everyone for Plan B."
"Call Kate. Let her know. Got it. What else do you need me to do?"
"Stay the fuck away from Nathan and Jefferson." Another glance at Chloe and Max decided to end the call, giving Warren a curt, "I'll keep you in the loop."
Max's stomach churned as she hung up. Nathan and Jefferson were both loose and active threats. They would have to be dealt with, too. No way in hell would she go near either one of them.
"The fuck was that?" Chloe asked, standing up as she glared down at Max.
All this time, all the preparations for coming back, and the only two things Max ever considered were stopping the storm and seeing Chloe. How could she be so short-sighted? Nathan and Jefferson had to be stopped. And Chloe needed to know the ugly, bitter, painful truth. The death. The loss. Everything.
"I-I…" Max's voice caught in her throat. "I just…" Closing her eyes, she tried to formulate a plan. This would have been so much easier if she'd used rewinds. But she wouldn't do that. No matter what, she wouldn't rewind her moments with Chloe… barring a certain first kiss, anyway. Important things, though. They needed to be honest, not polished and perfect through trial and error.
"New powers," Max blurted out, deciding that getting Chloe into a good headspace to begin with would help ease the shitstorm to come.
It worked. Chloe stepped back as her eyes went wide. "Seriously? You can do fucking more?" Max sat back down, urging Chloe to join her. She did, practically bouncing with excitement. "Come on, Super Max. Spill!"
Pulling out the Polaroid she took in the bathroom, she passed it to Chloe. "If there is a picture with me in it, I can focus on it and return to that moment in the past."
Chloe stared at the photo. Even with her burgeoning haze, her sharp mind put the pieces together nearly instantly. "You… came back from the future?"
A bitter chuckle and Max nodded. "Yeah, but this was… a one-time thing. I get to stay this time, but usually, I can only occupy my younger self for a few minutes at best. Kind of like how my rewinds can't go too far back. Once my time is up, I return to my present, and things are different based on whatever I changed in the past."
"So… you said it's permanent this time?" Chloe asked, her brow furrowed as she digested what Max told her.
"Yeah, but like I said, this is my only chance for that. I can still use my photos to change a moment, but I can't go back permanently again. Ever," Max explained.
Chloe shook her head. "Wh… when are you from?" It didn't take her a second to jump ahead a question or three. "Shit. Does this mean I died again?"
Max winced. "The 19th, and yeah… a few times."
"Fuck," Chloe muttered, hunching over and scratching her head. "I really fucked it up, huh?"
"No." Max leaned over, putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "I'm the one who screwed everything up. I'm just… I'm here to try to fix it."
Chloe's hand reached up to grab Max's, giving it a squeeze. She grinned up at her, not a hint of doubt in her brilliant, blue eyes. "So what's the plan, Boss?"
"Do you remember the storm? From my visions?"
"Yeah."
Max sighed a bit, shaking her head. "It comes Friday. It'll destroy Arcadia Bay and kill everyone if we don't do something."
Chloe's eyes darted from side-to-side a moment before they locked on Max's again. "That… the day after tomorrow."
"Yeah, Warren and Kate and I tried to come up with some ideas, but we're… still kind of playing it by ear," Max said. She gave a bitter chuckle, shaking her head just a bit. "That was Warren on the phone. Somehow, he came back with me. Kate might've, too."
"So… they know about your powers, too?" Chloe's hand slipped away. Even Max could see the disappointment on Chloe's face.
Max forced a smile as she squeezed Chloe's shoulder. "Hey, you're still my Faithful Sidekick. It's just… there is a lot to be done. I needed some extra help to pull all this off. A couple of minions."
Chloe's smile returned. "Minions. I like the sound of that."
"I thought you might." Max sighed. "We have a lot to do and not a lot of time. Obviously, I'm not going to class today so we can get Kate and… and get you up to speed."
"Sweetness! Okay, what do I need to know?"
You sacrificed yourself.
Rachel's dead.
I'm going to die for you and Arcadia Bay.
Chloe's smile faded away. "Max? Wh-what's wrong?"
"Do… do you still have that photo? The butterfly."
"In my wallet," Chloe said as she popped up off her bed. Retrieving the photo from her wallet, she held it out to me. "One badass memento of you saving my ass."
Max took the photo between her fingers and pulled. The Polaroid gave way, tearing in half. "Max, what the fuck!"
She didn't stop. Her hands kept tearing the picture into smaller and smaller pieces. "I'm doing what I should've done the first time!"
Chloe's anger evaporated as she sat back down next to Max. She cupped Max's face with her hands, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears as they spilled from her eyes. "Max…"
Max's hand reached up, grasping Chloe's wrist as the shredded remains of the photo sat in her other, limp hand. "The storm came, Chloe. We… we stood there, watching it destroy everything. Kill everyone. Hundreds, thousands of people. Everyone at Blackwell, Joyce, everyone!" Max leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Chloe and holding her tight. "It was your idea. Use that photo to go back and make a different choice. To stop the storm and save everyone, all it would take was one life: yours."
"F-fuck," Chloe said, breathing a deep, ragged breath in and out.
"I hated it!" Max screamed, clutching Chloe tighter as if she'd leave her again if she dared to let go. "That world without you. It was just so fucking perfect! The storm never came. No one died. Kate didn't even try to jump!"
A bit of tugging and Chloe pried Max away from herself. "If… if this is what it takes to save everyone—" she held up a few bits of the shredded Polaroid "—why? Why are you here?" Tears started to streak down Chloe's cheeks. "Why would you change that?"
"I-I couldn't. I couldn't live without you." Max shook her head. "Not again. I'd rather die than go even one more day without you!" Placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder and using the other to cup her cheek, Max leaned in. Their lips met, and again Max tasted a passion muted by sorrow. Instead of Chloe, this time Max's was the life being thrown away. Cut short for a town that had never shown them anything but cold indifference.
Max embraced Chloe as their lips parted. "I love you, Chloe Price. I'd sacrifice the whole world for you if that's what it took."
"Max…" Chloe returned the embrace. "I love you, too."
For several minutes, they just held each other, finding comfort in their rhythmic breathing. Once she calmed down, Max summoned the depths of her courage to utter just four words. Words that formed the key to Pandora's box and the nightmares and anguish within. "There's more, about Rachel…"
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Next week I will publish the other timeline. For those who haven't already, check out Evoker. It is the continuation of this story after chapter 09 with the option of Max going back in time to save Rachel.