Chapter 14: No More
When we got to Blackwell, we took the long way around the building, neither Kate nor I wanted to be anywhere near the main building. We found Warren waiting for us by our main objective for Plan B: the football field.
"Oh, man. You really had me starting to worry there," Warren said as we approached. "We are really running out of time here. Classes will let out for lunch in an hour."
"Is the coast clear, at least?" I asked as I approached.
Warren nodded. "Didn't see a soul."
"Someone want to tell why the fuck we're here?" Chloe asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Or is this more shit that you can't tell your supposed best friend?"
Max breathed a long breath in, letting it out slowly through her nose. "This is the cornerstone of Plan B. Warren's idea," she said as the group walked over to the storage shed by the field. "The storm hits Friday. The same day as the big game between the Bigfoots and the Razorbacks."
"Who cares about a stupid high-school football game?" Chloe retorted.
"A lot of people care," Warren replied as he pushed open the doors to the shed. "Thing is, it's a home game, and that'll put even people from outside the bay in danger."
"But, if we wreck the field so that the game can't be played here…"
Chloe scoffed. "So that's the big plan? Make sure more people don't come to Shithole, USA?"
"No, Chloe. If they can't play here, they'll make it an away game at the Razorbacks' field. Half the school and a lot of the people in Arcadia Bay would leave to go to the game," Max said. She sent Chloe a disbelieving look. "Besides, do you really even need a reason to wreck the field?"
That got a smile out of Chloe. "You know me too well, Caulfield." Chloe turned her attention to an assortment of tools hanging on the wall. "Can we really do all that much in an hour, though?"
Warren chuckled at that, pulling away a cover to reveal the tractor they used to maintain the field. "I'm thinking… yes," he said, emphasizing the last word by patting the machine's hood.
"Dibs!" Chloe shouted, racing by Warren and taking the seat.
"Wait, we're going to vandalize the football field?" Kate asked. "Are you really sure this is the right thing to do?"
"We'll do a lot less damage than the storm. Not to mention this is the single most effective way of getting people out of harm's way that we could think of," Max explained. "And you don't have to participate with Chloe and Warren if you don't feel comfortable. You can help me keep watch to make sure no one catches us."
To that, Kate agreed. She joined Max, sitting high on the bleachers to keep an eye out for anyone that might approach. Meanwhile, Chloe and Warren set up the tractor, hooking up a thing Max couldn't identify to the back. Whatever it was, it dug deep into the ground, leaving an upheaved ditch behind the tractor everywhere it went. The two of them coordinated, ripping a winding path through the field.
The football field was a pretty big place. Especially when one considered the bleachers and everything else. Still, compared to the tornado, the whole of the school grounds represented a mere fraction of the volume Max would have to manipulate with her power. Reaching out both of her hands, Max grasped time as she focused her attention on the whole of the field. As time drifted backward, Max found it hard to tell if anything happened at all. No frame of reference existed to actually show her time going backward for the universe with everything in her vision unaffected. The pressure in her head built quickly, though. When she released her power, she had to grab her head as pain overwhelmed all other thoughts and sensations.
"Max? Are you okay?" Kate asked, placing a hand on Max's back.
"Y-yeah," Max muttered, still wincing at the lancing pain in her skull. "Just practicing my power a little."
Kate started rubbing Max's back in little, comforting circles. "Don't push yourself too hard. We're counting on you if someone comes."
"Right," Max replied. Though, try as she might, she couldn't help but keep worrying about the storm. Now that they were actually working on Plan B, it suddenly seemed a lot more real. Just two days and she would have to face the storm alone. She couldn't reach far, and even dragging something the size of the football field proved to be a herculean effort. What would be better? Bigger chunks that drained her faster than smaller ones? And just how far back would she need to bring them? A few seconds would be much easier than a couple of minutes, but would that be enough to really weaken the tornado?
Max reached into her bag, bringing a tissue to her nose as the familiar tickle told her that it started bleeding again. "I think I need to have another discussion with Warren to really figure out the best way to go about Plan A."
"Um, we really didn't get into a lot of details when Warren called. Just what is Plan A?"
Max hunched over herself just a bit more. "Plan A is… me," she said, weighing out just how much she should tell Kate. "My power might be able to weaken the tornado."
Leaning forward to keep herself level with Max, Kate asked, "Might?"
"Okay, it can definitely weaken it. I'm just… not sure how much," Max replied.
Kate's hand left Max's back. "Oh, no! Max!"
Alarmed at the sudden change in Kate's demeanor, Max looked up to find Kate standing and pointing. Max rose, herself, and her eyes caught sight of flashing blue lights. "Shit! Were there cameras?" Whipping out her phone, Max called Chloe.
After getting a warning from Max, Chloe abandoned tractor with Warren, leaving the machine to slog toward the far bleachers. It collided with them, before tipping over and sputtering out. Her work complete, Chloe beat a hasty retreat.
They regrouped near the back of the gym building as Chloe and Warren rushed to catch up with Max and Kate. "Okay, just how fucked are we?"
Max shook her head. "Not sure, but I've got Plan C, just in case." She held up her selfie for emphasis.
The group snuck around the building, creeping toward the main yard. When they got there, they found a half-dozen police cars parked out on the street in front of the building. A couple of cops stayed by the flashing parade, directing traffic around the cruisers. The rest of them couldn't be found. And they certainly hadn't headed for the vandalized field.
"Should we get back to the truck and get the fuck out of here?" Chloe asked, pointing over at the parking lot.
"N-no… I don't think they're here for us. I hope—"
The double doors both burst open as a couple of officers held them open. Then out stepped two men in handcuffs, corralled by no less than four other cops.
Kate was the first to break the silence, both hands clasped over her chest. "Oh, thank the Lord! Max, was this your doing?"
Max just nodded, her eyes transfixed on the scene before her. It was a repeat of a scene she'd created before in more than one timeline. But never had she gotten the opportunity to personally witness the downfall of Nathan and Jefferson. For his part, Jefferson looked pissed, while Nathan kept shifting between disbelief, anger, and Max swore that some part of him looked relieved. Maybe now he would get the help he needed.
"Damn, Max. Not sure how you did it so fast, but I can't say I'm not relieved that shit's over," Warren said.
An audible growl left Chloe's throat. "I'm as happy as the next person to see that fucker Nathan in handcuffs, but how is it that I'm the only one who doesn't have a damn clue what's going on here?"
Max reached again into her bag. This time she retrieved a Xanax and bit off a section. "I can tell you everything, now, Chloe." She pointed over at the police loading the men into the cruisers. "This… is Rachel getting justice."
Chloe went through a gambit of emotions, spending most of the group's trip to the dorms yelling about one thing or another. Though, thankfully, she fell relatively silent once they got in the building. "Kate, would you and Warren mind waiting out here for a bit? Oh! And I have something for you, Kate. Just a minute." Max disappeared into her room for a minute before reappearing with a large cage in her arms. "Someone missed you," she said, smiling over at Kate.
"Oh! Alice!" Kate said, gleefully taking the cage. "Were you good for Max while Mommy was away?"
"Uh, why don't we get you two settled in?" Warren offered, ushering Kate toward the room still taped off. "I think Max and Chloe might need some alone time."
Max grabbed Chloe's hand. "Come on," she softly said, pulling Chloe into her room. As soon as they were safely inside the room, Max started to undress. "I, uh, I think I'll be more comfortable in my own clothes if you don't mind."
"Whatever," Chloe said, turning her attention to Max's photo collage.
"No more secrets. Ask whatever you want," Max said.
Chloe breathed a long sigh in and out. "How? How did Rachel… What did they do to her?"
"She was overdosed," Max replied. "Nathan did the deed, but this whole fucking nightmare is ultimately Jefferson's fault. He twisted and used Nathan for his own sick fetishes."
Chloe turned back, tears slipping free as her voice cracked. "Di-did she suffer?"
Dressed in only her jeans and bra, Max turned around. Just seeing Chloe like that broke her heart. She couldn't lie to her. Not now. Her own tears slipped free as she gave her head a little shake. "She did, Chloe. So much…"
An anguished cry left Chloe as she lurched forward, latching onto Max. "Why! What did Rachel ever do to deserve this, Max?"
"She didn't deserve it, Chloe," Max replied, holding Chloe tight and trying her hardest to keep from breaking down and crying, too. "None of us did."
Max let Chloe drag her over to the bed. They sat on the edge, with Max holding Chloe as she grieved Rachel's loss for the second time that day. It took Chloe a few minutes and a lot of soft words from Max to calm down enough to formulate her next question. "M-Max, what did you mean, 'none of us?'"
"Chloe… except for the storm, all the bad shit that's been going on—Kate, Rachel… fuck, even the shit Nathan put you through—that's all Jefferson! He caused all of it!" Max pulled away, keeping one hand on Chloe's back while she tried to clean up her face with the other. "He hurt everyone."
Chloe got up, moving over to the couch, gathering up Rachel's clothes that I shed and left there in a neatly-folded pile. She hugged them to her chest before curling up into a ball there on the couch. Deciding it best to give Chloe some space, Max went back to finish getting dressed, putting on a graphic tee and a hoodie.
With her outfit complete, Max wandered back to her bed. For the longest time, she just sat there, watching Chloe clutch Rachel's belongings to her breast as she softly cried. She waited, her arms ready to comfort Chloe should she need them, but Chloe didn't leave the couch. Only after the sniffling started to fall into silence did Max dare to speak up. "Chloe… there's a lot more to tell, but… but there are some things I should say to you before we let Warren and Kate in. For your ears only."
"Even more fucked up shit? Like this wasn't enough already?" Chloe replied, shaking her head.
"I don't have to tell you now," Max said, shifting a bit as she looked anywhere but the sea of pain and regret that was Chloe's face. "It… it's going to hurt, and I totally understand if you want to be in a better headspace or whatever before—"
"No more secrets," Chloe cut Max off, a hard edge to her voice. "No more."
Max nodded. "Okay."