Life 58: Strange Tidings
You know, I was starting to forget there was more than Arcadia Bay.
It was my fourth day in this life, and I was already making mistakes.
It was a nice change of pace however, as normally I screw up in the first twenty hours.
I was getting better at this, I think.
The snow had been cleared out on Tuesday, and now we were approaching a full on draught, the Sun stepping its game up, the days feeling like Hell on Earth as the entire dorm had taken to leaving their doors and windows open to try and get cool in some way.
It was the late revenge of Summer, so I started a Lemonade stand outside the dormitory.
I had made over a hundred dollars, and I was selling cups for fifty cents.
Yep, the world was definitely ending, yet the school board was still denying it. 'Ecological Disaster due to unforeseen aquatic issues.'
Like global warming would made it snow in October… In Oregon… Or have a draught a day after a snowstorm…
I was doing well though, since I was slowly making way with Kate, had mostly solved what had happened to the missing girl Rachel Amber, and had done so much more…
"What? I can do a lot in a day."
"Breaking News Arcadia Bay! You'll want to hear this!" The television in the local tea shop, The Bay Cafe announced as the usual programming was replaced by the local news station.
Kate, who I had taken out for the morning, looked from me to the screen, while I just drank more of my awful tea.
I had never been one for tea, so when Kate wasn't looking I was was sure to add a few drops from my flask.
Much better.
"Famous photographer and local teacher Mark Jefferson has surrendered himself to the police, and confessed to more than eighty seven counts of kidnapping, sexual exploitation, and even murder of young girls all across the country! The Augustine Springs Disappearances were shockingly his doing!" The beautiful newscaster spoke as quickly as possible, shock and even tears showing on her face as the woman was clearly disturbed that such a well liked guy was evil.
Yep, I can get a lot done in a day, and technically a night.
The Imperius, while I'm not too skilled at it, can still be useful.
Kate looked just as surprised as the news anchor, but I did spy a little smile on her face.
I'm a good friend.
"In response, Jefferson has been sentenced to life in prison for his vile deeds, and surprisingly has accepted his punishment. However, while this shocking turn of events has cleared up much of recent events, still more mysteries are occurring across Arcadia Bay, and even the country."
More mysteries? I thought with a smirk, risking taking an actual swig while Kate was so distracted as she was. Old Mrs. Tobins gave me the stink eye for it, but didn't say a thing, prompting a wave of thanks from me for it.
The woman could keep a secret, and I was thankful for it.
"The entire town has been concerned by the odd and even scary weather in the Bay, from the freak snowstorms and to the most recent draughts, and even reports that wildlife have been dying all over the town, not to mention the recent disappearance of beloved student Nathan Prescott and the brutalization of his father. While officials are baffled and enraged, the government has issued a response. Going to it now."
"Oh shit…"
The news report then cut to some guy in a suit that looked important, that I didn't really recognize, but some text said that his name was Charles Collins, and apparently he was President…
This would not bode well…
"Hello there my fellow Americans, I am not as ignorant as many people claim I am. The frightening and strange events in the small town of Arcadia Bay are of importance to the government and it's people, and we are concerned about what is going on there and how to fix it." The president said sharply, his green eyes locked on the camera in an almost scary way.
At least scary to me, going by what he said next…
"In response, I have authorized a group of Federal Agents and Environmental Professionals to investigate the town, and discover what is happening. I wish them luck, and hope that things are resolved soon."
"Fuck, he's sending in the Feds…"
I said that out loud…
"Max! Language!"
A man sat atop a parked car, a small town in the distance meeting his eyes as he stared out past it to the skyline.
The sky was an odd pinkish color, as the sun rained harsh hatred down upon the town, almost as it had been forsaken.
This man was Special Agent Holden Strouse, and he couldn't believe the weird shit they had been hearing about this town, nor about the… omens, that had been thrown around when speaking about the place.
A small fishing town, not on any map, seemingly the ground zero of the apocalypse? It was fitting now that he thought about it…
He had never had any qualms about his faith, but he wasn't one to accept his fate, and if this seemingly mundane town had the potential to bring out the end of the world…?
He would do anything to stop it…
"What do you think of the place?" A feminine voice to his left asked, a turn of his head revealing in his partner, in more ways than one, Julie Rhyner, and his soon to be wife.
He laughed then, his cigarette hanging from his lips, his eyes tracking a particular stork, that then fell dead from the sky, its body dropping like a rock.
The fact that for a second, the sun seemingly disappeared, didn't do much to settle his nerves.
"Jules… I think we're out of our league."
(Thursday)
I've encountered the Federal Bureau before.
This wasn't my first life as an American, nor was it my first where either some strange bullshit gets the attention of the Feds, or I do.
In this case, the aforementioned bullshit and I teamed up, and now I've got feds crawling over the school, trying to solve the same mystery as I am, but also send me to jail…
How pleasant…
Not to mention that they were snooping around the Academy as well… But at least classes were cancelled, which was a positive.
The school did just as I did with Jefferson, and checked the records to determine where Nathan had been when he was abducted, and determined it was when he had left class for the restroom, and decided that students were not to go anywhere on their own, especially after the sexual predator that Jefferson turned out to be, apparently the school board didn't trust it's own teachers now…
Good on them, since they didn't even realize how much of a sadistic fuck that Jefferson was.
And aside from being in an episode of X-Files, I was enjoying myself thoroughly.
Really, I was.
"Max, are you sure you really want to paint me?" Kate's concerned voice asked me timidly as I swept my brush across my latest canvas, my face frozen in concentration, my eyes only briefly drifting to her for reference.
"Just like the last two times you've asked me Kate, yes, I really do want to paint you." I reassured the girl, my eye's only just lingering too long.
Kate whimpered here in the cutest of ways, but I kept such thoughts to myself.
The two of us had taken to spending time together in the free time my actions and the weirdness of this time had given us, and I wasn't going to waste an instance.
Sure, that Warren guy was sad as hell, but I was so infatuated with Kate Beverly Marsh that it honestly worried me.
I knew, not even a week of knowing her, that I loved her.
Yeah, I had loved other girls besides… Her, Kate reminded me of Her in so many ways, yet she was all together her own beautiful person.
"By God, I'm a sappy fuck…"
"But do I really have to wear this silly costume?" Kate asked, her eyes trailing down at herself, the white dress complimenting her curves in ways that were way too embarrassing to wear to Church.
"What can I say, I've got a bit of an Angel Fetish. I'm not ashamed to admit it."
"It's a themed portrait Kate, so I chose a theme. I would love to do a collection of portraits of you, but your beauty just keeps escaping me before I can paint you." I said to her, the warmth and honesty in my voice bringing a smile to her face.
"Thanks Max."
"And… you make a cute angel."
Her blush was enough for me to smile.
I won't deny it, I'm a sappy fuck.
The school wasn't legally allowed to make us stay there.
Some obscure law that basically prevented the school from holding us hostage, but nonetheless, we could leave… but not alone.
So, I decided to finally put an end to the mystery of Rachel Amber.
With my new Watson, the ever adorable, Kate Marsh.
I had let Kate into my investigation not long after Jefferson had 'turned himself in', and I had let her cry her eyes out on my shoulder.
I had seen in that fucker's eyes what he had done, and I barely restrained myself from killing him on the spot… But I knew those families that he had ruined needed closure…
Just as Rachel Amber's did… but I needed to know more about her.
Who the hell even was Rachel Amber?
I needed to know, so I decided to face Max's past, and my own in the process.
Also, Kate was way too helpful, even if she decided we needed detective outfits…
"I'm wearing a fucking Deerstalker… This girl is trying to kill me…"
So, there we were, standing outside a mom and pop diner, the Two Whales.
I was looking for a girl with Blue Hair… that I only knew the name of.
And something about pirates…?
Max's memories weren't too helpful here, so I was flying on the seat of my pants, and just decided to walk inside with Kate by my side.
We found ourselves a booth, and decided to get lunch.
I already informed Kate of what we were doing, and had went to pick herself something off the menu, while I looked at the waitress.
Joyce Price, the mother of Max's childhood friend Chloe.
She reminded me of Molly Weasley in many ways, just… less imposing.
She would play into my hands perfectly, I just had to get her to recognize me…
Which was going to be hard, since I looked like a goth chewed Max Caulfield up and spit her out.
Yet, I sometimes get lucky.
"Max? Max Caulfield? I heard you were back in town!" Joyce, kind woman that she was, called out as soon as she caught sight of me, rushing over, her smile wide and true.
"I heard so much about you! You should have come by sooner, oh Chloe will be so happy to see you." Joyce said in a rush, her eyes almost glowing, before she noticed my new best friend.
Kate almost seemed put out here, her eyes shaking a bit.
"Oh, I'm Kate Marsh, I'm Max's-"
"Girlfriend, she's my girlfriend. How is Chloe by the way Joyce?" I asked the mother of Chloe Price, the girl that still held a place in Max's heart, but not my mine. Also, I found teasing Kate to be my favorite activity.
"I'm happy for you Max, and Chloe's been alright, a bit sad, but I know you can cheer her up!" She said to me with a smile, before turning to Kate. "It's great to meet you dear, can I get you anything?"
Kate, the living blush, just asked for some tea and sandwiches, and Joyce was off in a breeze.
I just smiled at Kate, a wink sent her away as she once again turned as red as a Chinese Fireball, with none of the flames.
God I love this girl.
"Hello Chloe." I said to the blue-ette girl as she sat across from us in the diner booth, her eyes focused on me as if I wasn't really there.
I feel bad for Kate, she was just sitting there awkwardly next to me. I sent her a smile to ease her nerves.
"Hey Max… I heard you were back… Couldn't have said hi sooner could you?" Chloe asked me, her voice carrying a harsh tone as she almost accused me with her eyes.
"I should have, but I've been busy Chloe, I've been doing a lot lately." I argued, my patience wearing a bit thin, but I knew Max wouldn't scream at the girl, even the headstrong version of Max that I had created.
"Busy going goth I see." She observed, her tone shifting to that of amusement, my eyes just rolling.
"I think you look very cool Max..." Kate muttered out, her hand reaching for mine under the table, almost like she thought being called a goth would offend me.
"And who even are you?" Chloe near yelled at Kate, who just froze at the girl's tone like a deer in headlights.
This girl's nerve was pissing me off.
"Her name is Kate, she's not here for you to bully, and she's an angel." I growled at the punk, taking a deep breath as I got back to the point of us even being here.
"Chloe, we're only here because I think you need to know something, and I do too. I spoke with Mark Jefferson before he turned himself in, he kidnapped Rachel Amber. I know you were her friend, I need you to come with me."
She stared at me then, before sadness overtook her in a wave.
"You… You know where she is?" Chloe asked me in a near whisper, her eyes watering as she almost seemed to hope beyond hope.
I could instantly see Kate's heart go out to the girl. I knew Kate would get emotional, but I didn't expect Chloe Price to break down as she did.
"I know where to find out, if you come with us Chloe." I almost begged the girl, already knowing what would be there, and I knew where we would go after that.
I needed to close this history book, for Chloe, for Rachel Amber, and most importantly, for Kate.
"Okay Max…"
It was time to go to the bunker.
We took Chloe's truck, Chloe riding passenger as I drove, Kate sitting in the back drawing in her sketchbook. Kate didn't know how to react to Chloe, so she just resorted to drawing.
I had a look at one point, and saw a picture of a blue jay flying in the rain.
God, this girl can't get cuter.
Chloe didn't say a word as I drove us out of town, the countryside approaching us as we drove through the sunset, the trio of us in silence as the radio played.
I already knew where we were going, as I had found the knowledge in all three of those fuckers' heads.
The Prescott Family Barn, and underneath, The vile Dark Room, the secret cesspool of Mark Jefferson's wet dreams.
The place where he would take drugged up girls and do anything his blackened heart desired. I knew he'd taken Rachel Amber there… and I knew he had taken Kate there.
Rachel knew too much, I pulled that straight from his mind.
He normally took girls, used them, and then drugged their memories away.
Rachel Amber already knew too much, so Jefferson had Nathan bring her to him, and had him overdose her.
He knew Nathan's mind was broken, and he tricked the boy into overdosing her.
He made him into a murderer, a scapegoat to blame everything on.
Nathan Prescott was going to have a peaceful life, I already cured his inner madness, and was setting plans in place to resolve things.
But it all ties into the Dark Room…
And that fucking storm…
Chloe was confused by the barn, Kate was too, but at least she was kind about it.
"Max, what the hell is this place?" Chloe asked me, her eyes turning to me as her tears stayed.
"This is the Prescott Barn, it's been in their family a while, untouched… until recently. I had a friend hack into Sean Prescott's email. He was letting Jefferson use the place." I explained, my voice dark and cold. "I'll show you."
And with that, I led them inside quickly, leading them straight to the hatch leading down below.
Kate and Chloe were surprised as I led them down below, the darkness consuming us as I led through the code locked door, and into the Dark Room.
Inside the room was a bunker full of living supplies, furniture, a small kitchen, and most of all… camera equipment.
"Max… what is this place?" Kate asked me, her hands reaching for mine as I knew she remembered the place, even if she didn't know she did. I pulled her into a brief hug before I turned to Chloe.
"The red binders Chloe, that's what we came for." I told the girl, directing both of them towards the ominous binders by the computer.
Eighteen binders sat in an open locker, eighteen names on each.
The last four were the ones that stood out to the three of us.
Rachel, Kate, Victoria, and Maxine.
There was silence in the room, as we grabbed each of the binders and began looking through them.
Photos of girls from all across the school, all in states of undress and intoxication.
I made sure to open the next locker over, and discovered another locker full of red binders.
There was a paper on the locker doors that read Augustine Springs.
I knew there was a backroom full of more lockers, all from different places across America.
Chloe worked herself into a rage from Rachel's binder, and was tearing apart the cameras in her rage, and I let her.
I didn't expect Kate to join her, until I remembered one of Jefferson's memories… a part that I had forgotten in the rush of evilness in his mind.
He'd taken Lynn, Kate's ten year old sister.
"THAT BASTARD!" Kate roared, her eyes angry and tearful as she began helping Chloe destroy the man's camera equipment, her eyes glowing like a rageful phoenix.
I had to stop her when she went for the computer, pulling her into my arms as I led her to the couch.
I knew I couldn't let them destroy the computer, especially with all the information in that computer, all the secrets that Jefferson had on it.
I pulled Kate onto my lap as she began sobbing into my shoulder, her eyes pouring out her sorrows and grief.
I held her strong as I pulled my phone free from my clothes, dialing the number that the school had given us for the agents.
Dial tone, more sobs from my grieving sweetheart.
"Special Agent Holden Strouse, Federal Bureau of Investigation, who am I speaking to?" The voice on the phone, a grizzled sounding man answered me, asking the question I expected.
I spoke bravely, and tried to shush down Kate's cries.
"This is Max Caulfield, my friends and I need your help. It's about Mark Jefferson."
"Where are you?"
"Mark Jefferson has been put on Death Row."
"After a shocking discovery by a group of teenagers in Arcadia Bay, it's been discovered that Jefferson had a secret bunker where he took kidnapped and drugged girls, and where he kept every piece of evidence of his crimes and disgusting behavior. He has been put on death row, and is expected to be put to death within the week. The list of girls kidnapped by Mark Jefferson are as follows-"
That was the point where I turned off the television.
Kate and I were seated in her dorm room, neither of us actually looking at the television, Kate looking into her lap as I held her.
She hadn't said anything since the agents interviewed us, and I just took over.
I spoke to the agents and the cops, I spoke to her parents, and I stood back as Kate hugged her sisters as hard as she could.
She and I went back to her dorm to grab her bunny and some clothes, as she was going to spend the night with her family.
Along the way, we found ourselves watching the emergency news report as this chapter of our lives fell closed.
I only wish I could do more for Kate, so I just held her.
"Max… thank you."
"Always Kate." And I meant it, as I held her through the sadness, and promised myself that I would pay a final visit to that bastard Jefferson for what he had done.
I had sent him off early, and now I knew so much more of what he had done.
I wasn't done with him yet.
"No, really Max… I don't know where I would be if you hadn't helped me… I could be dead right now Max… You could be dead… I-" She muttered in almost fear and shock as she looked into my eyes, her lip quivering as she thought about all that could have gone wrong, her heart beating faster than I thought possible.
I couldn't let her get like this, I couldn't let her life be ruled by that bastard's actions.
So I did the only thing I could do.
I kissed her.