Chapter 4: Ouroboros

CHLOE:

Max drooped in my arms as I carried her to Rachel and I's cinder block hideout. For a small girl, she wasn't light.

I placed her gently on an old futon, "Max...please wake up!"

She didn't even move, she was out cold.

'Shit shit shit.'

I paced back and forth, biting my nails. I didn't take my eyes off of her.

She came to eventually.

"W-what happened?" She tried to sit up and I stopped her.

"Wait, Max. Just lie down, you passed out."

She stared at me, and her face contorted, "She was right there, Chloe."

"Just breathe, Max. It's okay..."

Then she dropped a complete bomb-shell on me, "Chloe, I can manipulate time."

It got so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

My chest panged with concern, "Max, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm telling the truth, Chloe. I'm not a psychic, I know all these things because I already experienced them once."

I struggled to believe her, but I wanted to, I really did. Too much unexplainable shit had happened for it not to be real.

"Experienced them once? What do you mean?"

She sighed, "Chloe...I watched you die, several times. Nathan killed you in that bathroom, and I know about how he drugged you."

I clasped my hands over my head, "Max, stop...please."

"There's something I need you to read."

She looked around, as if she was searching for something.

"Have you seen my bag?"

My constricted throat hardly allowed me to speak, "Uh, I think you left it in my truck. I'll get it, just stay there."

I grabbed her bag and brought it back, almost tripping on a stray rock on the way.

I handed the bag to her. She sat up and rummaged through it, pulling out a journal.

She held it up, "This, will explain everything much better than I verbally can," and then she handed it to me.

I flipped through the pages, it became harder and harder to read as I went on, because my vision had blurred from tears.

This will be the weirdest journal entry I will ever make...

I woke up this morning a different person...

Dear Diary... I have the power to rewind time...

These entries kept coming, one after another.

We've been through so much together and we might go through more, depending on how this all ends, either in Heaven or Hella. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I have to admit, I chuckled at that one as I thought about it later.

I closed the journal and looked at up Max, who there sat fidgeting.

I tried to speak, but the words couldn't escape my lips. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks and I didn't bother wiping them away.

'She'd gone through so much...just to keep me alive, she'd seen me die so many times.' I still had an ounce of doubt though, being the skeptic that I was.

I tried to speak again with a squeezed throat, "Max...I matter that much to you? Jesus...you-you've gone through hell and back, for me? Why'd you do it?"

Her eyes swam with tears, "Chloe, I did it all because...because...I love you."

I took a step back, "You...love me?"

She got up and stood before me, her blue eyes melted into my soul.

She leaned forward on her tiptoes, and pressed her warm lips against mine. The air went electric as my heart fluttered in my chest. An unbelievable feeling of warmth and fuzziness surged through my body, her warmth.

I think I loved her too.

She pulled back from me gently, a very small strand of saliva strung between our mouths. Her eyes gazed into mine. Gazing into her eyes was like looking into the stars, they seemed infinite in depth.

She whispered, "I love you, Chloe."

I felt my eyes widen, "Woah, I didn't know you leaned that way."

"I do around you," the corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

Her smile faded into a melancholic gaze after a moment.

"Chloe...I think Rachel's alive."

My mouth fell open, words couldn't escape once more.

"You read about the snowstorm and the freak eclipse right?"

I nodded, my eyes still fixated on hers.

"The snowstorm was supposed to happen today, and it didn't. The eclipse probably won't happen either. I think the storm you dreamt about...isn't coming. I-I don't know how, but I think I fixed things! That storm was the whole reason I started over, to prevent it."

She jumped up in excitement, her hands grasped my forearms, "I did it! I beat the system!"

She let go of me and giddily paced around the room with an ear to ear grin on her face.

I blinked at her, "Your journal mentioned a dark room and Mark Jefferson...he took Rachel there?"

Her pacing ceased and she looked up at me, "Yeah, and we're going to bust him for it."

I tilted my head, "We are?"

"Yes, we're the only ones who can. He's gonna get what's coming to him."

I grinned, "Fuckin' a-right he is, Nathan too."

"We're going to need proof, luckily I know just where to find some."

"Like I said earlier, Max. You're a badass."

The corners of her mouth turned up, "I'm your badass, Chloe."

I winced internally. I had just realized a love for Max, but a small part of me still belonged to Rachel...I didn't know how to feel about it.

I remembered what else I had brought Max here for, and fumbled for my phone.

"Hey, Max. You should see this."

She came to my side as I held the phone in front of us, and a video started playing.

It was a poorly taken, shaky cellphone video of what happened when Max stopped me from going into the bathroom, the motherfucker who took the video didn't even know how to hold still.

It was posted on Youtube, titled, "Fast times at Blackwell."

Both of us cringed all-throughout the painful, 3 and a half minute video.

The comments were even more painful to read:

Yo who's the blue haired chick? I need to know...for research purposes.

There was a reply to the above comment, Thats Chloe Price I think. Resorted to prostitution I see.

Other comments read:

I can totally see why Nathan'd wanna pork that chick. She's fucking hot.

That shorter bitch got in the way of a good bangin'

Only nathan would stoop so low as to banging somebody like her.

One anonymous comment read:

I totally graffitied Max's dorm room.

The comments went on and on and on, there were dozens more of them.

Her mouth gaped open, as blood rushed to her face, leaving her cheeks a rose color, "They think it was…"

Shame hit me like a semi-truck, leaving my cheeks the same rose color, "Yeah, they do."

Her jaw clenched, "That is such..."

"Bullshit? Yeah, Max...it is..."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled, "How could they even think you were prostituting yourself to him?"

I placed my hand on her shoulder, "Because, Max. They're fucking idiots, all of them. They jumped to conclusions...if only they were jumping off bridges."

"So, that's why I was getting shit all day at school."

"What? Who was giving you shit? Tell me so I can kick their asses," I cracked my knuckles.

She half-smiled, "Oh, it isn't important, Chloe. Things are finally falling into place."

I sighed, "So...how do we get dirt on Jefferson?"

"Uh..." she scratched her head, "I'm pretty sure your 'step-dick' is keeping a ton of files on a bunch of Blackwell students, we could start there. I also just so happen to know where the dark room is."

"That paranoid bastard...where is this 'dark room?'"

"By Twin Rocks County Park, it's an abandoned barn. A bit of a drive."

"I'd rather start there, we can snoop through my step-douche's shit later."

"Sounds like a plan, partner in time."

I raised an eyebrow, "Partner in time? I like it. Lead the way, partner in time," I gestured towards my truck.

She smiled, "One second."

A marker came from her back pocket and she wrote on the cinder block wall beneath Rachel and I's names.

Chloe was here

Rachel was here

She wrote with a flourish:

Max was here

MAX:

Chloe rubbed her eyes which were fixated on the moving black tarmac ahead of us. The road was dimly lit by the orange sun.

"Shit. I'm hella exhausted. I didn't even sleep last night, we should probably just go home."

"Yeah, I feel ya. Need me to drive?"

She looked heavenward, "Holy shit...yes. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay awake."

It was around 6 P.M. but I felt her pain, I wasn't much better off myself.

I pointed to the highway's shoulder, "Just pull over there, I'll take it from here."

"Sweet Jesus, you're a lifesaver, Max."

She pulled over and turned on the hazard lights as we swapped places.

I sat in the driver's seat, which was still warm, "Damn, Chloe. When did you get so tall?"

"When did you get so short?" she countered.

I adjusted the seat's position and mirrors and we set off again; I almost forgot to turn off the hazards.

When I glanced down at the clutch pedal I uttered, "It's a good thing I learned to drive on a standard transmission car."

Chloe scooted towards me and rested her head on my shoulder, her blue hair draping over it, "Everybody should learn that way."

A soft snore escaped her not soon after.

She looked so serene; I could really see the eyeshadow she'd applied to her eyelids, a charcoal black.

I parked in the driveway in front of Chloe's house about 30 minutes later, taking off my seatbelt as I did, one thing Chloe never wears.

The sun's rays of dim light spread out through the rear window. Tiny particles of dust floated around, made visible by the light.

She stirred awake, stretching out her arms and yawning, "We there?"

"Yeah."

"You can crash on my bed again, weary time traveler."

'She's taking this whole time travel thing very well, I'm glad I showed her my notebook."

"How do you do it, Max? Time machine?"

I blew air through my nose, "No, if only if it were that simple. Not...that inventing a time machine'd be simple."

She jerked a thumb towards herself, "Yeah, or else I would've invented one already."

I grinned, "So no, it isn't a time machine. It's just me, myself, and I...and an inexplicable ability to bend time."

Chloe traced circles on her palm, "I still can't get over it, Max. I mean, seriously...you've saved my life how many times now?"

"I lost count."

"My point exactly, you're a superhero...Super-Max."

I grinned from ear to ear, looking down at my lap, "And you're my faithful sidekick."

She nodded her head towards her house, "Let's go inside. I guess while we're in there, we can rummage through step-dick's vintage porn collection...I mean...evidence."

I elbowed her in the shoulder, "Oh come on, we both know David doesn't keep his vintage porn collection in the garage."

She chuckled, "I know, he keeps it in the attic."

She opened the truck door and stepped out, stretching her arms out wide and yawning, "Shit, I feel like I could sleep forever."

I agreed as I got out of the truck, turning it off and pulling the handbrake, "I feel like I haven't slept in forever."

"You know what, Max? As much as I don't want to waste time, I'm about to pass out. Like, seriously dude...I'm beat."

I yawned, "Let's just put off our detective work until tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan, man."

Even though it wasn't late, we both went straight up to her bedroom and dropped ourselves onto her bed without bothering to take our clothes off.

As I drifted off into the dream world, the lighthouse came into view. The rising sun showered everything in a warm, orange hue. I stood amongst the trees, facing in the direction of Arcadia Bay.

'Golden hour,' I raised the Polaroid that hung around my neck and aimed it towards the bench that sat at the base of the lighthouse.

The camera clicked and flashed, and the instant picture came out from beneath it.

As it developed, I noticed something in the picture that wasn't there a moment ago.

Someone was sitting there in the picture, in a dark hoodie.

I looked up from the picture and saw the same figure seated on the bench before me, leaning forward on its elbows.

My legs carried me closer, noticing the long, wavy brown hair that hung down from the figure's head. It looked very masculine in stature, broad shouldered and muscular.

I sat beside what I now knew was a he, as he stared ahead towards the distant Arcadia Bay.

"Who are you?" Hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

He turned to face me and brushed aside a lock of hair that fell in his face. His hair was even longer than mine, going well past his shoulders.

His blue eyes pierced my soul, slight dark circles beneath them. Freckles dotted his cheeks, which were partly obscured by a small amount of stubble on his angular face. His hoodie bore an illegible black and white band logo; torn blue jeans and skater shoes accompanied it. He was obviously some sort of rebel.

"Hello, Maxine...I'm you," his voice was deep, but gentle and comforting.

I raised my eyebrows, "You're me? But you're a guy."

He dug a hand out of his hoodie pocket and extended it to me, revealing a tattoo of a snake devouring its own tail on the back of it.

He cleared his throat, "Maxwell Caulfield, pleased to meet you."

I extended my hand and grasped his, shaking it loosely.

I blinked, "Max...well?"

He chuckled, "I know it's off-putting, but I'm from a timeline where I...we, were born male."

My mouth fell agape, "That's not possible."

"Anything's possible, Maxine."

My breaths became shallow, "W-what about Chloe?"

He grinned, "Still female, and punk as ever."

"Is...is this real?"

"It's as real as you make it, my female counterpart."

I asked with hesitation after a pause, "Are you two…"

"Together? Yes," he held up his hand with fingers spread, displaying a wedding ring on his ring finger.

"And Rachel?"

He took in a long, deep breath and exhaled, "I couldn't save her, but you did."

"Yeah, but...I don't even know what I did. It's like I broke time, to my advantage. I...guess I'm not complaining..."

"I think I know what happened," he stroked his chin.

"What?"

"However you did it, I don't know. But I don't think the Nathan in your timeline was quite as involved with Jefferson as before."

"I didn't do anything, Max," these words rolled off my tongue, leaving a strange taste in my mouth.

He looked away from me and back towards the Bay, "He never had the chance to overdose Rachel."

"Which means she's alive, question is: Where is she?"

He glanced at the tattoo on his right hand as if it were a wristwatch, "I'm afraid you'll have to figure that one out."

I pointed at it, "That tattoo, what does it represent?"

"This?" he traced a finger over it.

"It's an Ouroboros, it represents infinity...wholeness. How time is infinite...how I'm only whole when I'm with Chloe. I'm going to spend eternity with her."

Silence followed, except for a high-pitched bird song and the distant crashing of waves.

I pondered for a moment, "Why is it that Nathan wasn't so involved with Jefferson?"

He turned to me again as he faded, becoming transparent like a spectre. His voice became more and more distant, "It's time for you to wake up, Maxine."

I opened my eyes, wincing as rays of light met my corneas.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," I glanced over towards the sound of Chloe's voice, she was seated at her computer.

The events of the dream were stilled ingrained in my mind, a powerful feeling of euphoria hit me as I blurted, "Ouroboros."

She turned towards me and tilted her head, "Huh? Are you okay, dude?"

I snapped out of it, "What?"

"You said something...Ouroboros?"

I blushed as I propped myself up on my elbows, "Uh, it's a symbol for wholeness or infinity."

She turned back to her computer, "How do you spell it?"

Mysteriously knowing how to spell it, I told her, "Uh, O-U-R-O-"

I paused as she hit the keys, "Uh huh."

"B-O-R-O-S"

Image after image popped up on the screen; I now stood by her side.

Her eyes flashed in surprise, "Oh hey! I've seen this before, a band I listen to sometimes uses it."

"What band?"

"It isn't important, you'd probably hate it."

She cleared her throat, "That symbol'd make a badass tattoo. Anyways, how'd you sleep?" She inquired, closing the ouroboros tab.

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, I guess. I had the weirdest dream though."

She spun in her chair to face me and leaned forward, hands gripping the armrests, "What was it?"

I sucked my teeth, "Uh, I met a male version of myself named Maxwell."

She half grinned, "A male version? What was he like?"

"Um...he had longer hair than me, broad-shouldered. He was one of those headbanger types."

"Really? You dreamt this?"

"Yeah, he was really nice too. He talked to me about you, Rachel, and a few other people."

She raised an eyebrow, "What did he say about me?"

I smirked, "He said that you and him are together."

Her jaw dropped, "Together?"

"Yeah, together."

She narrowed her eyes, "Are...we together?"

I gulped, "I...don't know."

She pondered for a moment, "Shit, I don't know either, Max. I love you, but a part of me still loves Rachel too...I have to admit, though, I enjoyed our kiss."

I slouched, "I completely understand, and yeah...I enjoyed it too."

She shook her head, "I'm sorry. I...I just feel guilty about it, what if she still loves me?"

I frowned, "I guess we'd be at a crossroads."

"I wouldn't be able to choose."

"I know...I'd choose for you. I'd let you be with her."

Forever.