Life is Strange: Overcoming the Trial
Chapter 7 of my Life is Strange story, enjoy.
Reviews
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: No worries; glad you enjoyed it :)
Marcus Redfield: I've noticed; glad you enjoyed it, well, we can only wait and see.
VincentNguyen1: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; glad you liked that bit, yeah, I know :)
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Life is Strange or its characters.
Chapter 7
Nathan sighed as he sat, waiting, waiting for the police to return, he had told them as much as he dared. But now things were getting harder; he, he wasn't sure how much more he could safely reveal. He had already been officially arrested after all, for Rachel's murder and rightly so. But the other stuff, he had not fully spoken about that. Just then he heard the door open and looked, surprised to see Victoria.
"You only have fifteen minutes." An officer was telling her. "You're lucky we're able to even offer that."
Victoria just nodded to the officer and entered, sitting opposite her.
Nathan was startled by her sudden arrival. "Victoria, what…?"
"Nathan, I've heard, I've been hearing so many things, I just wanted the truth."
Nathan bit his lip, unsure what to say, could he tell the truth, even if he knew it would hurt her greatly.
"Victoria I..."
She shook her head. "Please, tell me."
He bowed his head and admitted. "It's true, I, I'm the one who killed Rachel. But, but there's more..."
"I knew it, c'mon, tell me, please." She insisted.
Nathan groaned; but nodded; she was insistent and he couldn't deny her. He had to pay his debt to society of course, but the true instigator of these events was still walking free, unpunished, he had to rectify that, no matter how afraid he was. But could he tell the police, he was lost.
Finally, he made up his mind and finally made eye-contact with her.
"Victoria; there's, there's something going on. There's a, a hidden area in Arcadia Bay, turned into an underground bunker and a dark room." He explained.
"There, I helped the man behind all this, he was taking photos of girls, many of them drugged, all in pursuit of his goals."
Victoria gasped, horrified. "God, that's, Nathan, why would you…?"
He shook his head. "I just, he made me feel like he cared, that somebody actually cared about me. He made me think that since the girls didn't remember anything, there was nothing wrong. I was, I was stupid, it led to Rachel's death, and, and Kate..."
"Kate was one of them, then, that night?!" Victoria gasped in horror, suddenly realized the horrible gravity of her own actions.
Nathan nodded. "Yes, it, I can't just, tell the police, what if he…?"
"Who, Nathan, who is this man?"
Nathan trembled but then spoke. "Mark, Mark Jefferson."
Victoria froze, Nathan nodded sadly. "It's true, but, if he, if he..."
"Nathan, you, you have to tell them the truth, he, he has to pay for what he has done." Victoria said at last.
Nathan was startled by this but then bit his lip; seeing her expression, it gave him the boost of confidence he needed.
Victoria sat in class, glaring as Nathan's words echoed in her mind.
"Victoria, did you hear me?" Taylor asked, confused.
She started and turned to her friend. "Sorry, I was, lost in thought."
Taylor shook her head. "Clearly, I asked how your visit to Nathan went."
"Oh, it was, he told me...everything." She replied.
Taylor tilted her head, confused by Victoria's cryptic comment. Before she could ask anymore, Jefferson entered the classroom. He prepared to begin the lesson, everybody watching him, Victoria glared, now aware of the truth.
'Just look at him, so smug, thinking he can get away with everything.' Victoria thought angrily. 'I know what you've done now, bastard, to think I once, urgh Kate, I should've guessed, why did I…?'
She shook her head and tried to focus on the lesson. But the guilt and shock still gnawed within her. However, right now, the one thing she wanted was for justice to be done. She only prayed that Nathan truly had informed the police of the whole truth. As if her prayers were answered, at that moment there was a knock on the door and two police officers entered.
"Mark Jefferson?" One of them queried by way of greeting.
By now everybody was watching and clearly surprised. He turned to them.
"Yes, can I help you?"
The other officer spoke. "We'd like to talk, in private please."
Still surprised Jefferson agreed and left the classroom, Victoria smirked, knowing what was about to happen, justice was very swift these days.
David sighed, he had no idea what he was doing, he'd admit that. But these past few days had been hard. Justice was finally done, Jefferson had been exposed as the real culprit behind what was going on, Nathan had admitted his role in things, the Dark Room and it's contents had been found.
However that didn't change the fact that it was too late to save Rachel Amber, that Max Caulfield still hovered between life and death. It was all taking its toll; on everyone involved. Some, like Chloe, were certainly taking it harder than others.
Following her breakdown after the funeral, it was clear that she was trying hard to overcome her rage and troubles, but they were still weighing her down and everything going on was just intensifying those feelings.
'I'm no good at this sort of thing, but, I gotta at least try, for Chloe's sake.' He thought to himself.
That was how he found himself, having seen Chloe seated at the dining table, merely picking at her food, sitting opposite her. Chloe looked up at that moment.
"Huh, what?" She mumbled, clearly startled, yet not quite with it.
David sighed. "Chloe; I get we've had our, problems. But I'd rather put that behind us, after all this. There's more important things to be focusing on."
Chloe nodded slowly. "I...I know what you mean..."
"Listen, if you ever need any help, I can..." He began, trying to think of the right way to say things.
Chloe however surprised him by blurting out. "I'm sorry...Really David, I'm sorry, I just, well."
Still a little taken aback he nodded. "I get it, thank you."
She managed a small smile, hopefully things could get better after all.
At the hospital, Ryan and Vanessa waited anxiously outside their daughter's ward. They had been by Max's side practically ever since arriving. Not only them, Chloe came by to visit every day, as did other students from Blackwell. Most prominent amongst those students were Kate Marsh and Warren Graham, whom the married couple got to know quite well.
It was soon clear to them just how deep Warren's feelings for Max ran, they were glad to see someone care for their daughter so much. Right now however, they were waiting outside as the doctors had to perform some more tests.
It was only when a doctor emerged from the room that the couple stirred from their silent vigil.
"Doctor, is she…?" Vanessa asked at once.
The doctor replied, professional as ever. "I'm afraid your daughter is still in a coma, Mrs. Caulfield. However, there is definite signs of improvement, scans show an increase in brain activity and her body is reacting more to outside stimulus...We may be looking at a very real chance of recovery. But we cannot say for definite when."
The two of them let out relieved sighs, just the hope that Max would recover was sufficient for them. It was something to hold on to after all.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.