"Dad had a storm shelter built a few months back," Nathan says as they pull up the long, winding driveway leading to the Prescott mansion.
Nathan's pickup truck is green in this universe. Same license plate, same model, same everything else, just green instead of red. It's such a small difference, like his blue jacket, Max isn't sure why it would change but it makes her uneasy all the same. Not as uneasy as the fact that he's actually being nice to her, but still...
'Good to see his house is still the same...'
"I just thought he was being overly prepared or something until all this freaky shit started happening," he finishes.
"This freaky shit just started happening like a week ago," Victoria interjects. "When did you say your dad had the shelter built?"
Nathan shrugs. "I don't know, like a few months ago? Maybe April or May?"
Something clicks in Max's brain. April or May, April or May… "Same time Rachel went missing," she mumbles aloud. It's too much of a coincidence not to be the case. But why?
"What does she have to do with any of this anyway?" Nathan asks. "You said you were looking for her, right? Why?"
"We were looking for her back in my timeline," Max says. "She was Chloe's... girlfriend. Or something, I don't know for sure. She was looking for her before, just when I came along..."
"You made things a hell of a lot easier, huh," Victoria finishes, running a hand through her hair.
Max nods. "She's… connected to all this. Somehow. Rachel missing, what happened to Kate-"
"Kate?" Nathan interrupts. "What happened to Kate? Other than… you know."
Max stares at him but he doesn't seem to be lying. Does he really not know? "She got dosed at a Vortex party," she says. "Weren't you... I mean in my timeline it was you who..." She's not sure why she's so hesitant to say it. This Nathan and her Nathan – they can't honestly be that different. Can they?
"Who, me?" Nathan sputters indignantly. "Why would I do that?"
"I don't know! You tell me!" Max shouts in return. She doesn't know anything anymore! Nothing's supposed to be this way! Nathan isn't supposed to be helping her and Victoria isn't supposed to be sitting next to her, warm and strong with such a sad look on her face. And it's so frustrating because nothing makes sense but she can't…
She can't help but wonder what it could have been like in her own world. How could it have been? She and Victoria never needed to be enemies but could they really have been friends?
"Maxie, come on," Nathan all but pleads and it's just so bizarre, it makes Max want to scream. "You know me. I wouldn't do something like that."
Max bites her lip. She doesn't know and that's the whole problem. "Yeah, well," she starts slowly. "Someone did something to her and it's the same person who did something to Rachel. Only Rachel never came back."
"Okay, fine," Victoria says. "Doesn't explain how is finding her is going to fix anything. Magic time travel powers notwithstanding, teenage girls can't generally influence the fucking weather."
"What else are we supposed to do?" Max says. "Even if Rachel can't fix everything, at least we're doing some good by finding her."
"If we find her."
Max sighs heavily. "Victoria," she warns.
"Hey, I'm just saying! She's been missing for months. Most of those people don't get found. Not alive anyway."
"Guess we'll find out," Nathan says, cutting the engine and ending any further discussion.
The three of them step out of the truck, Prescott's mansion looking before them. The doors are far too large and the style is clearly too European for a town like Arcadia Bay but at least it's the same. At least this makes sense.
"Passcode's gotta be somewhere in my old man's office," Nathan says. "In and out and he never has to know."
Max lags behind as he and Victoria head for the door. The sky's darker than before. When she looks, there aren't two moons anymore – there isn't a moon at all. It's been completely blocked by thick, black clouds.
"Maxine," Victoria calls. "You coming?"
Max hesitates. She feels… something. Like something's coming.
She hurries to catch up with the others. They're running out of time.
The study looks much the same as the rest of the house – large, clean, and clearly European styled. Book shelves line the walls, filled to the brim with priceless first edition dictionaries that have clearly never been opened yet there's not a speck of dust on them. A single desk sits in the center of the room between two large windows. Between the windows, a portrait of the entire Prescott family hangs high above their heads. Despite the extra furniture and all the books, the room feels empty – hollow.
Nathan clicks on the light. It doesn't help to alleviate the sense of emptiness. "It's gotta be in his desk somewhere," he mutters.
"Nathan?" someone calls from outside.
"Shit!" Victoria hisses.
"Keep looking," Nathan whispers. He peeks his head outside. "I'll distract him. Find the code and meet me outside, okay?"
With that, he clicks off the light and walks abruptly through the double doors, closing them softly behind him.
Victoria and Max exchange a glance before taking out their phones to use as flashlights. Well, this could have gone better.
"Come on," Victoria says. "Let's just find it and go."
She makes a beeline for the desk, leaving Max to sift through the bookshelves in silence. Outside, she can barely hear Nathan and his dad but she can't make out what they're saying. Wind beats against the windows, thunder rumbling in the distance.
"Anything?" Max asks after what feels like several minutes. It's only been two, according to her phone.
"No," Victoria snaps. "Just keep looking, okay? If I find anything, you'll be the first to know."
Max frowns, but does as she's told. This is certainly different from this afternoon.
'It's what I'm used to at least,' she thinks to herself. The thought gives her little comfort.
It had been… weird, to say the least. Weird, confusing, a horrifying nightmare, really, finding herself in Victoria's arms a half hour after being asked to kill her best friend. God, Chloe…
Max swallows thickly. What if this is really it? What if she can't save Chloe this time? What if…?
"Hey," Victoria calls gently and it's only then that Max realizes she's been crying. "You okay?"
Max wipes her eyes furiously. There's no time for this; she has to focus. "Yeah," she says. "I'm fine."
Victoria's quiet for a moment. "You know, you always do that," she says. "You get this tunnel vision when you find something you wanna do and then nothing else matters and you won't let any of us help you."
"I…" Max isn't sure what to say. She's not the one Victoria's talking about, not the Max she'd been friends with. How different are they? "What was she like?" she asks. "The other Max, what was she like?"
Victoria smiles sadly as Max gives her full attention. "Pretty much the same," she says, riffling through the drawers. "Stubborn, a total nerd, absolutely no fashion sense."
Max rolls her eyes. "Gee thanks."
Victoria gives her a little teasing wink. "But I liked that about you, after we started talking," she says. "You had this whole 'I don't care what anybody thinks of me' thing going on. Kind of admired that, you know?"
Max has to hold back a snort of disbelief. "You? Admire me?"
"I know, I can't believe it either," Victoria says. "But you were cool to me. You never made fun of my um... hobbies."
Max's mind flashes back to the pink box with the little anime character on it. She really did get that for Victoria, hadn't she.
"I never had to worry about being perfect for you," Victoria continues. "I could just be myself. I loved that about you."
Max bites her lip. This is kind of dangerous territory, isn't it? "Did you... with me I mean, were we...?"
"Do you always jump to conclusions?"
Max doesn't point out that jumping to conclusions is pretty much the only reason they're here in the first place.
"For the record," Victoria continues. "No, we're just friends."
Max feels her heart drop but she's not really sure why.
"But I always wanted more."
Oh.
Heat rises to Max's cheeks and she can't stop herself from smiling but she has no idea why this makes her happy the way it does.
She doesn't have time to dwell. Her phone buzzes a moment later, a text from Nathan reading 'Get out now' popping up on the screen.
Max feels the blood drain from her face. "We gotta go, like now."
"Hang on." Victoria pulls out a framed picture from the bottom drawer. "I might have found something."
"Victoria, we don't have anymore time." Max jogs over to see her trying to pry the back off of the frame. Footsteps echo down the hallway. "We need to leave."
"Just, give me a second, okay? I almost-" Snap! A small slip of paper falls out of the cracked frame. "Got it!"
Max grabs the paper and Victoria's hand. "That's awesome, but we gotta bail," she says, dragging her to the window. She pries it open just as the doorknob starts to turn behind her. A gust of wind scatters every loose paper on the desk. It's not the right time, yet, they should have more time.
The door flies open with a crack. Victoria leaps through the window, pulling Max down with her. "Hey!" Sean shouts behind them. "Who are you? What are you doing?"
"Shit!" There's no time. They sprint down the driveway, Nathan's green truck already running.
"Come on!" he shouts from the driver's seat.
Then…
"Ahh!"
Max doubles over, white hot pain shooting through her head like a bullet. It's too familiar, too much like the burning. Her vision blurs then fades then changes all together.
"Max?" Victoria's shouts sound so distant. Max can barely hear her, can barely feel the strong grip around her shoulders.
Images flash. Wind and rain and thunder and lightning; a stray bench hits the lighthouse and knocks it down. Trees fall as the storm approaches the shoreline.
"Max! Get up!"
Max blinks and the images are gone. There's a metallic taste on the tip of her tongue and she knows her nose is bleeding.
"Max, are you okay?" Victoria shouts, arms around Max's waist, half carrying her the rest of the way to the truck.
"I… I think so," Max whispers, voice ragged. "It's here."
A raindrop hits her face then another and then suddenly, it's pouring and hailing. Lightning flashes overhead.
The storm is here.
Rain beats against the old barn like a Gatling gun, so ferocious Max is surprised it doesn't completely tear the building from its foundation and carry it away. The front doors are locked, but there's a hole in the wall barely covered by metal sheets.
"Why does your family even have a barn?" Max can't help but ask once they're inside.
Nathan shrugs. "Been in the family, I guess?" he says, heading to the other side of the barn. "Come on, it's this way."
Max makes to follow but Victoria catches her shoulder before she can. "Are you really okay?" she asks.
Max shifts her weight, not entirely sure how to respond. She's not all right – she hasn't been since she got here – but she can't just stop now. Chloe, Rachel, the entire frigging town, they're all counting on her right now.
"I'm fine," she says.
Victoria bites her lip, less than convinced, but she lets the subject drop. "Just… if you start getting all weird again, tell us, okay? Let us help you."
Max would have never thought Victoria would ever say those words but they're surprisingly comforting. Maybe it's the storm raging outside or the sense of dread that's been hanging over her since before she even got here, but right now, Max is glad she has Victoria here with her.
She takes the hand on her shoulder and traces her thumb over Victoria's fingers. "I will," she says.
"Uh, guys?" Nathan calls. "Not to ruin your moment, but aren't we in a hurry?"
Victoria gives Max a secret smirk and rolls her eyes. "Come on," she says. "Can't keep his highness waiting."
Despite everything, Max cracks half a smile.
"It's actually a cellar underneath the barn," Nathan says as soon as they catch up. He kicks away some of the hay, revealing a metal trapdoor that's way too new to fit with the rest of the barn. "One time, my dad asked me to bring some stuff over for the construction crew but I've never actually been all the way inside."
Max kneels down to inspect the hatch but there's not much to look at other than the heavy padlock keeping it shut. "Well, none of us are getting inside with this thing in the way."
"Oh Max of little faith," Nathan says, reaching into his pocket. Just when Max is about to ask, he pulls out a shiny, bronze key. "What did you think I was doing while you two were flirting in my dad's study?"
"Uh, distracting him?" Victoria interjects, plucking the key from his hand. "No wonder we almost got caught."
Nathan pouts at her. "Hey, I did the best I could. This was just a parting gift."
"Where'd you even get it?" Max asks as Victoria hands her the key. It fits perfectly.
"It's not like he was trying to hide it; it was right on the key ring with all the others."
Max turns the key hesitantly. Something feels… off about all this.
Thunder crashes outside, shaking the barn to its core. They don't have a choice anymore.
The lock pops off and Max opens the hatch, exposing a hidden staircase. No turning back now.
"Are you sure this is a storm shelter?" Victoria asks. "It looks more like a bomb shelter."
It really does. There's enough food, water, and supplies down here to last for weeks, if not months. "Just how long has he known about the storm, anyway?" Max whispers mostly to herself.
"Beats me," Nathan answers anyway. He picks up a piece of paper set near the sink. "Good to see dear old dad leaves incredibly important personal documents just lying around. And never tells me about them in the first place."
"We can deal with your daddy issues if we all survive this," Victoria chides, walking past him and into the adjacent room.
Nathan pouts but doesn't respond. He pockets the paper anyway.
"Whoa," Victoria's voice comes from behind the curtain. "What the fuck is this?"
Max and Nathan hurry into the other room. It looks like a…
A photo shoot?
"What the fuck?" Max echoes, venturing further into the room. It's just like a photo shoot – extra lighting, plain white background, even a giant printer worth several thousand dollars at minimum. "Why is all this even in here?"
"I haven't… I've never seen any of this," Nathan whispers, shock apparent. If this stuff isn't for him, then who the hell's been using it?
"Don't suppose your dad has a secret photography hobby, does he?" Victoria asks, nervousness seeping into her voice.
"If he does, he hasn't told me."
Max inspects the room further but she finds herself wishing she hadn't. There are… things here, things that don't belong here. Newspaper articles about Rachel going missing and Kate's… suicide, a whole host of drugs and needles that look almost like… "Sedatives?"
Bang!
A sudden crash startles Max out of her reverie.
"What the fuck was that?" Victoria gasps.
Bang!
Another crash, almost like something hitting something else. Max whips around and stares at the cabinet behind the desk.
Bang!
A third hit and something like… muffled screaming?
"Someone's in there," she realizes.
"Maxine, wait!"
She doesn't. She can't. She sprints for the door and throws it open without a second thought. Something soft, like… like a person falls out and into her arms.
Rachel…?
"Oh my god…"
It… it is. It's really her…
Rachel looks up at her, eyes wide with fear. There's a bruise on her cheek and duct tape over her mouth, binding her arms and legs, but she's alive. She's really alive.
"Rachel…" Max whispers. She can't believe it. After all this time…
She helps Rachel down to the floor and tears the tape from her mouth before setting to work unbinding her hands and feet. She hardly notices when the other two make their way over to her. This is just… Rachel's really alive. She's alive and they found her.
Rachel coughs, trying to clear her throat but it sounds too dry. "We…" she tries to say but it's so hard to hear her. Has she been down here all these months? "We have to… we have to go…"
"We will," Nathan says. He kneels down, pocket knife in hand, and starts on the tape binding her limbs.
"I've got a bad feeling," Victoria says. She fidgets, glancing between Max on the floor and the doorway leading to the bunker filled with supplies. "We need to go like right now."
"Almost done," Nathan says, cutting through the tape tying Rachel's ankles.
"Are you okay?" Max asks Rachel but she seems half asleep. "Can you walk?"
Rachel nods, slowly, eyes unfocused. "I… I think so," she says. She tries to get to her feet but her legs collapse from underneath her.
"Don't force yourself," Nathan says. He loops an arm under her shoulders and helps her to her feet again.
"We… we need to-" Rachel coughs, cutting herself off. "There's a storm… it's…"
"Kinda late for that, don't you think?" Victoria chimes in.
Rachel's eyes widen. "What? But it's… it's too soon…"
"Apparently not," Victoria snaps. "Whatever, can we just get-"
A gunshot cracks through the air, louder than any storm could ever be.
No…
Blood spatters – on the walls, on the floor, on Max's face.
No, this…
Victoria falls to the ground, lifeless.
No, it… this…
'No, no, no this can't be happening!'
"Victoria..." Max's voice is strangled.
This can't… how could…
Tears blur her vision, legs refusing to hold her weight anymore. She collapses to the ground and Victoria's right there, she's right there, but she's not... It... it can't... she can't...
"Do try to control yourselves," a cold, all too familiar voice says calmly. Across the room, blocking the entrance to the bunker, Mr. Jefferson stands, gun in hand, indifferent frown plastered across his face. "We have a lot to talk about."
