Chloe had decided what felt like a long time ago that she was leaving Arcadia Bay for good, and that she had absolutely no intention of ever returning. So it felt strange to now be hurtling straight toward it along the
I-5 at almost seventy miles per hour. If it weren't for the possibility of seeing Joyce again, the fact that Max wanted so badly to be there would be the only thing keeping Chloe's foot weighed down on the pedal.

Ryan and Vanessa had at first been reluctant to let Max and Chloe drive back to the devastated town. However, they had warmed to the idea when they learned of the hospital and that some of Max's friends were still alive. Still, Ryan wouldn't let them go without an armful of food for the journey, and Vanessa had insisted they stick to the main roads and not stay too long. Oh and don't forget an umbrella in case it rains. And Chloe, remember to stop for breaks every two hours, and make sure to concentrate on the road. Oh and Max are you sure you'll be alright in those shoes? Would you prefer boots? Max's doting parents reminded Chloe so much of her own. And even though they could bug her to death between the four of them, Chloe really missed spending time with Joyce and William. She even managed to find it in herself to miss her stepfather David every so often.

Max, for once, seemed wide awake as she sat in the seat next to her. She had been controlling the car radio as they drove, playing a mix of what Chloe could only describe as "lame indie trash" and a few tame punk-rock songs which were obviously meant more for Chloe's entertainment than her own. During a particularly mellow song, in which the singer droned on about unrequited love or some bullshit, Chloe began to wonder how they got there in the first place. Max had said it all started when she used her powers in the bathroom the week before, which triggered a chain-reaction and ultimately led to the storm. But it went beyond that. Was it Nathan's fault for pulling the gun? No. Surely it was Chloe's fault for meeting him there in the first place. But that was only because Frank was being such a dick about the money she owed him… But then again, maybe Chloe shouldn't have borrowed money that she couldn't afford. But it was for a good cause! She and Rachel were going to run away to Los Angeles like she had always dreamed of. Chloe had done it for her! Had she? Come to think of it, Chloe couldn't even remember asking Rachel before blowing all that cash on getting the truck fixed.

"Chloe."

Jesus, Rachel had probably wanted to at least finish school before uprooting her life. Especially with her GPA. Fuck. Had Chloe been so caught up in her own dreams that she'd forgotten about the feelings of the one person she had ever loved in the world?

"Chloe!"

And shit, if she had actually been looking out for Rachel instead of dealing with dirt-bags like Frank and Nathan, Rachel might not have died. Then they wouldn't be in this shithole of a situation at all. Maybe Max could have met Rachel; they would have really liked each other, and they all could have-

"CHLOE FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Max shot over from the passenger side and yanked the steering wheel to the right. Chloe looked up just in time to see a doe darting out of the path of the truck. "What the hell is wrong with you, Chloe?" Max tried to hide her fear behind fury "Do you even realise you're going 90? On a dirt road?" Shit. Chloe eased her foot off the accelerator, which was almost touching the floor. Colour was allowed to flood back into her knuckles as she loosened her grip on the wheel.

"Sorry, Max." said Chloe. "I wasn't concentrating"

"It's okay." Max began to settle "You looked really intense there. What were you thinking about? It seemed like it made you really mad."

"Nothing, its fine." Chloe said.

"Are you sure? You don't wanna talk abo-"

"Max, just drop it." Chloe snapped, a little more sharply than she'd intended. Max started to say something, but decided against it and resigned to stare out the passenger window at the trees passing by. They drove in silence for the next few miles until, all at once, Arcadia Bay came into view. All things considered, it looked a lot better than it did when they left four days ago. The streets had now been mostly cleared, and the journey through the town was much more easily navigated. The hospital looked exactly as it had done the week before; a tall, off-white building that looked as though it could stand to be cleaned a few times. Once they'd reached the top of the hill, and could look down on the bay, it looked strikingly bare and dead. It wasn't until Max said "Look, all the trees are gone" that Chloe could pin-point what was missing.

Inside, the hospital seemed like any other; all the electronic signs were working and pointing to various wards, there was a janitor's mop and bucket just down the hall, and there was even a disgruntled-looking woman at reception. The only thing which Max and Chloe found unusual was the waiting room which was completely empty save for a small, tired-looking girl in mint-green scrubs and a hair bun running toward them with her arms outstretched.

"Max! Chloe! You're here!" Kate Marsh hugged Max and Chloe very tightly in turn "Oh, I'm so happy you got here safely! The road out of here must be a mess." Even though her eyes had dark circles under them, Kate seemed like she couldn't be happier to see two familiar faces "How have you two been holding up?"

"It… it was a bit tough for the first little while" said Chloe, glancing down at Max "But we're just trying to put the pieces back together. We're staying with Max's parents and they've been great." Max had taken hold of Chloe's hand and was leaning into her friend's side.

"Chloe has been amazing" she said to Kate. "She helps around the house and with the cooking every day. She even drove all the way here. I couldn't ask for a better… friend." Max paused before the word 'friend' and Kate noticed. Glancing cautiously down at the girls' hands, she offered to lead them to Warren's room.

The halls were relatively quiet, a few nurses flitted between rooms, and the janitor (who looked somehow familiar) had sectioned off a particularly messy room in the paediatrics ward. Kate's pace quickened as they made a left turn at the end of the hall.

"The burns unit?" Max said, warily. "Kate..?"

Kate remained silent until they reached room 409. She stopped by the door and turned to the two girls.

"Um…" Kate knotted her hands and stared at the floor "Listen, Warren is in a really bad way. Like…" She stopped and took a shuddering breath. "There was an electrical fire. Warren tried to get out but… but he… Well, you'll see." And Kate opened Warren's door.

Chloe hadn't seen anything like it; Warren had more wires and machines attached to him than she could count, various screens made beeping noises and drew graphs monitoring God knows what. But the worst part – the part that made Chloe's stomach turn – was the full-body cast that constricted Warren's entire body, only his head was showing. He saw them come in and tried his best to smile without wincing in pain. Wordlessly, Max rushed in and knelt by Warren's side, but the older girl stayed back, leaning on the door frame; watching. To no surprise of Chloe's, Max immediately started apologising to Warren through thick, flowing tears. As they talked, Max kept reaching to touch Warren's hand before realising that it was tightly bandaged. And even though Max was constantly wiping away tears, Chloe couldn't help but notice that this had been the most… energetic that she had been since the storm. And the way Max listened so intently to Warren and the way she absent-mindedly pushed her hair behind her ear caught Chloe's eye. Was she imagining things? Chloe was reminded so much of Rachel that she could almost see the blue feather hanging from Max's ear.

"Chloe?" Max's voice snapped her back in to reality. "Chloe come over here. Warren was just talking about what happened at the diner." Chloe's heart jumped at the mention of the diner, so she walked over and stood with Max next to Warren's bed. He smiled warmly, but the pained look in his eyes made Chloe feel apprehensive about the conversation to come.

"When the storm hit, I was eating at the diner with Joyce." Chloe nodded, numbly. "She and I took a few people in off the street and helped them if they were hurt. She was so selfless, Chloe. But at one point, there was an explosion and half of the diner collapsed. The other half began catching fire, so Joyce and I started helping the other get out, but… But then the rest of the roof came down on us, most of it was on fire. Joyce was behind me when it happened. I tried to get to her, but I was pinned down. I tried calling out to her, but she never called back."

"…And?" Chloe had tears in her eyes. "Then what happened?"

"Chloe…" Warren's brow furrowed and then relaxed into an apologetic gaze, "She didn't make it out. I'm so sorry." His voice cracked a little.

Chloe made a small choking sound and collapsed to her knees in a heap. Her chest made movements as though she was going to be sick, but all that came out of her mouth were painful, hoarse wails that brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room. To Chloe, it felt as though someone was squeezing her heart to try to stop it from beating and hitting her in the stomach at the same time. Her screams tried to fill the gaping hole inside of her that was already growing wider and deeper. The rest of Chloe's body went completely numb, she could hardly notice Max's arm around her shoulder and her soft voice in her ear.

After what could have been minutes or years, Chloe stopped crying. Her body was still numb, and her mouth was a thin line. She gazed silently out the window, watching as two birds talked to each other on the windowsill; a blue one and a golden one. A soft knock on the door behind them made Chloe jump, and she turned to see who it was.

"David!" Chloe burst in to tears again as she felt her stepfather's arms picking her up off the floor.

"Oh Chloe! I'm so happy to see you." He looked at Warren. "Did… Have you told them?" Warren nodded, his eyes now closed. "Oh my baby girl," said David, holding Chloe more tightly, "I am so, so sorry."

"How long have you been here? Where were you?" Chloe said through the tears which she was now wiping away. David suddenly was very downcast and his gaze drifted to the floor.

"About that… Chloe, there's something you need to know first. It's about your friend. Rachel, she-" Chloe felt an unbearable pang at the mention of her name, but Max cut in to spare her.

"We know, David" she said quickly. "We know."

"Oh, well I uh…" He stumbled over his words awkwardly and then continued. "Well, we found the guy who did it. It was one of the teachers up at Blackwell. Art teacher I think. Mark Jefferson. Anyway, I managed to track him down to this… sort of bunker type thing that he had going on underneath an old barn. Thing was filled to the roof with photography equipment and studio lights. This guy had the works down there. Now, by this time, the storm had already started, and I guess at some point the barn must have collapsed, 'cause I couldn't get out. And the thing was under so much concrete and steel, I couldn't even get a signal on my radio. Thankfully, the place was also filled to the brim with food and water, so that at least kept us alive. Rescue guys came and found us yesterday, they've been treating me for shock and hypothermia; and Jefferson's been taken down to county.

"Chloe, it was horrible down there, trapped with that maniac. Even though I had him strapped to a chair, I could barely sleep knowing what he'd done. And the only thing I could think was that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you weren't safe. And oh," he pulled Chloe close and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm so glad you are, Chloe."

Shortly after, Kate came back with sandwiches and sodas from the cafeteria. As the rest of them ate, Max asked her if she'd seen anyone else from Blackwell. At this question, Kate's expression became one of worry and a strange kind of anxiety that Chloe recognised all too well; she'd had that look in her eyes many times in her search for Rachel.

"Actually yeah." And the rest of them looked up, attentive. It seemed even Warren didn't know about this, yet. "Victoria Chase was one of the first people they brought in. She was really upset. She's… She's in surgery right now." **

Max gasped, "Surgery? Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah, I guess." Kate looked at the floor. "She had a pretty badly broken leg; they just need to get it set properly."

"Have you spoken to her?"

"A little." Kate's cheeks went red and she buried her face in her sandwich again. It had started to get late, and Max and Chloe decided they should leave. After a few more teary goodbyes, they ventured out into the hall again until they were stopped by Kate, who was running after them. She stopped them, and her voice was very solemn as she said, "Look, I don't know if Warren told you the full story. I don't even know if he knows the full story."

"What do you mean?" Said Max.

"Warren was buried under a lot of rubble; it took a long time for emergency services to find him. And by the time they did, his burns had been really badly infected. Like, really bad." Kate shuddered "There's not enough… healthy skin left to make any useful grafts, and…" She sighed, "I don't want to say he's got no chance, but… it doesn't look good." Kate's face was downcast now. "Look, you guys head home. I'll call you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay," said Chloe, Max seemed unable to speak, "Sure thing, Kate."

"Drive safe please?"

"Of course." Chloe turned to leave. "And try to get some sleep, Kate. You look really worn out." Kate smiled sheepishly as she waved goodbye.

As they walked through the parking lot, the low sun shielded by the remaining trees, Chloe felt the strong grip on her stomach growing steadily tighter. As they reached the car, she buckled over and heaved on to the gravel, her lunch and a fresh wave of tears forming a murky puddle on the ground.

** A/N: This is a link to another fic I'm currently planning which pertains to Kate and Victoria at the hospital. I'll start writing it as soon as I'm finished this one which should (hopefully) be within the next month or so, so please stay tuned for that!