Mind over Matter, from the song by Pvris (I was listening to the acoustic version because Max Caulfield and acoustic guitar reasons)
Max was running through the woods, frantic as she felt the blood saturate her clothing. Panting desperately, Max felt her lungs seize as she was unable to catch her breath and fell to the ground with the dying girl that had she had been holding onto falling ahead of her in a tangled mess of broken bones and tattered clothing. Sniffling, her face covered in blood and mud from the rain, the endless rain, Max dragged herself forward as she reached to pull the rasping girl to her. Pulling at the girl's shoulder, Max turned her around to see Victoria Chase staring at her with eyes fading as the last spark of life escaped her.
"No!" Max cried, squinting as a bolt of lightning illuminated the forest so intensely that she had to shield her eyes. Opening her eyes slowly, Max saw the prone form in front of her begin to take focus as her eyes adjusted and Max screamed. The body before her was no longer Victoria's, but rather Kate's. A small, slender hand reached out only to brush its fingers on Max's cheek before the last gasps of air began to escape from Kate's small form. A single weak smile a moment before dying in front of Max, Kate's head lay down as though she were taking a long-needed nap. Max watched in terror as the girl seemed to change before her, and Max slid herself back as the bleeding form of her fiancé began to crawl after her.
Sickened, yellow eyes glowing in the dark of night, Max felt her heart thunder as a feral Chloe Price hissed at her while scrambling after her, her hands clawing at the air before clawing on the ground to move towards Max.
"Chloe, no. C-Chloe…please, please no," Max uttered, her voice so weak and saddened that her words almost came out as a whisper. Feeling something brush against her feet, Max looked back to see that she was backed up against a fence before looking forward to see Chloe's hissing face mere inches away from her own. Ratty blue hair, torn up clothes that looked like they had once been the attire Max remembered so well, Chloe smiled with a mouth of blackened gums and yellow fangs.
"Chloe…please," Max begged, looking for a hint of reason before screaming as Chloe plunged her fangs into Max's neck. Max writhed in pain and fell the ground fall away from under her body, falling through the hole of rotted and weakened floor boards back in Seattle with Chloe Price latched onto her neck. Max felt blood pour down her neck as Chloe pulled back and looked at Max with a bloody mouth and teary blue eyes.
"God, Max, I'm so sorry. Max. Max!"
"Max! Hey, Max! Snap out of it!" a voice said, Max thrashing about as she woke up on the hospital floor, having nodded off, her arms raised in defense as she looked up and saw a worried Chloe Price looming over her. Seeing the look of concern on her fiancé's face, Max felt her lip tremble before breaking into a horrified sob, wailing as the nightmare and what happened at Blackwell hit her in the forefront of her mind. Not caring about the looks the nurses were giving her, Max just sat on the floor with her arms hung loose at her sides and bawled her eyes out, Chloe quickly dropping down to latch onto her precious Max in a fiercely protective hug.
"Leave us the fuck alone!" Chloe snapped at the approaching nurse, trying to get the crying Max to calm down only to flinch at the look of menace on Chloe's face, "What happened?!"
"She came in with a bleeding girl who had sustained massive trauma. The girl is in the ER right now being treated, your friend there had something of a break down in the restroom down the hall. She shattered the mirror only to go back in a few minutes later and start screaming. We tried to get her to calm down, but all she wanted to do was sit there so she could have a good view of the doors leading outside," the nurse said, taking a step back as Chloe pulled a catatonic Max up to her feet.
"Just stay back," Chloe said adamantly, sweeping an arm behind Max's legs so that she was carrying Max like she had been when they were fooling around at Blackwell as she looked down at Max with remorse, "She shouldn't have to deal with this shit. D'you hear?! She shouldn't have to deal with any of this shit!"
"Miss, I need you to calm down-"
"Shut up!" Chloe snapped, storming away as Max reflexively curled up next to Chloe, her tears turning red as they continued to flow, "Max…"
Chloe saw two police officers approach and Max distantly registered Chloe barking at them as they tried to talk to Chloe and herself. My body feels like it weighs tons. I can't move my arms or legs. Can I move my head, can I at least tilt it up so that I can see? With effort, Max tilted her head up so that she could see Chloe. Heated and red in the face, Chloe didn't utter a word when the police officers had let her through, but froze when she was out the door in the pouring rain. Looking down at Max before stepping out from under one of the awnings running along the hospital's front side, Chloe nearly cried when she saw Max looking back at her with wide, discerning eyes. Chloe had to lean herself against the hospital's exterior to prevent herself from falling as her legs began to buckle, having been terrified until a moment ago that Max had withdrawn so deep inside herself that she may never come out.
"Max?" Chloe asked softly, craning her neck down so that her forehead was bumping Max's, their eyes inches apart, "Max, talk to me. Please."
"…Che…," Max rasped, her throat to sore from crying and her thoughts too jumbled from all the screaming she was unleashing in her mind, "I-I-I-"
"I'm here, Max," Chloe said as she felt hot tears sting her eyes, "Your Lovely is here. The police told me I could take you home so I'm taking you home."
"Home?"
"O-our apartment. Do you remember our apartment?" Chloe asked, choking out a laugh as she saw Max respond with a weak, but sarcastic look as she mouthed Really? "You're not allowed to scare me like this for, well, for-fucking-ever, Caulfield. Understand?"
"…try…try my best…," Max said before passing out, too tired, hungry, and too much in pain to be able to stay conscious.
"Shit," Chloe said as she pushed herself off the wall and out into the icy rain, her teeth clenched as her already-soaked pajamas became saturated with water while she ran to her truck with the small shape that was Max Caulfield in her arms.
Chloe kicked open the apartment door, having slung Max over her shoulder once she had pulled the seemingly frail girl out from the truck's passenger side through her open driver's side door. Shaking from the cold and her saturated clothes, Chloe gently laid Max down on the bed before hastily stripping her wet pajamas off in favor of a dry set. Max's eyes fluttered open and she looked as Chloe stood in the bathroom doorway with a fresh set of pajamas as she was toweling her hair dry. Chloe's whole body spun as she stared at Max, her heart visibly breaking from the bedridden girl's feeble whisper of "Che?"
Max weakly began to sit up only to knocked over as Chloe came running at the bed from where she had been toweling her hair off, landing on the bed with such force that Max was momentarily pinned under Chloe's prone weight. Max felt a rush of warmth as Chloe laid on top of her, Chloe's arms and legs wrapping underneath Max's body so that she had Max in a sure grip. That heartbeat…I know it, it's so familiar, Max thought as she began to come out of her fogginess, feeling like she had been dragging herself through mud in her head.
Max tilted her head so that her face was partially buried in Chloe's neck and leaned up as much as she could so that she could signal to Chloe that she was awake by nuzzling into the other girl. Chloe reacted instantly, sitting up as she slid her legs out from under Max. Moving to sit next to Max, Chloe brushed at her coppery brunette hair and pelted Max's face with several gentle kisses. Max felt Chloe's tears fall from shut eyes onto her own face as she looked up at Chloe while her fiancé rested her head on Max's for a moment, taking in fast breaths of air.
"Jesus, Max," Chloe exhaled, "Don't…don't do that again!"
"I'll…," Max said, feeling squished as Chloe laid on top of her again, "I'll try not to. Chloe, can I…can I sit up now?"
Chloe sprung off of Max again, leaning down only to help Max sit up. Helping Max scoot back, Chloe took a seat next to Max after setting a pillow behind the other girl while Max leaned against the wall behind their bed. Max slowly opened and closed her eyes, confused and tired, but cognizant of where she was and who she was with. Looking over at Chloe, Max lifted up a slightly trembling hand and felt Chloe take it and place it on her cheek. Max smiled faintly as Chloe rubbed her cheek against the proffered hand. Max's smile faded as the nightmare she'd had in the hospital came flooding back to her, surprising Chloe as she pulled at her hand to cup her own face with both hands.
"Max…?" Chloe asked, leaning over to place an arm across Max's shoulders, "Max, what is it?"
"I…I need to tell you something, but I'm afraid of how you'll react," Max said, her tone cautious as she carefully spoke each word. Feeling Chloe respond by taking one of her hands and cupping it between her own blue-nailed hands, Max looked over at her.
"Victoria Chase has been following me around the past night or so," Max said, not taking her eyes off of Chloe, "She knows."
"Uh, wow. Did you do your…hyno-whatever?" Chloe asked, her tone and face neutral as she tried to exude calm that Max desperately needed.
"Didn't get a chance. She was attacked tonight while I was searching through Blackwell. I…I dragged her along because I was afraid that she might t-tell-"
"Shhhhh," Chloe cooed, brushing some of Max's hair behind her ear as the young vampire struggled to get the words to come out of her mouth, the words she had been trying to say since she started talking.
"I…I brought her with me, to the library, and found…I found Rachel, Chloe. I found Rachel Amber."
Chloe slowly pulled her hands back to wrap them across her stomach, Max terrified at the sudden lack of physical touch between them as memories of all the times that Chloe had withdrew from her since she came back to Arcadia Bay sprung to mind. 'I need you, Chloe.' 'This…this is just too much, Max.' Please, Che, don't hide away from me. You promised you wouldn't, you told me you loved me and fucking asked me to marry you! Don't go! Max stretched her arm out so that her hand was resting on one of Chloe's knees, her body feeling like cement was flooding her veins as the strength she had conserved was expended in that one movement. Chloe looked up at Max and Max herself nearly began to cry again at the sorrowful state Chloe looked to be entering.
"…I'm not going anywhere, Max," Chloe said, a saddened smirk playing across her lips as she placed a hand on the one Ma had offered, "This is just hella nuts. Did Rachel attack Victoria?"
"…Yes…"
"And you had to kill Rachel to save Victoria, didn't you?" Chloe asked, her tone neutral but the words making Max feel like it was a subtle accusation.
"…Yes…," Max said with a moment's hesitation before her will began to reassert itself, "You…knew…that this was c-coming," she finished saying, sitting up more straight as she made to pull her hand back before feeling it being clutched at by a larger, slightly rougher one. Max looked over at Chloe and saw that the other girl was grasping at Max's hand with a desperate look on her face.
"I knew this would eventually happen," Chloe said, a bitter laugh escaping her lips, "Before we made up, back to when Rachel popped up and you two fought outside. I knew plain-as-day that it would come down to her having to be stopped."
"Che, you don't have to-"
"Yes, I do, Max. I saw the look on your face a moment ago, how scared you were…still are…and I need to be straight with you. I saw this coming the second Rachel reappeared the way…the way it did, and I knew how this was going to end. I just refused to accept it at the time. I refused to believe that after being friends for years that it would come down to two people I love fighting it out until only one of them is standing. That's it, that's all I have to say. I don't really want to fucking talk anymore."
Max leaned over in Chloe's direction and tugged at Chloe's chin so that she looked up into Max's eyes. Weakly opening her arms, Max felt Chloe shift around in her seat on the bed before crawling over to slip into Max's outstretched comfort. Lying back as gently as her body would allow, Max felt the thunder in Chloe's chest and began to hum. Trying to calm each other, Chloe listened to the rhythm for a moment before chiming in with the lyrics to accompany Max's humming.
Hey there, Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true
Max woke up and it was almost noon, her body barely able to move from the ever-present grogginess and a powerful lack of energy. Looking over, Max saw that Chloe's spot in bed was empty and she began to panic, the memory of Chloe leaving her when she had last suffered something traumatic playing on loop in her head.
"Chloe? Chlo?!" Max cried out, the lethargy in her body making it a chore just to sit up. Max heard the apartment door open and the pitter-patter of bare feet as Chloe came running in from outside, a smoldering cigarette stub held between two fingers.
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked, her eyes wide and alert as she prepared herself for the worst.
"Uh…you weren't here when I woke up," Max said, feeling embarrassed at her display of neediness.
"Damn, Caulfield, save the trying to kill me for more…enjoyable hours," Chloe sighed, putting the cigarette butt in an ashtray on top of the dresser opposite the bed, "Are you hungry?"
When Max's stomach replied to the question with a long growl, Chloe smirked before walking into the kitchen and returning with a Styrofoam cup. Shaking her head at it, Max asked Chloe for something a little bigger and the blue-haired wonder returned with her sports bottle onto to be shot down again.
"This enough?" Chloe said as she returned with one of the jugs Max kept in the freezer. Stretching her hands out as her hunger suddenly made her feel very greedy for nourishment, Max quickly snatched the jug out of Chloe's offering hand and didn't even bother to remove the cap.
Popping out her fangs, Max tilted the jug straight up and bit just under the mouth of the container, tearing into it with her teeth. Max looked over at Chloe and saw Chloe just watch her, no expression on her face except a sense of fatigue that Max found was starting to leave her. While not anything like Chloe's blood, the cocktail served its purpose as Max felt stronger with every mouthful. Shaking the jug as she pulled her mouth back, Max swirled the container around for the last drops while Chloe watched her with a look of mild amusement.
"What?" Max asked, feeling energy flood into her system as she set the hollowed-out jug on her bedside table, "Gotta eat."
"Yeah, I get that. It's just so weird sometimes when you do. I've seen you sip, chug, all that. I've never seen you tear into like a beast before, though," Chloe said, feeling a pang of sadness as she saw Max wince at the word "beast".
Chloe's own stomach beginning to growl, Max walked over to the kitchen with Chloe and watched as her fiancé pulled out the cereal only to push the box back into the cabinet it normally resided in. Getting a quirked eyebrow from Max, Chloe shrugged as she pulled out a skillet and a bag of pancake mix. Opening the fridge, Chloe pulled out eggs and milk, setting all her ingredients together next to the small stove-top as she scrounged around the kitchen. Picking up the stool, Max moved it over to the side of the counter facing into the kitchen and took a seat to watch Chloe work on her pancakes.
"You're not going to make them with me?" Chloe said, smirking as stirred the batter together, "Well, a hearty 'fuck you' to add to your morning, then, Max."
"You really want my help?" Max asked incredulously, playing along with Chloe's teasing, "The best I've managed is pouring chocolate chips and-"
Max heard her broken cell phone go off and sighed, wishing that an alert would appear on the caller's phone to let them know she couldn't pick up. Another one bites the dust, Max thought with a chagrin as she mourned the loss of yet another phone. Sighing, Max took a quick look to see who called before promptly opening the back part of the phone's case and pulling out her SIM card. Sliding the chip into an older phone Max had always kept for emergencies, Max made a quick call on the device to her service provider before hearing a ping as a re-activation text was sent to notify her that her phone was in working order. Remembering the phone number from her now-deceased cell, Max dialed the number and put the phone to her ear as she waited for the other side to pick up.
"Arcadia Bay Police, Officer Berry speaking," the male voice said over the line, "Hello?"
"Uh, hi Officer Berry. It's Max. Max Caulfield. I think you called my dead phone. Luckily for you, I have a spare," Max tried to sound cheerful without too much cheer.
"Hey, Max. Yeah, we're going to need you to come down to the police station to answer some questions and to get a statement. How soon can you be here?"
"As soon as you need me," Max said, shushing Chloe as she leaned against the wall across from where Max was standing, "Uh, is Victoria okay?"
"She's stable, but the doctors have moved her into the ICU. There was a lot of blood loss, and she's…well, she's in really bad shape. That's not the only reason we need to talk to you, though. Someone broke into Blackwell late last night and a scooter registered in your name was found about half a mile away. Come down to the station as soon as possible. Bye," Officer Berry said, hanging up the phone as Max's eyes widened while her imagination played tricks on her. They want to question me? Do they know what happened? Shit, are there security cameras at the school? I didn't even think to look! At least Victoria sounds like she may pull through.
"Bad news, I take it?" Chloe asked, flipping a single pancake on and off the skillet as she leaned against the bathroom doorway.
"Sounds like it. I have to go down to the police station to answer some questions. I left my scooter behind and it sounds like they think it is suspicious, what with Blackwell being a mess after my run-in with…with Rachel," Max replied, still worried about Chloe's possible reactions.
"How bad is it?" Chloe asked, her tempo slowing down as her brow furrowed.
"Hella bad, unfortunately," Max said with a sign, putting a hand to her forehead, "I pretty much had to tear through some doors, and there's a mess in the library. I sprinted straight from there to the hospital, so I didn't have time to do any clean-up."
"What are you going to do?" Chloe becoming very serious as she walked back to the kitchen to put the skillet down, then coming back as Max began to get dressed in a simple grey hoodie, pink shirt, and blue jeans.
"I have to go down to the station," Max said, her voice weary. She needed to sit down and talk to Chloe, who still looked disturbed from last night. I'm still disturbed from last night. Ugh. "I don't have any choice if I want to try and not catch any unwanted attention."
"Uh, you just got called in by the fucking cops, dude. That is some hella attention," Chloe said, shaking her head at Max's moment of obliviousness.
"Yeah."
Slipping on a pair of sneakers, Max opened her arms and Chloe came walking into the hug, the two girls squeezing each other as Chloe tried to lighten the mood by dancing around with Max still in her arms. Giggling a little bit, Max kissed at Chloe's jawline and then on the lips as Chloe looked down at her, before detaching herself from the blue-haired girl.
"I have to go. I'll be back soon," Max said, trying to sound optimistic.
"You hope you will, anyway," Chloe replied.
"Che, that is not even funny."
Forgetting about her scooter, Max grumbled as she crossed the street to head for the nearest bus stop, not wanting to ask Chloe to come down to the station with her. She's got things to process, Rachel Amber things, and I don't need to pull her into last night any faster than she is going on her own. Running after a departing bus, Max managed to flag it down after some desperate hand-waving and climbed up the stairs as the door opened for her. Shooting the driver an apologetic smile, Max dropped in some change for the fare and took the front seat, not bothering to acknowledge the other passengers. Max thought about listening to some music during the ride but remembered that this phone didn't have her music transferred over yet, and Max didn't care much for the internet radio app she had. I hate those commercials. They break up a song into two or three pieces to let me know about crap I will never buy or listen to or whatever. Slipping the phone out for other purposes, Max opened the message folder and began to text all her contacts her new phone number, making sure to mention that it was her contacting them in the first place. Watching several small text balloons pop up on the screen, Max switched the phone off and placed it in a hoodie pocket before leaning her head against the window, looking outside as Arcadia Bay slowly crawled along her point-of-view.
Letting her off outside the front entrance of the station, Max watched the bus drive off and turn into another street before going in. She was nervous, not knowing what to expect, and terrified as worst case scenarios popped up in her head. Taking a moment to calm down, Max walked up the steps, trying to exude a calm she didn't entirely feel.
"Hey, Max," Officer Berry said at the front desk as he saw Max walk in, Max smiling at the sight of a friendly face, "Just sit tight. I'll go get the sergeant."
Max watched Officer Berry leave through a door on his side of the front room and flopped into a chair. Rubbing at her temples, Max felt a rush of fatigue hit her as her hunger began to dully return. I knew that wouldn't be enough. I burned up so much energy last night, I'm surprised I didn't demolish every drop of blood I have in the fridge, Max thought as she patted her belly, Release the Kraken-Max! Max's head snapped up and she felt a moment of dizziness as an older man in a police uniform walked up to her and took a seat next to her.
"Hello, Max. My name is Sergeant Wilks. Want to come on back with me? Let's get this all straightened out."
"Sure," Max said, slowly getting up before Wilks caught her, Max's legs getting weak.
"You okay?" Wilks asked, looking at Max with his brow furrowed, his lips thinned into a line that was partly obscured by a white mustache that covered almost all of his upper lip.
"Tired. Didn't really get any rest last night," Max said with a weary smile as she graciously accepted the sergeant's help into the bullpen.
Taking a seat alongside the desk belonging to Wilks, Max looked around and noticed how quiet, how empty it was. I always figured that it was like the movies and TV, I guess. Police and hard-edged criminals bickering back and forth with a cool-eyed detective breaking up fights just as they were about to start. Law and Order, Arcadia Bay Police is definitely not. Max looked over at Sergeant Wilks, flashing him a friendly smile and feeling a moment of relief as he returned it before putting on a pair of glasses to read a report.
"You are Maxine Caulfield, correct? Says you grew up here in Arcadia Bay, left with your family when you were thirteen," Wilks read aloud, his eyes scanning the paper as he spoke with a professional tone.
"Max, and yeah my parents dragged me to Seattle," Max replied calmly, pressing a hand to her stomach as it growled slightly. Max grimaced as she looked over at the momentarily bemused Sergeant Wilks.
"I don't know what Berry told you, but this really won't take too long. We'll cut you loose so you can go get some chow, don't worry," Wilks said with a paternal smile before continuing, "Oh, says here you ran away from home. Spent a few years abroad as a, huh, you're a photographer?"
"Yeah, semi-pro. I've had some work published in independent-"
"Uh-huh. So, you came to Arcadia Bay a couple months back with some jobs lined up? I see here that you worked at Blackwell for a time before leaving. What's that about?" Max heard Wilks say with an interested tone in his voice.
"Some of the students thought it would be a good prank to get me suspected of selling drugs on school grounds. One of them admitted that it was a lie, after a bit, but I have no interest to go back to work at a place that has no real trust in me," Max said, folding her arms across her stomach as she tried to look at the report Wilks was reading.
"Mmm, I'd be pretty pissed off, too. Where were you last night, between the hours of 1am to 3am?"
"I was trying to get Victoria Chase, the girl I brought to the hospital, to the hospital. I f-found her…in the woods outside of Blackwell. After seeing her running around out there, I mean," Max sputtered, "God, there was just…so much blood…"
"We'll get to that, don't worry. Like I said, this shouldn't take too long." You said it wouldn't take too long. Crap, does he know something he isn't telling me? "How do you know Miss Chase?"
"She's in the photography class I was assisting with."
"Do you two get along?"
"Not really."
"Oh, but you went after her when you saw her in the woods?"
"Well, yeah, she looked like she was in trouble," Max said, reassuring herself in the half-truth of what she was saying, "I can't not just ignore when someone is running through the woods, looking like they're running from something. Am I in trouble?"
"No, no," Wilks said, with Max struggling to not look too relieved in reply, "There was a break-in last night at Blackwell. Pretty nasty mess, and we're just trying to line up a timeframe for the events that unfolded. You're a brave girl, Max, running after Ms. Chase and carrying her to the hospital. You should've called an ambulance right away but it's still pretty commendable. You something of an angel, what with Kate Marsh and now this?"
Kinda-sorta more the opposite, Max thought as she cleared her throat and smiled feebly. "I just do what I feel is right."
"Mmm-hmm," Wilks said, watching her from the corner of his eye with a small smile, "Well, leave your contact information with us and write down what happened on this statement form. I'll go get you something to keep that stomach of yours quiet. Hope you don't mind donut sticks, s'all that I think is left after the night shift."
Max quietly said "Thanks" and looked down at the empty police form, a tremor in her hands as she reached for a ballpoint pen. Taking a few breaths, Max forced her anxiety down into the recesses of her thoughts and began to elaborate on the half-fiction she came up with for last night. Obviously, I can't mention that it was a crazed Rachel Amber that broke into the building, or that it was me that left a brackish stain where I killed her shortly after. Something-something, running through forest to save Victoria Chase, something, Max thought as she absently recounted events that were partly make-believe. Max quickly glanced down, Oh Dog, I didn't actually write 'something-something', did I?, before sighing in relief at the lack of her thoughts laid out onto the paper.
Wilks returned just as Max pushed the paper away from her, flexing her hand from how tightly she had gripped at the pen. Smirking, Wilks handed her a pastry and a cup of black coffee. Max could smell the staleness of both little gifts but wolfed down both in the hopes of appeasing the seemingly-friendly police officer. Taking the statement and giving it a thorough read, Wilks slipped it into a file folder before leaning on his desk to look over at Max.
"You really are a very brave girl, Max, and I just wanted to say that I'm sure Ms. Chase will think the same when she is well enough to talk," Wilks said, as he fished a set of keys out of his pocket and handed them to Max, "We have your scooter parked in the garage around back. Hope you have a better day than you did a night, Ms. Caulfield."
Slowly climbing out of her seat, Max looked apprehensive until Wilks smiled and gestured towards the way she had come in. Nodding, Max turned around and tried not to walk too fast as she made for the door, being sure to open and close it as quietly as possible. Waving at Officer Berry as she left the station, Max waited until she was down the steps before bolting around the corner to get her scooter. The 'garage' was a fenced-in area behind the station that housed wrecked or impounded vehicles. Showing a sticker that someone had attached to her key ring, a police officer keeping watch at the entrance to the impound led her to where the Vespa sat, leaning against a fence on the far end of the lot.
Slipping the helmet on, finding that it had been stowed in the storage compartment under the seat, Max switched the ignition on and revved the engine a bit. Testing the throttle for a moment, Max gingerly pushed off and slowly made her way out of impound. Careful, but not too careful. I don't think they're suspicious of me but I can't be for certain. As soon as Max was back on the street, however, she gassed the engine and took off as she made a beeline for the apartment.
When she arrived, Chloe was gone. Worried at first, Max saw a sticky note attached to the fridge, "2 Whales" scrawled on it with Chloe's attempt at drawing the diner's sign on the tiny piece of paper. Snickering and sighing in relief, Max opened the freezer and pulled out a jug of her cocktail, making sure this time to remove the lid before she drank it all down. Max felt her hunger ease up until it was gone completely as she grabbed the sports bottle and tossed it into the camera bag she had slung over her shoulder when she came through the hallway. Seeing her old Polaroid camera and a sketchbook, Max walked over to Chloe's workstation and snatched a set of fine-tip paint markers, tossing the small case into her bag as well before leaving the apartment.
Two Whales was abuzz with conversation when Max walked inside, the news of Blackwell's break-in on the tips of people's tongues. Flagging down Joyce, Max looked at her confusingly before Joyce nodded her head towards the restroom area. Mouthing an Ah, Max walked over to the usual booth and plopped down in the opposite bench from where Chloe's beanie and jacket lay in a small pile against the wall. Seeing Chloe saunter out of the restroom while wiping her slightly soapy hands on her worn blue jeans, Max fidgeted in her seat until her fiancé was a few feet away before clambering out of the booth to tackle Chloe in an enormous hug. Hearing Chloe chuckle as she felt lean arms wrap her up, Max pressed her face into the fabric of Chloe's black t-shirt and inhaled the scent that she wanted to wake up to every night. She had never felt so glad to see Chloe, looking up to see a bemused expression on the other girl's face. My Che. Mine. M-I-N-E. Mine.
"How was the clink?" Chloe asked as she and Max took their usual seats, "Did you come back with a bad-ass tattoo? Oh, shit. You have a prison wife now, don't you? Don't you cheat on me, Max Caulfield!"
"Stop," Max said, unable to get the grin on her face to go away, "Ugh, it was so stressful, Chloe. I feel so bad from having to basically lie. To a police officer."
"Yeah, because the truth is such a better option. 'Oh, y'know, officer. Vampires and shit out of some Italian gore-core film. The usual," Chloe said, rolling her eyes as she smirked, "How would you even fucking explain that? Damn."
"How are you, Che?" Max asked, reaching over to place her hand over one of Chloe's, "I can't imagine what went flooding through your mind after I left, let alone when I…well…"
"My train of thought kinda derailed for a bit. I tried to keep images of Rachel from popping up in my head, but the idea of you two fighting wouldn't fucking go away," Chloe paused as Joyce came over with two cups of coffee and a menu, smiling warmly at them both before leaving, "I'm not going to say that I'm alright, but I'm also not going to shut you out again, either. You…you did what you had to, Max. I don't have to fucking like it, but I do have to acknowledge it at least."
Max felt like crying, the stress from Victoria and Rachel and everything seeming to collide with the empathy she felt coming from Chloe leaving her somewhat wrecked inside. Wiping at her eyes with a napkin, Max took a sip of her coffee and the two of them just sat in silence for a while. When Joyce returned they both ordered their food, Max a Belgian waffle and Chloe a bacon omelet, and Max slid out of her seat to sit next to Chloe. Leaning against Chloe's taller frame, Max closed her eyes and let herself get caught up in the beat of her love's heart, faint thunderous crashes that swept her mind clean for the moment. Max wanted to be lazy, wanted to just be with Chloe all day. I can, with Rachel Amber…taken care of. But Victoria, ugh, I feel like I'm spiraling. Ugh! Max made a small humph noise, causing Chloe to look down and eye the sleepy vampire.
"Hungry?" Chloe asked, only getting a shake of Max's head in reply, "Tired?"
Max simply nodded, tired of everything that had happened. Everything from the point of her last night as a human being up to present day, save for some recent events, squeezed in on her and she felt herself intake a sharp breath as her nightmare from earlier played through her mind in snippets. Max was about to ask if they could just go home when she felt something familiar. Turning her head slowly, her fatigue getting the better of her, Max watched as Antony entered the diner and proceeded to head straight for them. Too weary to put up a defense, Max said nothing as Antony took the seat she had been occupying before moving over to sit by Chloe. Max felt Chloe stiffen and put a weak hand on her leg to keep her blue-haired wonder from doing something they'd both regret.
"Ripper," Antony said as he sniffed at Max's coffee before steepling his fingers under his chin, "I've come to understand that you've had a busy night. Feel like sharing?"
"The Feral…it's done," Max said, raising her drooping eyes up to glare at Antony, "You said you would stay away…"
"That was before you made a mess of things. Really, trying to keep something like this hush-hush. You've been at it for what, a week? Longer? Never mind that you contacted Stephen first. You could have asked for assistance, and you could have simply told us what was really going on," Antony said, glancing over at Chloe and smiling courteously, "Is this your…?"
"I'm her fiancé," Chloe said, putting on a brave front as she began to put two and two together, "You're the dickbag that put her in that box for a month, aren't you? Antoine or something."
"Antony."
"Whatever."
"Please. Just stop," Max said, slamming her hands onto the table with enough force that it garnered the attention of nearly everyone in the diner. Looking around amusedly, Antony watched the other patrons look at them for a moment before returning to their own affairs. Joyce made a move to come over, but Chloe looked at her with a stern glare and shook her head.
"Just leave me alone," Max pleaded, depression and exhaustion eating away at her, "There isn't anything you can do to me that hasn't already been done."
"Not quite."
Antony leaned over and whispered something into Chloe's ear, Max watching as Chloe's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Max looked at them in confusion, too tired to try and make out what he had said. Chloe…Please don't listen to him…whatever he's telling you…just stop… Max felt her heart implode a little as she saw Chloe begin to cry, silent tears running down her cheeks, as Antony leaned over to Max.
"I want you to turn her, Max. If you turn her, and leave Arcadia Bay, I will leave you be. If you don't, if you are too frightened to do so or you just love this town too much, I will come back and turn every person that you care for. And I will lock them away, just like I did you."
"I-I-" Max stammered, starting to wake up as the terror of what Antony was demanding of her began to send shivers of energy up her body, "I…I don't know how to do that…"
Max looked over at Chloe, her fiancé terrified as Max heard Chloe's heartbeat pound away as Antony slid out of the seat across them.
"This is not up for debate, Max. Do it, or I will do it myself and you will spend your years in agony as they are all locked away," Antony said, putting a $20 on the table, "For your meal. You have until tonight."
Max felt her body begin to twitch as the ramifications of trying to turn Chloe bled into the haze of her own transformation. Max didn't remember much, but Henri had told her the basics of how she had been turned. You must bring them to the cusp of death, and when they are about to pass that threshold you must offer them a taste of your own life, Henri had told her. Max thought it sounded like ridiculous at the time, but there had been a ceremonial tone to his words, like this was something to be taken very seriously. Max looked over at Chloe and saw that she was looking over at Max.
"I can't do it, Che. I couldn't ask this of you, something I never even wanted in the first place," Max said mournfully, feeling as though she had just passed a death sentence on the girl she loved.
"You heard what he said, Max," Chloe said softly, her eyes glistening with tears yet to spill, "He'll turn everybody."
"But he doesn't know everyone in town that is important to me."
"My mom, Max. He's been here before, right? He knows about my mom."
Max froze, her hands clenching into fists at the idea of Joyce locked away as she had been played across her mind. Worse yet, the idea of Chloe being boxed up in a similar fashion quickly followed. But I can't do it, Che. I just can't. Max rose up from the booth slowly, waiting for Chloe to follow. Taking her hand, Max led her out of the diner with a sullen look on her face.
"Max, where are we going?" Chloe asked as they headed into the parking lot by Two Whales, "Max! Max, fucking talk to me!"
"I'm going to kill him," Max said, turning her head to look at Chloe out of the corner of her eye, "When he comes back, I'm going to rip him apart."
"Max, dude's hella strong, and you're fucking drained!" Chloe cried out, grabbing onto Max by the shoulders, "What if you're not strong enough? You don't need to fight him!"
"I will rest up today, and when the Sun comes down I will find him and I will kill him. Even if it costs me my own life," Max said resolutely, fatigue being replaced by a cold anger as the thought of Antony with his hands, his fangs, on Chloe made her want to break something.
Chloe had pleaded with Max the entire drive back, trying to sound excited as she talked about all the cool things they could do as a "sick-as-fuck vampire duo", but Max wouldn't make a single response to Chloe's attempts at dissuading her. Marching up the steps, Max crossed the threshold into the hallway before sprinting inside. Max's hand found its way around the intruder's throat and Max, running on fumes and anger, took a moment for her mind to catch up with her body.
"Stephen?!" Max asked in shock as she quickly put her friend down. Getting a sheepish smile in return, Stephen made hand gestures that Max translated into the door being unlocked and he was concerned about her. Breaking into a sob, Max smashed herself into the burly Irishman's chest with a hug and cried. Hearing Chloe run up the steps, Max disengaged herself from her old friend and walked over to the hallway to hold her hands out for Chloe. Taking them, Max backpedaled into the apartment as she pulled Chloe inside and nodded her head in the direction of Stephen. Max's friend nodded in cheerful greeting and slight embarrassment as he stuck his hand out for Chloe to shake. Looking at Max in confusion, Chloe returned the gesture and shook the large hand with her own slender one.
"You're a friend of Max's, I take it?" Chloe asked, her tone giving away her caution, "You're not here with whats-his-face are you, the British dude?"
Max watched Stephen's eyes look down for a moment before looking at Max in apology. Pulling out his phone, Max watched Stephen as he began to rapidly type before pressing down on the screen a final time.
"He left me no choice," an electronic voice said from Stephen's phone as quickly began to type again, "Maeve was concerned after you texted me and asked him for advice. She's not always the cleverer person between us. I'm sorry, Max."
"…It's okay. I mean, it's not, but that's not your fault," Max said ushering the other two people in the apartment towards the living room. Taking a seat next to Chloe, Max put a hand on Chloe's thigh as a gesture of comforting her anxious blue-haired wonder. Seeing the display of affection, Stephen typed at his phone again.
"Girlfriends?"
"Fiancé," Max replied, butting her head gently against an anxiously smiling Chloe's cheek, "Did he tell you what he was going to do?" When Stephen shook his head, Max closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts before going through the events of the past two days.
Stephen's eyes got watery a couple times as Max, and eventually Chloe, relayed the events that had occurred since Max's time back. Initially wanting to only tell Stephen what Antony had said, as time was of the essence, Chloe had begun to elaborate on Max's time back in Arcadia Bay. Their old love, their new love that had grown out of the old, Chloe bared everything to Stephen as Max watched Chloe in shock. Chloe had never talked about their relationship at such length, not ever, but here she was doing exactly just that. While Max was glad it was at least to Stephen, she couldn't help but be a little embarrassed as Chloe rattled on about their time together since she had come back.
"So, um, I need to get some rest. If you two want to keep talking, don't let me stop you," Max said, rising up from the couch as she went over to the fridge and pulled out another jug from the freezer. Max felt eyes on her as she drained the contents and tossed the empty jug into the trash. Not wanting to face either Stephen or Chloe, Wowsers, I don't think I could look at Chlo right now if I even wanted to, Max headed to the bedroom and dropped down onto the bed. She began to feel herself drift away when someone nudged her foot, the bare extremity dangling off the edge of the bed. Looking up with tired eyes, Max saw Stephen watching her expectantly.
"Don't do this," a message read out on his phone's screen before he typed on it again, "I could help you turn her."
"I don't want this for her," Max whispered, "I want Chloe to stay Chloe."
"As if you're not still you from before…" Stephen's screen flashed back.
"Part of me isn't. Part of me is something else now, something that includes these," Max hissed as he popped out her fangs and bared her teeth before retracting the elongated canines.
"But you're still you."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. If you're going to stay and help me, then stay and help. If not, it would probably be safer for you to take off. I'm assuming Antony doesn't know you came down here, so it's your call," Max said, dropping her head onto her pillow and squeezing her eyes shut.
Max felt Stephen hover over her for a minute or two, then heard footsteps as he walked back into the living room and out the door of the apartment. Staying or going, I'm still likely fucked. Max woke up from a dreamless sleep, seeing from her phone she had only been out for a half-hour or so, and looked over to see Chloe curling up next to her.
"What's up?" Max asked, her sleep-addled brain momentarily forgetting what was going on.
"…I just want to lay here with you, if that's cool," Chloe said, blushing a little as Max flashed her a sleepy grin.
"Hella cool, Lovely," Max said, yawning as she pushed herself back into Chloe's spooning and fell back asleep.
When Max awoke, the apartment was dimly lit as both girls had been asleep most of the day and afternoon. Getting up from bed, Max looked over to see that Chloe was gone. Her eyes suddenly darting around sharply, Max ran out of the bedroom to take in the horror that the apartment had become.
"Oh, shit…"
Most of their furniture was upended, nothing really broken so much as just knocked around, but the blood on the kitchen floor drew Max's eyes over and Max stumbled numbly towards the blood. Crouching down, Max sniffed at the drying substance and put a finger to it as she took a taste. Oh, my cocktail. Thank Dog, thank fucking Dog. Bracing herself against the counter, Max lifted herself up and noticed a neatly handwritten note on the counter.
Lighthouse. When you're ready.
Max thought the world was going to drop out from under her, her legs nearly gave way underneath her small weight. Images flashed across her mind: Chloe alive, Chloe slacking off at the junkyard as she tried to remember Max's face because Max had never come back to Arcadia Bay. But with that memory came others, like saving Kate and crying in Chloe's arms as they said how much they loved each other. Max thought of how Chloe had put her bullet necklace on Max, looking at Max's bashful face with her trademark grin as she said "Together forever, Maxaroni."
Max didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream, so she did both. Her small hands clenched into fists, Max slammed them down against the counter until the vinyl-laminated wood splintered and broke from her rage. Still wearing the same clothes from earlier in the day, Max dragged herself out the door and down the steps towards Chloe's truck. Sliding into the driver's side, Max dropped down Chloe's sun visor and snatched the spare set of keys in mid-air. Great security, Che. Turning over the ignition, Max looked in the small back area behind the bench seat and pulled out Chloe's pump-action shotgun. Scrutinizing the weapon, Max laid it across her lap and grabbed the bag full of iron buckshot shells before pulling out of the small back lot behind their home.
Max was frantic, panic seizing her as she made her way closer to the lighthouse. Her phone buzzing, Max instinctively pulled it out and saw a text from Dana, Heard u actually saved VC's life. Heard she's gonna pull through. Wow, ur a superhero!, and quickly shut her phone off. While Max felt a bit of relief in Victoria living to see another day, someone far more important was on Max's mind. Max had known Chloe for years, only to disappear for years. Coming back to Arcadia Bay with Chloe in mind, Max had hoped that something might be kindled between them. Her wish had been surpassed by reality, for a change, and Max only wanted for Chloe to be by her side. Would it really be so bad if I tried to turn her? She wouldn't be like me, making a go of it on her own. I would love her and look after her for as long as both would live. We could actually be adventurers, like we'd imagined from when we were kids, Max thought before the image of a feral Chloe Price flashed across her mind, What if that happens instead, though? What if I do something wrong and she comes out…different, like an animal or a, I dunno, ghoul or whatever? Why can't there be like a freaking handbook or something?
Pulling into the parking lot at the bottom of the hill, Max opened the door and latched onto it with a hand while she grabbed the shotgun and shells. A wind picking up, Max instinctively had not wanted to make too much noise and opted to gently close the door. The shotgun in one hand and the bag of shells slung across the opposite shoulder, Max proceeded up the hill towards Antony. And Chloe.
"I was wondering how long you were going to sleep," Antony said as Max crested the hilltop, standing on the edge of the treeline, "You brought a shotgun? Are you serious?"
Max wanted to snap back, to growl and hiss and tear Antony apart, but when she saw Chloe's unconscious form lying in a heap on the bench, some of her rage simmered into a mess of anxiety. Chloe's still alive, I can hear her breathing. Looking back at Antony, Max found that the other vampire had started to move towards her with deliberately slow steps as though he was baiting her. Snarling, Max fired off a shell and watched as Antony easily dodged the shotgun's limited range of fire, coming alongside Max to strike before she returned his dodge with one of her own. Moving to her left, Max leapt up and back as she pointed the ungainly weapon at Antony a second time, feeling the kick as she aimed with one hand while the other clutched at the shells. Seeing him grimace as some of the buckshot connected, Max felt a pang of dread as he began to hiss from the iron burning him. Crapcrapcrapcrap!
Max ran back into the woods with desperate speed as Antony pursued her, the only sign of his approach a near-constant growl that was emanating from somewhere behind her. Changing direction every few seconds, Max was trying to loop around the hill so that she would return to the lighthouse from the opposite side which she had first arrived. Feeling something brush across her face, Max watched a rock nearly the size of her head hurtle by her. Flipping in mid-air, Max touched down on the side of a tree and sprung back out as she took the charging Antony by surprise. Fearful of possibly shooting herself as well, Max tilted her head down and connected with the other vampire's sternum, her vision momentarily exploding into stars as she heard a crack inside Antony's chest. Max's brief victory was short-lived, however, as she had failed to take into account how resilient the larger vampire was. Feeling hands latch onto her shoulders, Max felt herself slung across the forest until she impacted with a park sign of Smokey the Bear. Scrambling out of the wreckage in a daze, Max pondered on how often the park service actually changed the signs before Antony was on her again. Max howled in pain as a lengthy iron blade was shoved into her shoulder, the bag it was carrying falling to the ground with a whump as Antony tried to pry the shotgun loose from her other hand. Snapping her forearm, Max howled again before frantically squeezing the trigger.
Round after round hit Antony square in the chest, the other vampire being pushed back from the impact alone as his chest began to sizzle and smoke from the small pieces of shrapnel. Panting, exhausted, Max's fangs popped out as her second wind began to kick in and she ran at the still-reeling Antony only to meet her face with his fist. Knocked back, Max felt her nose begin to bleed and hung her head to the side as she cradled her broken forearm with her other hand. Wincing as both arms were injured, broken bones and an iron knife to the shoulder, Max growled and made another desperate run at Antony. Taking him by surprise from the shock of her still standing, Max slammed a foot in his stomach and heard him grunt in pain as she pushed at the iron-laced wound that was the front of his torso.
Falling to her knees from the effort, Max looked up to see a fist flying at her face again. Max's body swayed as she began to lose consciousness, hearing Antony growl over her in fury.
"I will eat your lover, and I will fucking bury her for the rest of her life after I turn her. She will starve and desiccate in the bottom of the Atlantic and you will never find her. I will bury you after I carve off your limbs and stick you in a hole so dark that if you ever see the light of day you'll scurry back into your hole. I will-"
Antony was cut off as Max lunged at his throat with her bared fangs. Instinct and hatred came over Max in waves and with her numb arms waving at her sides and tore Antony's throat out with her teeth. Spitting up what blood she had in her mouth, Max slammed a foot into Antony's chest over and over. A slight whump beginning to be replaced with a wet crunch, Max was in such a fury that she did not notice the sound of movement from behind her until she paused to see Chloe looking down at her from further up the hill.
"Max!" Chloe shouted, running down the hill as Max looked at her with a dead-eyed stare. Max was too fueled up with her hate, hate for what Antony had done to her both the last time they had been at the lighthouse and what had just gone on between them, so she didn't really register that Chloe was coming towards her at first. Her mind focusing somewhat, Max blinked her violet eyes as she stumbled over towards Chloe only to fall over as Antony tripped her up.
Hearing the other vampire let out a wracked gasp, Max looked in horror to see Antony scrambling to his feet from behind her. Max realized what he was going to do before he made his move, so she turned her head back in Chloe's direction and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"RUN! CHLOE, RUN!"
What happened next felt like slow-motion to Max. Chloe skidded to a halt, slipping and landing on her butt as she made to scramble back up the path to the lighthouse. Antony lurched forward at a surprising speed towards the shambling Chloe. Max forced herself upright and began to stagger towards them both. Max heard Chloe's heart beat in single thunderous booms, watching her love's eyes widen in terror as Antony was almost upon her. A hiss of pain, the faint smell of smoke. Max watched as through what felt like tunnel vision as Antony leaned down to pin Chloe to the ground, hearing Chloe as she screamed.
The iron knife that had been in Max's shoulder was now slammed through Antony's throat as Max clutched at the metal with a smoking grip. Once, twice, and a couple more times, Max pushed the blade in only to pull it out and repeat. Growling as she pulled Antony off of Chloe, Max let her legs give as the force of her weight and the remaining strength in her wounded arm thrust the iron through Antony's chest and look of rage on his face went slack as brackish fluid began to bubble out of his mouth. Looming over him for a second with shaking legs as she stood back up, Max hissed and proceeded to kick the blade further into his chest, her foot the hammer to the iron knife's nail. Not satisfied until she saw what life Antony had in his face diminish into nothingness, Max panted as her injuries began to fully take their toll.
"Max…," Max heard Chloe rasp and Max's life meant all of nothing to her as she looked over to see Chloe gurgling up blood from her mouth, a large tear in her throat covered by an increasingly blood-soaked beanie.
"Nonononono," Max whispered softly, her anger evaporating before the shocking scene in front of her, "Nonononono, Che. You'll be fine. I'll go get help, so please-"
"Max," Chloe said with a weak grin before wincing in pain as she coughed up bloody spittle, "Can I just say…you are so fucking…cool…"
Max reached out with her injured arms, ignoring the pain, as Chloe fell unconscious. Max heard Chloe's heartbeat begin to slow and she began to cry, red rivulets falling down onto her fiance's face. Sobbing uncontrollably, Max took in several breaths of air as their brief life together as a couple flashed before her eyes and Max nearly folded over from the grief.
No. No, not yet.
You. Can't. HAVE HER!
Silently praying to whoever was listening, Max snapped her head up and popped out her fangs before plunging her head into the uninjured side of Chloe's neck, her decision finally made.
The lighthouse shone out over the late evening view of the coastline as Arcadia Bay glistened as Max sat on the bench and watched the view with no interest. Wounded, pained, Max absently licked at the blood on her chin as she looked out across the beach far below. She wondered where she would go now, with very little left to tie her to Arcadia Bay. Maybe I'll go back to Ireland, spend what time I have with Stephen and Maeve before I have to run. Again. Max let her head droop for a moment before she heard movement from the treeline to the side.
A weak hand scrabbled at the tree trunk that Chloe and Max had carved into years ago as pretend pirates and best friends. Her vision still somewhat dim as she her head was healing from all the blows she had suffered, Max couldn't discern it at first and was afraid for a moment that somehow Antony was still kicking. Moving to get out of the bench, Max's legs gave and she fell off the bench and onto her back, watching the hand grab at the tree trunk. Max's horror turned shock, which in turn became wonder, as she noticed the blue nails on the hand.
Her arms nearly too weak to move, Max sat up against the bench and watched as the hand became a jacketed arm, the arm leading up to torso and head that had a mop of blue hair covering the top of it. Max felt tears begin to roll down her face as her lip quivered while Chloe Price crawled towards her with face downcast. Max wanted to both just stay where she was and scramble away, the vision of a feral Chloe looming in her mind as the form sluggishly made its way towards Max. Max's fate was sealed as a grasping hand caught her leg and Max heard ragged breathing as the form of her dead fiancé began to climb over her before stopping at Max's stomach. Max shivered as the head of blue hair fell onto her tense stomach, Max feeling small gasps of air as whatever it was seemed to rest for a moment. Reaching over to where she had left it by the bench, Max grimaced as she clutched the iron knife and weakly raised her arm to strike down what had formerly been her Chloe.
"I'm so sorry, Che. I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Max sobbed as her arm reached as high as the injured shoulder would allow. Max froze when she saw the head twitch.
A blue hand smacked the ground as the form lifted itself up from where it had rested on Max's midsection, face still obscured. Both panting, Max watched mutely as the creature lifted its head up and stared at Max through its hair-obscured vision. Max dropped the knife when she saw two brightly violet eyes staring at her in a mixture of wonder and confusion.
"…Max…?" a tired, pained voice asked as a pale hand with blue nails reached out for Max Caulfield, "What's going on?"
Max began to shake as she cried, a wellspring of grief giving way to happiness as Chloe continued to look at her in confusion before looking around to see where she was.
"Max, what did you-," Chloe said, her eyes growing incredibly wide as she poked at an elongated canine tooth with her tongue.
"..You're a fucking vampire, Che. Welcome to the club."
Author's Note – you may think this is the end, but it isn't. Muahahaha
No, but seriously, it isn't. I'm assuming that you're either giddy as all hell or you're flipping tables at the moment from the ride I just put you through. It had actually been my plan to make Chloe a vampire all along, but I wanted to do it right and not just be all "poof, punk vampire!". So you get this, another gut-punch to your feels.
My family member who is not doing so hot was readmitted to the hospital. I'm actually there, well I'm here for me I suppose, and I just wanted to thank those of you who gave well-wishes a heartfelt thanks. One of the reasons I love the LiS community so much is that there are people who take the real-life issues brought up by the game seriously, and seem to genuinely care. So, from the bottom of my heart, thanks. You keep dropping well-wishes and I'll keep you appraised. *weak grin*
Read, Review, and I will see you next chapter!
Stay hella…and please don't kill me…I just want to create a story that compels you and makes you feel, that's all…