Chapter 2
Knock, knock, knock.
Ugh, even her stupid knocks are as pathetic as she is.
Victoria smashes her cigarette into the ashtray and walks silently towards the front door.
"Password?" she asks, feeling every bit like a bouncer of a shady club. For a brief moment, she wonders what she would have named her secret club, if she had one.
Oh well, a question that is only relevant in an alternate universe, she muses.
She peeks through the peephole and places her shotgun by the door, relieved that it is exactly who she thinks it is, regardless of her less than stellar feelings for her.
"Paladin."
Victoria takes out a bunch of keys from her pocket and methodically unlocks the three heavy-duty padlocks before unhooking the two steel safety catches and opens the door.
It is safe to say that what Victoria sees next is enough for her to slam the door shut. She would have absolutely done it too, if she could have gotten her limbs to work in tandem to what her brain is screaming at her to.
Max, with her idiotic sheepish grin, is holding a rusty wheelbarrow. On it is a person. An unconscious female to be more specific, with faded blue hair and blood drying on one side of her face. Victoria takes note that the stranger's clothes are relatively clean and she is even wearing a ballistic vest. Based on her physical appearance, it is obvious the person is not just another random civilian scavenging for leftovers. Before Victoria could react, Max pushes through inside the house with the wheelbarrow.
"Close the door, Vic!"
Usually, Victoria would resent being yelled at by Max. But there are more pressing matters to tend to now.
Like, why the fuck did Max bring this stranger into their hideout?
"Max, what the hell is this?! We agreed to keep to keep to ourselves! That means no more fucking strays!" Victoria slams the door shut and bolts all the locks.
Ignoring her irate housemate, Max pushes the wheelbarrow into her bedroom, and carefully carries Chloe onto the bed. First her upper body, then legs.
Suddenly, she feels an almost violent tug on her arm. Victoria is next to her, enraged. Max swears that despite the numerous times she pushes her buttons, Victoria has never looked more incensed than she does right now. Her eyes are bulging, her face is red and her free hand is clenched in a fist. Thank goodness she is at least unarmed.
"I repeat, what. The. Hell. Is. This?"
"Listen, I will explain everything. But right now," Max pulls out an emergency kit and hands it to Victoria. "You have to focus on her, okay? I will take care of…this."
Victoria's eyes soften for a second. It is enough for Max to know that she does feel grateful, regardless of how she is acting at this very moment. It is a very brief second though, and Victoria quickly has on her usual murderous look again. Grabbing the emergency kit, she leans close to Max and whispers harshly, "If she does anything, anything at all, know that it will be all on you."
Victoria turns and heads up the stairs, leaving Max alone in the room with her patient. Max walks towards Chloe and proceeds to clean the bloody side of her face with a damp towel. The gash on her head seems superficial thankfully, though the swelling looks substantial. She will definitely wake up with a hell of a headache. Max prepares a glass of water and a couple of Tylenols on the nightstand next to Chloe's handgun. She sits on the edge of the bed and takes a second to admire her childhood best friend. Chloe's high cheekbones seem even more prominent now, and her flawless pale skin only further highlights her blue hair. Her eyes travel to her lips, bringing her back to moments before her world was turned upside down.
Eight years ago
"Kiss me then," Chloe suddenly said with her signature cocky grin, turning on her side to get a better look at Max.
"Wh...what?" the younger girl stuttered.
"Look, if you are so curious about what a kiss feels like, I'll show you. For free! Come on, you deserve to get your first kiss from me anyway," said Chloe confidently, though Max does detect her cheeks turning slightly crimson.
It was a Saturday morning like any other in the military base town of Arcadia Bay. Reports of armed conflicts around the country were common, but the idyllic seaside town remained safe under the protection of the locally-stationed government soldiers. Naturally, two young teenage girls that just woke up from a sleepover was not thinking of an impending civil war, nor the deaths and destruction fast coming their way. No, they were talking about boys and kissing them.
"Erm, but would it be like, weird?" Max asked hesitantly.
Chloe rolled her eyes and went in for the kill.
"You are over-thinking this, Casanova. You know what? I'm daring you to kiss me. In fact, I double dare you. Kiss me now," Chloe said as she scooted closer to her friend in anticipation.
She knew she had a crush on her best friend. It was cliche, and almost certainly the theme of hundreds of mediocre teenage romance novels, but it was the truth. She wanted to spend all her time with Max, and when they weren't together, she thought of what she would want to do with Max the next time they hung out. But Chloe knew her feelings were one-sided. The reason why she was making out with Justin was to make Max jealous but of course, she wasn't. In fact, Max wanted to know all the juicy details of Chloe making out with someone else, much to the latter's chagrin.
But Chloe was okay with that. They have their whole life together ahead of them. As long as Max is in her life, she can accept her love being unrequited, though she is definitely not willing to hear about Max's future sexcapades.
Too bad she's such a chickenshit to kiss me, Chloe chuckled. She was about to claim victory when she felt Max pulled her close by the shoulders and kissed her lips. It was brief and over in a blink, but enough for Chloe to feel tingles and butterflies. The heat that spread over Chloe's face was so intense she wouldn't be surprised if Max felt it. When Max pulled back, Chloe could see an almost shy smile on her face.
"Well, I guess I can tell why there is so much fuss about kissing," Max said almost perceptively.
Wait, does that mean she liked it? Did she?
"Damn, you're hardcore, Max! Now I can text Warren and tell him he doesn't stand a chance, unless he's into girl-on-girl action," Chloe said, flustered and trying to turn the kiss into a joke.
"You're such a dork, Chloe Price," Max said before laughing.
They were suddenly interrupted by heavy steps rushing up the stairs and Chloe's bedroom door bursting wide open.
"...Mum? What's going on?" Max asked and jumped away from Chloe's personal space.
Vanessa Caulfield was in her combat uniform, which was not unusual since she was supposed to be currently working. But what was out of the ordinary was the rest of her appearance. Her beret was missing and her usual impeccable hair was a mess. Not to mention that her typical calm demeanor was totally replaced by quiet, panicked frenzy.
"Max, sweetheart, listen to me. Go get your stuff. We have to go now," Vanessa said in a voice that brooked no dissent.
Quickly, Max leaped off the bed, grabbed her backpack and tossed her clothes and books inside. Her parents have prepared her for this. They said war will come to Arcadia Bay soon and they have to be ready. Max tried to warn Chloe about this, but she always just laughed it off.
"Wait... what's going on? Are you guys leaving? Where are you going?" Chloe asked, confused. She was off the bed by this time, and seemed to want to physically restrain Max from leaving with her mother. Chloe could tell something terrible was going on. Watching Max rushing to leave terrifies her to no end.
"Chloe, your family will be fine. This is temporary, we will see each other again soon," Vanessa said while holding on to Max's hand and pulling her gently towards the doorway.
"Vanessa? What is going on here?" Joyce Price, Chloe's mother, appeared in the doorway, her hair wrapped in a wet towel.
"Joyce, Max and I have to leave now. We'll meet soon, okay?" Vanessa said curtly, before pushing past Joyce and heading down the stairs with Max in tow.
"Wait, why can't Chloe and Joyce come with us? We are all going to the barracks, right?" Max asked, puzzled as to why her mother was being so dismissive.
"You'll see, sweetheart."
They left the Price household and hopped into a humvee before pulling out of the driveway. Max looked back and watched as Chloe rushed out of the house and tried to catch their speeding vehicle. She was calling out Max's name before bursting into tears by the side of the road. Max felt a painful squeeze in her heart.
It's okay, you big drama queen. We'll see each other soon in camp. There is no need to cry.
Lost in her thoughts, Max didn't realise that her mother has been driving in silence for a suspiciously long time. They drove past her high school, local hospital and even the junkyard by the edge of town. It was only when they passed the last side road leading to the military base camp that Max snapped out of her reverie.
"Erm, Mum? Where are we going? I think we are not going the right way..." she asked, fearing the truth of the situation.
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. We are not going to the military," Vanessa said as gently as possible, even as she stepped on the gas. "We are leaving Arcadia Bay."
Present
A reflection from Chloe's collarbone brings Max back to the present. She reaches under Chloe's chin and examines a chain. Of course, it is a dog tag.
This just confirms she's military. Shit.
Max stands up, quickly grabs Chloe's gun, empties the magazine and returns it to the nightstand. She then carefully inspects each item in Chloe's bagpack. There are five packets of biscuits (talk about over-rationing), two water bottles, a Swiss army knife, a mini first aid kit and a metal tin. Max feels her blood freeze.
If there is a bug or tracking device in here, we are dead.
Nervously, she unlocks the metal and opens it. She doesn't know what to expect. Perhaps a self-timer bomb or a letter that says "WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE NOW". But instead, all she finds are photos. Images of Chloe and a stunningly beautiful girl. There are photos of them at the beach, school and even the local junkyard. They look happy together. There is even a photo strip of them goofing around in a photobooth. In the final photo of the strip, Chloe was looking lovingly at the girl; it was the same look Max had noticed Chloe casting at her many years ago. Max blinks away the tears that are threatening to pool in her eyes.
That was a different life. At least, I know Chloe hasn't been alone.
Max flips to the next photo of Chloe and her father, William. This time, she lets the tears flow down her cheeks. He was like a second father to her and she didn't even say a proper goodbye. Max wonders if Chloe actually knew what really happened to her father...
She sighs and moves on to the final photo. It takes awhile for her to register what she is seeing. It is a photo of two young girls in matching pirate outfits. The blonde girl is wearing a pirate hat while the brunette has an eye patch.
Oh my god, this is us. She doesn't hate me...
"Wow, is that you? You're especially lame in your tweens."
Max jumps and turns to the voice, only to see Victoria smirking at her over her shoulders.
"Christ, Vic, you scared the shit out of me..."
"Good to know," Victoria says before turning to leave the room. "Looks like your patient will survive whatever injuries she got. Come with me, we need to talk."
Max returns Chloe's belongings in her backpack and quickly closes the bedroom door behind her.
"Is she okay?" Max asks.
"Kate will be fine. I have cleaned and disinfected her wound, stitched her up and gave her medications. She should be cleared to move tomorrow," Victoria says nonchalantly, but Max could tell Kate getting shot really shook her. "Did you have trouble stealing the supplies from Nathan earlier?"
"No, you were right about where he keeps his stash." Max decides not to tell Victoria she hit her ex-boyfriend with a baseball bat, yet.
"Good. Now, what we really need to talk about," she continues before lighting a cigarette and gesturing to the closed bedroom door. "Is that. Who is she? An old flame?"
Max braces herself for another round of rebukes. "That's Chloe Price."
Victoria stares at Max, her lit cigarette remains forgotten between her fingers. "Are you saying that is the late General William Price's daughter?"
"Yes, and she is still military. She is wearing her dog tag."
There is a thoughtful silence in the air. Victoria suddenly remembers her cigarette and continues smoking while smoothing her newly cut pixie hairstyle. It was Kate's experiment on her but it turned out really well.
"Okay, we can work on this. Depending on what happens at the treaty tomorrow, we can hold her hostage and find out how to take advantage of her," Victoria says after a moment.
Wow, she is actually calm about this.
Eh, wait. Did she say hostage?
"You want to keep a hostage?" Max asks incredulously. "Are you serious? There are only the two of us and Kate is on the mend. There is no way in hell we can keep her here if she doesn't want to."
"Well, we can shoot her in the foot so she can't run or hurt us..."
"Victoria, we are NOT shooting her."
"Okay, genius, then what IS your plan? Are we supposed to just let her leave when she wakes up? Max, half of the Arcadia Bay army will be at our doorstep by tomorrow morning."
"She won't rat on us," Max says, though she failed to say so convincingly.
"Right. Max, let's be real, you couldn't even convince yourself," Victoria says condescendingly while flicking her cigarette at a nearby ashtray. "Look, that girl may have been your best friend ten years ago, but she has been brainwashed to kill you in a heartbeat now. Whoever you thought she is, she is no longer that person. And you will be wise to remind yourself of that."