The superbird rolled by the Arcadia Bay sign. The sign Chloe had once driven out of the ruins past. Seeing it like this was surreal to Chloe. As a passenger. Not just physically, but once again just a passenger in the grand scheme of things, if there was one at all anymore. She'd ridden into Arcadia at sunset a thousand times, but this time was different. The golden light of the sunset through the breaking clouds cast shadows on everything. Deep, dark ones. Or maybe those were always there and the current climate was just making them more noticeable. Arcadia was far from clean. Far from innocent. It had been, once, maybe. But the last remnants of that Arcadia were no more tangible than Max Caulfield was in this timeline. They had meant to leave earlier, but with Chloe's meltdown, Alain having to return home before they left, the rain and traffic, it was now getting dark. The dark could help.

They were home. And that meant they were vulnerable.

Chloe directed Alain to American Rust, as Gail and Rachel looked at their hometown as it passed by them, in a sort of daze. This wasn't their home. Not anymore. They didn't have that luxury now. Not that any of them really felt they had to begin with. They passed the Two Whales diner, Chloe ducking even though she had removed her beanie, tucked her necklace away and put her hoodie back on. They passed it too quickly to even see if Joyce was there, but it gave all three girls a strange feeling. Chloe wanted desperately to stop, to see her mother. But they couldn't. Not now. A mile up the road Chloe punched the side of the car and then started rubbing at her bracelet and bandana covered wrist. She lost herself in the pain, but it wasn't making her feel any better, she gripped harder, until she felt a gentle hand over her own.

"None of that", Gail said, very gently.

Chloe just looked at her desperately for a moment. Gail put her hand to Chloe's cheek and forced a smile. Chloe smiled back, even if it was forced. Chloe closed her eyes and leaned into Gail's hand for a moment, before turning back to the window.

Rachel may have seen or heard some of this, but if she did, she said nothing. More likely, she was too worried about being caught. They came to the gates of the American Rust junkyard, illuminated, by this time, the Superbird's flip-up headlights. Chloe had anticipated it being locked up at night. In fact, she'd jumped the gate many times, parking somewhere else, and sneaking in here, sometimes alone, other times with Rachel.

The things Rachel and I have done here….and Rachel….was here….before...no...stop...one disaster at a time.

Seemingly out of nowhere, she was back to herself.

"Kill the lights. Alain, come with me, Rachel, you can drive stick, right?"

"Uh, sort of…", Rachel said unsurely.

"You only need to get it into first. Don't grind anything, keep your foot on the clutch, don't stall, we're loud enough already, without having to roar this thing back to life."

"Hey, I didn't say she could-", Alain started.

"She's going to pull it up ten feet after we take care of the gate."

"...alright. Don't. Hit. Anything.", Alain said, Chloe understood the sentimental bullshit totally, but now was not the time.

"Alright, let's go", she said, already climbing over Gail to get out of driver's side of the car after Alain. When they were both out, Rachel climbed over into the driver's seat.

"Alright, what are we gonna do?", Alain asked.

"Open the trunk."

Thankfully, Alain had the spare set of keys with him. He opened the trunk, Chloe picked through their rushed luggage, shoving a backpack out of the way, she found the bolt cutters she was looking for. She took them, and shut the trunk, Rachel didn't need any more distractions, not that she should, for any reason, be looking behind her while driving into a dark junkyard in an insanely powerful muscle car that she could barely drive.

Chloe walked quickly to the gate and signalled Alain to get ready to push. She found the lock was a chain, padlocked to the fence that ran along the property, getting in here at night on foot was no problem, plenty of Arcadia's derelicts did, which she hoped they would not run into, but getting a car in would have been out of the question under normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances.

She put the open bolt cutters on a chain link and tried to cut. They were not really long enough to give her the right leverage, but they didn't have another option. She squeezed with all of her strength, but the chain was not breaking. She relaxed for a moment, rolling her sleeves up, then tried again, this time even harder. She was straining extremely hard. Alain was about to suggest letting him help, when he heard the sound of a chain rubbing against metal, dropping, and a thud when the padlock hit the ground.

Chloe dropped the bolt cutters, and they both shoved the gate open. Chloe waved Rachel through, and the car moved, jerkily, through the gate and into the yard. As soon as the rear bumper passed the threshold, Chloe and Alain closed the gate. Chloe did her best to put the chain back, making it look like it hadn't been cut, as Alain walked on, towards the car.

There was some talking over the low rumble of the muscle car's motor between Rachel and Alain, and she registered that she heard the car moving, slowly, further in, before the engine cutting out, she was preoccupied with the fact that she had blood running from her arm, down her left hand, though. The strain. She'd torn something open again. Probably the deepest burn, the one she'd actually killed the cigarette with, that she had scratched into a bloody mess. That Gail had so gently and carefully...lovingly, tended to.

She sighed and picked up the bolt cutters, pulling them through the gate. She walked in a kind of disconnected, drunken manner, towards the car. Alain had pulled it between two junk cars. It was obvious to her that it didn't belong, but to the untrained eye, in the dark, it was passable. They'd throw a tarp or something over it, anyway. She handed the bolt cutters to Alain, who went to put them back in the trunk. Rachel was out of the car, stretching, Gail followed, looking around nervously.

I've been here before….the train tracks….the junk….bottles...something about bottles…., Gail thought.

"Hey, you're bleeding...are you alright?", Rachel asked, as Chloe leaned against the car, next to her.

"Just...cut myself on the gate. No big thing."

Rachel could clearly see that there were no cuts or abrasions on Chloe's hands.

"...Chloe, what is it really? Why is your wrist all covered-"

"I wanted to wear bracelets on the other wrist, is that a fucking crime?", Chloe asked, suddenly extremely defensive.

"...I...no. No, Chloe. Sorry", Rachel said, though she knew Chloe was hiding something. Probably something self inflicted.

It was strange to be back here. In the junkyard. In Arcadia Bay. Neither Chloe, nor Rachel, nor Gail were really sure they'd ever see it again. Or if they'd even wanted to. They hadn't, not like this. The twilight made it even more surreal. Chloe lit a cigarette, trying to ground herself. Not start wondering what the fuck she was doing back here. She walked away from them, quietly, absent-mindedly. This was her territory. She could find her way with her eyes closed. The others weren't sure if they should follow or not, but eventually did, slowly. Rachel knew this place just as well. Rachel had once been part of this place. She knew where Chloe was going, but remained silent.

Eventually they came to the shack that Chloe and Rachel had called a second home, once upon a time.

"Chloe….", Rachel said gently, but Chloe wasn't listening.

Chloe simply entered and sat down on one of the makeshift seats. It was dark, Rachel retrieved a camping lantern from somewhere amongst the mess, turned it on and set it on the makeshift table.

Gail was somewhere in her own head, she knew she'd seen this place before.

Rachel was already gone…

She looked around in the dim light, noting how closely the messiness and tagged up walls resembled Chloe's room.

Chloe was here….Rachel was here….Max was here….

She paused when she saw a particular tag.

"I WANT TO DIE"

She could tell it was Chloe's, from the similarity to the ones in her room.

Ouch, Chloe.

Pizza boxes, beer bottles, a bong, old porn magazines, all girls, Gail noticed, and smiled in spite of herself...this place had definitely been a Chloe hideout at some point.

Alain leaned against a wall, Rachel sat in the car seat on the ground. Gail eventually settled next to Chloe, even though she was scared the closeness would….bother Rachel. Chloe needed her right now. She gently took Chloe's left wrist in her hand, rubbing her thumb on it lightly, lovingly. She saw the fresh dried blood on her left hand.

You have to stop hurting yourself, stop being so fucking reckless, Chloe…

"I want to see my mom", Chloe said, finally breaking the silence.

"Chloe….you will, very soon. We're going to finish this", Gail said, trying to sound more sure than she really was.

"You need to call David, Chloe", Rachel said.

"I know….I know. I'm just….scared. Hella scared. I thought I would know what to do, coming back here. Like, it would be easier. It'd kick me in the ass and get me motivated but...i'm just...scared."

"We have a plan, Chloe", Rachel reminded her.

"A fucking flimsy one, Rachel. Assuming David even found anything else, and Nathan is willing to help us. We don't know, we don't-"

"You wanted to come back, Chloe."

"I know. But was it right?"

"Nothing about any of our lives is right anymore. Why start now?", Rachel said, sounding a lot more like the Rachel Amber Chloe knew.

Chloe chuckled at this.

"You're right."

"So, pardon my intrusion", Alain said, "But what exactly are we planning on doing here, I get the gist, but…"

"Yeah, I don't really know either…", Gail said.

"I'll tell you after I call David. But I want you two to stay out of this as much as possible. Let me and Rachel handle the heavy lifting, ya know? Gail...i've messed up your life enough already. And Alain, if this goes wrong, you do not want to be tied to us."

"Chloe...we're in this together, i'm not...last time I wasn't there...you took off", Gail said, sadly.

"I'm not taking off again, Gail. I just want to keep you safe. No matter what happens."

"Chloe...we need to keep each other safe."

Chloe sighed. She asked Alain for his phone and tried to steel herself for whatever was about to happen.

David was preparing to leave, despite the doctors' insistence he stay. After a close call with Officer Berry, he knew he could no longer stay here. He'd managed to throw Anderson off his trail, for the time being, but he knew that Anderson Berry knew he was lying. Berry had gone so far as to indirectly threaten Joyce when David wouldn't tell him where Chloe was. This had almost broken David, but it didn't. He wouldn't sell her out, but he needed to go home, where he could watch out for Joyce directly and try to figure this out. He hadn't heard from Wells, which was not a good sign.

His phone rang. The California number Chloe had called him from. She said she wouldn't use it again unless it was absolutely an emergency. He didn't feel safe taking this call, not here. But he knew he had to.

"Hello?"

"David."

"Chloe...what's...is everything alright?"

"No...not really. I'm...back. David."

"You're WHAT?"

"I'm here. So are Gail and Rachel. I'm hidden. Don't worry. I figured you might need...some help."

"Goddammit, Chloe. You should have stayed put. This is too-"

"David…I can't run forever. You need help with this. I can help."

"Chloe...look. Anderson...Officer Berry, he knows. Not the full extent, but he's watching me and Wells and he was looking out for Nathan. Sean was paying him to look the other way on Nathan's transgressions and ….behaviour."

"Ooompf. That fucking prick. No wonder they came after me so hard."

"I'm sure your...history with local law enforcement didn't help anything, but Chloe, either way-"

"If I had been anyone else, they wouldn't have come down so hard."

"Chloe…."

"David, what do we have to do, to end this? For good."

David sighed deeply, sending a sharp pain through his injured lung.

"Gather enough evidence to indict Jefferson, and anyone else involved by extension. Of course, since he's dead, this is a lot hard-"

"I fucked up. I know."

"No...but, anyway...Chloe, you can't be in Arcadia Bay right now. How you managed to get back here at all, I don't...you need to get out. Before-"

"I'm not running anymore, David."

"If Sean actually shows up...he may have already, Wells-"

"Maybe...i'll just have to kill him, too."

"Chloe...stop. Think. If any of you three are seen here, it's over."

"I have a solution for that."

"What?"

"A friend from Big Sur, i'm on his phone right now. Say hi, Alain."

"Chloe...you didn't drag anyone else...you...why?"

"Wasn't fucking intentional, just sort of happened."

"Where are you?"

"Arcadia Bay."

"I mean-"

"Nearby. That's all i'm gonna say."

"Alright. What do you plan on doing, since you obviously aren't going to listen to me and leave."

"Nathan knows locations, where Jefferson ditched whatever was left, right?"

"According to Wells, but I haven't talked to Nathan directly, and Wells went silent. I'm leaving the hospital now, going home. To look after your mother."

There was a stifled sound, something between a sob and a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"...What about mom, David? She's…"

"She's fine, Chloe. But Berry...look. Don't worry about it. I just want to make sure everyone is safe."

"What?", Chloe snapped.

"Chloe...if this whole thing keeps going in the direction it's going, I don't know how safe any of us are. I'm actually going home tonight...just to be safe, but-"

"If…Berry touches...mom...you can add killing a cop to...my…..list", Chloe's voice came out in choked sobs.

"Chloe, i'm not going to let anything happen to her. What are you going to do?"

There was a deep breath and a sigh on the other end of the line, and then a few moments of silence.

"Talk to Nathan my fucking self", there was a rapid change in Chloe's attitude, as soon as Joyce came into it.

"Chloe, you can't…"

"What do we have and what do we need, David, I have a rough idea, but what exactly?"

This time David sighed.

"At least one of the missing binders, probably more than that. And even if we can get concrete evidence, we need to come up with something to put you there, and explain why you ran...and where Roberts and Amber have been. I honestly don't know what we're going to do, yet, Chloe."

"...i'm fucked no matter what happens, aren't I?"

"I didn't say that."

"But there is no way i'm walking away from this clean."

"...I don't know, Chloe. I will defend you to the death, but you know how these things-"

"Yeah. I know how pigs work."

"Chloe, don't give up on me. Please."

"I'm not, not yet anyway. But promise me something, David."

"What?"

"If I go down, you still have to fight for M-...Gail and Rachel."

"...of course, Chloe. But you're not going to, we just have to-"

"I love you, David. Like a second father. Hopefully i'll see you soon, under better circumstances."

David was caught completely off guard by this, by the time he could even formulate his thoughts, the line had gone dead. He looked at the phone in his hand for a few moments before slipping it back into his pocket.

"I love you too, Chloe. Like the daughter I never had….should have tried to have, a long time ago", he said to the empty hospital room.

He finished gathering his things and quietly left the hospital room, stopping only to check out.

Chloe had once again wandered off, while on the phone. She did this absentmindedly, though some part of her wanted the privacy, in case things has gotten exponentially worse since yesterday. They had, in a way.

Leave my fucking mother out of this, you pricks…

She eventually returned to the shack, where the others were quiet, mostly just waiting to hear what she had to say. She really hated being put on the spot like this, to be responsible for everyone, but she'd done it to herself. Alain leaned against the doorway, smoking a cigarette, Chloe slipped his phone in his jacket pocket as she walked by him.

"Well?", Rachel tried.

"We stick to the original plan. We talk to Nathan ourselves. Things just got worse."

"...how?"

"Officer fucking Berry. David is so concerned about mom that he's leaving the hospital. And he can't get ahold of Wells."

"Shit", Rachel muttered.

"Yeah. I know. We can't wait. We have to talk to Nathan. Tonight."

"Chloe, we can't just-", Gail started.

"We can't wait."

"Chloe, I know you're worried about Joyce, I am too, but David can take care of her and i'm sure-"

Joyce always seemed to strike a certain nerve with Chloe. Gail wasn't entirely sure why. Rachel knew exactly why. Gail chalked it up to, from what she could remember of Max's life, and what she'd seen, Chloe feeling like she'd somehow failed as a daughter. Rachel knew that was part of it, but also that Chloe hadn't forgotten losing Joyce to the storm, last time. Not yet, anyway.

"I'm talking to him tonight, and that's fucking that", Chloe snapped.

"And how do you propose we do that, Chloe? We can't just walk into Blackwell-", Rachel started.

"That is exactly what we're going to do."

"Chloe, no."

"Chloe, yes", Chloe said, completely disregarding everyone's protests and astonished looks.

"Chloe...look, I know how much you love Joyce, but we can't just throw ourselves to the fucking wolves like this", Rachel pleaded.

"She's right, Chloe. We can't just walk-", Gail started to agree.

"Okay, fine. Then you stay here. I'm going."

"Chloe…", Alain tried, again he'd stayed mostly silent as he didn't feel it was really his place to speak against anyone here, but this was too reckless, for all of them.

"You too? Fine", Chloe said, before standing. Gail grabbed her hand, but Chloe shook it off and walked out of the shack, into the darkness.

Gail immediately stood up to follow, but couldn't will herself to move right away. She knew exactly why Chloe was so insistent on going, and wasn't sure she could really, in good faith, try to talk her out of it, even if it was a bad idea for all of them.

Besides, she's not walking all the way to Blackwell from here, and if Alain isn't going to go-

This thought was cut off by the sound of a very loud engine.

"What the actual-", Alain started, but Gail was out of the shack and back in the junkyard before he had a chance to finish.

The gate stood open and the Superbird's tail lights were vanishing down the driveway.

"How…", Rachel whispered, she now stood beside Gail, with Alain.

There was a small laugh from Alain, not really an amused laugh so much as an annoyed, disbelieving laugh.

"She took the keys when she gave me my phone back."

"God fucking damn it, Chloe", Rachel muttered.

"Wh-...what do we do now?", Gail sighed.

"Well, we're not going after her", Rachel replied.

"But-"

"We're not walking to Blackwell from here, Gail. We're not any safer from getting caught than she is, we-"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE NEED TO GO AFTER HER", Gail protested.

"Gail...we can't just...if she thought she couldn't handle this, she wouldn't have gone….not after the last...the running away thing."

"Because Chloe is always so great at judging her own decisions."

"Well, what the fuck do you want to do? She's gone, we're not catching her, and-"

Gail's frustration with Rachel was mounting, and mounting. If Chloe was caught, it wasn't going to matter all that much where they were.

"And you want to let her confront Nathan of all people on her own, without even trying?"

"She's got the car, Gail, we're not-"

"You can see Blackwell from here, if you go through the woods-"

"Gail, come on that's still over a mile-"

"Fine, Rachel. Fine", Gail said in a much more even tone.

"Gail, i'm sorry, it's just-"

"No, it's okay...i'm sure she'll be...fine", Gail said, reaching into her bag.

What am I doing...even if this works...i'm sorry Rachel…

The thing about the human eye adjusting to the darkness is that a sudden flash can be, very temporarily, blinding.

"Gail..are you..alright?", Rachel started to ask, noting the change in Gail's tone, before she was blinded momentarily, "..what the FUCK?"

By the time Rachel and Alain's eye's readjusted to the dark, Gail was gone, on the ground where she'd been standing was a polaroid.

"Goddammit, Gail", Rachel muttered, picking it up.

It caught Rachel and Alain's startled expressions in a sudden camera flash.

In that flash, the group was broken up once again. Chloe once again acting on impulse, and Gail acting on her feelings about Chloe. Rachel realized she should have seen this coming, but it was too late now.

"What do we do now?", Alain asked.

"I...don't know."

Nathan hadn't really left his room in days, only when absolutely needed. Not with all of the things that were going on. At the same time a voice in his head, one of several, screamed at him to leave, because this is where his father and anyone else would expect to find him. With Jefferson gone, he could think more clearly than he'd been able to in a long time, but the stress of everything was affecting him. He had barely slept or eaten in several days. He'd never wanted it to turn out like this. He'd never wanted to get involved so deeply to begin with, not once he found out who Mark Jefferson really was. But by that time it was too late. And he thought Jefferson really cared about him. Wasn't just using him, like everyone else, but…

His train of thought was interrupted by knocking on his door. He panicked immediately, although it was probably just Wells, with yet another proposition, even though Nathan was prepared to agree to anything that got him out of this. He groaned in pain from his fractured ribs, which hurt even with the painkillers, as he sat up from his bed, then stood, and went slowly to the door.

"NATHAN, OPEN THE GODDAMNED DOOR", came a voice from the other side.

No fucking way…

He tentatively placed his hand on the doorknob, but hesitated.

"...that can't really be you."

"If you don't open this fucking door, i'm taking it down."

Maybe it can be…

He slowly opened the door and was met with a blonde Chloe Price.

"...how", was all he managed to get out before Chloe shoved her way into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Always underestimating me, Prescott."

Chloe did not want to be in this room. It brought back terrible memories, on top of just creeping her the fuck out, on it's own. The general darkness, the questionable photography subjects, the strange lighting. It was too much like another room.

"Look, whatever happened between us, i'm sorry, I didn't mean to-", apologetic Nathan was not something Chloe was used to, but she supposed breaking several of his bones could have that effect on him.

Honestly, I half expected him to pull a gun when he opened the door, then I would have had to have tired rewind-...no. Never again.

"I'm not here about that."

"Then what are you here about, Price? Do you have any fucking idea how much trouble you're...we're in?"

"Yes. I'm acutely aware. Which is why you're going to tell me everything you know, and we're going to finish this."

"I already told Wells, who told Madsen-"

"I'm not Wells or David, Nathan. And you're coming with me."

"What?! No. I'm staying right the fuck here, where-"

"Where, when this goes tits up, everyone will think to find you? Good plan, Nathan. Hella good plan."

"Fuck you, Price. I'm-"

"Dead, or as good as, if I get put away. So you only really have one option here."

"Maybe i'm done. We can't win this."

"And who's fault is that?", Chloe was becoming visibly more irritated by the second.

"Jefferso-", Nathan was cut off by Chloe slamming him against the wall. Nathan winced as a sharp pain shot through his broken ribs, again.

"WRONG. AS FAR AS ANY OF US GO, YOU'RE TO FUCKING BLAME HERE, NATHAN. AND IF YOU WANT TO LIVE TO SEE TWENTY, I SUGGEST YOU FUCKING LISTEN TO ME", Chloe screamed in his face.

Nathan was genuinely beginning to wonder who was the least sane here, Jefferson, himself or Chloe Price.

"Price...Chloe...look, I know where some things might be, but I already told Wells, and David, and they-"

"Don't exactly have the means to go out and look at the moment."

"...Chloe, i'm not going out there, i'm-", he was starting to plead with her.

"Yes, you are."

"If my father shows up, he'll kill me, Chloe. He'll-"

"He'll kill me, and everyone that I care about, Nathan. I know thinking outside yourself isn't really your thing, but-"

"Like you're any better than me, especially now-"

"Don't ever compare us, Prescott. Fucking ever."

Chloe had completely reached the end of her patience.

"And why is that? We're both selfish, unstable assholes that only care about-", Nathan was interrupted again, this time by a knife blade held to his throat.

"Care to finish that? Or are you done, and coming with me?", Chloe said, she had him pinned to the wall with her left arm across his chest and now the switchblade in her right hand.

Something clicked in Nathan's shattered mind. He felt a deja vu. It scared him, more than Chloe Price holding a knife to his throat did, which should have considering the things she'd done in the last week or so.

"Alright...alright. Fine."

"That's what I thought", Chloe said, pulling the knife away.

Chloe pulled her hood back up and exited the room with Nathan in tow. They remained completely quiet through the halls of the dorm. Chloe would not risk being caught here by drawing any more attention than absolutely necessary.

Good thing David never got those cameras installed…

Only when they got to the parking lot did she tell Nathan exactly what he was going to do.