Chapter 2

By the time the 'Welcome to Seattle' sign came into view, Chloe was beyond exhausted. Her fuel needle was on empty in both a literal and figurative sense. Dawn was just breaking on the horizon and she'd had no chance to sleep since setting off for her disaster date with Rachel to now. But she kept at it. She spotted a lay by off to her right, but chose to ignore it. It was way too exposed. She'd find a nice overnight parking lot to sleep in. She knew it was a bad idea to keep driving in her state. The risk of an accident was increasing with every second she carried on, but she wasn't going to risk anything happening because she stopped in the wrong place. At the very least, she wanted to be indoors. Even if that meant she was having to sleep in the truck, it wouldn't be the first time she'd done that.

The resounding crash jolted her back to consciousness. She didn't know when her eyes had closed. It was literally a blink that had dragged on for too long. She inwardly cursed herself for not stopping at the lay by when she had the chance. The girl in the other vehicle let out a scream so strong that Chloe could swear she felt it through the frame of the truck. But she was beyond caring. She couldn't drive anywhere now and she couldn't even stop herself from sagging sideways again, her eyes drifting shut and staying that way this time. The darkness took her and she fell into unconsciousness again.

She didn't know how long she slept for. She was vaguely aware of a sense of weightlessness at various intervals, but not much else. And for now, she didn't care. She couldn't have opened her eyes if she'd wanted to. Her dreams were fitful. They ranged everywhere from finding Max to crawling back home to Joyce and all the potential outcomes that came with each. Laughing, crying, fighting... In one of them, she found that Max had killed herself, unable to cope without her. That had easily been the hardest one. Chloe doubted that had come to pass, but the very thought shook her to the core and left her terrified. And no matter how much she begged for a better dream, none came. From that point, her brain ran her through one bad scenario after another.

But suddenly, everything changed. A sound began to filter into her unconscious mind. It was indescribable, somehow. The word 'beautiful' didn't do it justice. In her head, it was like it had managed to take on a physical form and was working to dispel the darkness. The light enveloped her, transporting her to a vivid memory of her living room. The rainy day pirate ship was seeing good use that day. Max was there and together the two girls were staging an epic battle on the high seas. They captured the enemy ship- cleverly disguised as a drinks table- and the TV remote that was the captain refused to talk. So Chloe and Max took his crew of potato chips captive and shared the men evenly between them. Joyce and William chose that moment to come home and Joyce enlisted their help to make lemon muffins. And while they were cooling, Chloe and Max headed up to her room.

"Aye, 'Tis a good life we lead, Long Max Silver!" she'd proclaimed as the younger girl had grinned up at her.

"The best!" Max had replied as Chloe pulled her into an embrace. "May it never change."

"May it never change us." Chloe had added. In that moment, the temptation had been to lean in and kiss her. She'd wanted to. She'd desperately wanted to. But then the world seemed to have snapped back into focus. The sense of euphoria, and with it her chance to make the move she'd wanted, were both gone. And because of that, so was Max. Life had changed for them. It had torn them away from one another and in doing so had torn Chloe apart from within herself.

Chloe's eyes opened, tears streaming down them as she sat up and wiped her face off. There was a box of tissues within easy reach and she grabbed one to try and clean up a bit with. She didn't have a mirror nearby so she was relying on the drunken lack of coordination that came with waking up after such a deep sleep and a hefty helping of total guesswork. But that didn't stop fresh tears falling.

"Why didn't you tell her, you fucking idiot?" she muttered bitterly to herself. There was no denying it: the reason Max had left without knowing how she felt was entirely on her. That stroll down memory lane had forced her eyes open and there was no way to close them again. It was like a bright light being forcefully beamed into them. And it hurt. It was probably the second worst agony she'd ever felt. "God dammit..."

"Up and about, I see." At the sound of the voice, Chloe was instantly on the defensive. She threw the duvet off her and jumped up, only for her legs to instantly give out as she hit the ground with a resounding crash. The air was knocked from her lungs and she could only lie there panting as the voice's owner made their way over. "Well not quite, I guess." Chloe pulled herself up, her arms trembling with the effort as she panned up the legs of the person standing in front of her. Before she could form a clear picture, they'd looped their arms under hers and lifted her up with a strength that belied their scrawny frame. She was unceremoniously dumped back on the bed as the person in front of her crouched down to her level. Now seeing her face, Chloe realised to her horror that this was the same girl whose car she'd hit.

"Ah, fuck." At that, the girl started literally cackling with laughter. She was practically bent double as she was forced to sit down and couldn't stop. It was almost like Chloe had just told the most hilarious two-word joke this girl had ever heard.

The girl herself was Asian, tallish, matching Chloe's five-seven and had a face that Chloe couldn't place. Her features were a mix of soft and hard that suited her, but also made her look weirdly boyish in some ways. One look at her told Chloe that for every aspect and layer about her she could see, there was probably at least a dozen she couldn't. The fact that she'd hit this girl's car made her want to be as far away from her as possible. It wasn't like she had the money to pay for the damage. And yet something about her made it impossible for Chloe to look away. She found herself desperately wanting to know more.

"Oh, you definitely don't disappoint." The girl stood up and smoothed her hair out, turning to face Chloe. "So what's your name?"

"I'm Chloe." Chloe hated the numb edge her voice was carrying. She had so many questions and yet the sound she'd heard while she was sleeping had somehow left her brain too cleared out to think of any of them. It had carried a weirdly cleansing effect that she both loved and hated at the same time. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ana." The girl busied herself by walking over to the bedroom cabinet and grabbing a box of tablets from them, popping one out and downing it with some water from the glass on the top. "Ana Nagakawa. I only have two rules: don't bother trying to pronounce that if you don't think you can and please don't make Nagasaki jokes when my name comes up. Any other time is fine, though." With that, she flashed Chloe a wink and Chloe wasn't sure how to react.

"Ana Nagakawa." Chloe shrugged as she tried to stand up again and managed it this time. "Not that hard."

"You'd be amazed how many people get tongue-tied with it." Ana said, throwing the box back into the drawer she got it from. "You know, you're damn lucky to be alive."

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard that." Chloe mused thoughtfully as Ana made her way back over.

"Well you're hearing it now." She grabbed a hairbrush off the nightstand and started running it through her hair. Chloe was stunned by how amazing it was. She considered herself one of the least girly women on the planet and she would have killed for hair like that. Ana carried on obliviously. "You know, I seriously wanted to shoot you when I opened your door. Had my gun out and everything. But then I saw the state you were in. No wonder you fell asleep at the wheel. You were totally dead to the world."

"Yeah, I woke up the previous morning and just had no let-up the entire day." Chloe told her. "Then there was a family disagreement so I decided the best thing I could do was get away."

"So I saw." Ana nodded, putting the hairbrush back where she got it from and shook her hair out properly. "I figured you technically weren't to blame for this. Or at least I couldn't blame you until I knew more, anyway. So I had the guys come pick us up and bring us back here. It was a risk, but expected you'd be much more useful after a decent sleep."

"How long was I out?" Chloe asked.

"Four years, seven months, ten days." Ana said. Chloe suddenly choked on her breath at the news and was left doubled over coughing as Ana was left doubled over laughing. Again. "Girl, you are way too easy! You've been out half a day."

"Bitch, I... I haven't fully woken up yet!" Chloe protested between hacking coughs. "You can't just do that shit when I've found myself somewhere else and I'm trying to adjust!" At that, Ana straightened up and moved over to her. She seemed to suddenly be all business and it unnerved Chloe somewhat.

"Stand up straight and close your eyes."

"What?" Chloe was nonplussed, but Ana wasn't to be deterred.

"Eyes!" she ordered firmly. Chloe drew herself to her full height, brushing the one blue bang of hair from her left eye and closing her eyes. She could sense Ana standing just behind her. Just then, the sound of her humming gently registered in her ears. The tune was familiar to her. It wasn't like the usual Country music her dad used to listen to. Thank god. Ana already had enough reasons to keep her in debt to her and her friends. Throwing up on the carpet of whatever bedroom she was in would certainly not start things off great.

This tune was definitely one she recognised. Her dad used to have it playing gently when he played Fantasy tabletop games with her and Max. It was the melody of Scarborough Fair. And as it went on, the energy in it got more intense. The music seemed to take on a physical form, swirling around her legs and creeping up her back. As the music reached a definite peak, something in it seemed to trigger some sort of explosion in Chloe. She opened her eyes, but didn't see the room she was standing in. She was transported back to a childhood memory of being at an actual fair. Max was there and they were begging Joyce and William to take them to the donut stand. The sound of Ana's humming was gone, replaced by the gentle breeze that had swept over them that day. The music had changed to be replaced by the music they heard from the band that had been on stage. Days like this one had been days Chloe had missed greatly in Max's absence. And to be transported back there felt magical. She could still feel the carpet of the room under her feet. She was under no illusion about it actually being real. But having it so close she could reach out and touch it was an almost addictive surrogate.

All too soon it faded. Chloe was left standing back in the room, a newly refreshed energy buzzing through her. She turned to Ana, a look of shock on her face as the slightly shorter girl opened her eyes. She let out a breath and moved back to the cabinet, grabbing the pitcher of water and pouring herself another glass. She downed it in one before turning back to Chloe and offering a smile so laced with fake innocence that a toddler wouldn't have been fooled.

"Better now?" she asked. Chloe knew it was rhetorical.

"How... How the fuck did you just-" Ana cut her off by walking briskly past her and over to the door, grabbing the handle and going to open it.

"I bet you've got a million questions. You want to know more about me. You want to know where you are and who the 'guys' I mentioned earlier are. Some of those I'm prepared to answer now if you're prepared to hear them. Others... Maybe not so much. Are you ready?" Chloe was about to say yes. Then she caught herself just in time, realising she was still wearing the same clothes as she was during the crash. And since that was essentially a day and a half ago she put those on, she was willing to bet she kind of stank.

"Actually, do you have my backpack anywhere?" she asked. "I could really use a change of clothes."

"Sure." Ana nodded. "I'll grab it for you. Although if you want to freshen up a bit, there's a makeshift shower just on the other side of the complex. It's not a big place, so it'll be easy to learn the layout. I can lend you some body spray if you don't have any."

"You are a fucking lifesaver." Chloe grinned. Ana only shrugged in response.

"Hanging out with a bunch of grease monkeys is no reason to have to stink like them. I have my own skills and they require me to be presentable."

"What does that mean?" Chloe asked suspiciously. Without replying immediately, Ana threw the door open.

The sight that greeted Chloe was one that took her breath away. It looked like she was in a staging area for a kids' amusement park. But everything had been dismantled or crudely built over. There was a truck that looked like it used to house a fold-out roller coaster in it that had been completely gutted and refitted with a new bank of machines. The permanent rides had also been taken apart and converted into shelters or seating areas. The toilet block had remained as it was, with the addition of a shower unit on each side- one for men and one for women. And in the middle, the announcement board had been converted into a TV the size of a billboard. The entire area was enclosed in a massive cage with multiple tarps over the top. Chloe had never seen anything like it. It sort of reminded her of the junkyard back in Arcadia Bay, except that everything had a purpose.

"Welcome to The Hive." Ana said, spreading her arms and doing a three-sixty. "It was built by us runaways specifically for people like us. Here, we do work where we can get it to bring in money and create a space where we don't have to worry about how life wants us to live. We live life how we want to, not the other way around. The only question is what your talents are."

"It sounds like heaven." Chloe muttered. "I fixed up my truck myself, planning to leave Arcadia Bay. When I finally did it, I thought I'd have a rough time of it coming in with maybe forty dollars to my name. I never imagined finding something like this."

"Well you're not one of us yet." Ana told her. Chloe felt her spirits fall at that, but the other girl pressed on. "We have your truck and our car laid up in our repair bay. Crude as it is, it serves our needs. The guys have decked it out pretty well. You'll be in charge of fixing both up. We'll get you the parts you need since we have contacts that will provide them at little to no charge. Just tell us what they are and we'll supply them. You'll repay us with labour by fixing both your truck and the car you wrecked. You'll be squared away with me until then. We can sort out some basic bedding to start you off and we'll put food on your table. Once those cars are fixed, you can join us if you want start earning money like the rest of us. I'll tell you more then." It was a fair deal. Certainly fairer than Chloe had anticipated. And they were seeing to it that she'd be fed. Damn, she already didn't deserve these people.

"Okay." Chloe nodded. Ana extended her hand and Chloe shook it. Without beating around the bush, Ana gestured for her to follow. Together, they walked in the direction of one of the old rides. It looked like it used to be one of those ones that lifted you up and then dropped you down at such high speed you felt like your head was about to pop off. Chloe saw it had been cleverly converted into a double maintenance ramp. She had to applaud the genius on display here! But then her heart visibly sank when she saw what was loaded up there.

"What?" Ana asked, seeing her expression. "I haven't had the full report yet, but your truck doesn't seem to have come out too badly. It seems to be mostly external damage."

"That's not what's catching my eye." Chloe told her as she walked over and gazed up. Two boys who appeared a couple of years older than her had taken notice and were walking over, one of them wiping oily hands on an even grubbier rag. Chloe chose to ignore them, still staring up in disbelief. "Sorry, honey. I don't think there's any salvaging yours. That thing was barely road legal by default."

"Your truck looks like it came from a junkyard." Ana observed bluntly.

"Because it did." Chloe nodded. "But yours got the worse deal for coming from a factory run by untrained monkeys. It's the only known explanation there is for a 1989 Buick LeSabre. They were utter shit from 1989 all the way to now. And I don't know anyone who still drives them in 2011."

"We take what we can fix." Ana told her. "And say what you will about it, but if anything goes wrong with this one we can usually fix it at the roadside with basic tools. Very rarely do we have to call for a rescue. I think until yesterday, the last time was about two years ago." She chose that moment to turn to the two guys that had walked up. "That's right isn't it, boys?" They were only just able to tear their eyes off Chloe long enough to answer.

"Uh, we'll have to check the log book but that sounds about right." The one who'd spoken was really short with hair so ginger it was almost radioactive and had thick-lensed glasses that had broken in places and were held together with twisted wire. In a weird way, Chloe liked it. It looked really Steampunk but also suited him. The other one was the polar opposite. He had short black hair and was built like the Empire State building. He didn't walk so much as loped along and carried himself like there was something wrong with his back. If they were going to be working together, Chloe made a note to keep an eye on him.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Ana wondered as she focused on them properly. "Chloe, this is Inchy and House. Inchy is the one with the glasses. You get the idea. They'll be seeing to it you get what you need to get both your truck and our car back on the road. Guys? This is Chloe. She got here in rough shape last night but once she's had a day to get back on her feet she's going to be fixing the damage she caused. If she wants a screwdriver, it's your jobs to ask which one. You get me?"

"Got it." Inchy nodded, giving a mock salute as he side-eyed Chloe up and down. With that, he and House turned and headed off. Chloe was left glaring after them as they went back to what they were doing.

"Did he just check me?" she asked hotly, turning back to Ana and making her fury plain.

"Don't be offended." Ana said, a soothing note to her voice that somehow instantly cooled Chloe's inner fire. "He's hopeful. Nothing more. It's not my place to discuss anyone's history but my own, but like the rest of us, he's here because something turned his life upside-down and he needed to escape from it. He's actually a really sweet guy if you give him the time of day." There was something longing in her tone that Chloe instantly picked up on and she turned to Ana, a coy smile playing on her lips.

"Are you speaking from experience there?"

"We weren't compatible." The reply was short and sharper than Chloe expected, Ana seeming to shut down slightly in the process. Whatever button Chloe had pressed, clearly it was the wrong one. With that, Ana turned and started walking in the direction of the big semi truck that had previously housed the fold-out roller coaster. "Now follow on. I have one last secret to share." Chloe did, intrigued by the machines that were there now. The closer she got, the more interested she was. They didn't look anything like the technology the rest of The Hive was working with. If anything, the setup looked almost Sci-Fi by comparison.

"What are those?" Chloe asked somewhat redundantly. Something told her she was about to find out anyway.

"In this modern year of 2011, 3D printing is a new science. One that industries are taking to with great passion. To help out, there are some models out there that print with things like soft metal wire that melts under high heat into whatever shape you're trying to print. Others print using industrial grade filament strong enough to make things like engine parts with. And thanks to our employer, we've managed to snag one of each before they hit the shelves, so to speak. Each day, someone gets placed on wire stripping duty. Some people like it and others hate it. But that wire gives us what we need to make everything from parts to bullet components. Since you're not yet one of us, we're not going to trust you with something like that. But since most of the people here are minors with little to no adult supervision at any time, self defence is something we take seriously. So I had them make something for you." With that, she reached into her back pocket and pulled something out, pressing it into Chloe's hand. Chloe took it. Uncurling her fingers, she saw that it was a butterfly knife. Memories of slashing Damon Merrick across the face at the old mill started to creep in, but she was snapped back by Ana's voice. "You abuse that shit, what I'll do to you will make you wish I'd shot you."

"Noted." Chloe replied. And she fully believed her. "So what now?"

"Now?" Ana erupted into a smile. "After getting out of a bad situation, the best thing to do is unwind and practice self care. So I'm taking you to work with me tonight."

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. You may notice this one is a bit longer than usual. This is because I've been using this story to really up the quality of my writing and try to explore more with what I can do. In short, I've switched up my entire writing format to try out a new one. This is more or less the average chapter length throughout this story although some will be slightly longer and others lightly shorter. This is whole upgraded writing format is very new to me so let me know how you like it. The next chapter will be up on Thursday, so I'll see you all then.