The road to Prescott's barn was extremely rough and bumpy, as Jefferson seemed to hit every pothole in the road. But there was no time to waste on this dark and starry night. Pressing the gas pedal harder, and ramping up the speed well past the speed limit, Jefferson couldn't wait any longer to finally see his prize. The special prize for all his achievements, made just for him. Everything curated and hand picked, the best of the best, only for Mark Jefferson. He knew it was egotistical to think that something so luxurious would be for only himself, but he didn't care. For all the past pain he endured in his life, this darkroom would become his most prized possession.

Even though the minutes seemed to tick by faster than anticipated, the drive wasn't too terribly long. However, the excitement was too much to bear for the two photographers. As Jefferson was driving the van, Nathan was in the passenger's seat keeping watch on the three girls in the backseat, anxiously looking back, then at the road, then back at the girls, all to do it all over again.

"You don't think they'll wake up before we arrive, do you?"

Sometimes, especially over a pothole, one of the girls would move, and it always freaked Nathan out. Any movement meant that he might have messed up, which in Nathan's mind, meant that he was a failure. And being a failure was not acceptable in the Prescott family. He trusted Mr. Jefferson immensely, but never knew what his plans were all the time. It always kept Nathan on edge.

"No. It would be impossible. The effects don't start to wear off until several hours later." Jefferson's eyes were still on the road, trying to focus on the barely visible gravel path that lay in front of the car. There was a whirlwind of dust and debris starting to form behind the van. It was a rather deserted area, which had its benefits, but arriving at nighttime was proving to be difficult. The dense forest surrounding the narrow road made it even harder to drive on, as one wrong turn could lead you deep into the unknown. But as soon as the road gave way to a larger culdesac, now with Jefferson getting closer to the barn, everything was suddenly uncovered by the van's headlights. "Look, we're here."

The barn was a total drab, lacking any originality or color. Alongside the faded paint and rough wood planks, it could easily collapse if any sudden gust of wind came. Let alone the fact that there was no identification on the building, it made Mr. Jefferson slightly concerned, wondering if he was even at the right place. His time was precious, and potentially showing up at the wrong location would be more troublesome than either of them wanted to imagine.

As Mr. Jefferson pulled right in front of the barn, he harshly stepped on the brakes, making Nathan jerk forward.

They both hurriedly got out of the van and rushed to the large barn door, pushing it open. It made a loud creak, as the metal latches scraped against each other. It was rather difficult to see what they were doing. The only light provided was from the running headlights on the van, since there were no lights anywhere else. No lampposts, no motion activated lights. Not a single illumination was found in the darkness. It made the environment surrounding them immensely creepy. Who knew what lurked in between the shadows?

Inside the barn was a padlocked door that was hidden under thin sheets of hay, begging to be opened and explored. Again, since not a single light was found and Mr. Jefferson didn't think to bring flashlights, Nathan was forced to stumble his way over to where the bunker door laid. He ran his hands through the layers of hay, feeling his way around on the floor, hoping to find the padlock. He hopelessly continued his search, hands becoming scratched by the rough hay, until hitting a metal lock. Bingo. He held onto it with his left hand, and fished out the key from his pocket with his right hand, inserting it into the padlock. It made a subtle click, and Nathan ever so gently lifted up the heavy metal bunker door. There was an immediate stairwell leading down to yet another door, this time with a keypad. He decided to wait for Mr. Jefferson, not wanting to spoil the surprise for himself, either.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jefferson was back by the van, unlocking the latches to open the rear door. As the doors folded out, he stepped into the van, making it creak and sway from the weight. The three girls hadn't moved since they had arrived. Good. Their heads were still covered with the old potato sacks and thick rope around their extremities. He grabbed Rachel first, as she was unsurprisingly Jefferson's favorite, and began the trek down into the darkroom.

Nathan hurried back to the van, passing Mr. Jefferson who was carrying Rachel, and took the next girl in line, Max. She was smaller, and easier to transport, he thought, and Nathan knew he didn't even want to touch Chloe. He hated the girl. She would have to be Mr. Jefferson's problem.

The door to the bunker was unlocked, presumably done by Mr. Jefferson, and the two placed the three girls on the white backdrop in the darkroom. Neither of them had any time to look around so they quickly removed each girl's head coverings and made their way back up to the van. "Nathan, help me move some of these boxes down into the darkroom–I want to be done with moving all this shit before they wake up."

The two hastily moved nearly every box from the back of the van down into the darkroom. Each box was packed full with all of the equipment from the lighthouse, such as lights, lenses, and extra cameras. Some were heavier than others, but the two managed to bring them all down in only an hour. It was a lot of work, and as Nathan grabbed the final box tucked away near the driver's seat, he was panting loudly, taking a small break before making his descent into the darkroom for the night.

Nearly an hour and a half had passed from moving all of their equipment out of the van. Neither Mr. Jefferson nor Nathan had even looked in the darkroom at all, spending all of their time transporting boxes. As they both grabbed a water from the mini fridge, they began to walk around, taking in all the new sights Sean Prescott had provided.

Upon entry, there were two connecting rooms. An initial entry point, almost a foyer, that was stocked with food, drinks, and extra storage for more equipment. It was spacious and well organized. A plastic divider hung between the doorway from the entry to the actual darkroom.

The darkroom itself was beautiful. A gorgeous new film scanner, a brand new computer set up on a desk, shiny waxed floors, and a cabinet filled with every project Jefferson had done, all cataloged and indexed in red binders. A white couch sat in the middle of the room, facing the main backdrop. It was lighted with the newest equipment, and secured black storage boxes sat on each side of the room. It was absolutely perfect.

While Jefferson and Nathan were continuing to explore the room, walking around looking at every piece of new equipment, Max was starting to wake up. Her body was still getting caught up to reality, but her eyes instantly saw what was in front of them. The darkroom. The exact same one from before, the one she remembered. The drugs seemed to put a haze over any feelings she wanted to feel, but she was utterly terrified. She looked down, only to realize that her hands and feet were tied. The rope was tight, and wouldn't budge at any movement she tried to make.

Max looked over to her right, recognizing the signature white photography backdrop that lay beneath her, only to see Chloe and Rachel. They weren't awake yet. Everything surrounding them was extremely bright, as the lights pointed at them were turned up to a burning intensity. There was no way any of this was going to work out. Time is ticking. As Max was coming to her senses even more, she started to hear the distinct music she asked Jefferson to play the last time she was in here, which would eventually be used as a ploy. The jazz music coming out of the speaker system was making Max more than unsettled, as there was something about that genre of music being combined with a murderous darkroom that made for an unnerving environment.

Trying to squint past the lights and into the other room, out of the corner of Max's eye, she saw Jefferson and Nathan now over by the entrance, looking at all the stocked food that was neatly organized on the provided cabinets. She could faintly hear them talking, sometimes saying either her or Chloe's name.

"I'm just not sure this is a good idea, Nathan. If it weren't for those two girls showing up, we wouldn't have any problems." He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. "They're useless anyway. Just annoying little shits that are getting in the way of Rachel's shots." Jefferson began to walk outside of Max's view, pacing around the entryway, thinking.

Nathan was starting to twitch, a telltale sign that he was becoming anxious. He tried looking around for an answer to Jefferson's problems, but couldn't find one. Seeing his photography teacher so frustrated was making him frustrated as well. "So what should we do with them?"

Mr. Jefferson stopped pacing around the entryway and looked down, crossing his arms, "I don't know yet. I have a feeling Sean won't like the fact that there's unwanted guests in his space. I certainly wouldn't want to offend him."

Nathan stood there looking at Jefferson, unsure of what to say. He knew his father was strict, but perhaps he wouldn't mind a few extra subjects.

Mr. Jefferson continued, now with a more serious tone to his demeanor, "This is going to become more than a legal concern if we don't get them out of here soon. I'd like to spend a bit more time with Rachel, as she has the most potential. But that Chloe girl, damn she's a pain in the ass. I don't know why I listened to you on taking her."

He always seemed to have a backup plan, but this time it didn't seem like he did. When the two had brought Chloe from her truck into the lighthouse, Nathan insisted on it being his idea. Mr. Jefferson had his reservations, but couldn't resist having another subject to photograph. Although after bringing Chloe in, she proved to be much more difficult than Jefferson could handle.

"I'm sorry." Nathan looked truly upset–whether at himself or at making Jefferson annoyed–Max couldn't tell. "I just thought since she's had a past with Rachel, we could make her see that Rachel doesn't want a pathetic dropout. She wants something…more." There was a look Nathan gave Jefferson, one that Max had seen before. The specific look Nathan puts on when he wants something. It's a darkness in his eyes, an inner feeling that he was going to hurt someone in the process. It was scary.

Mr. Jefferson shifted his stance, visibly thinking. "I do see your point, Nathan. And I think we've accomplished just that. Remember that fight those two had last night? I think you're onto something here."

"But what about the other girl?"

Max grew pale. They were talking about her, no doubt about it. Of course she was the only one awake to hear it.

The photographer thought for a moment, trying to remember her name. She was just a nuisance to them at this point. An annoyance brought in at the last moment. "What was her name? Max? Yeah, she's completely useless here." He looked into the darkroom briefly, making Max bounce back. She couldn't let them know she was listening to them.

Nathan was beginning to become confused. This was yet another time Jefferson was being cryptic, and the novice wanted a clearer picture. "So we should let her leave?"

Mark Jefferson looked at Nathan, shocked he would even ask such a redundant question. "And tell the whole town about our little secret? I don't think so, Nathan. She has to stay."

A deep feeling of fear in the middle of the girl's stomach was growing. Luckily, their conversation was done, but even if it wasn't, Max was. She couldn't handle hearing any more of it. If Max knew anything about this place, it was that it wasn't looking good for any of them. Being in the actual darkroom, the one she remembered, meant that it was probably their last destination before dying. She didn't want to sugarcoat it, it was a real threat. There were probably days, god, maybe barely a day to try to make it out of there. Max knew that in the absolute worst case scenario she could still rewind, even though she promised never to again, but the problem was that she couldn't find her stuff anywhere. No Polaroids meant no life saving rewind power.

Jefferson and Nathan began to make their way over to sit on the couch, waiting for everyone to wake up. It was a slow and painful walk, as they seemed to be in no rush to get anything done.

"Max, don't be shy, I can see you're awake." Jefferson noticed, which sent a shiver down Max's spine. As he made it to the couch, he took his time sitting down, embracing the quiet moments before the other two would wake up. "I saw your broken Polaroid camera." He pointed to Max's backpack, tucked away behind a storage box to her left. At least she knew where it was–the question now was how to reach it. "It's a shame such a historic piece of analog photography was broken."

The photography teacher leaned back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other. Nathan sat next to him, just watching the girls. He was visibly thinking, but no one ever knew what.

"Yeah." Max was pulled back, reluctant to talk to Mr. Jefferson directly. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was majorly off in the room, a strangeness Max still couldn't quite figure out. It was different from before, almost this intuitive hunch that there was a mistake made somewhere. She kept looking at Chloe and Rachel, in between talking to Mr. Jefferson, hoping and praying for one of them to start waking up so that they could help her, since being alone with the two photographers was not Max's favorite activity.

Unexpectedly, Max's prayers were answered as she noticed Chloe's leg started to twitch, then her arms. It was almost uncanny how quickly it happened after Max had thought about it, but she didn't question things like that anymore. Having superpowers meant that nothing would ever make sense.

Jefferson instantly took notice, leaning over across the coffee table, looking closer. "Oh, look Nathan, Chloe's waking up. Watch as her innocence begins to fade. So destructive."

It was like the two on the couch were at a zoo, pointing at and studying everything that was happening in front of them. Max wanted to say something so badly but held it back. She was really getting tired of Jefferson's bullshit. Everything happening in the room felt like Max's nightmare all over again. Them sitting on the couch, talking shit about them. The white backdrop. The eerie, half-dim overhead lights. The damn jazz music. The only thing she could think of was how to get out of there, but it was proving to be more than difficult.

As Chloe was waking up even more, she sat up, looking over at Max, then at Rachel, who was still unconscious. Anger began to fill every cell of Chloe's body seeing Rachel like that again. She couldn't remember anything from the night before, but knew that she was tired of watching the poor girl laying there, unaware of everything around her. It was getting exhausting being here. She tried to pull at the ropes tied around her arms and legs, still blinded by the bright lights projected onto her, not realizing she was being researched by two photographers.

"What are you doing to us?!" She started to sob, not able to control her emotions. She yelled into the seemingly white void, knowing that someone was there, but she couldn't see them. Max wanted to console her friend, but noticed Jefferson wanted in on the action even more. Disgusting. Max remained seated on the floor, forced to watch her friend become a subject for Jefferson's little photography project.

Him and Nathan looked at each other, before Jefferson grabbed his camera to get closer to Chloe. He leisurely walked over to the girl, standing at various angles trying to get the best shot. "Very nice." Click. Click. "I like your raw emotion, Chloe. This is pure rage." Another click. "Feeling trapped. The need to–"

Chloe, even though her hands and feet were still tied, and none of her efforts to escape were working, bashed her head against Jefferson's camera, making it drop to the ground, which cracked the lens. Jefferson was now filled with fury, not hesitating to punish his subject for ruining his favorite camera.

"You bitch!" He slapped Chloe hard across the face, making the girl fall sideways from the impact, crashing onto Rachel's unconscious body. When Chloe looked up, her nose was starting to bleed, making Max visibly upset. Her friend looked like her now, but even more beaten down. It was horrible to watch.

Max continued to hold back every word she wanted to scream, because she knew that it would cause even more problems in the long run. It was the most challenging thing, seeing Chloe like that, and not saying anything. She just couldn't.

Chloe, in an effort to fight back, tried to kick Jefferson, but it was proving to be difficult due to the rope around her ankles. She was so angry she could explode, but stopped immediately as soon as Nathan stood up and pulled out a gun he had tucked in the back of his pants. This was looking like the bathroom scene all over again, and Max was starting to feel sick.

"I'm really getting tired of your shit, Price." Nathan sauntered over to Chloe, who was still pathetically laying on the backdrop, covered in blood. She was breathing heavily, and nothing could stop her from taking this whole place down in flames. She didn't dare to speak yet, although desperately wanting to, because her emotions were starting to take over.

Max frantically looked back and forth between Nathan and her backpack, knowing that Nathan was about to kill Chloe right then and there. She could run over there, probably get shot, but she could rewind. She could.

Nathan steadily made his way closer to Chloe, now only a foot in front of her, gun pointed right at her head. The metal barrel was digging into her forehead, making a visible mark. Jefferson stood back, watching it all happen. He didn't even care. If anything, he was more amused. It looked like he had completely forgotten about his broken camera from just mere moments ago.

"All those years you took Rachel from me. She could've been mine! Mine!" Nathan was becoming delusional. The guy seemed unhinged, not caring if anything he was saying was even making sense. He pushed the gun further into Chloe's head, not letting go of his determination to kill her. "You know she never loved your punk ass!"

Chloe, not caring that a gun was pressed into her forehead, moments away from the trigger being pulled back, was crying. Yelling for anyone to hear her. "She did love me! I don't know what you're talking about, freak!"

Nathan started to twitch again, getting more and more crazy. He began to make some weird noises, almost like he was talking to himself, as he was just moments away from making a life changing decision. He got closer and closer to Chloe, so much so that he was inches away from her face, crouched down. His hands were shaking, to such an extent that he could accidentally fire the gun without wanting to. The entire room felt like it was going to burst from the seams. Everything was extremely silent and ear piercingly loud at the same time. Max could've sworn that the time had stopped.

Out of nowhere, interrupting the painful tension in the air, a phone's ringtone went off sounding an obnoxious alarm. It completely pulled everyone out of the moment, as hesitation began to brew. Nathan wanted to go back to dealing with Chloe, but the ringing never stopped. Mr. Jefferson was getting annoyed. "Who's phone is that? Nathan?"

Nathan stepped back, drawing the gun down from Chloe's head, and reached in his coat pocket. It was his phone.

He nervously looked at Mr. Jefferson, who was growing more irritated with the novice, then back at his phone, ready to answer whoever was calling him. The quick change of tone made it clear to everyone in the room that he was talking to his father, Sean Prescott.

"Yes father. Yes. I'll be right over. Yes. I'm leaving right now." He hurriedly tucked the gun back in his pants and tried to mouth something to Jefferson, like he was trying to signal that he had to leave immediately. As he began to walk away from the scene, still talking on the phone with his father, Nathan gave a frustrated look to Chloe, one that communicated that he was furious he couldn't kill her right there.

Nathan rushed out of the darkroom, with a quick slam of the heavy door in the distance, not sounding like he was coming back anytime soon. Max let out a very large sigh of relief. But, unfortunately, it was short lived. She was still shaking, as was Chloe. The moment was traumatic for both of them, for very different reasons. Sure, there were times Chloe had gotten into trouble, or maybe took things too far with shady people, but she was never in a position where she was about to be shot. Max, on the other hand, knew this situation well, and had been with Chloe numerous times as she kept dying in the previous timeline. This was just another place it could have happened.

Jefferson, now fully knowing that he was alone, began to walk over to the girls and crouched down to meet Chloe in the eyes. This time, more carefully. "Listen, Chloe. I know you don't want to be here."

Why was he having empathy? Max laid back, watching Jefferson talk to Chloe like his child. It was more than strange. He had this weird softness to his voice, but Max knew that it wasn't because he cared. He wanted…something.

"But if I let you go, then we'll all get in trouble. This is my career, and I don't want someone like you to ruin it." He put his hand under her chin, lifting her head up. It made the girl flinch, still trembling from her near death encounter. "Don't push me like you did to Nathan. I'm capable of much more than you can even believe."

Mr. Jefferson let his hand rest under Chloe's chin for another moment, before slowly pulling it away. His words were packed with dark meanings and hidden threats. The girl was now filled with so much fear, and immediately shut up. Just as Mr. Jefferson was beginning to stand up, turning away, Rachel stirred on the ground, indicating that she was starting to wake up. Though, something about her was off. She wasn't regaining her consciousness like Max or Chloe did. She was muttering incoherent sounds, having small spasms in her legs. Max watched the entire thing, feeling her anxiety grow by the second. Chloe wasn't even paying attention.

But Jefferson did. After hearing the girl moving around, he noticed immediately, sighing. "Great. Now I have to deal with all three of you now."

"Wh–where am I?" Rachel was immensely confused, laying on the ground. Her speech was slurring, but still, no one seemed to notice other than Max. Chloe was still too concerned with what had just happened, zoning out looking at the space in front of her. She hadn't even moved an inch since Jefferson talked to her. The poor girl was trying to make sense of the situation, but the more she tried, the more confused she became.

Mr. Jefferson made his way over to the computer desk, sitting down on the squeaky chair, and started filling out some emails, while Max was busy unraveling the rope around her hands, hoping that no one would notice. The music was still playing, drowning out some of the keyboard taps and mouse clicks. The entire room felt wrong. Nathan wasn't there, which was a plus, but with both Rachel and Chloe not seeming to be very responsive, Max felt like the entire fate of this current timeline rested on her shoulders. It was tense, and a little stuffy. The ropes were hard to untie, since she couldn't see what she was doing, but they were much better than having duct tape taped around her hands. That would've been impossible.

The girls were all quiet, watching and waiting to see what would happen next. Max, still thinking of how to reach her backpack, knew that if she was given the opportunity to grab it, she would only need one thing: Her phone. Forget polaroids, this was the time Mr. Jefferson could actually be stopped. For some reason, David hadn't arrived yet, and with Nathan now supposedly gone for a while, this was David's one and only chance to change the course of this timeline forever. It made her worry, wondering if something had happened to David, or thought maybe Nathan found him outside. Too many variables. Too little time.

Mr. Jefferson groaned across the room, running his hands through his hair and sitting back in his chair. He must have read an important email from Sean Prescott, as he muttered something involving Nathan being a snitch. Whatever he saw wasn't good. Quickly standing up from his chair, he grabbed a few things on the desk, presumably his phone and wallet, and started walking to the exit, almost forgetting he wasn't alone. "If you excuse me, I have to make a quick phone call. I'll just be in the other room."

Jefferson left the main room, and without wasting any time, Max immediately scooted across the floor to get her phone. This was her chance.

"Max! What are you doing?!" Chloe, now taking notice of Max's weird behavior, tried to yell but it remained a whisper. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Max just ignored her, finally reaching her backpack, which arguably wasn't that far from where she was originally sitting. She unzipped it, as quietly as possible, sweating and shaking, and grabbed her phone from the front pocket. She stopped every once and awhile, trying to hear if Jefferson was still busy on the phone. He was. His voice echoed throughout the darkroom, carrying both anger and disappointment. This sudden phone call was buying her precious time, and she couldn't waste it by telling Chloe any of her plans.

Max put her backpack back where she had found it and scooted over to where she was initially. Chloe watched her without saying a single word, hoping her weird looks would prompt Max to explain, but she never even looked up from her phone, too busy texting David. She almost dropped the phone several times, as her hands were shaking so bad it was hard to type anything. She decided on something quick. To the point.

Max: NOW. CODE IS 542. J IS ALONE.

It was a little mysterious, maybe too cryptic, but Max really hoped David Madsen would get the gist. She didn't have time to type out a whole paragraph explaining what she had just witnessed. He needed to be here now, and the fact that he for some reason wasn't, was slightly annoying to Max.

She urgently pressed send, while Chloe watched the entire thing unfold, still extremely confused. Taking a break from Max's strange behavior, she looked over at Rachel, who seemed super out of it, even after all the time that had passed since they had arrived. She was sitting up at this point but she wasn't coherent at all. Her eyes were glazed over. Breathing slowed down. If someone were to stand right in front of her, she probably wouldn't have noticed. It was becoming a little concerning.

Chloe scooted over to the girl and reached over, even though her hands were still tied, trying to gently rub her arm to wake her up, but she didn't even flinch. "Rach? You good? You're making me kinda worried…" She then looked over to Max, as panic started to grow, "Hey–Max…there's something wrong with Rachel she–"

Chloe was beginning to warn Max about Rachel, knowing that something was very wrong with the girl, but they both were interrupted by Jefferson entering the room again. Max quickly hid her phone in her back pocket and fake tied the ropes back around her wrists together. Chloe noticed that her friend had untied the rope, and began to do it to herself, ever so discreetly. She knew that if Max could do it, she could too, and didn't waste any time. Jefferson then walked over to Chloe, making her freeze what she was doing, picking up his broken camera laying on the ground and sat back on the couch. This time, however, he didn't look at either of the girls.

Max began to think of how everything could go wrong, worrying and agonizing over every detail, now that she had sent the text. She remembered the last time, when she had to keep rewinding to find the right moments to distract Jefferson. Warn David too early, she would get hit with a tripod. Push the metal cart into Jefferson, David gets a few punches in. It was extremely challenging, and she hoped this time would be a bit easier. David would hopefully be arriving any minute now. She felt immensely on edge, knowing that whatever would happen next would be a bit different from the last time.

Luckily, the stereo system was still playing music, drowning out any outside noise. Jefferson was still sitting on the white couch, observing his camera with the utmost care, twisting and turning it to view it from every angle. "This lens will cost thousands to replace. You do realize you just broke my most expensive lens, right Chloe?"

"Whatever." She didn't want to engage, and was studying Jefferson while working on loosening the rope around her hands, until something caught the corner of her eye. A figure, hidden behind the plastic dividers, slowly crept into the darkroom armed with a pistol.

David Madsen slowly inched over to Jefferson, as quietly as he could. Time seemed to slow down, making everything feel more intense. Max was holding her breath, watching. The entire room could explode from the tension.

Unexpectedly, David holstered his pistol and instead, put Jefferson in a choke hold from behind. There was an initial struggle, but David still had him by his grip. Mr. Jefferson was much larger, but had the disadvantage. Max knew that he could easily overpower David any minute, and remembered that there was a pistol hidden in the cabinets to her left. She stood up, getting noticed by Jefferson, making David lose his hold a bit, and rushed over to the cabinet. She grabbed the gun, while Chloe managed to finally untie her rope. She stood up, getting ready for a fight and grabbed a nearby tripod resting on the metal cart to bash Jefferson's skull right open. It was three against one.

While everything was happening so quickly and the primary focus was on Mr. Jefferson, nobody noticed that Rachel had fallen over to her side again. Her breathing was becoming erratic, and every so often started spasming, almost like she was having small seizures.

"Don't move Jefferson!" Max had the gun pointed right at him, as he was now standing up from the couch. The suddenness of Max with the gun distracted the photographer for a moment, allowing David to come behind Jefferson and slam him onto the ground. The two fought, mostly using their fists, but Jefferson tried to reach for the camera sitting on the nearby table to hit David with. He missed, as David blocked his efforts. As Mr. Jefferson sat on top of David, swinging hard and not stopping, Chloe knew she couldn't watch this anymore, despite not knowing why her annoying step-dad had shown up. She didn't like the guy, but couldn't continuously watch him get beat to death by Mr. Jefferson.

She looked over at Max who was still holding the gun, tired of waiting for the inevitable to happen. "Max! What are you doing?! Shoot him!"

And that's just what Max did. Pulling the trigger on the pistol, she shot Mr. Jefferson somewhere in the back, unsure if it would even kill him. She'd never actually fired a gun before. It was a loud bang, loud enough to make everyone's ears ring afterwards. Mark Jefferson fell over, allowing David to get up. He was still out of breath and bent over, trying to regain his composure, and he gestured to Max who still had the gun pointed at Jefferson. "Max, put the gun down and kick it to me."

It seemed like every strange feeling that was in the room had evaporated after the single gunshot. Max didn't even want to think about how she was the one who had killed Mr. Jefferson, and every legality that would bring. There was a lot at stake in the future. Nothing in this situation had gone according to plan. Not a single thing.

Max cautiously dropped the weapon to the ground and tapped it with her foot, making it slide against the slick floor to David. She could barely blink, and had to mentally remind herself to breathe. Now realizing that Mr. Jefferson was either dead or just intensely blacked out—and that he wasn't a threat anymore—Chloe needed to know why David was even there to begin with. This entire week was absolutely confusing and unexplainable for the girl. She had no idea about Max's secret plan, and definitely didn't think they knew each other, despite David mentioning Max's name just minutes ago.

"David? What are you doing here?" Chloe walked over to David, almost tripping on a few wires on the floor. She had forgotten to completely untie the rope around her feet, making her pause to quickly unravel the knot.

David knew the girl probably wouldn't listen to any legitimate answers, so decided to dodge the question for now. "We'll talk about it later, Chloe–it's just–" Just as he was bending over to grab the gun off the ground to unload it, Max interrupted him, now noticing Rachel convulsing on the ground.

"Hey, Chloe—I think there's something wrong with Rachel–"

Chloe instantly drew her attention from the conversation to Rachel, eyes wide seeing the blonde shaking uncontrollably on the ground. She crouched down, trying to watch her. "Hey, uh, Max?" Chloe laid on Rachel's chest, trying to hear her breathing, but panic set in when she couldn't. "Rachel–Rachel's not breathing—she's—fuck!" The convulsing stopped and everything went still. "She–she's not breathing! We need to go to the hospital!"

Without wasting any time, Chloe grabbed Rachel from the floor, carrying her in her arms, while David yelled across the room to Chloe as she ran immediately out of the darkroom to leave. "Go! I'll stay here and call the police!"

Rachel's body was heavy and limp, and every minute that passed would become more and more deadly. Any conversation Chloe wanted to have with either Max or David would have to wait until later. She needed to leave. David quickly turned to Max, knowing she would understand more than Chloe, "Max, take them to my car, my keys are already inside. It's where you told me to park."

"I'm on it, David!" Max grabbed her backpack and ran through the bunker to try to catch up to Chloe. It felt like she was being timed by the universe, almost, to see how far she could go without using her powers. She went up through the barn, briefly looking around. The place was still as creepy as before, and nothing had changed in the slightest. The morning light was beginning to peak in through the cracks in the wood, providing some light. Max continued, reaching the outside until she saw Chloe looking everywhere for a car. She was still holding Rachel, standing in the middle of the gravel road, going in circles. As Chloe was trying so desperately to find a means of transportation, she looked incredibly lost, confused, and disorientated. Max ran over to her, yelling and pointing to the car tucked away in the trees. It was a damn good hiding spot, Max thought.

Chloe pushed back the front seats and layed Rachel down across the backseat. Max quickly sat down in the passenger's seat as Chloe ran to the other side of the car.

The drive was excruciating, as they hurriedly tried to get to the hospital, unsure of Rachel's fate. Max was starting to cry, and even though Chloe really wanted to as well, she was too focused on making it to the hospital. This wasn't the first time she had done this, but she couldn't believe it was happening again. Despite everything, Max kept thinking that Rachel could already be dead, agonizing over how badly she fucked up again. Fuck time travel. Fuck weird superpowers. Fuck Arcadia Bay.

Time seemed to go even slower, and the entire ride felt like it took hours. They were probably just a few blocks away from the hospital at this point. Max looked back between Rachel laying in the back, and the road, not knowing which was worse to watch. "Chloe, hurry up!"

Chloe was truthfully going as fast as she could, without it becoming a huge danger to others on the road. Luckily, at nine in the morning on a Thursday, there wasn't too much traffic since the morning rush had already gone to work.

"I'm trying Max!" She honked the horn as an elderly couple was about to cross the street. This probably wasn't the best time to be going for a peaceful morning walk. She was sure she aged them even more, startling the couple with the loud horn. As she drove past the couple, Chloe turned around in her seat and flipped them off in anger. No one could see the elderly couple's reaction in the rearview mirror, but it was one filled with disgust.

The one positive to living in a small town was that the hospital was close to nearly everything. As they approached the emergency room entrance, Chloe ran a few more stop signs and a red light, hoping she wouldn't get a ticket. Now was not the time.

Rushing into the emergency room, the nurses quickly took Rachel and rushed her to the ICU, placing her on a gurney. Chloe and Max stood there, still in the entryway, unable to move another inch. Another nurse came in and guided them to the waiting room, offering them a bottle of water. That was the last thing either of them wanted. She still placed one on the neighboring table, just in case. The nurse left the two girls alone, figuring they both needed a moment to recuperate.

As soon as Chloe sat down in the chair, she started bawling. She could barely even breathe, she was crying so hard. Max couldn't stand to see her friend like that, and started to cry with her. Neither of them spoke to each other. It was quite a sight to anyone else, but they both didn't care. They had just gone through so much trauma, so much craziness, that it was the only thing they could do.

Rachel Amber almost died. Maybe she is dead. The world was spinning around Chloe and she couldn't handle it. This entire week was absolute hell. She was going back and forth in her mind, trying to figure out how and why everything happened. Though, anytime she tried to think about any of it, it made her more upset. There was nothing anyone could say to make her feel better right now. Not a single thing.

Some time later, another nurse walked in the waiting room, fairly in a hurry, and rushed up to Chloe and Max. This nurse was dressed a bit differently than the other ones. She had a white coat on, and carried a clipboard. Maybe she was a doctor, or something. Max couldn't tell. "Were you two the ones that brought that girl in here?"

Sniffing, trying to regain any sense of composure, Max looked up at the woman. "Yes, we're the ones."

The nurse gave Chloe a look, noticing her bloody face and beaten demeanor. The girl was still visibly upset, not wanting to make any eye contact with anyone. It was so hard for her to endure all of this yet again, though while it was nice to have her best friend accompany her, she still didn't know why the girl was even there to begin with. The entire week felt like it had happened over a few years. There was just too much going on and Chloe really wanted to be left alone for a minute.

"Great. I need to ask you a few questions. If you could follow me, please." The nurse was already starting to walk away, and as Max stood up to follow, she realized Chloe wasn't even paying attention. She nudged her arm, and Chloe stood up weakly, as Max was pulling her from the fabric of her leather jacket. The entire walk down the hallway, Chloe's head was down, watching the floor. She looked incredibly damaged.

The nurse led the two girls into another room. Walking in, Max noticed that it looked like the place where they tell you someone isn't going to make it. The tissues on the side table and pastel colors really brought that feeling to life. There was a small framed picture of a giraffe, hung next to two chairs. It was strange how something so innocent could be just as haunting. There was also a candle burning on top of the wooden desk. It smelled like lavender. The room was extremely tiny, too, which made it feel even more claustrophobic.

The nurse sat down at the desk and started typing away at the computer, filling the uncomfortable silence, while Max and Chloe were sitting in the two chairs opposite to the desk. It felt like they were either about to get in trouble, or something was very wrong with Rachel.

After a few more moments passed, the nurse, still looking intently at the computer screen, paused. "She didn't have any identification on her. What's her name?"

Chloe had calmed down by this point, but even now, was reluctant to talk. She still couldn't look at the woman. She decided to fix her gaze on the chipped, old desk in front of her before she decided to say anything. She knew that she could answer these questions more easily than her friend could, even though trying to answer the nurse's simple question was proving to be more agonizing than she had planned. The words burned as Chloe started to say them out loud. "Rachel Amber."

The nurse instantly typed it into the computer, then looked up again. It was clear she was filling out some sort of form. "Date of birth?"

What was this, some kind of fucked up interview? Couldn't she just ask Rachel these stupid questions? Chloe was growing more impatient with the nurse, continuing to look down at the floor. The nurse was waiting, so Max tugged at Chloe's jacket, encouraging her to keep up with answering the questions.

"July 22nd…1994." Chloe faintly smiled, remembering all of the past birthdays and past celebrations the two had shared over the years. The distant memory of the one time she learned Rachel was a Leo on that train when they were fifteen crept into her thoughts. The day that started it all. Back then, she didn't really care about astrology, but since Rachel was into it, she didn't mind. If anything, the whole astrology thing started to grow on her ever since then.

"What's your relation to her?"

Oh god.

The nurse's words remained in a neutral tone, but they cut into Chloe deeper each time. It was the one question everyone wanted an answer to, but nearly nobody shared the same response.

Chloe hesitated, choking on her breath. Up until this point, she was fairly unsure of their relationship status. It was never official–mostly because no one asked and only assumed–but now with Rachel's recent behavior, she wasn't sure she could even say what she wanted to. Fuck it. "Girl…friend."

Was that the wrong answer? Maybe that was never her title and she was forcing it too soon? Her hands were starting to shake, feeling colder every time she slightly moved them. This conversation was becoming harder and harder to endure.

"Got it." The nurse smiled, and continued typing something into the computer, then paused. "Where are her parents?"

The two girls were silent. That was something Chloe had no answer to. After Rachel left the hospital years ago, knowing everything about her father, she never really spoke about it again. There were brief discussions about Sera every once and awhile, but Chloe never bothered to ask about it any more than she had to. She had no idea if James and Rose Amber were even still married. It was confusing. "I don't know."

"Okay." The nurse finished typing and sat back in her chair, arms crossed. "Do you know what happened? No tests are showing up positive. It's a suspected overdose, but we aren't able to get the test results back until tomorrow."

Chloe looked like she wanted to say something, maybe try to explain the entire situation they were in, but Max knew this specific question more than she did. She had a bit of experience with it. "It's a long story, but she was continuously injected with the drug…GHB? The bottle said 'Gamma Hydroxybutyrate'…I think." Chloe looked over at Max, wanting to ask so many questions, but held back.

The nurse raised her eyebrow at the girl, but typed it into the system. "Were you three at a party or something?" She noticed as Chloe and Max gave each other a nervous look. "I'm not judging, we just need to know what else was involved."

Chloe was getting a headache, tired of the relentless questioning. After everything she had just gone through, what all of them had just gone through, she was exhausted. She looked up at the nurse, still guarded, trying to hide any information she had and chose to tell a white lie instead. "Yeah, something like that."

The nurse could feel the growing restlessness in the room, and decided that she knew enough for now. The two girls were already grieving, and she didn't want to pry anymore, making them even more distressed.

"Alright, thanks for the information." The nurse began to stand up, pushing her chair underneath the desk. It made a loud squeak, as the metal scraped underneath the wood. "I need to discuss this with my team, but everything helps. You can go back to the waiting room if you'd like."

The nurse left the room, leaving the door open, but Chloe and Max stayed for a moment. Chloe leaned into Max, lowering her voice to a concerned whisper, "Hey, how did you know that? That it was GHB?"

Max sighed and looked down at her hands, something she did when she felt uncomfortable. "When I got my phone from my backpack, back in the darkroom, I saw some bottles on the table that said 'Gamma Hydroxybutyrate'."

"Yeah but, Max, how the hell do you know anything about that kind of stuff? What were you doing up in Seattle?" She nudged Max in the side, trying to lighten the mood a bit, but she didn't find it amusing. She knew her friend was joking, but it felt like any question that alluded to Max's past made it harder and harder to open up. She felt like she was ruining every relationship so far by keeping quiet.

The two went back to the waiting room, sitting down on a bench in front of a large window. It was still early morning, maybe close to noon by this point, and the warm sun was shining in through the windows. It lit up the hospital in a serene way, despite it being the emergency waiting room. There weren't too many people there, especially that early, and the fact that Arcadia Bay was a small town made the room feel more spacious than it usually would.

Max and Chloe were sitting next to each other, but it was clear that there was tension between the two. Chloe sat more guarded, more closed off. She was hunched over, with her head resting on her hands. In the distance, Max saw a man begin to approach them, assuming that he was either another nurse or possibly even a surgeon judging by his attire, this time much more relaxed. He looked young, but not necessarily unskilled.

"Since you're the only ones here for Rachel Amber," Chloe was startled, looking up at the man, "I wanted to let you know that she is going to be placed in a medically induced coma very soon, as it will help with her withdrawal symptoms. Her breathing has begun to stabilize, but is still on oxygen right now. We will give her the best care we can. I would try not to worry, everything seems to be going well."

After such a long week, Chloe was tired of things still being hidden from her. She had just spent the past couple of months dwelling on the fact that Rachel was gone. Out of her life. Then all of a sudden she finds her again, but this time working with a serial killer photographer? It hurt, and she didn't have even a second to process it. They had talked during the week in the lighthouse, but nothing very substantial was said. They both needed to have big conversations about what happened between the two of them, yet it never happened. Now with Rachel back in the hospital and Chloe apparently not allowed to even see the girl, it made her upset. She just wanted to be there for her, like she had been the whole time.

"Well, can I go see her?" Chloe spoke softly, asking in a way that seemed both unsure and at the same time, demanding.

The nurse just looked at her. "No. She needs to be under specialized care right now. No visitors are allowed—"

"Why the hell not?" She harshly interrupted, not caring if it was disrupting the silence in the room. "I can't even go stand by the door?"

The nurse wasn't too happy with Chloe's growing attitude, acting a bit cold. "You would block the door from other medical staff entering."

"That is such bullshit, man." Chloe was more than furious. The nurse continued to look at her, watching as she became more hostile. He wanted to deescalate the situation but knew he didn't get paid enough for that. It should be someone else's problem.

Chloe stood up, leaving Max alone on the bench, and got closer to the man, pleading for answers. "She's not gonna make it, is she? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"I never said she wouldn't make it." The man said bitterly, to the point you could almost see his teeth clenching. The guy wasn't the most hospitable doctor there, but at least he was giving them more information on Rachel's health. "Medically induced comas are an important step in the healing process. If you would have brought her in any later, I don't think she would've made it."

"Yeah," Chloe scoffed, with her arms tightly crossed against her chest, "heard that one before."

It was true. Three years ago, when Damon Merrick stabbed Rachel in the arm, it almost hit a major artery, killing her. It was horrific, but the only thing she walked away with was a scar. It could have been so much worse. This could have been so much worse.

The nurse was beginning to leave the waiting room, allowing Max and Chloe to be alone, until a loud scream echoed throughout the entire hospital, sounding like the most horrific thing either one of them had ever heard. It was definitely from Rachel, there was no doubt about it. Chloe started to pace around, almost tripping on the nearby chairs, angry, wanting to see what the problem was, but was stopped by Max.

"Chloe, she's ok!" She desperately tried to slow Chloe down, who was already making her way down the hallway, ready to give that doctor a piece of her mind. Max was almost ripping the fabric, pulling at her sleeves, "That guy just said she's having withdrawal symptoms we can't go in–"

Chloe shook Max off her arm, storming down the hallway to find the room Rachel was in. It wasn't hard to find, though, since there was a rather large group of nurses surrounding one room in particular. She just wanted to be near Rachel, at least hold her hand through the pain. If nobody would let her in the room, she would have to force her way through.

"Fuck that guy." Her voice echoed throughout the hallway, as Max stood back, watching her friend succumb to her rage.

The hospital felt more lonely now, more than it did when they arrived. Max was frozen in place. "–there."

The voices and confrontations were heard from every inch of the building. She couldn't handle being in yet another environment where everything felt hostile, so Max decided to step outside, getting some fresh air. It was warm out, and the distant birds chirping provided a nice distraction from the chaos back inside.

Just as she was watching the traffic go by on the main road, listening to the ambience the small town had brought, she heard someone yelling inside the hospital. The voice only got louder as whoever it was, was nearly right outside the main doors. Max had only been outside for not even five minutes.

"What the hell, man? You're kicking us out?"

Chloe's voice.

Two security guards followed behind her, forcing her out of the hospital. She tried to fight back, but stopped when she saw Max sitting on the curb, watching her. The two guards were standing back by the door. They watched Chloe's every move, and it made her a bit hesitant to stir up any more drama.

"Guess we have to leave, Max." Chloe gestured to the guards, who were unfazed by the girl, "Grab all your shit, we can head to my house."

The two made their way to David's car, parked chaotically between several parking spaces, ready to make their way back to the Price household. There was a lot they needed to talk about.