Chapter 20: Fallen Angels (part 2)
Chloe
"Hey, where's the booze?" yells Chloe at the guy behind the bar to overcome the deafening noise of the party. But instead of giving her a real answer, he just points towards the VIP section and turns away again. With a groan and rolling eyes, Chloe gives up her endeavor for the much wanted alcohol and heads towards the exit.
Back in the days, Rachel had always dragged her into the Vortex only section of the parties to get wasted, but these times are over and Chloe has to get her alcohol somewhere else. As she walks through the crowd, the bluenette spots Dana, arm-in-arm with Juliet. Not in the mood to explain why she's so upset, Chloe simply walks into the opposite direction and eventually arrives at the exit after a slight detour. Once she's outside, the punk-girl takes a deep inhale and thinks about what to do next.
'Actually, I've nowhere to go. Home sucks even more. I fucked up with Max again and Dana is pretty busy with Juliet. Well, Chloe, you did it again! You officially fucked up entirely! Maybe there's really just one place I belong: the junkyard!'
Having made a decision and about to walk towards her truck, Chloe hears a constant sobbing, closing in.
"Katie?" Chloe addresses the crying blonde, but gets ignored by her.
'What the fuck?! Why's Kate crying and…where's Maxi? Something's pretty off here!'
Wanting to find out what's going on, Chloe immediately heads towards the dorms to have a talk with Max. Maybe Kate witnessed that kiss and is now pretty pissed at her girlfriend, though it isn't even her fault. Either way, Chloe needs to set things straight again with Max and Kate.
She has almost reached the entrance to the dormitories as she spots Victoria Chase. Not wanting to talk with the Queen-Bee either, Chloe hides in the darkness. And again, something isn't right. Instead of sauntering over the campus like a queen, Victoria seems to be sad and broken as she has her head bowed and her arms wrapped around the body.
'What the heck is going on here?! Did aliens take over the earth as I was at that party or what? Dammit, I need to find Max!'
Not wasting another second, Chloe storms into the dorms, running towards Max's room and knocks at the door.
"Yo, Maxi, you're in there?"
Nothing. She holds her ear at the wood of the door and is quite sure that she hears a faint whimper from the other side.
'Fuck!'
"Max, it's me, Chloe! C'mon dude, I know you're in there. Open up, we need to talk!"
Then she hears some shuffling, steps and a click. The door swings open rapidly and, right away, Chloe gets grabbed harshly by the collar of her jacket and pulled inside. The bluenette doesn't even have a chance to say something as a pair of lips collides with hers, forcefully. Not a second later, Max's tongue enters her mouth.
After the first surprise has abated, Chloe wraps her arms around her smaller friend's waist, pulling her closer. She yearned for this moment for so long and enjoys every second of it, until her mind starts to boot up again and she realizes that the kisses taste salty. Immediately she breaks the contact and takes a few breathes to catch some air, before she looks at the entirely tear-drenched face of Max, who stares at her with a lustful gaze.
Right away, the black-haired girl closes in again, continuing her aggressive kissing, but this time, Chloe tries to resist by turning her head away. Not bothered by this act of avoidance, Max proceeds her seductive treatment by kissing her friend's neck and massaging her breasts.
"M-Max…" Chloe moans, her body about to give in and let her friend have her way with her. "Max…ugh, fuck! Max, s-stop it…ugh! Fuck, yes! Yes, right there, Maxi!"
Though Chloe thinks that it's too late now, one last wave of resistance emerges from the reasonable part of her brain and she uses it right away. Screaming out her frustration of doing this, Chloe pushes Max away and yells at her.
"Max, stop it!"
Both are now facing each other, panting heavily. Chloe has never seen Max like this. Her friend's face shows pain and anger, yet she wants to get busy with her.
"Fuck me!" the smaller girl whispers, about to close in on Chloe again, who, however, shoves her away once more.
"What?! Max, snap out of it, will ya!"
With a groan of frustration, Max grabs Chloe at her collar again and hisses into her face. "I said, fuck me! That's all you wanted to do for the last five years, so fucking do it already! Fuck my cunt and..." Then her voice breaks and new tears start to flow down her cheeks. "Please, Chlo! Make that pain go away!"
"Max," Chloe replies, shaking her head, "that won't solve anything! Trust me!"
With a loud cry, Max tosses her friend out of the room, where the bluenette stumbles against the opposite wall with a groan. A bit dazed, Chloe watches how Max walks slowly towards her. The smaller girl's expression radiates anger and hate in such quantity, that it frightens the punk-girl so much that she feels the urge to run away, but stays anyway.
"Max, please…!"
"So, you wanna fuck me over, too?" Max asks in an emotionless tone. "You wanna betray me, like Kate did? Tell me!"
"What? No!" Chloe replies calmly and reaches out towards her best friend. "Max, I don't wanna fuck you over or betray you, I'm done with that! But I need to know what the fucking hell's going on here! I saw Kate crying and now you wanna hump the shit outta me, it…it doesn't make any sense. What happened?"
From one moment to another, all agitation and rage that has taken control over Max disappears and is replaced by sadness.
"She betrayed me," speaks Max with a shivering voice, everything breaking down on her once more, which makes her scream out again. "SHE BETRAYED ME WITH VICTORIA FUCKING CHASE!"
"What?!" Chloe gasps in surprise. "Why the fuck would she do that?"
"I don't know and I don't care! This fucking bitch can drop dead!" Max says viciously, which drives Chloe over the edge, because she knows that Kate is the most loyal and sweetest girl she ever met. There is simply no way that she would do something like this.
"Max!" the bluenette now yells at her friend in anger and lets a slap onto her cheek follow. "Just get a fucking grip of yourself and think straight!"
Entirely overwhelmed by Chloe's sudden outburst, Max simply stays quiet.
"Just think about it before spilling such bullshit! Of all those bitches at Blackhell, why would Kate cheat on you with no other than that uber-bitch? Just think! Kate hates her. So, why would she do it?"
"I-I don't…I don't know."
Now Chloe takes a grasp on Max's shoulders and looks at her intensively.
"Max, I know Icky-Vicky. She has her way of forcing people into doing fucked-up things. Trust me, this bitch must've blackmailed or cornered Katie with her psycho-shit. I saw her, Maxi. She looked devastated, not like someone who just got caught cheating. And Victoria…she didn't seem to be satisfied with the result either. I bet she received a heavy beat down from your girl. Please, talk to Kate at least and give her a chance to explain this fucked-up shit!"
Chloe can see in Max's eyes how reason is slowly taking over; how the red vail in her sight disappears. The bluenette has been in this situation more than once, but at the time, she hadn't had anybody to help her out of that rage.
"You're right!" whispers Max, her lips trembling. "What have I done?!"
Feeling that her friend is in a very fragile state, Chloe tries to encourage her. Something she had often done when they've been tweens.
"Hey, Maxi," she says softly with a wry smile, brushing a tear from her friend's cheek. "So far, nothing's lost. C'mon, we search Kate and then you two are gonna get your shit together! Okay?"
"Okay!" replies Max with a nod and both start their search for Kate.
Kate
"Go…AWAY! Just leave me alone you cheatin', backstabbin' bitch! I hate you! I! FUCKING! HATE! YOU! Go away and never come back!"
As Kate hears those hurtful words her heart cracks with such force that she immediately starts to sob. She takes a few steps back from the door. Something inside tells her to stay and just wait until Max has calmed down again, but another, much louder inner voice yells at her to run away. And that is what she's doing.
Kate leaves the dorms in a fast pace, arms wrapped around her skinny body. Actually, she has no idea where to go. The only thing she knows is that she wants the emotional pain to end. Some people do it with alcohol. So, why shouldn't Kate do the same? Therefor, she heads towards the party, hoping that there would be at least one bottle of wine.
On her way, she hears that someone is calling her name, but ignores it, as well as every other person that stands between her and the much wanted liquor. But the thing is, there's no liquor. No schnapps. No wine. Not even a softdrink. And her condition gets even worse.
Every negative thing that had happened since she has attended Blackwell is now rushing through her mind. The bullying, Victoria's psycho-games and sexual harassment, the fight with her family, her break with religion and, eventually, Max's cruel past. With every passing second she feels even emptier, like something is leeching the life energy from her.
Then she hears her name again, louder and throughout the entire pool-area. Just right now Kate realizes that everyone is looking at her. Only as she hears Jefferson's voice chiming from the speakers and her now enlarged picture from the Everyday Hero contest projected onto the decorative fabric behind the teacher, Kate knows what's going on.
"Where is our winner? Kate, don't hide!"
"Here she is!" some guy, she guesses his name is Warren, says and points at her, the spotlight following stat.
"Ah, Katie, there you are! Don't be shy and present our audience your awesome photo!"
She doesn't know what to do. Actually, she would love to disappear right now, but somehow her legs are moving on their own. For Kate it feels like she's in a trance-like state, only acting without thinking about it. Suddenly, she stands on the pedestal right beside Jefferson. Kate knows what he has done to Max, which floods her body with disgust and the need to shove him over the edge, right into the pool. Additionally, she feels intimidated, standing in front of this large, cheering crowd.
"Kate, you called this shot 'Guardian Angel', now can you explain us, why you gave it this name?"
Kate turns around and gazes at this photo for some time. She had taken this shot a week ago, when they had been attacked by those skeevy guys in that alley behind the bar. Originally, this and other photos were supposed to be evidence in case Max would be in trouble for beating up those assholes. Luckily, they weren't needed and Kate found this one exceptionally artistic. So, she had decided to use it as her entry for the contest.
It shows Max, back turned towards the cam, ready to fight, while in the background Matt and his pal are facing her, weapons at a ready. Everyone in this room must already know who the person in the center of this shot is, since Max's special tattoo is seen pretty clearly.
As Kate recalls the event of said evening and every other occasion Max had protected her, a new wave of emotions overwhelms her and after Jefferson has reached her the mic, she begins to speak from her heart, accompanied by tears, but without one single bit of bitterness in her voice.
"I-I called this shot 'Guardian Angel', because it shows an actual Guardian; an every Everyday Hero; an Angel. My…angel." She sniffs; sadness takes over as she realizes how much she still loves Max and that this love wouldn't be answered ever again. "Guardian Angels protect us, wherever we are. They…they do it, without asking anything in return. They would even give their lives for us. But sometimes…" Kate stops for a moment, fighting down the need to collapse on the spot. "Though it seems like they're invincible, even Guardian Angels need protection…from themselves. Sadly…they don't realize it and…and react with anger, but…" Her voice breaks for a moment, a new flood of tears emerging. She wants to run away. "But I still love her and…will…will always…"
Not able to suppress her emotions anymore, Kate drops the microphone and runs away. She feels so dull inside that her mind blinds out everything around her. Only as she steps outside and the cold, now much heavier rain hits her face, Kate is finally able to take awareness of her surroundings again. But her mind still resists thinking straight, she just knows that she wants to get away from everything, so she keeps on running away, not caring where her feet might carry her.
The rain has drenched her trembling, small body entirely by now, while the cold water mixes with her hot tears. Somewhere on the way she stops running and simply keeps on walking. Kate doesn't know where she is or what is happening, because she's surrounded by the dark of the night while the rain swallows every sound. Only as the darkness is broken by a pair of blinding headlines and the blaring sound of a trucks horn, Kate realizes that she's standing in the middle of the road.
Her heart chides her to move, but her dulled mind tells her to stay and face the inevitable. Everybody hates her anyway. Her family, Max, probably even her friends are making fun of her behind her back. There is no point in dragging it out any longer.
The horn blares again and Kate simply closes her eyes, awaiting the soothing impact.
Victoria
Actually, it should be a joyful night for Victoria. She had beaten the girl who had been resisting her; had managed to break her heart and crush her emotions. She is at a Vortex party, which she had planned and organized for over a month. She has shown every student at this school that she is the queen of Blackwell, untouchable with absolute power. Only Kate has slipped her grasp, which is only a minor setback.
So, why can't she enjoy the fruits of her hard work right now? Since Kate Marsh had yelled at her and she had to witness how the small girl's relationship got shattered into pieces, Victoria isn't the same anymore.
She feels guilty, an emotion which she has never experienced that strong before. The pixie-blonde has already tried to gulp it down with some expensive champagne, but it doesn't work so far. She still feels this uncomfortable weight on her shoulders, almost about to crush her.
"Hey, what's wrong, Vicky?" speaks Taylor with some worry into Victoria's ear to overcome the noise of the party.
"Nothing," is everything she replies bluntly, turning away. But a soft touch and a slight pull let her face her girlfriend again.
"Vicky, stop shitting me! Normally you'd be high by now and not…making a longer face than a freakin' horse on a fucking funeral! You got even with that Caulfield cunt, so what's the problem? Is it Kate? Does this Christian slut mean that much to you?"
"Hell no, Sweet T! It's just…" Victoria sighs. Usually, she's always the strong one. A rock that breaks every wave. Only Taylor knows her soft side and this is something she needs to take a use of right now. "Taylor," she says softly, her majestic demeanor entirely gone, "I-I think I made a terrible mistake. I…"
Her words are cut off as the music suddenly stops and Mark Jefferson climbs up the podium.
"Oh, this is it! This is your moment!" cheers Taylor, jumping up and down while holding Victoria's arm.
"Well, hello there!" announces Jefferson over the speakers, "As you all know, the Everyday Hero contest and the announcement of the winner at this party has become some kind of a tradition by now. I know, most of you want to party on and not listening to an old art-fart hipster like me, getting mushy over some pictures. So, let's bring this behind us!" He pauses for a second to enjoy the cheering and amorous comments that are thrown at him by some of the girls in the crowd. 'This year's contest – and I need to say this – has been a real competition. There were good shots, great shots, and also exemplary shots, but one picture ruled them all." Kate's picture is now projected onto the fabric. "And the winner of this year's Everyday Hero contest is…Kate Marsh!"
"What?!" gasps Taylor and starts complaining about how unfair this is, but Victoria simply doesn't care. She keeps on staring at the winning picture, taking in every of its details with her professional photographer-sight. The angle, lighting, the motive and, eventually, the message behind it. She realizes – literally feels – the emotion it radiates.
And then she sees her: Kate, walking up the steps to the podium. The small blonde looks so fragile and weak. Everybody probably thinks that she's simply nervous and shy, but Victoria knows better. She knows that Kate is hurting. And then she hears her speech.
"What have I done?!" the Queen-Bee whispers, a tear emerging from the corner of her eye as guilt is taking over entirely. She had destroyed such a beautiful and strong bond of love. Every single one of Kate's words carries so much pain with it that they pierce into the pixie-blondes heart like hot needles.
In the end, it's too much for Victoria to handle. But instead of hiding in her room and crying her eyes out, she decides to approach the bar and grabs an already half-empty bottle of cheep whisky. She gulps down the brown, burning liquid in order to drown the ache inside her heart. Not even Taylor's soothing words are able to help her right now.
After emptying the bottle, she feels a buzz, but it's still not enough. Maybe a joint would help her out, but she lacks the motivation to ask someone, so she stays at the bar, staring into empty space. Only barely, she realizes some shrieks and yelled complains close-by. Not that she gives it much of a thought, until she experiences a painful grip on her shoulder. Victoria gets violently turned around, grabbed by her collar and smashed onto the bar, hurtfully. Only to face a pair of red-cried, blue eyes, which are radiating burning hate and the wish to kill someone.
Max
She focuses, scanning every face in the crowd to find Kate, but so far without any success.
"Maybe she isn't even here," mentions Chloe, gazing around like her friend.
"I know," answers Max, "but I have a feeling that she's around here somewhere.
Suddenly, the music stops and Mark Jefferson enters the podium. Immediately, Max feels disgusted as she sees this slimy bastard. Actually, Max didn't listen to her photography teacher's babbling, but as he announces Kate as the winner and tells her to enter the stage as well, Max's breathing stops while her sight get's fixed on the podium.
A mixture of joy and guilt floods her mind as she spies Kate, who looks so devastated. But it gets even worse as she hears her girlfriend's heartwarming speech that is actually more a declaration of love than anything else. With big tears in her eyes, Max has to witness how Kate leaves the stage, crying hard. Not wasting another second, the black-haired girl tries to follow, stat. But with the masses of students, plus that the music has just started to play again and everybody tries to get their freak on once more, it was hard for the freckled girl to reach the exit.
As she has managed to do so, Max heads outside and takes another look around, not caring that the cold rain is drenching her.
"KATIE!" she calls into the night, but doesn't receive an answer.
"She went that way," suddenly says an Asian girl, who Max knows as Brooke, pointing at the campus' entrance.
Giving her a quick "Thanks," Max starts to run. Somehow she has a bad feeling, which let her increasing the speed even more. Water that runs from the top of her head flows into her eyes, making it additionally hard for Max to see clearly, let alone that it is extremely dark. Therefore she stops for a moment, catching some breath and tries to orientate.
Then she sees something: headlights! So, she must be close to the main street!
'Dammit Katie, where are you?' she thinks to herself and is about to figure out some possible spots, where Kate might've gone to, until the blaring of a horn interrupts her thought.
Deep horror takes a grasp of her heart as she sees a slender, by the headlights illuminated figure, standing in the middle of the street.
"Oh, no!" gasps Max as she realizes that this is Kate and that she doesn't move. Immediately, she starts to sprint. "KATIE!" she yells once more, but the rain swallows her word. The truck closes mercilessly in, time is running out.
'Oh god, please, not again! Please, no!' she pleads internally, remembering what had happened to Sam.
Out of desperation, Max uses her abilities, slows down time and forces every bit of strength into her legs. The truck keeps closing in, so does Max. The horn blares again and the freckled girl already knows that her chances to reach Kate in time are minimal, therefore she mobilizes her entire strength into one last sprint, screaming out her agony. As she has reached the edge of the street, she jumps!
Seattle, May 2013
With a groan Max regains consciousness. Her head is throbbing like someone has put it in a hydraulic press, and every muscle of her body hurts. She recalls the big fight, how she had barely defeated Hammerfist. And now it's time for her to get Sam and get the hell out of the country.
"Mmh…S-Sam…!" she speaks weakly, trying to move, but the pain is far too intense to even budge a bit.
"Max?" a female voice chimes; Kyra's voice. Then she feels a soft touch on her shoulder and a brush on her cheek. Max always enjoys these careful caresses by Kyra, because they remind her of a time she had a real family and a loving mom; a time without abuse and violence; a time she had been a normal, carefree girl.
With a weak smile and a satisfied hum, Max leans into the touch and slowly opens her eyes. Kyra's face is right above her, gazing at the young girl with a warm smile.
"Hey there, little cutie!" the Asian woman speaks, leans in and plants a soft kiss on Max's forehead. "How're ya feeling?"
"Ugh, like shit!" A slight wave of nausea emerges from within her body, but Max fights it down and takes in her surroundings. It's already dark outside and she's in her room. The stuff she had taken with her, after she'd run away, is standing beside her desk and right away Max remembers her original plan, which makes her wanting to get up right away, but she gets instantly stopped by Kyra.
"Whoa! Not so fast, Max!"
"Kyra, I-I need to get Sam! I…"
"Max," Kyra then says in a serious tone, "You have a concussion, a cracked rib, and bruises everywhere. You've been unconscious for an entire day. You're not going anywhere!"
"But I…" Max tries to hold against it, but gets still held down onto the bed.
"Max, the police are taking care of Sam now."
Immediately, Max's body gets on high-alert, which gives her enough strength to sit right up.
"What?! No!"
Ignoring her almost-step-mom's protests, Max jumps out of bed dashes towards her packed belongings, almost losing her balance, and takes out her Laptop.
Knowing that she's not able to keep her in bed, Kyra follows the black-haired girl with her gaze and shakes head. "Max, you're in no condition to help her right now. Ryan got furious as the Russians delivered you here and threatened to shoot them. Let the authorities do their job now and…"
"Do they already have her?" interrupts Max, typing something into her booted up computer.
"Well, not yet, but…"
"Fuck!" she curses, her fingers continuing to fly over the keyboard until her eyes open wide and she gasps, "Oh no! Fuck, NO!"
In haste, Max strips of her pajama, ignoring the nausea and dizziness and not caring that Kyra is still present. She then starts to dress into some entirely black clothes.
"Max, what's going on?" Kyra asks with worry, but Max just pushes the Laptop into her hands. As her sight flies over the text on the screen, she can't make much sense out of. "What is that?"
Now fully dressed, Max packs her car keys and stops just one last time before she leaves.
"I hacked and installed a virus on every computer of Alexander and Mike. Every time they use Sam's name, I receive a message with vial information."
Once more, Kyra's sight flies over the data. She can see a date (today), time of day (tonight), a destination (Bogota) and a location. "The airport?"
"They're gonna get her out of the country. Out of my reach. And the hell I'll let this happen!"
Max is about to head out as she's once again stopped by Kyra, but this time the older woman takes her into a tight embraces and rocks her softly. "Take good care, my little Max! Get her and bring her to safety!" she whispers, breaks the embrace and brushes one last time over the girl's freckled cheek with a wry smile. "'Cause you're soon gonna be needed as a big sister!"
Taken aback, Max stares into Kyra's brown eyes for some moments, lacking any words in reply. She's going to be a big sister soon, which is a beautiful thing; a bright spot in that darkness of her life. Maybe today everything is going to be alright. Maybe today is the day for a happy end.
"Now go!"
Kyra literally shoves Max out of the door. One last time they glimpse at each other with watery eyes, before the black dressed girl leaves the house and vanishes into the darkness of the night.
Since Max and Sam had reconnected, staying in contact had turned more and more into a spy-game. Fake FB- and email-accounts, disposable phones, code-words and -language and GPS-trackers. Max had thought of everything possible to communicate safely with her beloved girlfriend and keep her safe if necessary.
Tonight, Sam's and Mike's GPS-transmitters have helped Max to locate both of them at an old industrial complex in the outskirts of Seattle. The whole area is a wild ragbag of rails, ramps, warehouses and production buildings.
Max has tracked down Sam's GPS signal to the old building she's standing in front of, right now. She doesn't know why, but somehow this building sends a shiver down her spine. But this isn't the time to have fear or second thoughts. Before moving in, she gulps down another bunch of aspirin to suppress the pulsating throb in her head and melted once more with the darkness.
Cautiously, she approached the building. The freckled girl hears loud music from inside the construction, while at the outside several people stand there in groups, smoking, drinking and chatting.
'One of Mike's illegal Nazi-concerts. Damn, if Sam wouldn't be in there, I'd throw a fucking tactical nuke at this place and blow that entire shitshow up!'
In vain, Max tries to catch a glimpse at the interior, but since all the windows are blocked or just belonging to dark, empty rooms; she decides to find a way inside. On her search she suddenly spots a rusty, old ladder, which leads onto the roof. Not seeing another option, Max climbs it up.
As it turns out, getting on the rooftop has been the right choice, since there are skylights everywhere. Being cautious not to stumble over small vents and other stuff that is laying around, Max once more spies inside the building. Most of the dirty windows are already broken, which gives her an even better view over the things that are happening inside.
'Drunken and high assholes, more assholes and…blech, they're even fucking each other here!'
Glimpsing at her phone, Max tries to pin down Sam's location inside the building, walking from skylight to skylight to get some more visual. But due to the mixture of reinforced concrete and steel frames, the signal is very weak and indistinct. Max curses under her breath as she realizes that the time of her girlfriend's departure comes closer. She already plans on infiltrating the building as the sound of Sam's voice reaches her ear. At first she isn't able to understand her words, but as soon as she has reached a close-by skylight, she's able to see and hear her clearly.
Just for a single moment, time stands still as Max gazes at Sam's beauty with a warm smile. It has been quite some time since they have seen each other. A big emotional wave of desire and love fills Max's entire being, yet it is shadowed by the fact how weary Sam looked. Her whole attire tells the black-haired girl that her loved one isn't doing so well. And it becomes even more evident why, as Mike grabs his sister by the collar of her jacked and hisses into her face.
"You will move your gay ass to the airport right now, sis' or…"
"Or what?!" spits Sam back, trying to free herself from her brothers grasp. For a moment, Mike's expression shows burning anger and Max already scans her surroundings for a quick way down. But it isn't necessary, because a big, vicious grin appeared on his face.
"You still believe that your little dyke will come and get you, like a fucking knight in a fucking shining armor, huh? Well, I got a little surprise for ya, sis'!"
Mike then takes his sister's neck into a tight hold and leads with her along the corridor until they vanish into a room, where Max isn't able to see her anymore.
Cursing once more, the black-haired girl tries to find an inconspicuous way inside to follow them, until she hears Sam's horrific scream chiming from the room. Totally devastated und crying, the blonde comes running out of that room, her brother following. Just a second later, both are out of sight.
Max realizes that, whatever there is in that room, it broke Sam. Now she has to act quickly. Seeing a hole in the roof, Max chooses to use it as an entrance, runs towards it and climbs inside, hastily.
She's standing now in a dimly lighted room that looks rather familiar, which is confirmed as she sees an old desk, standing in the middle of it. But as she spies the female, abused body strapped on it, Max is immediately remembered of the pain she had to go through when she'd been thirteen years old and trapped here, too.
She tries to fight it down; to suppress it; but the horrors of that event floods her mind like she experienced them just a day ago. A sob escapes her mouth as she approaches the lifeless, naked body of a red-haired girl.
"Judith!" Max gasps, covering her mouth while a bunch of tears are running over her face. Softly, she brushes the bloodied, cold cheek of hers and Sam's best friend and strongest ally. "I'm so sorry!"
Since Sam had introduced her during the concert, Judith Faygard had become Max's closest friend. Sometimes, when Judith had brought her some news or stuff from her girlfriend, Max had invited her to stay and hang out together, watching movies or simply talking shit. Now, she's dead. The bluish color of her skin and the slight stench of death telling Max that Judith had already been killed a few days ago.
Now the puzzle comes together! Somehow Mike must've found out that Judith was playing against him and tortured her to get some answers. This is why he and his father want to get Sam away from her as fast as possible.
Max would've loved to pay Judith a lot more respect right now, but there is no time for sorrow. The freckled girl knows that she needs to get Sam and leave the country.
Taking a deep breath, Max averts her gaze from the corpse and heads out again, taking the same way like Sam and Mike. Then, she hears her screams again.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU FUCKING BASTARD KILLED HER!"
Followed by Mike's poisonous, threatening words.
"And this fucking dyke of yours, too! Now get in the car!"
As the freckled girl gazes around the corner, she realizes that she's on a gallery that thrones above a vast hall one story below, where Mike, with some of his pals and Sam are arguing. It's obvious that Mike wants to force his sister to get into the black car that is standing right there.
"NO!" Sam yells back at her brother, quickly grabs the guy behind her and tosses him towards Mike, who stumbles back upon the surprising impact. With a big smirk, Max watches how her girlfriend makes a run for it.
'Well done, Sam!'
"Bring her back!" orders Mike, one of his friends chasing after her.
"Dammit!"Max hisses, and wants to follow and intercept Sam's persecutor. Knowing the building's exterior now, the freckled girl decides to head towards the closest window and use the ledges outside of the construction to climb down.
Scanning the area one last time for one of Mike's friends, Max starts to sprint. It takes her some time to catch up to the guy, who's following Sam. Eventually, she spots him, being entirely out of breath.
'Sam must've taken my advice seriously as I told her to do some work-out.'
Slow and quietly, she closes in on Mike's friend. Before she has reached him, Max realizes that Sam is standing on an overpass that leads over some train tracks deep below. But she has to focus on the man in front of her, first!
She can hear his heavy breathing; his quiet curses; smell his disgusting scent of smoke and sweat. As soon as Max is close enough, she takes the guy into a chokinghold, hissing a "Good night, asshole!" before he drops on his knees and hits the ground, unconsciously.
Now the way is free to finally reunite with her beloved Sam. Her body already filled with joy, Max begins to sprint towards her girlfriend. She runs faster and faster, not wanting to wait any longer to feel her loved one's lips and touches again.
Max has almost reached the overpass, where a fright-train is driving through under it as she realizes that something's off.
Sam is standing on the wrong side of the railing and starts to spread her arms like wings of a bird, who wants to fly away.
"No!" Max gasps as the realization about what's about to happen strikes her like a jackhammer. Sam thinks that everyone she cared about is dead and that she has no possibilities of escaping this torment anymore. But what she doesn't know is that her brother had lied to her. Max just needs to show her that she's still alive and that there's still hope.
"SAM!" she shouts, but the noise of the train seems to swallow her voice. "SAM, DON'T!" And once again her words are fading, unheard. Max has almost reached Sam, as the blonde leans forward, letting gravity take over her fate. "SAAAAM!" Max screams out once more and this time it's heard by her girlfriend.
From this moment on, time flows in slow-motion. Max doesn't know why, but it happens and this lets her experience every hurtful bit.
Sam turns her head while she's still falling. Both girl's eyes meet and Max discovers how her girlfriend's sight goes through several stations of realization. How she can't believe that Max really came to her rescue. How she had fallen for her brother's cheap lie. How she wishes that she would've waited just a few more minutes. How she already regrets her decision. How she can't undo it.
With a scream of desperation, Max reaches out for Sam, trying to grab her hand. But instead, she just manages to get a hold of a piece of paper the blonde has in her hand. It rips in half and with horror Max has to witness how Sam slowly falls. She wants to look away, but can't. Until the end, she has to watch the inevitable. Only as Sam's body hits the ground below the overpass, Max is able to shut her tear-spilling eyes close.
Her whole body trembles out of shock as Max opens her eyes again. She wishes that this all has been a nightmare, but it isn't. It's cruel reality.
"SAAAAAM!" she screams out, and panicky makes her way down to Sam's body. As soon as she has reached it, the young girl falls on her knees right beside it. "Oh, Sam…" she whimpers, brushing some stray blonde hair out of her dead girlfriend's beautiful, blood-stained face. The fire that once burned inside her stormy-gray eyes is now gone; lost forever. Crying more intensively, Max closes Sam's eyelids, right before she collapses on her body, clenching tightly on it, like she never wants to let go of her ever again.
Like in trance, Max walks up to her room. Her red-cried eyes are burning from millions of shed tears, while her body and head ache from all the spasm during her crying. It's already morning and the sun has risen.
The entire night, Max has been at the police station, making statement after statement. As she has finally been allowed to go, her dad has already been waiting. During the whole ride home she had to listen to his rant of running away again. But Max had been far too numb to even given a damn about it.
As soon as she has entered her room, the young girl closes the door and sits down on the bed's edge. The emotional pain she's going through is so intense that everything has lost its sense to her.
Gazing at and unclenching her right hand, Max sees two halves of a photo. A photo she had taken over four years ago and showed her and Sam, arm-in-arm, a few days before they had kissed for the first time; before they became aware of the dark future ahead of them; a photo which Max had given Sam last winter as a promise that their plan would work; that everything's going to be like before. A broken promise.
Words are now scribbled on the backside; words that Sam must've written as she had decided to commit suicide.
I hope you can forgive me!
Max, I'm so sorry!
I will always love you!
Yours, Forever and Ever, Sam
Just reading those words floods Max's being with so much sorrow that she starts to sob again. She asks herself, why she and Sam deserve such an end. All those past years; all those plans; everything in vain.
Her mourning and sadness eventually turn into deep burning hate.
She hates Sam for stealing herself out of life. She hates her Dad and Kyra for not staying out of her business. She hates her Mom for what she had done to her. She hates Chloe for having blamed her for her patent's doings. She hates everyone who ever gave or is about to give her shit. And most of all, she hates Alexander and Mike Brighton!
Max jumps up from her bed, takes a black permanent marker and writes down a list with the most hated persons on her punching bag. But instead of getting busy with it to release some agitation, Max fires up her computer, because she has still some open business to attend to: taking revenge on Mike and Alexander!