Chapter 27
Her ears were ringing like someone had set off a firecracker right beside them. She heard a strange voice, but it sounded dull and far away like her head was under water.
'What happened?' Maxine asked herself, trying to open her eyes, but wasn't able to do so. She actually felt like she could keep on sleeping for another week or even longer.
Was she back in Maximilian's body, or worse, in her own one, awaiting death? Just thinking about this filled her mind with fear and let her panic. But no matter how much she tried to fight her current state, she was forced to wait until the problem solved itself at a slow pace.
At first, her hearing returned and she could hear that strange, male voice better and better with any passing second.
"…-on't care what you want. You placed your bet and lost, now live with it! …Yeah, hate the game, not the player, pal. Now, fuck off!"
The strange voice mumbled some words that sounded very rude, accompanied by the clicking of keys on a keyboard. Then, the voice chimed again, while the young woman began to open her eyes, but only got blinded upon the strong brightness.
"Hello? …Of course I got some interesting bets for you, my dear. How about this one: a young human boy with telekinetic powers?…Yes, my own creation and very promising from the start. …I'll send you the details, my dear. …Of course someone will die, but no spoilers. …Awaitin' your bet. See ya!"
Her sight got better and better, so that she was able to recognize a humanoid figure, which was sitting at a desk, mumbling once again.
"Hmm...Dammit! Where did I put the…? Ah, here it is!"
Finally, Maxine's sight had increased enough so she could make out more Details behind a faint, blurry vail. The man who was sitting at the desk was of a small stature, chubby and was missing most of his hair. He actually reminded the young woman of one of her teachers back in Seattle. One of the nicer ones actually.
"M-Mr. Riggins?" she asked with a weak voice, causing the stranger to look around his big screen right at her with a frown.
"Oh, hello!" he spoke with a wide smile. "Didn't know that I've a guest. Can I help you, lil' girl?"
Still feeling dizzy, Maxine slowly sat up and let her confused gaze wander around the room. She was in some sort of office… A pretty boring office to be exact. No window, no pictures, not even one tiny detail that would bring some disorder into this white boredom.
"Wh-where am I?" she eventually asked as she tried to get rid of this uneasiness.
"Well," the stranger answered, returning his attention to his screen, "obviously, you're in my office."
"B-but how did I get here? What happened?"
"Fuckdammit!" the fat man suddenly yelled, startling Maxine, who thought that the exclamation was meant for her until she realized that the furious man wore a headset and obviously was mad at someone on the other end of the line. "I told you that there's no refund. A lost bet's a lost bet… Yeah?! Now listen, pal, not my problem that someone played dirty and fucked the scenario up… If you have a problem, go and complain to this weaving ol' lady, 'cause I just spice that shit up."
As she listened to the conversation and Fate got mentioned, Maxine figured out that she was still not back in the real world. Being aware of that, the question of how she got here became irrelevant, yet others came into focus.
'Where am I? And where's Maximilian? And who the fuck is that guy that looks like my former history teacher?'
Ignoring the remnants of her ill condition, the brunette woman managed to stand on shaky legs. Not that the office's owner cared about that since he kept on working. He now had something in his hands that looked like a thin, colorful thread.
"So, what do ya think's her groove?" he suddenly asked as he kept on gawking at the string in his hands. Slowly and with cautious steps she walked around the desk and looked over his shoulder. On the screen was the picture of a beautiful, young Asian woman with glasses. Under it were some notes, written in a foreign language. "Telekinesis? Farseeing? Talking with the dead? Or… Ha, got it! Sensing other people's emotions. That's gonna be a good biz!"
Slowly, yet definitely, Maxine realized what this man was doing. Realized that he was the one who gave humans those godlike powers. Who had given her those powers.
"You…!" she hissed quietly, her sight shifting at the back of the man's partially bald head as her anger rose beyond the boiling point. Her breathing heavy and her hands cramped into fists she stepped a few steps back until her fury broke loose and she charged with a loud scream towards the man.
Her plan - if it could be called one at all - was to just get her small hands around that bastard's throat and choke every bit of life out of him. This didn't happen, however. Instead, she hit nothing more than air and eventually the desk's surface, sliding over it until she fell and landed hard on the ground behind it, taking everything that once was on the desktop with her.
Squirming and groaning in pain, Maxine tried to make some sense out of what had happened. How could this rather corpulent man move that fast, although he was unaware of this attack? And especially, how would he react upon such a sneaky assault?
Obviously not friendly since a foot stomped on her back a few seconds later, pinning her to the floor. But the most horrible thing was the sadly too familiar voice that followed.
"It's very rude to attack someone from behind without any warning, Maxine!"
The young woman froze, the blood in her veins turning to ice. How could this be possible? How could her Nemesis, Mark Jefferson, be here? But then she recalled that Fate also had taken Rachel's appearance. Maybe this entity, whoever that was, could do the same?
The pressure on her back increased, letting Maxine groan in pain until she got released, but only to receive a hard kick in the side of her body that let her roll over the ground until the next wall let her stop. Once again she squirmed in pain, barely able to realize that her opponent was closing in again.
She tried to be brave. Tried to fight down her fear and agony. But she couldn't. The traumatic events in her own reality - the Darkroom, Chloe's numerous demises, Kate's suicide, Rachel's half-rotten corpse - all this caused by the man that was now standing in front of her, let Maxine fall into despair. She tried to crawl away, trying to reach a way out that wasn't there. Eventually, she got harshly grabbed by the collar of her shirt and forced to look into this much hated face of a man in his late forties.
Trimmed beard, hipster glasses and those merciless blue eyes. Yes, it was like she was staring into the abyss, and this abyss was also staring back at her.
"Time to play, Maxine. Let's make some art!" he said, underlined with a crazy chuckle of amusement, before his wet tongue glided over her cheek, sending another wave of fear and disgust through her body
"Loki, that's enough!" suddenly chimed Fate's strict voice, giving Maxine a glimpse of hope.
Both stared at Rachel's embodiment, while only Mr. Jefferson - or Loki as she called him - retorted "And here comes the joy kill…"
"Stop your mischief and let her go!" the woman commanded once more, her bright glowing eyes underlining the seriousness behind her words.
Smiling wickedly and raising his hands in defeat, Loki let go of Maxine and took a few steps back. But it didn't seem like he was subservient yet like he was mocking Fate.
"Of course, oh my looming Lady. Anything else you wish me to do, like untangle your knotted threads?"
Stepping closer to Loki with big, angry steps, she hissed "Don't you dare mocking me, Trickster! I weave everyone's fate, even yours."
It was supposed to be a threat, yet again, the entity disguised as Jefferson cautiously shoved Fate away with an expression of disgust, like she was a crazy old dame.
"Yes...of course, my dusty ol' wrinkled vixen. Yet we both know that you can't do shit! You're bound to watch. Like you had to watch how lil' Maxine here time-turned her pathetic life into a big, yet far more exciting pile of crap. Good ol' Bastet made a fortune as she got abducted by her photography teacher, 'cause nobody saw that comin'."
Fate stayed silent and bobbed her head to one side. As always, there was no readable expression on her face. "You are right," she eventually returned, staring intensely at Loki, "I cannot do anything...but she can."
Quirking one eyebrow, the Trickster followed her gaze and barely was able to see a very furious Maxine, whose eyes were now glowing as well, before her fist connected with his haw and sent him several feet through the air before he hit the opposite wall and slid down against it.
"Why did you do that?" the young woman yelled in anger. "Why did you ruin my life?"
But everything Loki did was to snicker as he got up in no time.
"Hate the game, not the player, lil' girl. My folks demand amusement, so I give it to 'em. Life itself is mostly boring and uneventful. My idea of awakening the true potential inside mortals was the best guarantee for entertainment, and making those lazy ol' farts bet on it the topping on the already sweet cupcake. For once, I'm in their favor. I, Loki, have 'em in my hands from which they eat like pigs on a big, fuckin' buffet."
"Yet, you are nothing more than a Fool to them. They neither respect you nor see you as one of their own," replied Fate, shaking her head.
"Do I hear jealousy, you wrinkled hag? Go back to your cobwebbed chamber and loom away!"
"Wait!" Maxine threw into the impending quarrel as lots of questions started to flood her mind. "What do you mean with 'awakening the true potential inside mortals'? And who are the others? Gods?"
Both entities stared at Maxine for a few seconds as if they were weighing what and how much they could tell her. And instead of an answer, Fate reached the young brunette her hand and said "Come!"
At first reluctantly, but then glad about the opportunity to leave this place and this creep Loki behind, Maxine concurred and followed the fake Rachel along a blinding white corridor as she listened to her words.
"Every being in this universe has wishes and desires. Some are weak, some are stronger, and some are so powerful that they form a special string, hidden deep inside the thread. Mostly, this string stays hidden until the life is completely woven and the thread is cut. But sometimes, it surfaces and awakens a power in said individual that might almost seem unnatural or even godlike. In your case, you always wished to undo unpleasant events and consequences. You desired to undo the move to Seattle and your avoidance of confessing your feelings for Chloe. Loki untangled this desire and awakened the power in you to influence time...just for his childish games. Sadly, he ignored the consequences of his mischievous doings."
"This sick shit ruins entire lives. He interferes with your work and you just keep on watching like it's not your problem?" complained Maxine angrily, scowling at Fate, who immediately stopped and turned towards the mortal woman.
"As he said, I am doomed to do nothing. My task is to weave…"
"Are you fuckin' serious?!" Maxine snipped back, her anger rising more and more. "You're a freakin' goddess, who has power over everyone and still you don't intervene in this fucked up shit? Loki and his pals are gamblin' with other people's lives. They're destroying 'em!"
"I am not a god, Maxine, nor is anybody else here." was her only reply as she continued walking, which rendered the young brunette puzzled.
"Then what the freakin' fuck are you that you can't put a stop to it?"
"My species has a name, yet it is impossible to pronounce it in any human language. We are the servants of the universe, keeping it running, and though we seem immortal, we can also die."
"So, you're nothin' more than a bunch of lazy, bored sleazebags, who give a fuck about us mortals."
Once more, Fate stopped and gazed at Maxine, who was already expecting to get raged upon. Yet instead, the older woman simply shrugged with her shoulders.
"You could say that, yes. But not about everybody. Some of us are working very hard, every day, every night, for eons. Some forgot their places. Everybody has a purpose and we are bound to it. We are bound to strict rules. Disobeying them could have severe consequences to the universe. This is why I am doing nothing. This is why I am forced to watch."
"But you don't seem to shed one tear about it."
"Despite your assumption, I was not created without emotions, yet decided to ignore them, Maxine. A big sacrifice I made for every living being."
"Wow, what a sacrifice…"
"Could you imagine a life without emotions? No anger, no sadness, no joy and no love. Would you call that living at all?"
A whiffed, sad "No," paired with a bowed head was everything Maxine could reply as she thought about Fate's role in this divine tragedy. A good and caring soul that was forced to sit by and watch, bound by unfair rules to do nothing.
Surely, you could survive without anger and sadness, but without love and joy? No, that was something Maxine couldn't and didn't even want to imagine. And right away, she remembered Rachel and that special bond they both shared.
"I'm going to send you back to her," mentioned Fate off-topic, bringing the young brunette back from her thoughts as she was also taken aback.
"B-but what about Maximilian? It's his reality, not mine."
"True," the older Rachel answered, turning towards the teenager. "But there is something you need to know."
Both had now stopped in front of a white door that could be easily overseen in this intense white floor.
"The power Loki has awakened in you made you your own weaver of fate."
"Wait! So, you're saying that I'm...like you?!" spoke Maxine with astonishment, yet against her first expectations only received a headshake.
"No. But remember when I told you that choices are merely illusions. For almost every individual this is a fact, yet not for you. You are able to undo your choices and alter the tapestry."
"But I lost my powers. I'm not able to do this anymore."
"True. And your life in your original reality ended. Yet, you became a weaver for another person."
"Maximilian," Maxine answered quietly the unspoken question. But as much as she tried to make some sense out of it, absolutely nothing made any sense to her at the moment. "B-but I don't understand. My powers are gone. I'm again bound to your rules."
"No, Maxine," was Fate's answer. "As soon as you entered the other reality, the rules changed. When you took over Maximilian's life, you became his weaver. And now it is your task to lead his way."
"But what's gonna happen to him? Is he gonna take my place and die?" Maxine asked in return as she became a bad conscience about the teenage boy's fate, because it would seem to her like murdering him out of selfish motives. No, she didn't want him dead, though he behaved like a giant, pubescent idiot.
Once more, Fate shook her head, replying with a soft smile "Do not worry; I will take care of him until your destiny is fulfilled and he can return." Then she waved with her hand and the door opened by itself, revealing a blinding, colorful light behind it. "Now you must go and finish what you have started."
For a few moments, Maxine stared into this intense brightness, asking the question that had been spinning in her brain since she had learned about her demise in her own reality.
"So, what's my destiny in this reality? I know I'm gonna die sooner or later, but...how? And how's it possible for Maximilian to return if I'm gonna die anyway?"
But all she received was another warm smile, paired with a reply that answered everything and nothing.
"Even if I tell you, your visit here and our conversations will fade like a distant dream as soon as you return to your reality. Now, farewell, little girl. Go your way and fulfill your destiny!"
No, this answer wasn't helpful at all, yet Maxine simply shrugged it off as her main goal was just getting back to Rachel, so that - with one last deep breath - she stepped into the blinding light.