Chapter Text
“My, my. What a curious girl you are, Max. I swear, the first time I didn’t know you were right there and so I took the hit. It sure as hell did hurt, but I didn’t feel a thing after I rewound. Ah what a relief. And with all of the bizarre stuff happening in Arcadia Bay, I thought I was alone when I was given this power. But here you are. Another ‘time traveler’.”
“H-How? I thought no one else had powers like me…”
“You thought wrong.” And with that last comment the golf club Max held was yanked out of her hands and thrown out of reach. Max was now left defenseless. “Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! What was my purpose in all of this chaos? Out of all people why was I chosen to have this power? Why am I risking my life for a power that destroys everything I care about? Why am I endlessly trying to fix mistakes when they mean nothing in the end? Why am I here right now?”
Mark grabbed Max by her arms and pushed her up against the wall with an urge. An urge to explore and inflict pain, just like a sick monster he really was deep down. Max struggled under her mentor’s grasp as she screamed and kicked out of fright and anger. “LET ME GO! Get off of me asshole!!” “No one’s around to hear you. We are underground after all.” Max was devastated. She had lost everything at this moment. Her bag, her best friend, and now her freedom. The tornado was coming straight for the town and she was running out of time. She couldn’t save the town if she was locked away in the Dark Room or if she was dead by then. Mark pinned her towards the wall and kneed her in the stomach, making at bit of blood spew out of her mouth with a slight cough. She would do anything to rewind what she had just felt. It hurt too much. This must’ve have been something similar to what Nathan felt when Warren kicked the shit out of him. Max wanted to throw up from that experience. She never knew that she would suffer from so much pain in her life. Another injury was given right onto her left foot. Mark just kept repeatedly stomping on her foot. He wouldn’t stop the stomping until Max lost balance. Tears were streaming down her face. God, this pain was just too intense. It was chaotic. What did she do to deserve this pain? Was it because she messed with time? Were her powers accidentally given to her? Was she a selected mistake? She didn’t know. She just didn’t know.
Mark rammed his knee into her abdomen once more. This time it made her cough up even more blood. That’s just proof she wasn’t taking this pain too well. With only grunts and cough sounds, Max tried to speak, “W—Why *cough cough* Y—You Mon—ster?!”
Max collapsed to the ground is distress. She never wanted this. To lose everything. To die right here and now. She just didn’t want to. She wanted to be alive. “This world. I hate this messed up world. I hate this it so much. What kind of world is this? Who is cruel enough to do this? WHY MAKE OTHER PEOPLE SUFFER?! WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS SERVE?!! TO CORRECT THE SPACE-TIME CONTINNUM?!! WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? wHy? Why?”
“WH—Why? A—re you do—doing this? What purpose do—es *cough cough* this solve?”
“Because my art isn’t good enough without this. What we are making right now is art for my emptiness. No. It’s not meant for others to see. It is to fill this emptiness I have. Normal artwork just isn’t enough to fill this need, this want that consumes my life. I was given this power to create that art. To correct time to my own decor and have humanity suffer in all directions for this purpose. I want my art to be spread once this town is wiped off the map.”
“You… knew about the tornado?”
“Of course I did. You stupid girl. This tornado will make everything happen. No life around. No cops. No one to see my art… There was one person who understands this as much as I do. While I was gone. I decided to go and get that person, so she could be safe. Speaking of which, I need to attend to that specific person.” Mark kicked her in the shin one last time, leaving Max. He walked back towards the doorway and up a couple of steps until some noises were heard. It was the sound of picking up a large bag. A bag made of silk. It was only seconds before he returned with that large bag. The bag was big enough for an entire person to be able to fit in it. Max happened to be right in the end.
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Mark had unzipped the zipper of the bag and pulled out a body. Max’s vision was blurred from the pain in her abdomen and her legs, she couldn’t make out who it was until he came closer. The more he came closer, the better the resolution got. It was Victoria. Victoria Chase. “Why? Why was she here? Mark always benefitted her throughout her time in class. This makes so much sense now. Mark doesn’t want to hurt Victoria because he loves her. Mark is a pedophile. No shit, Max.”
She was unconscious. "Of course, Icky Vicky or sulfie fucker wouldn’t come down here on her own command, especially since I warned her about Nathan. Mark probably had to knock her out. And it was probably with the drugs he used on me. Damn that shit bag."
“Alright Victoria. Let me lie you down somewhere comfortable until you wake up.” Mark said with excitement. He walked over to the couch where Chloe’s lifeless shell lied. For a moment, he gently placed Victoria down on the floor. Then he stood back up and violently grabbed Chloe’s corpse. He tossed her body aside and once more lifted Victoria to lay in Chloe’s place. With shock, Max watched her friend’s body being touched forcefully with violence. This almost resembled a small toddler rough housing with a ragdoll.
“YOU BASTARD!!” Max yelled in anger. “Shut up bitch. You’ll only get in the way of my art if you keep this up!” Max stayed silent once he raised his tone of voice and spoke once more, “Now I want to do some more photos and this time you are going to cooperate without the drugs.”
“Shit head. You’ll pay for this!” Max yelled. “Wow. I would’ve expected a comment like this from Chloe. Well, she’s not with us anymore so she can’t.”
“Never mind about the pictures then. How would you like it if I killed you and took your powers? I’m curious if I could actually take them. Well, these photos I already have of you are enough to please me so maybe its worth a try. I'm going to kill you and take them away from you. So long Maxine Caulfield.”
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Mark grabbed Max’s neck, almost choking her to death. This was it. This was going to be her last moment of breath. At least she would see Chloe and William again, she thought. “Chloe. I’ll be with you soon.” As her sight began to fade, Mark’s grasp became lighter. A shriek of pain was heard from Mark as a knife had been stabbed into the back of his left shoulder. Mark let go of Max’s neck. She immediately fell to the floor, with coughs coming from her mouth and drool being launched with each cough. She tried to breathe. “What? What happened?!” She mumbled under her breath. Blood spewed from Mark's shoulder as he cussed to himself repeatedly. "FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! WHERE DID THAT KNIFE COME FROM." Mark wobbled around the room into objects and book shelves until he was able to yank the knife out of his shoulder. “Tell me Bastard. Who the fuck are you?!!”
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“Well, who else knows the passcode to this door?” A young man covered by a darkly lit room stood in front of Max. “Nathan? Nathan. What are you doing?” Mark had stared at Nathan Prescott with complete and utter disappointment. “I’m buying Max some time.” Max just stared at him in shock as she thought. “Holy shit! Nathan?!! What? Why is he helping me?” “But why? She’s meant nothing to you and Victoria. Why protect this bitch?” Mark responded.
“Because, I fucked up too much. I need to make things right. What’s been happening to these girls? It’s all fucking twisted. And you know that dip-shit!” Nathan turned his back to give Max a glance as he spoke to her. “Max. I know you have powers. I knew all along. I only found out when I started working with Mr. Jefferson. He showed me his powers. He even told me everything about you.” Max could only reply with “But... How did he know I could rewind?" she responded.
"YES! Why don't you tell her? Prescott!" Mark yelled as leaned against his couch.
"It was ever since the fire drill. He knew that I was originally meant to kill Chloe. He only knew because you were with her. He watched you save Chloe over and over again.” “Nathan! I still don’t understand!” “You don’t have to, bitch! Now let me take care of this asshole! I’d rather die today than die in a storm tomorrow!”
And with that Nathan went charging at Mark with a Pocket knife he flipped out. “Nathan. I thought you and I were the same. Unfortunately, that was all a lie. We both have successful futures. Sean Prescott hates you, but you didn't care much other than for times when he bailed you out of ridiculous situations. I cared though. You were like my very own son. You were my top student, along with Victoria.” "SHUT UP! I don't need your shitty compliments!"
Nathan and Mark clashed at each other with their pocket knives. Mark kept rewinding so he knew where Nathan might strike. Nathan had gotten stabbed in his back and on the left side of his neck. They tried stabbing one another repeatedly until Nathan got stabbed in the abdomen. Nathan yelled, “AAAAAAAH!!!” More stab wounds were applied to his arms and shoulder until he could no longer fight back. He faced Max and yelled at her “Max! What the fuck are you- doing?! The door is wide- open! RUN!” Nathan was right. She needed to run. “Getup. Getup. Getup. Run. Run. Run. Run. RUN!”
Max. Ran. She ran as much as she could until she spotted Nathan's truck. This car looked like her ticket of freedom. “Jackpot! Now its time to get the hell out of here.” She checked for car keys. They were in the ignition. “Yes!” One problem struck her though. She couldn’t drive very well. It sucked a lot. But this was life and death. She had to do it or hope that her bag was in the car. She opened the door and got into the driver’s seat, only to see that in the seat next to her, was her bag. She has been having a streak of good luck for a change. “YES! Chloe. I haven’t given up on you! Now’s my chance to make things right! I need to fix this right now! Found it!” She held the photo close to her favce as she focused intently on it. “Come on! Come on! Come on! Powers I need you right now!” Mark burst out of the barn doors sprinting towards Max. He was going to kill her. He was going to fucking kill her. She needed her powers to work again. She needed to be fast otherwise she would die. And within that last moment, she was able to focus on the photo and go back in time. To the only a couple of hours ago, where she found Warren drunk on her shoulder taking a lazy selfie. Sounds came and echoes came from the photo. A white flash hit her eyes. She could only hear Mark yelling, "I'll remember that this happened!!"
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The white flash began to fade. Max regained her senses.“We got no time for this shit. Come on, Max.” Chloe said as Max and Warren just finished posing for their photo.
“Chloe?!” Max said in utter shock. She collapsed to the ground and started crying in happiness. “Chloe! You’re back! You’re alive.” Max wiped her eyes as Warren wandered off. "Holy shit. Max. What's wrong? Did Warren do something?" Chloe said out of courtesy. "No! No! I'm fine. I'm just thankful for something." “Thankful for what? Max! Now is not the time to be high or get drunk? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Max couldn't help but say, "That I'm back. Chloe." "Never mind. Anyways, we need to focus on bringing Nathan down.”, Chloe responded with impatience. Immediately Max corrected Chloe's statement. "It's not Nathan!" "What?" "I'm telling you, it's not Nathan." Chloe looked around becoming paranoid of the other people that could listen in on their conversation so she improvised. “Max! We need to talk elsewhere! Right now!”
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They walked behind the school, hoping that no one could catch them talking. Chloe spoke in a whisper. “Alright. What’s so fucking important that we had to step aside from the objective at hand?” “Chloe. I know who murdered Rachel and it sure as hell wasn’t Nathan.” “You expect me to believe that?!!” “YES! Chloe I wanted to tell you earlier during the day, but I just didn’t know how. It's too confusing.” “Tell me what? You aren’t making any sense here!” “Chloe! I figured out that I had another power... I figured out that I could time travel.” “What?” she said with confusion. “You heard me.” “Max. How is that even possible?!”, she took a few steps back. “I don’t know myself, but I can time travel through photos.” “Max. I still don’t know.” “All I have to do is focus really hard on a photo and then I can go back to that time period. So far, I think it only works if I’m in the picture. Otherwise nothing. That’s how I came back to this earlier time before some even crazier shit happened.” “Tell me what happened.” She responded with curiosity.
“Later during tonight we left the party to find Rachel's body so we could protect it. You told me to be prepared to rewind, but I wasn't conscious of my surroundings. I walked backwards a few steps into a needle." "A needle?" Chloe spoke. "Yes. It was a needle to a syringe. I was drugged." "Holy shit!"Chloe was shocked to even hear that. "What the fuck is going on here?!! Tell me right now." "Chloe! Please let me finish. I was going to get to that. Anyways, once I was punctured with that needle I fell to the ground, then I told you to look out. After that you got shot in your forehead. You died again... And that-... That time I couldn't save you. I blacked out and woke up in the dark room." "Oh my god" "Chloe. It wasn't Nathan at all. It was Mr. Jefferson. He's the one who shot you in the head. He's the one who killed Rachel. He's the one who drugged you and Kate. He drugged me and posed me for his own personal photography. He even had a messed up tendency to drench me with your blood. Then he pummeled me to a pulp by kneeing me in the stomach and smashing my left foot. The worst of it all was when he almost choked me to death!” "How did you get out of there?" Chloe questioned. "Nathan killed himself in that timeline to save me. He had a knife fight with Mr. Jefferson so I had a chance to escape." "Where did you go?" "I found his truck. My bag happened to be in it for some odd reason, but I was thankful that I easily found it. What scared me the most about that was when I tried to use my powers when Mark was about to kill me."
"That fucking sick twisted bastard! Max. I'm so sorry. You got dragged into this mess. But I think you just saved my life again." "No. Chloe. All of our lives are still in danger. The tornado's still coming. Please believe me Chloe. We have to focus on that right now. Please!"
“Okay Max. Now I believe you!” She leaned against the wall with shivers running down her spine. All Chloe could think right now is "So I guess I'm destined to die. Damn this world. Damn that fucking monster. Max. What was it like being conscious during all of that shit?"
She looked over to face Max. She saw the fear in her eyes. Max was traumatized. "Max. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Sweat ran down Chloe's forehead. She lifted her hand against her head as she wiped the sweat away and said “Damn it! That fucker!”
"Chloe. No. I'm the one that did this to you. I dragged us both into this hell. I dragged Arcadia Bay into this hell. No, I dragged the whole world into this hell." Max started crying due to all this stress she had to balance on her shoulders. It was just her, alone. Nobody could experience what powers she had. No one, but the most twisted man she ever met, Mark Jefferson. She just didn't know what to do anymore. No matter what she did, it was a wrong choice. She was scared of failing. She was terrified of messing up. It was even noticeable by Chloe. Max was shivering from top to bottom with fear of what was coming next. She didn't know how to face the storm heads on. She just didn't know what she could do to even stop Arcadia Bay's demise. "I'm so sorry... It's all my fault!" Chloe knew Max never made up any of this shit for attention. If she did lie like that, that wasn't her best friend. She knew Max too well to think such a statement. After 5 years of no contact with Max, she was over it. All she wanted to do was be there for Max. She was suffering and all Chloe could do was comfort her. Afterall, she is considered Max's sidekick who gets minor jobs. Chloe was wondering what it had been like to reverse time ever since she figured out Max had those powers. She wanted to expericence what Max suffered through. Trying to save your best friend right after they were originally supposed to die agan and again. That must have been hell. Heck. She wasn't on Max's level of understanding true hell. She wished she could help her though. “Max!!” Chloe approached her and brought her into a warm, comforting hug.
"It's alright! We'll suffer in this hell together. We'll get through this. I know we will. I said I won't leave you, so don't be scared anymore."
“Please never leave me!! PLEASE! I don’t want to die. I don't want you to die. I don’t want these powers anymore!!”
“Max. It’s alright. Your powers are amazing. They help me with everything. And another thing. Don't worry about Mr. Jefferson. We'll fucking stop him after the tornado.”
“Chloe. That’s just it. I don’t think we can stop him. I figured out that he can rewind time too. He's going to kill us.”