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deenoss · 7 months

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a FRANCIS X TALL!READER X NICK headcannon.

genre: romance

warnings: cussing, mentions of gore, blood, and death.

author's note: hello dear anon! I hope you like this hc I made! I know I'm not a professional at this but I tried my best. I have been struggling to write anything at all so I apologize if it's not enough :( I can totally work on part two who knows...

FRANCIS AND NICK FIGHT OVER TALL READER

You were picked on, that’s for sure.

You've been teased for being tall since you were young. People found it acceptable at times, but not always. You couldn't please everyone or yourself all of the time. It had been an exhausting journey of hearing others talk behind your back or giving you strange stares because of your height. It felt as if you were an anomaly in society.

You disliked being tall sometimes, it could make life a bit harder.

Your height wasn't usually an issue, but it may be a hassle since certain things were just too small for you. It got on your nerves. You weren’t too tall, however, any tall person would have difficulties in life, be it with clothes or jewelry.

The green Flu was unexpected.

At this stage, jewelry or clothing would not be your primary focus. Now, your life came first, and it was constantly on a razor's edge. As long as you can remember, the Green Flu stormed in and crushed everything, and your entire existence was flipped upside down in seconds. You were at your Savannah apartment, near the Vannah Hotel. You read about a mystery sickness that decimated Pennsylvania just a few days ago. You heard a beating on your door, and they were already inside before you could open it. They might have picked up the smell of you.

You figured they were what the sites and rumors said, infected with mutated rabies. CEDA wasn’t helpful in delivering information on them, you guessed, so the public did. You saw one video of Fairfield, a person running from them in pure horror. It had been said that any fatal injuries would put them down, so that’s what you did, you followed your instincts and tried for a kitchen knife.

The knife got one down, with one blow to the chest. You were slightly taller than these…infected, which made it slightly easier to fight them. The other two scratched at you, they got your arms and belly in the process and god did it hurt. You decided to push past them and run instead, if you stayed any longer, they could potentially do worse damage.

You ran to an evacuation center and met a good soul.

You sprinted as far as your legs could carry you, your lungs burned from the exertion, and your breathing became more labored. You came to a halt when you noticed a few cars driving past and helicopters flying above in the same direction as the cars. You followed them till you arrived at one of the evacuation centers.

Luck wasn’t on your side, however. This evacuation had been moved to the Vannah Hotel due to the proximity of the infected to that zone. You gripped at your hair in panic and just followed the soldier's instructions. You were redirected to the Vannah Hotel in a bus full of people, the CEDA officer driving it completely ignoring the blood on your shirt or scratches on your arms.

Good management of security.

The bus arrived at the Vannah Hotel, but you were turned away as you approached the entrance due to issues with your arms and bloodied self. They weren't allowed to shoot you, but when they inquired for directions, a ruckus occurred inside, diverting your attention away from the street. The infected followed and people turned inside. You all scrambled while soldiers shot at the infected, your heart accelerating.

You dashed up the stairs as an explosion in the kitchen blew your ears off and shook parts of the structure. You collapsed to the ground as others climbed by you, unconcerned about whether or not you were wounded. The scratches on your arms itched and burned, and you coughed as smoke rose up from the set of stairs.

You felt like giving up until a woman came up to you and pulled you up to your feet despite your height. She was much smaller than you but seemed to have good cardio. The woman and you took shelter in one of the rooms to wait until the ruckus outside was over, despite the fire spreading.

Her name was Rochelle. She was a reporter, you understood, working here at CEDA’s evacuation and reporting everything.

You eventually, meet the others in the Vannah Hotel as the evacuation is moved there

You and Rochelle stayed in the room for minutes until all the commotion outside was over. Both of you exited the bedroom and went over to the set of stairs again where you met three other people. A younger and shorter-looking man with a yellow shirt, a buff football teacher with a purple and yellow shirt, and a…man in an expensive suit. How fitting.

You snorted to yourself. He looked at you the same way kids would whenever they saw you. Although you saw something else in his eyes. Disgust. You figured it was because of all the blood on you, considering his suit was all white and tidy.

The other three were more welcoming when it came to you. You all ran up the set of stairs to the last floor on the roof - while Coach fought for his life to go up the stairs, the suited man making a comment on how the helicopter was made of chocolate? Now that’s just rude.

Nick was disgusted by the blood, but enamored by you. The truth hurt.

Nick, the con man, was not a romantic type. He was well-known for it. There was a reason why his marriage failed. But it irritated him how smitten he was with you. Truth be told, your height caught his attention, but god did it make you all the more beautiful. It was eye-catching, it fit your frame very well and it gave you such a confident posture. You were gorgeous, and he hated himself for even looking at you that way.

You two started on the wrong foot too, he made a snarky comment about your height to mask his liking for it and you got offended, and you bit back at him. With time, however, you two hit it off very well and you began to like his company. No matter how annoying his attitude may be sometimes.

Rayford is the town of love, apparently. You meet three others and Ellis falls in love while something else begins to occur.

You encountered another party from Philadelphia when you arrived in Rayford after departing Savannah in Jimmy Gibs' vehicle. Zoey, a young student, Louis, an analyst, and Francis a tough biker man with a stylish vest.

To be honest, Francis was the one who drew your attention out of the three. His attitude and approach were highly unique, reminding you of Nick in some ways.

Louis was a nice guy, his welcoming words made you feel safe while Zoey just looked hurt. You guessed she went through a lot to get from Philadelphia to Rayford. Ellis on the other hand, completely fell in love with the girl, expressing it to all of your team.

Francis had never fallen so hard. In love.

Like Nick, Francis wasn’t one for romance. One-time stands were enough for him and that’s about it. But when he saw you, something in him twisted at his chest. You were the tallest on your team and very good-looking. That was not all, your voice also made him melt. The way you spoke, the way you moved, your height so eye-catching, your body, everything about you was perfect.

And he loved that.

Zoey caught up to it as soon as he spoke about you the first time and boy was she annoyed. She tried to motion to you ‘him? Really?’ and you brushed it off as a joke. She was serious. Zoey could not understand how this would even work. Francis just shut her up by saying she had Ellis to worry about.

You are so confused, what is all of this talk?

You thought Zoey tried to joke around with you, perhaps she took note of the way you looked at Francis - similar to the way you looked at Nick for a while now - and made a comment on it. You didn’t think much of it, however.

The group from Philadelphia joins your team and Francis and Nick immediately hit it off on the wrong foot.

You were shocked when you walked in on Francis and Nick at each other's faces one day. Francis pushed Nick off of him with both of his arms and snarled at him before leaving the room. Nick just stood there in shame, said nothing, and left.

They had been doing this for a few days now, spitting at each other, making snarky remarks or straight-up fighting and you couldn’t understand why. It puzzled you how they could make all of this fuss when all of you already have your lives on the line every day, running from cannibal freaks.

They fought again and you stepped in this time.

You walked through the rooms of the motel where your team took shelter when you heard arguing in the room to your right. You walked closer to it, the moon shining upon it casting long shadows around you.

“Well, I’m not the dirty biker here, am I? You’re not sophisticated enough, so beat it!” You heard a muffled voice yell. You guessed it was Nick.

“Dirty? Is that what you think I am suit?” Francis roared.

You had to stop this. You broke into the room and the frown on your face immediately stopped the two. They stepped away from each other and looked away as if they had just been scolded by their parents.

“What the hell is going on in here?” You questioned, arms crossed across your chest.

Both men avoided eye contact with each other and tried to explain what each thought. You were confused beyond stars and you questioned the reasoning behind all of their fighting. They were quiet. You couldn’t force it out of them and after you three talked, Francis just walked off the room excusing himself. You and Nick looked at each other and you frowned again. He cleared his throat and said he would sleep, so you left.

Nick is annoyed.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you, and everything you did. He hated the idea of Francis stealing you or being near you, he couldn’t bear it. He wanted you all to himself. Francis was only getting in the way, and he had already expressed to Nick how he felt about you which drove Nick insane. He punched Francis one day over it but Coach broke them off before any serious damage could be done.

Francis is pissed.

Francis was beyond pissed. Everywhere he went, you were there and so was Nick. He hated that name. He hated how close he was to you. Couldn’t he just back off? Francis had been punched by Nick the other day and he wants to make him pay for it, all because of you.

You talk to Zoey and Rochelle who seem to have a better understanding, and you are horrified.

You, Zoey, and Rochelle had been having a conversation with the rest of the team, discussing changes that could be made. You decided to mention how Nick and Francis had been fighting badly over the last few days and how it could affect the team in the future. That’s when they spilled the beans.

Zoey went first, telling you how Francis felt about you. How crazy he was about your height and how he wanted to give you all the love in his heart. She told you that with a disgusted expression.

Rochelle went after her, telling you how enamored Nick was with you. Nick wanted nothing but to try and make you happy, he wanted to make up for his distant marriages and how badly they ended by giving you the world.

You cried.

You tried to have them talk in a civilized manner. And it worked?

You had approached the two one morning as they had been tasked with fixing one of the doors in the shelter you all stayed in. They were working in silence, and they only talked when necessary.

You walked over to them and asked to speak in private with the two. They were confused but obliged anyway. The three of you enter the room, with Nick closing the door and sitting down on one of the chairs. Francis stood on his feet with crossed arms.

You expressed how you felt, to their surprise. You told them how you wanted to have them go through a civilized conversation before they even fought about it. You wanted to try something with them and you told them how you understood it was hard.

“Just please, don’t make this harder for me than it already is.” You finished and left the room, leaving no room for argument.

Nick and Francis surprisingly talked, in a calm manner this time. They were in the room for a good ten minutes before they came out. You waited by the door and as they looked at you, they smiled like never before. You did too.

The three of you were now together!

The three of you had a lot of fun, in both ways. It felt good to see Nick and Francis joking with each other instead of fighting or just seeing them having a normal conversation. It was good to have a happy team.

Coach was proud of you for standing up, he mentioned those two looked like two kids fighting and he was glad you put an end to it.

Nick and Francis though? They were the happiest in this story. God were they jumping around like two kids who just got candy in an amusement park. Nick smiled to himself while Francis listened to some rock on his mp4.

You were their everything, that’s for sure.

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 70

On the day of Chloe Price's funeral, a select few were permitted to attend.

After fighting back her emotions for as long as she could leading up to that day, Joyce had completely broken down when she and David arrived at the cemetery.

Behind them was Clark, Rachel and Ophelia.

Followed by Max, Kate, Raymond Wells, some people that Chloe was friends with such as Justin, Trevor, Dana Ward, Warren Graham, and even Victoria Chase.

Everyone walked in silence up the main path into the cemetery, evenly spaced. They all wore black as the suitable colour for the event in which they devoted their final respect for the fallen.

Joyce could only walk so far without it becoming difficult to walk on account of the pain she'd felt losing her daughter. She clung onto her husband, David, for support in case she fell to the ground. But she remained strong and managed to walk all the way to where her daughter was supposed to be buried, alongside her late husband, William.

It became all the more challenging when Joyce set her eyes on Chloe's coffin where there was a priest waiting patiently for the guests to arrive. To stand witness to the burial of one's child was something no parent deserved to go through. But for the fact that Joyce had to experience two losses was almost enough to make her crack fully. She had to stop every so often to compose herself while David whispered words of encouragement in her ear as they walked up to Chloe's coffin-side with those who knew Chloe.

Kate silently captured Joyce's attention by touching her arm to show support to the older woman before taking her place beside David. Warren positioned himself next to Joyce, and everyone else, around the coffin.

The town's priest began the ceremony, solemnly praying to God before offering the others to express any eulogies before the closing of the ceremony. When nobody volunteered to contribute anything, Clark voiced an opinion.

"I didn't count on really speaking at my own sister's funeral. I kind of expected her to outlive me at one point. Sure, we might not have got along all the time, but she was still my sister and I loved Chloe so much. I'm going to miss her so much. I just hope she and dad are up there in Heaven right now, making pancakes and going on pirate adventures together. Yeah..."

Rachel reached over and rubbed Clark's back while the priest closed the ceremony.

While the priest closed the ceremony, a blue butterfly fluttered down onto the coffin. Other seemed to notice but paid no mind to it, except Max. The butterfly carried such mysterious significance that she couldn't help but smile at the winged creature.

The brunette felt her hand get squeezed by her girlfriend of three days, Kate Marsh. The dirty-haired blonde girl smiled at the photography nerd and brushed her knuckles with her thumb as they waited for the ceremony to conclude as they were keen to having the repast and moving forward from the depressing day they've had.

All they could do now was move forward with their lives and commemorate Chloe the fittest way they knew how: to enjoy life like it was running out of style.

THE END

#life is strange #angst #funeral

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 69

A full week had passed and Clark had fortunately made a speedy recovery.

By the time he was permitted to leave the hospital, Clark was keen to get out but was physically depleted of energy. It was just after lunch time when Clark was escorted by his daughter and girlfriend.

For the inconvenience of having to cover a shift for a fellow co-worker, Joyce was incapable of being there to see her son get out of hospital.

With Ophelia in her father's lap and Rachel steering the wheelchair Clark was temporarily bound to, the three made their way out of the hospital and out the front door, the same way Clark looked after when she got stabbed in her brachial artery.

The passing thought of the last time Rachel was in a hospital numbed her for but a short while until they reached Clark's truck.

Given that Clark still didn't have full physical capability, Rachel steered the wheelchair over to the right side of the car and opened it before lifting her daughter inside and strapping her into a booster seat in the centre seat. Clark followed after, but not without struggle.

There was a series of grunting as Clark struggled to climb into his truck. Once he was comfortably seated in the passenger seat, Rachel delivered the wheelchair back to the hospital, leaving him and Ophelia to wait for her to return just a full minute after. As soon as she returned, she climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition before accelerating out of the parking lot and away from the hospital.

Clark looked to his right out the passenger window with said window rolled down. He watched and stared blankly at the passing trees and bushes that made up the forest expanding towards town.

Items on the dashboard remained exactly the same; untouched on account of the long period Clark had been in hospital for.

They drove in silence, unable to start a conversation also due to the fact that they were too distracted and lazy to come up with anything to talk about, given that that was all they could do for the whole week Clark was in hospital.

Buzz, buzz!

Clark pulled out his phone and examined the message that was sent to him.

From: Super-Max Clark, I didn't get to tell you this before, but it's about Chloe.

From: Super-Max There's no easier way to tell you this, but... she's dead.

From: Super-Max

Clark, I'm so, so sorry that you have to read this. I wish it were otherwise, but it's true.

In disbelief, Clark read over the three new messages over and over until his mind wrapped around the fact that Max had shared this controversial information with him.

And just when he felt a splinter of doubt, another message was sent, but with a link.

By opening the link, the phone opened a web page addressing the recent discovery of Chloe's body being discovered in the junk yard.

Rachel wasn't sure why, but she got a bad feeling something bad was happening. Even while she was driving, she looked over at Clark for longer than she should have, every so often looking back at the road to ensure she was still in the centre of her lane.

"Babe, what's the matter?" Rachel asked.

Tears swelled in Clark's eyes. His bottom lip trembled as he subconsciously forced himself to stare at the photo in the digital newspaper of his sister's corpse wrapped up in a plastic bag and disposed off just below the surface of the ground.

Dissatisfied by his lack of response, Rachel pulled over to the side of the road and pushed for answers until he showed her his phone. When her eyes set on the headline and the photo, Rachel suddenly found herself sympathising Clark's emotional state.

"Oh baby... Come on. Let it all out."

Rachel reached out and took ahold of Clark's hand, giving it a squeeze as he bawled his eyes out, all the while Ophelia sat by, watching things occur right before her without a single clue as to what was going on.

The tears that Clark shed exposed countless days of silent suffering and begging for safety upon his sister, now been wasted, unlike his tears.

Without lingering on the road for much longer, Rachel held the steering wheel with one hand and held Clark's hand with the other and resumed driving home.

For another fifteen minutes or so, Rachel took them to Clark's house where they all intended to stay, given that Rachel could have had the better option to occupy her old home now that her parents no longer lived there or together, but merely by thinking about the suggestion, it brought back too many bad memories. When they arrived, Rachel pulled up into the driveway before getting out and rushing to the other side to help her boyfriend out of the truck.

"Thanks," Clark mumbled.

The pain in his stomach was practically non-existent but there was some psychological pain that lingered like a virus: it plagued Clark knowing that it had left a wound it would take a long time to overcome and forget about.

Only the emotional and psychological pain lingered.

"Come here, sweetie-pie. Come to mama." Rachel cooed to the little girl she pulled out of her booster seat.

"Mama. M-M-Mama..." Ophelia physically groped for the blonde pulling her out of the truck.

By holding onto Ophelia with one arm, Rachel cradled her in her arms and lightly grabbed Clark's bicep as he slowly dragged himself out of the truck. It took Clark a moment to find strength in his legs before he managed to stand on his own. He took the keys Rachel held out for him so that he could open the front door for them.

As the door swung open, Clark peered down the hall where the sun stretched only so far just beyond the front door. It made him think back to the day he found out his father died and how morbidly his mother stood in the foyer.

To think back on that day, leading to where he was there, in the present, seemed like a remarkable achievement for Clark: to have a girlfriend and daughter of his own; to love and cherish until the very end.

"Did you want me to make you something to eat, honey?" Rachel asked in her normal voice.

Clark was almost startled by her voice suddenly ringing into his ear. He glanced at Rachel, fighting back the shocked expression that almost took over his grim façade.

Clark nodded his head. "Yes, please. Do you want to make Ophe something while you're at it?"

"Okay, baby. I'll make some soup. Why don't you go and lie down upstairs? You've had a long week. And I know you're waiting for your energy to come back to you, but it's best that you don't do anything potentially risky to your body."

"Okay. I might work out tomorrow. It'll help me get back to my normal self a bit faster."

Rachel hummed and nodded her head before walking down the hall and left at the first turn into the kitchen. All the whole, Clark headed upstairs, dragging himself up to his room, but not before passing through his mother's to acquire something.

Meanwhile, Rachel had propped her daughter on the kitchen bench and began to collect cooking equipment in order to make egg soup. By doing so, the process of making the soup would consume a good three-quarters of an hour until the soup was ready. Ophelia became engrossed with her mother's natural beauty and the work she was committing herself to in order to treat their little family.

"HEY, BABE! THE SOUP IS READY!" Rachel sang out.

A muffled yell came back, saying, "COMING!"

A more lively Clark Price hopped his way downstairs. He spun on the handle of the stairs and flew down the hall with high spirits and a suspiciously pleasant mood radiating from his aura. Rachel quickly noticed this and verbally noted his liveliness.

"You seem pretty energetic for a guy who just got forty-five minutes of rest."

"What can I say? I'm the happiest man on earth." Clark responded proudly as he gave Rachel a kiss on her cheek.

"Are you okay, babe? You're acting weird." Rachel asked sceptically as she carried her daughter over to the dinner table where they were to eat for the first time together as a family.

Feigning innocence, Clark broadened his smile and pouted his lips to blow lightly on the surface of his bowl of soup before he took a spoonful of the liquid and drank it.

"Tastes delicious. But I think you'd taste better." Clark winked.

Rachel's face flushed red, shocked that he'd made such a comment in front of their daughter.

"Baby! What's got into you?" Rachel scolded lightly.

"Nothing. What, can't I be happy to be other my amazing, gorgeous girlfriend and my super adorable little girl?"

"Alright. What are you playing at, Clark?"

Withdrawing his phone from his pocket, Clark bowed his head and accessed it to play a song he wanted them to listen to. He then got up to his feet and stood next to Rachel side on, with an arm extended out to her.

"Dance with me?"

Rachel stared at him confusingly before she took his hand and followed him to a more spacious area in the room where Clark raised the hand that was linked to Rachel up beside their heads while the other grabbed her waist, and her free hand up to his shoulder. They wobbled slightly on the spot in a clockwise rotation as the song played.

Not a word was spoken in fear of ruining the tender moment Clark devised in near an hour. Rachel had felt that this could've been the extent of his ploy, but she detected a feeling that said there was more to come.

"Remember that night at the Two Whales after our date? That was the night we kissed and when I realised I wanted you forever and you agreed to it. You've made me a very, very happy and lucky man, baby." Clark spoke very gently.

"Well, you wanted me, and I wanted you too."

"Wait, what?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Before we first met, whenever I'd see you in the hall or in class, you made me wonder... 'who did your hair?' "

She burst into giggles, while Clark grinned and shook his head.

"No, but seriously. It took a lot of courage from me to go up and talk to you. And, if I'm being honest... I found you cute."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "For real?"

"You are, though. Everybody wanted to be me or be just like me. And after all these years I've been trying to find out who I am, it turns out I found the real me in you. Meeting you changed my world forever: for the better. Clark, you have done so much for me, you don't even realise. I might not express it with my voice, but I want you to understand now that you've made me into who I am now, for the better."

"I could very well day the same thing to you, baby. All these years, I felt I had nothing to cling onto after my father died. But when you moulded into the picture, you've opened a perspective I haven't felt in a very long time. And I'm glad I could be the one you want to be with. It's just..."

"What is it, baby?"

"I... I want to be a hundred percent certain that you're who I wanna be with."

"Haven't I done that already?"

A sly grin appeared on Clark's face as he removed himself from Rachel's embrace. At that point, the music had ended and the pair were standing in dead silence while Clark knelt down on one knee, reaching into his back pocket and pulled something out, pinching ahold of it with his thumb and index finger. Rachel gasped, her hands cupping her mouth as she stared at the golden ring he held up to her.

What was more significant was that Clark had managed to claim his mother's ring back long before he got shot as a result of a very long and difficult bargain with the pawner his mother originally sold the ring with the intent to keep herself and her family financially stable.

"Rachel Dawn Amber, will you do me the honour of marrying me?" Clark proposed.

Without any hesitation in her voice, Rachel yelled, "YES, I'LL MARRY YOU!!"

The blonde squealed in delight and dropped to the ground and threw her arms around Clark's neck, giving him a tight squeeze before she let him slide the ring on her finger.

Just down the hall, people began to applaud Clark and Rachel for a successful proposal, startling Rachel as she and Clark glanced at Kate, Max, Warren, Joyce and David all standing by the door with smiles on their faces. Even Ophelia smiled and made an attempt at clapping her hands.

Clark approached his mother and pulled her into a hug, tighter than either expected, especially Clark when he felt his mother hug him tightly out of desperation as she whispered into his ear.

"I love you, Clark. I'm so proud of you, honey. You're a man now." Said Joyce.

"I love you too, mom. I wish Chloe was here to see this. She would've made an amazing bridesmaid." Clark replied faintly.

"She would be proud of you, Clark. We both know she is."

To get out of the depressing state, the rest of the day was spent celebrating Clark's and Rachel's engagement. Much food had been cooked and prepared for a feast.

With dinner all but over, Rachel took it upon herself to gather everyone's plates and even wash up. Max and Kate announced that they were going to take their leave. The two girls stood hand in hand as a form of expressing their relationship before they left to head back to their dormitories at Blackwell.

Clark picked up his daughter and carried her upstairs into Chloe's room where David and Clark set up his old baby crib and laid his daughter down for early sleep. The little girl was gently laid in her cot and left to sleep while Clark crept out of the room so to not disturb her. He then swerved into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

By the time Rachel was done washing up, she'd made her way upstairs to brush her teeth also before settling in bed with Clark. The house became dead silent as everyone was now in bed, sleeping the night off. Rachel felt her boyfriend press his entire body against her with his arm around her waist. The embrace brought comfort as they slept peacefully, knowing that they could finally become the family they both desired.

#life is strange #rachel amber #parents #proposal #fluff #love

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 68

When visiting hours almost came to an end, Joyce, Max, Rachel and Ophelia all gave Clark hugs and kisses before their departure.

A nurse had entered the room to administer consumable medication for Clark to swallow so that his body recovered at an effective, average rate to ensure that he healed up quickly and left within the seven days according to his doctor.

"Good evening, Clark. Time to take your medicine." The nurse, a gorgeous young woman with long, dark burgundy red hair, spoke in a deep, soothing voice.

The nurse placed a tray on Clark's bedside table and dispensed two oval-shaped white pills and handed that and half a glass of water to Clark, which he took and slapped the hand with pills over his mouth before flushing it down with the entire half-glass of water down his throat.

"Thanks, Megan," he croaked appreciatively.

"You seem to have good friends, Clark. Seeing you all afternoon like that. Must be nice."

"They're the best."

"Was that your kid?"

"Yeah. Her name is Ophelia, she's three years old."

Megan held her hands together and cooed. "She's so adorable."

"She's got her mother's looks."

"And your smile, I noticed. Do you need anything else?"

Clark shook his head and sent a little smile her way.

With nothing else to do for him, the nurse walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her, leaving Clark in dead silence.

So what he did was reach for his phone lying on the bedside table and unlocked it by entering a four-digit code so he could access the internet. Given that his phone was only at a forty-two percent charge, he wasn't certain it would last him the night.

Given that he didn't have any suitable alternatives to help him fall asleep faster, he decided to put something on the television which he hoped would bore him until he fell asleep. Grabbing the remote, Clark turned on the television mounted on the wall on the opposite side of the room, facing him, and scrolled through the channels briefly until he found something he liked.

But just as he got comfortable and set to hit slumber, he felt an urge develop, making him groan obnoxiously loud.

"Great. Gotta pee now." Clark grumbled to himself as he fought through pain in his stomach to get out of bed.

Even when he attempted not to exert himself physically too much, it proved to much of a task to complete all by himself.

Slowly, Clark turned around so his legs hug over the bed. Using his legs to attach firmly to the side of the bed, he pulled himself towards the edge very slowly and delicately until his feet touched the cold floor. The cold pricked the soles of his feet as he stood up as straight as he could before dragging his feet along towards the bathroom. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead due to the physical pressure in making his way to the bathroom.

Once he reached the bathroom, Clark let himself inside and did his business with less effort until he made his way back to bed. The same physical strain provided a gut-punch type of feeling as Clark struggled to get to bed.

That pain was relieved as soon as he laid back down and rested. The pain slowly went away but lingered for too long until Clark could manage to fall asleep.

Come morning, Clark awoke to the sound of items clattering and machinery making noise. Footsteps wandered around his bed, followed by very faint childish moaning.

Clark opened his eyes wide open to investigate the disturbance where he caught his girlfriend already inside his room with their daughter sleeping at the window fashioned with cushions for people to sit there. Rachel was reorganising some things while looking at her phone and texting using only her thumb.

"R-Rach...?" Clark moaned as he raised his arms above his head to stretch.

The blonde instantly glanced in his direction and smiled. She approached Clark and gave him a kiss on the forehead before taking a seat beside him.

"What are you doing here so early? What time is it?" He asked after they then exchanged kisses on the mouth.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you - I needed to see you. Thinking about you like this has been worrying me lately, ever since I got that call from your mom."

"I told you, I'm fi-argh! Dammit..."

Rachel sighed and sat down on the side of the bed and reached to pull up his gown in order to examine his injury.

There was no physical nor verbal protest to her pulling his gown up, as by doing so, she exposed the upper part of his pelvis from underneath the bedsheets as she looked closely at the bandaged gunshot wound. To her relief, there was not even a molecule of crimson on the bandage.

"No pain?"

"Except in the hand you're sitting on."

Rachel looked down where she sat but quickly realised that what he said was comically pleasing only to himself. In response to his witty humour, Rachel lightly slapped his thigh whilst desperately fighting the urge to smile at his joyful expression.

"M-M-Mommy?" A little girl's voice cooed.

Both Clark and Rachel looked in their daughter's direction where they spotted the three year-old sitting upright and rubbing her eye with a closed fist. Rachel got up and approached Ophelia to pick her up and hold her with one arm and the other supporting her balance to ensure that she didn't fall out of her arms.

The little girl's eyes found Clark lying in his bed and kept that stare. Rachel didn't notice straight away until she looked down at her daughter, catching her staring blankly at something. Attempting to follow her gaze, Rachel's eyes set on the only thing she could assume her daughter found intriguing.

"Ophe, that's your daddy. Can you say... 'daddy?' " Rachel spoke in a mellow tone to her daughter.

"Oh my gosh. I cannot believe how horny that makes me."

Rachel gasped, pulling her daughter's head against her chest with her free hand cupping Ophelia's ear.

"Babe!"

"I cannot believe I just said that out loud."

"Babe! She might be a child, but her mind is like a sponge: at her age, she learns a lot of things more than you think gets absorbed."

Clark's brows furrowed together, knitting a confused expression. "Where on earth did you hear that?"

"A friend gave me some good advice."

" 'A friend?' "

Thinking back to the day she first met her friend on her trip to L.A., Rachel smiled fondly back at how much she bonded with Gabe Chen. It came with prudent thought that Gabe offered his knowledge and services to Rachel ever since she fell pregnant and gave birth to Ophelia Amber-Price - a name which Rachel took the liberty of deciding merely for career-purposes.

"He's helped me a lot in the past few years - given that he's had to help raise his little sister."

"Oh. That's nice." He clenched his jaw and avoided eye contact with Rachel.

Surprisingly, Rachel caught on to his sudden change of tone, how curt and low his voice became.

"Yeah. He's such a sweetheart. And he has always been helping me giving me advice with how we can make up for lost time."

"Sounds like you've enjoyed being around him a lot."

Rachel bit her bottom lip in enjoyment of her seeing her boyfriend's reaction to the other company she'd sought during their time apart.

"We're not... jealous, are we, babe?" Rachel teased.

He scoffed, unable to voice his thoughts on the matter.

It only took a few seconds of thought for Rachel to drop the smile on her face, to realise that it was no longer a joke for her to throw in his face.

"Babe..."

"Please don't. Just... Sorry. I don't take this sort of stuff very well - or in general for that matter. I just... I lost my father, I almost lost you once, I don't want to lose you again. You and Ophelia are the only good things going on in my life, Rachel. Please, please... don't test my faith, or the next thing that'll get tested is my wrists."

Knowing what he meant by that, Rachel held her daughter securely with her other arm and reached out to her boyfriend with the other, she took ahold of his nearest hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Clarkson William Price, I love you to infinity and beyond. You are the sun that brighten my universe. Don't you ever think that I won't stop loving you. Because you... you're my soulmate."

The power in her words were strong. They were so strong that it made Clark's emotions become unstable.

He smiled through the tears forming in his eyes. Closing the distance between their faces, the young couple shared a small kiss on the lips.

Truly, they were happy.

#life is strange #rachel amber #daughter #fluff #reunion

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 67

"Rachel...?"

A woman stood erect inside the room. She had medium blonde hair that went down past her chest, donning a pink shirt with a sunset and three palm trees arched slightly. A leather black skirt hung securely around her waist, reaching halfway down her thigh with black boots over her feet.

The two girls in the room watched on as Clark struggled to get up due to the pain that restricted his physical movement as he sought to close the distance between he and the woman familiar to both Clark and Max.

Bashfully, the blonde supermodel waved at the boy confined to lying in a hospital bed for a good week or more.

"Sorry for showing up unannounced, but as soon as I heard what happened, I got here as soon as I could." Rachel apologised as she approached Clark's bedside and stood right beside his bed and leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Clark was still speechless at the fact that he was reunited with his girlfriend once again.

His reaction left Rachel heartfelt at how happy he was where she mirrored his emotions and brushed her hand down his cheek.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"O-Oh... um, R-Rach, b-b-baby, this is Max Caulfield. My, my childhood friend. Max, this is Rachel." Clark stuttered nervously.

"You mean, that Max?"

"Mmhm."

Rachel looked over at the other girl in the room and shared an awkward smile her way and acknowledged her company.

"Hey there, Kate. Long time no see." Rachel said politely.

The dirty-haired blonde perked up, surprised that Rachel managed to remember her after their introduction a couple years back at church.

The room became awkwardly quiet as Rachel started to feel competitive for Clark's attention. It made her jealous when she saw Kate's hand getting caressed by Clark's. The rings on her right hand were fiddled with as well as the fingers themselves

"So... how are you? How's the modelling gig?" Clark asked on an exhale.

Rachel spied a spot to sit on on the bed. She motioned to take that spot. Her movement seemed almost hesitant as if by doing so, she would breach Clark's personal space. The only thing that made her slightly confused as to how close she was to remain near Clark was the long distance in their relationship and the lack of physical comfort from one another.

But what neither of them knew was that Clark wasn't bothered at all by it since he yearned to feel her touch again, while Rachel believed that there was some resentment for her being away from him for so long.

"It's been going. Been doing a bit of travel; going to new places, meeting new people, but the pay isn't what I thought it would be." Rachel shared openly. "But it's very competitive: what with all these other supermodels trying to get in first with all these big brands and clothes companies. Charles - my manager - has been doing what he could to make sure I get the most out of my career, but it doesn't help the fact that some girls don't appreciate how I'm 'cutting in line.' "

"But you're happy with what you're doing, right?"

Rachel's lips opened, motioning to speak when she found herself at a loss for words. She couldn't quite figure out what to say, according to her experience in the modelling industry which has left her doubtful about her career.

"I... I don't know anymore." Rachel trembled vocally.

"So, are you on some sort of hiatus?" Max asked politely.

Rachel whipped her head around in the brunette's direction and pursed her lips slightly, bobbing her head up and down.

"Guess you can say that."

"How long are you here for?"

"Well, I'm off for the rest of the year. So-"

"YOU ARE?! BOOYA-OOW! My ribs!" Clark raised his voice in excitement.

Wincing from the striking pain from screaming joyfully, Clark clutched his gunshot wound and leaned his head back on the pillow and took deep breaths. The beeping pace of the heartbeat monitor picked up very gradually before decreasing its speed, especially when the girls encouraged Clark to take deeper breaths.

Rachel's hand came up and ran her fingers through Clark's green locks. This jogged Rachel's memory, thinking back to the day when Clark surprised her when he dyed his hair blue, coincidentally which was also the same shade as Rachel's signature blue feather earring.

"Baby. Take it easy, for fuck's sake." Rachel scolded.

"Sorry," he whimpered. "Hey Max, what was that thing you wanted to tell me?"

Before Max was given an opportunity to expose the truth about Chloe, the door opened again.

When everybody turned their heads to look at who'd entered the room, the last thing they expected was a three year-old kid wobble into the room, holding a stuffed penguin plushy. The little girl approached the bed, yelling-

"MOMMY!!" The toddler wailed as tears streamed down her face.

Everyone's faces dropped except Rachel, who had given the little girl her attention and stretched her arms out and grabbed the child, hoisting her up on her thigh.

"Wh-Wha... m-m-m-mommy?! R-R-Rach, wh-what the fu-"

"Did she just say 'mommy?!' "

"Oh my gosh..."

Clark was still flabbergasted at this revelation, incapable of mustering any sensible comprehension that he fathered the little girl that entered the room.

"S-She's your daughter...?" Clark stammered. "S-S-She's our daughter?! I have... I have a daughter?! I HAVE A DAU-OWW-WOW!"

"Clark, I'd like to introduce to you Ophelia Bethany Amber-Price." Rachel announced proudly.

The little girl ceased her wailing and turned her head to look over at her biological father while clutching the stuffed penguin close to her chest. He and Ophelia established an eye connection and stared very long in uncomfortable silence.

Not a word was spoken as Rachel lifted the little girl off her thigh and gently sat her down in front of Clark.

In his mind, he contemplated grabbing ahold of the toddler by her sides but another part of him was scared to accept the fact that he now had a responsibility to both the child and Rachel. Some of his thoughts manipulated his decision, creating conflict as to whether he was worthy of being the father Rachel wanted him to be to their daughter.

Even with the overwhelming thoughts he dwelled too heavily on, Clark took a chance and reached out to the little girl and grabbed her, lifting her up and held her close to his face and waited for a reaction.

A smile formed on Ophelia's face. The little girl cooed and drooled down her chin and onto the front of her little t-shirt before Rachel took her back and cradled her in her arms.

"She likes you," said Rachel.

Clark let out a relieved exhale, chuckling. He leaned over slightly to get another look at the child's face while she stuck her thumb in her mouth and sucked on it.

"She's beautiful. She has your eyes. And your nose." Clark shared.

"And your smile."

"No way. You carry all that beauty with you."

Rachel snorted. "Dork."

The bracelet Rachel grew up wearing on her wrist; the same one that was gifted to Clark, was replaced from his forearm and fastened comfortably around his daughter's wrist. Ophelia examined the bracelet with a blank expression.

"It suits her perfectly," said Clark.

Rachel let out an amused exhale and waggled her index finger in front of her daughter's face. The little girl giggled playfully and groped for her finger but instead reached for Rachel's necklace dangling between her breasts.

"You guys want to hold her?" Rachell offered, giving both Max and Kate a chance to cradle Ophelia.

Max and Kate were stunned at how quickly the blonde came to entrust them - given that Clark trusted them enough to enjoy their company and appreciate their devotion to visiting him, it seemed a good enough reason to Rachel.

They both agreed and prepared themselves as Kate was handed the toddler first.

At first, Kate was very nervous but the second she held Ophelia in her arms, it was as if something inside her had clicked, enabling her confidence to grow tenfold.

Then Max, she was more keen that Kate was initially and gently rocked the child. She smiled and spoke softly to the three year-old girl, introducing herself as her aunty. Only then did it occur to Max that she would love to have a child of her own, and if her fantasy could become a reality, she would want to spend the rest of her life with Kate.

Max looked up at the dirty-haired blonde, causing her smile to widen even more. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by the sound of Kate's phone ringing.

"Hello?" Kate greeted her caller. "Oh, hello, mother. I was just... n-no, mother. I'm just at the hospital, visiting Clark. You know, the boy we met a few years back at church? Well, I- of course, mother. I'll meet you outside right away."

The tone in Kate's voice had lost all liveliness and emotion, bringing her to a deadpanned estate. After she hung up the phone call, Kate apologised profusely for having to leave unexpectedly.

In spite of her mother's lack of manners, it didn't bother Clark that she had to leave on such short notice.

Everyone waved goodbye to Kate Marsh as she calmly paced out if the room and headed her way out the front of the hospital, where she caught a ride from her mother to be taken home for what was originally supposed to be a quiet monthly family dinner.

Max stuck around for a while longer so she could learn a bit more about Rachel Amber - the girl who stole her best friend's heart.

Through her and Clark's recollection of events from their meeting one another and onward, Max discovered many interesting details about how the two found out that they were meant for one another.

And she was happy for them.

By the way the blonde woman laid back and snuggled with Clark, it showed the level of intimacy and romanticism in which they happily familiarised themselves with again. The kiss on Rachel's cheek was more than just a reminder of Clark's affection for her.

Every action they made rekindled their love for one another: to make up for lost time and to ensure that they would devote themselves to being a family together.

#life is strange #kate marsh #max caulfield #rachel amber #parent #child #surprise visit #hospital

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 66

News quickly reached out to all of Clark's contacts of his health situation. The notice was made just several minutes after Clark was put in surgery and treated for the bullet embedded deep in his flesh.

It was around midday when Joyce and David arrived at the hospital to see Clark after his treatment. However, they weren't the only ones who wished to see him.

The green-haired boy slept peacefully in the medical bed, resting and slowly recovering, when two police officers entered the room. David had expected this, but Joyce did not.

"Good day, sir, ma'am." Arcadia Bay's cop, Officer Berry, tipped his hat and acknowledged the couple monotonously.

"Hello, Officer Berry," said Joyce. She was used to the cop's presence on account of his time spent mostly in the mornings at the Two Whales. But in this case, his presence was off-putting.

"Uhh, how is your son doing?" Berry asked as he took off his hat to show a little respect to the woman who always made him his waffles and coffee without a fuss.

"He's doin' alright. Stable, but alive. I'm just so... so..."

Joyce wept and hid her face in the palms of her hands out of slight embarrassment from crying in front of company. David comforted her by stretching his arm across her back, latching onto her arm.

Officer Berry nodded his head, empathising her sorrow.

"I know this isn't the best time, but I do need to ask some questions."

"What... what sort of questions?"

"Not you, Joyce. David."

The ex-soldier nodded his head once and gave the officer and his partner his full, undivided attention. The questions that were brought forward all related to David's recollection of Nathan's arrest and Clark's hospitalisation, to which David compliantly assisted the officer's while also secretly dropping his anonymous tip about the Dark Room.

Shortly after the interview concluded, the two police officers returned to the police station to report to their superiors about the allegations and plotted an investigation to determine whether the anonymous tip was accurate or false.

It was later that day when Mark Jefferson fled to his Dark Room to vent his rage and disappointment in his protégé, Nathan Prescott. As a result, any clear thought was clouded by Jefferson's desire to calm himself down by looking over his favourite photographs of his victims. By adding music to help drown out the god-awful silence, Jefferson quickly entered a peaceful state and quickly forgot about Nathan's mistake while also contemplating how he was to take care of Nathan should he dare to expose everything he'd done.

Little did he know, everything would come crumbling down...

A squad of police officers breached the Dark Room and arrested Jefferson on the spot, giving him no opportunity to arm himself or make a futile attempt in fleeing. Instead, he accepted his fate and quietly allowed the authorities to slap cuffs around his wrists and detain him.

Tuesday

Rumours quickly spread about Mark Jefferson's and Nathan Prescott's arrest.

There was already confirmation about Clark's hospitalisation and his slow recovery after being shot by Nathan Prescott, who was now in a psychiatric ward.

Students from Blackwell donated cards and 'Get Well!' balloons to Clark; most of which were from people he was most familiar with. The only time when Joyce wasn't by her son's side was so she could work in order to provide more income in order to pay off medical debts.

When they had the time, Max and Kate went to visit Clark at the hospital at the same time. They took a cab to the hospital and wandered up to the front door and walked through and straight to the receptionist's desk. A middle-aged man looked up from his computer screen at the two girls and gave them his full attention.

"Help you, ladies?" The man asked politely.

Max smiled nervously and requested the room number for Clark Price.

His eyes quickly darted down back to his computer and searched up the patient's room number. "He is in Room 13. Just head left and down the hall, right past the janitor's closet."

"Thanks."

They both then proceeded to make their way to Clark's room where they weren't quite sure as to what to expect; mostly their concern for him being in comatose or being awake, chatting with his mother. Max took the lead and reached her hand out to open the door and walked in to find Clark wide awake with his mother by one side and a doctor by the other.

The room provided an unsanitary aroma which both girls could've assumed was what they brought in with them from the other rooms they walked past. If anything, it could've made the hospital seem more like a nursing home with the amount of elderly folk they'd seen along the way. As a matter of fact, there was an extraordinary lack of young folk being looked after inside the hospital.

When Clark spotted the two familiar faces leaning into the room, his face lit up, the corners of his mouth curled upwards almost immediately as he subconsciously desired the urge to jump up and scream. But as a result of his near-fatal injury, Clark was harshly reminded that he could not exert himself with such minimal effort which would provoke the stitches to open.

The two girls stood awkwardly inside of the room as Joyce made the introduction in front of the good doctor looking after her son post-operation.

"Dr. Eddison, this is Max and Kate, two dear friends of Clark's." Joyce announced proudly, winking at the brunette in particular.

Max caught Joyce winking at her and blushed slightly as she timidly broke eye contact and looked over to the left at a table with a vase of flowers in it.

"Good afternoon, ladies," Dr Eddison greeted the girls warmly. "You'll be pleased to know that Mr Price, here, did extraordinarily well with his procedure. We were able to get the bullet out and patch him up in time before any substantial blood loss was accounted for."

"How long until he's fully recovered, Doctor?" Kate asked without much volume in her tone.

"If all goes well and he heals quickly and eats all his greens, I'd hazard a guess about... a week. But if he strains himself too much before the end of those seven days, it'll take twice as long. And we wouldn't like to have to bring out the blue syrup, now would we?"

A shiver ran down Clark's spine. Dread and trauma from being forced to consume the vulgar medicine that ironically was the most efficient method to treat his organs.

The look on Clark's face when Dr. Eddison mentioned the peculiar 'blue syrup' nickname made Max and Kate giggle at his reaction.

"Well... I'll give you all some space to... chat and whatnot. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Clark. See you in the morning, son."

Joyce decided to take her leave also in order to give the youngsters room to converse privately. As they exited the room, Kate occupied a spare space on the bed while Max took a chair for herself next to Joyce.

Kate tenderly took his hand into hers and gently caressed it to show him comfort. It affected her more marginally than either she or the others could presume, especially for the strong bond she and Clark held as best, best friends.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Kate asked sweetly, her voice was soft and gentle like cloudy pillows.

Max felt a tinge of jealousy at the gentleness Kate expressed towards Clark. She felt justification in her being jealous, according to Kate who had - in an alternate reality - expressed her feelings for her.

"I'm miserable..." Clark groaned as his free hand rubbed his wound.

At quick speed, Kate smacked his free hand, causing him to flinch away almost immediately. Clark yelped, glaring at Kate in shock at how she struck him so.

"Don't do that, you silly goose!" Kate reprimanded him.

"Are you trying to help me, or hurt me?" Clark replied sarcastically.

"You were close to death's door, Clarkson. Don't tempt me to make you wish you'd walked through that door."

Clark fell silent, incapable of finding any wisecrack to throw back at her as he stared long and hard at her, contemplating as to whether an angel like her would truly commit to the words she brought forward merely to her own amusement. He then broke character and let out a dry laugh at how he couldn't take her seriously.

Glancing over at the brunette sitting timidly by his bedside, Clark spoke up, bringing her attention onto him as he thanked her for saving his life.

"I-It was nothing, really." Max replied sheepishly as she combed some strands of hair, tucking it behind her ear.

"No, Max. It was something. You saved my life. I could only imagine what Chloe would be saying if she saw me like this."

Clark bowed his head and fiddled with the rings on Kate's slim fingers as the means to distract himself from admiring her features.

Just when a smile worked its way up on Max's face, that smile instantly dropped the moment Chloe was mentioned.

She didn't quite have the heart to tell him, but she only managed to convince herself that he needed to know.

Clark distinguished how socially awkward Max had become and made a mental note of it. Contemplating on whether to bring it forward or simply dismiss the matter was entirely up to them.

"C-Clark, there's something you need to know about Chloe..." Max began, her voice wavering as she spoke, until there was an interruption.

The door to the room clicked open and a figure appeared in the room.

A second time, the boy's name was called, but from a voice that he yearned to hear; from a face he craved to touch, a smell he desired to caress, a pair of lips he ached to taste.

Clark gasped.

"Rachel...?"

#life is strange #kate marsh #max caulfield #lesbian #gay awakening #hospital #joyce price

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 65

Within a matter of seconds, there was a white flash and Max Caulfield found herself reliving what would've been one of the few worst moments in her life. As she stood around the corner of the end bathroom stall, Max tore the photograph up and stuffed the pieces in her satchel. Tears began to well up in her eyes, knowing that what was about to happen was something she could not interfere with for the sake of the hundreds of lives in Arcadia.

Max listened closely to Nathan Prescott mumble comfort to himself in preparation for the confrontation that was about to unfold. Then, the door opened.

"What do you want?" Nathan asked grouchily.

"I want to know where Chloe is." Clark ordered firmly.

"Your punk-ass bitch sister? Who gives a fuck? I'm actually glad she's gone."

"Don't you ever talk about her like that! Now answer the question, you spoiled brat! Where's Chloe?!"

Max pressed her back against the outer bathroom stall wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her legs close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees and dropped her head on her arms and began to cry.

No matter what she did, in the end, she failed to save her best friend.

"... and left your stupid ass behind, just like Rachel did. What kind of people are they?"

"You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing with! Don't ever tell me what to do! I'm so sick of people trying to control me! I ain't telling you shit about your stupid sister! I'm glad she's gone! In fact, I hope she's dead! And if you don't back the fuck off, you're going to see her again!"

"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"

BANG!

Max jumped at the sound of the gunshot.

A body fell over and hit the ground, followed by the sounds of Nathan Prescott whimpering and breathing shakily, uttering his disapproval of how things turned out.

He just shot a person.

He shot a friend's friend.

He shot Clark Price in cold blood.

But for one slight altercation in the fabric of that timeline, a miracle happened.

Pained moans were heard when the door to the bathroom was kicked opened by force. Rustling sounds made Max curious as to what was going on when she dared to peek her head around the corner to see David Madsen arresting Nathan while a paralysed Clark Price laid on the floor, clutching his gunshot wound in his abdomen.

Max made the decision to not expose herself just yet, rather to wait until everybody was out of the room before she made her escape.

While Nathan was apprehended and taken out of the room, Max stared at Clark struggling on the floor, unsupported and slowly dying. Unable to fight her urge any longer, Max sprung out from around the corner and grabbed a handful of paper towels. She proceeded to sit on the floor, cradling Clark's head on her thigh as she shoved the scrunched up paper towels on Clark's gunshot wound to applied pressure.

"M-M-M-Max...?" Clark mumbled shakily.

"Don't worry, Clark. I'm here now. I'm here... Breath with me." Max smiled nervously.

Doing all that she could to suppress the blood loss, Max began to breathe much faster at a steady pace Clark could follow until the paramedics arrived.

Several minutes later and paramedics stormed into the bathroom with a wheeler stretcher. Max was reluctantly backed away to give the two medics space to treat Clark and suppress the blood for the time being before he was carefully lifted up by his arms and legs onto the stretcher.

While Clark was transported to the ambulance parked outside the front of Blackwell Academy, many of the school's students formed the crowd that surrounded the grass patches on either side of the stone footpath leading towards the ambulance. The back door was opened by one paramedic while the other waited for his associate to assist lifting Clark inside the back whilst still on the stretcher.

Max watched Clark disappear from sight as she stood like a statue, shaken by the sudden turn of events which had left her friend gravely injured and with blood staining her hands.

People noticed Max's paralysed state but said nothing about it. Nobody except Kate Marsh.

The dirty-haired blonde girl approached Max and brushed her fingers down Max's bicep. Max jumped out of her skin at the physical contact, but was quick to feel calm and relaxed when she realised that it was Kate who'd come to her aid.

At first glance, Max was absolutely shocked and relieved to see Kate alive and well. She quickly remembered how she was officially back in time and Kate was indeed alive, along with the rest of Arcadia. Max felt the urge to throw her arms around Kate and squeeze the life out of her, but she refrained from doing such a thing and maintained composure in spite of the fact that her heart was racing.

"H-Hi, Kate." Max spoke almost in a whisper.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Kate voiced her concern.

Max's blue orbs darted down to Kate's candy red lipstick then back up to her hazel eyes, which were surrounded by red and bags under her eyes from the crying shed been doing after she discovered a video of her was released without her consent.

Max nodded her head timidly. "Y-Yeah. I'll be alright."

"What in the name of the good Lord above happened back there? Is Clark going to be alright? Gosh... I hope he's alright."

"I hope so too..."

The brunette locked her gaze on the security guard who'd arrested Nathan Prescott and drew out her phone and sent an anonymous message to him, hoping that he would act on her message to put Mark Jefferson in prison forever.

She was snapped out of her focus at the touch of Kate's hand gently rubbing her back for comfort.

The ambulance siren's volume was switched back on and the ambulance sped off to deliver Clark to the hospital for immediate treatment. Meanwhile, the crowd dispersed to resume doing their own thing for the afternoon.

Since Max was back in the present, she had to experience everything slowly and wait patiently to see what events would follow up afterwards.

For this instance, Max believed that she made the right decision contacting David Madsen about Jefferson and his Dark Room. It would not take long for him to uncover its location with the authorities to back him up - should he act in haste to uncover this tale.

"Do you want to go grab some tea?" Kate offered. She was always considerate for Max and always willing to spent any amount of time with the girl whom she fancied, but was still deeply and heavily insecure about her sexuality.

Max beamed with gladness at the dirty-haired blonde and accepted her offer, knowing that having a tea date - as they would call it - would do the trick in distracting them from Clark getting shot and Nathan getting arrested.

The two girls were last to leave by making their way to the girl's dormitory and straight to Kate's room where nobody could bother them.

#life is strange #max caulfield #nathan prescott #shooting #bathroom #miracle #time travel #a second chance

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 64

Pure terror and fear swept through Arcadia Bay.

The Storm had finally arrived.

The strongest gusts of wind hurled throughout the town, tearing every unstable thing into its current around its great grey spiralling force of cosmic proportion. Petrified screams were muted by the sheer volume and force of said storm.

The only thing that could possibly end this chaos was Max Caulfield.

Inside the Two Whales Diner where a few survivors of the storm had taken shelter - elsewhere was also temporary until the storm would sweep through what was left of the town. Joyce Price was sheltered inside the diner, tending to those who were injured amidst the storm's rage.

Warren Graham had arrived just minutes ago well after the storm hit. He'd been in Blackwell, reading up on an upcoming exam when he heard the chaos commence. A strong rumble shook the town, alerting its residents of the incoming danger lurking in the bay. Others he was familiar with at Blackwell were absent from heading to safety or were completely unaccounted for due to buildings being torn apart and trees torn out of the ground.

Several minutes after calming down from rushing into the diner, Warren spotted a man enter with blood on the left side of his forehead, masked by his blonde hair. Naturally, Joyce aided him while others rounded themselves in one corner of the diner.

Suddenly, Warren heard his phone ring and was relieved when he recognised the called ID.

"Warren? Can you hear me?!" Max's voice came out static-y and slightly distorted.

"Max?! Boy, am I glad to hear your voice. Where are you?" Warren spoke up, drawing a few eyes onto him.

"Nevermind! Listen, do you have that photograph you took the other night outside the natatorium?"

"Uh, yeah, but why? It wasn't that great a shot..."

"Yes, it is and I need it! Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the Two Whales Diner. Pretty much trapped in here with Joyce, thanks to this Armageddon weather. I'm expecting the ocean to turn red!"

"I'm on my way!"

"Come on, that's crazy! You can barely walk on the sidewalk outside. Seriously, Max, stay wherever you are. I don't think this storm is getting smaller. I'm kinda scared."

"That's okay. Me too. But it's not over yet, Warren. So, hold on!"

Before he was given a chance to respond, Max hung up the phone.

All he could do now was sit and wait for the inevitable...

Max had commandeered the personal vehicle of her former role model, Mark Jefferson, and driven back into town. It had taken her well over half an hour to make her return, where by the time she rode into the centre of Arcadia, she found it in complete wreck.

Cars and trucks were toppled over, some flung upwards into buildings that still maintained stability. Bodies were scattered variously around the street, most trapped under the tons of steel and metal.

The closer Max got to the Two Whales, the more anxious she became to claim that photograph Warren took and go back in time to save Clark. As she came up towards the Two Whales, she found that the road was blocked off by debris and damaged vehicles and even a boat that had broken through the wall of the far left side of the diner.

Joyce immediately drew her attention away from an injured and traumatised Frank Bowers to the young brunette that entered the diner via the back entrance. Her arms wrapped around the girl's neck as she expressed her relief in seeing her alive and well before her.

"I'm okay, Joyce. Are you okay?" Max replied calmly.

"The Two Whales is barely standing now," Joyce answered dishearteningly. "I don't know if it's going to make it through this tornado. Poor Officer Berry and all those people out there... Y-You haven't heard from Clark, yet, have you, sweetie? Oh, please tell me my little boy is alright."

A lump got caught in Max's throat, preventing her from getting her words out at the revelation that both her children were indeed deceased.

She could not bring herself to apply anymore weight of guilt over Joyce's shoulders after learning of the unfortunate passing of her husband. And to hear of her children's unforeseen demises, it could very well figuratively make Joyce's heart burst.

"He-He's fine, Joyce. He's safe. I promise." Max lied.

Relief washed over Joyce, knowing that she could trust Max and believe every word she says.

Max then turned to Warren and asked for the photograph he took while Joyce returned to looking after Frank. Warren had kept the picture in his school bag that contained a now broken laptop and handed it to Max, still inquiring about the importance over one photo.

In return, however, all he asked was for a simple explanation as to why Max was acting so strange lately. And she willingly explained to him briefly everything that had been going on in the past week.

"Do you believe me?" Max asked, desperation laced in her voice. "I know this all sounds insane, but you're the only other person who I can count on now. I just wish we had more time together..."

Warren smiled warmly. "Of course I believe you, Max. You're the most amazing person I've ever met, and I'm glad you trust me."

"Always. I just wish I could trust my powers. I guess we'll never know if it's magic or science."

"Even if it's from a wizard or a wormhole. You're part of something bigger. I don't believe in fate or destiny, but after this week, I realise I don't know shit."

"That makes both of us."

"I do know you're here for a reason and I guess it's up to you to find out why. I have total faith that you'll do the right thing when the time comes. I'm so proud of you, Max. How could there be a more important moment in history? And I'm in the middle of it with you? So thank you for trusting me."

Max reached her hand out to grab the photograph and raised her free hand up to Warren's face and gave his cheek a kiss. She then focused on the picture and transported herself into her past self in the moment Warren took the photo of them. Out of the corner of her eye, Max spotted a familiar green-haired boy and threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck.

For both he and Warren, it was most irregular to see Max act so strangely after just acting as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey, M-Max, you okay?" Clark stammered.

"I'm just glad we're here together." Max responded breathlessly as she broke the hug and stared into his eyes.

Warren interrupted briefly to announce that he was going to head off. The disappointment in his voice left Max disheartened as how quickly and easily he was dismissed by her.

When she looked into Clark's eyes, all she saw was rage.

"Clark. I need to talk to you."

"I can walk and talk, okay? Come on, already!"

"Just STOP!" Max barked.

Startled by her raising her voice at him, Clark did as she asked and stopped in his tracks before turning around to listen to what she had to say this time.

"Going inside that party, it's going to get you killed - and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Trust me. I've tried. Please. Please, don't go inside." Max implored the green-haired boy.

Clark folded his arms, conflict written across his face as he pondered about what possibly could've gone wrong that she was so worked up about.

"Nathan Prescott didn't kill your sister. Mark Jefferson did."

"Huh...?" His jaw anchored open, baffled at this shocking twist.

"Jefferson was the one who killed Chloe. He also killed Nathan and used his phone to get us to go to the junkyard where your sister is buried. I know this is hard to believe, but I need you to not go into that party. Clark... Jefferson, he... he drugged and kidnapped me. I-I was tied up in his bunker. You have no idea what hell I've gone through to bring you back. I just couldn't let you die."

Clark found it very difficult to process what Max was telling him. His hands went up to touch the top of his head as he began to dawdle around in a circle on the spot.

"All I wanted to do was make things right, but all I've ever done is just make matters worse. I'm the one who causes the storm: because of everything I've done to rewrite reality. Clark... I was able to go back in time to the last day William was alive."

"Y-You saw my father...?"

"I stopped him from leaving, but... but you ended up in a car crash instead. You and Chloe. God. She was completely paralysed. And you were in a fucking coma! A-A-And Chloe, she... she asked me to end her life. Now all of this is happening because I messed everything up; I never wanted you or anyone else to get hurt."

Clark sighed and dropped his arms, his hands clapping his thighs as he did his best to process all of the information Max was telling him, while at the same time he believed everything she was telling him.

"I believe you, Max. So... what do we do?"

"I'm only inside a memory, so I'm not going to remember any of this. You're going to have to tell this Max that you're going to get David Madsen and tell him all about Jefferson and his Dark Room."

"David? Why him?"

"Because he was onto something. He was just looking at the wrong person."

"Okay. Fine. I'll call him later."

"And then, we'll meet at the lighthouse - I have a feeling there's something we need to do there."

Clark nodded his head to show Max that he understood exactly what she was asking of him. They both embraced in a hug shortly before Max's departure from the memory.

And so, by convincing Clark Price to not head to his impending doom, he and Max managed to alter events so that not only would Mark Jefferson be arrested, but also that Clark would be spared from being shot in cold blood.

However, none of this relieved the intensity of the storm, rather fortifying its destructive nature.

Clark had been wandering around with a version of Max whom he wasn't entirely sure was his but deep down he had a feeling the real Max would return to him at any moment. He just had to wait.

At the lighthouse, Clark stared at the storm start to slowly consume the shoreline of the beach. Dread filled him thinking about those whom he knew, one of whom was his mother.

He thought about his fondest memories of the town that were now being demolished before his very eyes.

That was, until his Max had returned.

When travelling forward through time, Max had been given an interval to reflect on her actions the entire week since she got her powers.

She thought about every significant event she'd altered for her personal gain.

And it disgusted her.

Clark immediately noticed that Max had returned when he heard her say his name out of sweet relief, followed by her hugging him from behind. He chuckled and returned the affection as they both established eye contact amidst the storm and heavy rain pouring down on them.

"Glad to have you back, Super Max." Clark uttered on an exhale.

"So... what now? How do we end the storm? Do we... have to sacrifice a goat or something?" Max asked anxiously as she watched more of the town turn into rubble and debris. "God... look at all of this! This is all my fault! This is my storm. I caused this. I caused all of this. I changed fate and destiny so much that I actually did alter the course of everything. And all I really created was death and destruction!"

"Maxine Vanessa Caulfield! Don't you ever think you're worthless! You're my best fucking friend! And I love you so goddamn much that it... that it just hurts me to see you like this! You're a hero! Without your powers, we wouldn't have found out what happened to Chloe. Without your powers and your smarts, we wouldn't have found out what happened to Kate. Sure, you might not have asked for this, but you have saved my life, and I am grateful for it."

Out of his back pocket, Clark drew out the photograph of the blue butterfly.

Its original placement was in Max's satchel, but as a result of the previous Max Caulfield having a blackout, the photo managed to fall out of her bag which Clark took possession of and looked after in the meantime to connect dots and how exactly his Max could resolve everything.

"Max... this is the only way," he said, handing her the photograph.

Tears formed in his eyes, quickly mixing with the raindrops that splattered over his face. Max took the photo and commented on how easily she'd forgotten about it.

"You... you can use that photo to change everything, Max: go back and save Kate, save me, save Arcadia." Clark spoke weepily, the struggle in his voice made it more difficult for him to get his words out. "All it would take is for me to... to-"

"FUCK THAT! NO WAY! You are my number one priority right now!"

"Max, please! You've done everything you could to help me. And I will forever adore you for that. But for once, please, just do this for me. I don't want to live knowing that you chose me over Arcadia. I'm not worth it, Max."

"Yes, you are! You're my best fucking friend!" Max protested firmly.

"But what about my mother?! She doesn't deserve to die from a storm inside a goddamn diner! As much as I hate to admit it... even David deserves her alive."

"Don't say that! I won't trade you!"

"You're not trading me! Think of it like you're just delaying my true destiny. Look at what's happening to Arcadia ever since you saved my life in that bathroom! Let me have this... please..."

"Clark, no... Y-You can't make me do this..."

"When you see Rachel, tell her I love her and... and that I'm sorry. Don't let her emotions conflict her relationship with Nathan. He's probably a huge jackass and all, but he's always had issues - it's never been his fault - and Rachel was always good to him. Wherever I end up after this, in whichever reality, all those moments we shared together has always been real. I'm so blessed to have spent my last couple of weeks with you, Max Caulfield. I know you'll make the right decision."

Clark closed the distance between them and raised his hands up to touch Max's wet cheeks. Her cheeks became beet red from the physical contact as her pupils dilated, the distance between their faces closed, their lips connected in a bittersweet embrace.

"Goodbye, Max." He uttered when his lips parted from hers.

The emotional tidal wave came crushing down on Max, completely battering her walls which caused her tears to flood down her cheeks.

As Clark walked away from Max, she in turn, began to focus on the photograph that allowed her to access that distant memory taken so long ago.

#life is strange #max caulfield #storm #tornado #arcadia bay #sacrifice #angst

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deenoss · 1 year

Text

Dreamcatcher Chptr. 63

The effects of the IV quickly affected Chloe as she began to feel drowsy, her eyes became more difficult to keep open.

"I'm so proud of you for following your dreams. Don't forget about me..." Chloe spoke as clearly as she could, however her voice became more and more weak.

"Never. You and Clark will always be in my hearts."

"I love you, Max. See you 'round..."

Followed by one last exhale and Chloe had finally found rest.

Instant guilt overwhelmed Max for her decision to put her best friend to rest. But the job was done, and she died peacefully.

Max found the strength to get out of her seat and commit Chloe's face to memory one last time before making her way out of the room. A book caught her attention, stopping her from walking out. Observing it more closely, Max distinguished that it was a photo album of her and the twins as little kids throughout their youth together.

She proceeded to scroll through the pages of photos until she found one on the day William died.

Knowing that by going back to that exact moment and allowing William to pick up Joyce from the shops, they were consequences she had to live with if the twins were going to live out their lives not stuck in a wheelchair or a bed hooked up to expensive equipment.

Max withdrew the photograph and concentrated on it until she heard a very faint high-pitched ringing, followed by echoed voices of her younger self.

By travelling through space and time, Max brought herself back as closely to the moment William Price left home. Once again, she was back in Chloe's room, helping her sort out things to stow in the trash box. Max became emotionally overwhelmed and smiled weepily at her best friend and entered a conversation to pass the time until Max was eventually restored to present time.

By a stroke of luck, Max awoke to find herself still bound to the chair Mark Jefferson fastened her to, but her journal was still in front of her, and there was a photograph she could exploit from to interfere with her current predicament. Max channelled her focus once again on that photo of her self-portrait the day she first discovered her rewind powers and entered bac into that time period with hopes of removing Jefferson from Blackwell anonymously.

The brunette jumped slightly when a white flash startled her. Her mind quickly raced around the fact that she was now back at the start of everything and she had her window of opportunity.

"... and capture you in a moment of desperation," said the past version of Mark Jefferson.

Max looked up from her camera and observed her surroundings when Jefferson - while he strongly maintained his twisted façade - brought the class' attention onto Max as soon as he caught her taking a photo of her face.

"I believe Max has taken what you kids call a 'selfie.' "

"I'm back... right where I started this insane two weeks. And nobody is going to get hurt ever again..." Max spoke in her mind.

She blocked out Jefferson's voice and focused on her intentions to rid of him for good. His lips moved but even while he spoke, barely anybody seemed to care what he had to say to lecture Max for something she did innocently.

Her features expressed calculation and deep thoughts intrusive to the lesson Max was participating in for the third time. Out of the corner of her eye, Max looked over at a frightened Kate Marsh hugging herself for self-comfort knowing the type of hell she was going through. It then occurred to Max that she could even avoid another disastrous catastrophe involving Kate's attempted suicide by expressing her love and affection for the Christian girl in a non-platonic matter.

Leading up the point where Jefferson asked Max about whether she knew who gave birth to the first self-portrait, the brunette couldn't refrain from expressing a wisecrack answer. In reaction to this, Jefferson was most displeased at Max's sudden change in attitude, whereas she knew full well that he would not know what hit him.

To Max's left, Victoria spied the brunette with a constipated expression, one that showed both disdain and scepticism for her sudden change in behaviour.

Normally, Max was shy and socially awkward and rather nosy, whereas now, she was more confident in herself and straightforward with those whom she had her focus and interest on. Jefferson was confounded by Max's irregular behaviour, he continued his lesson until the school bell rang.

As soon as the bell rang, almost everyone in the room was up on their feet and rushing out the door; all except Kate Marsh, Victoria Chase and Max.

Out of all the times that Max regularly left class punctually like everybody else, this was one time where she made the decision to stay back for only a limited amount of time to contact somebody whom she hoped she could trust in. By reaching into her satchel, Max pulled out the school pamphlet she had kept in her bag since day one and spurred through the pages to the Contacts page and then added David Madsen's number into her phone to send an anonymous SMS.

From: ME Mr Madsen. You're after Chloe Price. Mark Jefferson is guilty.

From: ME His Dark Room is under the Prescott's farmhouse. You know the location. He's sick and dangerous. Stop him.

Once the message successfully transmitted across to David's phone, Max got up from her seat after putting her stuff away when she distinguished a strange feeling that made her head feel funny. Liquid ran out of her right nostril. Max quickly wiped it with her fingers and noticed that she was experiencing a nosebleed.

Paying no mind to it, Max then approached Kate and brought her attention onto her.

"Hi, Kate." Max spoke softly.

The dirty-haired blonde perked up and mustered a weak smile.

"Oh... hey, Max." Kate greeted her friend lazily.

By taking a quick, deep breath, Max exhaled and smiled comfortingly at Kate. "Kate, listen to me. Always remember that you're not alone. I've got your back, no matter what happens. So do a lot of people, especially Clark. We all care, we're all here for you. You need to know that."

Shocked by her affection, Kate was almost left speechless had she not been so caught up in her own thoughts.

"Max... that makes me feel so blessed for the first time this week. I... I don't know what to say."

"That's okay, neither do I. Maybe we could both use a hug."

From across the room, Jefferson spied the two girls conversing and sharing a hug before returning his attention to an envious Victoria Chase whose sole desire was to succeed her photography class.

"Thanks. You always know the right thing to do," said Kate appreciatively.

"Maybe we should have another tea date? We didn't have one last week, so hopefully you wouldn't mind making some time for me some time? Maybe we could go down to the Two Whales and have brunch together." Max suggested, knowing that it was one way to start a new relationship with Kate.

Kate smiled gallantly, the shade of her dark red lips curled upwards at the corners to for a smile. Her heart rate increased when the thought crossed her mind about her feelings for Max and how they could potentially come to light, should she manage to overcome her paranoia and fear of being labelled a sinner by her own family.

But it was time that Kate decided to take a chance and take better control over her own life and self-esteem.

Kate nodded her head gleefully. "I would love to, Max. I'm free tomorrow."

"Great. See you then, Katie."

"Bye, Max. God bless you."

A blush crept up on both girls' faces, both breaking eye contact as Max quickly made her way out of the room with high hopes that her actions changed the outcome of the future. By walking out of the door and into a white blur, Max was transported back into the present to judge whether her actions proved beneficial or detrimental to Arcadia Bay.

That was when Max realised that she was back to where she was before, but in a bigger predicament than before, now that Mark Jefferson had burnt her journal.

To make matters worse, all that time Max had spent as Jefferson's captive and reliving key moments in her life, lead to the arrival of the storm...

"No, no, no! How am I back here?! I thought I fixed everything!"

There, Jefferson stood in front of her.

His tall, relaxed posture showed his existence of pride and power he still maintained.

Confounded, Max temporarily buried herself in her thoughts. Jefferson's lips moved, emphasising a monologue she was thankful she didn't have to hear, but also wished she wasn't there to hear it altogether. Dry blood ran down Max's nose, ending at her upper lip as Jefferson grabbed a tissue and wiped it off her philtrum, leaving the rest that's in her nose.

Max was still contemplating how she could possibly get out of her situation by herself without having to rely on David Madsen, who seemed to be her only hope.

"... but considering you're about to die, a nosebleed is a first-world problem. You could have won the contest, but you destroyed your own beautiful photograph, Max. You had so much potential. What a waste... Sorry, I burned all your stuff. I got a little carried away."

Muffled thunderclaps and flickering lights briefly stole Jefferson's attention to the storm outside; not realising what true catastrophe was wrought onto Arcadia Bay.

"Whoa! Did you see how crazy it is outside? Oh right. You won't be alive to see it... Oh Max. It's been an honour working with you in these final sessions. I hope these images will be appreciated for what they truly capture. The loss... of youth. But look on the bright side: that's the last lecture you'll ever have to hear from me. And I promise you, no more nosebleeds. Goodbye Max. It's been... educational."

Out of fear, Max began to cry for mercy and beg for Jefferson to spare her life.

He ignored her pleas and walked over to the tray to extract a lethal dosage from a bottle before approaching Max. Slowly, he raised his free hand up to tilt her head to the side with his needle hand pointing the object at her neck.

CRANK!!

Given how secretive the Dark Room was, Jefferson couldn't possibly expect unwanted company. The sound of the bunker door opening startled him, leaving him conflicted with how anybody could've possibly found him, let alone break in.

Jefferson put the needle down back on the tray and grabbed a tri-pod and hid around the corner where he waited for the intruder to pass through.

Jefferson raised the object over his head and heaved it down accurately at the gun arm belonging to David Madsen. The impact hurt David's hands at the same time the object fell to the ground. But in an instant, David raised his fists up and swung his right fist at Jefferson, only to get punched in the stomach by the end of the trip-pod.

While he was stunned, Jefferson heaved the tri-pod over David's head, effectively rendering him unconscious. Disappointed by his failure to incapacitate Jefferson, Max quickly acted by rewinding time to the moment David was about to open the bunker door.

Max attempted every option she could think of to distract Jefferson long enough to allow David the upper hand.

Alas, no matter what she tried, it was futile.

So Max allowed things to play out only briefly to the point David broke into the Dark Room. She made sure to alert David of Jefferson's presence behind the corner so he was prepared for an attack. By making a futile swing, Jefferson failed to disarm the ex-soldier but managed to enter a brawl.

Upon recalling that her right foot was not taped to the leg of the chair she was in, Max kicked the trolley towards Jefferson, interfering with his movement, thus allowing him to land a punch on Jefferson's jaw.

"No gun, no balls."

"Jefferson, it's over!"

"You are not going to stop me!"

Fleeing over towards the sound studio, Jefferson drew a gun of his own and executed David, landing one bullet directly at his heart.

And again.

And again...

Until Max discovered an idea she could use to distract Jefferson before he could grab the gun.

She used her free leg to latch the ball of her foot over the cord attached to a photography umbrella and pulled it over, effectively breaking it on account of a lightbulb shattering. Jefferson stopped short of the gun and stared at Max for destroying his equipment, thus allowing David to shoulder charge him into the sound studio before knocking him out cold with a firm right hook to the jaw.

As soon as Jefferson was rendered unconscious, David immediately went to free Max.

"Oh Lord. Max, are you okay? Are you alright? Can you move?"

"Yes. Thank you, David. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. You brought me here."

The next thing David did was apprehend Jefferson by tying him up with his own tape. Being laid on his front, David tugged on Jefferson's limbs as he bound his wrists and ankles with tape while he was still unconscious.

Meanwhile, Max was looking at the ashes of her journal for anything she could use to go back in time and save Clark. Her mind raced for any alternatives she could use, but two came to mind: one of which brought an unfavourable conclusion to the chaos.

The photograph of the butterfly or the one Warren took on the night of the Vortex Club party.

She proceeded to apply her belongings on her person, grabbing Jefferson's car keys while she was at it.

"Jefferson looks so... pathetic now." Max thought as she observed his unconscious form laid on the neatly tiled floor.

Max suddenly felt the urge to inform David of what perverted monstrosity Jefferson left in his wake. But she couldn't bear to allow him to suffer from the truth like her.

#life is strange #max caulfield #time travel #time manipulation #mark jefferson #david madsen #kidnapping #rescue #security guard

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deenoss · 1 year

Text

Dreamcatcher Chptr. 62

Max was speechless at the sight of her tetraplegic friend.

In spite of her efforts, Max ran into another wall, and this wall just came to prove that what Max attempted to do to make her reality better, was futile.

Cupping her mouth and nose, Max blinked back tears that were fighting to run down her face.

"Chloe... w-what happened?!" Max muttered in shock.

Chloe sighed. "You'd better come inside."

The smile that was on Chloe's face the moment she saw Max standing outside her house dropped when reality set in. The wheelchair rotated on the spot very slowly. When Chloe had her back to Max and her father, she rode back down the hall into a room that was once a guest bedroom, now officially Chloe's room.

Expensive medical equipment covered half of the room; a bed and other medical electronics that kept Chloe in stable life support - Joyce and William spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for Chloe's treatment prior to her accident.

"It's weird hanging out with you again," said Chloe. It was very awkward for them to be hanging out again, but deep down they both knew there was some level of satisfaction being together again.

"I know," Max replied quickly. "I'm glad we are, though."

William entered the room and assisted his daughter into her bed.

It felt strange that Max had yet to be reunited with Clark and Joyce. Given that she'd now only seen half of the family, Max was mostly eager to hang out with Chloe and Clark equally.

"It was nice that you sent me actual letters. That's more than any of my other friends have done... And you even wrote on that cool parchment paper. I thought, 'that's so Max.' "

"So pretentious. But I love writing on it, like an English poet."

"We were always glad to hear from you, Max. It was like you never left." William commented as he tucked his nineteen year-old daughter comfortably in her bed. "There ya go, kiddo. If you need anything, just shout. I love you, Chloe."

"Love you too, dad." Chloe replied raspily, lacking the energy in her voice.

"Nice to see you again, Max. Feel free to stay for as long as you like."

Max smiled and waved faintly as William walked out of the room, leaving the two girls to catch up.

Even when they had much to talk about, they still fell short on words. The silence became so awkward that neither were able to look at one another; in Max's case, it was still too difficult to even look at Chloe without feeling emotionally ill at the sight of her being disabled.

"Chloe..." Max began, unable to get her words out properly due to how tormented she was by looking at her old friend lying in a bed hooked up to expensive specialised equipment to keep her alive.

"You wanna know about the accident. The accident was after my nineteenth. Dad bought a hybrid for me - we were financially struggling, but dad thought I needed this more if I could nail a job that paid decently. Of course, my brother was stupid jealous, but he eventually got over it. But if there's one thing they can't get over, it's for what happened. Clark wanted me to take him to some stupid rock concert up at the old mill with some chick when some asshole cut me off and sent us into a ditch. I saw everything in bullet time. I felt my back snap and... and that was the last thing I ever felt in my body. When I woke up, I literally couldn't move a muscle."

"Jesus... I-I-I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I'm just happy I get to see you again."

"What happened to Clark?"

Chloe sighed deeply, even though by doing so, she was brutally reminded by the fact that she still could not feel even her chest move as she did so.

All she wanted was to feel something.

"He's upstairs in his room. You can go see him if you want. It's not like I'm going anywhere." Chloe joked morbidly.

Max frowned at her best friend as she got up to walk out of the room to pay her other best friend a visit. She made her way upstairs to go and find Clark.

As Max made her way through the hall and up the stairs, photos mounted on the walls brought back many memories that she'd forgotten after so long. To recall the time when she and Clark ventured around the house looking for items for their pirate quest always brought warm tinglings in her heart.

By making her way up to Clark's door, Max braced herself before lightly tapping her knuckles on the door before grabbing the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door open.

When her blue orbs set onto the most eye-catching thing in the room, Max made a soft, sharp gasp as tears began to build up once again when she set her eyes on Clark, lying in his bed, exactly the same as Chloe's. But the only difference being...

He was in a coma...

At his bedside was Joyce and a girl with beeline honey-brown hair and a blue feathered earring hanging from her left ear.

The forty-three year-old woman was seated in a chair with her head down, her attention on a magazine to distract her from her sorrow of seeing her son comatose, while the girl was bent forward with her head rested on the space on Clark's bed. Both women perked up and glanced at the brunette standing outside of the room.

"Max Caulfield... well I'll be. How are you, sweetheart?" Joyce acknowledged Max with a raspy, drained voice from her crying.

The voice of the sweet old lady snapped Max out of her thoughts, bringing her focus to the blonde woman getting out of her seat to go and hug her. Max welcomed the embrace and hugged back.

"Hi, Joyce. You look beautiful as ever. How are you?" Max complimented quietly.

"Devastated." She answered, looking over her shoulder at her son. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. But I'm glad you're here now, Max. Did you see Chloe yet?"

"Yeah. She told me where to find Clark, so I came up here to see him, but... but I guess he won't get to see me."

More tears ran down Joyce's cheek which she had to wipe away using a tissue scrunched up in her and. Max stood awkwardly, hoping to go inside and get a better look at her best friend. Joyce noticed Max's body language and offered to let her see Clark. She accepted Joyce's offer without any hesitation and walked behind Joyce over to Clark's bedside.

The girl whom Max was unfamiliar with had a constipated expression, her mascara on the brink of mixing with her tears down her cheeks. Neither she nor Max maintained eye contact for longer than three seconds before they found something else to look at. Max looked at the boy lying in his bed, so peaceful and undisturbed by the people around him who loved him the most.

Not a word was spoken since as Max stood by Joyce's side and stared down at Clark's face. Only a heartbeat monitor made audio besides Joyce's muffled sobbing and the other girl sniffling in angst for Clark's condition.

Max looked over at the girl and - for somebody who was socially awkward, it was surprising to see this come from her - spoke up, drawing the blonde girl's attention onto her.

"What's your name?" Max asked in a hush voice, almost sounding afraid to start a conversation with the strange woman.

"Rachel. Rachel Amber. And you must be Max." The brunette answered monotonously.

It came as a big surprise to hear that she was familiar with Max Caulfield.

"You... you've heard of me?"

"Clark talked about you."

"He did?"

"Mmhm. He told me about how you and Chloe inspired him to become an actor. You guys really defined his purpose. He was..."

Rachel became emotional, stopping mid-sentence to comfort herself. Her stagnant posture started to change due to how long Rachel had remained by Clark's side, waiting with durable patience.

"When the accident happened, I-I was devastated. We were supposed to go see a concert for our anniversary but he never showed up." Rachel explained, waviness in her voice as she struggled to maintain composure. "We were planning on leaving town, going somewhere where we could start a new chapter in our lives. But now those dreams are gone. And I'm dreading that all of my hope will be gone soon too..."

"How long have you known Clark for?"

"Not even a whole year. We met in December for a Vortex Club Christmas party at Blackwell. I remember everything that happened that night: I was there having a couple drinks with Mr Keaton's protégé, Victoria Chase and Nathan Prescott when I saw Clark just jamming it out to the music. I don't know, but... when I looked at him, I was fascinated by him. Something drew me to him. It's like we were-"

"Meant to be together?" Max finished abruptly.

Rachel looked at her with a slightly impressed expression and nodded her head.

"You know, it really disgusts me when people come by and visit Clark and Chloe not because they empathise what they're going through, only because of me. They come here because I'm here and I hate that about myself. For once, why can't people not care about me?"

"I think they do care, they just prefer not to show it in case others might think that they're not the people they expect them to be. They're forced to uphold the standards that others set for them so they reluctantly dismiss any empathy. Maybe they just show up to see if the person they admire drops their façade for one moment so they can exploit that to their fans." Max hypothesised.

"I... guess I didn't think about it like that."

"I better get back to Chloe now. It was nice to meet you, Rachel."

"Catch ya 'round, Max Caulfield."

"Oh, and Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"For what it's worth, I think you and Clark make a great couple."

Touched by her compliment, Rachel waved faintly at Max and returned to her morbid state as Max walked out of the room and back downstairs to check on Chloe.

As soon as she entered the room, Chloe immediately requested that Max give her a glass of water to drink.

"Thanks, Max. Oh man. I needed that. My throat was getting dry." Chloe expressed hoarsely.

"Anything for my best friend."

Chloe scoffed, grinningly. "I really have missed you, Max. Clark has too."

It was touching for Max to hear that from Chloe. To have spent so many years apart, being together again and receiving such love from her best friend was the comfort she needed.

"Seeing you is such a blast," said Chloe. "I know things were different when we were just dorky kids, but being with you made me feel like when we were little pirates, jumping and running through the forests again. It meant a lot to me just to chill out with you and bullshit. Ahh, fuck Um, I'm getting my regular head pains. Uh, can you pretty please stick some morphine in the bag up there?"

Max complied hesitantly and said, "Um, okay, but get ready to yell for your folks if I screw up."

By doing as she was asked, Max found the injector and supplied Chloe with the medicine to cure her ache.

"Thanks, Max."

"Anytime."

"Of course, my pain just keeps getting worse. But you caught me on a good day. Max, I'm so grateful that I'm even able to hang out with you. See, I'm getting mushy. I'm already high."

Tears welled in Chloe's ears as a result of the mixture of joy and pain and sorrow she was in.

It was already difficult enough for Chloe to approach her best friend with something she'd contemplated heavily about. And to even think of asking Max for this favour was painful enough as it was.

"Listen, Max, my respiratory system is failing and... and it's only getting worse. I've heard the doctors talking about it when they thought I was zonked out. I even overheard them mentioning cutting off my brother's life support if he doesn't wake up by the end of the week. So I know I'm putting off the inevitable while my parents suffer along... and I will, too. This isn't how I want things to end. I just wish I could have one more day with my brother and tell him just how much I fucking adore him. Sure, I might've been a bit of an ass to him, but I only wanted the best for him. Especially when he hooked up with that Rachel Amber chick."

"What...? What are you saying?" Max questioned emotionally.

"I'm saying that being with you again has been so special. I just wanted to feel like when we were kids running around Arcadia Bay and everything was possible. You, me, and Clark. I want this to be my last memory of you. Do you understand?"

Solemnly, Max nodded her head. She broke eye contact with Chloe and stared blankly at Chloe's legs, contemplating her request to be put out of her misery once and for all.

"All you have to do is crank up the IV to eleven."

Max lifted her head up and met Chloe's stare. Her bottom lip quivered as her eyes started to turn red from the tidal wave of emotion crashing down on her. She almost dared to shake her head in disapproval of Chloe's request, but she knew that ultimately it was the right thing to do.

"Chloe... I don't know if I can do this. I had another friend... who w-wanted to end it all, and I did everything I could to try and save her life. How could I be responsible for ending yours? I mean, there's got to be another way."

"Max, you were there for your friend no matter what. Now I'm asking you to help me the same way."

"I want to help you, Chloe, but I think my help is hurting." Max uttered raspily.

"At least you have a choice." Chloe said crossly. "When you want to make a decision, you can just do it. Look at me. I'm at the mercy of... everybody. Clark is suffering just as much as I am - but at least he doesn't have to feel this pain all the time... I guess, I envy that about him. I want to fall asleep like him. For once, I want to make my own choice: the most important one of my life. Please... help me, Max."

"Chloe..."

"I'll just drift asleep... dreaming of us all here together, forever."

When Chloe said this, she had a bittersweet smile on her face, imagining how perfect things would be as she passed away.

#life is strange #max caulfield #chloe price #crippled #angst #depression #joyce price #william price

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 61

September, 2008

It was a warm Autumn morning in Arcadia Bay.

The most extraordinary thing was happening: Max was reliving her youth.

Max found herself in the body of her younger self, capturing the moment where she inadvertently taken a self-photo of herself.

The photo exited from the filter. Max grabbed ahold of it and fanned it before putting both the camera and the photo down on Chloe's desk. Craning her head around, Max observed the room where she spotted Chloe sitting on the floor, cross-legged and rummaging through her old belongings her mother requested she threw out into a box with the word 'TRASH' scribbled on one side.

Everything quickly came back to Max once she managed to comprehend her situation. She'd gone far back in time, but she never intended to go so far back. Alas, she was there and she wasn't certain at all on how to return to the present.

All she knew was that she had to proceed with how things were. And yet she could not shake the fact that Chloe was alive and most likely, so was Clark.

"You know what? Stuff this. This isn't the purge mom was hoping for, but at least we tried. Time to go bug my brother." A young Chloe Price spoke up, capturing Max's attention.

The brunette threw her head in Chloe's direction and smiled fondly at the girl getting up and making her way over to her door. Max followed suite and took a turn, taking her towards Clark's room.

Suddenly, Max felt herself incapable of making the decision to enter Clark's room. And yet, she had to see him. She needed to see him.

By groping her small hand around the door handle, Max turned it and walked into Clark's room. The brown-haired boy perked up at the sound of his door opening and smiled brightly at Max.

"Hey Max! Thanks again for helping me out with the cleaning." Clark said appreciatively as he waved at his crush.

Breathless at the fact that she was in the company of her once dead best friend, Max couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and joy and comfort, and also longing. Seeing him so young and alive left a spontaneous feeling inside Max that just wanted to burst inside of her.

Without comprehending her actions, Max ran over to Clark who was seated on the floor, looking at some of his old stuff, and crashed into him, throwing her arms around his neck. Confused by her kind gesture, Clark sheepishly patted her arm and chuckled nervously.

"Um, M-Max? What're you doing?" Clark asked bashfully.

Max moved back slightly but not enough to pull herself out of his reach. Eye contact was established, only this time, it was much hotter than any other. This time, Max finally had the chance to express her feelings for him, like she'd been meaning to ever since she found out his true feelings for her.

"Clark. There's something I want to tell you. A-And I want you to take this seriously, okay?" Max began, her voice came out stuttering and nervous.

"Oookay...? What's on your mind, Max?"

Max pursed her lips and coyly grinned at him as she prepared herself for a life-changing confession.

"Clark, I... wanted you to know that I... that you are my best friend. You and Chloe mean everything to me. I love you both so, so much. And nothing can ever tear us apart. Even if we move apart for college or work... don't ever forget what we have now and who we are."

"Are you okay, Max? Where is all of this coming from?"

"Clark..."

He smiled comfortingly and placed his hand on top of hers. "Okay, okay. I'm taking it seriously. Thank you, Max. Really. You don't know how much it means for me to hear you say that."

As they stared at one another, Clark couldn't help but feel so fond about her azure blue eyes staring at his. It would forever be a feeling he would come to adore.

Their attention was stolen by Chloe barging into the room without knocking, a phone up to her ear.

"No. No, yeah. Dad- I'll ask him. Okay! Oh my God, you're so embarrassing. Yes, I love you too." Chloe chattered to the person on the other end of the call before drawing her attention to her brother and her best friend by pulling the phone away and covered the speaker with her free hand. "Hey, Clark, Max! You want some doughnuts while dad's on his way to get mom?"

"Hell yeah. Just don't tell mom."

"Max?"

"No. I'm good, thanks."

Putting the phone back against her ear, Chloe gave her father Clark's order - the usual which were mainly chocolate and vanilla-flavoured doughnuts - before she hung up.

The dreaded feeling of what Max predicted was to occur created an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, a physical ache that caused Max's features to tense at the very thought of the pain and suffering her two best friends were to endure.

Not unless she changed that outcome.

But how could she, if William had already left the house to go pick up his wife?

Unbeknownst to any of them, merely by allowing Chloe to distract herself from cleaning her room allowed her to wander into the kitchen to grab herself a soft drink from the fridge when she noticed that there were a few missing items in the fridge. So she took it upon herself to notify her father of the missing inventory so that he and Joyce could retrieve those missing items on their way back.

That was when William made the offer to pick up some doughnuts as his special treat for his children. And thus, by a stroke of pure luck, everything had changed.

Max Caulfield was spared from having to relieve the entire day of her childhood. Her powers unlocked the ability to skip forward through time in that memory to a certain point where it seemed the most significant - what confused Max was that it wasn't her decision to arrive at that point in time, nor did it raise the question as to whether it was the fault of a higher power or by destiny? - leading Max to present day Arcadia Bay... but with a twist.

October, 2013

Max awoke in her subconsciousness of an alternate version of herself where William Price did not die in a car accident, but rather survived and lived to that very day; to watch his children grow after that Max moved to Seattle for a few years.

The blinding light restored Max's vision where she found herself in an outdoor environment, part of a group of socialites whom she could assume was the Vortex Club committee - mainly for the fact that Max identified two of Victoria Chase's minions and others whom she was more familiar of being apart of the club.

To her right was Victoria Chase.

It surprised Max that Victoria allowed a 'weirdo' such as she, anywhere remotely close to her company. In fact, it befuddled Max to find that she was openly welcomed into the group, mainly by the tone and attitude in Victoria's voice when she concerned herself with her Max blanking out.

"Hellooo? Are you even listening, Maxine?" Victoria Chase asked, peering her head directly into Max's line of vision.

"Max. Never Maxine." The brunette corrected.

"I know, sorry, Mad Max. You're not pissed at me, right? Right...? Do you wanna go hit the girl's potty and smoke 'em peace pipes?"

Courtney Wagner made a jest regarding how zoned out Max appeared to be to some of them, the rest, all too focused on their conversation to regard their Max's superstitious behaviour.

"She's acting, like, so weird." Taylor Christensen commented, voicing her concern. "You cool, Max?"

"Nobody listens when I said we shouldn't let her in the Vortex..."

"Courtney, you don't want anybody in the club."

Courtney scoffed and rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Like, whatever, bitch."

Their confusion expanded when Max got up to her feet and began to walk towards the sidewalk.

Nearby, she caught her friend, Warren, holding hands intimately with Stella Hill. It was a most controversial site but also quite fitting to some regard. Further evidence of Max being in the wrong reality came to prove that she was endearing something way out of her own creativity.

Members of the Vortex Club disregarded Max's wandering around the front yard of the school as Max observed all the irregularities that she could before waiting to catch the bus.

Lo and behold, the bus driver was David Madsen.

"What kind of world is this?" Max thought to herself.

David nodded his head at Max and smiled awkwardly as the brunette stared at him in bewilderment to see that he, a former soldier, was a bus driver instead of a security guard. Boarding the bus, Max occupied a seat near the front of the bus and stared out the window to watch the world move around her.

But then it started to come together.

If David wasn't married to Joyce, then Joyce would not have any reason to re-marry because William Price was alive!

Max pondered long and hard about the cause and effect of her altering the timeline: little to no thought at all as to the ramifications of her rewriting reality for her personal gain.

Upon arrival at a suitable destination, Max disembarked the yellow bus and began to walk into the street where she hoped that her old friends lived.

If reality had been rewritten, there was the slightest possibility that the Price's could have moved elsewhere or relocated entirely out of the country.

To her relief, as the house came into view, relief flooded Max.

In her original concept of the Price residency, the front of the house had two different colour schemes: the upper half was a berry blue with paperbark on the lower half. But in this new reality Max was seemingly trapped in, the exterior was Egyptian blue.

With her satchel hanging comfortably over her body, Max clung onto the straps for dear life as she walked up to the front door and stood stiffly, her right hand raised up and at an angle as her fingers tightened, forming her hand into a fist as she tapped her knuckles on the wooden door.

Max's nerves started to become too unbearable at the expense of her being too mindful about all the likely possibilities that things wouldn't be as Max hoped.

Suddenly, the door clicked open.

"Max Caulfield!" A warm and gentle voice greeted the young woman in front of them.

A smile broke on Max's face when she found herself standing before an aged William Price. His faced had aged, given that now there were wrinkles mainly under his eyes and on his forehead, but also for the fact that his hair had been shortened and there were tell-tale signs of grey hairs forming. He was cleanly shaven - as always - and his personality had never changed, even to that day.

"Taking a break after taking Seattle by storm, huh? We thought we'd never see you again after you left for the big city."

It took Max a few minutes to comprehend the fact that William was alive.

He was always like a second father to her. He treated her like a daughter and their bond was always strong in the times Max spent countless days with her best friend and their family.

"No," said Max. "I'd never do that to Chloe, or Clark."

"Speaking of... I know they've been dying to see you. Hold on."

Turning his back to her momentarily, William raised his voice to summon the presence of someone who would be most excited to see Max again.

"Chloe! You have a visitor!"

Max stood slightly relaxed, waiting in anticipation to set her eyes on one of her best friends. She constantly peered down the hallway a bit above her eye level for Chloe.

But what Max spotted appear around a corner was something far worse...

Mortified by what she was witnessing, Max almost lost balance in her legs when she caught Chloe Price approaching her in a specially designed wheelchair, seemingly paralysed from the neck down. That was evident to the fact that the muscles in Chloe's face easily formed a relieved expression upon setting her eyes on her best friend, now returned from Seattle.

#life is strange #max caulfield #time travel #time manipulation #chloe price #siblings #best friend #angst #william price

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 60

"I'm getting some spectacular images here, Max."

The second time Max came around, she found herself seated upright and numb from the neck down. This time, it felt more excruciating the longer she endured the horrendous torture by Mark Jefferson, as now, she was bound to a chair with her limbs taped to the arms and legs of the chair she was put in.

Directly in front of Max was Jefferson, monitoring a camera he had aimed directly at her. To her left was a photography umbrella with a red light calibrated to deliver a dark and sinister glow to add to the photoshoot.

The effects of the drugs wore of faster than it did earlier, leaving Max capable of feeling more strength to return to her.

It wasn't physical strength that was being restored within her. It was courage.

"Mr Jefferson, why are you doing this?" Max questioned with a glassy voice, interrupting Jefferson's monologuing to her unconscious-now-conscious state. It hurt her greatly to view the man whom she once looked up to and idolised, now revealed to be a sick, twisted individual who preyed on young girls in order to capture their youth and innocence for his personal collection.

A smile broke on Jefferson's face, followed by a light chuckle as he stood upright instead of bent over to stare at Max through his camera mounted on a tripod.

"Oh, Max... I'm so glad you asked that question," he replied humorously. "Uh, simply put: I'm obsessed with the idea of capturing that moment innocence evolves into corruption. That shift from black, to white, to grey... and beyond. Most models are cynical. They lose that naiveté. However, some Blackwell students carry their hope and optimism with them like... an aura. And those lucky few become my models - my subjects."

Now that she finally understood his motive, Max felt absolutely no remorse for his mental sickness; that he attempted to plague her with, that he successfully had done to Kate Marsh.

"You're a psychopath. And this is your last session." Max spat heinously.

"Au contraire, Max. I'm so sane that nobody knows what's happening to you right now. And don't get me started on your late partner. I had enough of those faux-punk sluts in my Seattle days."

"You killed Clark! YOU MURDERED MY BEST FRIEND!"

"He had a loaded weapon. This was clearly self-defence. But that's what happens when you play with guns or try to fuck with me."

"He was unarmed!"

"But still a threat. I couldn't take the risk either way."

"You're a murderer! You killed him in cold blood! You will not get away with this. I want you to know that." Max seethed, hocking with venom at the man in front of her.

"Oh, wanna bet?" He challenged. "And in case you were wondering, Nathan has outlived his usefulness."

"You didn't..."

"Oh, but I already have. The Prescott's are going to have a major scandal when the town finds out what their elitist son has been doing for homework."

As he stared at Max, the lighting became more and more ominous for the fact that she stared at him with cold, cruel thoughts. She wanted Jefferson to suffer for what he'd done: for the harm he brought onto others, and for manipulating people for his own personal gain.

"You used Nathan." Max accused.

"I prefer the term, 'manipulated.' Like with an image, Nathan's was easy to twist around. I became a sort of father figure for Nathan. It happens often in teacher-student relationships. It was kind of touching... for a while."

"Did you tell him everything about your plans at Blackwell?"

"Don't be stupid, Max. I told him what he needed to hear. In return, I had access to the Prescott fortune. Who do you think paid for this glorious dark room and equipment?" Jefferson answered without taking a single breath. "How else could I get all these hip new drugs for my subjects? Nathan thought he could be an artist like me. He actually thought he could mimic what I do with a camera and subject. Like father! But not like son... I do have to admit... he did a pretty good job delivering Kate Marsh to me at that party last week."

A shiver went down through Max's body at the mere thought of what Nathan did to poor Kate before her untimely death. The guilt still resided within her for failing to save Kate. Even more so for the fact that she failed to even consider a romance with her.

"Do you finally get it now, Max? I can't compromise my vision with amateurs."

"You are an amateur. Look at the trail of death you left behind. You can't blame all this on Nathan. I don't care what you do to me. You're going to die, motherfucker! For Clark, for Chloe, for Kate, and for everybody else."

Jefferson chuckled lowly.

"I do love your spirit, Max, but you have brought yourself here, by your own choice. Anyway, I like my models to be seen and not heard. So I have to make sure there's nothing left behind of you. I will miss you, Max. Truly."

The brown-haired man wandered over to a box and picked up Max's diary and waved it in his hand, taunting her.

"You... you still have my diary?"

"Don't worry. Nobody's going to read it," he said as he held the book by its spine and opened its contents. "There's nothing more innocent than a teenager's diary. Oh... look at your selfies. What a waste of talent. Look at that shot, Max. You can do so much better. Sorry, could have done so much better..."

In Max's diary was a photograph she'd not viewed in quite some time - ever since she first left Seattle. It was a photograph of her younger self the day she first took ownership of Chloe and Clark's father's Polaroid camera five years ago, the day William died.

Max focused on the photo, reminiscing about the good times she'd spent with her two late best friends before everything turned upside-down.

The faintest voices rang out from the photo, startling Max. While Jefferson had his attention on going over his work, Max focused harder on her self-portrait. Familiar voices of her past self vibrated in her ears like the high-pitched ringing that increased the more she focused on the photograph, to the point that Max found herself in the most unlikely of places.

Max was back in the past.

#life is strange #max caulfield #mark jefferson #drugging #time travel #photography

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 59

Trigger warning: kidnapping, death, drugging

Crickets chirped within the junkyard, the moon high up in the sky that only it created the dullest illumination. The atmosphere was all too unsettling, even more so for the fact that not only was there a possibly deranged and armed Nathan Prescott somewhere in the junkyard, but the additional paranoia from watching a few too many horror movies increased the intensity in the atmosphere.

Using her phone light, Max illuminated the path from behind Clark as he trekked cautiously, holding the revolver in his dominant hand.

"Stop stomping around, Clark!" Max reprimanded in a hush voice.

"Okay, okay. Just be ready for anything. Follow me..."

Together, they explored the junkyard on their way to the spot they last saw Chloe's body. Max could hear her friend grumble hate-filled promises of mutilation and violence onto Nathan, and it terrified her.

As they came up to Chloe's grave, Max kept a small distance from Clark as she watched him kneel down to observe his sister's burial place. Her phone hand became tired, so Max swapped it over to her non-dominant hand and stared closely at the hole exposing the head of Chloe's body. When the smell reached Max's nostrils, she took a couple slow steps back when she felt something pinch her neck.

"C-Clark... look out," Max cried weakly as the effects of the drug she was injected with caused her to feel a sudden overwhelming wave of numbness.

Clark's head turned to look over at Max when he realised the light was no longer on him and she was lying on her side, a weak struggle to stay away for as long as she could.

A tall, slim silhouette lurked beside Max. The right arm moved, extending towards Clark. The figure held a gun, startling Clark.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy! I-I'm dropping it. I surrender. Just take it easy, Nathan. I- oh you have got to be fucking kidding me..." Clark exclaimed, tossing the gun in his hand to the side.

BANG!!

As a helpless Max Caulfield watched things unfold, a loud bang went off.

A gunshot.

She watched Clark's head get thrown back by an invisible force. His body followed in the direction of the bullet, pushing him backwards onto the ground over his sister's grave. When the body hit the ground, blood pooled out of the exit wound in Clark's skull.

"No... no..."

With what strength she had left, she tilted her phone to shine the light up at the triggerman's face, shedding light on his true identity.

Mark Jefferson.

His cold emotionless stare met Max's blue orbs until her eyes became too heavy to keep open, to the point that she succumbed to the effects of the drugs he injected her with. By picking up Max's unconscious body, Jefferson carried her to his car hidden outside of the parking lot and drove off to the Dark Room to do with her as he wished.

With the night still young, Jefferson felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in kidnapping his favourite student.

The journey to the old Prescott-owned barn was a quick journey for Jefferson. He was both excited and desperate to snoop through Max's diary and see her personal photos before taking some of her to display once she'd come around.

There was little effort in carrying Max into the bunker. Jefferson was careless and lazy to not secure himself inside - he believed that his location was completely secure, therefore disregarding any safety. Gently, Jefferson laid Max in a chair centred in front of his equipment. His boots clapped against the floor as he walked around the neatly furbished room to grab some duct tape to keep Max bound to the chair.

"Oh Max... why did you have to get so nosy? Now look at what you've done. Your best friend is dead and so is Kate. And now, you've killed Victoria. I promise it'll be painless..." Jefferson murmured to the unconscious girl in front of him.

He then proceeded to capture Max's photographs in her unconscious state.

"This angle highlights your purity, see? The slightly unconscious model is often the most open and honest. No vanity or posing, just... pure expression. Oh Christ... look at that perfect face."

The effects of the drugs in Max's system dissipated. Max stirred where she was laid, her head rocked slightly as she felt her leg get touched and moved into a different position. When Jefferson noticed that Max had come around, he became visibly upset the moment she could feel her body get slowly revived.

"Hold that stare, there! STAY! STILL!!"

Jefferson positioned himself parallel with Max's head and knelt down, placing his expensive camera close to the frame of his glasses in order to claim another photograph when suddenly Max shifted, causing the image to become blurry once the flash went off.

"Oh, Max! You fucked up my shot!" Jefferson barked angrily. That anger quickly subsided as it was replaced by his perverted and sinister voice at the same time he resumed taking photos of Max. "But please don't worry. We have all the time in the world... for now. I knew you were special the second I saw your first 'selfie.' Yes, I still hate that word. But I love the purity of your own image. Not like Chloe, who was too willing to let herself be captured in my image... But, of course, she did have some unique aspect about her. Until she died of an accidental overdose. Wait..."

An idea popped inside his sick, demented brain, Jefferson stood up on both feet and moved around to Max's feet and spread his legs a suitable distance in order to capture another angle of Max. When he was satisfied by that pose he forced her into, he moved back to his previous spot and laid down on his front for a close-up shot.

It was a painstakingly slow process for Max to feel anything in her body due to the strength of the dosage he injected her with - but nowhere near enough to kill. All Max wanted was to get away, but she could not do so in the position she was in. So she hoped that she was subtle in fighting against the tape around her feet while his attention was at her face.

"If only Nathan could see this setup. He tried so hard, but you can't just throw a few subjects around and expect a cohesive style or theme. But he had an eye for shadows. And an eye for a whole lot more, as his elite family will find out, along with Arcadia Bay. Nice... good... Oh, those eyes..."

A disturbing giggle escaped Jefferson as he repositioned himself all around Max, capturing as many photographs as his sickened heart desired. Truly, he was at the precipice of his career, in both job and 'hobby.'

The next thing he did was upload the photos to his computer and spent a couple minutes organising a large vertical and horizontal print of Max's portrait. The printer was automatically activated and made loud noises as it began to disperse the photos. Those photos were then put in a manila folder that Jefferson placed on a trolley with his drugs and such.

"It's just too bad you're so goddamn nosy, Max! But this room, is under twenty-four-seven surveillance so all I had to do was text you from Nathan's phone, and you fell right into my hands. You really should have focused on schoolwork, not private detecting, with your boyfriend. I am sorry that I killed- that Nathan killed him in self-defence. Nobody will be surprised, or care. Though I promise, people will care when you die, Max. Soon... very soon. I still have use of you. But once that's done, soon you will be too."

The more Max had to ensure his monologing, the more restless she became.

Out anxiety and trepidation, Max finally awoke and fidgeted where she laid, using more and more of her returning strength to fight against the restraints bound tightly around her thin wrists and ankles.

It was to Jefferson's estranged sense of humour that he watched her struggle helplessly, begging, crying for her late friends. In order to put her at ease, Jefferson retrieved a trolley stacked with syringes, needles, gloves and drugs. His right hand grabbed ahold of a syringe and held a bottle with the other and absorbed some of the fluid into the barrel and turned towards Max with the malicious intent to calm her nerves.

"Now don't move or this will... hurt... much."

With a sudden burst of energy, Max used both of her legs and thrusted them at the trolley. The opened drug bottle was knocked over, spilling its contents over the folder.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!! YOU JUST DON'T LISTEN, DO YOU?! In fact, you never did hear much in my class... If you had, you might have seen all this coming. I've had my eye on you, and I've noticed that you've been more... fearless, this week than maybe your whole life. Remember my number one rule: always... take... the shot."

Max whimpered fearfully as she felt his hand grope her neck tightly, followed by a sharp pinch like a bee sting. The effects of the drugs took instant effect as Max quickly succumbed into unconsciousness once again.

#life is strange #max caulfield #mark jefferson #kidnapping #murder #death #photoshoot #drugging #the dark room

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 58

Loss was an old friend of Clark's.

He'd welcomed it many years ago when he first lost his father, and now loss had returned to torment Clark with misery and flaunt guilt at him knowing now that his sister was dead too.

In his hand, Clark gripped his sister's necklace and stood in silence over her makeshift grave. A grave that felt completely disrespectful to her remains.

Max kept him company for the whole hour they were at the junkyard, mourning Chloe. She knew he needed time to process this but there was very little time left for Victoria Chase with her life at risk. Once Clark's emotions had settled and his tears stopped leaking from his eyes, he drove himself and Max back to Blackwell in dead silence.

Neither said a thing on the drive back. They were both deep in thought, thinking about the people in danger: Max stressed about reaching Victoria in time, hoping she would heed her warnings. All the while Clark thought heavily about the danger he intended to put Nathan Prescott in.

They reached Blackwell at sunset where many students wandered towards the natatorium where the party was being held. Clark did not waste a second getting out of his truck the same way he did when they arrived at the junkyard. Max found herself walking a lot faster than normal since Clark was on a warpath, impatient and not thinking straight. People taking their time walking towards the natatorium barely took notice of Clark and Max rushing past them. Music blasted from the natatorium, getting louder and louder as they got closer.

"Clark, look at the sky!" Max exclaimed in shock of the phenomenon occurring in the sky.

Clark stole a quick glance at the sky and grumbled something under his breath as he wasted no time in continuing to make his way towards the natatorium. Out of nowhere, Warren Graham appeared, clearly drunk on account of the drink in his hand.

"Welcome to the end of the world." Warren slurred. "I'm glad you decided to escort me."

Max smiled comfortingly at the science geek and voiced her concern for his drunkenness.

"Hey, bro, can you do us a mad favour? Sit down and stop drinking. You look like you've had too much already." Clark piped up, expressing his clear lack of patience and growing aggravation.

"Have you seen Nathan?" Max asked politely.

Warren's expression tightened, his mind struggling to run properly on account of the alcohol interfering with his ability to think straight.

"I didn't see him at the dorm at all today. I was holed up in my room doing some guy stuff..."

Clark scoffed and rolled his eyes, his foot bounced rapidly off the concrete.

Max ignored her best friend's attitude as she continued to treat Warren with gleefulness and concern for his wellbeing on account of how much he'd drunk.

"Hey, hey... I know this is a bad time, but can I get one picture? I've been feeling like this might be actually the end of the world, so... I wanted to have something for prosperity." Warren asked drunkenly.

Unable to deny his simple request, Max took out her camera and smiled at her Polaroid camera as she held it up and waited to take a photo once Warren had his arm around her back.

"I don't blame you, Warren." Max muttered under her breath.

"I know, I know. I'm a pain in the booty."

The flash went off and the image printed out of the camera. Max extracted the photo, pinching it between her thumb and index finger and lightly fanned it before stowing both the photograph and her camera in her bag.

Once that little interaction was concluded, Max and Clark resumed making their way towards the entrance into the natatorium. Surrounded by large curtains, they noticed there was a short line of partygoers who intended to get completely wasted, patiently waiting to hand over their belongings to one of Kate's friends, Stella, and another girl Clark was unfamiliar with.

"Hey guys! Welcome to the 'End Of The World!' Do you want me to check anything in?" Stella greeted her companions. The brunette fixed her glasses higher up on the bridge of her nose.

"Uh, no thanks, Stella. Have you seen Nathan yet?" Max raised her voice so her voice was heard over the strobing beats.

"No, thank God. That boy creeps me out. I'm sorta stuck here so sorry I can't help you."

Clark hissed under his breath and stormed off, leaving Max to converse with Stella while he scouted the natatorium for Nathan Prescott.

"So why are you working at a Vortex Club party? I didn't think you wanted to be a member." Max asked curiously.

"Screw that! I'm here for the job."

"What job?"

"Mr Jefferson asked me because he knows I don't have a lot of money, even with my job at the fish shop and scholarship. I'm not cool enough for this school."

"Yes, you are, Stella. You're smart, honest, and you bust your ass for Blackwell. I hope everything turns out your way in the end." Max expressed honestly and conviction in her lifting Stella's spirits.

"Awww, thank you, Max. I really appreciate that. Hey, does Clark seem okay to you?"

The smile on Max's face instantly dropped the second she mentioned Clark. For a brief moment in which she forgot about their current predicament, Max felt slight relief not having to think about Chloe or Kate.

"He's just going through a lot right now. I think he's going to be alright. If he tries to do anything stupid, I'll be sure to talk him out of it." Max responded hesitantly, vaguely hinting at the fact that she would fully intend to use her rewind powers to prevent Clark from doing anything irresponsible.

"It's really sad about what happened to Kate. Her family must be devastated... Kate always spoke so highly about her sister, Lynn. She said she had the cutest smile."

"Yeah... I hope where Kate is now, she's watching over us."

"I failed her, you know... I wasn't a good enough friend."

"Stella, don't blame yourself for what happened. You couldn't have known she would take things into her own hands like that."

"Still, it doesn't shake the fact that I should've noticed her symptoms. Alyssa and I are still pretty shaken about her suicide."

"We can't change what happened. We can only move forward and think back about the good times we shared with Kate."

"You do know she liked you, right?"

As if her heart was as fragile as broken glass, the chips began to fall out of place at the recollection of every moment Max and Kate shared together.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to get all sentimental and shit. You probably got something more important to do. Have fun at the party, Max."

"You too, Stella."

A sudden wave of cheering swept through the natatorium. Max walked through the curtains and was met by a small explosion of pool water splashing on her. A boy on a diving board jumped and bounced off the end of said board and tucked himself into a ball as he cannonballed into the water. Fellow partygoers cheered him on. Due to the flashing lights and dim lighting inside of the natatorium, Max found it greatly difficult to identify Clark amidst the crowd of teenagers, even for somebody with green hair which made him stand out in a different setting.

Max had to walk around the border of the pool, past boys and girls in their normal clothing and their swimming gear; they all wore glowy bracelets on their wrists and plastic cups in the other. By making her way around the pool, Max found herself standing outside of a Vortex Club VIP Only area.

By making her way back around the pool, Max found herself stuck behind a lane reel preventing her from going around the back into the VIP Only area. With the intent to pushing it only enough so it was out of her way, Max put her hands on the lane reel and pushed it, only to end up knocking a speaker into the pool. The second that happened, there was a calamity throughout the natatorium. The music instantly stopped and a crowd of boo's swarmed Max as soon as she realised what she'd done.

Slowly, she peeked her head up, her features tensed and afraid of what she'd done and the trouble she felt she'd be in. But no trouble would come her way thanks to her rewind powers. People caught Max and framed her as the culprit for ruining their fun.

The DJ took it upon himself to confront Max by raising his voice at her with the high possibility of bringing her harm for damaging his equipment. But before he could reach her, Clark Price snuck up behind him and lunged himself at the DJ, redirecting the trajectory of his pounce as he grabbed the DJ in a headlock and pulled them both into the water.

Max couldn't help but snort at how amusing that seemed, but also appreciative that Clark stepped in to rescue her. In return, Max rewound time before she destroyed the speaker and made her way through the back of the VIP area.

"Nathan is the Vortex Club, so his ass has to be here tonight." Max said in her mind.

The brunette spotted her best friend conversing rather tensely with Victoria Chase. Between them and her, Max spotted two of her friends, Juliet and Dana with their dates. She then made her way over to Clark and Victoria and joined the conversation.

"... and what could you possibly say to make me thi-"

"I couldn't really give two shits about you after what you did to Katie, but I'm only doing someone very dear to me a favour: to warn you that your life is in serious danger. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but you just have to take my word for it," said Clark tersely.

Victoria scoffed and folded her arms, leaning on one leg.

"What are you doing here, Max Caulfield? This is for VIP only. And I don't remember even inviting your stanky ass to the party." Victoria addressed Max rudely.

"HEY! Watch it..." Clark barked threateningly.

The blonde paid no mind to his aggression and drew her focus onto the shorter girl.

"Got your boyfriend here to protect you, now?" Victoria taunted.

"Victoria, you have to listen to me. Your life is in danger. I know Nathan is your friend, but he is truly unstable and dangerous. He did drug Kate at that party so he could take her some place... dark."

"What? Nice try, Max. But I don't believe you. And why would he do that?"

"That I don't know yet. But it wasn't enough to make Kate want to die. And I- we, think you're next."

"Max, that is crazy. You're both crazy! Nathan is like one of my best friends. Yes, he takes serious meds, but that's not his fault. His family treats him like a total freak, just because he has little meltdowns-"

"They're not little anymore! They're deadly! I don't care if you hate me or not, but you have to believe me." Max snapped.

Victoria paused for a moment to even consider her approach for conversing with Max in the future, now that she very slowly comprehended the fact that Max's concern for her wellbeing was truly genuine.

"You could have been a major bitch to me when I got hit with that paint... and I deserved it. Max, I don't hate you. I actually think you're one of the coolest people at Blackwell. Weird, but cool. You just don't know it yet. Maybe I'm jealous because you don't give a shit what anybody thinks. And I do."

"You have talent, Victoria. You don't have to push people out of your way to become what you want to be."

"You don't understand. My parents own a gallery. I know how this art game has to be played; it's brutal."

"No, it's art. You don't have to play their way. Mr Jefferson doesn't talk that way and he's famous."

"On point, Max... Thanks for admitting that I have talent. Not that I think I always do."

"I don't either, but that's the choice you make."

"Hard to believe, but I don't always make the best choices. Do you think it's, like, fate we're not supposed to be friends?"

"Maybe, but who says we have to be enemies?"

"Whoever makes that decision."

"That would be us, Victoria. Maybe, in a different reality, we are friends. Good friends. I think I would like that in this one."

Bashfully, Victoria verbally expressed her interest in rearranging their views towards one another permanently.

"Well, Max Caulfield, I guess that makes two of us. You were asking about Nathan earlier... to be honest, Nathan has been freaking me out lately. He's not here and I haven't seen him."

"Just make sure you stay away from him and stick close to your friends tonight, okay?"

Victoria sighed. "I'll let you boss me around this one time. And I have other people I can go to for protection. Thanks for telling me this, Max. If what you said is true, then you have to be careful too. Um, text me if you need anything."

The smile that formed on Victoria's face was fully genuine and sincere. Of all the other times she sent Max a smile, it wasn't at all for comfort or appreciation, but mockery and ridicule.

"I will. Thanks, Victoria."

"Au revoir!"

Ever since Clark's first attendance at a Vortex Club party, he thought it would be simple fun and partying, something he knew was Chloe's cup of tea. But to attend a second one after the controversy during his first, it created an uneasy feeling in his stomach that something was about to go wrong.

Now that he and Max were allowed to leave, the pair escorted one another out of the natatorium.

Buzz, buzz!

Reaching into his pocket, Clark drew out his phone and read a text... from Nathan.

From: NATHAN Glad you got one last look at Chloe

From: NATHAN Nobody will ever find her again after I'm done

"Oh God... Nathan just texted me. We gotta go back to the junkyard. NOW!"

In haste, the pair sprinted over to Clark's truck, climbed in and sped out of the parking lot along the main road.

Words could not express the sheer terror overwhelming Clark. It was one thing to murder his sister, but to desecrate her corpse was another thing. Inside the glove compartment was a revolver that so happened to come with the truck, along with six bullets. Clark strongly believed that it was finally time the gun came in handy...

#life is strange #max caulfield #mark jefferson #school party #victoria chase

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 57

One would've expected to not attend any classes but interviews for the next few hours, given that that was a police officer's duty, but due to the fact that they were paid off by Sean Prescott, there was no interviews or detective work into the death of Kate Marsh. Had they not been influenced by the Prescott's, the authorities would do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators to justice.

But now, Blackwell was in ruin; and so was Kate and Max and anybody else who looked inside of themselves and realised how their seemingly harmful actions were taken too far.

The memorial outside of the girl's dormitory had a large board with messages from students who wished to send their thoughts and prayers with Kate. There were flowers, a large wooden cross, dozens of candles and a portrait of Kate smiling.

By the time it was sunset, the Blackwell and American flags were hung at half-mast. Clark Price was sitting all by himself at the steps of Blackwell Academy, staring at the orange blur beneath dark clouds while a cool breeze swept through. In between his legs was the cage of Kate's pet rabbit, Alice. In his hand, Clark cradled the white-furred rabbit with black ears and black eye folds.

For hours, he was incapable of calming down as the recurring thought taunted him that he had failed to protect Kate Marsh, somebody whom he loved like family beyond anything else. And he let her down. Clark sorrowfully stared indirectly at the blank emptiness and void warmth of the sun setting. By wallowing in grief, Clark began to reach certain levels of loneliness and depression that he believed was what Kate herself experienced similarly.

The teardrops that lightly patted Alice's back left the domestic pet unbothered as it also came to experience loneliness from her late mother, Kate.

Ring, ring...

The never-ending stream of phone calls left Clark unbothered as he watched a circular silhouette slowly block the sunlight. The unexpected eclipse brought mystery as to what typhoon of chaos would tear Arcadia Bay to shreds in the following days remaining. Others who came to notice this didn't think much of it, rather believing it to be a once in a lifetime occurrence.

"Clark?" A voice rang out, drawing the boy's attention from his wallowing to a familiar face approaching him.

Slowly, he craned his head around in the direction of the voice and smiled weakly at Warren Graham approaching him.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Clark sniffled and ran his forearm across his eyes. "Just... just grieving."

"I heard about how close you were. It's a real shit go, man."

He sat down beside Clark and looked at the rabbit in his hands.

"What's its name?" Warren asked.

"Alice. Her name is Alice."

"She's beautiful."

"She was Kate's. Now... I'm going to look after her. Hey. Do you think it's weird... the snow, the eclipse... do you think something bad's coming?"

Warren let out a long exhale and ran his hand through his hair. That same hand went down to his cheekbone where he once got punched by Nathan Prescott for getting up in his business.

"You've been talking to Max about it too, then, huh?" Warren chuckled lightly. "This guy wanted me to give something to you. Real shady guy with a neck tat of a... of a bird. Said he was doing you a big favour and he's hoping this could help give you some leads about finding your sister."

Reaching into his pocket, Warren drew a folded piece of paper that he handed to Clark. The boy with faded blue hair turning green accepted the paper and unfolded it to examine its contents.

There was a picture of a barn with co-ordinates written underneath.

But wasn't any ordinary barn.

Included in the picture was the rear of a car entering the barn, where the number plate was barely visible in the light. Clark looked closely at the paper to decipher the initials of the plate.

"What does it say...?" Clark mumbled to himself.

"You say something, dude?"

"No. No... thanks, Warren."

"You gonna be okay?" He asked concerningly.

He put his hand on Clark's shoulder as he got up to his feet and smiled comfortingly at him. Clark sent a smile back his way before looking back down at the paper to see if he could make out anything else significant.

With the paper now in his care, Clark knew he had to show this to Max. If anybody could help her find out where his sister had gone missing, it would be her.

By folding the paper and stuffing it into his pocket, Clark then put Alice in her cage and carried that cage up to his dormitory. Once he'd put Alice in his room, Clark made the plan to visit Max straight after. She was surprised by his visit, especially when she lead herself to believe that Clark would continue to wallow in grief.

After punctually reaching and entering Max's room, Clark closed the door behind him and approached Max with the letter sent by Frank Bowers. She was taken back by this, but hopeful that Chloe's location would finally be uncovered.

Together, the pair spent the next hour and a half attempting to uncover the location of the barn and expose the plates of the car entering the barn.

"Let me look up more clues here," said Max. "Here. It says who owns that barn you showed me. Harry Aaron Prescott. Here's the address..."

"So let's get going, Super Max! I got a good feeling we're this close to finding Chloe. We have to find her, Max." Clark said impatiently and with eagerness to hop in his truck and break the speed limit.

"We will. But remember, my power isn't infinite. We still have to be careful."

By making their way out of Max's room, they both stuck their heads out and observed the hall for any unwanted company who would potentially dob Clark in to Principal Wells or worse, head of security.

They both managed to walk out of the girl's dormitory with ease before making their way across the front of the school to the parking lot. As they walked along, Max read her best friend's body language and took mental note of the fact that his eagerness to find his sister did not justify being so pushy or impatient, including breaking any laws that could potentially delay their discovering Chloe's whereabouts, lest the information they claimed became old news.

Once they were both in his truck and had their seatbelts fastened comfortably around them, Clark almost practically slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped out of the parking lot, nearly writing off the side of the truck after only just evading a post by a mere couple inches.

Tensely, Clark gripped the steering wheel and made a couple turns until they were on a direct path that would take them a bit out of town but towards their destination. His heart raced a thousand miles an hour, knowing that both he and Max had come so close to finding his long-lost sister.

After half an hour of driving, they came up towards the barn after veering onto a dirt track. The barn came into sight; providing an eerie atmosphere as the two teenagers got out of the truck and walked up towards the two large doors that were locked shut.

"Holy shit, this is scary." Max muttered out loud.

"Together on this - just you and me, Max. We can't trust anybody else." Clark replied in a whisper.

Tyre tracks was the first initial clue that they needed to investigate the barn further. While Clark attempted to fix the lock preventing them the direct way inside, Max scouted the perimeter until she found a metal sheet blocking her view of a secret entry point.

"Clark! Over here!"

The green-haired boy rushed over to the left side of the barn where he noticed Max uncover an alternate entrance into the barn. He watched her climb through before following directly behind her.

The first thing that came into view was a chest. What was in it were documents and newspaper articles revolving around the Prescott's. While Max rummaged around for any useful information, Clark did his own investigating.

He had a funny feeling that all the hay was quite unnecessary. So Clark kicked some hay with his feet, pondering about whether he would come across a secret hatch that would take him into a secret basement. After a few minutes, he found that secret door. He spent another several minutes attempting to break the lock.

Once it was opened, he called Max over.

In an instant, the brunette was over by Clark's side as she watched him open the door, revealing stairs that lead down into a basement. The light at the end of the stairs flickered constantly, further expanding on the creepy atmosphere already built up.

To his left, Clark heard Max's breathing shiver as if she were frightened or cold. He reached out and took ahold of her hand and squeezed gently for comfort. Together, they journeyed down into the basement where they found a locked vault-like door. It was sealed tightly with no way in. Luckily for them, Max so happened to favour a few good guesses worth trying to get them through.

For only a few guesses, fortune favoured them as Max managed to apply the correct combination on her third attempt to allow them to surpass the door. Once inside, the two observed shelves stacked with medical supplies, food supplies and plenty of rations that would take a long time to go off.

Further into the bunker was a photography setup, tripods, cameras, expensive printers, drugs, and folders labelled with girls' names on the spines. Max extracted two folders for them both to look at on a computer desk in front of the shelf of folders.

"Oh no... Katie...? No... You sick bastard..."

"Look. Victoria's is empty. She has to be next. Nathan must be planning to dose her tonight at the Vortex Club party. We've got to warn her."

"Oh God..."

"Clark?" Max gasped and cupped her mouth with both hands. "I-Is that...? No. It can't be."

From the shelf, Clark extracted one with the same name as his sister's on it. His heart began to sink in his chest as that feeling started to overwhelm him once he opened the folder.

The contents of the folder contained photographs of Chloe Price's body. She was illustrated lying on the ground with her eyes shut and her hair a complete mess; clearly demonstrating that her posing was completely non-consensual.

"This can't be real. These are all- these are all posed shots, right? Right?! No way would my sister do something like this! Something's not right about this, man!"

"Clark, look at her face. She's... out of it."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no... Maybe, maybe Nathan paid her a shitload of cash to do this. She probably would have. She was desperate to get money and leave town."

"But why is she being put in the ground like that? Where-?"

It suddenly clicked in Clark's mind.

"The junkyard! Max, we've got to find that spot, now! Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God... Come on, Max!" Clark stormed off, his fists trembling in fear and anger. "MAX!? PLEASE, HURRY UP!!"

The brunette jumped at his raising his voice at her. She hurried along, following him out of the bunker without even considering covering their tracks. Max had to follow Clark, knowing that what they were about to face, he would desperately need her, no matter what.

Another fifteen minutes later and the pair were in the junkyard.

A place where Clark once found turmoil over something that represented loss, and now he was about to go through that phase again...

Slamming his foot on the brakes, Clark jumped out of his truck and jogged through the junkyard towards a few spots he believed was where his sister could've been hidden.

Every passing thought was the same: a dreadful reminder that life never gave Clark or his family a fair go. He feared the worst but only a few splinters of hope kept him sane for the time being. Even Max knew how far gone he would fall if she allowed him to lose control.

"Clark! Slow down!" Max begged as she struggled to keep up with him.

Her blue orbs tagged onto Clark's figure as he sprinted over to one spot and dropped to his knees and used his fingers to claw at the dirt. By the time Max had caught up to him, they dug and dug and dug until they discovered something blue, something plastic.

"Clark, stop! Look!"

The two paused to observe the bag. Max dug her fingers into the bag and pulled it open, but as soon as she did, a foul stench hit them, causing them both to gag and feel their reflux get triggered. The hole they'd dug up revealed the head and sternum of the unidentified victim. Max jumped back to grasp fresh air from the horrid smell pouring out of the hole.

"Chlo...?"

Clark peeked down to identify the victim and alas, his worst fear had come true.

Chloe Price was dead.

Horrified at the sight of his late sister's rotten corpse, Clark noticed her necklace hung around her neck and reached down to pluck it into his care. Max cupped her face again with her dirty hands as she watched her best friend's emotions register the fact that his sister, her other best friend, was gone.

"Oh, Chloe, no, no! NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!! WHY?! WHY HER?! WHY COULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN ME?!" Clark screamed in agony.

He yelled berserkly and punched the ground three times, attempting a fourth when Max grabbed him and hugged him tightly, forcing him to relinquish his clenched fist and accept her embrace. Hot tears ran down their cheeks as the two dear friends mourned for their loss.

"I'm sorry, Clark. I'm so sorry..."

"I failed you... you put your faith in me and I failed you... I'm a horrible brother... I failed you, Chloe... I failed you..."

"Oh, Clark..."

"Hold me... hold me and don't let go. I-I-I-I can't lose you too, Max... You're all I've got left."

Many tears were shed in mourning for the loss of a beloved sister and friend.

If Clark hadn't been consumed by rage, he would have done his sister the decency and report her body to the police, but he was on his own personal mission.

He wanted to kill Nathan Prescott.

#life is strange #max caulfield #warren graham #angst #murder mystery

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chaptr. 56

Trigger warning: suicide, bullying, depression

For those who were given the twisted pleasure of watching Kate Marsh make her rapid descent towards the ground were scarred; but only momentarily. Mixed and shared screams of fright and horror rang out through the shallow air as Kate's body met the ground.

Her angelic figure quickly shifted to a regretful one: from having her arms stretched out horizontally to her left being pulled back and the other subconsciously moving forward in front of her face. It was in the very split second moment that Kate regretted her decision.

Clark was incapable of preventing Kate from jumping off the rooftop. But he was spared the horror of seeing her mutilated body hit the concrete below as Max Caulfield had activated her powers to reverse time, but only to an extent: three attempts to rewind time for a short but extended period of time seemed futile; the strain of prolonging the delay of time forwarding became strenuous and migraine-inducing but through sheer willpower, Max managed to freeze time long enough for her to make her way up to the rooftop moments before Kate jumped.

Upon reaching the roof, Max opened the door and spotted Clark attempting to talk Kate off the ledge. Kate identified the brunette in their company and raised her voice at her.

"What are you doing here, Max?!" Kate shouted. "Max, seriously, don't come near me. I will jump."

"Okay, okay. I'm right here. Kate, please... don't jump."

"Oh Max... I know you want to help me. I love that you stepped up to David, but it doesn't matter now. Nothing matters."

Max daringly took a step forward and expressed that Kate was indeed very important to her - possibly even taking it a stretch forward by stating that she was important to her.

"I do want to believe that," Kate said with a broken voice.

"Kate, your life is still yours. And we can get through this together - let me help."

"I'm glad to hear you worry about me. That makes me feel better."

Clark scoffed and raised his arms up before letting them drop to clap the sides of his legs. "Hey! I'm still right here y'know?!"

Both girls ignored his banter-filled comment and expressed moments when Max devoted her time and focus to Kate when she needed it most, all the while Clark stood by and watched things unfold; things taking random turns that Clark struggled to predict whether things would fall into his and Max's favour and Kate would refuse to jump off the ledge.

"... how can I trust you? What about this morning when I needed your help?" Kate questioned harshly. "I-I can't... my feelings towards you have been very mixed when you told me to do nothing! How can I take you seriously if you won't even help me?!"

"I'm gathering proof that Nathan Prescott drugged you. You have to help me take down Nathan. We can do it, together - you, me, and Clark."

"Do you even have proof?"

"Soon. Then straight to the police. Right Clark?"

The two girls looked over at Clark who stood with his arms folded who had his jaw tightened.

"Sh-Sh-Sure..." Clark grumbled to himself.

Max looked back at Kate and said, "Think of it like we're cleansing Blackwell."

"Max, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up... unless I put myself to sleep. Then everybody at Blackwell can post pics of my body. I'm already on the internet forever. No wonder they call it a web - nothing can ever get out. Like my video... I wish I could go back in time and erase everything. I-I can't get over this, this thing I'm hiding deep inside. No matter how hard I try, I just can't control it. I try to hide it in case my parents find out. I can't let them find out..."

"Find out what, Kate?"

Kate sniffled as more tears streamed down her already wet cheeks.

"I... I-I can't... you'll hate me too." Kate sobbed dramatically.

"You can tell me anything, Kate. I always give you my time and attention, don't I?"

"That's just it. Not all the time! No matter how I behave around you, or-or what I say when you're around, you just never seem to notice, or regard my feelings, Max Caulfield!"

Max furrowed her brows in confused.

Clark studied Kate as he struggled to decipher what exactly the dirty-haired blonde was talking about. Alas, neither could think of a plausible reason until Kate professed it out loud, almost for the whole campus to hear.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, MAX CAULFIELD!!!"

Both Clark and Max were absolutely baffled at Kate's love confession for Max Caulfield. Neither truly considered the concept of the heavily devoted Christian girl being gay. And yet in spite of this revelation, Max felt so blind and guilty for not noticing the symptoms of Kate's behaviour any sooner.

"See?! You never truly cared about me! If you would only just stop daydreaming over Clark and just think about me for once! I thought we had something special... thank you for showing me how wrong I am..."

Kate leaned backwards and closed her eyes as she allowed gravity to suck her off the ledge, plummeting her to the ground below.

Excluding the use of her powers, everything felt like it had slowed down for Max: she watched her friend and admirer slowly disappear from sight, all the while Clark Price sprinted towards Kate. He lost his footing and leaned forward as his steps became increasingly more difficult to maintain balance, only to just miss the ledge by a few inches that his outstretched arm clenched but slightly opened and cramped as he stared at the ledge, mortified.

Max's hand cupped over her mouth and nose to conceal most of her horrified expression, the strength in her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, leaning on one side on the wet floor. One hand kept her sitting upright while the other covered her mouth as she sobbed to herself.

Meanwhile, Clark sat up on his hands and knees and bowed his head in shame and defeat.

After a few minutes to comprehend that they failed to save Kate Marsh, they removed themselves from the roof. On their way down the stairs from the girl's dormitory, Max and Clark walked out the door where they found a blanket concealing Kate's mangled corpse.

Max whimpered and hid her face in Clark's chest, unable to bring herself to look at the consequences of their inactions. Many in the crowd shed tears amidst the heavy rain that poured down on them. Soon thereafter, the crowd dispersed at the behest of the authorities who'd come to investigate the school before the body would be removed and a memorial would be set up to commemorate Kate.

#life is strange #kate marsh #attempted suicide #depression #bullying #max caulfield #blackwell academy #love confession

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deenoss · 1 year

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Dreamcatcher Chptr. 55

Trigger warning: suicide, depression

It was chilly that Tuesday morning.

Clark had been waiting patiently outside of the dormitories, hidden around a corner, watching the yard for his step-father to appear and wander elsewhere. He'd spent weeks studying David's routine: stalking him whenever he could in order to determine the best outcome for whenever Clark decided to do something irresponsible; most of which recurred around visiting his girl friends in the girl's dormitory.

He'd never been one to do this, but smoking had become a habit of Clark's. He was well aware that his girlfriend did it occasionally, but since the start of the month, Clark had picked up on the habit and would smoke whenever he could - purely for stress relief and his anxiety.

After nearly three-quarters of an hour of waiting, Clark finally spotted his bossy step-father wander away from the dormitory towards the main building. Once he was almost out of sight, Clark dropped his cigarette onto the floor and stomped on it, thoroughly extinguishing it with the sole of his foot before he pranced inside the girl's dormitory, explicitly breaching the dormitory guidelines.

Clark Price knew the trouble he'd get into if he were spotted, which was why he was extra cautious making his way around without disturbing any girls in their room or crossing paths with girls unfamiliar to his routine. He'd made sure there was not an audible sound in the halls as he made his way through towards the end rooms, particularly Kate's and Max's.

He decided to approach Kate's room first. Standing outside Room 222, Clark tapped his knuckles on the door and waited to be called inside.

"Come in," a shrill voice spoke.

Wrapping his hand around the door handle, Clark twisted it and pushed on the door, allowing himself to enter the untidy, morbid room before closing it behind him.

"Hey Kate." Clark waved.

The blonde girl perked up and looked over her shoulder, spotting her friend standing at the door. Joyfully, Kate sprung up on her feet and calmly walked over to Clark to hug him.

"Hi, Clark. I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the past couple of days. I've been... busy with something."

Kate frowned as she broke the hug.

"Is it about David Madsen again?" She asked concerningly.

"Oh, no, no. I'm not worrying about him right now. Although, now that you mention it, I think I'm getting closer to finding out what he's hiding in the garage. Problem is, it's hidden in a cupboard with a padlock - can't figure out the right sequence to unlock it."

"You'll figure it out. I know you will."

Clark let an amused exhale and smiled comfortingly at Kate.

"Enough about me. How are you holding up, Katie?"

The weak smile on Kate's face dropped, returning to her grim façade.

"I'm not feeling any better. I'm so scared to leave my room, Clark. I feel so frightened of being seen; afraid to go outside and face people. Even Mr Jefferson or Mr Wells won't help me. But you can... I know you can. You're always here for me."

"Oh, Kate..." Clark sighed on an exhale. "I truly wish I could do something to make everything never happen. If I could only just..."

Kate furrowed her brows together and folded her arms across her chest. "Just what, Clark?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head dismissively at the thought. He noticed a stray tear run down her cheek and raised his hand up to catch it before it could reach her jawline. When she realised it was a tear, she shied away and walked back over to her desk and slumped down in it. Clark followed her over and knelt down on one knee, resting his hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"You will get justice. I promise you that. Victoria Chase will pay for what she did to you. And so will Nathan... that scumbag..." Clark swore vengefully.

"Clark, I know you mean well and everything, but there's something I wanna ask you."

"Ask away."

"Do you... You think Nathan Prescott hurt me after the party?"

Clark flinched back, visibly repulsed at what she said. It was bad enough to think of Kate getting drugged, but to think of something worse to happen to her was a thought that never crossed his mind, nor did he ever wish it did. But now that he thought about it, it made him want to hurt Nathan Prescott even more.

"I'm gonna kill him..." Clark grumbled under his breath.

"Sweetie, no. You can't do that. Killing Nathan won't do any good. You're better than that." Kate argued.

"Am I? He had something to do with my sister disappearing - direct or indirect. You said yourself, he volunteered to help you. And now you're saying he might've..."

Clark stopped himself, more unintentionally as the thought quickly crossed his mind, almost making him feel nauseous and mortified.

"Kate. I love you like you're my own sister. Sitting here and listening to you bring up something that could've potentially happened just makes me more upset knowing that I could've done something to change that outcome. Look, I know I have issues, and taking it out on others isn't logically the best way for it, but can you just let me have this one when I just want to give Nathan what I feel he deserves? Is that too much to ask? It might not be enough to satisfy your desire for payback, but it will do us both good if we just compile evidence to pin against Nathan."

The frown on Kate's face didn't become any heavier, but it only became feather-light for a splinter moment as she raised her hand up and brushed the tips of her fingers along his scar.

"Maybe you should go and talk to Max. Do you think I should go to the police?"

"You can't." He interrupted abruptly.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him, studying his facial expression. "Why not?"

"Because if you do, the police will think you're making a false claim against Nathan."

"But I'm not! He drugged me. I know it!"

"Katie, Katie, sweetheart. I'm not saying it's a bad idea overall, but going to the police with no evidence and only your word to account for it... it won't look good on your part at all. We just need hard evidence to prove Nathan was responsible for drugging you and... you know... Look, just give me the week, and I promise you I'll find something to blame Nathan on. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

Clark smiled comfortingly at her and stood up on both feet, leaning over to give her a kiss on her temple before he motioned to leave her room. Cautiously, he opened the door and poked his head out, staring down both ends of the hall before he crept away on his tippy-toes.

Nobody was around to see him flee Kate's room.

By making his way out of the girl's dormitory, Clark walked normally along the footpath in the direction he last saw his step-father wander.

Reaching into his pocket, Clark drew a cigarette and a lighter and stuck the orange end of the cigarette between his lips and shielded the other end with one hand while the other was used to strike a light with the cigarette lighter that he used to burn the white tip of said cigarette. He then tucked the lighter away and lightly pinched the centre of the cigarette with the middle of his index and middle finger and puffed out smoke from his mouth.

Clark looked at the sky overhead, thoughts running through his mind as to what occurrence would expose itself to hint at the upcoming storm.

It began to rain late that same morning. Clouds had formed over Arcadia Bay and light rain drizzled down.

Inside Blackwell, there was a certain feeling Clark had when it came to being indoors during a rainy day. He could not explain why it felt so significant, but it gave him a nice feeling knowing that of all the rainy days in Arcadia, it was nice to see the town get soaked, as opposed to it facing a bushfire or hot, sunny days. Those who had taken shelter inside the corridors had occupied places on the side of the walkway where most stood and conversed with friends while others sat on the floor, staring at their mobile phones, texting friends to pass the time.

While the rain began to pick up outside, slowly but gradually, Clark Price found himself standing inside the front doors of Blackwell Academy, staring down the hall at a banner promoting the recruitment of students to participate in another Vortex Club party.

He found company with two friends of his, two people whom he grew up with at Blackwell during his experience in theatre and drama. He shared an open conversation between himself, Dana Ward and Juliet Watson. Normally, he would mind his own business or converse with his good friend, Mick, who was yet to be discovered around the same time his sister had gone missing.

"... feel like something's strange going on with her. Every time we speak, she's always talking about someone else. I think... I think Rachel's trying to take a subtle approach at suggesting we have an open relationship." Said Clark unsurely.

Juliet scoffed. "Clark, are you sure she's not just cheating on you?"

"Cheat? On me? After everything we've been through? That's INSANE! Look, I know Rachel. And if she wanted to call it quits with me, she would just say it to my face or just over the phone. Y-You guys don't think she could-"

"Clark!" Another voice sang out.

They all looked in the direction if the voice, where they spotted Max Caulfield approaching them.

"Hi Clark." Max waved sheepishly.

Dana grinned smugly at Clark and waited for him to catch her staring. When he did, he stuck his tongue out and her and drew his focus back to Max. He felt a hand brush his arm when Dana and Juliet took their leave by wandering off to their next class.

"What were you guys talking about?" Max asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing much. Really, it was just about the Vortex party coming up very soon. It was Dana's idea that we dress up as nerds." He responded coyly, rubbing the back of his head.

Max's eyes lit up at the idea put forward by their mutual friend, Dana Ward. While neither of them truly considered attending of their own free will, going simply to pair their Halloween costumes was something neither of them considered.

"I love that idea!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yes! We should totally go, Clark. I know we both kinda missed out last time. So maybe we can make up for it this time... sorta like a date."

If Clark had water in his mouth, he'd spit it out straight away.

"Well, when you put it like that... I don't see the harm in it." Clark agreed with hesitation.

Max beamed with excitement. Her smile broadened and her cheeks turned tomato red.

"You... wanna walk to class together?"

"Sure."

They proceeded to make their way to their Photography class. On their way to class, the two childhood friends noticed a distressing sight: Kate Marsh was talking with her teacher, but she was crying.

They stopped in their tracks and watched from afar, desperately trying to understand what was being said, but it proved difficult from the distance they were at. So they got closer.

"... just don't get it! Will you just leave me alone?!" Kate wailed despairingly.

"You have to talk to me, Kate." Jefferson insisted.

"Why? It's all over. Like me."

"Knock off this martyr crap!"

"What do you want from me?!"

"I want you to be honest."

"Nobody believes me anyway."

"Stop acting so brittle!" Jefferson said more aggressively.

"Unwillingly being on a viral video does that."

"Or, maybe this is your way of getting attention."

"That's really mean, Mr Jefferson. You just don't get it. Nobody does! Nobody..."

When she was no longer able to put up with the torment from somebody she'd hoped she could confide in, Kate Marsh stormed off with her arms folded across her chest. Clark tapped Max's arm twice to gesture to her that he was not going to follow her to class, rather that he would pursue Kate to check up on her.

The Christian girl was quick on her feet as by the time Clark had gone to follow her, she was almost down the hall, about to turn sharply towards the front door. Clark walked quickly, almost breaking into a light jog. He was able to catch up to her making her way down the steps from the front door of the school. Even while it was raining, neither of them were bothered by it.

None of it mattered now...

"Kate! Katie! Hold up!" Clark called after the dirty-haired blonde.

Upon hearing his voice, Kate attempted to pick up her pace a little.

"Go away, Clark! I don't want to talk to you right now." Kate raised her voice dismissively.

"A-ha. I would have to disagree with you on that. You see, we've got plenty to talk about. Starting with what you and Mr Jefferson were talking about."

Kate was at breaking point.

This was the point where she didn't care about what she said as all she could think about doing was finding a suitable method to end her suffering once and for all.

"I SAID: LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Kate snapped.

Through all the years that Clark had spent knowing and befriending Kate Marsh, she never, not once, ever raised her voice intentionally. But this was more than enough for Clark to refuse even attempting to be light-hearted about her angst and to approach things more suitably.

Her straining her voice at Clark at such volume left him mortified at her behaviour. It took a few minutes for Clark to comprehend the fact that he was still standing in the rain, and that he had allowed Kate a few precious moments to escape him so she could reach the girl's dormitory. Even though Kate knew that this would not be enough to stop him, for once, she only wished that David Madsen would slow him down just enough to buy her some time.

By the time Clark snapped himself out of his thoughts, he broke into sprint and ran towards the girl's dormitory as if Kate's life depended on it - which it very well did. He shared no passing thought as to whom he would bump into or the slight physical harm he would bring to somebody or himself as all that mattered right then and there was reaching Kate.

He almost got lost, had it not been for the sound of the door leading up to the roof shutting. Clark's heart dropped in his chest when he pondered heavily as to what Kate was about to do. Without wasting anymore time, Clark ran after Kate and headed up to the roof.

As soon as he was on the roof and he spotted Kate approaching the ledge with her back to him, he screamed out her name.

"KAAATE!!!"

Hearing her name get called in such a dramatic manner frightened Kate out of her skin. She whipped her head around and stared with shocked, beady eyes.

"Go away, Clark! You don't want to be here." Kate ordered with her fragile voice.

"K-K-Kate... step away from the ledge..." Clark stammered trepidatiously.

The rain began to pick up, lubing the tile floor, making it far more dangerous to tread upon; for one wrong step and Kate could fall off the edge - willingly or unintentionally - or she could slip and hit her head on the floor, plausibly cracking her skull.

Down below on ground level, an audience gathered: students in Kate's and Clark's grade and those one below. Everyone on the ground stared in shock and awe at the spectacle above them. The rain provided minimal difficulty in their staring without blinking in hopes of not missing a beat of the moment Kate Marsh dared to commit suicide. Even at the pinnacle of Kate's severe depression and misery, Victoria Chase had drawn her phone to capture the moment Kate Marsh made the decision to jump.

"I can't do this anymore! I can't live like this!" Kate cried in desperation.

Tears mixed with the raindrops that poured down on Clark. Even if he wanted to look away, look away, he could not...

"K-Kate... don't do this... come down from the ledge... I'm begging you." Clark begged hopelessly.

"I'm sorry, Clark. You've done so much for me - and I can't express how grateful I am. But I won't be your burden any longer. Goodbye..."

Turning her back to him for the last time, Kate Marsh looked down at the ground below and slowly, gradually leaned forward.

#life is strange #kate marsh #abuse #bullying #max caulfield #blackwell academy #mark jefferson #depression #Suicide attempt

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