Once I was inside the bathrooms, heart pounding furiously, gun cold in the back waistband of my pants, I took a deep ragged breath. I focused on the photograph clutched tightly in my fingers and prayed that this would work one last time. My eye was pounding beneath my eyepatch and I struggled to blink away the bright colours flowering in my good eye's vision, as I felt the familiar tugging sensation of going back in time.
A small gasp alerted me to to my success, a small figure was holding a Polaroid camera, a blue butterfly photograph blooming into colour from the bottom of it. Her face was damp with tears and I knew I was at the right time. Movement to my right caught my eye and I watched the same butterfly fly out the window above.
Quickly I pulled the backpack off my shoulders and shoved it towards her to take. Max was looking at me in terror and confusion, but took the backpack. I put a finger to my lips, signalling her to be quiet while I moved to lean again the stall beside her out of sight, trying desperately to calm my heartbeat and breathing. I started counting the seconds.
The door silently opened at three seconds as Nathan Prescott entered and started talking to himself.
I'd gotten to seven seconds when the door slammed open, and a familiar voice started yelling. A pain of guilt cut deep into my chest as I thought of Chloe. Max examined me curiously.
When Nathan started yelling back as Chloe, Max stiffened, and I reached across her to keep her in place against the wall. The last thing I needed was this all to go to shit because Max jumped out before me.
Max looked up at me and I mouthed a "stay here" I pleaded with my eyes. She glanced down at the blue butterfly photograph that had fallen to the floor, and looked back at me with some kind of recognition, then nodded.
"What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!"
I jumped out from behind the stall yelling "Hey!"
Nathan spun around, and everything slowed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max cover her mouth with her hands, I saw Chloe's confused expression, and I saw Nathan's fear as I heard a deafening crack of the bullet leaving the barrel.
I didn't feel anything at first, but the click-clack of the gun being dropped to the floor made me look down at the blooming blood across my chest. I was less painful than I thought it would feel, just kind of warm.
I stumbled backwards a bit, more dizzy from seeing that much blood coming out of me than anything. My back hit the wall, and I slid down slowly, noticing suddenly the heat increasing from my chest, and the harder it was getting to pull in a breath.
Pressure was applied to my chest, Max desperately telling me to stay with her, but I could barely hear her over the thundering of blood in my ears and the increasing burning pain in my chest. Chloe asks what to do in a high pitched voice, Nathan's form on the ground but I couldn't breath.
I tried to speak but it only came out quiet and covered by a fit of coughing, thick warm blood came out my nose and ran down my face. My vision was darkening as I struggled to inhale, a huge pressure on my chest, and I only managed to choke on more of my own blood.
Sounds started fading, my vision was dark and I could do nothing but lie there as I started to lose feeling of my body and fade into nothingness, hoping that I accomplished my goal.
I had saved Chloe, and the future of Arcadia Bay.
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Paying the Price - Chloe Price x Reader a Life is Strange Fanfic
Fanfiction***I must have fallen asleep, because when I awoke the sun was starting to set and I could hear someone trying to start my motorbike. I jumped out of the rusted car and grabbed the baseball bat that I'd dropped on the ground on the way to the car. I...
