Life Is Strange

Chrysalis Part 1

I woke up to the sound of roaring thunder and freezing rain hitting my body. As I opened my eyes I noticed I was in the middle of a dark, foggy forest. "How did I get here? And where exactly is 'here?'" I look around me to try and see where I was. I saw a lighthouse few yards away hidden behind some trees. "There's the lighthouse," I whisper to myself. "I'll be safe there. That's if I make it that far."I tried to stand up and find my way out, but I couldn't stand up. I was stuck in the viscid, wet mud. As I tried to get up I heard a noise behind me. I turned around to see a wolf in the distance. I tried once more to stand up, this time I was capable to get to my feet. I started sprinting down a somewhat visible pathway, but I tripped over a tree root. I turned to look at the wolf, who was now showing its sharp, yellow teeth while slowly walking towards me. As the big wolf got closer and closer, I untangled my leg from the tree root that it got tangled in. I ran and ran, the cold rain striking my face like broken glass and leaving a stinging pain.

After about four minutes of running, I was exhausted. I looked up and found myself on a cliff that allowed you to see the entire city and the sea connected to it. I looked at the huge mass of water. It started swirling in a circle, forming a hurricane, exceedingly fast. The hurricane wasn't far from the city. This monstrosity, I don't think this is a hurricane anymore. It was way too big. This thing reached miles into the sky and was miles wide. I honestly don't know where it starts or ends. It could be endless at both ends for all I know! What ever this thing is, it was about to destroy everything in a matter of minutes.

I noticed that there was something strange about the wind, it seemed to talk. I thought I heard it say my name a few times. "Max.. Max... " it seemed to whisper to me. My hair was blowing into my face so I couldn't see anything. I moved my hair out of my face in time to see a huge tree coming at me at an alarming rate, and then.. It hit me.. Everything went dark. I still heard the wind calling my name, "Max! Max! Wake up now!"

I focused on the voice I knew this voice all too well. It was the voice of my college teacher, Mr. Jefferson who taught photography and its history. I opened my eyes and saw I was in class. "Huh? How did I get here? Was that all a dream? A vision? It all felt so surreal," I thought in my head.

"Hmm?" I accidentally said louder than I meant too.

"One of your fellow classmates seems to be interested in joining the conversation, finally. So Max, please tell me and the rest of the class the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" asked Mr. Jefferson.

"Y-you're asking me? Let me think...Um..."

"You either know this or not, Max. Is there anyone here who knows their stuff?"

"I do." says Victoria,the popular girl who hates my guts and acts like a know-it-all.

"Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created ' daguerreotypes' a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror," she continues and afterwords giving me a dirty look.

"Very good, Victoria. The Daguerreian Process brought out fine detail in people's faces making them...."

I zone out the rest of class till the bell rings.

"Before you all leave don't forget the deadline to submit a photo in the 'Everyday Heroes' contest. I'll fly out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be feted by the art world. It is great exposure and it can kick start a career in photography," reminds Mr. Jefferson.

I grab my stuff off my desk and shove it into my shoulder bag, but before I leave I walk over to my friend Kate.

"Hi, Kate!"

"Hey, Max."

"I hope I didn't embarrass you with my lame answer during class."

"It's fine. It stinks to be sucked into the spotlight."

"Unless you're Victoria."

"She has nothing on you, Max. Well I better get going. See you later"

"Yeah... Me too. Talk to you later."

I walk away from Kate's desk and over to Mr. Jefferson's where Victoria's talking to him. Probably sucking up to him.

"Excuse me? Mr. Jefferson?" I ask.

"Yes, excuse you," Victoria interrupts

"No, Victoria, excuse us. I would NEVER let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture," remarks Mr. Jefferson.

"Do I have to turn it in? I just don't see the big deal."

"Max, you're a better photographer than a liar, and you know that. You have a gift, you do. You have the fever to take images to frame the images of the world only the way you envision it. All you need is the courage to share your gift with other people, and that's what separates the artist, from the amateur."

"Okay,Mr. Jefferson. I understand." I say looking down and walking out of the class room.

In the hallway, I decide I need to go to the bathroom to slash some cold water on my face. So, I put in my headphones and walk there, admiring the hallways full of other collage acquaintances and posters. I get to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror,where someone drew a crown and mustache on it.

"I feel like where ever I go the universe is taunting me in some way," I think to myself.

I splash some water on my face and look at the picture I took in my dorm of me facing the wall covered in pictures I took and with bright lights around it.

"Just relax, Max. Stop torturing yourself. You have 'a gift' at least according to Mr. Jefferson..." I say as I rip the picture in half and throw the shredded pieces  onto the ground.