Afterwards: A Life Is Strange Fan-Fiction <A Choice Story>

Chapter 2

"We should go to the lighthouse." I say to her. "The storm's going to the Bay, so we should be safe here." Hopefully.

"Sure. Just one question though: how do you plan on getting in?" I walk over to the lighthouse door and try to open it. It's locked.

"You can pick locks, right?"

"Sorta. You saw how well that went at Blackwell." If only we could make a bomb here.

"You could give it a try anyway." I say. She walks over to me and kneels down to the level of the key hole.

"Do you have a bobby pin?" She asks. I shake my head no.

"Well fuck. We're not getting in here without a bobby pin."

"Sounds like you want me to find it..." I say. She nods.

"Could ya?" I sigh and start to walk to the truck. Maybe there's something in there. I open it and look around Chloe's side. I slide my hand under the seat, and pull out a few things. The first thing is a condom wrapper. Gross Chloe! I hope I don't find the actual condom. The second thing is a picture. It's a picture of Rachel. I'm assuming Chloe took it. I don't know why else she would have it. The third thing is...a bobby pin! I wonder if that was Chloe's. She hasn't used a bobby pin in years, I don't think. Maybe I'm wrong. Of course, it could be Rachel's. Doesn't matter, we need to get into that lighthouse. I walk back over to Chloe, who's sticking her thumb nail into the key hole.

"I found a bobby pin." She takes it and starts trying to pick the lock.

"This might be a little bit." She says. "Be ready to find another one if I fuck up." She continues trying to open the locked door. I do a full three-sixty spin out of boredom, by placing my left foot down and spinning myself around,  my right foot off  of the ground. Everything here still looks the same, except for the sky, which is very dark. I guess the storm's severe wind and rain hasn't affected anything up here. I start to walk down the path we came from. Im getting a major déjà vu feeling as I look around. This is exactly what it was like in my dream. I guess it wasn't a dream, more like a vision. I walk down some more, and see a large tree that's fallen down. It's slightly on fire, despite the heavy rain and wind. It must have been hit by lightning or something. I walk over to it. Huh, it's so hypnotizing. I just stand there, staring at it.

"Yo Max, I did it!" Chloe yells. Her voice snaps me out of it, and I run back up to her. "Were you trying to run away from me?" She jokes.

"No, I just got a little bored."

"I didn't think I took that long." She says. "Doesn't matter. I got it open now. Ladies first."

"Aww, you're so kind." I joke. I push the door open. It's completely dark. I walk in, and the door slams shut violently. "Chloe? Where are you?" I'm alone in the middle of a dark lighthouse. This is fucking great. I turn around and go back to the door. I reach out to open it.

"Did I scare ya, Max?" Chloe says while shaking me from behind. I jump, and my heart beats like crazy.

"What the hell Chloe?! Of course you did!" She laughs. I can barely see her. Her laughing just adds to the creepiness.

"Oh chillax, Max. I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"That's not the best way to do that you know."

"Well, I found the light switch while I was sneaking around, so something good came out of it." She walks over to the wall and flips a switch. Everything becomes bright as the large lights above us turn on. The power is still working? Maybe there's a backup generator in here somewhere. We're in a relatively small room, with a stone floor and a wooden ceiling. It's a pretty comfortable place, with a table and some chairs off to the side in a kitchen looking area, full of things in a normal kitchen, like a refrigerator, a stove, a dishwashers, and a few counters and cabinets. There's also a small TV on a wooden crate, and a comfy looking black leather chair close to the the TV. A tiny red rug lays right in front of the door. Does someone live here? "Wow, a tiny TV. Whoever lives here must be pretty fucking rich." She jokes.

"It's actually pretty comfortable. I wouldn't mind living here." It would be cool to be a lighthouse owner. You could meet new people, and determine weather or not they make it to the shore during a dangerous storm. I'm not that evil. Plus, pirates have to help each other out.

"I wouldn't like it. I'd rather be out sailing the seven seas, plundering small villages, and making people walk the plank!" I laugh.

"I'm pretty sure there are more than seven seas in the world."

"Well, I guess the explorers didn't do very well at counting. I bet I could've done better." She says while walking around the place, then sitting down in the black chair. "Hmm, I like this chair. I am a queen, and this is my throne." She lays down on it, putting her legs over the armrest. It is a pretty nice chair. "How about you look around for a little bit. I'm going to see if this TV'll work." That's what I always do. Why can't I be the one to mess with the TV? I guess Chloe gets special captain privileges or something. I walk into the kitchen. It just seems like a normal kitchen. I open the refrigerator, and see nothing in it. Empty, I guess. There must have been some really hungry person. I walk back to Chloe, and I hear something under me. It sounds like the wood is different or something. I look down and see a little cellar door.

"Hey Chloe, I think I found something cool." She peeks her head over the chair and looks at me.

"What?" I point down to my shoes, and she looks down.

"Whoa, a trapdoor!" She gets up and walks over to me. "I wonder what's down there. Treasure? Dead people?"

"I doubt it's either of those." It would be kind of cool to find that stuff though. The treasure, not the dead people. "I hope it's not locked." I get down on the floor next to it. Chloe does the same.

"I could pick it...probably. Maybe I just got lucky with that door."

"It's worth a try." I say. She reaches down and pulls the door open with ease.

"Or I could just open it." We both look in it, and see a ladder that seems to go on endlessly, into the dark. She goes down first.

"Watch your step." I warn.

"Thanks, but I think I-oh shit!" She falls backwards and off of the ladder. A loud thump can be heard shortly after.

"Damnent Chloe, what happened to being careful?" I start to go down, being careful with each step.

"Well, I think I'm ok." She says. "I'm not dead, so that's a good sign." I make it down to the bottom, and find the light switch next to the ladder. I flip it, and light fills the tiny room, not as much light as the first room though, it's dimmer in here. "Paint me like one of your French girls." She says, laying on the bed, posing for me. She must have landed on it, thank god. "Or take a picture. Your choice." I pull my camera out of my bag and snap a picture of Chloe. It prints out, and she jumps up and grabs it. "That's a good picture. It'll make you famous, I can see it now." I laugh.

"I'm sure it will."

"You could call it Deep Blue, or something artsy like that." She yawns. "All this posing has got me worn out." She lays back down on the bed, and I lay down next to her.

"I wonder who lives here, and I wonder if they're ok with us sleeping in their bed." I look over at Chloe, who's just staring up at the ceiling.

"Who knows." She says quietly. "Let's hope they're still alive, but then again, maybe they won't wanna live after what's going to happen." Fuck, that turned serious really fast. She turns and faces me. "Do you wanna turn the light off? We should probably get some sleep." I get up and turn the lights off, then join Chloe back in bed. I don't even know how it's possible to sleep with everything that's happening outside. Thank god this thing is soundproof. But still, the sheer thought of what everyone down there is going through is enough to give me nightmares, if I ever fall asleep of course. I guess I should at least try. I close my eyes, and soon after, I drift into a warm slumber.
....................
"Max, we gotta go. Come on." Chloe says, and then proceeds to shake me.

"What?" I say still half asleep.

"Com on! We have to get down there!" She gets up and turns the lights on. I sit up and am immediately blinded by the sudden flash of light. She starts to climb up the ladder. I get up and follow, still feeling like I'm asleep. We get up to the top and run outside.

"Oh my god." I say. The whole town lays in ruin.

"Fuck! We have to get to the Two Whales."
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