Life is Strange - One Last Time (Pricefield)

Chapter 8

"You just sat there and watched it all happen! Why didn't you say anything?" I raised my voice as I began to sob, which wasn't helping the situation at all.

"Max, please calm down-" Rachel began to cry, as well, but I didn't really notice it. I was in too much of a panic.

"I can't calm down! The only person I care about is in the hands of a fucking monster!" I held out my hand so I could rewind time so I could try and change what had just happened, but Rachel grabbed me and held me down. "Stop! Let go of me! Let me go!"

"I know you're angry, Max." She stood and grabbed my arms to lift me off the ground and help calm me down, "But you can't use your power, remember? And we can't just sit here, either. Because the longer we wait, the more danger we're putting her in."

"What are we supposed to do? Just show up there and get her out?"

"He won't hurt her, Max. If he has leverage he's not going to hurt her." She paused, "Unless we're too late. We have to get that picture for you."

I began to sob. The thought of Chloe dying, again, hurts to think about. Rachel pulled me into a quick hug, then pulled my arm to help lead me to Chloe's truck.

Rachel opened the passenger door, "Max where's your bag?"

"It's not in there?" I ran to her side, looking around in the truck.

"No," Rachel jogged to the other side of the truck, "Nothing's here. There's no money, her keys are gone..."

"What do we do?"

"Turns out we have to go get Chloe after all. But we have to go fast. The storm comes tomorrow and if we waste any time, we're all fucked."

I nodded, wiping away more of my tears.

"Get in the truck, I'm gonna hotwire this son of a bitch."

+++

The sun set really fast, and Rachel was still trying to figure out how to hotwire Chloe's truck. She mumbled in frustration under her breath as I sat, impatiently waiting.

"You know, you sitting there isn't exactly helping!" Rachel yelled.

"Rachel, we've been sitting here for hours. Don't you think we should try something else, because this isn't helping."

"I know!" She took in a breath, "I know. Just let me keep trying. We only need the damn picture."

I began to lean back in my seat as I heard the car start. "Did it work?"

"Yeah it did. Close your door we have to go." Her shaking hand took grip on the steering wheel. The truck began to move so fast I couldn't tell we started moving. Once we were on the road I felt like my stomach was in my chest. My heart was pounding so hard, I couldn't breath.

We pulled up to the barn and my hands began to violently shake. Rachel grabbed my wrist, then slid her hand into mine. "It's gonna be okay. He's not here. But we should hurry if we want to get that picture before tomorrow."

I nodded as she let go of my sweaty palm. We got out of Chloe's truck and walked to the entrance on the side of the building. I began to shake even more, getting flashbacks of memories being here. My head began to hurt. I felt something drip from my nose. Blood? How, I haven't used my power more than once? I was overwhelmed. I fell to my knees, holding my sore head in my hands. I collapsed.

+++

I tried to lift myself off of the ground, but I wasn't in the barn anymore. I was in the diner. It was mostly empty, except for the person I was lying next to. I looked at the shoes of the person in the booth. They were mine. I looked up at the face looking down at me. It was my face. It was me.

"Look who's back." She chuckled, grabbing my hair and pulling me up to my knees. I screamed in pain, grabbing the back of my head and trying to get her hand off of me.

"Fuck off! You're not me!" I swatted at the hand that wrapped around my hair. It seemed to do nothing.

"You're right, Max. I'm not," She threw me to the ground, "I'm much better than you are. You're useless. Did you even see how you handled that situation with Chloe back at the junkyard? Pathetic."

"There was nothing I could've done! But I'm going to fix it."

"Sure, Max. You believe what you want, but you're worthless. You're going to fail and you're going to be stuck. Jefferson will kill Chloe, and everyone else will be killed by the storm you caused. Nice try, Max, but you're not a hero."

There was a bright white flash, like a camera flash. I was still on the floor, but this time I was in the darkroom. I looked around, my arms and legs were taped up. Jefferson stood in front of me, holding something in his hand. It was hard to make out at first, but with a closer look I could see that it was a spool of thread and a needle.

"Wow, awake already? You really are a fighter, Max." He leaned in closer to me, setting the spool and needle on the table behind him. I looked around more and discovered Rachel and Chloe lying dead on the couch. I tried to let out a scream, but something was keeping my mouth from moving.

"I had to keep you from talking. I don't want you to worry, though. It's nothing too serious, since you'll be dead in a minute."

I moved my bound hands up to my face, my fingers touching my mouth, running them across the stitches that held my lips together. I tried to find an edge of the thread to try and pull it out, but it was knotted really well. I used my fingernails to undo the knot as Jefferson was at the trolley getting the aesthetic. I pulled the thread out of my lips. I winced in pain as I finished pulling it out. I tasted blood in my mouth. I began to bleed all over the white floor.

"God dammit, Max. You're ruining the floor." He walked closer with the needle and I began to squirm. "It won't matter soon anyways. After I get rid of you I'll just clean it after words, along with the blood on my couch from your friends' foreheads." I felt a prick in my neck. Flash.

I was standing now. I was in the bathroom at Blackwell. I heard a gunshot. Chloe. No! Not again!

Flash. Chloe was stuck in the train tracks again. I heard the train whistle over Chloe's screams. I tried to pull her out but it was no use. I stood on the tracks, holding out my hand, trying to rewind out of instinct, but nothing was happening. The train got closer and closer.

Flash. I was in Chloe's room. Not her real room, though. I looked around me at all of the hospital equipment, I looked at my hands that were on the IV. I had just turned it up to eleven. I began to panic, quickly moving my hands away from the machine.

"Thank you, Max." Chloe whispered. "I'm so proud of you for following your dreams. Don't forget about me."

"Never." I said grabbing her limp hand.

"I love you, Max. See you around."

"I love you, Chloe. And I will save you this time. I promise."

Flash.