Hellions of Arcadia

Chapter 20: Broken Bones

The sun had fallen quickly.

Chloe Price shivered in her hoodie as she made her way to the convenience store down the street. It was too close to drive, and Chloe really needed the fresh air to relax her nerves. This day, this vision, still didn't feel real. It was all some messy mumbo jumbo in her head. But Max was here to help, she knew that Max had her back no matter what, and that made her feel a little better, kind of.

The store had a dirty sign, obnoxiously bright with LED lights, Chloe squinted her eyes to shield herself from the pain. She pushed the door open and advanced inside, immediately feeling the temperature around her heat up.

A loud buzzer announced her presence, and a distracted teenager from behind the main counter mumbled. "Yeah, we're open," as if she didn't really care, and Chloe paid no attention to it. Removing her hood, Chloe took a look round the store, then moved to the back, where the milk and other drinks were stored.

The whole store was grimy looking, someone didn't take that much care of this place. Items were placed incorrectly along the shelves, which had layers of dust resting on them. Chloe squeezed herself through the small gap between isles as she made her way to the back, and opened the frosty door to grab her milk. She checked every jug for the latest expiry date, then pulled one from where it sat.

Grabbing some other things along the way, such as some chocolate bars, beef jerky, beer, and a rather lewd magazine that Chloe knew Max would be upset with, she went to the front counter to round everything up.

By then, all of the stress from the previous few hours had faded, and Chloe felt somewhat relaxed, back in her own skin. She couldn't wait to get home to her girlfriend and crack open a beer, with some cereal (separately, of course) and enjoy a night of vacation before she went back to driving a bunch of people around for money.

Max always told Chloe that she could do so much more, go back to college and get a degree in science, get a real career. But Chloe had given up on school the first day she skipped a class. 3 weeks after William had died.

Plus, being a driver was awesome. She made her own rules, she was her own boss, and she met some funky people while doing it. Chloe always used the reversal of why Max didn't go to college and get a career herself, but Max talked about money, and how they didn't have enough to sustain college tuition along with rent and groceries. And with Max's stubborn tendencies, she refused to ask her parents for financial help.

After paying, Chloe grabbed the bag of groceries and left the store, lifting her hood up to protect her ears from the cold breeze before making her way back to the apartment where Max was waiting. Just the thought of Max waiting made Chloe walk faster.

Chloe's breath fogged in front of her face, it was definitely getting colder out. Not much longer until winter was here, and the snow began to fall. Chloe loved the wintertime, it was a time for her and Max to curl up together with some hot cocoa.

The fantasy was cheesy, Chloe knew it was cheesy, that's why she never told anyone.

"Price!"

Before Chloe could react to the shouting of her name, she was shoved into the alleyway beside her. She took a moment to catch her footing, she had dropped the grocery bags,the food spilled everywhere.

Rubbing her aching shoulder, Chloe looked around warily. The lighting in the alley was quite dim, the streetlight didn't quite reach all the way in. Whoever Chloe's attacker was, he must know her enough to know her last name, this wasn't a random attack. Chloe squared her shoulders, bent her legs, and readied herself for an attack.

Her attacker finally showed his face, walking into place to reveal himself as someone who should be dead.

"Nathan Prescott?"