Life is Strange: Butterflies and Wolves

New Life

Max's phone light shone between the trees of the redwood forest late that night while Chloe followed closely behind, her phone running out of battery quickly. Max had previously charged it in order to keep up the navigation app that she was using, which, clearly didn't work out very well, anyway.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a bird?" Chloe tried to reason with what she had heard.

"Of course," she said declaratively. "What kind of bird can speak English?"

Chloe hid a subtle smirk that tilted the left side of her mouth upward slightly. "This one," she uttered, gesturing towards her friend who definitely wasn't in the mood for any shenanigans while going deep into a forest at night time.

As they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, they came into a clearing where a large body of water laid before them, an open moonlit lake. The sounds of frogs, crickets and other creatures chirping and making their distinct noises blended into each other pleasantly. It was a serene moment, and the fear that plagued Max's heart had suddenly disappeared as she took in the environment.

"Now this... this is the kinda thing I'd love to put in my diary," she uttered, slowly taking out her camera and looking through the viewfinder.

Chloe nodded. "This is such a sweet spot for a photo op," she admitted. "And an opportunity to go skinny-dipping," she elongated the last syllable of 'dipping' with a mischievous tone.

Either Max pretended not to hear the comment, or it faded out into the abyss, into the void that was the world outside of her viewfinder. Within those thirty seconds of finding the perfect angle, nothing else mattered. An explosion could've erupted, sending the forest into a burst of flames as its fiery rage attacked and spread, turning all to black dust, and yet Max would be still, her aim steady and her mind focused.

Finally, she clicked in the button and quite quickly, the photo printed out of the front as she grabbed it and waved it slightly before placing it into her bag to let the colour fade in.

"Watching you work is so cool, every time," Chloe expressed, sitting down on a log behind where Max had been standing.

She blushed slightly, but the dark of the night shrouded it. "Yeah, well. I'm just glad that I get to work with you."

"Because we're in a scary, dark forest with voices floating around in California?" she responded sarcastically.

Max shook her head. "No, because you're my best friend. And having the gift to save you has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I get another chance to live with you again, as if no time has passed from when we were kids."

"Don't get all soppy on me," Chloe smiled, putting an arm around Max. "I feel the same, I honestly don't know what I would've done after you, it was Rachel, and then after her it was... no one. Just me."

"We'll always be there for each other, and that's what matters now," Max stated, getting off the log as Chloe's arm fell to her side.

"Be careful of the Blair Witch!" Chloe yelled, making Max jump.

"You suck!" she began laughing after her heart sunk into her stomach.

Just then, they could hear laughing and cheering coming from the other side of the river. Chloe then stood up and slowly walked up behind Max, listening out to hear the voices, but they couldn't quite make out any actual words from their distance from the people.

"C'mon, let's go around," Chloe suggested and the two began to jog around the river which took them about fifteen minutes, even with their small sprint at the start.

When they finally reached the other side, directly opposite from where they had come out into the clearing, they followed a distinct path between the trees that stretched into the midnight sky, reaching for the stars above. It took them deeper into the forest, the earth rising up around the path slowly as the terrain around as it became taller than them, as if venturing into a half-tunnel, the roof missing.

A large redwood log sat idly on the earth to the right while bushes and trees stood on the ground on the left. The path looked like it had almost been dug out, but it was quite large and well-made.

"I wonder if this is some sort of campsite, near this lake," Max whispered over to Chloe.

"Maybe, or it's where the Blair Witch is hiding!" Chloe chuckled as Max looked behind her, as if to see the mysterious being.

"Oh my God, Chloe. Stop," she giggled, yet a sense of nervousness plunged into her as she spoke.

As they followed the path around, a signpost could be seen at the start of a large opening in the woods. A small light shone above the writing on the wooden sign that, in all capitals read "LAKE" with an arrow pointing to where they had just come from.

"Holy shit..." Chloe began speaking, taking the lead in front of Max and jogging into the opening of a large camping area dotted with people, people who didn't look like they were just camping, but people who looked like they were situated there, inhabiting it.

Just when nothing could seem any more strange for them, they then saw two familiar faces- three familiar faces. That of Sean and Daniel Diaz and their dog, Mushroom who wagged her tail, barking with delight while everyone took in their presence. Sean and Daniel's faces suddenly lit up as Finn and Cassidy moved into the clearing, taking a look at the two reasons that everyone had stopped their chatter.

"Max? Chloe?" Sean asked, almost in disbelief at the sight of his old friends.

"Hey, guys," Chloe smiled.

"Well, look who it is," Cassidy beamed back.

Thank you so much for reading Butterflies and Wolves, if you enjoyed the chapter please vote/comment and follow me for updates on the book!