Author's Preface
Several hours since Max woke from her coma, the hospital building seemed to be pulling itself together in no time. Nurses were speed walking past the various rooms and offices as opposed to sprinting while the veteran doctors regained some sensibility that was lost previously.
Outside however, the brooding clouds had yet to clear, the weather still adamant on making a hassle for the Press, still skulking out front like vultures refusing to be scared off until they scavenged their meal, or at least got a lick of it.
All these reporters were much too eager to get their scoop on perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime miracle; there was no way they would let this opportunity slip.
Chloe looked down upon those flocks with contempt, knowing how badly they were waiting to get their chance to jab their all microphones down her best friend's throat and give her more to be stressed about.
Too tired to make a commentary about their bullshit, however, Chloe instead closed the blinds and drifted back to Max's bed where her parents were still pouring their hearts all over her and serenading her with their love and gratefulness.
"Are you sure you don't need anything else, dear?" Her mother asked, her hand over hers affectionately.
Max, sitting up on her pillow, nods indefinitely, her throat too sore to answer verbally.
"You had us worried to death." Her dad stated.
Max murmured while nodding, as if to try and say, " I know. "
"We're kinda scared to leave you alone again."
"Don't worry, Ryan." Chloe butted in. "I won't bite her..." Yet . Chloe and Max shared knowing looks and then smirked.
Finally, Max cleared her throat to make a request. "I... need t—to... pee."
Immediately, Chloe angled around the bed while Ryan and Vanessa helped her off the bed onto her feet; her balance was wonky like before, but able nonetheless.
After Max had her leashed IV handed to her so that she could walk around with it, she gently pushed her parents away, wanting to help herself, even though her head was still a little feverish.
Fuck, I'm still aching all over! It hurts!
Max tried not to show the pain in front of her parents, but Chloe knew her better than anyone else, having witnessed firsthand the true horrors that her powers and psyche put her through. Instinctively, she took the girl's arm, insisting mutely to help her to the bathroom.
Chloe allowed Max to take as much time as she needed to as she shuffled across the mopped floor; she was like a granny making her baby steps.
When they made it to the doorway, Chloe prepared to leave her to her business when she was hooked back by one of her fingers. She turned back to find her glinting blue orbs pleading with her not to go.
Max was about to open her mouth, only to have a finger put over her lips; Chloe understood immediately and looked back to the other Caulfields behind them.
"Um, guys?" She started awkwardly. "Can Max and I have some one-on-one time, please?"
The parents looked at each other for a bit, slightly perplexed by her choice of words, but then nodded, much to her relief. "We'll just be outside." Her mother said, and so they left the room.
Chloe then brought Max inside the bathroom and locked the door behind them, sensing more of her reason for her company.
Chloe had unconsciously slowed her flight, after hearing Rachel's warning to Max, weighed down by the fear of what she was going to tell them next.
"How fatal?"
No, Max! Don't ask that question! I don't want to know! I just got you back!
They could both feel Rachel's hesitation as she proceeded to explain. "There's something I eventually found out about our time powers while I was knocked out inside that globe... when you became an old lady." No one liked where this was going. "Actually... I think I've known for a while without realizing it." She heaved in a breath deep enough to hold an ocean. "You know how you get nosebleeds from rewinding too much?"
" Duh ." Answered the other two girls in unison.
"The same thing's happened to me as well."
"Is that where your excuses of getting into fights with other ruffians and jealous Queen Bs came from?" Chloe interposed bluntly.
Rachel didn't reply, guilty as charged.
"I always wondered how your face maintained its oh-so-flawless oval complexion."
Rachel sighed, resigned; she hoped this wouldn't lead to another argument as she hastily returned to the topic. "Regardless, there's a reason it always happens."
"Go on." Max prompted.
"Each time I either bled or collapsed after fooling around with my powers, I felt a bit of me eat away, and I'd come back feeling lesser than I was... as if part of my life had been eaten away."
"What are you saying?" Chloe insisted, her voice quivering. "Just get to the point already."
"I think I know what she's talking about." Max spoke suddenly, reeling all the attention now. "I've felt that way too, the worst of it being in the diner."
In her head, the pieces all came together. It clicked when she forced herself to go back moments ago when she was that dried-up old lady; it all made sense now.
With this conclusion, she decided to be straightforward. "Every time I use my powers to save other people or completely change destiny... I shorten my own life... don't I?"
Slowly, Max turned to see the sombre faces of her friends, Chloe's looking especially distraught like she had been blown to the gut by a pipe.
"It had to be what killed me." Rachel acknowledged. "I'm sure of it."
"Hell no! Hella fucking no! That's not true!" Chloe shouted, picking up her wing speed to an aggressive pace. "I just got you back... damn it!" She was fighting tears for perhaps the thousandth time now, the dread of losing her friend raining down on her like icicles.
Deep down, she knew it to be true, despite how badly her worn emotions tried to dissuade her.
"How do I stop it, then?" Max then asked, keeping her cool for Chloe's sake.
"Max!" That surprised Rachel. "B—But I told you it was dangerous!"
"Yeah, but didn't you come all this way to help me get rid of this power?"
Rachel, at a loss for words, nodded while looking away from her.
"Then tell me!"
Nodding a second time, she did just that. "You may have to find somewhere quiet where you can be alone, and below a sky. Once you do, you'll have to focus your powers to a point where your body can no longer hold them back."
"Hold the fucking phone!" Chloe interrupted, again . "You just told us that using her powers risks killing her, and now you want her to try killing herself!?"
"Let me finish!" Rachel shouted back. "I did say it was going to be fatal."
Max squeezed Chloe's hand, prompting her to keep quiet and let her continue.
"Once your body reaches that limit... that point of no return... you'll have to oust it out with everything you got, no matter what!"
"But what if it latches to another person? Like what you did to me ?"
"It won't!" Rachel declared. "Because this time, they'll be disappearing with me! Every ounce of this curse ... I'll be taking it all back so it can die with me!"
Max and Chloe froze; the latter's wings flapping automatically as that last message sunk in.
"It's your choice, however." She then added. "Either risk burning the end of your life away and save everything, or you can just live the rest of your life as a normal hipster. No matter what your choice is, it's fine. I'll be right here."
"What are you thinking, Max? Talk to me."
Chloe was squatted in front of Max, who was seated on the toilet, her head weighed on her hands, supported by her elbows.
With only them in this small space, there was nothing left to distract the remaining time-bender from the headache burdened by her current dilemma.
All that pain... that trauma... the nightmares... they were caving in on her like rocks. Despite being awake and alive, she was not truly free.
Finally, Max allowed herself to cry, to completely break loose all her bottled emotions that were kept in her vegetative state. Her screams echoed off the tiled walls. Chloe wrapped herself around her and rocked her again like she did with Rachel.
To see her rock crumbling like this destroyed her. Now she needed to be her rock, her guardian; she would protect her with her life, whether it was worth it or not.
But there was still the elephant in the room they had to deal with, and Max had yet to make her decision... her ultimate choice.
"I... f—fucking hate myself!" Max choked out. "I don't wanna do this anymore! I DON'T WANNA!"
"Look at me." Chloe's eyes narrowed in grit as she forced Max to face her. "It's only your choice. Rachel said it herself. You can forget that you ever got these powers and move on."
"Powers?" Max frowned darkly. "More like a curse ." She wiped her face and calmed herself so she could discuss this properly. "I've been cursed from the day I first used these powers since Rachel dumped them on me."
"You can't blame Rachel."
"Of course I don't! It's just..." Max trailed off, losing her words, and scoffed in frustration. "I'm such a fucking mess."
Another minute of silence filled the bathroom until Chloe decided to prod her again.
"What do you want to do, Max?"
Max closed her eyes, craned her head up to face the ceiling, and held it there, resulting in a small click from the bones of her neck.
Chloe waited impatiently for her answer, hoping to God that what her gut figured it would be was wrong. Whatever decision she was about to make, Chloe wouldn't be able to stop her.
Finally, Max gave her final answer. "I need to go up to the roof outside."
No!
"I made a selfish choice once."
Please, God. No!
"This is the least I can do to make up for it." Max chose to condemn her lifespan for the greater good .
Devastated, Chloe shot up to fist the door, the banging sounds amplified in this tight area. She knew it; her gut was right.
Max got up off the toilet to try and calm her but was afraid to lay a finger and cause another trigger. She chose to say nothing until her friend shortly tired herself out and was left panting with her head pressed against the flat wood.
"Why...?" She whimpered. "Just... why ?"
Gently, Max summoned enough courage to turn Chloe around. Once they were face to face, the shorter girl cupped her cheeks, stood on her toes, and brought their lips into a longing embrace.
"N—No." Chloe tried to fight it; she didn't want this to be her goodbye kiss. Max, however, refused to yield and strengthened her kiss. The taller girl goon gave in and hugged her, running her hands all over her back and sides.
Don't let this end! Stay here! Stay with me!
They quickly broke apart. Max smiled at the punk, biting her lip. Chloe could only chuckle; she looked so adorable. Their smiles soon faded.
"Chloe... it's time."
Agreeing with dread, Chloe nods slowly before a knock on the door jolts them.
"Everything alright in there?" Vanessa's voice called to them from outside.
"Yeah!" Max answered, trying to sound cheerier than normal. "We were just making out!"
When no reply came, they were both able to let out one last laugh.
When Max was sitting back on the side of her bed, Joyce returned with David to check on her as well, which caused the girl to tense up.
Earlier, Joyce hadn't spoken a word to her since she came out of her coma, even though she appeared as concerned for her wellbeing as everyone else. Chloe had to admit to telling her the truth about her time travel back to the day William died. Max wanted to kill Chloe, but she neither had the strength nor energy, so she resorted to forgiving her.
As Chloe's mother drew closer to her, Max feared that she would hate her for killing her husband and best friend's father. What she didn't expect was for Joyce to squat in front of her and give her a warm hug.
"How are you feeling now?" She was asked lovingly.
Max paused a bit in surprise before answering. "Better."
When they pulled apart, Max looked into the woman's eyes, scraping for words to offer her the right apology.
"I—I'm so sorry, Joyce."
"For what?"
"For..." Max swallowed and leaned closer to whisper. "For William."
Joyce immediately shook her head and smiled. "Dear, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. You had no control over it."
"B—But I..."
Joyce hushed her with a finger. "You mustn't blame yourself. William's death was not your fault, and you did the right thing. I still love you very much, Max. You saved my baby girl. That's all that matters now."
Tears leaked down Max's face as she too smiled. "We saved each other , actually."
Chloe laughed along as the two embraced once more.
"Thank you for coming back to us when we needed you most." Joyce suddenly said. "You mended us when we couldn't do it ourselves. You saved us too."
Max shied away and hid her face in mild embarrassment. "Oh, stop!"
"It's true." Chloe said. "You're an Everyday Hero!"
"So... you're not mad?"
"No." Joyce shook. " Never ."
The woman concluded her statement by enveloping her hands in her own. Max took it all in as relief washed her all over.
This moment of closure would stay this way when everything all at once was still around the girl. The slight whistle of the air, the ambience of work from outside, it all went dead as Joyce, David, and her parents all froze in front of her again.
Realizing that time had frozen again somehow, Max spun around, panicked, until she found Chloe, still animated, appearing just as perplexed.
"Max? Are you...?"
Max shook her head. "I'm not doing this!"
" I did."
Max and Chloe shot their heads up when they heard Rachel's voice resonating with them again.
"Rachel..." Max huffed; she didn't believe she would ever hear from her again. "What are you doing?"
"I'm freezing time so you can do what you're going to do without any interference."
Understanding completely, Max nodded while Chloe turned cold, knowing what was about to happen.
She lingered for a bit as Max got up by herself and started out the door to the hallway, but not before kissing her parents' on the cheeks. Chloe eventually forced herself to follow after her.
The walk through the frozen hallway was slow like a death march, Chloe tailing behind Max like a death row convict being escorted to her execution.
There was every chance to turn back and change her mind, but Max wouldn't let her will falter; she was going to see this through to the end, with Chloe right beside her.
Once they were on a rooftop, Max went to the edge looking over the main parking lot to see the frozen landscape of the trees residing beyond, completely ignoring the press below that appeared like chess pieces.
"Rachel?" Max spoke to the air. "Do you think there's a chance... even if my life gets shortened ...?"
" Yes." She was answered. "You'll still have time... just not much left, depending on how this goes."
"Will I have years ... or months ?" Max's chest got heavy thinking about that; she felt like a cancer patient being told of her diagnosis and awaiting to hear her life sentence.
" I... don't know." Rachel said, hesitantly.
Max sighed and hunched, dissatisfied with that answer. "Even if I make it through this, do you think my life will ever be normal again?" She finally shifts her attention to the new crew. "Everyone in the world pretty much knows what I can do."
"Fuck them." Chloe shouted, stepping up next to her. "Who cares what they think? So they know you have God-like powers! We'll take them on if they try getting to you! You and me, as one!"
" All three of us." Rachel added.
" Hella right!"
Max snickered before returning to the middle of the empty space of the top and took in a few deep breaths to prepare for what she was about to do, Chloe staying close to her as she went.
Before she could begin, there was one last thing she wanted to do. She spun around to embrace Chloe with all her might, and then joined their lips in a deep kiss; both knew very well that this could be their last moment together.
Once they pulled apart, Chloe allowed her hand to slip loose from Max's wrist, unable to let go on her own. She backed far enough away while keeping her gaze on Max, her throat hardening every second.
Max too didn't want to take her gaze away as her mouth began to quiver at the sheer fright.
Finally, she opened her mouth to say, "I love you. Don't ever forget about me."
"Never."
"Tell everyone I love them."
With a sniffle, Chloe gave her the nod. "I'll always be with you, Max."
Mirroring her head motion, Max stood her legs apart and flexed her fingers and shoulders, and then looked straight ahead where she was facing.
"I'm ready."
With that, Max clenched her fists as hard as she could until they were shaking, her fingernails digging deep into her palm while she hunched over and bent her knees.
She breathed hard and began to groan hard like she was lifting a barbell. Her face turned red and veiny.
Chloe subconsciously rooted her feet to her to avoid any attempt to stop her; Rachel would probably just freeze her anyway if she tried.
Finally, Max's body began to vibrate as it rippled out this glowing yellow energy that grew brighter all around her as she progressed. Her gown flapped as the air was pushed out from beneath, mainly her legs, and blew towards Chloe.
The stillness that Rachel had over time collapsed again, causing the storm to resume and thunder down at them.
Things were only going to escalate from here.
Rain started pelting them when a low distorted hum boomed as the whole rooftop began to quake.
Max continued straining herself further as she pushed her hands out beside her, like forcing them through thick gel while straightening her back again; all her muscles, particularly her calf ones, were threatening to pop already, having tensed them to their limit.
Tears broke from both girls' faces, despising everything they had suffered, Max being tortured physically while Chloe was tortured emotionally.
For Max, her head was being branded like an iron, her eardrums were threatening to explode, her throat was stuffed with razorblades, her heart was being battered like a punching bag, and the membrane of her lungs was thinning while the rest of her body, bones and muscles, became hard like stone ready to crack.
She wanted to die from all this exertion already.
The clear sign of her limit came when blood flushed out from her nose, her eyes, her mouth, and even her vagina, everywhere that blood could leak out; it was almost like she was getting ready to explode from within.
She let out a croaked scream to the heavens. This was it, her breaking point.
At that moment, streaks of lighting flashed in the clouds above, as if directly responding to her cries.
This is it!
This was the moment. She could feel the life being drained from her, promised years burning away the span of her life like a cigarette.
" Max..." She heard Rachel's broken voice whisper in her ears. "You can let go now..."
Through the pain, Max managed to close her eyes softly as she recalled the best and worst passages of her life.
Playing pirates with Chloe as kids.
Let go...
Celebrating each other's birthdays.
Let go...
Standing at Chloe's side at her dad's funeral.
Let go...
Saying their goodbyes before she left for Seattle.
Let go...
Growing up in the new city like a lost puppy.
Let go...
Returning to Arcadia Bay, no different from the person she was before she left.
Let go...
Walking through Blackwell University for the first time.
Let go.
Making friends with Warren.
Let go.
Meeting Jefferson ...
Cringe.
Making enemies with Victoria and Nathan.
Leave it.
Seeing Chloe for the first time again in years.
Cherish it.
Fooling around with her powers in the junkyard.
Saving Kate from jumping off the rooftop.
Comforting her in the hospital.
Arguing with Chloe in her truck.
Watching her die.
Saving her life many times over.
Swimming together in the pool.
Being trapped and saved from the dark room.
Their slow dance leading to their kiss in the ruined Two Whales was especially at the forefront of her memories.
Let go.
Opening her bloodshot eyes again, Max looked over to Chloe one last time and threw her the saddest yet cutest smile she ever donned.
"Thank you, Rachel." She muttered. "Thank you for letting me save Chloe."
With that, she thrust her hands high, as if lifting a big boulder, and allowed all the cosmic energy built up inside her to shoot up into the sky.
All the reporters down below swayed their focus up to the roof and directed all their cameras to this bright golden beam piercing the clouds, none of them able to see what was causing it from where they were however.
Chloe shielded her eyes from the blinding beam until it settled again. She took her time afterwards to lower her arm and waited for the mist around them to part. When it did, there she saw Max at the center, still locked in that hailing pose, breathing heavily.
Max's arms dropped back to her sides like a severed puppet and began to lean on one heel, threatening to lose balance.
"M—Max...?" Chloe began to inch towards her friend.
Max looked back to Chloe with a weak bloody smile, one eye more open than the other, and then started to lose balance.
"MAX!"
Despite the surface being wet from the rain, Chloe sprinted across her distance to catch the girl in the safety of her arms, not caring if she herself got injured.
She slumped to her knees and laid Max on her lap and desperately tried to shake a response out of her without being too aggressive, but she was panicking now.
Max was still conscious, as indicated by her moans, but her eyes were glazed and looking miles ahead at nothing.
"Max, talk to me please!" Chloe tapped her face gently yet hastily. "Don't do this to me, baby! Please, God! No!"
Right then, several doctors and personnel came bursting through the doorway of the staircase, having figured out where they inexplicably vanished to.
Their parents shortly darted out through the rain and all froze at the horrid sight of Chloe cradling a bloodied Max before quickening their pace.
"No, God. Please." Vanessa broke at seeing her daughter. "That's my daughter!"
The hospital personnel, doing their jobs, had to restrain the frantic mother and father to let the doctors pass through to do their job.
Chloe broke down in sobs and screamed up at the sky. She wanted to curse God, first for taking her father, then Rachel, and now Max.
"C—Ch—Chloe..." Max stuttered, pulling a gasp from the other girl, hope rushing back.
Is she alive!?
"It's... finally over... isn't it?"
"Y—Yes!" Chloe nodded furiously. "You did it, Max! It's finally over."
Facing up at her friend, Max bared her teeth and giggled, which quickly caused her to cough.
"I'm... so... glad..."
A doctor intruded on the moment by attempting to pull Chloe away. "I'm sorry, but we have to save her while we still have time." He said.
Nodding understandably, Chloe lowered Max's head to the concrete as she got up to let the staff do their job. She loomed over the scene, praying for her life.
Please make it through this. I can't live without you!
Before losing consciousness again, Max squinted up the the sky to see the grey clouds parting in silence, the fresh blue able to show itself once more, and allowed a deep sigh to escape.
"Goodbye. I wish we had more time."
The storm had finally passed.