Chapter Text
Chloe took a slow drag from cigarette as she sat on the rickety old bench that had been beside the lighthouse for as long as she could remember. Her blue eyes stared intently at the sight of her hometown that lay in shambles below the cliff, trying desperately to keep her mind off of the queasy feeling that overtook her stomach when she thought of all the people that had been unable to escape. What if her mom hadn’t made it out? What if she’d died alone in that shitty diner?
Chloe grunted angrily, shifting herself so that she was perched on the edge of her seat, made herself focus on the drying mud below. Her eyes traced the imprints made by her boots several times as she steadied her breathing. She had no way of knowing if Joyce had survived or not, and sitting around and wallowing in her self-pity wouldn’t change anything.
She reached into her pocket to pull out her cellphone, swiping through to see if she could find a signal. There wasn’t of course, there hadn’t been ever since that beast of a tornado knocked out the power lines.
Chloe stilled her hand as the ‘Photo Album’ app caught her attention. She chewed on the bottom of her lip, wondering if she could stomach looking at the pictures of her family, until a sharp Ping of a low battery message disturbed the silence and caused her tensed body to jump in surprise.
“Damn it.” Chloe muttered, shoving the device back into her pocket. She pondered what her next move should be. She had managed to convince Max to stay put for the last couple of days, but the small amount of emergency food that she kept in her truck was almost empty, and it wasn’t likely the two of them would find food up here. They would have to go back into town, through the ruins of the chaos they were responsible for.
She flicked the remainder of her cigarette butt to the dirt before standing up to stretch. It had to be nearly one in the afternoon by now, and since there was no indication that the storm would return, she decided it would be best to grab Max and make their way back into town. They could look for their belongings and, with any luck, find some survivors.
A small yawn escaped from her mouth as she shuffled through the dirt. She was vaguely aware of just how silent and empty the forest was; the absence of birds chirping or flitting through the trees gave the woods an eerie feeling.
She made her way over to the dark entrance of the lighthouse, stopping just outside the doorway. Chloe eyed the lock she’d knocked off the morning after the storm, the long rusty remains of the doorknob sat in the grass. The lighthouse was ancient, but made for a decent temporary shelter.
“Max?” Chloe started, knocking softly on the door to get her friends attention. “Are you up?”
No response.
Sighing quietly, Chloe stepped into the building and looked around. Once her eyes had adjusted to the dim light she was able to see her friend cuddled up in a ball under the stairs. The same place she’d been for most of the last few days. Chloe stooped underneath and began to gently shake the other girl’s shoulders, telling her to get up.
Max jumped at her touch, blue eyes wide as she looked around frantically. Once Chloe came into focus, her body slowed and she began rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Chloe? What’s going on?” Max mumbled as Chloe scooted back from the small space.
“Here. You need to eat.” Chloe said as she tossed the last granola bar into her friends lap. “You can eat while we walk.” Max stared blankly at her.
“We need to head into town.” Chloe explained. “We’re almost out of food and I… I need to see if anyone made it.
Max nodded as she stood to join Chloe, wobbling slightly on her stiff legs. The blue haired girl stepped over quickly and grabbed onto Max’s arm to help steady her, pretending not to notice the embarrassed blush that grew on Max’s face. Once had Max regained feeling in her limbs, the pair began to make their way down the wooded trail in silence. Chloe kept an eye out for various fallen branches and slippery patches of mud, having to grab onto Max’s hoodie more than once to prevent the seemingly exhausted girl from falling over.
Chloe was growing increasingly worried over her friend. The photographer had barely talked to her over the last few days (granted, she’d never been a chatterbox, but still…), and she had slept almost the whole time. When she was awake, Chloe would catch her staring blankly at a wall.
She wanted to talk to Max about her decision, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. But she knew that they would have to discuss what had happened at some point, and she was terrified Max would blame her. She was terrified that Max regretted letting Chloe live, exchanging her life for however many had died in the storm. She was just waiting for Max to turn around and scream at her, tell her to fuck off to whatever hole she’d crawled out of and never contact her again.
But the shouting never came. Not even when Chloe had become so wrapped in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the jutting root until Max tripped over it and stumbled forward, catching herself just before she hit the ground.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” Chloe rambled as she hurried to help Max stand up. Max mumbled something along the lines of ‘its ok’ but held on to Chloe’s hand tightly. Paying more attention to the path ahead, Chloe led her to the end of the footpath, holding on to Max as she led the brunette to the trucks door and helped her climb into the seat.
Chloe made her way to the driver’s side door, throwing one last glance at the forest behind her. For a moment, she could’ve sworn she saw the slender face of a doe peeking through the bushes, staring directly at her with unusual interest. Blinking a few times, Chloe scanned the trees once more, squinting when she couldn’t find it again.
Shrugging it off as a trick of the light, Chloe settled into her seat. The old truck rumbled to life as Chloe turned the key in the ignition, steering off down the abandoned road that led them back to Arcadia Bay.