Currently planning to close voting around 6 or 7pm EST, which means it'll probably actually close between 9pm tonight and 10am tomorrow.
Apologies as usual for the pretty significant delays between chapters, I know it's not great for staying emotionally invested in the story, I'm just doing what I can. Even if there's radio silence, rest assured that I'm always aiming to speed up updates.
Also - fun note, google docs rolled out a pretty robust grammar checking feature that's on by default, and unsurprisingly it really does not account for time travel fiction. Funny to realize how many realistically absurd sentences (i.e "all the time you've spent in this week" to refer to doing the same week for a long time in your personal chronology) track as making total intrinsic sense once you've grown accustomed to the mindset, but in any other context are just flat out not how English works.
[X] Chloe's house.
--[X] We should consider the (Unlikely) possibility this is just Max having a panic attack.
--[X] Leave the Two Whales.
--[X] Take a convoluted route to the Price household. Check to see if we're being followed.
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Leave A.B. ASAP and call state police.
----[X] If not, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Check Cedar Avenue for any vehicles we've seen before (Black van we saw earlier, the Blue Truck etc.)
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Either leave A.B. ASAP or find a populated, public space with Joyce + David.
----[X] If no, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Barricade the garage. All entrances.
--[X] Set up some hard cover (Bricks, an engine block, something similar and bullet-resistant/proof) to hide behind in a corner facing the entrances.
--[X] move the monitor from the cabinet onto the worktop facing you. It's a live feed only.
--[X] David's gun safe canonically contains:
----[X] 2x Tube-fed semi-auto 12 gauge shotguns.
------[X[ A photo of David shows him using them for hunting, meaning the safe almost certainly contains buckshot. Less effective against body armour, but will kill easily with a headshot. Ideal in close proximity. Medium fire-rate, medium reload speed, heavy recoil.
----[X] 3x Semi-automatic pistols, likely in 9mm.
------[X] More controlled than the random spread of buckshot, but requires precision. Body armour makes them almost useless. Headshots required. Decent fire-rate, fast reload provided magazines have been loaded first. Manageable recoil.
----[X] 3x Double-action revolvers. my guess would be they're in .38 or .357.
------[X] Slow fire-rate. .357 is fairly lethal, but .38 can still kill with a headshot. Slow reload and fire-rate. Use only as a last resort.
--[X] The front of the safe is made of some sort of bullet-resistant plastic, but the door could probably be broken off the hinges.
--[X] Hunker down for two hours. If nothing happens, have Chloe check outside.
----[X] If it's fine, you can try and calm down.
----[X] If you've seen one of the vehicles outside before, or see something suspicious, inform Joyce and David immediately.
--[X] If something happens, shoot your way out. Bring at least a 9mm each. Leave A.B. immediately, inform state police. Inform Joyce and David. Do NOT tell them where you are going.
----[X] Turn off your phones.
----[X] Go to Portland. Find a random hotel. Wait it out.
Currently planning to close voting around 6 or 7pm EST, which means it'll probably actually close between 9pm tonight and 10am tomorrow.
Apologies as usual for the pretty significant delays between chapters, I know it's not great for staying emotionally invested in the story, I'm just doing what I can. Even if there's radio silence, rest assured that I'm always aiming to speed up updates.
Also - fun note, google docs rolled out a pretty robust grammar checking feature that's on by default, and unsurprisingly it really does not account for time travel fiction. Funny to realize how many realistically absurd sentences (i.e "all the time you've spent in this week" to refer to doing the same week for a long time in your personal chronology) track as making total intrinsic sense once you've grown accustomed to the mindset, but in any other context are just flat out not how English works.
If you want more traffic, I have a suggestion. Maybe you could try breaking up finished updates?
Like, you post the first sections of an update to whet everyone's appetite and then the post the last sections later with the actual vote.
I love having lots to read every time you post, but lower word counts are kinder to people trying to play catch up and it takes stress off of you between updates. (I don't know how badly that would affect your work ethic, though) That 3.3K words I see in my alerts is definitely a hefty bit of writing for a lot of people.
It also helps to keep eyes on the story the more individual updates there are, even if half of them don't have votes attached. (I'd be reading this even if it didn't have votes, I'm sure that's the case for a solid number of the posters that show up consistently.)
That interlude during the Kate update is a good example of that. It was self-contained enough that it could have been a separate update.
In light of the above, @Alobomb is it possible to give Max a panic attack by writing in too many things?
First off: Wow! Points for thoroughness and thoughtfulness no doubt. Very impressive post/vote, but I'm slightly worried that it's 'wasted,' so to speak, on this vote specifically.
I do enjoy writing the execution of fairly complex votes like this when they win (see for example, the hospital escape), but I think I've not been very communicative regarding the difference between sort of "open write-in" votes, where I'm very much looking for plans like this, and "closed write-in" votes, where I might for example, be just looking for a location that I didn't mention on an already present list, if necessary.
These past couple updates have been at a kind of "I need to get from Point A to Point B" narrative pace, definitely have been factoring in everyone's votes, but there's a place I need to get to before I really open it up. To spoil a bit, the next non-dialogue vote is where this kind of plan is going to fit in, no matter which location wins. You've very much pre-empted the quest by a little bit, so points for seeing that coming.
Ya I've been thinking about this too. I basically had a full day conniption about it while I was writing the Kate update. My decision at the time to maintain status quo basically boils down to being unfamiliar with SV's questing style as a participant. Until recently my main experience with quests resides in the dark past of my 12-14 year old internet dwelling self, so when I rediscovered them and binged Adfligo Systema and now Divided Loyalties, the idea of every major post having a vote tied to it stuck in. I know that technically a quest is an incredibly versatile and not very rigidly defined format, but it's tough to separate that mentally from the worry that people might be upset at not being able to fully engage with each update.
At this point though with a pattern of 6-7 day waits unfortunately established by the last 2 updates, I'll try anything to break the cycle lmao, so we'll give it a shot.
Hahaha this is basically exactly what my conniption was about. I essentially just argued with myself all day like "Ah but it's so short, and the sidestory threadmark category exists for a reason" and "Yeah but at this point *all* of your updates are super long, won't people be disappointed?" all back and forth like. Good to know it was just in my head.
Lmao as much as the idea tickles me and is the exact kind of metanarrative BS I love, not necessarily. Think I've talked about this before, but votes, write-ins especially, are more of a narrative impetus than a character one, and intent generally matters as much as actual wording (and wording and wording, in some cases.) Some votes do end up taking the form of things Max literally thinks or says, but just as easily a vote plan like James' could be interpreted as just things that come naturally to her in the kinda paranoid headspace she's at.
[X] Chloe's house.
--[X] We should consider the (Unlikely) possibility this is just Max having a panic attack.
--[X] Leave the Two Whales.
--[X] Take a convoluted route to the Price household. Check to see if we're being followed.
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Leave A.B. ASAP and call state police.
----[X] If not, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Check Cedar Avenue for any vehicles we've seen before (Black van we saw earlier, the Blue Truck etc.)
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Either leave A.B. ASAP or find a populated, public space with Joyce + David.
----[X] If no, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Barricade the garage. All entrances.
--[X] Set up some hard cover (Bricks, an engine block, something similar and bullet-resistant/proof) to hide behind in a corner facing the entrances.
--[X] move the monitor from the cabinet onto the worktop facing you. It's a live feed only.
--[X] David's gun safe canonically contains:
----[X] 2x Tube-fed semi-auto 12 gauge shotguns.
------[X[ A photo of David shows him using them for hunting, meaning the safe almost certainly contains buckshot. Less effective against body armour, but will kill easily with a headshot. Ideal in close proximity. Medium fire-rate, medium reload speed, heavy recoil.
----[X] 3x Semi-automatic pistols, likely in 9mm.
------[X] More controlled than the random spread of buckshot, but requires precision. Body armour makes them almost useless. Headshots required. Decent fire-rate, fast reload provided magazines have been loaded first. Manageable recoil.
----[X] 3x Double-action revolvers. my guess would be they're in .38 or .357.
------[X] Slow fire-rate. .357 is fairly lethal, but .38 can still kill with a headshot. Slow reload and fire-rate. Use only as a last resort.
--[X] The front of the safe is made of some sort of bullet-resistant plastic, but the door could probably be broken off the hinges.
--[X] Hunker down for two hours. If nothing happens, have Chloe check outside.
----[X] If it's fine, you can try and calm down.
----[X] If you've seen one of the vehicles outside before, or see something suspicious, inform Joyce and David immediately.
--[X] If something happens, shoot your way out. Bring at least a 9mm each. Leave A.B. immediately, inform state police. Inform Joyce and David. Do NOT tell them where you are going.
----[X] Turn off your phones.
----[X] Go to Portland. Find a random hotel. Wait it out.
"Ah but it's so short, and the sidestory threadmark category exists for a reason" and "Yeah but at this point *all* of your updates are super long, won't people be disappointed?" all back and forth like. Good to know it was just in my head.
Certainly, eventually. Even some 30k words in we're pretty early in the grand scheme, and I'd argue a pretty big chunk of the story's subtitle in my Signature hasn't even shown up yet.
I do have a nice OneNote notebook for the quest with detailed-but-open-ended outlines and ideas (i.e that Jefferson scene in the Two Whales has been written for a couple weeks in some form or another, I just had to modify it to fit the scenario where I realized it fit) that I've actually already messed with a few times, and there's a page dedicated to tracking stuff like this that I think readers might eventually want answers to, if that sets you at ease.
[X] Chloe's house.
--[X] We should consider the (Unlikely) possibility this is just Max having a panic attack.
--[X] Leave the Two Whales.
--[X] Take a convoluted route to the Price household. Check to see if we're being followed.
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Leave A.B. ASAP and call state police.
----[X] If not, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Check Cedar Avenue for any vehicles we've seen before (Black van we saw earlier, the Blue Truck etc.)
----[X] If yes, have Chloe inform Joyce and David immediately. Either leave A.B. ASAP or find a populated, public space with Joyce + David.
----[X] If no, proceed to Price household.
--[X] Barricade the garage. All entrances.
--[X] Set up some hard cover (Bricks, an engine block, something similar and bullet-resistant/proof) to hide behind in a corner facing the entrances.
--[X] move the monitor from the cabinet onto the worktop facing you. It's a live feed only.
--[X] David's gun safe canonically contains:
----[X] 2x Tube-fed semi-auto 12 gauge shotguns.
------[X[ A photo of David shows him using them for hunting, meaning the safe almost certainly contains buckshot. Less effective against body armour, but will kill easily with a headshot. Ideal in close proximity. Medium fire-rate, medium reload speed, heavy recoil.
----[X] 3x Semi-automatic pistols, likely in 9mm.
------[X] More controlled than the random spread of buckshot, but requires precision. Body armour makes them almost useless. Headshots required. Decent fire-rate, fast reload provided magazines have been loaded first. Manageable recoil.
----[X] 3x Double-action revolvers. my guess would be they're in .38 or .357.
------[X] Slow fire-rate. .357 is fairly lethal, but .38 can still kill with a headshot. Slow reload and fire-rate. Use only as a last resort.
--[X] The front of the safe is made of some sort of bullet-resistant plastic, but the door could probably be broken off the hinges.
--[X] Hunker down for two hours. If nothing happens, have Chloe check outside.
----[X] If it's fine, you can try and calm down.
----[X] If you've seen one of the vehicles outside before, or see something suspicious, inform Joyce and David immediately.
--[X] If something happens, shoot your way out. Bring at least a 9mm each. Leave A.B. immediately, inform state police. Inform Joyce and David. Do NOT tell them where you are going.
----[X] Turn off your phones.
----[X] Go to Portland. Find a random hotel. Wait it out.
Having not read the Dresden Files outside of a cursory read of the TTRPG rulebook, yes-ish but also no? Lower key by far but still demonstrably in the realm of urban fantasy.
YMMV if you're not into that sort of thing I spose, definitely more of an AU to Life Is Strange than a "You're Max, fix everything!" sort of quest expanding on canon.
Some interesting discussion the past few hours, very nice!
Voting is now closed
[X] Chloe's House
Tjakari, Antix_Shadows, Thrice.Great, James C, Markala, 7ime1ock
[] The Lighthouse
Blueshift
In Reserve:
[X] James C's plan
James C, Markala, 7ime1ock
You will have the opportunity to add or remove parts of the plan alongside another vote when it is more pertinent, since 3 people voted for Chloe's House with the smaller plan addon, and 3 people voted for it with James' plan, I figure this is the best way to split the difference.
YMMV if you're not into that sort of thing I spose, definitely more of an AU to Life Is Strange than a "You're Max, fix everything!" sort of quest expanding on canon.
You look quickly from corner to shadow to bush as you and Chloe stride to her truck. For once you're a little bit ahead of the taller girl, which you suppose does make sense with how purposefully you're power walking. Ow, coma-legs still not ready for much exertion. Hm. If it is Jefferson you're in no condition to fight him again. You barely scraped through the other times- and didn't, once- Where's the least likely place for him to try something? Blackwell? Uh, no. Obviously not. Chloe's house is probably your best bet if he is following you. But- Jesus. Why? He obviously didn't recognize you in the Two Whales. Do you have some kind of magic Jefferson sensor? You feel like at another time you'd laugh at that. Yup, Max Caulfield, superpowers include time travel and sensing one (one) serial killing high school teacher, great. No, something tells you that's not it. That same 'something' is also telling you insistently to hurry the fuck up. No specific thing to hurry the fuck and do, just hurry the fuck up, in general. Different from the 'RUN' instinct in the diner. Right.
A light tap from the inside of the truck window you've been staring into for the past minute has you blinking rapidly and getting your bearings. Oh, Chloe's already inside and the truck's on. Yup, all things you were very aware of this whole time, your head is one hundred percent in the game.
You obediently pop open the door and clamber inside. "Sorry about that. Uh, how about we go to your place again? Maybe take a different route from normal?" You try.
Chloe watches you for a moment. You try your best to control your breathing and, y'know, just kind of ignore the sense of immediately impending danger that's lurking just over your shoulder. Oh, you're hyperventilating again. Smooth, Max. You refocus, again, and look at Chloe. She's doing that 'look slightly to the left of the person she's thinking about and screw up her brow while trying really hard to decide what to say' thing again. Her mouth opens as if to start- but she just exhales and squints to the side even harder. You'll be here for a while at this rate.
"Chloe," you say, "what is it?"
She blinks once and looks at you, nearly seems to drift off into phrasing-contemplation again for a moment, but then sighs and shrugs. She still seems wary of what she's saying, but she tries anyway. "Are you having a panic attack, Max?"
You frown and start to say, "N-," but hold yourself. You think about what you felt in the diner, and then at the truck window. Huh. "Actually, yeah. Yup. I think I might be having a panic attack Chloe." She nods, sagely. How wise of her. You do actually giggle weakly at that thought. It's not like you'd figured it out after all.
You look back out of the windshield and lean back. Have you been shivering this whole time? You try to think about exactly what you're feeling. "I'm not saying that the freaky-following feeling isn't real, but um. Now that you mention it, I think that this might be me in a not-great headspace." You're trying to be more aware of your breathing, deep breaths, same exercises as normal. In your peripheral vision you see Chloe unbuckle her seat belt, then slowly slide herself over to your side of the seat. She holds herself still next to you for a second, then sets her mouth into a determined line, nods once to herself, and leans in.
You flinch as two leather clad arms awkwardly side-hug you, but a moment later find yourself relaxing slightly into her warmth. "Um, Chloe?" You say, and flinch again as you feel her jump at the sound of your voice.
"Uh, I- Sorry. Rachel used to have, like, hella panic attacks, especially after we got into some harder drugs. She told me that doing this helped and that when I, uh- me trying to… talk to her about it didn't. Is this okay?" Her voice is quiet, you think she's trying to be soothing? Well, 'trying' is kind of uncharitable, you are feeling soothed. You relax back into her, making the side-hug slightly less awkward, as far as side-hugs go.
"Ya… ya this is okay, Chloe." You start, but you frown as you think about her wording. "But uh, I don't mind if you- I mean. You can talk to me during it about it, I think it's… good for me to hear your voice."
"Oh! Uh, okay then." She sounds surprised, maybe a little guarded. "Do you think you're, well… panicking because of seeing him?"
Your stomach does a little flip at the thought of who she means by 'him', but having Chloe next to you, around you, supporting you… it holds you a bit firmer. Your head is clearing somewhat. "Y-ya.... I think that has to do with it, at least partly." You notice your breathing has slowed to a more reasonable pace, and your heart has stopped pounding loudly in your ears. You nod. "Thanks, Chloe. I-... I think I still feel the whole 'being followed' gut feeling thing, but… seeing him kinda put me off the deep end."
She squeezes you once, tightly, then almost like she's embarrassed pulls her arms away quickly and looks straight ahead out of the windshield. Yup, that's definitely a blush on her cheeks. D'awh, embarrassed Chloe is cutest Chloe. You frown to yourself, that's unfair, maybe tied for cutest with every other Chloe. She swallows once, looking ahead, and cranks the gear shift into reverse. "So, you're cool now?"
You hum, well… "Cool-er, like I said, there's still something definitely very wrong, but I'm not freaking about it anymore."
"Cool, cool." She nods. "So… you still want me to do the cool shake off and detect pursuers circuitous route? 'Cause I was totally planning one out in my head there."
You smirk up at Chloe. "Go right ahead, Agent Price."
With a cheeky grin she glances back down at you. "Aye aye, Cap'n Max." The truck lurches into gear, and you speed off.
≅≅≅
Well, here we are in the trial run of the first experimental chapter split-up. I'm gonna try to take advantage of the relatively small-ish readership aspect and insert an optional vote for the drive.
[] Write-In ONE SENTENCE describing something you'd like to talk about, discuss, or just banter about with Chloe on the drive.
This is not a tally based vote, I'll pick whatever topic/topics I like best that I feel will fit into whatever timeframe they have to discuss them. This way it minimally impacts my completion of the previous command, but y'all can still influence a little something (and keep the thread popping as a tiny ulterior motive on my part.)
[X] Harder drugs, who was she partying with, besides Rachel?
I was going to vote Jefferson, but then I realized it'd be pretty hard to have that conversation without unloading everything about Chloe getting shot, and Rachel's death.* That and how Max/and Victoria got kidnapped. David going off the deep end too, if we got that far into the conversation.
*I have the oddest idea that Rachel could actually be alive in this AU for some reason. But at the same time I don't think it would make sense unless she's connected to the background actors, the symbol people.
She only died because Nathan fucked up the tranq dose, iirc. If the Prescotts aren't around then that means Jefferson either has another assistant (Victoria maybe????) or he's going solo (What I'm hoping for, cause I like Victoria and don't think she'd be down for Inside the Kidnapper's Studio). Both of those things would, ideally, mean Rachel is alive.
But if she's alive, she'd need a reason to not be in town. And there comes the connection to the symbol folks. That could also explain the absence of the Doe. If she's alive, Rachel's implied nature powers wouldn't be channeled into an astral projection of a field pest.
Could be misreading what you mean by 'around', but Max checked in with Chloe about whether Joyce and David were in similar positions to canon around the start to 2.2.
Could be misreading what you mean by 'around', but Max checked in with Chloe about whether Joyce and David were in similar positions to canon around the start to 2.2.
Chloe's route first takes you to the opposite end of the Bay, but after a turn onto a dirt road you'd never noticed you quickly lose track of where she's taking you. The beanie-clad punk seems all too happy to show off her vehicular acumen and navigational knowledge of the Bay though, so you eventually just lean back and trust that she knows what she's doing. Suburbs turn to rural plots, which turn into hills pockmarked with copses of trees, which turns into outright forest. The road quality varies significantly, from dirt paths to haphazardly maintained concrete. At one point you exit a dirt road onto a (luckily empty) interstate highway that you cross laterally, through all lanes of traffic, onto another dirt road. Chloe's nonchalance about this is so obviously put-on that it borders on smarmy.
Music had thus far provided a comfortable (if… thrashy) background noise to the drive, but as the last song on her mix-cd comes to a climactic finish, and the itch of 'I'm being hunted' starts to scratch again uncontested at the back of your skull, you decide to clarify something she said that you don't remember her ever ever mentioning to you.
You glance over at Chloe. Her posture is relaxed, but her eyes are still sharp, carefully guiding her beloved truck over the uneven terrain with one hand, the other carefully resting on the gear shift, occasionally jiggling it up or down as the road allows. "So," you start, "harder drugs, huh? Who were you partying with besides Rachel?"
A sour expression falls over her face, but she hides it quickly. "For me, only a few times, Rachel thought it'd be fun to show me off at a couple Vortex Club parties, like I'd ever get along with those assholes." She sighs. "Bunch of rich kids in a small town? Prime real estate for all sorts of shitty people. Frank is a shitlord, but he doesn't deal anything harder than weed to high schoolers. The asswipes that the Vortex kiddies know though? No such 'moral compunctions' if you know what I'm saying."
You nod. This seems like a tender subject. You gently say, "So Rachel was... more into that kinda thing?"
You see her hand white knuckle on the steering wheel for a split second before relaxing again. When she responds her voice is tight. "Yeah."
Your heart pangs. "S-Sorry to bring it up… I guess it was a point of contention…"
She sighs. "No- I mean, yes it was, but don't worry about bringing it up. I just…" She hesitates and takes a deep breath. "Not many people to talk to about this, y'know? Kate's great but she doesn't love to do talks about real personal shit."
You nod. "Did she like, pressure you to join in?"
"Well-" Another sigh, she shakes her head and takes off her beanie. "Not really, she'd ask if I wanted to join or come with or whatever, but she never made me." You don't comment on the unspoken implication that Rachel could have made her. She continues, "It was more like, dealing with her after the parties. She'd always, y'know, tell me she had a ride back or she'd be staying over at whatever dickbag's house, but then it'd always be the same, a call at two or three AM, all weepy sounding and shit, totally fucking wasted while I try to remember where the fuck she said she'd be since she's too fucking out of it to even give me an address."
You're quiet, just watching Chloe closely. Almost unconsciously, you lightly put your hand over hers on the gear shift. She jumps and grimaces for a moment at your touch, but doesn't ask you to move it. She just sighs. "She- Rachel was… difficult to deal with when she'd been indulging, it was always like, from one extreme to another for just hours some nights." You pull your hand back as she shifts into a lower gear for the steep hill the truck is approaching. "She could get mean, or weepy, or have panic attacks. Or like…" She blushes. "Y'know, like, get grabby." You sit stock upright and look straight ahead, blushing too. Keep it together Max. "Which don't get me wrong!" Oh god she's continuing. "I don't mind being baked for… y'know, but not like that. Not how she was. Never like that."
You both jump as Chloe's phone vibrating in the cupholder breaks the awkward silence that followed that part of the conversation. You try not to think too hard about it as you say, "Uh, should you check that?"
She shakes her head. "Nah, it's probably just Frank bugging me about the money again." She pauses. "Actually yeah, could you check it? He's come to my fucking house before and I do not need him talking to David."
You shudder at the thought of how those two would interact, hopefully something you'll never have to see. Chloe's phone is heavy in your hand, an older model than yours.
Witch bitch 12:53 Hey Chlo u there?
Witch bitch 12:53 Can I talk to you and max again? I'm sorry for being a bitch
Witch bitch 12:53 Text me when u can?
"Looks like Kate." You report. "She says she's sorry for… being a bitch, and she wants to talk to us, both of us, again."
Chloe snorts, "Fuck'er, let her stew for a bit. She was a bitch to you."
"Awh, Chloe…" I know Kate, even if this her is kind of… different. Leaving this to sit will just tear her up.
She shoots you a look. "Really, Max?" You nod, earning a snort. "Fuckin' bleedin' heart hippies," she says in an ironic southern brogue.
You stifle a snort yourself and put on your best 'rebel Chloe' impression, "Whatever, David."
Chloe laughs out loud at that, making you giggle in response. "You have no idea how weird it is to be able to make fun of step-dick with you when I've barely told you about him so far." She grins at you. "Anyway, if you wanna make amends or whatever, text her yourself."
"Maybe I will!" You stick your tongue out at her and snuggle down, trying to avoid the headlights from the side mirror that momentarily flash in your eyes.
You 12:55 Hey Kate, it's Max.
Witch bitch 12:55 Oh hi Max. Is everything okay?
You 12:56 Yeah Chloe's just driving.
Witch bitch 12:56 Sorry for blowing up at you earlier. It was just a lot all at once and even now idk still what to think about it.
You 12:56 It's okay. Believe me, I know it's a lot. I think Chloe's more hurt than me tbh, she seemed excited for me to show you.
You 12:56 Oh god she's gonna kill me when she reads these.
Witch bitch 12:57 Lol definitely. RIP. I'll apologize to her in person. Sorry again.
You 12:57 It's okay Kate. Idk about the stuff you brought up to Chloe but your concerns when we were alone… I get it, seriously.
You 12:57 I can't promise the next couple days will have no emotional baggage at all.
You 12:57 But I promise I'll be there for her through it, and from now on.
You 12:58 I don't reeeaally know what's coming, but I can say pretty certainly that the next few days are going to be crazy.
You 12:58 And helping Chloe through that is kinda why I'm here.
Witch bitch 12:59 … that was surprisingly reassuring for a sentence that's otherwise kinda ominous. Thanks Max.
Witch bitch 12:59 I mean like, thanks for taking my concerns seriously.
You 12:59 Np! : )
Witch bitch 1:00 Emoji, huh? Chloe's not gonna like that.
You 1:00 >:3
You smile to yourself and close Chloe's phone. Chloe fields a glance at you as you put the phone back into the cupholder. "Done texting with your new bestie already?"
You roll your eyes, "As if, punk. She apologized but she's still obviously kinda freaked out. I think she needs some space from me for a bit."
Chloe eyes you for a second longer, then shrugs. "Whatever." You glance back behind you. Nope, still no cars, just a poorly maintained road far as the eye can see, which to be fair is only to the last bend. You pause a second. Something about that thought seems wrong. You go over the past few minutes in your mind… you finished talking with Kate… texted her about stuff…joked with Chloe about David… no, no, after that.
You freeze. "Chloe. How long have we been on this road?"
"Uh, about ten minutes, give or take? We're almost home now." She glances at you, taking note of your expression and general pallor. You're pretty sure the blood's drained from your face.
"And… there's no other turn offs or driveways along this path right? Nothing at all like that?"
The punk shakes her head. "Nada, we've been flying solo this whole time."
You look into your side mirror. Then away. Then into it again. Then you check the rearview. Then you check the timestamps on your texts with Kate. A little more than six minutes ago. You crane your neck to check Chloe's side mirror, just in case. Nothing… But there's no way you imagined that. "Chloe… when I started texting I'm sure, like, sure sure that someone's headlights reflected in my eyes from my side mirror. You saw me slouch down to text? That's why. That's entirely what made me wanna slouch down, to not get the light in my eyes."
Chloe frowns and decelerates. "Okay." She shifts down and puts the truck into park, then turns it off. "Let's just… sit here for a second, if someone's following us, they must be trying to keep a distance. If there is someone, they probably just came on whatever bend we were on a little faster than they meant to."
You nod and shiver as the October chill begins to penetrate the silent truck. The afternoon sun is still high in the sky, and the road and forest are brightly lit all around you. You and Chloe are both on alert, you turned around, having unbuckled yourself to look behind, and Chloe facing forward, eyes dancing from one mirror to the next, ready to start the engine if anyone shows up.
Five tense minutes later… nothing. "Could it… have just been the sun?" Chloe asks.
You shake your head quickly, "No, too high still, no matter what angle we're driving at." You sigh though, and after one last squint down the road behind you, turn and rebuckle yourself in. "I should've been paying more attention. This is weird Chloe."
She chuckles, doing the… fancy manual transmission thingy to get the truck started. "No shit, eh? That kinda seems to be the world's modus operandi around you." The engine roars to life and she starts to drive.
"I guess so," you sigh, and continue your mirror-based vigil.
≅≅≅
The short rest of the drive ends up uneventful. You carefully take note of all the cars in the street. A good number of fishermen seem to be home, whether for lunch or for the evening, you're not sure. No light blue truck, but no black one either, which is… more disconcerting than not, since it had been just driving off when you left.
That hair-raising discomfort followed you all the way home though, even if you're… pretty sure. Mostly sure. That nothing else did. You hesitate getting out of the truck, even as Chloe's already opening her house's front door, but you scamper quickly to follow so you're not left outside alone.
Chloe turns around with a jump as you close the door behind you maybe a little harder and faster than is strictly necessary. She raises her eyebrows. "So… I guess you're still feeling stalked?"
You nod, "It hasn't gotten better. And after that headlight thing I'm… kinda worried, Chloe. I-" You cringe a bit internally. "Do you think we can like… set up defences?" Your voice gets smaller as you reach the end of the sentence in embarrassment.
Chloe looks at you for a moment, before a wide grin splits her face. "Dude, like, fortify my house?! Fuck yeah!"
Despite your initial embarrassment, you can't help but roll your eyes at her display of enthusiasm. "Ya, basically. It's gonna be interesting trying to do so and explain to Joyce and David though."
"Ugh." Immediately Chloe's face falls. "True. You have a plan at all?"
≅≅≅
Current Point: October 10th, around 1:12pm
October 7th, 2013, 9:47pm. In hallway of hospital, no clothes yet, and holding "borrowed" phone. (Printer Paper)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 9:03AM. T1. Pajamas, Will's Camera, Three other photographs. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 10th, 2013. 9:04AM. T1. Pajamas. Will's Camera. Four other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 11:37AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes. Will's Camera. (Scorch Marks at Homeless Lady spot) (Only good for Hard Photojump)
What's your plan for explaining why you're in Arcadia Bay to Joyce and David?
[] Write in
What's your plan for explaining why you're surreptitiously (or maybe not so surreptitiously ) preparing the Price household for some kind of assault?
[] Write In
Finally, what's your plan for fortifying the house as a whole?
[] Write In
[] Jame C's plan
Anyone is welcome to add to, modify, or create plans as always. Looking mostly for a paragraph at absolute most for the first 2 write-ins, and something in plan format for the last write-in.
I say we straight out demonstrate our powers to David and Joyce and fill them in. And then before they get on about getting help, feup that things are getting progressively wackier and now there's even alternate timeline Maxes running around. This is a Big Deal.
Did we tell Chloe about that? We should probably tell Chloe about that.
I really want this to turn intro 4 dimensional chess with alternate Maxes as rivals and allies in a shifting WTF playing field, with each one having their own agenda, outlook, and moral relativity. But that's just me.
It's weird feeling like we're overreacting and underreacting all at the same time.
[X]Plan Tweaks and Valleys
[X] Tell them about the car accident, it's the truth and you actually don't have anywhere to stay.
[X] You're pretty sure you're being followed by people that will not take "locked door" for an answer.
--[X] If you can't somehow avoid it, give the Time Powers explanation. It makes everything simpler to just get it out of the way.
[X] James C's Plan
--[X] If things go FUBAR and we have to skip town, just leave the phones.
---[X] Write down essential phone numbers on a piece of paper so you can use a payphone/some stranger's phone in the future.
--[X] Have some clothes packed.
--[X] Apologize for all the crazy, cause this is a lot of crazy.
Turning off our phones doesn't actually make it so you can't be tracked.
I'm not one of those uber paranoid types that's done all the research, but I've picked up enough from a few Snowden interviews to know that the only untraceable phone is one that you either turn into mulch or don't take with you. To go off the grid, you have to go all the way off.
I doubt that David's going to let us have all his guns too, but we'll cross that bridge later.
. ***(I mean I don't know, but it sounds right. I also don't drive stick)***