As midnight rose, the night was cool and settling for once. Max lay comfortably as she rest her head on my shoulder. We were all snuggled up, even though we were in the middle of summer. But this night was wonderful, after Max and I were able to reconcile, I started to wonder about who that mysterious man was. Where did he come from? My mind wondered for some time until Max, all of a sudden snapped me out of my own thoughts.
"Wowser's, Chloe!? That felt amazing."
"It sure was…" I responded, as I carefully shifted my body towards her and grazing her hair smoothly and giving her a warm smile.
"So, Chloe?" Max asked as she carefully broke free from my shoulder, and turning her gaze towards me.
I remained quiet, waiting for her next response, while gazing at her gorgeous blue eyes.
"So, what brings you back? Here at Arcadia Bay of all places?"
I had no words of what I wanted to tell her next, but one thing for certain about Max, she wasn't going to let me talk my way out of my situation with her and my reason of coming back to Arcadia Bay. However, I may have had a reason as to why I needed to find Max, of all people. A couple of years ago before Layla had cut me loose, I had experienced real nightmare trauma, and let's just say that it had gotten worse than ever, and it affected my relationship with Layla and the bandmates.
"Max, what I am about to tell you may come as a shock to you," I said to her, still giving her that sincere look,
"A few years ago, I had experienced trauma of seeing myself, of all people… un-alive and of all places in the bathroom stalls at the old Blackwell Academy, even though it feels more like a nightmare. But, then again, I felt it as though I was there, and that painful feeling as that bullet went right through me."
"Yeah, Chloe…of course I remember that tragic event. I was there; I managed to save you from Nathan's intention of accidentally pulling that trigger." Max shot back, getting a bit worried about me, "I nearly lost you once, and twice, and I cannot afford to lose you again."
"I know Max!" I shouted back, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "But, look at the consequences it did to us… the town destroyed, my mom gone, and what's worse…it drove us apart. And now I have a gut feeling that this nightmare of mine is finally revealing itself to be sort of true."
Max seeing me all scared, was pushing me for answers, and obviously she tried to ask me in a calm manner for more about this sort of nightmare of mine. "What kind of nightmare, Chloe?"
"Max, what I have seen, felt real. And in one of these nightmares I saw you fall down into the dark ocean below near the lighthouse, during the storm and…."
"And what?" Max asked.
"I tried to save you, but you were so far out of my reach, and when I tried to reach you… you slipped out from my grasp and onto the deep end of the ocean below." Couldn't hold back my tears, sobbing uncontrollably. "I lost you there, and I failed to protect you, just like you did to me."
Max quickly approached me and hugged me close. "Oh, Chloe, it's ok. It was just a nightmare, a dream to be precise. But I am sure it's not going to happen."
"No, Max. There is more…" I replied as I wiped my tears away on Max's Pajama shirt. "I saw what this new storm was capable of doing. And let's just say that the storm that you and I saw all those years ago isn't finished with us yet."
"Hold on, you mentioned the storm in this dream of yours?" Max responded, now looking a bit puzzled at my response.
"Yeah, the storm wasn't just coming back to destroy the whole town again… it was tearing apart what looked like the fabric of reality. Leaving nothing behind as it makes its way into town."
Max, too, had a similar encounter to tell, and what she told me next was exactly the same thing as how I described it in my dream. And as shocking as it sounds, she too saw what the storm was capable of doing, and to add more curiosity to this dream that we both have in common, I added the missing piece.
"OMG, Chloe!" Max shouted as her hands were slowly squeezing my shoulders, "I too had that same dream. Seeing the same storm that took out the old town, however, it was shredding the background that surrounds it, leaving the background totally blank."
"Whoa, Max, you and I dreamed the same thing," replacing my fears with curiosity and excitement to say the least.
"Double wow!" Max shouted back with excitement. "However, when exactly did this nightmare of your occurred?"
"To be honest, Max, this happened two years ago. Even though I dreamed about Nathan killing me again and again." I said, holding on to one of Max's pillows for comfort. "But this time, it was different, and it felt so real. The gushing of winds, the freshly smell's of Douglas-fir trees, and even the sights around me. However, what stood the most was the printed material I saw in this dream on a newspaper that came hurling towards me..."
I paused there for a moment, but Max, looking a bit more curious than ever, was pushing for me to finish my sentence.
"Come on, Chloe! Don't stop there." Max said, nudging my shoulder for answers.
"Arrrr!!! Ok…Ok…Ok" feeling a bit annoyed by her childish tantrums, "The newspaper print has words written on it like: 'Time Is Inadequate….The beginning of the End' in bold letters, and what scares me the most was the date that was printed on it…"
"So, what was the date that was printed on that newspaper?" She asked while waiting for my next response.
"DECEMBER… 31st, of this year…."