The RED Butterfly Effect (Markiplier Life Is Strange FanFiction.)

Rachel Amber

"Time doesn't heal anything. It just teaches us how to live with the pain."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Rachel Amber

    We drove in comfortable silence, nearing Frank's RV by the beach. We parked a few feet behind him, my eyes casting out to the dead whales littering the beach shore. I took a heavy breath, a frown etching itself deep into my lips.
    "God, I hate seeing those poor whales like that."
    "Me too, I just think of their families in the ocean out there looking for them. Well, that asshole is going to help us find Rachel. You know what would be great? If I still had a gun." I rolled my eyes, making sure Mark saw I turned towards him in his seat. He gave me a mocking glare, clearly making sure he wasn't actually annoyed with my choice to not allow him to have the gun.
    "Yes, the chance for gunplay would just about even the odds here."
    "Frank would scare better. He's a pussy. Besides, if I take him out, you can just rewind.."
    "Mark, do not count on my remind..seriously. After Kate, I feel like every time I do it might be the last." Mark sat back in the driver's seat, taking his beanie off for a moment to let his fingers run through the fiery red locks and mess his hair up. He placed it firmly back on the top of his head, his other hand going to curl around the bullet necklace strung around his neck.
    "There's no way we could have guessed this is what would happen to us when we grew up."
    "I'm looking forward to the day when we can just go on a road trip to Portland."
    "Fuck yeah. You, me, and Rachel."
    "Absolutely, so let's play this cool, okay? Just pay Frank his money and then we can get that code for the book from him. That's all." Mark nodded, raising his hands from the steering wheel and shooting me a reassuring smile.
    "Got it. No dicking around." I opened the passenger door, slipping out and letting my feet hit he cement. We both started walking towards the RV, Mark walking with determination in his step as he lead the way a few feet ahead. After getting side tracked with the image of the whales again, I rushed to his side to keep up. We rounded the corner, finally making it to Frank's front door. My stomach churned nervously as we both hesitated by the door.
    I motioned for Mark to make the first move, seeing him sigh as he rapped his knuckles against the door a few times before stepping back. Sharing glances at each other, half of us hoped he wouldn't answer. The door slowly opened, revealing the one and only Frank. His eyes lazily settled on us before he rolled his eyes and let out a groan.
    "Oh, look..The Wonder Twins. You should have come alone." He pointed at Mark accusingly, stepping down the steps one at a time. I wringed my hands together nervously, flickering my eyes over to Mark. He didn't look scared, his chest puffed out and a smirk splayed on his face as he casted a warm smile over to me.
     "She's my partner."
   "Yeah, or your bodyguard. So let's get to business. Where's my fucking money?" Frank spat, crossing his arms and glaring Mark down. Mark looked over at me, waiting for me to give the go. I nodded towards him, glaring back at Frank. Mark slid the wad of cash out from his back pocket, handing it over to Frank. He looked pleased as he ran a thumb over the top of the crisp bills.
    "Oh, why, thank you. That wasn't so hard, now was it? And let's no do anymore business again. Now if you'll excuse me." He said firmly, turning on his heel and heading back inside his camper. Mark leaned forward, crossing his arms and looking over at Frank.
    "Frank..could we ask you a couple of quick questions?" Frank stopped with one foot on the step, turning around and wagging a finger in Mark's face.
    "You have some serious balls...no." He shook his head, chuckling to himself. I looked down at the ground, my shoulders slumping. I saw Frank look over at me, his expression softening just a bit as I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.
    "Jesus, okay, okay..but I'm not getting you high."
    "Frank, we're not here to get high."
    "No, you don't look like the type. Not like Mark here. So what do you Hardy Boys want?"
    "Just the names of some of your clients."
    "Oh, is that all? Well, why didn't you just tell me?" I stiffened as every word he said was dripping with sarcasm, his eyes narrowed and body language easy to read.
    "How about I just give you the keys to my RV while I'm at it?"
    "You don't get it man, this is for a good cause."
    "No "man", I don't get it..especially from a weirdo like you. You know I hate the way you talk to me, like you..like you know more than I do."
    "No, I'm not, I-"
    "Christ, I hate you Blackwell shits. You expect everything for free. You're not getting any handouts from me. I work for a living, you understand?" His voice was getting a little louder, his glare smoldering as he bored into my eyes. I gulped, stepping back a little from his outburst. Mark glared right back at him, stepping towards me protectively.
    "Yes Frank, without those Blackwell shits as customers, you wouldn't have any work at all. Dude, you're a drug dealer!"
    "Yeah, right, okay. Both of you are giving me a headache. No deal."
    "Frank, we didn't come here to fight. This is so much bigger than us." I begged, my voice sounding tired and worn out even in my own ears." Frank pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in annoyance.
    "Oh yeah, you didn't come to fight..a day after you pulled a fucking gun on me."
    "I...I am so sorry about that. It might be the dumbest thing I've ever done. And I've done a lot of dumb things this week."
    "Finally, I believe you..but don't ever aim a gun at anybody, unless you intend to kill. Although you don't look like you can kill a bug."
   "I try not to. And I never would have pulled the trigger, I was just..." I rushed my sentence, relief flooding through me as Frank looked a little more relaxed and calm towards me.
    "Dude, she was scared, all right? You pulled your blade on me. We were all freaked out. Now we're all cool..please?"
     "Okay, we're cool for now..but my dog isn't. And if you try any shit, he will bite your head off. He done it before."
    "We're only here to talk. I wouldn't mess with your dog."
    "Shit, you wouldn't have time. You like dogs?"
    "I love dogs. Period. I wish I had one as well trained as yours." I said quietly, keeping my voice cautious and watching every word I said.
    "Yeah, he had a bad trainer before. Real bad. But he's dead now. And I trained Pompidou how to be my friend."
    "That's very cool, Frank. Your dog is lucky you came along." Mark had been tapping his foot impatiently for a few minutes now, his fingers twitching.
    "Maybe we can focus on rescuing Rachel now?" His eyes went a little wide at the mention of Rachel's name. I looked over at Mark, his lips pursed into a tight line.
    "Rachel? Is that why you're really here?"
    "Yes, we're so close to finding her now, Frank. We need all the help we can get now, especially from you."
    "You and Mark do not know Rachel like I did and I couldn't even help her. You're in way over your heads. Why don't you just go play in your clubhouse?" He sneered, his tone clipped and harsh. I sighed quietly, watching Mark's face grow with anger.
    "Rachel said she gave you one of her favorite photos. That proves how much she cares and you care. That's why you have to help." He seemed taken back by my statement, his arms uncrossing as a look of confusion flickered across his face.
    "How the hell did you know about that photo? That's my favorite picture of her. I can look at it anytime and she'll always be there for me. I can't stand not knowing where she is..not hearing her voice..her laugh..anymore." My lips parted as I heard the pain in his voice. He let his asshole side drop for a moment and I started to see the true Frank. The one with pained eyes that held sweet memories of him and Rachel. Poor Frank, getting the girl of his dreams ripped away from him just like that.
    "We can change all that..it's up to you." Mark stepped up, his eyes pleading.
    "Help us find her, Frank. Please..we really need your client list.." He said, his eyes locking with Frank's. They shared a moment before Frank looked up at the sky. Sighing, he turned back to look at Mark and I.
    "If there's a chance in hell you two dorks can find Rachel, I'll take it. My dog isn't barking at you, so I guess that's a good sign." Mark rubbed his arm, pushing up the jacket sleeve and exposing the tattoos crawling up and around his wrist. Frank duh around in his pocket before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Mark.
    He reached behind him again, slipping out the pistol he stole the day I pointed it at him in the junkyard. He pointed it at the ground, checking the safety and handing it over to Mark as well. Mark hesitated before grabbing it and putting it in his belt. He nodded towards Frank as a sign of gratitude.
    "Thank you." I said, smiling a little at him.
    "Yeah, thanks, Frank. Seriously."
    "It's hard to take you characters seriously..but I want to. Good luck." With that, he climbed back inside his RV and left us standing outside. Mark smiled eagerly at me, slinging an arm around my shoulders while mine snaked loosely around his waste. We walked back to his truck with a new confidence brooding within us. 
    We rushed back to his room, filling the board up with even more evidence and clues. We sat on his bed, our eyes scanning all the little things we've posted on it. I realized how silent the room was before looking over at him. He was staring forward, eyes seemingly not blinking. It worried me a little, seeing how spaced out he was.
    "Mark, are you okay?" He seemed to snap out of his trance at the sound of his name, his head leaning on one of his knees as he blinked a couple times and yawned.
    "I'm glad things are worked out with Frank. It's nice to have one less enemy in Acadia Bay."
    "Amen to that." I mumbled, watching him stand up and shuffle over to his computer at his desk. I stood up as well, getting a better look at the board. Tapping my chin, I let my eyes scan over the pictures and notes, my hands reaching out to start and rearrange them in a better fashion. After what seemed like forever switching and changing the patterns of the evidence, something dawned on me. I stepped back, going over to Mark bent over in his chair.
    "Mark, this is definitely the place." I reach over the take control of the keyboard, my fingers effortlessly clicking the keys. I sighed as nothing came up on the screen to help us.
    "Nope..nothing, Max. There's nothing here. Just some shitty, old barn."
    "Let's keep searching and find out who own this haunted barn." He gently moved my hands from the keyboard, starting to breeze through websites.
    "I am on this, hold on." I leaned down, my shoulder touching his as we both examined the screen before us.
    "Somebody named.."Harry Aaron Prescott."
    "I'm shocked." I said with an eye roll, my voice containing no thrill or excitement from the new information.
"Should we call the police?" I asked him, lifting my eyes to look into his. He scoffed, shaking his head and pointing at the screen.
"Fuck that. You know the police here are like Nathan's private security, right?"
"That's so messed up..."
"As you've noticed, this whole town is messed up. We can't trust anybody..except each other. So we have to go out to that farmhouse by ourselves." I gulped, staring at my feet as I shifted in my spot.
"I was afraid you'd say that. We could call Warren, since he kicked Nathan's ass.."
"It's just the two of us. Nobody else. And I'm not scared at all. You have the power. I feel like we're this close to finding Rachel..we have to find her, Max." I watched him stand up and walk a few feet away, fidgeting why the music discs stacked on his dresser.
"We will. But remember, my power isn't infinite. We still have to be careful. Do you hear, Mark?" He smirked at me, flickering his eyes to the map now displayed on the computer screen, leading us right to the farm house.
"Yes, sir..."