Partners

Chloe POV

I got off work around 4am that morning. All the way home, I got lost in the fantasies of just simply having Max in my arms. I made it to the ugly tan apartment building, looking around. The night was quiet, still. It was pretty eerie. I decided to have a cigarette before heading in, enjoying the temperature. It usually didn't feel this nice.

Once I finished my cigarette, I walked inside and noticed that every light was on. That wasn't like Max, whether sleeping or awake.

I started yelling for Max. She wasn't in the living room, that much I could tell. There was furniture in every corner. Sectional couch in the corner furthest from the door, right under the window, TV stand in the closest corner to the door, and a cedar chest under the breakfast bar. I looked to my left, at the breakfast bar, through the little opening into the kitchen. Nope. So I peeked around the wall to see if maybe she was sitting on the kitchen floor. Not there. FUCK!  I ran through the dining room, to the bedroom. I yelled for her some more.  FUCK FUCK FUCK!! THIS IS NOT GOOD! She should've answered me by now! I looked around the room, but saw no signs of her. I could tell that she had slept in the bed, but that was about it. I stepped out of the room and immediately to my right, opened the bathroom door, hoping to find her. 

She wasn't there. She was no where in the apartment. I walked back into the bedroom to check if she left a note or anything. I looked all over the bed that sat in the center of the room, on the desk that sat right under the window, by the closet. No note.

I turned around and noticed something I hadn't noticed before. A bullet hole in the wall opposite me. I know Max doesn't like the gun, so why would she shoot it? My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour, and started going even faster when I saw the gun's lock box open and empty. 

I noticed that something was written on a small post it note in the gun's lock box. I went to inspect further. The note read:

'Don't worry. She's safe with me. --Mark.'

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! Not only did he take her, but his smug ass took the time to write a note?! I have to find her!

I will find you, Max. And I will make sure he's dead this time.

<<<<<>>>>>

Oh, Arcadia Bay. How I hate you with every fiber of my being.

It wasn't easy getting to this shithole, either. I had to talk the Caulfields into helping me. I tried to hide the reason at first, but they didn't buy it. Probably because I had panic in my voice the entire conversation.  

So, there I was, in the backseat of their bright red Dodge Neon SRT4, with Vanessa driving like she's in a Fast and Furious movie, Ryan frantically screaming at police officers, giving them the directions I specified for them, Joyce crying next to me, and David just blankly staring out the window. I really hoped we weren't too late. We took the quickest way we could, they met me at the airport in Portland, and we went from there.

We pulled up to the old barn that was entirely destroyed.

"Chloe, are you sure this is the place?" Vanessa asked me.

"Yeah, let's hurry!" I yelled back as I threw my door open and ran to where I knew the bunker door was. "Don't just sit there, help me!" I screamed as I started moving planks of wood off it and attempted to lift it. 

David came over and helped me open the door. That dumbass didn't even buy a new lock. 

As soon as it was open, I ran down the stairs that lead to the vault-like door and punched the code into the keypad. How stupid can you be not only to neglect buying a new lock, but to also keep the same PIN code? 

I began to run, only for David to pull me back. "Chloe, what if he's armed?"

"I DON'T CARE!" I shoved his hand off me, bursting through the plastic strips that separated the survival supplies from the Dark Room. I didn't see him anywhere. 

"Ryan, keep watch, he isn't in here!" I knew Vanessa hadn't left the car, at the suggestion of David, Ryan, and myself.

Ryan nodded his agreement and left back toward to the entrance. 

I looked around for any sign of Max. Either he hadn't returned here or this was clearly a trap. I didn't care. Fuck it. "MAAAAX!!!!!!"  I screamed. 

I heard a noise coming from behind his backdrop. I slowly made my way over. "Chloe. He was here. Look." I looked back at David who was holding up a red binder labelled 'Maxine.'

"Closer to finding them." I continued slowly walking toward the backdrop. When I reached my destination, I gasped. Nothing else mattered to me in that moment.

Oh, my beautiful Max. I'm so sorry. 

Max was laying in her PJs, torn almost completely to shreds, bound by duct tape on her wrists and ankles, and tape over her mouth. "DAVID! DAVID, I FOUND HER! HELP ME!"

David quickly made his way over, not wasting any time in checking her pulse. "She's alive, but barely. We need to get her to the hospital, now. We don't have time for anything else." He was saying all of this as he lifted her into his arms and out the door he went, yelling at Ryan to call an ambulance. 

I stayed behind long enough to read the names on all the binders Jeffershit had laid out on his desk. Maxine, Kate, Victoria, Rachel, and surprisingly, Chloe. Sick fuck.

I made my way out of the bunker to find the whole place surrounded by police. Not Arcadia Bay police. Federal. "Miss Price, we're going to need a statement from you." One of the female officers said to me. She's a bit shorter than me, with long brunette hair. Even pulled back in an upward pony tail, her hair reached passed her butt. She couldn't have been any older than 27 or 28, either. She had dark brown eyes and looked to be Native American. Overall, she was a pretty woman.

I looked around and noticed Max being loaded into an ambulance. "Can I please ride with her to the hospital and give my statement there? Please. I can't leave her." I plead. 

"Sure, we'll follow the ambulance. Not normally our protocol, but I can see you care for her deeply. I'll see you at the hospital, Miss Price." She patted my shoulder, and turned to get in her vehicle.

I made my way to the ambulance. "Excuse me, but would it be possible to ride with her? She's my girlfriend. Please?" The EMTs nodded, and I hopped in as quick as I could. They all crowded around her mumbling something about a possible Ketamine overdose. Her pulse kept slowing. They were doing all they could. I grabbed her hand and started talking to her. "Max, it's Chloe. I'm here. I'm here and I'm never leaving you. Please don't leave me." Then something unbelievable happened.

Max flat lined.

A/N: I just love cliffhangers, don't you? This is the longest chapter yet, and believe it or not, this isn't the climax of the story. Just a part I had to get out of the way to reach the climax. You might get another part today, or I might just leave you hanging until tomorrow. Haven't decided yet. Please read, review, and share! Love you brats!