Author's note: Warning - this chapter is quite dark and contains explicit and graphic descriptions of unpleasant, distasteful and upsetting situations. Not for the squeamish, easily offended or faint of heart.
Chloe knew instantly where she was – the girl's dorm at Blackwell. Except that wasn't where she was. Not at all. Chloe knew that this place wasn't the dorm. It wasn't even Blackwell. It wasn't anywhere.
"Oh shit." she muttered quietly to herself.
The corridor was illuminated only by flickering candles which were littered randomly along the edges near the walls. There was nothing but pitch blackness through the window at the far end. A small board leant against the wall immediately in front of her and to her left. It was thronged by candles. They were surrounding a teddy bear seated on the floor. 'Captain? Fuck! What the hell is this?'
Chloe cautiously walked forwards and bent down to pick up the soft toy...and froze. The board was a memorial. A memorial to Max. 'What...the...fuck? This can't be real...can it? How can she be dead? No. No way. Chill, Chloe. This place is nowhere. Nothing here is real. Where the fucking hell am I?'
On the left side of the memorial there was a framed photo of Max. A solitary blue flower was nestled in her hair. She was smiling the sweetest of smiles. 'She looks so happy.'
Lying in front of the photograph was what appeared to be the very same flower from Max's hair. A card lay next to it. Chloe picked it up and opened it. She recognised the handwriting inside immediately. It was her own. "Max. I love you with all my heart. I can't go on without you. I'm sorry. See you soon my perfect little Angel. Love, your Chloe. xxxxx"
'Oh man. This card...it's a...it's a suicide note. My suicide note. I'm going to kill myself? Again? Is this how it ends? But how can it? Why would I do that? Even if Max does get killed, I can just go back and stop it from happening. Just what in the fucking hell is this supposed to mean?'
Above the memorial there was a sign which read "NO BOYS ALLOWED". The centre word had been crossed out with a red marker and "DYKES" was written above it. "Yeah? That so? Really? I don't fucking think so. Fuck you."
Immediately to the right of the sign was a small flyer attached to the wall.
THE END IS NOW
Are you still ignoring the warnings?
Did you feel her pain?
Witness her torture?
See her die?
The signs are upon you.
Behold, The Reaper is coming,
with chariots like a whirlwind.
The Reaper will bring down death from the sky,
and destruction from the sea.
For with wind and with wave,
The Reaper will execute its purpose,
and many will be those slain by The Reaper.
As with the sign, each instance of "Reaper" had been struck through in the same red ink. But not with a cross. Here it had been replaced by "Shepherd". Chloe read on to the bottom of the page.
Arcadia Bay is the final battleground.
Ground zero.
The end of days has arrived.
"Not if I can fucking help it."
Chloe felt her phone begin to vibrate inside the pocket of her denims. 'Jesus! I thought this thing was totalled.'
She slid the phone out and tapped the screen. "Holy shit! How many fucking messages? Shitballs!"
The first message was from...herself. "Okaaaaay. Well that pretty much confirms that none of this crap is real. Max isn't dead. All of this is just so much horseshit. Thank fuck! Let's see what dreamworld other me has to say for herself. This should be fun."
Chloe double-tapped the screen with a blue fingernail.
"The end of your days has arrived, Chloe 'can't-even-fucking-manage-to-kill-herself-properly' Price. You are both going to die. You and that stupid little selfie-whore slut that you're fucking. She wasn't always a slut. Oh no. But she is now. She has you to thank for that. You and your utter inability to control your vile, base urges. You turned her into a raging, sex-mad fucking dyke! I hope you're fucking proud of yourself. She was totally pure, unsullied and innocent...until you went and fucking defiled her. You corrupted her. You took her virginity from her. Her virtue. Her purity. Shit, you might as well have fucking raped her for all the damage that you've done to her. You've killed her. You've condemned her to a long, slow, agonising death. You're a murderer. You are Max's murderer. You know that, right? Don't you? Because if you fucking don't, you are about to find out. Oh yes. And fucking how.
She was something beautiful, but now she's nothing but a slut, same as you. Just like everything else you fucking touch, she's turned to shit. You just couldn't keep your goddamn filthy hands off her, could you? Did it feel good when you fucked her? Did it feel good when she fucked you? When she put her tongue inside your rancid, fetid, festering, stinking sluthole? How the hell did she manage to do that without throwing up? You're nothing but a whore, and you know it.
Did you both enjoy it? The hot monkey sex? Coming together over and over again? Did it feel heavenly? You'd better hope that it did, 'cos girl you are both going to pay the price for your depraved fornication. Love the taste of her come, did you? How about the taste of her blood? Would you relish the taste of that just as much? You think that her screams were loud when you fucked her in the shower? Girl, you've heard nothing yet. You're gonna hear her scream a lot louder than that...and for a lot longer, too. And when you do hear her screaming, when you hear her begging and pleading for it to stop, remember that it was you that put her there, you that put her back in the dark room. It will be your fault. Hell, you might as well be the one who's torturing her to death.
You screwed up again, Chloe. How many times are you gonna fuck up? Don't you ever fucking learn? What the fuck is wrong with you? Why do you have to ruin everything? Just how fucking stupid are you? Save yourself the agony. Save Max hers. This can all be over right now for both of you. No one has to suffer. Accept your fate. Nobody would even miss your punk ass.
JUST FUCKING DIE."
"Well, it's a good job this is all total bullshit, other-me-who-doesn't-even-exist, because you sure are one hella horrible and vicious fucking bitch. I'd kick your goddamn ass if you were real. You're the one who can just fucking die. Bye bitch."
Chloe now addressed the teddy bear sitting on the ground in front of her. "Who's the next message from, I wonder? Is it from you, Captain? Wouldn't fucking surprise me if it was. Denise? Who the fuck's Denise?"
"Hi. Just thought I'd let you know that Max lied to you. I had her first. Loads of times. She used to talk dirty for me all the time. Does she do that for you? No? Too bad. I did stuff with her that you never have (or will), and she loved every damn second of it. You should have seen her. You should have heard her moans of ecstasy as I fisted her up the ass. She was just awesome! Has she let you do that to her? Awwww. Never mind. Damn she's sooooo hot! One seriously dirty fucker. Shame she's not like that with you, eh? Oh well. Ciao, loser. :D"
'Total bullshit! Like that would ever happen. I don't know where all these are coming from, but does anyone expect me to actually believe any of this shit? Is this supposed to bother me or something? They're gonna have to do a lot better than that.'
"Hey. Remember me? Warren? The boy who you told to stay away from Max? Right here in this corridor? Possessive much? Anyway, guess what? I beat my meat over a photo of your girlfriend. Remember that when you're screwing her. I'll probably come the same time as you two do. All over the photograph I have of her. Girl does she look great with my come all over her face! Anyway, gotta go. I've got a boner. Guess what I'm going to do now?"
'Now that's a vision I didn't want in my fucking head. Like ever. Just remember Chloe, none of this is real. Don't let it get to you. This has to be that fucking thing. It's trying to torment me. Well fuck you, douchebag. It ain't gonna work. Is this the best you can do? This is all so obviously fake. Pathetic. Who's next then? Victoria? Oooooo. I'm shaking.'
"Hi dyke. I loved your photo shoot with Jefferson. He absolutely captured you. Still wasn't as good as the one he did with me, though. If you want we can get high together. I'm already waiting for you, hanging in the barn...by my neck. Why don't you join me? Hope to see you soon, dyke. Real soon. :)"
'Hah! What fucking photo shoot? And like I give a flying fuck about her! She can die for all I care. Next."
The colour suddenly drained from Chloe's face. She has just seen the name of the sender of the next message.
"Dad"
Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin as a hand was laid upon her right shoulder.
"Don't read that one, Chloe. Put the phone away. We need to talk." said a very familiar voice.