Title: Beyond the Bay.

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All Five Episodes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Life is Strange.

Summary: After the events of Episode Five, life still goes on but it is not all sunshine and butterflies, because all choices have consequences. Some immediate, some much further reaching. Major Spoilers for Episode Five.

Chloe and Max were in a state of shock as Chloe slowly drove her truck through the ruins of Acadia Bay. Max has seen how much damage there was when she had moved through the town, helping who she could. She had seen cars thrown through the upper stories of buildings, eighteen wheeler big-rigs flipped on their sides and buildings half collapsed. That was before the storm proper had even hit the town. Now, most of the town was simply gone. The Two Whales was just a foundation. Blackwell was a pile of rubble. Chole's house… that entire neighbourhood was simply gone.

They had just driven out of town and just kept moving until night fell and then they had parked the truck on the side of the road. Max was woken the next morning by the sounds of emergency services vehicles passing, jerking her head up off of Chloe's shoulder as the first Police Car passed.

"Chloe, look." Max said, shaking her friend awake.

As Chloe slowly awoke, Max jumped out of the truck and flagged down one of the Fire Engines. Chloe got out of the truck and came around to stand by Max. At first the Firemen were annoyed that they had been flagged down, until the girls told them that the had come from Arcadia Bay, then they paid rapt attention because what they were being told was first hand information, rather than the vague reports they had been acting on. It was mostly Chloe who told the story of what happened with the storm, while Max was musing on her choices.

Most people would have struggled to make any choice given the decision she had to make, and it had been a tough choice for Max. Warren would have probably quoted Mr Spock and said 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'. Kate would have quoted the bible. For Max though there was no real choice, the tough part was living with it.

On the one hand were the people of Arcadia Bay. Warren, who was sweet but a bit too intense. Victoria, who was a stuck up bitch. Kate, who had given up and committed suicide. Joyce, who had been sweet to her but had never really gotten over William's death. David, who was broken from his experiences in combat. Frank, the angry drug dealer. All the others who Max barely knew or did not know at all.

On the other hand was Chloe. For Max, the last week had been centred around Chloe. The first time she had rewound time was to save Chloe. She had seen her best friend swear, fight and die. Hell once, in another reality, she had killed Chloe herself to stop her suffering. She had sacrificed William, a man who was like a second father to Max, for Chloe. She had been drugged, kidnapped and assaulted for Chloe. She had bent the laws of time and space for her blue haired, foul mouth punk.

Arcadia Bay was a concept, not something that you could hug or celebrate with or cry with. Chloe Price was flesh and blood, and the one thing Max could not live without.

Chloe touched Max on the shoulder, pulling her out of her introspection.

"Thanks Max." Chloe said, sarcastically. "You pull the over, then stick me with talking to them while you zone out."

"Sorry Chloe." Max said. "I was just thinking about everything."

"Oh man, I was a douche just then wasn't I?" Chloe said. "You save my life god knows how many times and I act like a total biatch. Not that I don't appreciate it, cause I hella do, Max."

"I know, Chloe." Max said. "It's just… I don't know. I think I… we need some distance from all this. Get a little perspective."

"I hear that." Chloe said. "Look, we still got some money left from the Disability Fund. Why don't we head over to Portland? We can get a room for a few days, take stock. Try and find out if anyone else made it out."

"Yeah. I guess." Max said, slightly despondent. "I should probably call my parents too. Let them know we are alive."

Chloe just nodded as she moved around to get into the Truck. Max got in and dialled her parents number on her smart phone as Chloe started up the engine and pulled back on to the highway.

Max jerked awake with a scream, waking Chloe who had been sleeping next to her. Chloe instantly wrapped her arms around Max, making soothing sounds as Max sobbed into her chest. It was two days since they had reached Portland and Chloe had rented a small room for the two of them. For the moment they were adrift with no real plan or purpose. Max's parents had tried to get them, or at least Max, to go to their house in Seattle but they had refused.

Chloe did not want to lie outright to the Caulfield's but honestly how could you stay with someone and not explain the full mind-fuck that had been their last week, particularly with how emotionally volatile Max had been the last few days. Max, of course, had refused to go anywhere without Chloe.

After about ten minutes Max had settled down enough to be able to speak.

"Sorry, Chloe." Max said, wiping the tears from her face and looking down at Chloe's soaked shirt.

"It's cool Max. Just tell me what's wrong." Chloe replied.

"I dreamt that I was back in the Dark Room." Max started in a small voice. "Jefferson had dragged you body in an had placed it in front of me, telling me over and over that it was my fault that you were dead and Arcadia Bay had been destroyed for nothing."

"Hey, Max." Chloe said, rubbing Max's back. "It was just a dream, and that asshole is dead."

"Yeah, I suppose. I mean I know David put a bullet in his head in the last timeline when I told David that Jefferson had killed you." Max said.

"The Step-dou… David did that?" Chloe asked.

Max simply nodded. The pair of them showered, individually, and then got dressed. They were sitting at the breakfast table eating a breakfast of cereal while Max read the Portland Tribune. The top story was about the storm that hit Arcadia Bay, but it was short on details.

"Chloe, did you bring your Laptop?" Max asked.

"Sure, I had it in the truck." Chloe said. "Why?"

"I think it's time to set the record straight about what happened in Arcadia Bay." Max replied.

"Max! You can't tell your story to the press. They'll think you are insane." Chloe said, shocked.

"Of course I am not going to tell them my story." Max said. "I'm going to tell them your story, Chloe."

"Are you fucking nuts, Max?" Chloe said. "That is a hella bad idea."

"Trust me, Chloe." Max said with a grin.

Two days later, Chloe was putting down the paper in shock as she read Max's article. That's right; the article was published under Max Caulfield's name. 'Life and death in Arcadia Bay: The Chloe Price Story' was the name of the article, and it was accompanied by three of Max's Photos. One was an image of Chloe leaning against her truck in front of her house; one was a picture of the destruction of the waterfront in front of the Two Whales of washed up whales in the foreground, things burning behind the whales and the oncoming storm dominating the background and the final picture was a shot of Chloe and her truck overlooking the completely decimated town.

The article told the story of one woman's crusade to find out what happened to her missing friend to the background of weird weather leading to the revelation of corruption, betrayal and murder as a once in five hundred year storm hit. Even Chloe, who had lived the events, had been riveted to the story told from a perspective she had never seen herself. It had sown Chloe as a strong female figure who, while being fallible, was driven to right a terrible wrong. It had given a more personal face to the tragedy and gotten readers interested in what had happened to Arcadia Bay and its people rather than just thinking 'oh that's sad' and going on with their everyday lives.

TBC…