Who: Alex & Max Where: Castle View When: Wednesday afternoon 12/27 Status: Complete
Life after prison was complicated work because of bureaucracy bullshit and Max had been running errands all afternoon. It was freezing cold out and he was dressed accordingly but still suffered every time he ran to or from the truck, cursing dramatically when he got back behind the wheel that last time. Thank whatever deity was out therqq1? that was over he thought and apparently that was enough to jinx him. The engine didn't start. Now, Max was pretty good about fixing engines, be they car engines or bike engines, but in this cold? Fuck. That. He let out an impressive stream of curse words as he tried the ignition over and over and over again, then slumped down in the car seat, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought about his options and tried to suss out one that didn't cost a lot of money. At least the truck wasn't illegally parked or anything, he'd been behaving lately, so it wouldn't get towed if he left it.
It was a little surreal because when he opened his eyes he could see the fog coming, rolling down the street and over the houses like a flood of porridge. "Holy shit," Max whispered to himself and looked around quickly to get his bearings. He couldn't stay in the car if it didn't start, it was freezing out! He was near Castle View and one of his ex flings lived there. Jordan. Things hadn't ended too poorly between them and hell, if she was still single it might be a nice waste of time to hang out with her. Max didn't have much time to second guess it because that fog was coming fast so he got out of the car and jogged down the street toward where Jordan lived.
Fog should not catch up to a jogging man, but it did, freezing cold and all encompassing and terrible. Max had heard about the last time fog rolled through Point Pleasant and he braced himself for madness but none came. Just the cold that seemed to slip underneath his protective layers and reach the marrow of his bones. Fantastic.
At least he knew where he was and which way to go so he gingerly walked until he found the building and then Jordan's door. He knocked but she didn't answer and it was so cold. Jordan wasn't the type to shoot someone on sight so Max took a chance. He could get the door open or squeeze through a window - or break a window and pay her later. He just really needed to get inside. Luck was with him and the door was unlocked. He was shaking so hard it made it hard to think and he kicked the door closed before toeing off his wet boots, breathing warm air on his fingers as he stumbled inside. It wasn't until he was a few steps into the apartment that he realized that... Jordan probably didn't live here anymore. Nothing looked familiar but there were a few boxes lying around so she might be moving out. Or someone else might be moving in. The last thing Max needed was for someone to call the cops on him for breaking in but there was no way he was going back out into the cold.
The apartment was depressingly dark when Alex finished work. He hadn't opened the curtains that morning and he didn't bother to open them now either. It'd be dark and time to close them again soon so he flicked the lights on instead and turned up the heater. It had been an exhausting day; Everybody wanted hot drinks with their post-Christmas shopping and who could really blame them with the weather like it was. By the time he finished just before three, his only plans were to take a long, hot shower and fall into bed until dinner.
Alex wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep but when he fumbled for his phone, he found that it hadn’t been that long at all. He was surprised to see it was only a few minutes after four. He’d expected to be out for hours but he felt fine, almost human again, and he got up to hunt for a coffee dressed only in last night’s sweatpants. He was almost halfway to the kitchen when he realised something felt off. He couldn’t place what it was at first but when he turned, he spotted a stranger by the front door. “The fuck?!” he yelped and grabbed for the nearest thing he could reach, a dirty mug he’d left on the coffee table that morning. He held it up high, ready to throw, and stared at the skinny man standing in his apartment. “What the fuck are you doing in here? Explain it fast or this is coming at you.”
"Whoa!" Max said as he raised his arms quickly. This was not Jordan, equally pretty but a lot younger and male. Most definitely not Jordan, doubtfully even her new lover. Alex might not have a gun and the mug wasn't much of a threat but Max still had plenty of reason to be scared because shit, he'd been busted for breaking and entering before, if the police got involved now he was fucked.
"I thought Jordan still lived here," he said hurriedly. "The door was open! I knocked but nobody answered so I tried the door knob because shit it's fucked out there." He eyed the mug in Alex's hand, glancing between it and Alex's face a few times before lowering his hands a little, still turning his palms toward Alex in a traditional 'I'm unarmed' gesture. "I'm Max, unarmed, not trying to rob you I swear."
Alex looked over the stranger in front of him. The guy was skinny but he looked tougher than Alex felt and he wasn't sure if he stood a chance if it came to blows. He lowered his throwing arm down to about shoulder height but kept the mug clutched tightly in his fist. "What are you talking about?" Alex asked. He glanced at the window but the closed curtain blocked any view of what might be 'fucked' out there. He hadn't seen anything when he finished work and it sounded like something made up but this was Point Pleasant after all. "Who the hell is Jordan? You should leave before I call the police."
Max could not go back out there. He'd just end up banging on doors along the block until he probably froze to death or had to really break and enter somebody else's home. That meant trouble. Not that he wasn't already in trouble.. "Jordan Dillard?" He said with a pained smile. "Brown hair, pillow lips, killer tits? No? She lived here, I swear. Uh, couple years back so she obviously fucking moved. Damn. Listen, wait..." He gestured at the door. "It's blind out there, foggy as shit and cold as fuck. My car won't start so if you kick me out? I'm probably going to succumb to the elements and you don't look like the kinda guy who wants that on his conscience." He hoped he was right. The guy looked very normal, not douchey or roid-ragey. He might be an asshole but he didn't strike Max as one, or at least not the type to kick a guy out into this kind of fog. He was hoping his charmer smile was working. He could be charming when he needed to be.
It had been months since he'd received any mail for past tenants but the name was familiar to Alex. It was either a convenient story or the guy was telling the truth. "What do you mean it's foggy out there?" Alex asked. He wished he had his phone on him so that he could call the police but it was beside his bed and he didn't want to turn his back on the intruder to get it. He waved the mug in his hand towards the door. "Open it, show me."
"With pleasure," Max exclaimed before wrinkling his nose. "Or not really. It's cold, but you get my meaning." He opened the door and stepped aside so Alex could see for himself. It was eerie, the way the fog wafted in just an inch or two but no more, like a semi solid wall clinging to the doorframe. Max could see the ground for a few feet but no more than that and he grimaced at Alex. "I'd fuck off and go home but... Here, let me show you some ID? I can tell you my life story while we wait it out? If anything needs fixing I'm good at that too." He could be useful, it had gotten him through some rough patches and hopefully it'd get him through this one too.
Alex had expected a fog, maybe even a bad one that sent possibly homeless people looking for shelter but nothing like what hung in the doorway. "Woah, what the… It wasn't like this an hour ago." He dropped his arm and set the mug down before he walked over to the doorway to peer outside. He stuck his hand out into the air and tried to grab at the fog as if it was as solid as it looked. He stared at the thick wall of fog until the cold started to eat at his exposed skin too much and he grabbed the door to push it closed. He turned to Max and looked him over carefully. He didn't seem dangerous and Alex couldn't send anybody out to die so he sighed and offered a handshake. "I'm Alex. I guess we're stuck together for a few hours so don't try to pull anything funny or you're going out there, fog or no fog."
Max stepped back and gave Alex some space, well aware he might still pose a threat to him, being an intruder and all. His smile came easy when Alex introduced himself and he grabbed his hand and shook it. It was a bit endearing, he was pretty sure he could easily take Alex in a fight if he actually wanted the trouble but he nodded sharply, taking the threat seriously. "Wasn't planning on causing any trouble," he promised and at least that much was true. Sure, he broke into homes all the damn time - just never in his hometown. It was a don't shit where you eat sort of thing. "I'm Max O'Reilly, Jordan was my girlfriend back in the day. Hell I can show you her facebook, I'm sure she still has one." He held out his hands in a non-threatening manner before getting his phone from his pocket - slowly, so Alex knew it wasn't a weapon. "You'll see what I mean about the pillow lips."
Alex tried to remember Max's full name in case he needed to make a police report later but he knew he'd probably forget when he was sure he wouldn't need it. Besides, the guy didn't seem so bad. Maybe a little eager to talk about his ex-girlfriend but Alex wrote it off as wanting to prove his honest mistake. He guessed that "pillow lips" meant she'd probably had botox or whatever people used to get the duckface look but he wasn't completely sure of what the term meant and found himself curious about the photo. "What's the matter, she block you?" he joked when it took a little long.
Max was just eager to prove his point. Jordan still had him friended - one of the few exes he was still on good terms with - and online friendship was decent currency in 2019 when it came to figuring out who you were dealing with. "I just got this damn sim card," he muttered as he watched his phone do absolutely nothing. "I don't even have any bars." He turned the phone to show Alex, pouting a little at the inconvenience. That didn't look good and he knew it. "Check your phone, you can look me up or call my little sister." Which was what Max wanted to do now. If this fog was as shitty as the last one he'd want to make sure his family was safe. They were more capable than he was so he rarely worried about them but he knew Shayna Mae had gone out before he did and who knew where the hell she was now.
"You can call her on mine, let her know you're safe," Alex said as he walked back into the bedroom. He figured that'd be better than some stranger calling if her brother was safe because he broke in. He quickly found his phone and brought it back out to Max before he checked it. Only as he was handing it over, did he notice he had no reception either. He pulled it back from Max and tried to load a website without any luck. "Wait, what the hell is going on? I can't get online either but I was using Spotify maybe an hour ago…"
"It's probably the fog," Max sighed and he was willing to bet it wasn't normal fog either. He strolled over to the nearest window to pull the curtain aside and peek, frowning at the wall of white facing him. "It rolled in so fast, it was like an avalanche. I couldn't outrun it." He still felt chilly from it too, his clothes a little damp and uncomfortable. If Jordan still lived here, he'd have taken them off by now but no, luck be a bitch. At least he had decided Alex wasn't a threat to him so this would go a little more smoothly now. "Guess you're stuck with me," he said with a little shrug and unzipped his jacket.
Max's description didn't sound like any fog Alex had ever seen before but he wasn't surprised if it was Point Pleasant weirdness all over again. The longer he stayed, the more he could understand the locals who didn't even blink an eye at this kind of thing. Alex took a deep breath and looked around the apartment. "I guess I am," he said. He gestured vaguely around the living room. "I think I have Monopoly somewhere. Maybe we can bust that out if we get really feeling desperate but until then I guess make yourself at home. There's food, coffee, bathroom's through there… Do you need anything?"
"I could use a drink if you have anything with a kick," Max said casually as he kicked off his boots, then wandered into the apartment and looked it over curiously. "Are you coming or going?" he asked as he gestured at the boxes, all unpacked - or half packed? The place didn't really look lived in right now.
Alex had become used to the barren state of his apartment and it took him a moment to realise how it would look to a stranger. He had meant to clear away the empty boxes months ago but never got around to it and he'd never felt like he was staying long enough to decorate it beyond the bare minimum. At least it was tidy enough. "Uh, staying. I've been meaning to deal with them but, you know…" He shrugged and headed into the kitchen. He didn't have many options but he did have a couple of bottles of beer in the fridge which he brought back to Max. "This do? Sorry, I wasn't expecting company or I'd have stocked up."
"Perfect," Max said. "I should have announced my arrival in time," he added cheekily as he accepted the bottle. "God damn unpredictable town. You a local?" He didn't know Alex but that didn't mean much, the kid looked a lot younger than him and Max didn't really know the younger generations in town. He might know Alex's family if he was born and raised but even that wasn't very likely unless he had a smoking hot older sister.
"I'm not but my family was," Alex said but he wasn't sure if that would count to a true local. Fin had said something about the right number of generations to count as true locals but he could have been joking or exaggerating, he still hadn't figured it out. He sat down onto the couch and leaned forward to neaten the coffee table. It wasn't especially messy but he had opened mail there and left it so he piled them up then leaned back and set his bare feet onto the table. "Sit down if you want. I'm from Portland but my mom and her parents were from here so I decided to come see it for myself for a while. Don't let the boxes fool you, I've been here about six or seven months."
"Didn't mean to stay this long, huh?" Max speculated and that wouldn't be the first time that happened around here. He looked around at the boxes with a slightly amused expression, then flopped down on the couch next to Alex. "So who are your folks? I might know them even if I don't know you." It wasn't likely but who knew. It was something to talk about at least. He had a feeling Alex had a better reason to come back than just to 'see it' but that was his business and Max knew to mind his own.
"My mom was Laura Woodard but she hasn't been here for years," Alex said. Max seemed a lot younger than his mother had been but if there was any chance they'd known each other, he wanted to know about it. He almost mentioned his father's name but decided against it. He didn't feel like explaining that side to a stranger today. "What about you, what's your story?"
'Just got out of prison' did not sound like a thing to tell Alex at this point in time so Max left that out, pulling a face as he thought about it. "Not much to tell. I live out in Blackwater Woods with the family right now but I come and go. This place has a pull on people, did you know? We all keep coming back like battered wives, no matter what this town throws at us." He didn't recognize Laura's name but that wasn't saying much. He didn't keep up well with the people in Point Pleasant nor did he much care about it all.
"There's a lot of animal attacks out there, isn't there?" Alex wasn't even completely sure where Blackwater Woods was, let alone anything about the kind of people who might live in it but he could guess based on stereotypes about lumberjacks or hicks. Max didn't especially seem like either but he probably was closer than Alex who was a city boy through and through. "I haven't been out there but I work at Joyland so I've heard about them."
"Ooh you work at Joyland," Max murmured. "It's a nice place." Not really the sort of place he spent a lot of his time, he was more of a fast food or bar kinda guy but he could still appreciate that it was a nice sort of place to go. "But yeah, we keep safe but there are some wild critters out there that aren't too friendly." He was pretty sure they couldn't live out there if not for all the magical wards and Knox protecting them but that wasn't really information he could readily give up. "So you like it here? Despite all the crazy shit that keeps happening?"
Alex thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "It's definitely interesting. It's probably not where I'll stay forever but it suits for now." He'd found himself questioning that lately but he’d finally come to the conclusion that he’d feel the same anywhere else. It was just the time of year and his first without any family. At least here, he had the chance to find answers. He spotted the remote beside him and pushed it closer to Max. “You can put it on if you’d like. Maybe it’ll have something on the news.”
Max grabbed the remote and turned on the TV then let out a frustrated little groan as every channel seemed unavailable. "Well, this is some typical Point Pleasant bullshit of quality right there," he said as he turned the TV off again. He let his head fall back against the back of the couch, then glanced over at his reluctant host and took a long swig of his beer. He was going to need alcohol to get through this and it made him wish he'd been closer to the Back Porch Pub. He was friendly with all the Lucases that worked there, they had a lot of booze and they all had a lot of catching up to do. But no, he was here with a stranger and a TV that didn't work. "This had better clear up real fast."
Alex stared at the blank television screen, not in the least bit surprised to find it wasn't working. He sighed and tipped his head back against the couch. "If I'd known it was coming, I'd have at least stocked up first. Junk food, beer, whatever. The best I've got is Monopoly somewhere but it'd be real awkward if we fought this early. Who knows how long it'll last."
Max snorted softly with amusement but there was definitely anxiety building up inside of him. He'd been trapped for two years, different kind of trapped but it boiled down to the same thing - unable to leave. "Let's hope it doesn't last long enough for that to be a problem," he muttered but he really worried that it would. He knew Shayna Mae had gone to town today too, where the hell did she end up? And where was Aidan? The only people he didn't really have to worry about were his dad and Knox, his dad because he was most definitely just at home, drinking. Knox because Knox wasn't human. He wasn't sure what if anything could destroy the family's familiar.
As time ticked by he began realizing his worry hadn't been unfounded. Hours slid by, slow and boring. On the upside Alex wasn't terrible company, on the downside he hadn't been wrong about the snacks. There was not a lot of food in the apartment and Max knew this would all have been a lot nicer if they'd had more beer.
Monopoly was better than nothing but mostly they just hung around and waited, then slept sporadically through the night. The next morning Max gave up and informed Alex he was going to try to see if anyone else was home in the complex. Maybe they could hole up somewhere else, somewhere with food and - if they were very lucky - DVDs. The good thing about Castle View was how connected everything was so all he had to do was follow the wall until he found another door. Getting lost would take some effort. "You got any winter clothes?" he asked as he grabbed his own coat. He really hadn't dressed well enough for this nonsense, relying on the fact he was driving everywhere.
The last thing Alex wanted to do was go out into the fog but he didn't want to be branded a coward for staying in either. It was just fog, even if it was much thicker than any he'd seen before but Point Pleasant always took things to extremes… Right? He'd managed to convince Max to put any ideas of leaving on hold until morning when surely the fog would let up but when the sun was up, theoretically since it was still dark, the fog was still there and Max was restless again.
"You can raid my wardrobe, borrow anything you want," Alex said as watched Max from the doorway of his room. He wasn't sure if he'd get anything back but he didn't care too much if it never came back. He didn't particularly want to leave the safety of his apartment but he felt obliged to follow. To help or find supplies of his own if they ended up parting ways. They'd find doors easily enough and hopefully one of them would be open.
"Come on." He turned back into his bedroom to go find some extra clothes for the both of them. He pulled out his only overcoat for himself and dropped it on the bed before he grabbed some extra sweaters and socks from the drawers to divide between the two of them. He couldn't offer Max an extra coat but he'd make sure he was layered up enough underneath. "So what exactly is your plan?"
"We hit up your neighbors and find out if they're better prepared than we are," Max told him as he pulled on some of the clothes. Most of Alex's stuff wasn't going to fit him since he was longer and lankier than Max was but he found a scarf and hat that would help as well as a sweater that was obviously loose on Alex because it fit Max just fine. He supposed they could wait a few hours and hope the fog would let up eventually but he didn't want to leave going out there until he was hungry and cranky so now felt like a good time. If nobody was home, he'd find a way in, he was at least good at that part. "You can wait here if you want, you know," he pointed out with a little grin as he pulled on his jacket over Alex's sweater. With the layers it fit almost like it had before jail and it was sort of nice.
"Would you hold it against me if I didn't go?" Alex asked after a moment of hesitation. He didn't want to admit he was scared but it would be stupid to pretend the fog was just fog. He hadn't seen anything to indicate it wasn't yet but he had a feeling they'd find something soon. He thought going out was stupid, at least this soon into it when the food situation wasn't dire yet. There wasn't a lot of variety but he had enough staples to make a couple of meals. It'd last longer if they rationed and longer still if they only had to feed one person, a thought that had snuck in overnight and left him feeling guilty. Surely it'd pass before long, it had to.
He shifted from foot to foot as he debated about it then finally sighed. "Okay, honestly, I'd rather stay here." He looked down at the scarf he was holding then held it out to Max. He already had one but another couldn't hurt. Alex was sure he had another somewhere in case he needed it. "You should take it. I'd rather send you out over-prepared than the opposite. I have a bad feeling about this so… Give it a couple of doors and if you don't find anything, come back."
It probably was stupid but Max felt trapped and antsy and that was hard to reason with. He might not even make it to the next door before he wrote the whole thing off as dumb but he had to try - had to do something or he'd go out of his mind. Alex was nice and nobody was bothering him and he was still getting uncomfortable flashbacks of prison already, that mind numbing boredom and restlessness rearing its ugly head. "I'm not gonna make you do anything you don't wanna do," he said jovially. "But I'm totally taking this." He accepted the scarf and raised it in thanks before wrapping it around his head for some more insulation. "Just means I gotta do more trips if I find a place," he muttered after tugging the scarf down enough that it didn't cover his mouth. "Unless you're happy to stay here all alone. You want me to come back?"
Alex considered Max's offer to return then shook his head. "No, you stay somewhere safe when you find a place. Unless it lasts until the weekend, then you should probably come to rescue me." He laughed lightly but there was a truth to it he wasn't ready to admit. He could handle being alone for a couple of days but he wasn't sure how he'd feel for much longer than that and by then, the food situation would be a bit more dire. "Bring the clothes back whenever you get a chance. There's no rush but, you know…" He trailed off, looking awkward for a moment before he gestured to the door. "Well, I guess good luck. Be safe. All that stuff. Of all the people who could have broken in, I'm sure you're the nicest."
"I didn't really break in though," Max pointed out. "You left the door unlocked." He winked at Alex and braced himself to go out into the cold. "Don't laugh at me if I come back within five minutes, okay? It's fucking cold out there so no judging." He would wish he'd done exactly that later on, or that he hadn't gone out at all, but at that moment he was full of spit and vinegar and he needed to burn that energy and do something. It was really just typical for him that his impulsive nature would get him into trouble and it was doubtful he'd learn from it, even now. "See you soon, kiddo," he told Alex with a grin and pulled his scarf back over his face. "Thanks for the beer."
"Any time, see you," Alex said. He tried to keep his tone light but there was a worried feeling gnawing in the bottom of his stomach. He almost told Max to stay but the man was too determined to go and he couldn't think of anything that would convince him to give up the idea. He watched him disappear into the fog and stood in the doorway for a few minutes longer in case Max changed his mind. Nobody came and after a while, the cold became too much for him to handle, even as rugged up as he was. He finally closed the door and made sure to lock it. He didn't want anybody else sneaking in. He mightn't be so lucky next time.