Disclaimer: I do not own Life is Strange, it belongs to DontNod, etc etc.

Author Note: What can I say, I have unusual tastes, and like to play around with unlikely couples. As a warning because I don't know exactly how extreme this fic may get, there is a lot of abuse and rape in this story (not a sexual kind, but I still feel that it is rape, even if no sexual actions take place), so if that might offend you, please do not read any further. That said, I hope you do read, and that you enjoy. I have an idea for where this is going, so I'm hopeful it'll keep my interest. I am however curious to see if there is any interest in this fic, so please, kudos and comment to let me know if you like it and I'll go from there. Also, there will be Pricefield in this story, but not right away. If that's what you're here for, I hope you stick around for the ride, and I promise that it is coming. Thanks and again, hope you enjoy it!

Life is Strange

Salvation

Chapter One

Through wafts of smoke, Victoria Chase looked with tired eyes at the animated action taking place on her television. She lounged on her bed, back half against the wall, cigarette held in one hand, whilst her other hand played with the hem of her pyjama top absently. There was an aura of misery in the dorm room, from the haphazardly strewn clothing, rumpled bed sheets speckled with cigarette ash, and overall disarray in what, under normal circumstances, was a generally tidy space. It wasn't just the room that looked to be in disarray either, as Victoria herself looked far from her best, with dark ringed eyes standing out on her usually well made up face.

This gloominess had been the status quo for over a month now, ever since the last Vortex Club gathering, or, more specifically, after Victoria woke up the following day, with no memory of the night before, and a sick, hollow feeling in her stomach. She had rough bruises on her arms and legs, but no other signs of physical trauma. No sign of sexual assault, just a dirty, disgusting sick knowledge that something had happened to her the night before.

Victoria had been drunk before, had been very, very drunk, but she had never experienced this total blackness of memory. A whole void of nothingness in her life she couldn't recall. This wasn't from being drunk. This was from being drugged. She knew it, but what could she do? Go to the police, and tell them what? She was pretty sure she hadn't been raped, at least not in the strictest sense of the word. They would take a report, sure, but not with any seriousness. Nothing would come of it; so all she could do was live with it, the knowledge festering inside her, hollowing her out day after day.

Taylor and Courtney saw the change in her, tried to help her, but when she told them her suspicions, she could tell they didn't seem convinced. They told her she had been wasted, and she was all over Nathan, apparently, but he had been a true gentleman in their eyes and after some time, he took her home to sleep it off. When Victoria asked Nathan, he confirmed their story word for word. So whatever had happened, it took place after Nathan left her here and went back to the party.

Perhaps she was wrong; perhaps nothing had happened after all. Perhaps the bruises came from Nathan trying to get her home. But Victoria didn't believe any of that. She knew something had happened, just knew, like a kind of sixth sense. That knowledge ate at her, devouring what confidence she had, replacing it with this pervasive fear. She withdrew from the social scene of Blackwell, only emerging from her room to go to classes, and she always made sure she was with someone, feeling slightly safer in numbers.

Despite her outward appearance, Victoria had never been the most confident person. She put on that façade to hide her own insecurities, as if acting tough and self-assured would somehow make it true. The youngest child of Nicholas and Charisma Chase, she had been forced to fight for attention her whole life, attention that invariably went to her very talented and successful older sister Louise.

Louise Chase was a high profile photographer, world renowned for her unique style and presentation, and many of her pieces proudly graced the walls of the Chase Space, as if her parents just couldn't let anyone forget how fabulous and gifted their eldest daughter was. What else was Victoria going to do but attempt to follow in those footsteps, in a vain effort to gain some admiration herself?

Yet here at Blackwell she was bombarded with evidence of her own mediocrity. Nathan had his own fantastic dark style. Max Caulfield, the selfie loving lesbian, exuded a simplistic approach that was nonetheless captivating. Kate Marsh wasn't much for photography, but it was clear her love lived elsewhere in her beautiful artwork. Meanwhile Victoria floundered in her pathetic attempts to emulate her sister.

Now even her false confidence had been stripped from her. She was just too tired and overwhelmed to keep it up. She moved through life like a zombie, saying little, feeling the weight of her rape pushing her down - for that was what it was, whether sexual or not. She felt defiled and weak and scared. And she hated herself for all of it.

Victoria was so defeated she couldn't even enjoy her favourite anime anymore. She watched dispassionately, taking drag after drag from her cigarette in an attempt to dull the feelings of despair curdling in her chest.

The knocking at her door startled her, and she almost dropped her cigarette, only just managing to catch it at the last second. She turned to face the door and called out with anger, but also a slight shake of panic, "what?"

The door opened and in stepped Taylor and Courtney, looking decked out in fashionable outfits, clearly ready to party. Taylor wore a slinky black dress with a low cut, showing off the tops of her breasts, the dress so short it also revealed plenty of thigh to drive the guys wild. Courtney had opted for a more casual look, but still looked fantastic in her designer jeans and shirt, the jeans tight to show off her legs, the shirt tucked into the jeans at the front with the top few buttons undone to show of her racy black bra.

Tonight was the Vortex Club's Saturday Night Spectacular, just one of the many events lined up over the next few months, all of them leading up to the year ending End of the World all night rager. It was also the first Vortex Club event since Victoria had been drugged.

"Hey Vic," Taylor said, leaning against the doorway, "what are you doing? Why aren't you getting ready?"

"Yeah girl, we're going to part-ay!" Courtney added, raising her arms above her head and swinging her hips exaggeratedly.

"I told you," Victoria replied, "I'm not going."

Courtney stopped dancing and looked at Taylor in alarm. Taylor shook her head. "We didn't think you were serious about that. Come on Vic, its no party without you. You have to come."

"No, I don't."

"Is this about that… thing?"

"If you mean when I was drugged," Victoria said bluntly, "then yeah, it is."

Courtney and Taylor exchanged another look. "Vic, come on. We know you're feeling off, but don't you think getting out and having a good time will make you feel better?"

"Yeah," Courtney added, "sitting in here all day," and here she looked around at the messy room with a slight wrinkle to her nose, "it can't be good for you."

Victoria sighed. She knew her friends were just trying to help her, trying to encourage her out of her newfound shell, but she also couldn't help but be hurt by their lack of faith in her. They clearly didn't believe she had been drugged.

"Please," Taylor begged, "just come out with us and you'll see that you'll start feeling better, I know it. You don't even have to drink anything if you're worried about that. And we'll be with you the whole time. Right Courtney?"

"Right!"

Victoria had to smile at that. Even if they didn't believe her, they still valued her friendship. It was nice, sure, but was it enough to give her the courage to brave another Vortex party so soon?

"I'm not ready," Victoria said softly, somewhat weakly using it as an excuse, "and I don't have anything to wear. I've not even showered. My hair is a mess…"

"Never mind all that," Taylor chimed in, rushing forward to take her hand as if she had already agreed to go. She hadn't, but it didn't look like they were going to give her a choice either way. And maybe Victoria was glad for that. Maybe they were right. Maybe getting out and having a good time would make her feel better. Maybe.

"Yeah Vic, we'll have you looking like your old self in no time." Courtney took her cigarette from her and stumped it out with a big smile. "We'll show everyone Victoria Chase is back, and she's still the Queen! Taylor, you get her washed up and do her hair, I'll find her something to wear. This is going to be great!"

Together they pushed and pulled her around until finally she was at the very least presentable. It was time for Victoria Chase to return to the Vortex Club.

(-)

This was a big mistake. Victoria huddled in on herself, feeling the swell of gyrating bodies pressing in around her, the flashing lights blinding her, the upbeat music deafening to her ears. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, the threat of so many people all around, the loud rumble of shouted conversations and thudding music making it very hard to think clearly.

Despite her words, Taylor had immediately pressed a drink into her hands. Victoria held it to her chest now like a live grenade. She had been here for at least an hour now, even though it felt like a lifetime, and she had yet to take a single sip. Courtney and Taylor didn't seem to notice, or if they had, didn't care. In fact, as soon as they'd arrived at the party, they hadn't paid much mind to her. To give them credit, they had been true to their word in one way, and hadn't left her side so far. That said, Victoria wondered why they'd even wanted her to come at all if all they planned on doing was ignoring her and talking to whatever dumb jock they could sink their hooks into. She felt like a puppy on a leash, terrified by it's foreign surroundings and ignored by its masters.

"What am I doing here?" Victoria whispered under her breath, looking down at the drink in her hands. Peer pressure, of course. Should she just drink and get it over with? But no, she shook her head. She couldn't do that, even if she had wanted to. The fear was too strong. She could feel sweat dripping down the nape of her neck, trickling between her shoulder blades, her flesh sticking to her cream blouse.

The panic was setting in, so she looked to Taylor for comfort, only to find her currently swapping spit with Duncan McIntosh. Wonderful. She tried to find Courtney with her eyes, but the other girl was nowhere to be seen. She was there just a second ago. Heart beating furiously in her chest, she scanned the crowd, hoping to find the familiar figure of her friend.

Victoria couldn't see Courtney anywhere, but she did see something else that caught her eye. Kate Marsh was currently leaning up against Hayden; legs wobbly as if she couldn't support her own weight. Hayden pushed her away with a laugh and Kate stumbled back into Zach. He grabbed Kate around the waist and Victoria saw him grab a handful of her ass. Shocked to the spot, she could only watch as Zach leaned down and claimed Katie's lips with his own. Even more surprising was the lack of resistance from Kate, the normally very prim and proper girl allowing herself to be groped and manhandled by Zach.

Alarm bells began ringing in her head, and before she knew it, Victoria found herself striding into the fray, pushing bodies aside, the drink in her hands sloshing about and spilling all over her expensive blouse (not to mention other people, who yelled out after her in protest), and yet she didn't care. She set her sights on Kate, who was now being tossed around by Hayden in a mockery of a dance. Disgust welled up inside her, and as she reached the trio, she called out, "stop it! Get off of her!"

Zach and Hayden turned surprised eyes to Victoria. She saw both of them appeared pretty glassy eyed, definitely drunk and probably high to boot, but she didn't care.

"Woah Vic, chill, we're just having some fun," Hayden protested.

"Yeah babe, chill," Zach added. "Plenty of room for both of you." He laughed as if he'd said something funny. "Come here baby."

When he reached for her, Victoria felt her chest tighten in fear, and she reacted on instinct, striking out with an open hand and slapping Zach in the face. He reeled back, shocked and obviously surprised, and most likely due to his drunken state; he lost his footing and fell onto his ass, causing a roar of laughter to break out in the vicinity. Hayden seemed to forget all about Victoria and Kate as he turned to laugh at his fellow Vortex Club member, and so Victoria used the opportunity to grab Kate around the waist and pull her away from the guys.

The exit sign in the distance beckoned, and before long she was pulling a stumbling Kate out into the chill night air. The emergency exit door shut behind her with a bang. Stars dotted the night sky beautifully, but Victoria paid them no mind as she continued to drag Katie away from the Blackwell gym and towards the girl's dormitory. The night was especially chilly, and before long both Victoria and Kate shivered with the cold.

"Hold on Katie, we're almost there," Victoria whispered into the out of it girls ear. Kate burrowed into Victoria's chest and let out a little moan. No thoughts of Taylor or Courtney remained; all she could do was focus on Kate, who had clearly been drugged, just like she had a little over a month ago at the last Vortex event. She couldn't think about the implications of that right now though.

With great effort on her part, Victoria dragged Kate all the way up to her room, the drugged girl more of a hindrance at this point. In the hallway, Victoria considered putting Kate in her room, but didn't want to scare the girl by having her wake in unfamiliar surroundings, and so she gently manoeuvred her into her own room. Victoria had never been inside this particular dorm room before, but she had no time to examine it right now. Instead she moved Kate over to her bed and softly laid her down. She paused for a moment, and then went to move away, only to find that at some point Kate had grabbed her hand. She hadn't even realised. She gently tried to disentangle herself, only for Kate to moan, "don't… go…"

Victoria felt her heart swell for the poor girl. She reached out to move a bang away from her face, and in that moment Kate moved her head and kissed her palm. Victoria froze, but Kate made no more movements. She could feel the tingle on her skin where the other girl's lips had made contact. After a few moments, she finished tucking the bang back and then stepped away. Kate turned on her side and burrowed into her pillow with a low sigh.

In the silence that followed, Victoria allowed herself a breath, and she suddenly realised how tired she was, as if she had run a marathon. The events of the past fifteen minutes played over in her mind again, every scary second. She couldn't believe how quickly her fear had been pushed aside. She had seen Katie in danger and just acted. She took another shuddery breath as the fear returned. Then she steeled herself. It wasn't over yet. She wasn't going to leave Kate alone tonight, that's for sure. She grabbed a nearby chair and sat down.

It was going to be a long night.