After two hours of nothing but sorrow and sadness, Max couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on a rain-soaked bench; she buried her face in her hands. All she could think about was the sound of the gunshot and its deafening reverb in the bathroom ringing inside her head, and the image of her best friend collapsing to the ground. Sure, she had known the girl since forever, but maybe the blow wouldn't have been so hard if they didn't just spend the last week together for the first time in how long. Did they really spend the last week together? Did everything really happen in the first place? Why didn't she just tear up that butterfly picture and let Arcadia Bay go to hell? It wasn't worth much more anyway.
"Max?" she heard. She didn't look up until she felt the hand touch her shoulder.
"Hey, Kate," she responded, struggling to get the words out.
"I'm sorry about your friend,"
"Thanks," Max said, "You didn't have to come today; I know you didn't know her."
"I know, but I wish I could have. If she was anything like you then I know she was a good person. Besides, you have always been there for me…even through…well…you know. I thought it was only right that I do the same."
"You're so sweet, Kate, I'll never understand how anyone could bully you." Max turned her gaze back to the ground.
"You look like you want to be alone right now; so I'll leave you be. My door is always open if you want to talk."
No sooner than Kate had walked away from Max and her bench was she approached by Joyce and David. Not she wanted to ignore them and continue wallowing in sadness, but she still didn't feel like talking to either of them.
"Thank you for coming today Max," Joyce said, "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."
"I can't imagine how you feel after what you've just experienced," David added.
"What I would have given for you two to have had just a few days together…" Joyce continued.
"It's weird," Max said, "I know we didn't see each other before it…happened. But for some reason it feels like we've been together a whole week."
"Tragedy can sometimes bring memories to us," David remarked. Although it was a simple thought, it seemed strangely poetic coming from him. And speaking of memories, Max noticed something she had seen several times before: a vaguely translucent doe trotting around in front of the tree line of the forest. While she had followed it before, she never really understood what it was or why it was there.
"Max? Are you okay?" Joyce said.
"What? Oh…yeah," Max regained her focus, "Can you just…I—I need a minute," She returned her attention to the doe as it pranced into the forest and took off after it.
"Max!" Joyce raised her voice.
"It's okay," David said, "Just give the girl some space."
Max reached the forest and struggled to keep her eyes on the ever moving animal. I am going to learn your secret, she thought, I thought this was over, but all of this started with you. Max chased and chased as the deer gradually escaped her line of sight. Where is it? Where are you? Max reached a clearing in the woods and realized there was no way of tracking the animal any further. No, no, no… "WHERE ARE YOU!" she yelled to the trees, "WHAT ARE YOU!" of course she received no answer. She felt her eyes well up with tears once again and, holding nothing back, threw hear head back and screamed to the sky with all her power and voice. She dropped to her knees in the wet grass and mud and pounded her fists in the puddles having lost any hope of finding answers.
"What the hell are you crying for?" someone said behind her. Max looked up and spun around to see a girl standing in the clearing. She had the same sort of ethereal appearance that the doe had, and she looked familiar, like Max knew her, but couldn't place a name.
"You're that deer, aren't you," Max said to the girl.
"What deer?" the girl asked, turning her back to Max, "All I see are a bunch of trees, and a girl bawling her eyes out like she just lost her best friend."
"Like you care…clearly," Max replied. She had no doubt that this girl was somehow connected to the deer. There was also no doubt this girl certainly aware of the inner turmoil Max was feeling at that moment.
"I don't. But if it's any consolation; you made the right choice."
"What choice was that?"
"Sacrificing your friend for the greater good."
"Really? It sure doesn't feel like the right choice." Max explained, "I tried everything to save her and the only think I could do was fail."
"Perhaps."
"Excuse me?"
"Sometimes destiny dictates that we fail," the girl explained. "Or maybe the reason you failed was because you were trying to save the wrong person."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The girl turned to face Max again, "Are you just going to pretend, to me, like a week's worth of time-fucking just escaped your memory?" she took a step closer to Max and her face began to look more familiar.
"Rachel?" Max mumbled to herself as she attempted to match the girl's face with the "MISSING" posters she had seen all over the town. "You're Rachel Amber, aren't you?" she asked formally, raising her voice to be heard.
"I'm sorry," the girl said, "I'm not."
"But you want me to save her, right?" Max asked, "You say I tried to save the wrong person; is Rachel the one I'm supposed to save?"
The girl said nothing, but her intense stare was more than enough to confirm Max's assumption.
"What's done is done," Max explained, "Even if I wanted to save her, how would I go about it?"
"You tell me, Maxine Caulfield. You're the time keeper." The girl turned around again and began walking toward the dense line of trees.
"Wait!" Max yelled after her, "If you're not Rachel, then who are you?"
"I'm nobody, Max, just a figment of your imagination." She said before disappearing into the trees.