All around Max, the familiar surroundings of the girls bathroom at Blackwell Academy were slowly coming back into focus. She had made it back from the lighthouse where she had just said her last emotional goodbye to Chloe upon agreeing to go back and sacrifice her for the good of Arcadia Bay.
Just then, Max heard the door open, and then heard Nathan muttering to himself once again like he did a week ago, in Max's time of mind anyways. Soon, the moment she had come all this way back for would happen. Max's heart beat faster as she prepared herself for it. She leaned back against the nearby toilet stall wall and breathed in deep and exhaled slowly. She knew what she had to do. And she mentally prepared herself as best as she could for it.
The door to the woman's bathroom then opened once more and Chloe's voice could be heard. "I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step ass would say." Chloe asked Nathan as she scouted the area. A tear formed in Max's eye as she knew that those would be some of the last words from Chloe that she would ever hear.
The moment was approaching, Chloe was threatening Nathan and pushing him. Nathan then once again pulled his gun out from his pocket and pointed it at Chloe. "You don't know who the fuck I am, or who you're messing around with!" Nathan threatened back. "Where'd you get that gun?!" Chloe exclaimed. Nathan moved towards her and pushed her up against the wall. "What are you doing?! Come on! Put that thing down!" Chloe pleaded.
Around the corner stall, Max's heart beat furiously, she could hear and feel each throb deep within her ears. Sweat glistened across her face and her breathing came out in quick, terrified gasps. This was it. The moment had finally come. She peered around the corner of the stall and waited for that crucial moment.
"Get that gun away from me, psycho!" Chloe yelled as she pushed Nathan away. He stumbled back and a space opened up between Chloe and Nathan. With lightning quick reflexes Max raised her hand up and all of time came to a stand still.
Slowly, Max came out from her hiding place and walked through distorted frozen time towards Chloe and Nathan. When she was beside Chloe, she reached out with her left hand and softly touched Chloe's cheek, then turned her hand and ran the back of her fingers against Chloe's soft skin of her cheek a few times. Tears started to stream down Max's own cheeks now.
"Oh Chloe… I know this isn't what we agreed on, but I can't bear to watch you die again. I love you too much for that. Please forgive me for this..." Max said softly to her frozen in time best friend. Max then sighed sadly and ducked under Chloe's outstretched arms that were held out after pushing Nathan away and placed herself between them and backed up against Chloe, shielding Chloe with her own body for what was about to come.
Max looked up towards the skies, "I know what I have to do to restore time back to the way it was supposed to be. But I won't do it! You can't have her!" Max said to whoever or whatever gave her the ability to control time. "I know I abused the powers that I've been given, and the terrible outcome of what happened because of it. And I'm truly sorry for that… But Chloe is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die… But if a life must be given to restore all of time… Then take mine… And spare Chloe's…"
Max then looked down at the gun barrel that was now aimed at her chest as she continued to stand in front of Chloe. She took one more deep terrified breath, accepting her new fate and then dropped her hand, bringing time back to its normal flow.
A single gunshot then echoed through the girls bathroom, and Max was struck in the chest and was knocked back into Chloe. Max cried out in pain. "What the fuck?!" Chloe exclaimed as she caught a stranger who fell against her who wasn't there a moment ago.
"Max Caulfield?!" Nathan exclaimed as he recognized who had suddenly appeared in front of him. "Max?!" Chloe cried out and looked over Max's shoulder to see her face. "Chloe…" Max said weakly and in a lot of pain. Nathan was in shock, bewildered he asked, "How the fuck did you-", a flying fist then reached around the side of Max's head and Nathan was then punched hard in the side of his head by an enraged Chloe, who screamed in anger just as her blow had landed. Nathan was knocked off balance, fell to the right and his head hit the nearest stall wall and he was knocked out cold. No longer a threat.
Chloe then turned her attention back to Max and she carefully held her from behind by the waist, "Max!" Chloe cried out. Max's legs then gave out, her body became limp and heavy in Chloe's arms. Chloe leaned back against the nearby wall, using it to balance herself as she held onto Max. She then slowly slid down the side of the wall, bending her knees, and going into a sitting position, never letting go of Max, who was now between Chloe's legs.
"No! No, no, no, no, this can't be!" Chloe said as she began to cry.
David Madsen then came bursting into the bathroom, "What's going on in here!" He demanded to know, he looked down and he saw Nathan unconscious on the floor and a gun next to him. He then looked over and saw his step daughter sitting on the bathroom floor, holding onto another girl by the waist. This girl had been shot and was bleeding from a wound in her chest. Chloe looked up at David with teary eyes, "We need some help in here! Go get some help! Now!" Chloe begged shrilly.
David then turned and headed out the door to call paramedics and the police. Suddenly, all around Chloe and Max, time began to slow, then came to a stand still. Both girls remained unaffected though. "Whoa! What the fuck?!" Chloe gasped in surprise as she looked around at her distorted surroundings.
"It's time?" Max asked as she looked around while being held by Chloe. "Time? What do you mean it's time?" Chloe asked. Max looked at Chloe, "Time is… Giving us a chance to be alone and... say goodbye to each other." Max replied weakly.
"Goodbye?!" Chloe cried, "No! Not goodbye! You're going to be fine! You have to be! Just hang in there!"
Chloe then held her hand over Max's gunshot wound and applied pressure to try and stop the blood oozing from it. Max grimaced in pain, clenching her teeth hard. Chloe could feel Max's warm blood under her hand. She could also feel Max's heart beating irregularly. "Max… Why did you do this? Why did you get yourself shot for me?"
"Because… I couldn't watch you die… Again." Max answered truthfully.
"Again?! What do you mean again?" Chloe asked in confusion.
Max placed her right hand on top of Chloe's hand that was clutching her gunshot wound. "Because this… This is what would've happened to you instead. I've seen it happen before. It's what was meant to happen." Max explained.
Chloe shook her head, "I don't understand! Any of this!" Chloe shouted in frustration.
Suddenly, a bright circular light began to shimmer, glow and expand from a tiny dot to a large circular shape in front of the girls. Instinctively, Max reached out for it with her left hand and, like images on a TV or computer screen, the scene with Nathan pressed up against Chloe with the gun in the bathroom appeared and began to play like a movie. It was as if Max's memories of this event was playing for Chloe to see from Max's point of view. "Get that gun away from me, psycho!" Chloe saw her other self plead to Nathan in this vision. Then, she was shot. Chloe, the one holding Max, jumped in surprise as she watched the other version of herself fall to the ground. A bullet hole in her chest. Max hadn't saved her in this version of events.
"Thank you." Max said silently to who ever or whatever was allowing time to remain still and to show Chloe what would've happened so she could both see and understand.
Chloe looked back down, "Y-you were right, Max. I died… I-I was supposed to die here..." Chloe said with a quivering voice. She then sniffled, furrowed her eyebrows angrily and asked, "Then why?! Why did you take my place if that's what was meant to happen?!
"Just watch, you'll understand soon..." Max then remembered another event; when she and Chloe were holding hands, walking down the train tracks together. Then Max remembered all of the times they hugged and did their best friend handshakes. Finally, she remembered back to the time they were swimming in the Blackwell academy pool together at night, laughing happily and splashing each other. And all while still holding onto Max, Chloe watched silently, with her mouth slightly agape as these memories from Max played before her very eyes. She was in shock and awe, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Max, who's head was resting on Chloe's chest, could feel Chloe's heart beating rapidly.
"Don't look so sad… I'm never leaving you." Chloe saw herself say to Max in the pool. Chloe broke down and sobbed. "All these visions, these memories… They're real?! They actually happened?" Chloe asked Max. Max nodded. "Yes. They're real. Every single one of them."
Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't know I could still smile like that… Didn't know that I could still laugh like that… Didn't know that I could still… Love... like that?".
Max looked back at Chloe, "You can, and you did. But you can do so much more than that." Max then raised her left hand back up, recalling another memory. "Watch. This is why I couldn't let you die… Why I'm giving my life for you."
Max then remembered the moment they had their first kiss. "I double dare you, kiss me now!" Chloe saw herself say in this new vision. And she watched her other self and Max kiss. Then she watched Max and her other self hug on the beach and tell each other how much they meant to one another and how they were meant to be together at that moment in time and more.
Finally, She was shown a vision of Max and the other Chloe on the lighthouse cliff tops on the final day with the storm and tornado visible in the background. And Chloe watched herself and Max kiss again. This time longer, more passionately, it was clearly they were deeply in love with one another. Soon, they moved apart and looked into one another's eyes, and Chloe heard herself say, "I'll always love you, Max."
Chloe cried harder, covering her eyes with her left hand. Hugging Max closer to her body. Max no longer felt any pain coming from her wound so she didn't cry out in pain this time. "You did it because you love me?!" Chloe asked tearfully.
Max looked back and nodded, placing her left hand on top of Chloe's right hand that was still clutching her wound. "More than anything in the world, Chloe... More than anything!"
Max's body then began to feel numb. The outer most edges of her vision began to darken. Fear crept into Max's heart, "Chloe! Chloe!" Max cried out. "I'm right here, Max! I'm with you right here!" Chloe reassured her, squeezing her hand comfortingly. Max and Chloe then interlocked their fingers together. "I-I thought I was ready for this, ready to die… But I'm scared, Chloe! Help me not be." Max pleaded as she trembled in fear. Chloe held Max tighter, "Tell me what to do!
"Hold me… Stay with me till the very end." Max requested. Chloe choked on sobs and tears. "Max! If you have powers then use them! Rewind time and go back! Change it back! I don't want this!" Chloe begged. Max weakly shook her head, "I can't, Chloe. Even if I can rewind time. I can't rewind this wound away. It's permanent. Just like anything else I keep on me whenever I rewind. I'm going to die..."
That's when it hit Max. What if, even after this sacrifice, the storm was still coming? "Chloe, please, you need to listen to me." Max begged.
"What is it?" Chloe replied.
"In my reality Arcadia Bay was destroyed by a massive tornado that struck on Friday of this week." And as Max said those words, a vision of the described tornado, viewed through Max's eyes from the lighthouse clifftop appeared in front of them. "Look for these signs… After I'm gone." Max instructed.
Chloe got a painful lump in her throat after hearing those words, but she nodded while whimpering.
"Flocks of dead birds… Beached whales… Strange weather patterns." Images of all these things flashed in front of them like a slideshow. "If you see these signs it means that the storm is still coming. So I need you to make me a promise." Max pleaded.
"Anything, Max." Chloe answered tearfully.
"Do whatever you can to convince people to leave town or make for the lighthouse on Friday. Understand?" Max advised, "You save as many people as you can, but you get to the lighthouse where it's safe, you hear me?"
Chloe nodded as she sniffled, "I will, Max. I'll be there if it comes. I'll be where it's safe. I promise!"
Max felt very sleepy, her breathing started to slow. Her vision ever darkening. It wouldn't be long now. "Chloe… Please… Kiss me. One… Last… Time."
Chloe nodded and carefully, she slowly pulled Max towards her, never breaking eye contact. Their soft lips then met, and they kissed. Both girls closed their eyes, embracing the moment. Streams of tears flowed from both girls eyes as they continued to kiss.
Though this was the first time Max kissed this version of Chloe, it felt exactly the same. The kiss was just as warm, just as soft and just as lovingly sweet, and felt just as right. Neither wanted the kiss to end.
What felt like an eternity later, they moved apart, looking deeply into each others eyes. Max smiled and reached up with her left hand and caressed Chloe's cheek. Chloe smiled back and held her hand on top of Max's.
Max breathed in and out softly a few times, "Thank you, Chloe… Knowing that you'll get to live this time... Makes me so happy. This is what I want. I want this..." Max confessed, "I'm not afraid anymore… Chloe... Don't forget about me…"
Chloe kissed the back of Max's hand, "I never will, Max. I swear it. I'll never forget you."
"I love you, Chloe… Goodbye…".
Max smiled one last time, slowly closed her eyes and breathed her last breath. Then, she passed away. Her hand fell from Chloe's cheek and landed limply at her side. Then, time resumed its normal flow. What had felt like a lifetime between Max and Chloe was actually less than two seconds in the real world.
Chloe softly shook Max, "Max? Max?! No... Please, Max... Come back! Come back!" She begged in tears, running a finger across Max's cheek. Chloe then lowered her head and pressed her forehead softly against the side of Max's head, closed her eyes and crying harder as her heart continued to break.
David then returned with a officer who happened to be nearby. The officer stepped past both girls and proceeded to handcuff Nathan and secure the gun he had.
As he was doing this, David turned to his stepdaughter and the other girl.
"Chloe! The paramedics are on their-" but he stopped as soon as he saw that the poor girl Chloe was holding onto had passed away.
He was too late. And seeing how hard Chloe was crying, he knew that she must've meant something deeply important to his stepdaughter. David then knelt down next to Chloe, and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
Chloe looked up at David with red teary eyes, but couldn't manage a word. But she didn't need to say anything. David knew what she was feeling. As a soldier, he too had seen friends of his die in combat. Even held some as they passed away. Truly, he understood her pain at that very moment.
He began to get choked up too. He couldn't manage any words either. So he continued to hold his hand on top of Chloe's shoulder, rubbing his thumb back and forth comfortingly and hung his head in sadness for his stepdaughters loss. For once, they shared a special, but tragic moment together.
Chloe looked back down at Max, and softly stroked Max's soft brown hair as she continued to cry. She then leaned her head in and softly kissed Max on the cheek one last time and then placed her forehead against Max's head and continued to weep.
And in the days that followed Max's brave sacrifice, none of the foretold events to be watchful for came to pass. It seems that time was kind in this universe and had accepted Max's plea, and Arcadia Bay was spared from destruction. At the cost of her own life.
Also, David Madsen had received a letter that was found in Max's pocket after she was taken away by the paramedics. It told him where to go to find Rachel Ambers body, where the Dark Room was located, and who her killer was. So justice was brought to Chloe and Rachel upon Mr. Jeffersons arrest soon after.
On Friday, Max's funeral was taking place. She had received a heroes farewell after everyone learned how she had sacrificed herself to save someone else's life.
The procession from the funeral home to the graveyard was given a police escort from the front, their lights flashing brightly the whole way. Following closely behind by the black hearse, with Max's coffin in the back.
Max's mother and father following the hearse in their red jeep and Chloe and her mom and stepfather following in Chloe's truck. Lastly, were five full school buses of Blackwell academy staff and students wishing to pay their final respects.
When everyone had arrived at the cemetery, it was the Blackwell football team, the Bigfoots, that helped carry Max's coffin on their shoulders and towards her final resting place. Logan, Zachary, and a few others were among them.
Max's mom and dad walked closely behind their daughters coffin, holding each other and crying the whole way.
Not far behind them were Chloe, who was wearing a black sleeveless dress, no beanie and black high heels. Her mother, Joyce, in a black dress and hat. And stepdad, David, wearing a black suit. Followed by the long columns of Blackwell academy staff and students. All dressed in black. Amongst them were Warren, Kate, Victoria, Dana, Alyssa, Brooke and many others.
All throughout the sad funeral, Chloe never took her eyes off of Max's coffin. She still could not believe all that had happened and in her heart, she knew that she could never tell anyone the truth about what really happened. Even though these were Max's friends and family, she bore this secret grief alone.
After all the prayers and respects had been paid, Chloe stayed long after everyone else had left after Max was put into the ground. Standing silently in front of Max's grave.
She knelt down next to Max's headstone and placed her hand on top of it.
"Max… I'll never be able to repay everything you've done for me. You travelled back in time to save my life. You showed me that I can still be happy, and laugh, and smile like I never thought possible again. You even brought closure to my search for Rachel Amber. And most of all, I'm alive when I know I shouldn't be… I'll always love you for that.
I miss you so much, Max… But, it does bring me peace, knowing that there are alternate universes out there. Other universes where you're still alive and well in them. If that's true, then that must mean that there are alternate universes where Rachel Amber is still alive and maybe even my... Father is still alive? That brings me so much inner peace, Max. Thank you so much.
Maybe… Just maybe, there's one universe where you and I both got a chance to live and be happy together. I wish it could have been this one, Max...
I'll honour your sacrifice and live my life the best I can for you. I swear, I'll even go back to Blackwell Academy and finish my courses, and graduate with honours. Most of all, I'll stop fighting with my mom and stepdad and try to become closer with them.
Until the day we meet again, Max... you'll forever remain in my heart. And I'll love you till the day I die. I promise."
The End