Max bolted upright.
The funeral date, Max thought immediately, that was two days ago. It's not a vision of the future...it's a vision...or something...of an alternate past. Okay, just keep it cool. Even if I do need to do something about this, I have the emergency photos to send messages back. I just need to keep my eyes and ears open and get more information.
Max breathed deeply and calmed herself, glancing around. Morning sunlight streamed through Chloe's bedroom windows. Chloe was still asleep, an uncharacteristically serene expression on her face.
Max rolled over to grab her phone from beside the bed and heard Chloe mumble something incomprehensible.
It was just after 9:30. Both Joyce and David were working today; they'd both taken time off to be with Chloe during the first couple of days after the incident. It made Max angry that they couldn't take more time off for free, given the circumstances...but Joyce and David had seemed to accept it.
Max grabbed William's old camera and rolled back over, pointing it at herself.
Another moment to always remember, Max thought.
Suddenly Chloe was up next to her.
"Photobomb!" Chloe said.
Max laughed and said, "photo hog."
She took the picture.
As Chloe rolled out of bed, Max took another photo, this time of the flag-covered window behind her. Once it printed, she grabbed a pen from her bag and wrote the time and date on the bottom before stuffing the photo into the emergency pocket.
"Why've you been doing that with some of them?" Chloe asked.
"Er...it's a side-project I'm doing," Max said, "I promise I'll tell you more about it later."
"Okay, Mystery Max," Chloe said, rummaging through a drawer.
Today's the day, Max thought, nervousness fluttering in her stomach, it's time to tell Chloe about my powers. And what better way to do it than over a Two Whales breakfast? Hopefully the place isn't too crowded; I don't want to be overheard telling Chloe about this.
Chloe got dressed as Max rolled out of bed and stretched. Grabbing some clothes from beside her bag, Max changed quickly into jeans and a t-shirt.
"I'm hella hungry," Chloe said, "are you ready for an epic breakfast?"
"Hell yeah I am," Max said, pulling on her hoodie.
A few minutes later, they stepped out of Chloe's house.
"Need me to drive?" Max said.
"I'm fine to drive, Mad Max," Chloe said, snatching the keys from Max.
"Did you take your painkillers this morning?" Max asked.
"Yup," Chloe said.
"Then I'm driving," Max said, snatching the keys back.
"Okay fine, Doctor Max," Chloe said, getting into the passenger seat.
They arrived at the Two Whales a few minutes later and parked the truck. Max noticed Frank's RV in the lot next door but couldn't see any sign of Frank or Pompidou.
I bet Frank's not doing so well; he was very close to Rachel, even closer than Chloe was, Max thought.
Chloe noticed where Max was looking and said, "ugh, that's where Frank lives. I almost forgot that I owe him a shit ton of money."
Oh right, Max thought, I completely forgot about that. Hopefully that doesn't complicate things.
Max then remembered that she shouldn't know about that and asked, "what do you owe him money for?"
"I borrowed it to get my truck fixed," Chloe said, her voice strained, "it was for Rachel and I to blow this town. Back when that was priority uno."
"Doesn't look like the home of someone who'd have a ton of cash around," Max said, still feigning ignorance.
"No, but he's got it," Chloe said, "if you want to get high in Arcadia Bay, Frank is your man. That's why he's rolling in cash. Although I bet his income took a big hit this week. Fucking Nathan Prescott was his biggest cash cow."
They were nearly at Two Whales door when Chloe paused, looking back over at Frank's RV.
"I wonder where he is," Chloe said, "usually he's sitting outside with that mangy mutt of his."
They walked into the diner and Max guided them to the booth second from the end. The place wasn't particularly crowded and they had almost the entire half of the diner to themselves.
Good, Max said, what I have to tell Chloe is not for public broadcast.
They sat down and Joyce came over.
"Well, look who finally rolled out of bed," Joyce said, pouring cups of coffee for both of them, "it is so good to see both of you in here again."
"Just like old times," Max said.
"Just like old times," Joyce repeated, "so what'll it be?"
"The last great waffle I had was from here," Max said, "so a famous Two Whales waffle, please."
I'm not lying, Max thought, the last great waffle I had was from here...it was just that I had it a few days ago...subjectively speaking.
"How 'bout you, Chloe," Joyce said.
"Bacon omelette," Chloe said.
"Coming right up," Joyce said.
"Thanks, mom," Chloe said.
Joyce smiled and called out the order to the cook.
"Okay, Max," Chloe said, "today I'm taking you out to my hideout. We can hang there for a while then go back to my place...just thrash our way through the day."
"Sounds great, Chloe," Max said, "although I really should take a bit of time this evening to actually do some schoolwork. I'd love to spend all of my time chilling with you but I want to make sure I keep my scholarship."
Chloe opened her mouth but paused. Max raised her eyebrows.
Chloe shook her head, smiling, and said, "I guess that will just give me an excuse to come crash your schoolgirl study times. Rock out your whole dorm!"
"Chloe…," Max said.
"I know I know," Chloe said, "don't worry, I won't fuck up your scholarship. But don't expect me not to show up."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Max said, "and you don't worry either. School's important, but I'm always going to be a call or a text away. Always."
Chloe smiled.
Joyce came over with their food. She put the waffle down in front of Max.
"Here you go, Max, you'll love this," Joyce said.
"Can't wait," Max said, picking up her fork.
"And for the blue-haired devil," Joyce said with a smile.
"Why thank you, mom," Chloe said before digging in.
Joyce stood for a moment and looked over at Max.
"I still can't believe you're a woman now, Max," Joyce said, "when I look at pictures of Chloe and you, it seems like five years ago was yesterday. And over the last few days...it's just amazing how much you've grown up. And like I said before, you've been a good influence on this one." She gestured at Chloe, who couldn't speak around the food in her mouth.
"Thanks, Joyce," Max said, "although I think Chloe has been a hella good influence on me too."
Chloe spit out a mouthful of food, laughing, as Joyce rolled her eyes. But Max could see the corners of Joyce's lips twitch into a smile.
"I guess we'll see," Joyce said, walking back to the counter.
"I can't believe you said that," Chloe said, "that was awesome."
Max smiled and took a bite of her waffle.
Amazing as ever, she thought, I would come here every day if I could...or rewind and eat waffles all day.
She looked over at Chloe, who was already halfway through her omelet.
And speaking of rewinding, she thought, it's time...can't put this off.
"Um...Chloe?" Max said, "there's something I need to tell you...something hardcore."
"Hmm," Chloe said, "sounds serious."
Nervousness fluttered in Max's stomach but she managed a smile.
"You might call it that," Max said, "and...you're definitely going to think that I'm high. Like, really high."
"Okay, you've got my attention," Chloe said, raising an eyebrow, "talk to me, Max."
"I...I discovered that I can reverse time," Max said.
"Huh?" Chloe said.
"I can reverse time. Like, rewind it. I know it sounds crazy but it's true," Max said.
"You're right, I think you must be super high," Chloe said.
"You know me, Chloe," Max said, "I wouldn't lie about something like this and I also wouldn't be high."
Chloe stared at Max, her fork in the air, a piece of egg dangling from it.
"Max," she finally said, "sorry but this isn't a very funny joke. You've got quite an imagination and you're clearly one hell of a geek but this isn't anime or a video game. People don't have powers like that."
"I do," Max said, "and...I think I can prove it to you."
"This is pretty crazy, Max," Chloe said, starting to eat again, "but if you're actually being serious, that would be pretty fucking amazing."
Max took another bite of the waffle. Even her nervousness couldn't dampen the deliciousness of that waffle.
It was a lot easier to get Chloe on board when it started snowing, Max thought, but I'll definitely trade having a more difficult time convincing her over nature-breaking bullshit.
"So what do you have up your sleeve to...ah...prove your superpower?" Chloe said.
"Show me what's in your pockets," Max said after a moment.
"What? Why?" Chloe said.
"I'm going to look at everything that's in your pockets and then rewind time, tell you what's in your pockets, and amaze you," Max said.
"This is super weird," Chloe said, but began pulling items out of her pockets.
She laid them out on the table and Max examined them:
A receipt for cigarettes totalling $10.14 from the 8th. Dazzle her with the numbers, Max thought.
A bottle of hand sanitizer. Huh, somewhat un-Chloe-like. Maybe it's for the wound.
Coins, 86 cents worth. Didn't get a chance to spend that kingly sum yet, I guess.
A package of Orbit gum, only three pieces left. Getting ready for another kiss, Chloe?
A bag with a small brass-looking item in it.
"What's that?" Max asked, pointing to the bag.
"That," Chloe said, "is the bullet that they plucked out of my side. Figured I'd keep it as a memento of nearly getting my ass murdered."
"Hardcore," Max said, eliciting a grin from Chloe.
Max looked up and Chloe said, "okay, what now Super Max?"
Max smiled and rewound.
"...up your sleeve to...ah...prove your superpower?" Chloe said.
"I'm going to tell you exactly what you have in your pockets," Max said.
"I thought you said you had time reversing powers, not x-ray vision. I don't even remember everything I have in my pockets," Chloe said.
"I just used the power," Max said, "I asked you to take everything out of your pockets, looked at all of it, and then came back to just a few moments ago."
"Okay...," Chloe said, "still skeptical, obviously, but I'll go along. What do I have in my pockets?"
"You have a receipt for cigarettes," Max said.
"That would make some sense; you know that I smoke," Chloe said, "but what store was it from?"
"Shit," Max said, "I didn't look at that. But it was for $10.14 and you bought them on the 8th."
"Okay," Chloe said, "maybe I'll let that slide if you're right about that. What else?"
"A bottle of hand sanitizer," Max said.
"I definitely have that," Chloe said, her eyes widening.
"86 cents worth of coins and a some Orbit gum, three pieces left," Max said.
"Living large in Arcadia Bay. Anything else?" Chloe asked.
"Yep," Max said, "a small bag with the bullet that they took out of you."
Chloe's eyes widened again and she said, "okay, let's see."
She took the items out of her pocket and looked through them, particularly the receipt and change.
Chloe looked up at Max, her mouth open and eyes wide, and sat back.
"Wow Max," she said, "that's...pretty impressive. I've got chills."
Then she leaned forward again.
"But wait," Chloe continued, "I'm not sold on this. It's hella insane that you knew all of that. But you could have seen me put these things in my pockets this morning...maybe you were staring at my ass."
Max rolled her eyes and took another bite of her waffle. She felt a little more confident now.
"Then I'll do something else," Max said, "over the next couple of minutes or so, I'll look at what goes on around us and then I'll rewind and predict the future for you."
Definitely feeling the deja vu here, Max thought, although it's nice to have done this once already; feels a bit like I'm going through a play that I've practiced.
"Okay, Max. I suppose that would be pretty convincing," Chloe said.
Max leaned back and watched around her. She'd have to identify a few key things to repeat back to Chloe. For a few moments, nothing of note happened. Then…
A man burst into the diner on the far end and stomped over to another man sitting at the counter.
"Hey!" he said, "you parked in my spot again! I told you not to park in my spot! What the fuck, man?"
The other man mumbled a response but before the first man could respond, Joyce had stepped out.
"Take it outside, gentlemen," Joyce said.
"But he…," started the first man.
"I don't care," Joyce said, "if you have a quarrel, take it outside. Otherwise just sit down and be peaceable."
The first man grumbled and walked out.
"Nice one, mom," Chloe said.
Awesome, Max said, there's one thing.
Max looked outside and saw Courtney and Taylor walking on the other side of the street.
No Victoria?, Max thought, must be a vacation from Victoria day.
As she watched, a seagull descended and landed right on Taylor's head. Taylor freaked out, ducking down and swatting at her head. The bird flew away and Courtney collapsed to the ground, laughing. Taylor stormed away, fuming. Chloe, watching the debacle, laughed quietly.
"That was hilarious," Chloe said, "always nice to see Blackwell's elite get the shit."
There's number two, Max thought.
Behind Chloe in the parking lot, Max saw Frank and Pompidou leave the RV and walk across the street.
Can't use that one, Max thought, Chloe doesn't know that I know what they look like...and I'm not quite ready to tell her about what happened before.
But then Max's attention was drawn to one of the customers at the counter. He was tossing a donut in the air as he spoke to the man next to him. She had no idea why he was doing it...but she continued watching as he tossed it higher and higher. Chloe turned to see what Max was looking at and said, "this can only end with hilarity."
When the donut reached the height of the spinning fan above, it was caught by a blade and flung over to the jukebox. It landed and the jukebox began playing a country tune.
The donut-tosser looked up, confused, and Chloe laughed.
"Well, Max," Chloe said, "I'm guessing you're going to rewind time now and amaze me?"
"Yep," Max said.
Max rewound, watching the events move backwards around her. Pressure mounted in her head but Max stopped before it could become painful.
"...would be pretty convincing," Chloe said.
"I hope so. I just came back and will now amaze you," Max said and Chloe leaned in, "first, a guy is going to stomp in here accusing that guy at the counter of stealing his parking spot. He's looking for a fight but Joyce breaks it up. Then, outside, Courtney and Taylor from school will walk by and Taylor, the light-haired one, will get a seagull to the head. She freaks out and Courtney falls over laughing."
"Oh man," Chloe said, "you cannot be serious."
Max smiled and continued, "finally, that guy over there in the red shirt is going to start throwing a donut in the air. He throws it higher each time before it hits the fan and gets knocked over to the jukebox, which starts playing a country song."
"Holy shit, Max," Chloe said, "if all of that happens as you said…"
The diner's door flew open and Chloe spun around to watch the parking spot accusation and Joyce's response. When the man left, Chloe turned to Max with wide eyes. Max pointed out the window.
Chloe turned and watched as Taylor experienced her involuntary seagull hat. Chloe laughed and said, "no...fucking...way."
She then turned to look at the man with the donut. He hadn't started throwing it yet. Chloe looked over at Max and Max said, "just wait."
The man began tossing the donut. Chloe watched with an open mouth as the donut went higher and higher and then flew from the fan to the jukebox, starting the music.
Chloe turned back to Max, wide-eyed, and said, "amazeballs...now I'm thinking I must be the one who's high."
"How about one more thing?" Max said.
Chloe nodded.
"Think of something to say," Max said, "a short phrase; and not something I could easily guess. Tell me when you've got it."
Chloe sat for a moment then said, "got it."
Max waited for another moment then said, "tell me the phrase."
Chloe said, "if you don't finish your waffle, I'm hella gonna eat the rest of it."
Max rewound.
"Got it," Chloe said.
"If you don't finish your waffle, I'm hella gonna eat the the rest of it," Max said.
Chloe placed her hands on the table and bowed down, saying, "I pledge allegiance to the Max and the power for which she stands…"
"Now wait, Chloe, this isn't a toy," Max said, feeling deja vu yet again, "I have to be very careful how I use it…"
"Are you kidding?" Chloe said, "this could be the best toy ever. Think about it, you can bang anyone, no strings attached. Rewind time and boom, it's like it never happened."
"You have a one-track mind," Max said.
"Yeah, but it's true! You could make a move on anyone and then just rewind," Chloe said. She paused and continued, "you could make a move on me and I would never know. Maybe you did make a move on me."
"Hey, it was you who dared me to kiss you," Max said.
"And how many times did you rewind that?" Chloe said.
Max blushed and said, "I plead the Fifth."
"You can't do that, not with me," Chloe said, "how many times did that dare happen for you?"
"Er...actually it was just once. I didn't rewind that," Max said.
"Max!" Chloe said, "I feel kinda insulted."
"Honestly, I almost did," Max said, "but I thought it was a little creepy. And...um...wasn't fair...to you."
Max blushed even more and Chloe smiled.
"Max, you really are adorable," Chloe said, "but also totally hardcore. I mean...holy shit. I'm kind of in shock. You can rewind time. That's fucking insane. We have to play with this! Figure it out! Use it!"
"I do need to be careful with this Chloe," Max said, "I, um, tend to get headaches and nosebleeds if I use it too much."
"Shit," Chloe said, her wild expression fading, "that doesn't sound good. But it must be okay to use here and there, right?"
"Yep," Max said, "certainly seems like it."
"Then we have to play!" Chloe said, brightening again, "my hideout will be perfect to test this out. Finish your waffle and then your new sidekick will guide you."
Max finished off her waffle as Chloe gobbled down the remains of her omelet.
"Okay, girl wonder," Max said after her final bite, "show me the way to Chloe's cave."
"Hell yeah, Supergirl," Chloe said, "to the secret Chloe cave it is!"
They waved goodbye to Joyce as they left the diner. Once in the truck, Chloe provided directions and Max drive them to the junkyard.
Max pulled the truck to the junkyard entrance and Chloe practically leapt out.
"Okay, Super Max," Chloe said as she bounded into the junkyard, "this would be perfect if I had a gun on me but I think…"
Max was coming around the truck and saw that Chloe had stopped. She was staring over to the left: at caution tape looped around a lonely corner of the junkyard. Max's heart sank.
How could I have forgotten? Max thought, walking quickly over to Chloe.
"Chloe?" Max said.
"I...I didn't...David said they'd found her near a junk pile," Chloe said, "I didn't know it was...this was our place...I never thought..."
Chloe slowly made her way over to the taped-off area and Max followed behind. Images flashed through Max's mind: the hurried drive out here from the Prescott barn, the digging, the horrible smell, Chloe screaming.
Chloe stepped over the caution tape and stood beside the shallow hole in the ground. Max paused outside the tape then climbed over and stood by Chloe.
"She didn't deserve this, Max," Chloe said, "she was so alive. So amazing. She had a way of bringing people together. Helping them out. Knowing what would make them happy. Giving people confidence. I wish you could have met her. She would have loved you."
"I wish I could have met her too," Max said, "from everything you've said and from everything else I've heard about her. She was special."
"She was my angel," Chloe said, "without her I…"
Chloe stopped and Max reached over, grabbing Chloe's hand and holding it firmly. They stood at the edge of Rachel's first lonely grave, tears streaming quietly down Chloe's face.
"Part of me wishes I could have been at her funeral," Chloe said, "but part of me knows that the funeral wouldn't have been how Rachel would have wanted it. She told me one time that if she died early, she wanted her funeral to be a hella awesome party."
"We should visit her," Max said, "I'd like to visit her."
"Yeah," Chloe said, "it's a bit far. But we'll do it, I promise. That's a promise to both you and her."
She paused, still staring down at the grave before continuing, "there's something I didn't tell you earlier...I got a letter from her parents. I read it while you were out with Kate. It was...they said some of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me. Dude, I bawled like a baby for most of the time you were out."
Max held Chloe's hand tighter and pulled her into a hug.
"At least they know what happened," Chloe said over Max's shoulder, "at least we all do. I still...if Nathan hadn't shot me…"
"You getting shot brought justice for Rachel...and for Kate and many others," Max said, stepping back.
"I still wish I'd been able to bring justice another way," Chloe said, staring into the distance, her voice hard, "if I would've known...I would've grabbed a gun and Nathan and Jefferson would be the ones in the ground."
Chloe looked at Max. Max remembered that fire in Chloe's eyes. The fire that drove her headlong into a hunt for Nathan.
"Any way you could rewind to before I got shot and let me know?" Chloe asked.
Before Max could answer, Chloe said, "no, I guess not, otherwise you would've stopped me from getting shot at all. Sorry Max, this was a lot of shit to go through. I have you, and that's what's important now."
Max paused.
I'm going to need to tell her eventually. I can't keep this to myself. The longer I wait, the worse it will be.
"Chloe," Max said, "there's...more that you need to know."
"More superpowers?" Chloe said, managing a tiny smile, "teleportation? Mind control?"
Max also managed a small smile and said, "no, more like an alternate history lesson."
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
Max said, "we should probably sit down somewhere."
"Okay," Chloe said, "come on, I have the perfect spot."
Chloe walked away and Max started to follow but paused for a moment. She plucked a flower from a bush at the edge of the clearing and returned to the hole in the ground, gently laying it at the edge. She turned and saw Chloe peering at her from around the edge of the nearby junked bus. Chloe continued on before Max could read her expression.
Max followed and caught up with Chloe as they reached the shed.
"Welcome to my lair," Chloe said, "have a seat and make yourself comfortable."
Max sat down on one of the makeshift benches.
Chloe grabbed a beer and said, "want one?"
"Yuck," Max said.
"You are so cute," Chloe said, sitting on the other bench, "if you don't mind, I'm having one. I feel like I'm going to need it."
"Yeah...this is pretty heavy stuff," Max said. Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach again; Max jokingly wondered to herself if they were blue. The time travel power was one thing; this was something else entirely.
Max let out a long breath.
"Sounds like shit's about to get real," Chloe said.
Max nodded and said, "this whole thing started on Monday."
Author's Note: Thanks to Aesahethr for discovering that I had the incorrect day for when Chloe was/wasn't shot. Somehow, despite having a tab open with Max's journal entries throughout writing this, I managed to think that the day was Tuesday, not Monday. I've corrected the mistake in Chapters 1 and 2 as well.