Timeline A: Saturday, 2013-10-12 08:15:45
Special Agent Ashley Reynolds hit rewind and watched the feed again. At 18:07:34 the brown head appears atop a waif girl with a pastel pink shirt. She stands there astounded similar to the rest of the crowd of students which had gathered in the courtyard. Then at 18:07:56 she disappears. Approximately one minute later she is reported to be on the roof of the dorm talking down the girl about to jump. Of course there were no cameras on the roof, so it was impossible to get the timestamp. However, there was another camera on the building facing ninety degrees from the current feed which watched over the only entrance of the dorm the waif girl could have used. Yet she never appears on that feed. How in the world is that possible? How does a girl from outside make it to the top of a three story building in less than sixty seconds without being detected? Interviews from the students by the local news team indicated no one had any clue this girl was even on the scene.
Ashley hit pause and proceeded to circle the name on the report. Maxine Caulfield; High school senior, Blackwell Academy.
Timeline A: Tuesday, 2013-10-15 10:23:53
Max was about to nod off in chemistry when an announcement by Mr. Wells caught her attention. "Students, in order to ensure a safe and healthy environment the state has offered to provide social resources for anyone that wants to take advantage. Feel free to talk or not talk with them about whatever you like. Further, some students may be asked to participate. They are not trying to single anyone out, so don't feel pressured to meet with them if you don't want to. Mr. Jason and Ms. Rachel will be available in the west conference room all day today and tomorrow, and trust me, they come highly recommended and they specialize in almost everything. Please don't let this opportunity pass up. Thank you."
Max raised her eyebrow, wondering if this was the result of Mr. Wells panicking or if the state just decided to step in. There's no way a cheapskate like Mr. Wells funded something like this out of the goodness of his heart.
She glanced over to where Kate would be sitting if she wasn't in the hospital. Then she glanced at Victoria and Nate, as her fingers strained her pencil to the point of breaking.
"Max, are you okay?"
She snapped out of her reverie and smiled apologetically at the teacher. "Sorry, I'm a bit distracted."
"That's okay. I'm sure we all have a lot to think about."
Timeline A: Tuesday, 2013-10-15 1:27:20
Max was almost to her locker when an unfamiliar man in a white shirt blocked her path. Beside him, a woman in an equally professional outfit smiled.
"Maxine, right?" he asked, a kind smile on his face as well.
She stared cautiously at him, annoyed with the way they simply butted into her day. "Max, actually." She moved to go past him when he held an arm out.
"Sorry for the abrupt meeting, but my name is Jason Riley and this is Rachel Echols. We are therapists and we would consider it a great favor to us if you would be willing to chat."
Max frowned slightly, her mind going back to Kate. "Listen, I'm sure that you want to help and everything, but I'm fine. I promise."
"Not according to what we heard." Jason leaned in. "You reported certain factors that may have led to the incident, did you not?"
"How did you know—"
"Max, I must confess to you that we are here to do a little more than make sure everyone is recovering. We," he emphasized, placing a hand on her shoulder, "are on your side. Trust me."
Max debated and despite the bad feeling in her gut, she decided that if it helped Kate get justice it was worth the risk. "Okay, I got a free period anyways."
"Thanks, you won't regret this."
Timeline A: Tuesday, 2013-10-15 1:33:31
"Max, let's start with the beginning. Where did you come from when you arrived on the scene?"
Confused, Max slowly answered him, "I was in Mr. Jefferson's class. But I thought we were talking about the beginning? Kate attended the Vortex party. I have never gone."
"Pardon the confusion," Jason shook his head. "That's on me. But I think it's best if we cover your mental well-being first, and sometimes it helps to talk about the incident. It's not every day you witness someone attempt suicide."
Max nodded, although considering the last couple days she thinks she's adjusting as well as can be expected.
Iteration 1
"So you arrive at the courtyard straight from Mr. Jefferson's class, and you see Kate at the top of the building. What do you do then?"
Max froze. Honestly, she hadn't thought this part through. She couldn't very well tell them she froze time, at least to the degree that she could, to make sure she made it to the roof in time to stop Kate from jumping. "I—uh, head to the building and go up the steps. At the top I find Kate and we talk things over."
Jason nods, although Rachel at this point has forsaken her kind exterior and now took on an analytical role. Max felt the tension in the room increase.
"Okay, and believe me when I tell you, we don't bring this up to accuse you of anything. But we just want to get to the bottom of this like you do. The exterior cameras did not catch you going inside the building. So unless you are able to cross the distance of the courtyard in less than one camera frame, you did not enter the building by the entrance you said."
Max frowned and crossed her arms over her chest in protection. "I don't understand. I thought this was about what happened to Kate?"
"You see, Max. We have to be suspicious. When someone's story doesn't check out, it means they're hiding something. And we have to assume the worst until we get some indication that it's not."
Max narrowed her eyes. "You're not counselors."
Rachel looked at Jason and proceeded to withdraw a badge from her jacket. "We're federal investigators. We were brought in to examine all the facets of this case. You are not the only one we are interviewing."
Max grimaced. "Shouldn't I have a lawyer or something?"
"Do you think you need one?"
Max scoffed. "No."
"Now, back to the subject at hand. How did you get inside the building?"
Max paused for a moment, debating her options. Her left hand extended its finger slightly and time rolled backwards.
Iteration 2
"So you arrive at the courtyard straight from Mr. Jefferson's class, and you see Kate at the top of the building. What do you do then?"
"I never entered the courtyard. I went to the dorm the back way. The cleaning crew leaves it open sometimes."
Rachel looks down at her notes.
Jason leans forward slightly. "Hold on, Max. We know that's not true. You were seen in the courtyard by your fellow students."
Max sighed and started over.
Iteration 3
"So you arrive at the courtyard straight from Mr. Jefferson's class, and you see Kate at the top of the building. What do you do then?"
"I went back the way I came. I saw all the students and didn't know if I could get through to the building. So I went the long way around and entered the dorm through the side entrance."
Jason looked down at his notes and turned the page. Eventually, he looked back up, and glanced at his partner. "Excuse us for a moment. We have to check in with our boss."
Exasperated, Max motioned to the door. "Do what you like. It's not my conference room."
Jason and Rachel stepped outside and proceeded to whisper.
Rachel shook her head. "She did something. I don't know what. At least two times. However, it was only for the briefest moment. It made me question whether I sensed anything at all."
"So you can't get a read on her powers?"
"No."
Jason frowned. "How many times has that happened to you?"
Rachel stared at him in the eyes. "Never. Whatever she is, it's not normal. What little I sensed, it just felt wrong."
He nodded. "She lied that last time as well. And don't you think her attitude was strange? She went from courteous to flippant with us at the flick of a switch."
Rachel sighed. "Even I can tell that her story is bogus from one glance at the map of the campus. Going around would take you several minutes. The most she had was two."
He thought about the situation for several moments. "Are you sure that she has powers? Absolutely sure? Because there's two possibilities here. Either she's ordinary and full of dumb luck, or she's something we've never seen before. And we can't risk something like that on the streets until we know more."
Rachel put her hand on her forehead and stared at the floor. "I'm sure. The first time it could have been my imagination but the second time sealed it."
"Alright then. I guess we're doing this."
"Jason," Rachel grabbed his arm. "What if she doesn't comply? We never forcibly brought in someone that technically hadn't done anything wrong."
Jason hardened his expression. "If you're talking about the law, we were given this authority. We can't hold them indefinitely, but we can bring them in."
"I know that. I'm just saying…we shouldn't treat this lightly."
"We're not going to. But remember what happened with the bridge in Wisconsin? I'm not going to let something like that be on my conscience."
With a grim expression, Rachel asked him, "And if she resists? I don't know her power. She could end up hurting us or worse, the entire school."
"The extraction team is a no-go. She's hardly ever alone." He pondered for a second. "She's likely either super fast or she's able to manipulate your mind. Regardless, she has a life with parents and friends and an education. Threaten to take this away from her, and she'll comply."
Rachel smiled. "Good thing we prepared the ambulance."
Inside Max wondered about just leaving. They wouldn't notice, and they might even forget about her. However, she had the distinct feeling they were discussing her in the hall, and by that logic, this wasn't about Kate at all. Did someone know about her powers? Did she mess up?
Of course she did. The cameras. She remembered the petition against installing them inside. However, she forgot about the exterior monitors which had always been there. Now it seemed like the wrong people had gotten ahold of the footage and it didn't match up.
Figures, Max thought. No good deed goes unpunished. Although she wouldn't trade Kate's life for anything.
Jason and Rachel entered the room to find Max staring blankly at the wall.
"Max, we're recommending you for psychiatric observation," Jason declared.
Max turned, disbelief on her face. "What? You can't do that!"
"Yes, the state has given us that authority, and we've seen some signs of unresolved issues." He glanced at Rachel, hoping he was doing his best concerned psychologist imitation.
"You're not even counselors. You're some kind of federal agents!"
Jason and Rachel looked at each other, surprise on their faces.
Jason murmured, "So you are a mind reader."
Max frowned. "What? No, are you crazy?"
"She's not lying," he remarked to his partner.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "We'll figure it out eventually."
"I'm not standing for this." Max got to her feet while Jason and Rachel tensed. "I'm leaving and I'm not going to participate in whatever sick joke this is."
"I'm afraid it's too late, Max. Your principal and your parents have been notified."
"My parents won't go along with this."
"But they will when they hear that you are suicidal as well. Tell me, Max, were you and Kate close friends? Would you say the both of you had been shunned at school? We did our homework."
Rachel stepped closer and bent a little at the knees to Max's level. "We're not the bad guys. We deal with special people like yourself. Make sure they're not a threat to themselves or others. You'll be back before you know it."
Max shook her head. "That's what you think."
Iteration 4
Timeline A: Wednesday, 2013-10-16 03:45:08
Jason and Rachel had just finished their fifteenth student of the second day, disappointed to find that they had not been able to contact Maxine Caulfield.
Jason relaxed into his seat, underwhelmed with all the teenage problems. "I have not even seen her in the halls or the classrooms. Have you?"
Rachel shook her head. "No, it's like she's avoiding us."
"But why would she do that unless…"
Rachel jerked, her eyes wide. "She knows."
"But how?"
"Does it matter at this point?"
Jason put his foot on the desk and pointed a pencil at his partner. "You know, I think we've been beaten."
Rachel shrugged. "What do we do now?"
He narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. "We have to come up with another reason to visit this backwoods town. Not as counselors though."
Rachel smiled. "Good thing we wore these disguises."
"That party everyone keeps mentioning. Mr. Wells is too incompetent or compromised to realize where there's smoke there's fire. We will come back in our official capacity to sort this whole thing out. Something's telling me that this Maxine either knows something or is at the center of the whole thing."
Rachel affirmed, "It's a small town, after all. Don't they always have their dark little secrets?"
"Too true."