"Max?"
Chloe's voice was hardly heard through the roaring in Max's ears as she tore herself out of the car. She sprinted until she nearly collided with the fence and she held the metal cross stitching in her fingers.
"It's impossible!" she cried.
Her friends pulled the car over and gingerly walked up behind Max. Both girls' eyes widened even more than previously upon closer inspection.
The town was simply destroyed. The valley that once was the town of Arcadia Bay seemed as if it were devastated by some horrific disaster. It was like a sea monster arose from the ocean and smashed and pounded the towns structures with the pleasure of a madman. Cars were thrown into buildings, and light poles tangled in downed trees.
"I can't believe this!" Max declared. She pointed southwestward behind the fence, "That was the high school, and right next to that were the boy's and girl's dorms! Over there," she cried as she pointed meters away from the shattered structures, "were a series of apartment complexes."
Her finger shifted several times as she pointed out other landmarks. She recalled a junkyard, an old diner that her friends could just barely make out the outline of a giant whale sign, as well as some cul-de-sacs Max pointed to.
Chloe put a hand on Max's shoulder. "Are you on something, Max? There's no possible way you've ever been here. This place looks like it's been gone for some time!"
Max shrugged her sister's hand off of her shoulder and started to make a complaint, when Rachel spoke up.
"Holy shit, now I remember!"
The other girls turned to look at the fair haired young woman. "Don't you guys remember? It was all over the news! This whole town was hella wrecked by some freak tornado like two or three years ago!"
Chloe snorted. "You think I pay attention to the news? I have way too much shit to deal with!"
Max interjected in distress. "How is this possible?!? I remember everything about this town. I feel like I was just here. How could it be gone?"
Chloe's expression changed. She looked at her girlfriend and she shared the same sentiment. They couldn't help but feel bad for Max. It was clear that this revelation broke something in their friend. While they couldn't understand how deep this connection was to the town, they couldn't help but sympathize. Chloe cleared her throat. "Max, I hear you. But what you're saying is impossible. There's no way you could have been here or know this town like you say. I've been with you every day for the last four years. The only time we've spent any significant time apart is when you went to that photography summit or whatever two years ago."
"Two years ago?" Max searched her memory. She could recall seeing a face. She remembered her name echoing throughout the train station when she came back to Seattle. Reflexively, she played with the band around her wrist. She remembered the photography summit, that was nearly three years ago. "You know that you mention Chloe, I think-"
"Can I help you ladies?"
The three turned sharply to an older, balding man who approached them. He wore a white colored shirt under a brown over jacket, brown slacks and loafers. He acknowledged them, but Max really wasn't keen on a stranger witnessing her breakdown.
"We were just visiting!" Rachel answered for them. Her voice oozed her charisma.
It seemed to have no effect on the man's expression. "Are you three trying to see Arcadia Bay?"
All three girls quickly looked at each other then at the stranger. Each nodded but just before Chloe spoke up. "You work here or something?"
The bald man grunted. "The site is closed to the public. But there is a small museum dedicated to the town down the road. Get in your vehicle and follow me."
With that being said, the man turned on his heel and now they realized that there was a beige colored van meters down the road from where they were parked.
Both girls looked at Max. They waited to see what she wanted to do. They had gone so far on their journey already, that Chloe and Rachel were just fine going a little farther, and both couldn't help but feel curious to unravel this mystery of the connection between Max and Arcadia Bay.
Max nodded, and moments later, the trio of ladies sat in their spots from before and followed the beige van down the road. The silence while they followed the vehicle was deafening, and both girls in the front seats had concern gnawing at them for their friend.
Max was trying desperately to reel her emotions in. The town of Arcadia Bay was gone, and the event supposedly happened years ago, but she had no recollection. How was it possible she remembered the town and some of its inhabitants to the fine details, but the town was gone? Had she just imagined the whole thing?
She opened her phone and went to her notes. The notes were gone. They had completely disappeared just like the town she had searched for the last few days for.
Rachel had suddenly turned in her seat. In her stupor, Max had completely missed the hushed conversation that her two companions had had. "Max, what were you hoping to find in this town?"
"I was…" Max hesitated for just a moment. A part of her wanted to lie. It was silly the real reason why she had gone all this way, but this was the point of no return. Her friends had already gone so far out of their way for her, that she decided she better suck it up and tell them the truth.
"The truth is: is that I was looking for someone."
The expression on Rachel's face softened significantly. Her gray-green eyes focused on her and she smiled reassuringly. "I gotcha. But you were hoping to find them here, exactly?"
"Guys, we're here," Chloe interjected. The blue haired girl pulled them into a parking lot, where, true to the bald man's word, a small building lay in front of them. A sign in front of the building held a tribute:
Arcadia Bay Museum
This museum pays tribute to the thousands tragically lost
May you never be forgotten
Max rushed into the building, with her friends trailing close behind. Rachel thanked the bald man who only nodded back.
The girls split up. Rachel drifted over to a resource center filled with information. Chloe took off for the bathroom, and Max went over to a display of the names lost in the tragedy. Rachel found what she was looking for at the same time Chloe emerged from the bathroom.
"No way!" Max heard Chloe gasp. Max tried to swallow the roaring in her ears as she searched for familiar names on the obelisk in front of her. Meanwhile, Rachel and Chloe came over to read Max the news.
"Max, a freakishly huge tornado landed on Arcadia Bay nearly 3 years ago."
"No wonder the place was absolutely wrecked! Look at the size of the fucker!" Chloe cut in.
"Anyway," Rachel opened a book and laid it out in front of Max. Max tore her eyes away from the obelisk to hungrily scan the notes in front of her.
"Look: remember that comet that came down three years ago? Apparently, the comet passed directly over Arcadia Bay. It was so close that it caused warm air to hear and swirl so much that it intermixed with the cold air of the day, creating this supernaturally large tornado.
The town was absolutely devastated. Nearly everyone died or went missing and presumed dead."
Oh no, Max thought. She laid a shaky finger on the obelisk and scanned with increased intensity. She remembered that comet. Chloe and her were talking on the phone, while her parents sat with her on their roof. She remembered laying in a lawn chair watching the comet fly past. The iridescent fiery ball flew overhead, and she remembered wondering how many people would see something that spectacular in their lifetime. She took so many photos; she had to go to the store and get more film after that night.
"Who are you looking for?" Chloe demanded.
"We can help you look," Rachel offered.
Max merely shook her head. How could she explain that she didn't remember his name? She already seemed crazy now… imagine how insane she would seem if she revealed that last factor!
I'll know it when I find it! she thought. Her finger slid down a second row of names as her companions stood silently behind her, watching and waiting. The tension was thick, and neither girl knew what to do to break Max from her spell.
Suddenly, Max's finger froze on a name. Her eyes welled up with moisture, and her finger's shaking intensified immensely.
"Is that…?" Rachel asked.
"Warren Graham?" Chloe asked.
Warren Graham
Beloved son and devoted scientist
May you never be forgotten.
A/N: this is not the end. it's only beginning.