"Promise me something, Warren."

With tears cascading down his face, a young Warren glanced up in answer at the voice in question.

If he didn't know this person was his mother, he wouldn't recognize her. Her face was beyond gaunt. He could see the cheekbones rise to the surface. Gone was the long auburn hair that was her trademark. What remained was skin and bald head. Even her freckles seemed to be gone.

The only trace left of his mother, a woman he loved so much, was the kind almond eyes that warmly embraced him. She reached a fragile hand out for her son, which Warren took with both hands. It was still warm.

She gently pulled him closer. It seemed like it was the only strength she had left. Warren stumbled himself closer to his mom's bed, and she gingerly placed a hand on his cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Warren."

Warren swallowed the lump in his throat. "For what?"

"So many things," she dryly chuckled. "Promise me that you won't forget how much I love you."

She poked the point of his nose, and he nearly broke down in more tears, yet he couldn't have, he knew he had all but dried up.

"It's time to go, son," Daniel placed a hand on his child's shoulder and began to lead him away from the room. Warren wanted to shove him away. He wanted to scramble over the bed and hug his mother tightly and never let go. He wanted this sickness to end. He wanted to go back home and have his family again.

None of that happened. He numbly allowed his father to steal him out of the room.

"Warren, I-"

Warren didn't hear Max. He acted as if he didn't see her.

*

"You have a duty to Graham river. You have a duty to the shrine! A duty to your family!"

"I don't care about any of that! I'm changing this town for the good, while you're stuck in the past!"

"Stuck in the past? You'll barely look at your son, and you neglect any of the other responsibilities that you have other than politics. If Penny were here she-!"

"She is gone, Tabitha! Gone! Warren misses his Mom, and so do I, but I'm not going to pretend to care about your stupid spiritually! I'm going to do something that actually matters, and fix this godforsaken town!"

Max struggled to move. She felt like she was floating through space as she watched Warren's father and grandmother verbally fight each other, while a young Warren eavesdropped secretly from the stairs. Max reached out to Warren but she couldn't seem to reach.

"You need to keep Warren with me! I'll take care of him, yo-"

"No, he's my son! He stays with me! You'll be lucky if you ever see him again!"

*

The whole world shifted, and Max could see a beautiful smattering of stars. Her gaze tilted down and she saw Warren with Brooke as they stared into the sky.

"Warren! You have to leave before the comet comes! There's going to be a tornado that kills you! You have to leave!"

The wind slapped her in the face as she felt the gravity of the comet pass directly over their heads. The air shifted and the atmosphere exploded into a mass of swirling wind. A cold chill creeped down Max's spine and she knew what was looming.

"Please!" she pleaded. "You have to move!"

If Warren heard her, he didn't show it. He stood frozen in fear as the tornado came. The end was here, and he knew there wasn't a way to stop it.

*

The shrill tones of an alarm startled Max out of the bed… literally.

She rose up immediately and reached her hands down to scratch at her legs. An unfamiliar scruffiness met her sensation of touch and she nearly screamed in exuberance.

"Warren…" she whispered. "You're alive! It worked; I can't believe it worked!"

She swung her legs over the side and stumbled out of bed. She reached into Warren's closet and grabbed the first clothes she saw. After the change, she grabbed his phone to check the date. Thankfully, today was the day of the festival, and, seemingly, the date that she had set up for Warren and Brooke.

A small wave of jealousy enveloped inside her, but she pushed it away. Max fought the urge to smile, knowing that she's the one who led Warren to Brooke, despite his protests. Her finger hesitated over the "call" option before finally pressing it.

Brooke answered after the second ring. "Hey, Warren," she sounded hesitative, almost like she was as anxious as Max was feeling. "What's up?"

Max's mouth had suddenly dried. Why was she feeling bad? She knew it was for a good cause, yet she felt bad knowing she might disappoint the brunette.

"Hey Brooke. I'm, uh, not feeling the best. Can we, I'm, postpone the date?",

Brooke seemed quiet for a moment. The girl was smart, and she definitely heard how nervous Max was. "You're sounding like the Warren from a few weeks ago. We can cancel if you aren't feeling well… are you still going to the festival?"

"No!" Max shouted abruptly. "You can't go to the festival!"

Now Brooke sounded confused. "You're being weird. More so than usual. Why shouldn't I go?"

Max fought the urge to sigh dramatically. How was she going to pull this off? The body switches only last a day, and the festival/tornado is going to come tonight. Checking the clock, she still had the whole day to go, but she somehow had to evacuate the town before the comet came.

"Brooke, this is going to sound crazy."

"You already sound crazy."

"I know, I know! But listen, please. The comet is going to cause a tornado that's going to destroy the whole town!"

Brooke was quiet for the briefest of moments before scoffing. "Warren, did you get enough sleep last night? The odds of that happening are so unlikely it's-"

"I know it sounds insane. But please liste-"

"If you didn't want to go on a date, you could have just said so," Brooke's voice deepened. She was clearly upset. "Bye, Warren. I hope I don't see you at the festival, but it sounds like you're not going anyway."

She immediately hung up after her mini rant and Max fought the urge to throw Warren's phone down. Of course she'd be upset. Meddling Max has tried playing with Warren's love life, and now the people close to him were going to suffer.

She'd already failed one person. But she needed to keep going.

She grabbed some of Warren's clothes and quickly tried to get dressed. She knew that the festival was going to happen that night, and if she was going to get the town to evacuate, she'd have to move quickly.

Max grabbed Warren's phone and fortunately remembered his password. For a smart guy, it was relatively simple. She scrolled through his limited contact info and looked for his friends. Immediately she found Alyssa and then Daniel. A memory jogged in her head, as she remembered eating at the cafe and riding bikes with them.

She texted them to meet her ASAP. Alyssa responded with something snarky, but that was her personality from what Max gathered. It kind of reminded her of Chloe. Nevertheless, the duo agreed to meet her in a few minutes outside of Warren's house.

Max sighed in relief. It was going to be impossible to do it alone, but if she could enlist Warren's friends, then the town stood a significantly better chance.

She threw on some deodorant and brushed Warren's teeth and finally she felt it was time to go. She scrambled over to kick on his shoes when a knock at the front door startled her right back out of Warren's shoes.

"Warren? It's me, Grandma!"

Max had never been happier to see the elder woman. She thrust open the door immediately, somewhat startling the poor woman. "Hey, Grandma!"

Grandma Graham was slightly taken aback but flashed a smile seeing her only grandson. "Hello, Warren. Is your father home?"

That question caught Max off guard. She had no clue. "I-I'm not sure."

"Better off that he's not here," Grandma mumbled as she shuffled past him. She made her way over to the dining room table and plopped herself upon it with a heavy sigh.

Max hesitated, wondering if she should sit as well, but she elected to stand instead. Grandma looked up at her from her place and gave her an odd look. "You're not Warren today, aren't you?"

Max inadvertently gasped. "You know?"

Grandma nodded and smiled slightly. "When I was your age; I had these dreams. The way you've been behaving the past few weeks reminded me of them. Of course, it's been so long since I've had those dreams that I can't remember who I was when I had them. Oh well. These dreams will fade with time. Treasure them while you have them. Your mother had them too!"

Max's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, what if all the dreams that the Graham's have been having… was about today!"

Grandma gave her an inquisitive look, but she didn't say anything. Overcome by the realization, Max slapped her hands on the table. "Grandma, you have to believe me! The comet is going to somehow cause a tornado that's going to destroy the entire town! You have to get out of here!"

Grandma sat with the warning for a few moments. She didn't seem to react but she pushed herself out of the chair and stood slowly. "I'll think about your warning, Warren. But just know, no one in town will believe you."

*

Grandma left shortly after. Meanwhile, Max ran to the spot where she agreed to meet Warren's friends. The shock of Grandma's reaction was still seeping through, and she almost couldn't believe she nearly dismissed her warning. Even still, she couldn't help but think that the elder woman had a point. How could she convince an entire town that a comet was going to cause a tornado that would wipe out an entire town? The odds of such a thing happening were so tremendous that it was beyond belief.

Even still, she had to figure out how. This was her only chance to save everyone.

She came to a stop at the end of the road where she agreed to meet his friends. Thankfully, she had the moment to catch her breath as they arrived a few moments later.

"Warren," Alyssa smirked. "What happened to you hair?"

Max paused for a moment. She instinctively put a hand up to Warren's hair and ran her hand through the thick, shortened locks. "Yeah, it looked better when it was shaggier, I think."

"No, uh, it looks good," Daniel chimed in.

Max blinked and started to thank him before shaking her head vigorously. "Never mind that!" she declared. "We have to evacuate the town!"

"Evacuate the town?" Alyssa asked incredulously.

"Why?" Daniel asked point blank.

"Because," Max licked her lips. She tried to calm herself down before becoming hysterical. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy. But we have to get everyone out of here because the comet is going to come and wipe all of you guys out! The warm air caused by the comet is gonna mix with the colder air and make a huge tornado that's going to destroy the town!"

Both of Warren's friends were silent for a moment as they soaked in Max's desperate warning. "Is that even possible?" Alyssa spoke up, albeit quietly with a hint of disbelief.

"I…" Daniel frowned. "I don't know."

Max glanced back and forth across the duo. She mentally pleaded with them to ignore their skepticism and believe her. "Guys… please. I promise I'm not lying."

He wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the desperate look in his friend's eyes and tone of his voice. Maybe it was because he trusted Warren's instinct, especially when it came to unnatural phenomena. Maybe it was simply because he didn't want to go home. Nevertheless, something made Daniel want to believe Warren's claim; despite the fact that logic was staring him in the face.

Daniel nodded. "I believe you, Warren!"

Alyssa shook her head. "It sounds pretty far-fetched to me. But, hell, I'll take any chance I have to hang out with you guys. We can go research this shit in your basement, like old times, Warren, and I'll go get snacks!"

Max sighed with relief. Convincing everyone that a disaster was going to happen is going to be tough, and she still had no idea how she was going to accomplish it. Though she knew it would be much easier with the help of Warren's friends.

Max nodded, and her and Daniel set off back to Warren's house. Meanwhile, Alyssa took off in the opposite direction to the nearby gas station a couple blocks away.

Alyssa navigated her way down the sidewalks to the station. It was a nice day with a gentle breeze, perfect for picnics or just playing around outside. She passed a group of younger kids playing basketball in the corner of their cul-de-sac. She smiled as she witnessed an elderly couple talking and laughing amongst each other on their porch.

Alyssa saw several different signs and posters advertising the festival to happen later in the day. How ironic, Alyssa thought, that a supposed tornado caused by a comet would arrive while everyone was gathered in one spot.

A chill descended down her spine at the thought. She tried to ignore the feeling as she entered the gas station. Alyssa tried to keep herself busy by remembering Daniel and Warren's favorite snacks and drinks. She had been friends with them so long that it was almost second nature to grab their special items. Yet she almost wanted to second guess herself, with how weird Warren had been acting lately.

Alyssa thought of the look on her friend's face as he shared his theories with her. He seemed absolutely convinced that the entire town was going to get wiped out. The idea itself was absurd, and if anyone else had mentioned it, then she wouldn't have believed it. But, since it was her friend; the smartest guy she had known (not that it was saying much), it made her hesitate. She had volunteered for this excursion to give her time to think away from the boys.

As she paid for the junk food and drinks, and left, she kept thinking about the urgency on Warren's face. Sure, her friend had been acting strangely for the past few weeks, but she had never seen the look on his face before.

It was ridiculous, but the more she thought about it, the more she believed him.

Alyssa walked through the threshold of Warren's house and over to the stairs to descend down into Warren's basement. She shouldered open the already ajar door and announced her presence to the boys, who were sitting practically shoulder to shoulder at Warren's PC.

She rolled her eyes, as she assumed that they were just boys being boys. It wasn't until she approached them and set the purchased items on the table behind the two teens that she noticed what they were doing.

They were doing research. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder as they glanced at Warren's PC.

"Hey guys, I'm back," Alyssa stated as she plopped the goods on the table. Her two friends turned back to her. Daniel had a big grin on his face, while Warren had a small smile.

"We were just talking about strategy," Daniel informed her.

"I still think this is all batshit insane," Alyssa retorted. "But if Big Brain over here is so adamant that this tornado is going to come, then I have no choice but to believe him."

Warren nodded, despite seeming chagrined. "So," Warren cleared his throat. "The plan."

Alyssa handed him his soda, which he then gave a slightly puzzled look before opening it. She handed Daniel his snacks and drink before slumping into a spot next to Warren. "Lay it on me."

"Well," Warren and Daniel smirked at each other, which Alyssa raised an eyebrow at. "It all starts with a bomb."

Alyssa dropped her chips. "A bomb?!?"

"It was my idea!" Daniel beamed. "Warren showed me how a few years ago for a science project (Warren shrugged). We have extra explosive gel from the construction site. I'll go out and build it up to spook the town. While that happens, you'll go out to Blackwell to broadcast the evacuation plan. The idea is we evacuate everyone to the lighthouse up on the hill. The lighthouse schematics have a basement underneath that should shelter the town's citizens."

Warren cut in. "Meanwhile, I'll go to the Mayor's office. I'll convince my dad to give me the access codes to the emergency broadcast system. I'll text you the emergency codes and you'll give the message to the town."

"Wait." A pit had opened in her stomach. "Why do I have to announce it?"

"You're a part of the student paper, right?" Daniel spoke up. "We can't exactly ask Juliet to do this, so you'll have to do it… please?"

"Ugh," Alyssa loudly sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. Besides, this is just a theory, right, Warren?"

Warren had an odd look on his face. "Right… anyway, there's no time to waste. I'll go ahead and head off for the Mayor's office. You two do your thing. We'll meet back in two hours, right?"

The other two friends nodded. Max started to make off towards the stairs when Alyssa stopped her. "Wait, before you go, how'd your "date" go in Seattle yesterday?"

*

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Daniel Graham demanded.

"Like I said," Max was beginning to lose her patience. Yes, she knew that convincing Warren's dad would be tough, yet she wasn't expecting the look on his face that she was giving him. She was feeling desperate. "We have to evacuate the town tonight, or else-"

"Shut up!" Mayor Graham cut her off. He pinched the bridge of his nose and grimaced in frustration. "The comet is going to cause a tornado that will wipe out the town? Hundreds will die?" He pointed a finger at his only son. "How dare you stand there and spout such nonsense! Do you not realize how huge this event is for the town? Or maybe you do realize…"

Max opened her mouth to speak up, but Mayor Graham waved her off. "You must get this imaginative, hysterical side from your mother… I'm going to get you a taxi to take you to the hospital for a mental evaluation. I don't want to speak with you until you're done."

Max's temper overcame her. How could he simply not listen to her, or even attempt to hear her out? How could he not even pretend to care about his people?

She slammed his son's hands on the table and unabashedly looked him in the eye. "Listen here, you son of a bitch!"

She started to grab him by the tie, before he recoiled and pushed back from his chair. He stood up suddenly, looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

"Wait a second… you're not Warren… who are you?"

*

Max walked slowly down the sidewalk. Her hands were clasped lightly in front of her as she strolled heavily, deep in her thoughts.

Simply put, the answer was no. Sure, she could still have Alyssa send out a warning. But what good would it do? How many citizens would take it seriously without the backing from leadership? How many lives would be saved?

She didn't know, and she was becoming disheartened at the possibility that she wouldn't save anyone, let alone Warren.

"Hey, don't forget about the festival tonight!"

"Mom needs me for something but I'll meet you at the park tonight!"

"Sounds good!"

Just ahead of her, a group of kids, maybe 10-12 years old, went their separate ways. A brother and sister jogged their way past her. Overcome with emotion, Max instinctively reached out and caught the brother by the shirt.

"Listen to me!" she cried. "You guys tell your friends! You have to get out of town before tonight or you'll all die!"

A look of shock and horror went across the young boy's face. His sister pushed Max and she lost her grip upon witnessing the shock on the lad.

"You're crazy! Let's get out of here, Benji!"

The two kids raced off, and Max watched them go. The desperation had given way to flat out depression as she saw the chances of convincing the town of the upcoming storm go up in smoke. In those few moments, Daniel had wheeled his way up to her, and she had barely noticed.

"Warren? What was that?"

Max looked off in the distance and mostly ignored him. Was she even capable of convincing the town? It seemed everyone thought she was going insane.

In the distance, she could picture the shrine by the Graham river. "Are you there Warren?" she whispered.

"What was that?" Daniel asked.

She glanced over at him with newfound vigor. "Daniel, I need to borrow your bike."

She lightly pushed Daniel, who responded by slipping out of his vehicle. His surprise by his friend's sudden action left him agape before sputtering out, "What do you want me to do?"

"Do what we planned!" she called back. "I just have to take care of something real quick. Go back to my house and borrow my bike if you need!"

With that out of the way, she sped off as fast as Warren's legs could for Graham River for a reunion.

*

The sound of roaring water filled Warren's ears as he slowly felt himself wake up from a seemingly deep sleep. His fingers scraped against the ground as he felt rock underneath him. He unglued his cheek from the surface and slowly made his way to a sitting position.

He glanced down at himself, wondering where he was. In the candlelight, he could see jeans and a pink Jane Doe t-shirt under a gray hoodie.

"Am I Max?" he whispered to himself.

He slowly stood on spaghetti legs and gingerly strolled his way out of the crevice and outside. It occurred to him that he was back in Arcadia Bay, but he couldn't imagine why Max would be here of all places.

Max's phone was dead, so there goes the chance to message her friends or see if she left any notes for him. The only thing he could think of was to go home. A theory popped up in his head that maybe he could see Max but in his body. Wouldn't that be crazy?

He carefully crossed Graham river and began his ascent up the hill and to the path to Grandma's. Questions were churning in his head as he mostly wondered what Max was doing, wondering all the way out to him. Did she come out to visit him, just like he tried to go to Seattle to see her?

The idea excited him, yet he couldn't shake an anxious feeling that something was wrong. It seemed somewhat out of character for the somewhat timid Max to go so far out of her comfort zone.

He finally pushed the last few meters to the top of the hill and he dropped to his knees at the site.

In the distance, the town of Arcadia Bay was gone. His eyes watered as realization clicked. This was why Max was in Arcadia Bay!

"Am I dead?"