
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In a city represented by the Cartesian plane, Rachel is located at $(4, -15)$ and Sarah is located at $(-2, 12)$. They agree to meet at the midpoint between their locations and then walk directly downwards to reach their friend Max, who is positioned at $(1, -5)$. How many units downward do Rachel and Sarah walk together to get to Max?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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