After the End

Chapter 3: Questions Without Answers

The night pressed down on us, heavy and silent, as if the world itself had forgotten what sound was. Five sat across from me, his eyes burning with the intensity of someone whose mind never stopped working. I could see the gears turning, trying to fit the puzzle pieces of this apocalyptic nightmare together. But the more I told him, the more his expression darkened.

I had opened up to him, telling him everything I could remember about myself. I talked about my life before the end—about my parents, my small, quiet life, and the strange, terrifying glimpses of the future that haunted me since I was a child. He listened, his eyes never leaving me, but I could tell that something I said wasn’t sitting right with him. There was something more he wasn’t telling me, and it gnawed at me.

After a long pause, I finally asked the question that had been lingering in the back of my mind. "If you and your siblings had powers... why didn’t they survive?"

Five’s eyes narrowed, his gaze turning colder. It was as if I had touched on something raw, something he didn’t want to think about. "What do you mean?"

I hesitated, then pressed on. "You’re part of the Umbrella Academy, right? You and your siblings were supposed to save the world. So, if you all had powers, why didn’t they make it? Why am I here, and not them?"

The words hung in the air like a challenge, and I saw the flicker of pain cross Five’s face. He tried to hide it, but it was there—deep, buried under layers of anger and confusion. For the first time since we met, I saw something break in him, even if only for a second.

"It doesn’t make sense," I continued, my voice softer. "If I survived, how come they didn’t?"

Five was quiet for a long time, his jaw clenched tight. He wasn’t the type to open up easily, that much I knew, but something about this moment felt different. Maybe it was the weight of the question, or maybe it was the fact that, deep down, he didn’t know the answer either.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low and measured. "I don’t know why they didn’t survive. But I do know that something—someone—caused it. My siblings... they should’ve made it. They had abilities far beyond anything you can imagine. But something went wrong. Something happened, and it wiped them all out."

I felt a chill run down my spine at his words. The idea that something—or someone—could be responsible for the deaths of the people meant to save the world was terrifying. If even the Umbrella Academy couldn’t stop it, what hope did I ever have?

Five continued, his voice more distant now, like he was reliving a memory. "I have the ability to teleport—through space and time. When I was younger, I thought I could control it. But one day, I miscalculated. I jumped too far ahead, and I ended up here, in the apocalypse. I’ve been stuck ever since, trying to find a way back."

He paused, his gaze hardening. "By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late. Everything was gone. My siblings, the world... all of it. And now you’re telling me that somehow you—someone I’ve never heard of—survived when they didn’t."

There was bitterness in his voice, and I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t understand it either. Why had I survived? Why was I still here, while the heroes who were supposed to save the world had perished? It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense.

"I don’t have the answers," I said softly, meeting his gaze. "I don’t know why I’m still here. But I do know that we need to figure it out. Because whatever happened to your siblings... it’s not over yet."

Five looked at me, his expression hard and unreadable. For a moment, I thought he might push me away, shut me out again. But then, slowly, he nodded. There was something in his eyes now—a determination, a flicker of hope that hadn’t been there before.

"We’ll figure it out," he said, his voice steady. "But first, we need to survive."

And in that moment, I knew that we were in this together, whether either of us liked it or not. The apocalypse had taken everything from us, but it hadn’t taken our will to fight. We would find answers, no matter what it took.

Because in this world, survival was just the beginning.