After the End

Chapter 4: Building the Impossible

The days blended into each other in the apocalyptic silence, and with each one, I noticed a change. Five wasn’t as cold as he used to be. The sharp edge of suspicion in his eyes had softened. I wasn’t sure what changed his mind about me, but there were moments now when we could sit in silence without the weight of distrust hanging between us. It was almost... peaceful.

I still remembered the way he had been when we first met—distant, harsh, unwilling to believe that someone like me could have survived. I had seen the way he looked at me, as if he expected me to disappear into dust at any moment, like I wasn’t real. But each day we spent together, that look faded, replaced by something else. Something like understanding.

We were two survivors in a broken world, and the more time we spent together, the more I realized how much we needed each other. Five didn’t say it out loud, but I could tell he was starting to see me as something more than just a threat. We had started to share stories—small pieces of who we were before everything fell apart. And as strange as it sounded, it felt good. I hadn’t talked to anyone for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to have a real conversation.

One evening, as the dim light of the setting sun cast long shadows across the barren land, Five finally spoke about something he had never mentioned before.

"My siblings..." His voice was quiet, almost hesitant, as if the words were difficult to form. "They were... they were special. Each of them had powers, just like me. They were supposed to be the ones to stop this. To save the world."

I watched him carefully, seeing the flicker of pain cross his face. He rarely talked about his family, and when he did, it was always with a hint of bitterness. But this time, it felt different. It wasn’t just bitterness; it was grief.

"I grew up with six others," he continued, his voice low. "We were raised by Sir Reginald Hargreeves. He... wasn’t a kind man. He didn’t care about us the way a father should. He only cared about what we could do, about how we could be used to his advantage. We were never normal kids. We were experiments. Tools for him to mold into his idea of what heroes should be."

I stayed silent, letting him speak. I could see how much it hurt him to relive those memories, but he needed to let it out.

"We were supposed to be the ones to save the world," Five repeated, his jaw clenched. "But we failed. And now... they’re all gone. I wasn’t there to save them. I couldn’t stop it."

He looked away, his fists tightening. I could see the weight of guilt in his eyes, the same guilt that had been haunting him since the day we met. Five had been carrying the burden of his siblings’ deaths for so long, and he didn’t know how to let it go.

I hesitated, then reached out, gently placing a hand on his arm. "You can’t blame yourself for what happened."

Five didn’t look at me, but I could tell he was listening.

"You did everything you could," I continued softly. "Sometimes, things happen that are beyond our control. The apocalypse... it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it, even if you had been there."

He shook his head, his voice strained. "But I should have been there. I should have found a way to save them. I was the one with the power to time travel. I could have prevented all of this."

"Maybe," I said, my voice steady. "Or maybe not. We can’t know for sure. But what we do know is that you’re still here. And that means you still have a chance to make things right."

For a long moment, Five didn’t say anything. His gaze was fixed on the ground, as if he was lost in his own thoughts. I wondered if he was thinking about his siblings, about all the things he could have done differently. But I knew that line of thinking would only destroy him.