TIMELESS

15. THE SHRAPNEL

"oh, sorry for being a psycho..."

★・・・★・・・★

Harold's file included an address, which we assumed was his. Diego drove us to a suburban neighborhood. He stopped the car and parked in front of a small house and we all hopped out.

Alison, Diego, Five, and I began walking across the front lawn towards the door.

"Be careful, okay? We don't know what Peabody's capable of," Alison warned.

"Yeah, he didn't seem dangerous when I first saw him," Diego dismissed Alison's previous statement. "Looked kinda scrawny."

"Yeah, well, so are most serial killers and mass murders," Alison reasoned. "I mean, look at them." She gestured her hand towards Five and I.

I shrugged in agreement and chuckled.

"Thanks," Five said.

"Good point," Diego admitted. "So, what's this guy want with Vanya?"

Alison walked around to the side of the house leaving Diego, Five, and me at the front. We walked up the porch steps and approached the door.

"I don't know. How about we ask him after we kill him," Five spoke with words laced with sarcasm.

I clapped my hands together. "Oh, how lovely," I exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa." Diego put his arm out signaling for us to quiet down. "Hey, look, I'm gonna burst through—" He turned around and noticed that Alison wasn't following us.

Diego became annoyed. "You know what? It would be nice for people just to stick to—"

I didn't get to hear the last part of his sentence because Five held my hand, and jumped us to the side door where Alison was.

She jumped slightly when she witnessed our sudden appearance.

Alison pushed open the unlocked door and we all entered the house. Out of nowhere, a crash sounded through the house. Alison, Five, and I quickly rushed towards the sound, which was caused by Diego.

He had jumped through the window of the front door. Tiny pieces of sharp glass covered the wooden floor. He groaned as he pushed himself back up on his feet.

"Subtle," Alison stated.

Five strolled over to the door and pulled it open. "You know, the door was unlocked."

"Yeah, well, my way works just fine," Diego insisted.

Diego brushed shards of glass off of himself. "Spread out," he instructed. "Yell if you're in trouble."

Diego walked away into the living room and began looking around.

"Ah, inspiring leadership," Five remarked jokingly.

"One of the greats," Alison added.

I snickered and walked off. All of us split up and searched different parts of the house.

I examined the dining room, looking for anything that could be useful in our search for Harold Jenkins. The large, wooden table covered the majority of the room.

There were a few unopened letters lying on the table, so I picked a few up and read them. Most of the letters were from the bank or his doctor. I put them back down on the table and moved on.

The house gave me an odd vibe. There was a presence of sadness and anger that loomed within the air. I couldn't explain it, but I hated being in here.

Alison's voice called for us from upstairs. "Guys, you need to see this."

I left the dining room and made my way up the steps, where I found Alison, Diego, and Five near the attic.

After pulling the string and opening the hatch, we climbed up a latter to a secret room. The room was filled with pieces of dusty furniture, along with a large portion of the wall filled with Umbrella Academy merchandise. Posters, magazines, actions figures, and more lined the wall.

"All of our faces are burnt off," Alison noted.

"Well, that's not creepy," Diego said as he examined the burnt action figures. "This guy's got some serious issues."

Five and I spoke at the same time. "Shit."

"This was never about Vanya.. This was about us." Fear was prominent on Alison's face as her fingers grazed all of the images.

All of a sudden, Five collapsed onto the ground.

I gasped, "Five!"

I kneeled next to him, while he laid on the floor and groaned in pain.

Diego and Alison also bent down to check on Five.

My eyes scanned his body for any injuries. When I saw blood stained on the right side of his clothes, I pulled his shirt up, revealing a gruesome hole in the side of his stomach. The crimson-colored liquid squirted out of his skin dangerously.

"Jesus, Five," Diego hissed in disgust. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You have to keep going," Five croaked. It was clear that the loss of blood was beginning to affect him. "So... close."

Five's eyes drifted shut, and I was afraid he had died.

My stomach churned, and I shook him gently. "Five!"

There was no response. I looked up at the others with worried eyes. "We have to get him back to the Academy."