Prophecy | The Umbrella Academy |

Chapter Four- Visions

I'm Not Mad

Everything was a blinding white; the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything was completely white. Cassandra scrambled around the floor, trying to stand but her vision was swaying and everything was moving. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't pick herself up.

Cassandra's chest tightened with each gasping breath. Her eyes darted around the room rapidly, always moving but never seeing, not really. Then, all of a sudden, some of the blinding light in room disappeared and a long, rectangular opening across the length of one of the walls came into view. It was a window. Cassandra crawled on the floor so she could see it.

The window was a stark black in contrast to the clinical white of the enclosed room she was trapped in. Through its dark glass panel Cassandra could see the equally dark face of her father. His features were shrouded in shadows as he stared at his child. Cassandra didn't know how long she had been there but she knew that Hargreeves would appear at this window regularly. This time, she didn't call out to him. By now she knew he would not answer her pleas to be let out. She was terrified and he knew it. And he did nothing.

The scene in front of her changed abruptly and Cassandra was no longer in the white room. Everything was still white but there were no walls or ceilings or even a floor. It was like she was floating, weightless, in a world of nothing but light. A soft melody was coming from somewhere. It filled the void and Cassandra could feel its touch against her skin. She felt a warm sensation spread across her skin and the music became louder and clearer. It was a somber tune played on a violin that made her want to laugh and weep all at once. But before she could do anything, the calming white light faded to blackness.

Cassandra frantically looked about her but she couldn't see a thing. In the back of her mind she must have wished that she could for the next thing she knew the world around her had erupted into a mass of orange tendrils of fire. Cassandra winced as they bit her skin. Her breath hissed as they scorched her. Only now did she realise that the violin music was still playing but now each note came out as a harsh twang that grew louder and louder and louder and louder. Cassandra covered her ears but it kept getting louder. Until the music was masked all together by the pitiful wails of screams. Out of the fire emerged a group of shadowy orange figures.

Cassandra ran towards them but she never seemed to get any closer. They came steadily forward until Cassandra could see their faces, but only when they wanted her to. The first face she saw was Vanya. She looked scared and alone but no matter how much Cassandra wanted to run to her and hold her and make sure everything was okay, she never moved an inch, even against her straining muscles.

The other figures had fallen to the floor and Cassandra was powerless to reach them. As the smoke cleared she could see that they were the ones who were calling out in pain. Then she saw their faces. She saw the faces of her siblings. Cassandra sobbed with them. She couldn't help them. She tried so hard to move but she could reach them and they were dying. And Vanya, there was Vanya who had never looked so lost and frightened and she was on her own now. Cassandra couldn't help her. She couldn't help anyone.

Cassandra let a scream slip through her throat. She didn't care what happened to her body now. Her whole world had perished now so would she.

Cassandra kept on screaming as she felt her shoulders being shaken and the vision faded. It was dark and she was at home, in the hallway by the front door. She was face to face with Diego who had taken her by the shoulders and shaken her awake.

"Cass! Cassie, you back? You're awake now. You had a nightmare."

Cassandra shook her head, That was no nightmare. That was real.

"I'm not mad." She whispered, shaking her head and letting her warm tears spill down her cheeks. "Don't take me back, I'm not mad."

"Cassie, what are you talking about?"

"I'm not mad."

"Master Diego." A deep voice penetrated through the darkness. Cassandra tensed as Diego stepped aside to reveal Pogo standing in the doorway to the sitting room. "Allow me to escort Miss Cassandra back to her bedroom. I'll make sure she's safe." Pogo said as he walked towards them. 

Cassandra frantically grabbed onto Diego's arm, looked him dead in the eyes and panickingly shook her head repeatedly. Pogo took her by the arm and prised her away from Diego as he lead her along the corridor back to her bedroom. Cassandra looked over her shoulder at Diego until he was completely out of sight. She never stopped shaking her head.

"No." She kept whispering. "No." All the way to her bedroom. Pogo lead her to the edge of the bed and made her sit. He stood in the doorway to stop her from leaving.

"Have you taken your medication tonight, Miss Cassandra?" He asked bluntly, despite the fact he knew perfectly well she hadn't.

"No." She whispered in protest which Pogo mistakenly took as the answer. He retrieved a pill from the pot and offered to her in his outstretched palm. "No." She pleaded pitifully. Pogo stood there, his eyes staring deep into her.

"You need to take this. Your father prescribed them to you to help you."

"I don't want to." She pleaded, tears still streaming down her face. "I don't..." She whispered her voice breaking as she took the pill from Pogo's hand. He watched and smiled as she took it.

"I'm not mad." She insisted calmly, staring at him with tear stained cheeks.

"I know." He said regretfully as he left the room.