Masked

Chapter Twenty-One

        "But I do know that he's responsible for the apocalypse," Five continued. "So we have to find him. And we have to do it now."

        Luther didn't get it. "How is he connected to what's gonna happen?"

        "I don't know."

        "Wait, so you just know his name?" asked Diego, pushing himself to the front of the clump we had made. "That's it?"

        "That's enough."

        "There's probably dozens of Harold Jenkinses in the city."

        "Well, we just better start looking, then."

        I rested my face in my palms, disappointed with the amount of information Five had been able to acquire. Sure, I had no clue what he had gone through to get it, but maybe he could have found some photo to help identify him. Now, we'd have to discover another way to locate the man in question and decide which Harold Jenkins we were truly after. Diego was right; we have no idea how many people have that name. Allison wasn't sure about this either.

        "I'm sorry. Am I the only one that's skeptical here?" As she protested, I noticed Five awkwardly checking his jacket, wincing slightly. "I mean, how exactly do you know all of this about what's his name?"

        Five was beginning to get impatient. "Harold Jenkins. You know those lunatics in masks who attacked the house?

        "Oh, yeah, I think I remember those guys." Stated Klaus, speaking now for the first time since Five's speech.

        Diego stepped in for him. "Yeah, the ones that attacked us while you were getting drunk."

        "They're a fun bunch, aren't they?" I added, glancing down at my stitches.

        "Yeah, them. They were sent by the Temps Commission to stop me from coming back and preventing the end of life on Earth."

        "The Temps what?" Allison inquired.

        "My former employer. Didn't Cassie tell you where I went?" I got dirty looks from the rest of my siblings. "They monitor all of time and space to make sure that whatever is supposed to happen. . . happens. They believe the apocalypse is coming in three days. So I went to Commission headquarters and intercepted a message that was meant for said lunatics. 'Protect Harold Jenkins.' So he must be responsible for the apocalypse."

        There was a short pause before chaos ensued. Everyone was trying to get their questions answered, but no one could hear them over everyone else. Some were about time and space, and others about Hazel and Cha-Cha. But the phrase that stood out the most to me was from Klaus who was sitting on the couch. He commented on the fact that his skin was on fire. As the rest of my siblings went back to the bar, I sat beside him.

        "Are you okay, Klaus?"

        He jumped slightly at my presence as if his mind was somewhere else. "Oh, Cassie. Just peachy. Don't you worry about me." A fake smile was flashed.

        Suddenly, Five's voice rose over the others. "You know what else is insane? I look like a thirteen-year-old boy. Klaus talks to the dead, and Luther thinks he's fooling everyone with that overcoat. Even Cassie who cares for others more than we do has killed thousands of people. Everything about us is insane. It always has been."

        "He's got a point there," Klaus agreed.

        "We didn't choose this life, we're just living it. For the next three days, anyway."