Prophecy | The Umbrella Academy |

Chapter Twenty Six- I Heard A Rumour

Well, that's not creepy at all...

"This guy is mad." Allison breathed as Cassandra skimmed through dad's old notebook, Allison peering over her shoulder. It was full of dad's floaty writing but had short, scruffy notes in the margins, undoubtedly Leonard's.

"What else has this guy got tucked away?" Cassandra asked but she wasn't sure if she was even prepared to find out. Sometimes the things she didn't have visions about, were worse.

Cassandra tucked dad's book into her jacket pocket and had another check under the bed but found nothing. Allison had snooped through his draws and wardrobe and, when both women were satisfied there was nothing else creepy in his bedroom, they moved out into the hall. Cassandra ducked through the next door down the hallway, which just so happened to be the bathroom. She didn't think she was going to find anything weird hidden away in a bathroom but then...isn't that the last place anyone would think to look?

She checked in the bathroom cabinets, behind the sink and even in the toilet tank but found nothing. She was more than happy to leave and join Allison in the hall.

"Find anything?" She asked and Cass shook her head, "Me neither." The two women looked down the length of the upstairs landing. Then something caught Allison's eye. She stood on her tip toes and stretched up to reach the tag for the attic hatch. She pulled it down and a fold up ladder unfurled before them. Allison looked at her and raised her eyebrows before she went up the ladder.

"Urm, guys!" Allison called out once she'd reached the top. Cassandra was close behind her and once she'd reached the top, she knew what Allison was on about, "You gotta see this."

Stashed away in Leonard or Harold's attic, was a death shrine to the Umbrella Academy. He had collected all the merchandise from figurines to posters to dress up costumes. Cassandra walked past a whole wall dedicated to displaying posters of the Umbrella kids. He had scratched over their eyes and burned the faces off the figurines. This was one creepy guy.

"Well this is weird," Diego mumbled as he took in the death shrine to the Umbrella Academy.

"I've never been more thankful that dad thought I didn't make the cut..." Cassandra whispered. It was relieving not to see her face being gouged out up in this creepy man's attic.

"This guy's got some serious issues," Diego continued muttering. No one seemed to hear Cassandra. Not that it mattered.

"Shit." Five mumbled.

"This was never about Vanya." Allison said in a horrified whisper.

Five sighed, long and low, from beside them.

"This was about us..." Allison finished, her eyes frowned in terror. Man was this guy creepy, Cass thought. She didn't have time to put the thought to words before Five collapsed on the floor.

"Oh my god," She breathed.

"Five!" Allison darted to him, as did Diego who knelt by his side.

"There's blood..." Cass whispered, "He has blood..."

Five's hands were covered in blood. So was his jumper. Cass felt her head swirl and the room began to go hazy. Oh come on, not now. Not now, please, not now. She repeated over and over again in her head.

"Jesus, Five," She heard Diego grumble as he pulled back Five's bloody jumper to reveal a bullet wound in his abdomen. But Cassandra couldn't see that. All she saw was a swirling red blob as the world around her began to fade. Come on! She shouted in her mind and screwed her eyes tightly shut until everything went blank. She mental slapped herself. Come on! Stay! Awake!

She opened her eyes. Everything was as it had been. Five was on the floor, his eyes were shut and he looked deathly pale. Despite all this, Cassandra smiled. At least she hadn't fainted on the floor too.

*

Cassandra held the doors open as Allison and Diego carried Five's unconscious body between them. They headed straight for the sitting room and laid him on the nearest couch.

"We should have taken him to the hospital," Allison grumbled as she set him down.

"A kid with a shrapnel wound. Cause that wouldn't have raised questions." Five grumbled back, mustering just enough energy to chide her. Allison shook her head at him.

"Yeah well, so does the murder shrine in Harold Jenkins' attic." She quipped.

"He's losing a lot of blood." Cassandra stated, urgently and bit her nails.

"We gotta get the shrapnel out," Diego ordered.

"I'm not gonna ask why you know that." Cassandra shook her head but Diego wasn't paying attention. He was staring off across the room, his face blank but his eyes wide and, dare she say, a little scared. Cassandra followed his gaze and saw Mom walking along the corridor, about to head up the stairs.

Diego followed after her, not seeming to hear Cass shout after him. Cass and Allison were left alone to tend to Five.

"Where's he going?" Allison asked and threw her hands up in annoyance.

"I'll go get him," Cass replied. He wasn't going to get out of helping his little brother that easily.

When Cassandra caught up to him, he was standing in front of Mom on the stairs. He held out her arm and looked up the length of it. Cassandra frowned.

"Diego, we kinda need your help here," Cass said, a sarcastic smile on her face that Diego refused to look at. He dropped Mom's arm.

"What do you need help with, Cassandra?" Mom asked, her sweet smile somehow seemed to make everything seem okay.

"Five, he's been shot." Cass said, looking glumly at the floor. She didn't want to think she hadn't been looking out for Five. She suddenly felt like she was a child again.

"I'll see to him," Mom said with a smile and walked off into the living room. Cass turned to follow her but upon noticing Diego hadn't moved since she'd interrupted him and Mom, she hesitated.

"What's going on, Diego?" She asked. Cassandra thought she was going to be bitter about it. She'd folded her arms across her chest and was ready to shout at him for not being there for Five, or Vanya, and he could have tried a bit harder with Klaus. But Cass surprised herself to find she spoke in a low, soft voice. Diego looked at her and shook his head.

"It's nothing. Let's go," He tried to push past Cassandra but she refused to move. She knew, as well as he did, that she didn't really have the strength to actually stop him from getting past but he stopped anyway.

"What do you want, Cass?" He asked gently, a lot more than just a hint of pity in his voice.

"I want my brother back."