anew || umbrella academy

Z E R O

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All the air seems to leave my body as I feel myself drop and gravity pull my body down. A loud yelp leaves my mouth as I make solid impact with the cold, wet ground of an alley way. I groan frustratedly as my back becomes soaked from a puddle below me.

For a millisecond of unawareness, I lie in a dirty alley way and attempt to take in the blue sky hanging above me. The cloudless sky offers an endless abyss that a person could so easily fall into. It provides both a peace and a terror like no other. That fleeting second is soon gone as my memories rise. The end of the world, Vanya being the cause, her and the rest of the Hargreeves siblings attempting a desperate act to escape and fix their mistakes.

Panic soon chases away the calm. It had only been what felt like a second ago when I was standing with the group as Five tried to save us. But if I am here, then where is the rest? There is no noise of any of the people she had grown familiar with.

My eye widens as I quickly realize that I am alone in this alley and none of my companions had landed with me. My palms roughly scrap against the ground as I stand up to peer at the energy storm above me. Looking throughout the swirling, blue lights, I desperately try to find the people that I had been with.

"Five?!" My voice nearly cracks as I think of the possibility of my lone survival. I think of the Hargreeves' faces as we all were enveloped by Five's time warp. "Diego? Klaus?"

I feel the energy shift as the blue vortex disappears and all that's left is the clear, blue sky.

"Shit."

My want to drag my hands down my face is overpowering as I try to comprehend what went wrong. Surely I couldn't be the only one who survived, not if Five's time teleportation worked. Looking over my shoulder, I see a clear street with passing cars; past lessons on survival with Reginald ring throughout my head as I begin to walk towards the street.

"If lost, your first priority should be to dictate your location."

The street is clean and bright, adorned with little shops bustling with people. I keep my head low to the ground as I walk past a group of younger people. Their loud chatter fades as we walk away from each other but I contemplate their clothes. Either go-go boots and bell bottoms are still in style or I am definitely not where I'm supposed to be.

My feet stop abruptly as I notice a stray newspaper laying on the sidewalk. Leaning down, my hands grab the thin papers as my eyes scan over it. As I straighten back up, my eye that isn't covered by bandages locks onto the date in the corner.

August 15, 1963

"Shit," I mutter as I look over the newspaper again, as if the date will change if I blink twice. Five must have overshot the time jump. The name of the newspaper also demands attention due to the new location I found myself in.

Dallas Daily Times

"Double shit." I groan, trying to come up with a plan of action. I am alone in Dallas, Texas in 1963 with absolutely no help and possibly the only one to have survived the apocalypse.

At the thought of being the only survivor, I wince and try to push the thought down. There's no way I was the only one to survive. Diego is too stubborn and hardheaded to die. Klaus has his stupid, dumb luck. Allison and Luther are strong enough to continue on. And Five would refuse to die because of his own mistake.

Determination fills my body as I walk back to the alley way that I had landed in. My thoughts run quick as I try to create a proper plan of action. The group is more than likely scattered, not dead. They can't be dead. Five can't be dead.

I remember the tightness of Five's grip on my hand as his power twirled around us. He had been desperate for this to work. He had been scared even if he didn't realize that himself.

My foot accidentally hits a random object, causing me to look down at the damp concrete. Rolling away from my bowling shoes is a can of purple spray paint. A smile raises upon my face as I gain a miraculous idea.

  
ESTER WAS HERE
☂︎︎

   
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