Golden |2| The Umbrella Academy

TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: GONE

Something wasn't sitting right. Not when Diego started talking to Lila and she listened. Something felt off, and he knew he wasn't just being paranoid.

Five stood alert, holding a hand back to keep Lotus away. She kept inching closer, wanting to hear what was being said. A hand rested on his bicep and he relaxed, sneaking a glance back at her.

Her face was set in a mix of determination and wonder as Diego continued to try and convince Lila to break her trust with her mother. Her hair was no longer braided, the work Klaus had done was gone, and it cascaded down to her elbows. Her eyes were unbelievable bright in the dim light of the barn, he couldn't help but look away when her eyes flickered to his.

Focus. He told himself, now wasn't the time to get distracted.

Lila shifted, he could tell by the way her arm moved she was jabbing her knife against his brothers chest. Everyone was unbelievably silent, he couldn't even hear the words that were exchanged between Diego and Lila before everything fell to chaos.

Five was to late to react, Luther and Allison were already on the ground. He turned and shoved Lotus away, stumbling down as he felt bullets pierce his chest. His head hit the ground before his body did, his ears filled with a sharp ringing that reminded him of that missile that fired right by his ear when he first arrived.

Come on. He thought, Get up!

But his body refused to move, the shock of it all was still settling in. And how was he to survive something like this? To fix it, when a few bullets took  down Luther who was built like a dump truck. He could hear the clicking off heels amongst the ringing, of bugs buzzing outside in the country grass.

Maybe death was a blessing, especially for people like him. He'd killed so many over the years working for the Commission, hell, he murdered Lila's parents just because someone with authority told him it needed to be done. No questions asked. Maybe he deserved to die, surrounded by his family—

"No." Someone whispered, a presence landed beside him, a hand grabbed his, still frozen on his chest. "No, no, no, please— this can't be happening."

Lotus. Fear pricked at him, she was alive. She was breathing and next to him and he couldn't even open his eyes to look at her, to tell her he was still here, still holding on.

Another gun shot rang out, followed by a thud.

"Hey, it's me— Five, please, come on!" Her voice sounded desperate, full of tears and sorrow. "I don't know what to do, I don't know how to fix this— you're the one with the plans— please, come back, come back to me—"

His fluttered open, if he could have sighed with relief, he would have.

Blood splattered her face, her eyes red and tired, hair plastered to her forehead with a mix of blood and sweat. She tried to smile, but her arm went to her mouth and she coughed, blood covering her arm.

"Lotus." He tried to say, but it was nothing but a whisper, barley audible.

"Oh good! You're alive!" The Handler's voice rang out, "And no doubt with your little side piece."

Five wanted to get up and kill her himself, but she was unharmed and armed with a gun, and he had nothing.

"You both got to see how this all played out."

He turned his head as much as he could, eyes widening as the Handler lifted her polished heel and kicked Lotus in the stomach. She screamed, falling back beside him. He wanted to jump in front of her, to block the next blow, to do anything then just lay uselessly on the ground.