PYROMANIAC - (Umbrella Academy) X Five Hargreeves

2:4

When Lena gained her next bout of consciousness it was to an alarm piercing her ears.

When Lena awoke a couple of hours into midnight it was to a blaring alarm piercing her eardrums. Faintly, as she prised her eyes open, she could see a faint red glow blinking on the wall in front of her coming in from the window in the door.

But she was so exhausted and dazed that after a few minutes she began to convince herself it was all in her head, a hallucination brought on by the drugs in her system. Her heart felt heavy and slow in her chest and it was as though the floor was rocking and swaying below her like she was on a swing being pushed constantly.

Even with the hard, cold floor pressing against her side and shoulder, it acted as no anchor for her reeling mind.

Dipping in and out of consciousness, she had no recollection of a rushed set of keys hitting against the otherside of her door, nor the hushed arguing between two familiar voices as they approached.

Lena didn't stir, not even when her name was called, feeling as though it was all a dream. Even when the voices colluded to hoist her up onto her feet, she felt tethered to the floor.

Managing to prise her heavy eyelids open when her name was called again, squinting from the bright flashing lights and the alarm shattering her skull, she focussed on the muffled voices.

"We're getting out of here, come on!"

A hand tried to pull her up by the elbows but she suddenly cried out and fell back against the floor, clutching her dodgy arm with screwed shut eyes.

"Shit, what happened?"

"That looks dislocated."

They must have shared a dark look, then she was helped to a stand. Diego and Lila both supported her as the latter slung her good arm over her shoulders. Diego put a steadying hand on her back.

She couldn't keep her eyes open for long enough to see where they were going - everything moving like she was on a roller coaster. Her head lolled forwards, hair falling in her face as she was dragged along.

In the few moments her eyes were open she couldn't even bring herself to recognise the hallways they were heading down. The blaring red lights in the dark formed shapes behind her eyelids when they screwed shut to stop the scene from spinning.

All of a sudden the girl holding her was swearing and she was shocked into a shaky alertness as gunshots were fired after them. They darted down the nearest corridor to the right and paused, Lila shifting Lena so she could rest against the wall where she sank down onto her knees and fought the urge not to vomit.

"Who the hell are those guys?"

"No idea."

Lena looked up at Diego who paused, eyeing the receptionist desk.

"What the hell are you stopping for?" Lila snapped, keeping a hand on Lena's shoulder to keep her from collapsing.

"We need a distraction."

He slammed a button, reaching over the receptionist desk, and all the patients doors opened down the halls. A second later the patients walked out, looking around in confusion, some singing, some whistling, others covering their ears in a panic. They blocked up the thin hallways and gave them an opportunity to run while staying under cover from whoever was chasing them with guns.

At some point, Lena wasn't sure how, but they managed to sneak underground and into the tunnels that passed below the building. She also wasn't sure how Lila had the strength to keep her upright, dragging her along unsteadily at her side.