EMBERS : the umbrella academy [2] [COMPLETE]

IV

     CARLA WALKED outside, the grass crunching slightly under her shoes in protest. The field stretched on until it lead to a forest dotted by the horizon, the dark markings of trees standing out against the sunset. The house was behind her, the Hargreeves siblings inside, preparing for their trip back to 2019.

     It was all over.

     She gently shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall to the ground as she examined her abdomen. Blood had soaked through almost all of her top, the edges dried and dark in colour, while the blood nearer the centre was glistening and crimson. Carla lifted up the hem of her shirt to see the piece of shrapnel wedged into her side, the skin around it painful and raw.

     Now, although she was many things, Carla was not an idiot.

     She knew exactly what she was doing when she wormed two fingers into the wound, before taking a deep breath and yanking out the piece of shrapnel. Almost immediately, blood so dark it was almost black started oozing from the hole left behind, and Carla slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

     The piece of shrapnel landed on the floor next to her, bouncing once before stilling on the grass, and Carla sprawled her legs out in front of her like a ragdoll, teeth clenching to avoid making a sound of pain that could alert the Hargreeves to her situation, and instead trying to focus on the sunset in front of her.

     What a way to go.

     The beauty almost made up for the agonising pain that was consuming her body, the sky a watercolour of oranges and pinks exploding above her as the sun dipped below the horizon. She hadn't taken the time to appreciate her surroundings in a while, too busy crumbling under the pressure of saving the world and watching the horrors that seemed to be chasing her no matter where she went or what she did.

     Now, she could rest. Finally, after it all, Carla knew that she could rest. She was burned out, it was obvious to anyone who had seen her this past week; gone was the Carla from 2019, with a glint of michchief in her eye and a fire blazing so bright that anyone who talked to her was affected by her warmth. Instead, the Carla left behind was nothing but the remains of her past self, the embers from a fire that burned too bright and for too long.

     And as her breath started to rattle in her chest, she couldn't help but smile with relief. For the first time, she felt... content.

     Lying down, Carla looked up at the sky, trying to ignore the fact that the grass was quickly becoming sticky with her own blood.

     She briefly thought about Klaus, then Five, then the siblings she had grown to individually care for, before her thoughts once again turned to Sarah.

     Poor Sarah. She had died almost the exact same way as Carla was, bleeding out, lying down. Only this time, Carla was alone. She didn't know what she expected, really. It was inevitable, that in the end, she would be dying by herself.

     In 2019 what would be waiting for her? She was a permanently fifteen year old girl with crippling drug addiction and trauma. Even if things did work out for her when they time travelled back, Carla would still have to watch all the people she cared about grow old and eventually die.

     One of her hands unsteadily gripped at the diamond necklace clasped around her neck, and she couldn't help but wonder if Marie and Quentin were scared during their last moments. If they had struggled against the inevitable, or let it crash over them like a wave.

     She hoped they'd be waiting for her on the other side, with Sarah, and their mother, and Ben too.

     "Carla," a voice called, as Five rounded the corner of the house, "We're leaving- Carla?"