ALWAYS [FIVE: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY]

0.1 Where it all started

       "It's gonna be okay, Hope." The scared mother whispered to the child cradled in her trembling arms. The two were hiding in a small closet used for the coats and shoes of there small family. The child, Hope, hugged her mother tightly before asking the beautiful, crying  woman what was wrong and why the we're hiding. The woman just looked at her daughter and, after mentally debating with her self, told her the truth, "There are people in this world who want you, Hope. They want to use you because you are special and have power that they can only dream of. That's why you are hiding, and that is also why, when I say, you are going to use your power to run as far as you can as fast as you can."

             "But I don't want to leave you," Hope cried, an action which her mother immediately tried stopped her from doing. "Shhhh..." She comforted her baby girl. "It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay..." the woman repeated over and over in her hushed voice. Slowly rocking back and forth. Savoring what she knew would be the last moments she would have with her daughter. Her young, seven year old daughter. "Okay, listen to me. When I open the door you are going to use your gift to turn invisible and run, okay? Remember you have to be brave. You have to have courage," the young girl nodded as her mother continued, "no matter what you see, no matter what you hear, don't turn back. You can do it, even if your scared." Tears we're now streaming down both their faces. "I love you." The little girl hugged the only family she had and replied, "I love you, too." 

             With a heavy heart the beautiful woman then opened the door of the closet. Hope, obeying her mother's wishes, turned herself invisible and ran. She ran out of the house that she called home all of her life. Her short legs carried her out of the house, through the yard and into the street. The night air seemed to fuel the young girl to run faster and ignore the burning feeling in her lungs. She, however, stopped dead in her tracks when the echo of a gun shot reached her small ears. Unable to help it, Hope looked back and saw the red and blue flashing lights of her local police arriving at the scene. She looked up at the night sky, blinked a couple of times to push back the tears that were pricking in her eyes, and then, reluctantly, she continued to run. She ran until the noisy police sirens faded and the only sound was that of her little feet pounding against the dank concrete. 

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            Hope looked around for somewhere to rest and stay hidden when she came across an alley. She slowly walked into it, looking over her shoulder every couple of seconds. Finally, after deeming it safe, she shuffled over to the brick wall and leaned her back against it. Making sure she was covered from the eyes of the busy street by a large dumpster, she slid to she ground and made herself visible. She brought her knees to her chin, wrapped her small arms around her legs, buried her face in her little hands and cried like the child she was. 

          She stayed in her state and position for what felt, to her, like hours. Tuned out to the world, the young girl sat grieving the loss of the only family she had. The loss of her home. She was all alone, a little girl in a big world.

          It was a voice that brought her from her thoughts. A young boyish voice. "Ummm... Are you okay?" Hope looked up at him through the vail of black hair that hid her face, taking note of how she was no longer invisible, and saw a boy around her age with dark hair and a strange uniform. The uniform was blue and had a crest of an umbrella on it. Hope nodded to the boy, claiming that she was indeed okay because that's what she thought a brave person would do. The young boy looked skeptically at her before going to sit next to her. Hope stared at the boy curiously as he plopped down on the floor. He then looked at her and waited for her to speak, after a minute or so he realized that she wasn't going to say anything. He spoke up, "My name is Number Five. What's yours?" 

        Hope looked at him questioningly. "Your name is Number Five?" The boy let out a small laugh before replying. "Yes, but I believe I asked for yours?" 

        "My name is Hope. Is yours really Number Five?" She asked, still not believing that his name is actually a number. I seemed so strange to the little girl. The boy just chuckled and nodded in response. "What are you doing out here alone, at night?" She asked him, her mother would never allow her to go wondering around outside at night. That is, until now. Because now, she didn't have a mother. A grin grew its way onto the boys face. "I snuck out." He sounded proud of himself for it. "Why?" Hope questioned. "Because I hate it in there and I needed to get out." He explained. 

           "How did you not get caught?" Hope asked. The boy didn't seem like the quiet type and Hope was sure that if she tried to sneak out, without her powers, she would fail miserably. The boy smiled at Hope and then held up his pinkie to her. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" Hope nodded and locked her pinkie with his. "I have powers." The boy said. Hope just stared at him in shock. "It's true! Here look." He stood up then disappear in a blue flash. Hope stood up quickly and looked around for the strange boy. In no time at all he reappeared stumbling behind Hope. "Still working on it though." He said a he got up and brushed himself off as he walked back over to her. 

        Hope stared at the young boy in complete shock. "You're like me." She wasn't the only one. She wasn't alone. "What?" The boy, Number Five, questioned. "I have powers, too." She exclaimed before turning invisible. "See?" She called, the reappeared. "That's why I'm here. Some bad people wanted me and I had to run away." She explained sadly, looking at her feet. "You don't have anywhere to sleep?" He seemed worried for the girl. She shook her head. "Well," he began, "looks like you are staying with me. But I have to be up early tomorrow for training." Before Hope could respond, Number Five grabbed her hand and spiral jumped into his room. 

             She was dizzy from the surprise jump and fell against the floor of the strange boys room. He helped her up and led her to the bed, then he made one on the floor. They both laid down and he closed his eyes. "Goodnight Hope."

        Hope, for the first time in a while, felt like she was gonna be okay.