ZERO! the umbrella academy

vingt-neuf

THE WORLD ENDS — AGAIN

FALLING.

I was free falling through the air, hurtling towards the cold pavement below with no resistance. A yelp was ripped from my throat as I hit the ground at full force, scratching my knees and elbows in the process. I landed sprawled out on the cold, hard concrete, the wind completely knocked out of me.

I didn't move for a long time. My entire body ached from falling from such a tremendous height. I laid there for what felt like hours, my cheek pressed against the wet ground as rain fell down from the sky. I groaned as I made to get up, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. I rose to my hands and knees and took in my surroundings for the first time.

I was in what looked like a back alley. The walls of the surrounding buildings were smeared with grime, and the stench of trash and smoke was thick in the air. It was night. Everything was completely dark, the only light coming from the warm glow of the street lamps and the headlights of passing cars.

I slowly stood up. Everything seemed just a little bit off, like the world had somehow gotten bigger. I spun around in a circle. I was the only one here; the rest of my family was no where in sight.

"Hello?" I called out. My voice bounced off of the high walls, and it sounded strange to my own ears, pitched a decibel higher. "Five? Five!"

I spotted a phone booth near the end of the alley and stumbled towards it. My legs felt like jelly, and my clothes were suddenly way too big for me. The sleeves of my jacket ended way past my fingertips, and my pant legs dragged on the ground as I walked, getting soaked through with water.

I finally made it to the phone booth. There was a flyer for the opening of a local restaurant taped to it, and I ripped it off. I quickly scanned over the flyer, and my eyes locked onto the date printed in bold, black letters at the bottom.

December 5th, 1962.

My hand gripping the flyer started to shake. I was stranded in a strange place at an unfamiliar time, all on my own.

Again.

The raindrops hitting my face felt like tears streaming down my cheeks. I glanced up, and my reflection in the glass phone booth caught my eye.

The figure reflected in the glass was a head shorter than me. Her face was smooth and youthful, with round cheeks and doe eyes. She looked like she was swimming in her clothes, and her hair was plastered to her forehead from the rain. I blinked, and the figure mirrored my actions.

I looked down at my feet. I lifted my arms and rolled up my long sleeves past my elbows to expose my hands. I stared at them and stretched my fingers, as if I was just discovering that I had hands for the first time. The heels of my hands were scraped and bleeding from my tumble earlier. They were the same, and yet so different.