as the world ends, so does us | five hargreeves

chapter 5 | again and again

i'd suggest listening to exile by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver as you reach the end of this chapter ;)

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BORROWING ONE of Reginald's classic automobiles that he had always kept more than ten of in their garage, Five drove off with Rouge and Klaus and made their way to MeriTech, the city's most prominent supplier of prosthetics.

The ride was silent. The only noise was Klaus chitchatting with who might be a patient ghost who could withstand his parrot-like demeanor. Five glanced at him from the rearview mirror and shrugged it off before hitting the gas pedal and skip down the stoplight that indicated yellow.

"You know, an enforcer might give us traffic violations first before we even get there," Rouge called the driver out.

"What're they gonna do? Call Dad?"

Rouge shook her head. She glanced down to her side and picked up a fake eyeball from the compartment between their seats, "You kept this for 45 years?"

"Be careful with that. Right now, that's our only key to find out who causes the apocalypse."

"So, a person ends the world 'cause he lost an eye?"

"I hope it is as simple as that, Rou."

"Guys, you know what I think?" Klaus interrupted, his arms wrapped around the front seats. "I think that is a pretty good souvenir for a 40-decade vacation!"

"I wasn't on vacation, you idiot," Five scolded him. "Let me put this into a concept your pea-sized brain can understand. I survived in a place that looked like the aftermath of the dinosaurs extinction. Do you see it now, Klaus? Of course you wouldn't even comprehend what survival looked like when even in rehab, you get to have decent food."

"Well, if you call mushed peas decent."

As the two brothers bickered, Rouge flipped the mirror open above her seat. She held the eyeball with her two fingers and playfully closed one eye as she held the fake one against it.

"Put that down, Rou! That's not a toy!"

The words only echoed in her brain. Suddenly, as she directly stared at her reflection in the mirror, her head started to spin in a series of spherical motion. Her body felt being pulled away by the dark brown-colored pupil of the prosthetic eyeball. Even if she attempted to look away, she couldn't avoid its hypnotizing aura.

"Don't you sometimes wish to be a part of those kids?"

In the living room of an apartment that housed what once was a healthy family, two children were sitting  on the floor with their knees bent and feet touching their bottoms. Their eyes fixated on the television across them where their city's big-time billionaire was being interviewed. The news transitioned and flashed six masked children and their father, posing for a formal family portrait.

"Raaahhh!" the boy growled and punched the invisible air. As he stood up, with his fist still aimed in front of him, the bowl of cereal that was placed on his lap spilled the carpeted floor.

"Daddy's gonna kill us," the girl said, flatly. She took a mouthful of her own cereal before returning her focus to the group of famous little heroes.

The boy tunefully replied, "Not if we leave this shit hole right now and go tell Sir Reginald Hargreeves that we are just like those kids," he pointed a finger to the screen. "Except maybe better."

His hopeful tone reverberated in the girl's mind. As he ran around their house, jumped onto the couches, his hands clutching the sky blue blanket clipped on the collar of his shirt, she thought about something.