ZERO! the umbrella academy

vingt et un

MAD ABOUT YOU

THE SUN SLOWLY SLIPPED down the sky and sunk beneath the horizon as we drove, plunging the world into darkness. The gray buildings we had passed by turned into trees lush with dark green leaves long ago, and it was completely silent in the car except for the radio that was playing "Mad About You" by Hooverphonic. Luther, Klaus, and Diego were all crammed into the backseat while I sat up front with Five, my feet kicked up on the dash and my head bobbing along to the beat as he drove.

Luther's foot tapped against the floor incessantly. He leaned over and rested his arm on the back of Five's seat to ask for the sixth time that hour, "Hey, can you go any faster?"

Five kept his eyes glued on the road in front of him. "Ask me again, and I'll burn you with the cigarette lighter."

Luther shifted his gaze to me, and I flicked open said cigarette lighter with a shit-eating grin on my face. He fell back into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, staring out the window like a toddler put in timeout.

The closer we got to the cabin, the more an unexplainable sense of dread filled the air. Call it a sixth sense, but I got this feeling that something was wrong. I could feel it in the wind that rushed around the car, and I could hear it in the squawk of a crow high up in the trees. There was a twisting feeling in my gut that I couldn't shake, and it only worsened when we drove up the long, winding driveway to the cabin.

Allison's car was still parked out front, and even though there were lights turned on inside of the cabin, it was quiet, as if there was no one home. That all changed when we piled out of the car, our shoes crunching against the asphalt as we dashed up the stairs and onto the porch.

Luther was the first one to the door, and he threw it open. So, we're clearly not going for subtly here. Then, he froze in the doorway, and that's when I knew my suspicions were confirmed. "Allison! No!" His voice cracked, and he ran inside as fast as he possibly could.

Five and I were the last ones inside the cabin. "What?" I read the expressions of horror on Klaus and Diego's faces. "What happened?" Then, my heart stopped beating in my chest when my gaze landed on Luther kneeling next to Allison's body.

Her throat was slashed; that was the first thing I registered. Ruby red blood poured out of the gash and trickled down, staining her white top. Her eyes bulged like they were going to pop out of her head at any minute, and her lips were dry and cracked. The second thing I registered was that there was only one person who could've done this to her: Harold Jenkins.

"Allison." Luther lifted her head. "Oh, my God. Allison." His face contorted with grief, and he broke out in tears. "Please, look at me. Please!"

He hugged her body tight to his chest and buried his face in her shoulder. Klaus clamped a palm over his mouth and collapsed onto a nearby couch. Diego clenched his hands into tight fists, like he was going to punch a wall at any second. Five looked on with a mix of confusion and sorrow on his face. It was clear what was going through all of our minds: our sister, the girl who we played pranks on and painted our nails and snuck food from the kitchen with us at midnight growing up, was lying on the ground covered in her own blood, dead.

Or at least, on the brink of death. I crouched down next to Luther and reached for Allison's hand. He immediately swatted me away. "Don't you touch her!" he yelled. "You didn't care for her! None of you did!"

I stared at his face, and the emotion I saw there was one I recognized, for I had seen it on my own many times. Maybe we aren't so different after all, big guy.

I let his words roll off my back. "Luther, I'm trying to help. Let me help." My voice was surprisingly calm for the way I felt like I was splitting apart inside.

Luther clenched his jaw, but when I reached for Allison's hand again, he said nothing. I pressed my finger against her wrist, and even though my hands were trembling, I could feel a faint pulse. It was weak, but it was there, and that was enough.

"She's still alive." I announced, and although it did little to relieve our worries, it gave us a glimpse of hope. "But we need to get her back to the house as soon as possible."

"Leave it to me." Luther scooped her up in his arms and headed for the door, passing Five on his way. "And Five, if you don't step on it this time, I'm going to wring your little neck."

"Alright." Five took my hand and pulled me up off of the floor. "Come on, let's go."

I stared down at the bloodstain left behind from Allison's body as I was dragged out of the cabin. We'll save you, Allison, I thought. Even if it's the last thing we do together as a family. We'll save you.

—

FIVE DIDN'T BOTHER TO park straight as he pulled up outside the house. As soon as the car was close to a stop, we flung the doors open and hopped out. "Come on! Let's go!" Five shouted.

"I don't think she's breathing," Luther panted as he and Klaus hoisted Allison's body out of the backseat.

"If we don't get her upstairs, she's gonna die," Klaus grunted.

We brought her to the lab on the third floor and laid her down on a gurney. Five and Grace kept their hands pressed against her throat to stop as much of the bleeding as they could while Grace examined her. "She's suffered a severe laceration to her larynx," she declared. "One of you will need to give blood."

"I will!" we all exclaimed in unison, shooting each other looks.

"I'm doing it," Luther snapped and started rolling up his sleeve.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, dear boy," Pogo said, and Luther's face fell. "Your blood is more compatible with mine."

"Hey, don't sweat it! I got this, big guy!" Klaus traded places with Luther and held out his arm to Grace, tapping his hand against his forearm. "I love needles."

"Master Klaus," all of our heads swiveled back to look at Pogo, "your blood is... how should I say this... too polluted."

"Move." Diego pushed aside a dejected Klaus.

"Yeah, go on," Luther encouraged him.

Diego stepped up to Grace, full of confidence. "I'll do it." However, as soon as Grace held up the needle, he whimpered and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Goddamn it," I shrugged off my coat, "we should've just started with me to begin with."

"Wait, Lee." Five grabbed my arm. "I can do it."

I looked at him skeptically. "Yeah, with that little thirteen year-old body of yours? I don't think so." I pushed my sleeve up my arm and flashed him a reassuring smile. "I got this."

He slowly nodded and sat down in a chair, watching me. Grace pinpointed my vein and cleaned the area with iodine before holding the needle in place. "You'll only feel a slight pinch, dear." She smiled warmly before pushing the needle in. I didn't even flinch.

I watched as my blood traveled through the tube and collected in the bag before going down the tube connected to Allison. I felt Five's warm hand connect with my free one, and I looked over to see him standing next to me. "Are you okay?" He stared up at me with his piercing, green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I looked back down at the blood leaving my body and flowing into hers. I guess we really are blood related now.

She truly is my sister.