Masked

Chapter Twenty-Two

        One day, while the Umbrella Academy was out on another mission, a fifteen-year-old Cassie found herself on the second floor. This was where all of her siblings' bedrooms were. She had made sure even Mom and Pogo, the only ones in the house with her, didn't know where she was. Slowly, she entered each room, picking up items and photos only to have to put them in the exact spot they were before. An idea popped into her head then. What if she took something that the others would never have noticed moved, and placed it somewhere else in their room? That way, they would question why it wasn't in its usual spot, but not think someone went through all their stuff.

        Beginning with Five's room, she took a piece of chalk and rolled it under his bed. Cassie passed Ben's room, knowing he wasn't there to notice any changes. For Klaus, she moved a shirt into his pants drawer, and when she was in Vanya's room, she put resin that was on her desk to the windowsill. The only rooms remaining were Diego's, Allison's, and Luther's. She didn't dare touch a knife and instead altered the position of a book upon Diego's bookshelf. Allison got a picture moved, and Cassie only messed up the order of Luther's vinyl records ever so slightly.

        It was only when she went back into the hallway that she was caught in the act. Her mom had started dusting at some point, and in Cassie's excitement, she failed to notice the tune being hummed.

        Mom wrapped her arms around her daughter. "What brings you here, Cassie? Looking for some trouble? You know your father wouldn't want you over here."

        Cassie held onto her mother and quietly walked with her back to her bedroom. She didn't want to be stuck in there again, but she hoped it wouldn't be long before she'd be free.

•~•

        The four of us had split up in order to try and find any clues as to why Leonard had paired himself up with Vanya. As I made my way through some of the rooms, I couldn't help getting lost in thought, recalling a time where I had sneaked my way through my siblings' bedrooms. It wasn't long before Allison called out, having found something she deemed relevant.

        "Guys, you need to see this."

        She had gone into the attic, and as I walked up the pull-out staircase, I was greeted by photos of the Umbrella Academy with their eyes crossed out, and a few figurines with their faces melted. Diego and Five arrived soon after me, as they had been on the first floor. We stood their silent until Allison commented on what we all already knew.

        "All our faces are burnt off."

        "Well that's not creepy," Diego joked. "This guy's got some serious issues."

        Together with Diego, Five mumbled, "Shit."

        "This was never about Vanya," continued Allison. I turned to see Five gasping. "This was about us. Five. Wh—"

        With a sickening thump that made me flinch, Five collapsed to the floor. I quickly dropped to my knees to make sure he was okay. I mean, he'd just fallen over for no reason, but still.

        "Five? Are you alright?" I asked before watching his uniform be stained red.

        Allison kneeled down beside me. "Blood."

        Along with Diego, she pulled his shirt up to reveal a piece of shrapnel lodged in his stomach. He was bleeding pretty bad, and we had no way to stop it.

        "Jesus, Five," said Diego. "Why didn't you say anything?"

        "You have to keep going. So. . . close."