p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanExhaustion tugged vigorously at my eyelids, begging for just a second of sleep, but every time they dared to fall shut, the image of Elliott's mutilated, violated, drained corpse appeared in the darkness, lingering close like a lost child attempting to find a sense of safety. The night had passed without a trace of an answer, leaving us with no better idea of who came for Elliott than when we got home. Diego and Luther managed to fall asleep somehow, though I heard the former mumbling and tossing in his sleep on a few occasions. With no one to talk to, I'd retired into the room that had formerly belonged to Elliott and just laid down on the bed. For a moment, my hand drifted over to the other side, feeling the cool material against the pads of my fingers. I swore I could still feel each dip and curve in the places where Lila had slept not long ago./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI needed her right about now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFootsteps outside my door compelled me outside, though I still wanted nothing to do with that body. Hesitantly, I wrapped my fingers around the handle and tugged, causing artificial light to come flooding in. My brothers stood by Elliott's body, removing the various weapons and tools stabbed deep into it. Immediately, I turned my head away, the small appetite I'd worked up melting away again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" I shook my head, refusing Diego's disguised offer to turn around. "He's covered back up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI knew it was just underneath a sheet, but somehow, that made me feel a little better, so I finally turned on my heel and headed back over toward my brothers. Diego wiped one of his knives, which had been plunged into Elliott's chest, against his shirt before setting it into the last empty place in his holster and setting an arm against my shoulder. I reached up and squeezed his hand, still in a bit of a daze. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe Elliott's dead," I whispered as hot tears started to fight their way up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He was a good guy," Diego affirmed. "Deserved better than this."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah," Luther agreed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"The thoughts of Elliott's body being beneath the sheet in front of me caused a prickling sensation to run over my skin. Instinctually, I pulled away and crossed my arms, rubbing my hands against my elbows./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elliott must've been getting too close to the truth," Diego began to mutter, crossing the room and staring down at the bloody words written on the tile below us. "It smells like the feds." Despite my state, I still rolled my eyes and glared at my brother, ready to chew him out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What? Are you out of your mind?" Luther scoffed, beating me to the punch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Diego, if this was the federal government, they would take him somewhere and question him, they wouldn't…" I flicked my gaze back to the sheet momentarily, unwilling to remember what was beneath. "…do that. No, this is the work of a psychopath." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"My shoulders hunched a little further as my stomach began to turn as the realization hit me that my brother was out there doing this exact same thing. I hadn't seen him kill someone in the way the Commission had taught him to, but given how ruthless and cold-blooded he made the organization and its leader sound, I doubted he was just going in there and slipping a little poison in their food or some shit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Oga Foroga,'" Diego read out loud, like we hadn't already committed it to memory. "That a name?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTaking care not to disturb Elliott's corpse, I made my way over to Diego's side and leaned over. The breaks in each word didn't make it seem like it was some sort of name, not to mention Diego didn't exactly have a track record for hitting the nail on the head when it came to deciphering. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Oga Foroga,'" Luther repeated as he gripped the rail beside me. He and his brother exchanged a glance, leaning forward more to go right past my judgement. "I'll look her up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI followed my brothers with my eyes, watching them confidently stride into the kitchen. I could hear the pages rustling in the phonebook Diego, Five and I had pulled out when we tried to look up Dad's address, bringing back memories that stung deep in my mind. My hands gripped my elbows tighter, leaving little marks and fading circles of red as my nails dug deep into my skin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Holy shit," Luther exclaimed, "I found her. Olga Foroga. That must be her."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Call the bitch," Diego growled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat was enough. Making a wide arc around the chair, I took big strides into the kitchen, trying to cut my brothers off before they did something stupid and potentially got the cops called on us, which definitely wouldn't fare well for us with a mutilated body on the premises and words written in blood./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Guys, come on," I groaned, leaning against the doorframe as Luther turned the dial to call the number on the page. "I know you normally share one brain cell, but even you guys have to know there's probably a more logical explanation." Both of my brothers ignored me, instead opting to follow through on their own theory./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's ringing," Luther informed us, acting like I was going along with this plan. After a couple more seconds, I could hear the line click on the other end, indicating someone had answered. "Uh, hello, Olga?" Luther set one hand over the receiver and lowered his voice. "It's her. She sounds old. What should I say?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat right there would have been an indication to any other person that they hadn't found the solution, but this was Luther and Diego. They weren't exactly known for their logic and ability to piece things together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just—" Diego aggressively twirled his hand as I lowered my face down into my palms, shaking my head with both secondhand embarrassment and frustration./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Excuse me, ma'am. Um, I was just wondering—what?" Luther paused, allowing the woman on the other end of the line to clarify. My name? Is, uh, Luther Hargreeves, and—" Having reached his breaking point, Diego snatched the phone from his brother and began to seethe as he spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You killed one of ours, Olga, now we're coming after you. You will be dead by nightfall," he threatened. I started to push myself off the wall, ready to diffuse, when a voice cut in beside me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey." I jumped as my heart nearly shot up out of my throat, further upsetting my already tense state. I hadn't heard Five come in, either by blink or the door, but at least he was back…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span…and covered in a shitload of blood. Jesus Christ/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's 'Öga för Öga', idiots," he corrected, complete with the correct pronunciation. "Swedish for 'an eye for an eye'. It means the Swedes killed Elliott."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, Diego's hostility melted away, and mentally, I muttered a thanks that Caller ID hadn't been invented yet./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wrong number. Have a lovely day." I raised an eyebrow at the brothers across from me as they glanced back, sheepish./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I told you there was a different explanation," I sighed. Diego nudged Luther slightly, silently signaling him to pull it together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We would have gotten it," Luther shrugged, trying to shake the incident off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eventually," Diego affirmed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI flinched as Five brushed against my arm, making his way into the bathroom. I hated that I wasn't at all phased by the blood, unlike my two brothers in front of me, but I knew what Five was getting into./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, you have some blood on you," Diego observed, watching his brother with alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A lot of blood, actually." After a moment of silence, I felt their eyes fall to me, probably expecting me to begin berating him. But, instead, I moved over to the chair directly across from the bathroom doorway and turned to look in at Five as he wetted a paper towel to clean the red liquid off his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How many?" I asked quietly, semi-afraid of the answer. Diego and Luther seemingly took that as their cue to give us some space, making their way back into the living room. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eleven people, and a fish in a tank with a humanoid body." Five barely missed a beat as he answered, and when I finally processed everything he said, I furrowed my brows. That last one didn't seem like it was possible, but if he said it existed…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe longer I processed Five's kill count, the more I felt like I was about to vomit. Those were eleven—technically twelve—bodies, possibly more mutilated and brutalized than Elliott's, all the in the name of getting home. It felt like, since Five came back, the corpses had started piling up, some of them created by my own hands or powers. It was sickening, to think of myself as a casual killer now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry about Elliott," Five muttered, beginning to clean under his finger nails. "He was a good guy." I sighed and leaned against the table, shaking my head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This isn't who I wanted to be," I admitted, my voice still low. "I don't want to kill, and I don't want to be the reason someone's killed." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't know it's your fault," my brother countered. "/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The Swedes killed him."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMy voice began to get louder as I began to get angrier. "That means it's The Commission's work, and one of the people they're after is me. Even if the rest of our siblings are involved in that, I'm a part of this bullshit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's not like we haven't done this before. We fought a lot of people in the past."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No. When we were kids, and we fought someone, we'd just subdue them, and then Dad would haul them off to… who the hell even knows where. We never killed." I pushed myself up from the chair and turned on my heel. "I'm not you, Five. I can't look at taking someone's life like it's a casual, normal thing."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive slammed the bathroom door to finish cleaning off the blood. My leg bounced at the speed of sound, attempting to comfort and calm me down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt's not Five's fault, kept running through my head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhatever The Commission had done to him, something so painful he couldn't begin to talk about it, they'd changed him. Five had been cocky and indifferent when we were young, but I knew he never wanted to see someone die, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. This version of him that came back acted like a completely different person, not just an older him trapped in his younger body. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI remained in the kitchen, facing the counter as Five emerged from the bathroom completely cleaned off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, I found us a way home," he announced to all of us, despite the fact I already knew./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" Luther snapped his head up and looked in Five's direction as he finished tightening his belt. Only now did I notice both my brothers had changed their outfits, donning completely black ensembles./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"All the details are irrelevant, but… I made a deal to get back to our timeline."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about doomsday?" Diego questioned, peeking his head through the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Won't happen," Five answered bluntly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And the 2019 apocalypse?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everything will be back to normal." I restrained myself from pointing out that technically, the apocalypse that happened in 2019 was 'normal'. "All right? Now, no more questions. We gotta go. We have to find the others, right?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah." Luther blinked at Five, clearly still attempting to process everything being thrown at him at once./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Luther and Diego, you get Allison," my brother barked. "Mina, Klaus. I'll find Vanya." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"My head spun with the speed at which he was delivering his orders, but I managed to catch that I was going to get to see Klaus. Back at Allison's salon, he'd talked about the mansion he'd bought and gave me the address, inviting all of us over sometime, so I already knew where I was going. I definitely needed to see him after everything that had just happened./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now, we meet back in the arrival alley in 77 minutes." My eyes widened. That wasn't enough time. "Here." Five came back to us with four small, matching watches, placing them each in our hands. "I've synchronized these watches."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Okay." Luther secured the watch around his wrist as he spoke. "Let's do this."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs I pushed the prong through the last loop, the realization we were leaving for good really started to sink in. I still had a couple loose ends to tie up here, but more important than anything, I hadn't spoken to Lila in days. I needed to see her again before we left. I couldn't just go and pretend she didn't exist./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on." Five stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around to face Diego, who spoke up before I got the chance. "You show up here drenched in blood and expect everything's gonna go back to normal if we go home now?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elliott just got emkilled /embecause of us," I snapped, my voice warbling./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about Dad? What about JFK?" I rolled my eyes, turning away from him. He was so goddamn focused on something he might not be able to change. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Diego, we have a chance to go home and make things right." Five seethed, getting right up in his brother's face. "We are taking it."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThough I agreed with Five, the thought of Lila kept biting at me, knawing away the last little part of me not dragged down with grief and guilt./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I have to say goodbye to Lila," I whispered, just loud enough for Five to hear. His rage shifted over to me, but I held my own the best I could. After all, being his blood sister, I got very used to him looking at me like this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Lila doesn't give a shit about you, Mina!" he screamed, reaching the point of rage where he was gesticulating. "She never did."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're just saying that because you don't like her," I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry, what happened to my opinion on her mattering?" I froze, caught in my own loop. "She's one of them. She's a member of the Commission."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt something inside of me crash to the ground and shatter. She couldn't be, there was no way. I refused to believe it. Five was just angry, letting things out on me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No way," I denied. "Not possible."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was just using you to get to me." Five's anger started to melt away a bit, and only then did I notice the way I'd begun to tremble. "She already knew we were twins, Mina. I'm sorry, but that's the only reason she gave you the time of day. I'm sure she knew Diego was our brother, too, and that's why she got planted in the asylum."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe falling sensations turned into a bitter sting, and I began to question why exactly Five thought this was the right moment to deliver all that information at once. Inexplicably, I felt an intense rage directed in two directions, wrapped up in a layer of a bitter sadness. Why was it the two times I fell in love, it was taken from me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive took a couple steps forward, looking as though he was attempting to offer me a hug, but I pushed away and made my way toward the back door, desperately needing some time with Klaus now. I barely heard as Five blinked away, and I left my siblings to stare as I walked away from the family that had been there for me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI needed her right about now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFootsteps outside my door compelled me outside, though I still wanted nothing to do with that body. Hesitantly, I wrapped my fingers around the handle and tugged, causing artificial light to come flooding in. My brothers stood by Elliott's body, removing the various weapons and tools stabbed deep into it. Immediately, I turned my head away, the small appetite I'd worked up melting away again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" I shook my head, refusing Diego's disguised offer to turn around. "He's covered back up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI knew it was just underneath a sheet, but somehow, that made me feel a little better, so I finally turned on my heel and headed back over toward my brothers. Diego wiped one of his knives, which had been plunged into Elliott's chest, against his shirt before setting it into the last empty place in his holster and setting an arm against my shoulder. I reached up and squeezed his hand, still in a bit of a daze. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe Elliott's dead," I whispered as hot tears started to fight their way up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He was a good guy," Diego affirmed. "Deserved better than this."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah," Luther agreed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"The thoughts of Elliott's body being beneath the sheet in front of me caused a prickling sensation to run over my skin. Instinctually, I pulled away and crossed my arms, rubbing my hands against my elbows./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elliott must've been getting too close to the truth," Diego began to mutter, crossing the room and staring down at the bloody words written on the tile below us. "It smells like the feds." Despite my state, I still rolled my eyes and glared at my brother, ready to chew him out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What? Are you out of your mind?" Luther scoffed, beating me to the punch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Diego, if this was the federal government, they would take him somewhere and question him, they wouldn't…" I flicked my gaze back to the sheet momentarily, unwilling to remember what was beneath. "…do that. No, this is the work of a psychopath." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"My shoulders hunched a little further as my stomach began to turn as the realization hit me that my brother was out there doing this exact same thing. I hadn't seen him kill someone in the way the Commission had taught him to, but given how ruthless and cold-blooded he made the organization and its leader sound, I doubted he was just going in there and slipping a little poison in their food or some shit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Oga Foroga,'" Diego read out loud, like we hadn't already committed it to memory. "That a name?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTaking care not to disturb Elliott's corpse, I made my way over to Diego's side and leaned over. The breaks in each word didn't make it seem like it was some sort of name, not to mention Diego didn't exactly have a track record for hitting the nail on the head when it came to deciphering. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Oga Foroga,'" Luther repeated as he gripped the rail beside me. He and his brother exchanged a glance, leaning forward more to go right past my judgement. "I'll look her up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI followed my brothers with my eyes, watching them confidently stride into the kitchen. I could hear the pages rustling in the phonebook Diego, Five and I had pulled out when we tried to look up Dad's address, bringing back memories that stung deep in my mind. My hands gripped my elbows tighter, leaving little marks and fading circles of red as my nails dug deep into my skin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Holy shit," Luther exclaimed, "I found her. Olga Foroga. That must be her."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Call the bitch," Diego growled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat was enough. Making a wide arc around the chair, I took big strides into the kitchen, trying to cut my brothers off before they did something stupid and potentially got the cops called on us, which definitely wouldn't fare well for us with a mutilated body on the premises and words written in blood./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Guys, come on," I groaned, leaning against the doorframe as Luther turned the dial to call the number on the page. "I know you normally share one brain cell, but even you guys have to know there's probably a more logical explanation." Both of my brothers ignored me, instead opting to follow through on their own theory./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's ringing," Luther informed us, acting like I was going along with this plan. After a couple more seconds, I could hear the line click on the other end, indicating someone had answered. "Uh, hello, Olga?" Luther set one hand over the receiver and lowered his voice. "It's her. She sounds old. What should I say?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat right there would have been an indication to any other person that they hadn't found the solution, but this was Luther and Diego. They weren't exactly known for their logic and ability to piece things together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just—" Diego aggressively twirled his hand as I lowered my face down into my palms, shaking my head with both secondhand embarrassment and frustration./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Excuse me, ma'am. Um, I was just wondering—what?" Luther paused, allowing the woman on the other end of the line to clarify. My name? Is, uh, Luther Hargreeves, and—" Having reached his breaking point, Diego snatched the phone from his brother and began to seethe as he spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You killed one of ours, Olga, now we're coming after you. You will be dead by nightfall," he threatened. I started to push myself off the wall, ready to diffuse, when a voice cut in beside me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey." I jumped as my heart nearly shot up out of my throat, further upsetting my already tense state. I hadn't heard Five come in, either by blink or the door, but at least he was back…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span…and covered in a shitload of blood. Jesus Christ/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's 'Öga för Öga', idiots," he corrected, complete with the correct pronunciation. "Swedish for 'an eye for an eye'. It means the Swedes killed Elliott."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, Diego's hostility melted away, and mentally, I muttered a thanks that Caller ID hadn't been invented yet./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wrong number. Have a lovely day." I raised an eyebrow at the brothers across from me as they glanced back, sheepish./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I told you there was a different explanation," I sighed. Diego nudged Luther slightly, silently signaling him to pull it together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We would have gotten it," Luther shrugged, trying to shake the incident off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eventually," Diego affirmed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI flinched as Five brushed against my arm, making his way into the bathroom. I hated that I wasn't at all phased by the blood, unlike my two brothers in front of me, but I knew what Five was getting into./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, you have some blood on you," Diego observed, watching his brother with alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A lot of blood, actually." After a moment of silence, I felt their eyes fall to me, probably expecting me to begin berating him. But, instead, I moved over to the chair directly across from the bathroom doorway and turned to look in at Five as he wetted a paper towel to clean the red liquid off his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How many?" I asked quietly, semi-afraid of the answer. Diego and Luther seemingly took that as their cue to give us some space, making their way back into the living room. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eleven people, and a fish in a tank with a humanoid body." Five barely missed a beat as he answered, and when I finally processed everything he said, I furrowed my brows. That last one didn't seem like it was possible, but if he said it existed…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe longer I processed Five's kill count, the more I felt like I was about to vomit. Those were eleven—technically twelve—bodies, possibly more mutilated and brutalized than Elliott's, all the in the name of getting home. It felt like, since Five came back, the corpses had started piling up, some of them created by my own hands or powers. It was sickening, to think of myself as a casual killer now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry about Elliott," Five muttered, beginning to clean under his finger nails. "He was a good guy." I sighed and leaned against the table, shaking my head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This isn't who I wanted to be," I admitted, my voice still low. "I don't want to kill, and I don't want to be the reason someone's killed." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't know it's your fault," my brother countered. "/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The Swedes killed him."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMy voice began to get louder as I began to get angrier. "That means it's The Commission's work, and one of the people they're after is me. Even if the rest of our siblings are involved in that, I'm a part of this bullshit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's not like we haven't done this before. We fought a lot of people in the past."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No. When we were kids, and we fought someone, we'd just subdue them, and then Dad would haul them off to… who the hell even knows where. We never killed." I pushed myself up from the chair and turned on my heel. "I'm not you, Five. I can't look at taking someone's life like it's a casual, normal thing."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive slammed the bathroom door to finish cleaning off the blood. My leg bounced at the speed of sound, attempting to comfort and calm me down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt's not Five's fault, kept running through my head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhatever The Commission had done to him, something so painful he couldn't begin to talk about it, they'd changed him. Five had been cocky and indifferent when we were young, but I knew he never wanted to see someone die, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. This version of him that came back acted like a completely different person, not just an older him trapped in his younger body. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI remained in the kitchen, facing the counter as Five emerged from the bathroom completely cleaned off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, I found us a way home," he announced to all of us, despite the fact I already knew./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" Luther snapped his head up and looked in Five's direction as he finished tightening his belt. Only now did I notice both my brothers had changed their outfits, donning completely black ensembles./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"All the details are irrelevant, but… I made a deal to get back to our timeline."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about doomsday?" Diego questioned, peeking his head through the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Won't happen," Five answered bluntly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And the 2019 apocalypse?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everything will be back to normal." I restrained myself from pointing out that technically, the apocalypse that happened in 2019 was 'normal'. "All right? Now, no more questions. We gotta go. We have to find the others, right?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah." Luther blinked at Five, clearly still attempting to process everything being thrown at him at once./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Luther and Diego, you get Allison," my brother barked. "Mina, Klaus. I'll find Vanya." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"My head spun with the speed at which he was delivering his orders, but I managed to catch that I was going to get to see Klaus. Back at Allison's salon, he'd talked about the mansion he'd bought and gave me the address, inviting all of us over sometime, so I already knew where I was going. I definitely needed to see him after everything that had just happened./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now, we meet back in the arrival alley in 77 minutes." My eyes widened. That wasn't enough time. "Here." Five came back to us with four small, matching watches, placing them each in our hands. "I've synchronized these watches."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Okay." Luther secured the watch around his wrist as he spoke. "Let's do this."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs I pushed the prong through the last loop, the realization we were leaving for good really started to sink in. I still had a couple loose ends to tie up here, but more important than anything, I hadn't spoken to Lila in days. I needed to see her again before we left. I couldn't just go and pretend she didn't exist./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on." Five stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around to face Diego, who spoke up before I got the chance. "You show up here drenched in blood and expect everything's gonna go back to normal if we go home now?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elliott just got emkilled /embecause of us," I snapped, my voice warbling./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about Dad? What about JFK?" I rolled my eyes, turning away from him. He was so goddamn focused on something he might not be able to change. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Diego, we have a chance to go home and make things right." Five seethed, getting right up in his brother's face. "We are taking it."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThough I agreed with Five, the thought of Lila kept biting at me, knawing away the last little part of me not dragged down with grief and guilt./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I have to say goodbye to Lila," I whispered, just loud enough for Five to hear. His rage shifted over to me, but I held my own the best I could. After all, being his blood sister, I got very used to him looking at me like this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Lila doesn't give a shit about you, Mina!" he screamed, reaching the point of rage where he was gesticulating. "She never did."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're just saying that because you don't like her," I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry, what happened to my opinion on her mattering?" I froze, caught in my own loop. "She's one of them. She's a member of the Commission."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt something inside of me crash to the ground and shatter. She couldn't be, there was no way. I refused to believe it. Five was just angry, letting things out on me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No way," I denied. "Not possible."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was just using you to get to me." Five's anger started to melt away a bit, and only then did I notice the way I'd begun to tremble. "She already knew we were twins, Mina. I'm sorry, but that's the only reason she gave you the time of day. I'm sure she knew Diego was our brother, too, and that's why she got planted in the asylum."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe falling sensations turned into a bitter sting, and I began to question why exactly Five thought this was the right moment to deliver all that information at once. Inexplicably, I felt an intense rage directed in two directions, wrapped up in a layer of a bitter sadness. Why was it the two times I fell in love, it was taken from me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive took a couple steps forward, looking as though he was attempting to offer me a hug, but I pushed away and made my way toward the back door, desperately needing some time with Klaus now. I barely heard as Five blinked away, and I left my siblings to stare as I walked away from the family that had been there for me./span/p