𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 | 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞 | 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙵𝚒𝚟𝚎 | 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎

^^^

"I thought I'd have more time before they found me."

I let out the breath I'd been holding for a few seconds. I stared at the counter, not daring to turn around. Under other circumstances, I would have gone straight for the attack, but it was only a few hours since I woke up from the coma. I didn't know if I was strong enough to fistfight or use my powers effectively.

"Okay. So let's all be professional about this, yeah?" The rumbling voice of one of the men worked on me like a slap in the face and the next sentence like a blow straight to the heart, "On your feet and come with us. They wanna talk to you."

This wasn't a normal coffee shop robbery. These guys came here for one specific purpose.

For Five.

'But why...?'

"I've got nothing to say."

The expression on the boy's face was composed, if he was afraid, he hid it very well.

"It doesn't have to go this way," said the same guy again.

"What do you want?" I groaned, almost begging. "Just get off of us."

I heard a gun reload. I shut my mouth and prayed Five would think of something.

"You better calm down that girl of yours," laughed another. "This may end badly for her. It would be a pity to spoil such a pretty face."

I saw Five's fists clench around the cup.

"Touch her and you're dead. She is not a part of it."

"Shut up, both of you," growled the first of the men. "You think I want to shoot a kid? Go home with that on my conscience?"

Before I could move, I felt Five's hand on my wrist. I immediately guessed what he was getting at.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it." His eyes brightened. He turned to the man, ignoring the fact that he held a loaded rifle inches from his face. "You won't be going home."

I felt a jolt, saw a streak of blue smoke, and for the next second I felt like I was spinning on a carousel. Next thing I remember we're kneeling behind the counter and Five is reaching for a butter knife.

"Stay right here. And DO NOT move"

I heard shots, someone tried to fire a full magazine at us. The boy left me on the floor, teleported again. Despite his warnings, I peered over the counter to follow the action. Five appeared right behind the dark-skinned man and stabbed him in the neck. The guy fell to the floor with a loud thud, shots rang out again. It wasn't until I saw that there were 6 or 7 men that I knew that Five couldn't handle so many alone. I heard screams, commands being given, and the sound that always appeared when Five teleported.

I crouched on the ground again, yanked the cutlery cupboard open. I aimed my hand at it, trying to concentrate. All the knives and forks rose to head height. I stood up and waved my hand towards the nearest guy. All the cutlery slammed into his chest, he let out one last shrill cry and fell to the ground. Two of them spotted me, standing behind the counter, and turned their guns on me. Five noticed this and quickly teleported to the table on the right.

"Hey assholes!"

Everyone quickly began unloading their magazines into the spot where Five had been sitting a moment ago. However, he was no longer there, he appeared behind them, and more specifically, behind the entrance door to the premises. He knocked on the glass, and when he got their attention, he put two fingers to his forehead, smiled and saluted. Before the guy closest to the entrance could even pull the trigger, Five appeared right behind him and snapped his neck with one simple jerk.

There were four left, and I found myself staring idly at his psychotic carnage instead of helping the boy. I quickly snatched the mop from next to the trash can and broke it in half. I ambushed the ineptest man, sprang out of hiding, and jabbed him in the side with the sharp end of a broken stick. I hit the target, but the guy retaliated by punching me in the nose. Tears welled up in my eyes and I felt something sticky run down my chin. I yanked the stick out of his side, kicked him in the groin, and knocked him out with a single punch to the back of the head.

I licked my lips and tasted blood. I cursed under my breath when suddenly I felt a grip on my waist. My hands were bound, my legs were up, I couldn't move or even defend myself. Something blue flashed in front of my eyes and not a second passed before I was released from the embrace. The guy who was holding me was curling up on the table, I heard a crack as his spine snapped. I shuddered to see Five stepping out from behind him, grabbing a pencil and flinging it at the eye of the last but one man.

As Five wrestled with the last one, I saw the guy who punched me in the nose get up off the floor with his hand on his injured side. I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my jacket and reached for the rifle that was lying nearby. I aimed it at the man and put almost the entire magazine into him. I breathed heavily, unevenly. I felt like I had a panic attack, but I didn't feel any fear or anything anymore.

'Did I just participate in inhuman slaughter?'

I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around immediately, still holding the rifle. Five threw his arms up in surrender. My eyes filled with tears again, my whole body ached. It wasn't until I noticed his soothing gaze that I felt my legs go soft and my hands start to shake.

"Put down the gun."

As soon as he said that sentence, I let go of the weapon, which clattered to the floor. There was neither disappointment nor fear in Five's eyes. Only understanding. I gave vent to my emotions and fell to my knees. I looked around the place. The mangled bodies of the guys who had attacked us lay everywhere. The whole sight made me nauseous. I wanted to scream.

"Come over here and help me, Eight."

I looked up to see Five sit back down at the counter. With the last of my strength, I got up from my knees and walked over to him, leaning my hands on the chair. I flinched as I saw the knife in his left hand. He put the tip to his right forearm.

"What do you wanna do?" I asked, my voice a bit hoarse.

"They found me here not by coincidence. I probably still have a transmitter in my body."

I wanted to ask WHO found him and WHY he was being tracked, but I bit my tongue just in time.

"And what, you just want to cut it out of yourself?"

"No, I'll leave it and let them pursue us further! Are you gonna help me or not?"

He handed me a knife, which I reluctantly gripped in my right hand. I gently cut the skin on the boy's forearm and lifted my hand. I concentrated the energy into a tiny beam and began searching for the transmitter. I found it and with the help of my power, I pulled it out and lifted it to the height of the boy's eyes. Five sighed, crumpled it in his hand, and tossed it in the trash. He casually placed a napkin on the wound and got off the chair without even thanking me. I followed him because I basically had no choice.

I needed an explanation.

As we were leaving, Five had already snatched one of the men's tie and tied it around his neck.

^^^

"Where to now?"

"Vanya's apartment."

We moved through the narrow streets so as not to be noticed. Five walked in front, me slightly behind him. My nose was throbbing painfully, and the blood had congealed on my cheeks. I was just waiting for a chance to wash my face with cool water and change my sweaty clothes. Unlike me, Five looked immaculate, only his shirt was slightly bloodstained, his jacket sleeve soaked with blood from a cut on his forearm. Apart from that, he looked perfect. As if he hadn't just butchered a whole bunch of fully armed grown men.

"Would you like to explain what happened there?"

Five paused for a moment and turned to look me in the eye.

"I told you already. I'll explain everything when—"

"...you'll be ready," I finished for him, "Yeah, I've heard it before. 'It's not a good time, there's so much you don't understand' and so on and so forth. You repeat the same thing over and over."

His facial expression changed dramatically. He made a quick spatial jump, and before I could even take a step back, he appeared right next to me and grabbed me by the collar of my jacket. I could see anger in his eyes, and not just any anger.

He was furious.

"I told you to stay home. But no, the indomitable Eight Hargreeves had to get her way and poke her nose into things that shouldn't interest her. I'm sick and tired of you following me around like a fucking dog, trying to get information out of me that I would have given you anyway. From now on, you listen to me and only me, because apparently you can't use your already quite mediocre brain and come make a good decision for once!"

I gulped down. Our faces were centimeters apart, but Five didn't seem to care. After finishing his argument, he let go of me and pushed me slightly. I was barely able to stay on my feet, but I managed in the end. I shot him a hostile look. I definitely had no desire to go anywhere with him.

"Do we understand each other?" He hissed.

I raised my head and straightened. My pride would never allow me to accept this deal.

"I had to help you. You wouldn't have made it without me."

"You have no clue what I'm capable of."

And again those weird puzzles. Now I was the furious one. We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us going to interrupt this strange exchange of threats. Had it not been for the sudden sound of police sirens, I would have gone for his throat without hesitation. I passed the boy with a quick step, but he didn't let me get too far. He grabbed my hand and we teleported behind the building together.

^^^

Five teleported us to Vanya's place. I pulled away from his grip and immediately turned on the light. I began a quick search for the bathroom, and as soon as I found it, I locked myself in, leaned against the door, and sat on the floor.

I really didn't want to argue with him. We haven't seen each other for so many years, we should play for one goal. In the meantime, we were acting like goddamn kids and growling at each other instead of talking normally. I pounded on the door with my fist, and I was sure he heard it because his footsteps echoed down the hallway. I ignored it and hurriedly took off my clothes.

After taking a shower, I wrapped myself in a towel that I found in the cupboard under the sink and walked over to the mirror. I saw my pitiful reflection; my nose was blue but thankfully not broken. After a few minutes of scrubbing with soap, I managed to wash the blood off my face and hands. My hair was wet, and I couldn't find a blow dryer anywhere, so I decided to just leave it as it was. It's not some bloody fashion show, after all.

I started rummaging in the cabinet behind the mirror. I sighed in relief as I found a first aid kit and some painkillers. I swallowed two pills and drank down with tap water. I grabbed the first aid kit and left the bathroom. There was no sign of Five in the living room, so I assumed he had left. I made my way to Vanya's room, hoping to find some clothes that would fit me in her closet. I pushed open the door and stood in the doorway, speechless.

"I see you found the first aid kit. And you fixed yourself."

Five sat in the chair with his hands folded. His eyes were focused only on my face, which calmed me down a little. I nodded my head stiffly and sat down in the chair across from the boy. Was it awkward for me to sit next to him in nothing but a towel?

The answer was very simple, and it was YES.

I looked pointedly at his right forearm, unable to utter a single word.

He nodded and pulled up his sleeve. For the first few minutes, during which I was suturing the incision on his skin, there was intense silence between us. I avoided eye contact with him because I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from trying to ask him some stupid question again. And I didn't want him to get upset. Suddenly, I heard him sigh.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

I looked up from his wound. Did he just apologize?

I stayed silent, wishing he would continue.

"I knew you wouldn't let go anyway," he said, anticipating the question I wanted to ask him, "So I didn't even try to stop you when you said you wanted to come with me. I got angry because you drive me crazy with your persistent questions. Not because you wanted to help me."

He looked straight into my eyes. His gaze was mesmerizing.

"Thank you."

When I heard that one word coming out of his mouth, I thought I was going to die on the spot. He said it without hesitating, without that indifferent look, and looking straight into my eyes.

I smiled because it was all I could do at the time.

I finished dressing his wound, put a bandage on it, and ran to the kitchen to get an ice pack to put on my nose. As I sat down, Five folded his hands on the table again.

"I think it's time for a partial explanation."

I nodded my head and became all ears.

"When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future, do you know what I found?"

"No."

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

I straightened in my chair and adjusted the ice pack. Five's gaze was...blank.

"As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but... I did find something else. The date it happens."

He paused. He swallowed and looked down.

"The world ends in eight days. And I have absolutely no idea how to stop it."

I stared at him spellbound. I was only able to get three short words out.

"I'll make coffee."

^^^

note from the author: guys this is probably last chapter this week, maybe i'll manage to write another one but i'm not promising anything <3 i hope yall enjoyed this little carnage here and ill see you in the next one <3

btw: please don't forget to vote and comment love yaaa