Folding the Umbrella

WARNING
THIS STORY CONTAINS ALLUSIONS TO SPOILERS FOR THE FILM 'KNOWING' - IF YOU WISH TO SEE THAT FILM AND YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, DON'T READ THIS STORY.

SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS


ALSO, THIS STORY IS NOT CANON TO THE 'UMBRELLA MAN' STORY - IT'S PURELY INTENDED AS A "WHAT IF" SCENARIO.

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It had been so long since she had last seen him. A few weeks here and there didn't seem out of place, and even after a month had gone by with no sign she hadn't thought anything of it.

But when she settled down to celebrate the new year, she began to realize just how long it had been since last she clapped eyes on his face.

She was older now, more mature than once she was. In moments of brief wonderment, she pondered the idea that Umbrella Man was a mere figment of her imagination, a childish fantasy she had conjured up to protect her from childhood in her Russian home.

Deep inside, she knew he was as real as she was, and it was this knowledge that caused her a pang of painful wonder when she considered the frightening prospect that he had abandoned her. It was after all pretty difficult to read emotion through a static mask.

"Hey."

She jumped a little in surprise as Brandon walked into the room. He smiled his dopish smile at her as he strolled over to her side and wrapped an arm affectionately around her. Somewhat like the character she had named him after, Brandon wasn't the brightest spark - but he was sweet. His short brown hair was combed neatly to one side, and he cuddled her happily as she leaned against him.

"Hey... how was your day?"

"Hot. This heat is a killer, I never thought I'd experience the like of it, not in this part of the world anyway."

"Yeah, it's a bit warm isn't it?" She chuckled, wiping sweat from her brow as she gazed out of the window.

"Guess we'll be sleeping with the covers off tonight eh?" Brandon grinned and she nodded faintly.

"The news is calling it the hottest day in Russian history - October 18th, the day without snow."

"Not surprised... still, can't complain, a bit of heat is alright by me - we might actually go for a swim sometime."

"Sounds good to me. The left over take away is downstairs by the way, I felt too hot to cook anything substantial."

"Fine by me, I'll see you down there." He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheek before he trundled back downstairs.

She let out a contented sigh and leaned forwards with her elbows on the window.

...

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of the footsteps pacing down the empty street caused her to glance downwards - and her heart leapt into her throat. There, passing by the bottom of her house, was a man - she couldn't see his upper half, because it was obscured by a bright pink Umbrella...

Without bothering to put anything on her feet, she vaulted down the stairs, taking them three at a time as she dashed around and opened the front door, flinging it wide as she arrived in the street. She looked up and down, and saw the umbrella disappearing around the corner.

"HEY!" She hollered down the road, adrenalin pumping through her as she sprinted down the pavement, her bare feet skipping off the ground as she pursued him.

At the corner, she saw him in the distance, making his way into the park - the same park where first she had met him...

Without the snow slicking the ground, the place looked almost un-natural, despite the mid-autumn plumage on the trees. It took on a further surreal quality with the solitary figure of Umbrella Man pacing away towards the grotto.

She chased after him, gaining ground rapidly till she caught up with him a stones throw away from the grotto.

"Hey - stop!" She grabbed his shoulder and he halted, turning slightly to face her, the pits on his face deeper than she'd ever seen them. Golden autumn light shone down upon him, lighting him up like a black candle in the fading sun.

"Hello little lady. I'm glad you managed to catch up with me."

"Why didn't you just stop and say hi? Where have you been? I haven't seen you in so long..."

"I apologize deeply... I missed you too - but I had business I needed to take care off. Unfortunately, I fear I shant have any more work here. My time is up."

The bottom fell out of her stomach.

"Time is up? Why is your time up? Are you... going to die?"

He didn't respond immediately. He turned to face her fully, and his mask fell a little, his gaze falling down to her hands as they hung by her side.

"Not... quite... I'm afraid that in my present state, I am not able to explain things as I would like to. What I should have said was... I have no more time here. I came here because I needed to restore balance to the world, I needed to bring about some order to the chaos..." He sighed deeply, his normally confident voice sounding almost... sad.

"I can only exist while there is imbalance in the world. When there is no more war, no more suffering, no more injustice, I will have to leave and go back where I came from. Tonight, my mission is over - and there will be no more fighting on Earth, no more war, no more poverty, no more fear."

She didn't speak - despite the opportunity she had to talk during his pause, she felt a curious feeling of dread. The idea of peace on Earth was delightful to her, but yet she couldn't overcome the feeling that there was a catch.

"These are my last moments on this Earth..."

He looked deeply into her eyes. In every time, in every place, everywhere he had ever been, he had never seen eyes like hers...

"And... yours too."

Her eyes widened, her lips parting as a gasp of horrified shock escaped her throat.

"What?"

It caused him pain to see that look of dread... but after all the time he had spent away from her, he had to weather it - he owed her the truth.

"The heat. The heat wave you're experiencing... it's not going to pass. It's only the very tip of a solar flare that will erupt from the sun, and engulf the Earth."

He turned and stared straight at the shining ball of fire in the sky.

"Ozone will be obliterated, trees will turn to ash, and the very air itself will ignite... the world as you know it, is going to end."

No thought. No words. Nothing was going through her head at that moment, her whole attention was focused on the grim messenger who stood before her... For years, he had been there as her guardian, her protector, her friend... and now he stood only as Azrael - Death - telling her that the collective number of her race was up.

Tears welled in her eyes as she fell to the ground, her knees giving out beneath her as though they had turned to paper. The sihlouette of Umbrella Man was amplified ten fold by the blinding light of the setting sun, the tie on his chest fluttering in the wind.

He knelt down, placing his umbrella gently on the ground, and wrapping his arms around her, cradling her as she wept, her eyes red with sorrow, her lip trembling.

"I..." He started, but paused in mid speech, making a sound as though he wasn't sure what to say.

"I can take you with me."

She looked up at him again, a spark of hope visible through the terror.

"How? Where?"

"I can't explain where... but when I leave, I can use what's left of my power over this world to bring you with me, away from the cataclysm."

A smile began to twitch into life at the corners of her mouth.

"And Brandon? What about my friends? My family?"

Umbrella Man said nothing. He just slowly shook his head.

The smile vanished, her brow furrowed.

"The human race is dying... and with it, my power. Normally, I would gladly take your friends and family with me... but I was unprepared. I thought I had more time, and my mistake has cost me. You are all I can salvage of this world, you are the only thing I can save from the fire."

Through waves of tears, she clutched her face, shaking it from side to side, torn...

"I don't want to die..." She sobbed quietly.

"I know... the choice is yours."

...

Hours passed. In the maw of the grotto, Umbrella Man stood like a statue, perfectly still as he watched the young woman pacing back and forth, her face a contorted mask of inner conflict.

In the distance, a church bell tolled out the proclamation of midnight.

She turned to the masked man, her savior who had seen her through so much…

“Alright…” She smiled.

“I’ve made my choice…”