literature

Umbrella Man: Little Sister

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“How do we know each-other? Oh that’s no big story; he’s my brother.”

“Your… brother? I’m not going to pretend like I don’t find your answer rather surprising.”

“You’re not the only one. There’s no legal documentation or anything, but that’s just part of his whole character I think. He never announced his visits to my foster parents while they were still around and all our communication has been rather private. But there’s no doubt; we all lived in the same house when I was a baby and he’s the reason I’m here at all.”

“Is that so? I’d assumed by the mention of foster homes that something happened to your biological parents, but I didn’t wish to pry into the details.”

“I don’t mind telling you; it’s not a particularly exciting story, just a string of unfortunate circumstances with one silver lining… You see, my father was an inventor much like myself. His level of ambition kept fairly steady pace with his talents, so I’m told. But on that evening in question, ambition overtook talent… One of his projects backfired and caused the house to be set ablaze, along with my father.”



The flames licked high into the starless sky, a mixture of clouds and smoke choking off any light save for that of the inferno that engulfed the country estate. Crunching shoes on gravel heralded the approach of the masked man, his umbrella hung over his forearm as he inspected the rapidly decaying building with distaste.

A cursory examination of the area revealed the cause of the blaze; discarded bottles of kerosene littered the driveway amongst the shell-casings left over from the shooting. A faint smell of car exhaust still hung in the air.

“Was this really necessary?” He spoke towards the burning manor, striding forwards through the infernal archway with no more care than he would stroll through the park.

“I’m sure you shan’t believe me, but this wasn’t my handy-work. I liked the wife; she had some passion buried deep in that bitter old heart of hers.” The airy, female voice responded with a hint of disappointment hidden amidst the casual dismissal. The painted red lips of the woman’s mask smiled that same, impish smile as she examined a photo on the wall. The couple in the photo was young, almost twenty years younger than the present. “She would’ve made for wonderful fun… I certainly didn’t wish them dead.”

“Indeed? They didn’t seem the sort to make enemies. If what you say is true, this was… deeply unfortunate.”

“Quite.”


...

“My father was killed almost instantly by the fire, before he even had a chance to warn the rest of us. Mother never woke up; the smoke inhalation got her in her sleep and by the time my brother had roused himself, she was beyond help.”



Silence hung in the air as the two figures gazed at the corpse on the bed, a round red hole in the center of her palm and her forehead, a spray of blood painted on the burning wall behind her. Within a minute, the whole place would be consumed by the flames.

“Where’s the husband?”

“In his workshop.”




“I was just a baby at the time, and my brother dashed into my room immediately to get me. He checked my mother for long enough to see she was gone before he ran from the house. Never went to look for my father… He doesn’t talk about it much. I think he feels guilty for leaving him behind without even trying to save him.”



The body of the man curled up in the corner of the lab was soaked with blood, though it seemed that the burning tongues of fire still had a few moments left before they would devour his remains. The light reflected off the lenses of the white gas mask as the suited man peered quietly at the dead inventor.

“I had such hopes for you.”

“Your hopes are no less vulnerable than his it seems.”

The woman turned on her heel and strode to the entrance of the lab, pausing in the churning inferno to look back at the silhouette of the figure still watching the body of the dead man.

“… I’m sorry this one got away from you.” With a puff of smoke, she vanished from the manor.

As the flames reached the inventor’s back, the Umbrella Man doffed his hat momentarily in a show of respect. But as he turned to leave, something caught his attention. Snapping his gaze back to the corpse, he spied an inconsistency.

Despite being riddled with bullets, the inventor’s lab-coat was entirely devoid of damage. Indeed; it looked as though he had pulled it on after being shot to pieces. Stepping over and touching the material, he noted that it was comprised of largely fire-proof material. The corpse wasn’t just curled up in the corner… it was curled up around something.

“Well now I’m curious,” the masked man said to the body, “what have you created that was worth spending your dying breaths trying to protect?”

He gently rolled the corpse onto its back…

“… I wasn’t wrong about you. Consider this my apology.”

Scooping the blonde-haired infant up in his arms, Umbrella Man tucked it protectively beneath his coat, turning and walking briskly out of the lab. His exodus from the building paused only for the briefest of moments to snatch up a framed family photo from the mantle-piece, his gloved thumb pressing down to extinguish the creeping embers that threatened to swallow it up.

With a deafening crash, the mansion finally gave way as its last living occupant was removed. Sirens wailed in the distance as fire-trucks and first-aid vehicles raced towards a scene they were too late to prevent.




“He carried me all the way to town, straight to the nearest hospital, and… well, the rest is history.”



“Poor souls… I wonder if anyone got out alive?”

“Sir! I’ve found something!”

The officer looked over as one of the fire fighters jogged over, a small bundle in his arms.

“It’s a baby, sir. Looks like someone carried it out.”

“Well bless my soul… Is there no-one around?”

“No sir.”

“… Hmm, might’ve been the same bastards who set the blaze in the first place; probably too guilty to leave the kid behind. Take it to the ambulance to get looked at.”

“Right away, sir.”




“Fascinating story, really… You know, as it so happens, I’ve known your uh… ‘brother’ for a long time. I knew your parents as well, though not nearly as thoroughly.”

“Really? You do? That’s unusual, I’ve never known anyone who ever knew my brother… He’s never spoken about you before.”

“No…” The elegantly dressed woman reclined in her chair, her fingers drumming gently along the tip of the cane on her lap, “… I don’t suppose he would. But I would love to tell you all about him…”
Every story starts somewhere... but not all stories are told equal.

Umbrella Man and his world are owned by me: :iconrythmear:
Sissy was created by :iconblazbaros:
Lady Cane was created by :iconbug-off:
© 2015 - 2024 Rythmear
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Emzy8706's avatar
Very cool! Clap Clap Clap