One Year Ago

My head pounded painfully as an intense headache clouded over my mind and sent sharp jabs into my skull. I moved my hands up to hold my throbbing brain as loud voices began to echo throughout my ears.

'Alexa.. who are you?'

'It's complicated.'

'You have no idea.'

Visions of my memories started to unfold under my closed eyelids. I could see and hear everything as if I was reliving each moment but watching from afar.

'Can you at least tell me your name?'

'Five.'

My mind worked like a remote that continuously played small pieces of a movie before fast-forwarding through each scene to get to the important ones.

'Nothing. Absolutely nothing.'

'The world ends in eight days.. and I have no idea how to stop it.'

I could feel my body toss and turn as I was stuck in a dreamlike trance. I felt like I was sleeping and couldn't wake myself up until I was caught up with the present.

'What if this doesn't work?'

'I promise that we will always find each other.'

The voices began to get softer and more distant with each sentence that was spoken. I tried to hold onto a single memory but it slipped back into my head with the rest of them.

'Because you, Alexa, are timeless.'

Suddenly, every voice was gone and every vision disappeared. A dim, blue light came into my vision and started to become more vibrant. The lights swarmed me, becoming brighter and brighter until my body jolted upward. My eyes instantly snapped open. My breathing was heavy and uneven as I felt myself gasping for air. I placed my hand over my heart that was beating a million miles per minute.

"Alexa?"

My body completely froze as I felt my stomach drop when I heard the familiar voice. It couldn't be..

Suddenly, I felt my eyes wander around the room slowly. I saw bunk beds lined up against each wall with a teenager sleeping on the top and bottom. A fireplace stood in the front of the room beside a door. The flames were beginning to die out due to the lack of wood. I glanced down and noticed that I was on the top of a bunk bed. The scratchy blanket was draped across my paralyzed body.

"Is everything okay?"

I hesitantly shifted my gaze to the soft voice that whispered from beside me. A blonde girl with light brown eyes stared at me with caution as she sat upright on her bed. "Bree?" My voice wavered unsurely. The girl nodded slowly and watched me in a caring and worried manner. My expression faltered as a wave of varying emotions crashed onto me. I was conflicted on whether I should feel happy to see my old friend or nervous that I was seeing someone who had been killed not too long ago.

"You were talking in your sleep," Bree whispered. Her voice was low and quiet so she wouldn't wake up any of the other sleeping kids around us. I recognized each person in the room. Visions of their demise flashed in my mind, making my spine go stiff and shiver. "Was it another nightmare?"

My eyes flickered over to meet hers again. "Something like that," I replied. It was strange talking to my deceased friend from the past. How was it even possible? Five must've miscalculated during the jump.

"What was it this time?" Bree asked. I thought back to the numerous nights I spent awake and shaking from awful dreams. Most of them were images of faceless people, who I could tell were my parents. Although I never met them—because they gave me up when I was an infant—I often dreamt about them leaving me behind in different ways each time. The nightmares lessened over time though.

"The apocalypse," I said lowly.

Bree wore a quizzical expression. "That's a new one," she spoke. I nodded slowly and sent her a small smile. The blonde returned the gesture and breathed a laugh. "You're staring," she said in confusion.

I took a deep breath. "It's just nice to talk to you again," I replied with a shrug.

"What are you talking about?" Bree asked. Her blonde brows were furrowed.

"The last time I saw you was when.." I trailed off as a vision of Bree getting shot played out in my mind. I remember having to make one of the toughest decisions of my life that day, when I left her behind to die with the rest of kids.

Within an instant, my heart sank. I glanced around the room to see all of my friends still alive. I shook my head in disbelief. We were all still in the orphanage home. Thunder boomed outside, while lightning crackled within the dark and stormy sky. Rain poured down and pounded against the rooftop. I remembered this exact night all too well. I knew exactly where I was; or when I was. I had already lived through this part of my life, but now it seemed like I was living it once again. My worst fear had come true.

"Alexa, are you okay?" Bree questioned me worriedly. I ignored her though and feigned a response. There was too much on my mind right now and I had to act fast if I wanted to save my friends from the impending fate that would come barging in our home in a few minutes.

I jumped off my bunk bed and landed on the wooden boards below. The loud sound seemed to wake up a few sleeping teenagers around me, but I paid no attention to their groans of annoyance as I swiftly moved towards the door. My fingers flipped a switch, making all the lights hanging from the walls turn on immediately.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Get up! Now!" I watched as everyone stirred awake and met my eyes with tired and angry faces.

"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up," Leo remarked. I rolled my eyes at the boy with dirty blonde hair. I didn't miss his rudeness too much.

"Believe me, I do," I shot back at him. I could feel everyone's gaze on me as I stood in the middle of the room.

A girl with hair as dark as the night sat up in her bed. Her pale, blue eyes met mine as she spoke in a frightened tone, "Is everything okay?" I couldn't believe who I was staring at. The last time I had saw Eleanor was in the compound after surgery. One day she was there and the next she just vanished. I never found out what happened to her, but maybe this time I can save her from whatever her future holds.

I shook my head. "We need to get out of here," I announced. "Now." Eleanor tilted her head to the side, not understanding the meaning of my sudden outburst.

"What are you talking about?" Asher asked. His brows pulled downward along with the rest of his face. I felt my breath bitch in my throat at the sight of him. He was still alive.. and sane.

"There isn't much time to explain," I said. I found my own sentence to be filled with irony because of the apocalypse situation that I had just gotten out of. I could practically hear Five saying those exact words, being the time traveler he is. "I just need you all to trust me and get up. We need to leave before they come."

"Before who comes?" Eleanor spoke up again. Her voice sounded so small and scared.

"No offense.. but you're starting to freak me out," Bree added nervously. Maybe this was how the Hargreeves family felt when Five randomly appeared from the future claiming that the end was near.

"You should be freaked out," I said with a curt nod. Bree's eyes widened a bit. "Because if we all don't get out of here now, then we're better off dead."

The room was dead silent. There wasn't any noise beside the storm that raged from outside.

"Well, it's official, blondies lost her mind," Leo sighed. "One too many nightmares about her faceless parents."

I glared at Leo. "You're one to talk, daddy issues." A few quiet laughs sounded softly in the room, but instantly halted when Leo shot daggers at everyone with his eyes. Just a look from him was enough to silence a whole crowd.

"Enough," Zara groaned in irritation. The asian girl rolled her dark eyes and made a pouty face. "She has issues, he has issues, we all do so shut the hell up already."

I sighed and nodded. For once, I agreed with Zara. "Look, I know you're probably all confused right now."

"Mostly just tired," Leo interrupted.

"But I'm telling you, we have to go before-" Suddenly, the door slammed open and intimidating men dressed in black uniforms filed inside. I didn't miss the skull symbol that was stitched onto their shoulders. My legs slowly backed up as I watched the devil's reincarnation swagger inside the room. "Silas," I breathed.

The said man sent me a look of confusion but ignored his own thoughts as his black eyes wandered around the room. "Good evening everybody!" He exclaimed. There was an eery smirk plastered on his face as he made eye contact with each of us before nodding to himself in content. Silas grinned, trying to rid himself of any creepiness but ultimately failing. "How is everyone tonight?" He asked casually.

There was a short moment of silence and confusion because no one knew how to respond, or if they should even respond at all. Regardless of whether it was appropriate to answer, Leo took it upon himself to open his mouth. "Who the hell are you?" he spat. It made sense that Leo was the first one to speak. Not only did he have a big mouth and no manners, but he also is talkative and doesn't know when to shut up.

"I assure you, young man," Silas chuckled. "You'll find out 'who the hell' I am real soon." His smirk never left his smug face as he folded his hands together. I could tell that he was taking delight to this, while the other teens were frozen in fear.

Leo furrowed his brows, refusing to stand down to the man and his goons with guns. He held out his hands and waved them in the air jokingly. "Ooh I'm shaking," he mocked.

Silas raised his brows in amusement. He glanced behind him to look at his fellow Horror Order members. "Looks like we got ourselves a rebellious one," Silas announced. "Keep an extra eye on him.. if you know what I mean."  One of the men from behind Silas pulled back his shotgun, signaling that it had been loaded and ready to use at anytime.

The small room grew silent again as everyone carefully watched the man with the gun, especially Leo, who watched with wide eyes because of the weapon that was pointed at him.

"My name is Malum, Silas Malum," the raven haired man spoke.

I could hear Zara's voice as she spoke to herself. "Malum?" The Asian girl repeated. "That's evil in Latin." The first time I heard her say this I thought it had to be some twisted coincidence, but I know now that his last name was changed purposefully.

Leo threw his hands up in the air and burst into laughter. "This is fucking nuts!" He shook his head and crossed his arms, trying to act nonchalant but I could tell that the situation was making him nervous as well. The brunette boy below his bunk, who I recognized as Henry, punched the wood underneath Leo's bed, signaling for him to be quiet. Leo ignored his friend and rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to Silas once again. "Honestly man, I think we'd all appreciate it if you take you and your cult of goths back to wherever you came from, so we can all go back to sleep. Maybe this time Blondie will let us get some shut eye without her constant babbling." Leo smirked mischievously and waved as he leaned back in his bed.

I huffed and rolled my eyes, accidentally catching the attention of the troublemaker himself. "Got something to say nutcase?" Leo fired at me.

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Yeah, actually, I-"

My sentence was short lived, when Silas immediately cut me off. "That is enough!" His voice boomed over our fueling argument, causing Leo and me to pause. Silas's face turned to a crimson shade and he balled his hands into fists. All of our heads turned to the menacing man as he shouted commands. "I'm finished wasting time. All of you are coming with me, now."

His sudden outburst caused a panic to spread throughout the room. Everyone was too scared to move because of the consequences that awaited. No one dared to speak after his claims, not even Leo. I couldn't just stand here and let them take us all again though. I wasn't going back to hell without a fight.

"No," I spat.

Silas stared at me, surprised that I was speaking back to him. "Excuse me?"

My brown eyes narrowed at his dangerously as I repeated myself, "I said, no!" I dashed forward and attempted to phase through Silas, only to be stopped by two of his guards. The men grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down to the ground. I hit the wooden floors and immediately sat up. My eyes went wide as I stared at my hands in disbelief. I tried to phase my hand through the floor but nothing happened. I was completely powerless.

Silas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He snapped his fingers and each man placed gas masks over their faces, including Silas himself. Then, two of the men behind him pulled out a small, cylinder object. They tossed the bombs into the center of the room. It began to blink and buzz, each noise and vibration becoming more violent than the last. I quickly shuffled backwards to try and escape the ticking bombs, but before I could do anything, the bombs flashed a bright, blinding light that stunned me, and caused my senses to falter. After my vision slowly refocused, I noticed that the bombs began emitting white smoke. Within seconds the gas filled the entire room, making it nearly impossible to see or hear anything over the screaming from my friends around me. The gas consumed everyone who breathed it in and caused the victims to fall unconscious.

I held my breath and crawled on the wooden floor to try and find the nearest window, until I began running out of air. Like the others who were already knocked out, the effects of the smoke bombs were starting to worsen on me. My vision began to blur and my movements felt like they were in slow motion as I continued to pull myself along the floor. Eventually, the effects had completely taken over me. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and the last thing I saw was Silas' and his men swarming the room, taking us hostage one again.