Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
' I'M   SORRY,  EDDIE. '

Through her fight to stay coherent, Eddie could hear Klaus mumble desperately to himself through the tape. However, she couldn't move. Her body felt like concrete, weighed down by exhaustion and dull pain. With a brain that had practically shut down, everything was on autopilot - was she dying?

This scenario was the last place she'd expected it to happen. She wasn't sure whether she'd expected something more grandiose or violent. But then again, was there something more violent than being beaten to death?

Eddie's eyes fluttered, and after everything she'd been through that day, she finally let herself willingly fall into her world.

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When she returned to the world, she was back in the large room with the piano. The broken windows still let in the harsh breeze, and the television sat before her. Eddie stared at it expectantly, and as if it heard her thoughts (which it probably did), the screen changed from black. One more, she saw herself in the third person, but this time, she was sitting on a hospital bed, a gown covering her body.

A heavy piece of dread slithered through her chest, and slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself, holding her breath in anticipation.

There was a knock on the door before someone pushed it open.

A man stepped in, a stack of papers clutched to his chest. "Are you sure there's no one to be here with you, Doctor Hargreeves?" he asked, his face contorted with worry.

She shook her head, opening her mouth before closing it and looking at the ground.

The man seemed to take a hint as he sat on a chair in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this," he spoke gently, his eyes softening with pity. "But it's worse than we imagined. So much worse, and there's not much we can do."

Eddie stood and turned away from the television, stomach swirling with sickness. She could hear the conversation filter behind her but tried to block it out, putting distance between it and herself.

Slipping her feet into the shoes beside the door, she left the house and moved to the garden.

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Eddie jumped in her seat as banging broke her free of her dissociation. Her eyes flickered around until they fell on Klaus, who smacked his head against the table. She furrowed her eyebrows gently but kept quiet - she didn't have enough strength to speak.

A woman appeared in the window, and her eyes widened as they fell on Klaus. The door silently rattled as she entered, pulling out her gun and sweeping it around the room.

Eddie's eyes followed her, but that was all she could do as her head hung limply.

"Are you Diego's brother?" she questioned, lowering to crouch in front of Klaus.

The woman sighed before taking out a switchblade, untying Klaus and pulling off the tape. He scampered to the vent while the officer moved to Eddie. She placed her hand on the redhead's arm, and even as the revolt ruptured through her exhausted body, Eddie didn't physically react.

"Can you hear me?" she spoke gently, cutting through the rope and pulling off the tape.

"Bathroom," Eddie managed out, voice raspy and barely audible.

The woman furrowed her eyebrows before repeating, "Bathroom?"

Klaus pulled the air vent away, but as seconds ticked by, Eddie tried her hardest to force urgency in her eyes to warn the woman of the people in the bathroom.

Not understanding her, the officer slipped her arm around Eddie's back and helped her to her feet. A quiet protest slipped from her throat, and her knees buckled. The redhead collapsed in a heap simultaneously as the masked duo burst from the bathroom.

Eddie managed to haul herself to curl up under a table. Her breathing was erratic as she pushed herself into the wall desperately. She heard voices, but they sounded so far away and underwater.

There was the sound of a gunshot, and Eddie bit her arm, freezing, holding her breath. The abrupt noise punctured her ears, and her ears began to ring.

The detective's body collapsed onto the floor, her pain-filled eyes staring into Eddie's terror-filled ones. A small smile formed on the woman's face - almost undetectable, but Eddie didn't react. The room went cold as the two kidnappers began to speak, but she couldn't pick out anything. She maintained eye contact with the detective whose stare bored into hers. As much as the eye contact unsettled her, there was nothing left in her to pull her eyes away.

Had she been brave?

Had she been brave enough?

Emotionless enough?

The door slammed shut, but Eddie remained in her position, unable to find the will or strength to move.

She wasn't sure how much time passed. The room hadn't changed, so time made no progress.

Someone threw open the door and stormed into the room. He dropped to the ground next to the fallen officer, gingerly touching her face as he moved it. Her eyes left Eddie's, and everything hit her like a tidal wave.

The room grew cold, ice cold and utterly silent. Eddie's eyes glowed vibrant green, and the metal bracelet began to flash in warning. Her body tremoured, eyes burning with fury, helplessness, exhaustion.

He froze as if he recognised the feeling of the cold and silence. Surveying the room urgently, he looked behind him and locked eyes with Eddie.

Diego.

Eddie couldn't help it. A sob escaped her, and the glow in her eyes vanished as she completely slumped. Her shoulders shook as she cried, exhausted in every way.

"Eddie?" There was grief in his eyes, but devastation soon joined it as he took in the bruises and cuts. "What... what happened?"

She remained silent.

"Come on," he encouraged softly, but she remained frozen, trying to keep her sobs silent. "We need to... We need to get out of-of here. Come on, Ed."

He sighed when she didn't move, looking to the ground and shaking his head as if the following actions would pain him. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, he reached forward, and she tried to shuffle away. Diego secured his hands around her shoulders and legs to pull her out from the table, lifting her into his arms.

A surge of adrenaline hit her, and she thrashed in his grip, sobs escaping her voice.

"I'm-I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry. It's-it's... it's alright, it's me. P-p-please, Eddie. I'm-I'm-I'm sorry."

Her eyes glowed again, the room turning cold once more. She gritted her teeth, but the bracelet flashed before a hiss escaped it.

"I'm sorry, Eddie. It's-it's okay. Don't worry. Please, Eddie." A strangled gasp escaped her before Eddie sagged into his arms, her mouth falling open and eyes fluttering. She didn't fall unconscious, but her head fell against his shoulder, and as he exited the room, he gave a final glance at the detective before slipping through the door.