Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
' THE   BLOOD   OF  
COVENANT . '

Eddie woke with a start, scrambling up but banging her head against a hard surface. She let out a groan as she reached up to rub it, pouting. Her eyes adjusted, and they narrowed at the destruction around her. Finally accustomed to her surroundings, she slid out from under the table, the glass crunching under her feet. She pushed her hair away from her face, glancing at her hand as she brushed off the glass that stuck to it. She stepped out of the hole in the wall, her eyes fluttering over the chaos that littered around her.

Countless dead bodies cluttered the floor, all lying in crumpled and unnatural positions. Eddie moved further forward, her eyes fluttering to Allison who lay on the ground, her chest rapidly moving with Luther leaning over her. She blinked a few times as she approached.

'Eddie!' Luther called as he jumped to his feet. Her eyes flickered to him for a moment before they jumped away.

'What happened?' she questioned, her voice quiet and strained with huskiness.

'The Commission found us,' Luther replied, his eyes softening. 'Are you alright?'

Eddie nodded absent-mindedly, her eyes remaining on the barn. 'Is Five in the barn?'

'Eddie-' She did not give him a chance to stop her as she erupted into a sprint, her legs carrying her across the farm at a rapid pace.

She skidded to a stop, grasping the side of the barn and vaulting herself forward. She launched into the air, her legs bringing themselves up as she turned. They flew through the air and smacked the woman restraining Five across the face, once with each foot. Eddie landed a few centimetres away from Five and rolled out of the jump. She leapt to her feet as she tilted her head.

'Diego's girlfriend, huh?' she asked, shoving her hands into her pockets. She pursed her lips. 'Guess you've got anger issues too, eh?' Lila let out a growl and launched herself at Eddie. She rolled her eyes and sidestepped last minute, causing her to hit a bail of hay. A smirk pulled at her lips as she blinked. Lila got to her feet and jerked her head, so her hair moved from her face. She ran at Eddie, but she blocked her hits with her forearms. Her leg jabbed forward and knocked Lila's knees from under her. She collapsed to her knees, baring her teeth at Eddie as she struck the redhead in her stomach. Eddie recoiled, clutching her belly and the wind picked up around them slightly.

She recovered, and Lila's glowing eyes met hers. Silence filled the barn before her eyes widened, her mouth parting as a shocked gasp left her mouth. She dropped to the ground and began to writhe as Eddie stared on apathetically. Diego burst into the barn, his eyes falling on the dark-haired girl as she cried and whimpered.

'Eddie!' he shouted, his eyes snapping from either one. 'Stop!'

She lifted her chin. 'I'm not doing anything,' she replied in a soft but cold tone. 'She can't control it. The energy is raging throughout her body, her cells are multiplying at high speeds, but they're dying too. You can't normally feel it, but at this speed, it hurts like a mother fucker.'

'Eddie, please!' Diego cried, standing in front of her as he clasped his hands in front of his chest. Her eyes eventually met his for a brief moment before she moved towards Lila. She crouched and placed a hand against her forehead, closing her eyes as her body tensed. The barn went cold and silent for a moment, and the eeriness hung limply.

However, it broke suddenly as the hair on Eddie's head began to grow, the once cropped ginger strands slithering down her back and springing in lively coils. Her eyes opened as they pulsed with a vibrant green until it disappeared, and she rose to her feet. She twitched slightly, as she clenched her hands before her eyes jumped to Diego, his softening.

'Lila,' he called gently, moving towards her as she stumbled to her feet, her arms wrapping around herself. The other siblings had joined the gathering in the barn but had remained silent. 'Listen to me, Lila. You were born on October First, nineteen-eighty-nine, the same day as all of us.'

'I trusted you!' Lila cried finally, shaking as her eyes flickered around. 'I trusted you, and you left me all alone!'

'That's because I needed to save the world!' he retorted, though slightly sarcastically. 'She's using you, Lila, The Handler. Can't you understand?'

'You're wrong! She raised me!'

'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,' Eddie spoke softly. 'They told it wrong for thousands of years because it suited them. They demanded power, and they manipulated their children to get it. Does it sound familiar?'

'Hey, Lila? Truth?' Diego continued, glancing at Eddie before moving closer to Lila. 'She's dangerous. I know you're worried about what she's going to do with all that new power and that's why you dragged me to the Commission, isn't it? Because I know what it's like to love dangerous people.' Diego's eyes wandered around the siblings that littered the barn before they returned to Lila. 'The difference is, they love me back.' He did not speak for a moment, swallowing thickly before continuing. 'The only thing the Handler loves is power and the minute she can no longer use you, she'll throw you away. Trust me; I understand being disposable to somebody you looked up to.'

'Please, stop,' Lila tried, her voice cracking.

'We can be your family, Lila. If, you'd just let us. We won't judge you or expect anything from you. Family is unconditional,' Diego finished.

Silence filled the barn for a moment before gunshots sounded. Eddie jerked, her mouth parting for a moment before she dropped to the ground beside her siblings. She curled into herself, her body shouting out as the licks of agony tore away at her skin. Conversation flooded into her ears though drowned out by the ringing and the sound of her slowing heart. She rolled onto her back, coughing as blood dribbled out of her mouth.

A body dropped to her side, and the Handler moved to where she laid. She stared down at her with a small pout. 'It's a shame we never got to meet formally,' she spoke condescendingly. 'Well, we can't have,' she paused, tapping her chin with the hilt of the gun. 'How did you put it? Ah, 'Witnesses!'' she sang as she quoted Eddie. Her face dropped into a seer as she turned the barrel of the gun towards Eddie and emptied the magazine.