CHAPTER SIX
' THEY'VE BEEN LOBSTERED! '
Eddie spun in a circle, spreading her hands before dramatically stepping to the side. Her dance was graceful yet confusing and entirely spontaneous - one could tell when she nearly fell over at points. A gentle melody slipped through her lips, a mixture of hums and whistles with odd words appearing.
She tiptoed in a circle, eyes closed. "Do you know, Five, that the one thing I miss about the sixties is the music."
"I didn't," he replied, voice muffled from where he stretched across the car's back seat.
"What do you miss the most, Five?"
He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't really get to experience much of it. I spent most of the time trying to stop the nuclear war, remember?"
Eddie hummed, her dance coming to a stop. Her back faced him as she surveyed the deserted surroundings. With a tilted head, her eyes flickered to the herds of cows. "I hope Klaus finds his mom. I think it will make him a lot happier."
"Eddie," Five began, climbing out of the car. "When you left yesterday, where did you go?"
"The hospital," she answered softly with a turned back.
Five remained where he was. "What did they say?"
She was silent, and he went to ask again when she opened her mouth. "They suggested a lovely little Hospice a few blocks away."
"What?"
Eddie turned to face him. "Palliative care, darling. I'm dying." She looked away and moved towards the field with the cows.
"What?" he repeated, chasing after her. "What do you mean? You were getting better, the chemo-"
"-I didn't know whether it would work. Clearly, it didn't, or my abilities are just killing me."
"But you're Edelyn Hargreeves," he argued, his voice slightly strained. "You'll think of something!"
Eddie whipped around, tears brewing in her eyes. "You don't think I've tried?" she snapped. "I've thought about this thing for six years, Five. You think I've just ignored it? I don't want to die, but I act like this because I think it will make you feel better. I'm fucking terrified of it, and all I want to do is lay down and sleep, but I don't want to die. So for God's sake, Five-" She shook her head and turned away, pushing her hair away from her face and sniffing. "I just-"
A wave of energy ploughed through her, and Eddie stumbled with the force of it. She doubled over, hands clutching her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. Five rushed over to her, hands on her shoulders before she could fall.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push- Look, maybe you should take a break, hm?"
Eddie pushed him off, eyebrows furrowing. "Shut up. Did you not feel that?"
"Feel what?" Five followed her line of sight when she didn't reply. "Where are the cows?"
"Lobsters," Eddie replied. "They've been lobstered!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, can't I get one fucking day off?"
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Eddie looked up from where she stood on the bonnet, eyes squinting at the field void of cows. Klaus burst from the tree line, and she pointed, Five turning away from his equations on the windows.
"Oh, look, Klaus!" She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Hey, Klaus! Did you find your mom?"
"No!" he hollered back, risking a look behind him as a hoard of Amish people charged after him. "Start the car, would ya?"
"That's a lot of people."
"Shit, shit, shit! Five!"
Eddie jumped from the bonnet, shoving Five away from the window and pushing herself into the driver's side. He hurried into the passenger's side, and Klaus dived into the back seat.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"Why can't you just get along with people?" Five scolded as Eddie fumbled with pushing the seat back.
"I tried. Really, I did. I tried!"
Eddie finally sorted it and went to pull away when Klaus shouted, "Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second!"
A woman appeared by the window, shoving a piece of paper at him. "Rachel's death was unusual, and she wasn't the only one. You have her eyes. English, go!"
"Klaus, it's now or never!" Five hurried.
"Go, go!" He patted Eddie's seat, and she floored the accelerator, speeding them away. Klaus collapsed back against the chair. "This whole timeline's chock-full of riddles," he began. "Get this. My mom died here before I was even born!"
Eddie accidentally swerved the car as her head whipped around to face him.
"What did you just say?" Five asked.
"Yeah."
"Five, I think we've found the reason for the cows disappearing."