He ran, he had to run. Even though his lungs burned with the effort, it was the only response his body could come up with for the situation. Screams rang out in the distance, and not too far away he heard a woman's wail, and then silence. He stopped, looked down the alleyway to see if anyone had seen him. There, in the alleyway, was a dropped rifle. He ran over to it and picked it up, holding it in a death grip. On the end was a bloody bayonet. The boy gagged slightly, and then ducked into a building as two men in blue coats ran by.
"Damn Alchemists…" He muttered as they ran off into the distance. He wiped the sweat off his brow. Only fourteen, and he had to deal with stuff like this…
A loud boom rocked the ground, and the boy moved deeper inside the house, hoping that they wouldn't find him. His parents had told him this time would come, and now he knew it was time to stand up and fight. He knew if he ran into an alchemist, he'd be dead in an instant, but he was going to take down as many of them with him as he could.
Suddenly the door burst open. He raised the bayonet, pointing it towards the intruder, and put his finger on the trigger.
It was just a woman and her child. Her eyes full of fear, her child gripping onto her leg.
"Please, don't shoot." She said.
He lowered the bayonet.
"Please, let us stay here. My husband is dead…"
The boy nodded. Those Alchemist scum…think they can do whatever they want to the civilians…But who cares? This is war.
He checked to see if the rifle was loaded. It was. Taking out a cloth, he began to clean the bayonet blade.
"Where did you get that?" The woman asked, as more screams were heard in the distance.
Who cares about the casualties? It's just another damned ruthless campaign…
"I found it in the street." He replied.
"You shouldn't keep it. You should throw it away and hide, if they see you with a weapon, they're bound to-"
"I know what will happen to me. It's not like it wouldn't happen anyway. Some of em are just killing anyone they see, not caring if it's man, woman, or…" He looked at her son, who was maybe four or five, "child."
She gulped, and her son began to sob softly.
"I'll protect you." He said.
The day turned to night, and the sounds of fighting never ceased. The house they were in had already been destroyed inside and out, so it was doubtful anyone would come looking again. But still, there was a chance…
The boy made himself a spot to sleep, with some slightly burnt couch cushions. He watched the woman and her son do the same. He struggled to keep himself awake, reminding himself of his promise to the woman. Several hours passed. The sound of the fighting stopped.
The boy looked over to the woman and her son, and then fell asleep just as the sun began to rise once more over the battle scarred town.
Nightmares of death and pain filled his dreams. He saw men being slaughtered, children crying out for their fathers…and those faces…the horrible faces of the people killing them…laughing, smiling…
He awoke as he heard a footstep. Sunlight poured trough the broken window next to him, heating up his neck. Another footstep. He turned to see the woman and he child, but they were gone.
A man entered the room. He had dark hair and a serious expression on his face. There was the familiar alchemist coat. His gloves had alchemy symbols on them.
The boy stared at the man, and the man stared at the boy for what seemed like eternity.
I've got to do it now…
His hands shook as he raised the bayonet.
The man shook his head,
The boy put his finger on the trigger just as the man snapped his fingers.
Mustang stepped out of the house.
A shame…