3 November, 2014

New Heissgart, Amestris

The icy air trapped me in it's intricate, delicate web of autumn. If you kept your limbs still, goosebumps would snake and crawl up your skin. Every breath you took would be visible as a pale puff that swirled into nothingness. Every step I took, I could hear a small crunch under my heels as the frost was leveled down to the shapes of each footprint I left on the frosted concrete, trampled over by hundreds of people who have walked before me and with many more to come.

The clouds were gray and somber as they churned. If they were alive, they would be seconds from crying sad tears. The buildings that cut off the horizon stretched out from street to street, their white exteriors contrasting with the dark windows and the dark streets. The people were lifeless as they dragged themselves through the wide roads, gray cars lines up and hauling whoever sat inside. Many of their eyes were glued to metal electronics with glowing screens, their world in another world.

I shrugged my hands into my pockets as I kept my head down. I let my legs guide me to wherever they wanted to take me. My mind was somewhere else, and I couldn't fathom what it was that was haunting me. Perhaps it was... what was the word? I couldn't describe it.

I gave up several minutes later. I couldn't think when the buzzing of a helicopter broke my train of thought. In the monochrome skies above, the black metallic bug swarmed in circles, a bright spotlight showering light down upon something in another street. I was just starting to hear the sirens wailing as police cars sped down the road. People around me gave a single, uncaring glance at the noise, before returning to their business.

I don't really know why. I discovered that my legs took me to the source of the drama. I stayed on the sidelines as I watched the scene unfold. A group of men in blue military uniforms had already arrived, and lined up from one end of the street. They had pulled out their guns threateningly, loaded and aimed at their target. The spotlight I took note of earlier was focused onto a man who looked no older than 20.

"Put your hands over your head, alchemist!" An officer barked from the front lines. I saw the boy draw back and size up his odds of escaping. He hastily shoved something in his pocket.

"You're pointing those things at the wrong person!" He sneered back. He opened his mouth to say more, but the MP's reminded him of his place by firing a warning shot. His hands slowly rose in defeat, but I wasn't there to see the rest.

I turned away and coolly stepped into an alley not too far away from the scene. When I made sure nobody was watching, I tugged out a lead pencil from the warm pockets of my hoodie. I fingered the dull gray tip, and hastily scribbled onto the cold concrete.

I tapped at it with my left fingers, and it glowed a soft yellow hue. I focused all of my attention towards the circle. I focused all of my attention into analyzing, deconstructing, and reconstructing the ground below my figure. I focused all of my attention into bending the earth by my will. The flower tucked away in my pocket glowed with life as it reacted with the transmutation.

I could hear the sounds of my damage at last, when I willed the earth to form large, fabricated snakes of stone as they lunged in front of soldiers like a wall, simply serving as a distraction for the poor boy to escape. I used up some of the concrete in the process, as well as much of my stamina.

I heard screaming, running, shooting. I hastily ended my transmutation, and forced my sweating hands to erase the circle. I knelt down regaining my breath, and managed to shakily stand. That was a little too much for what I was used to doing. I quickly realized that I had little time to flee. Hiding my evidence was a death wish.

I forced my legs to move, and they obeyed. I did not expose myself to the streets, for wandering and hungry eyes would target me and accuse me for performing a transmutation illegally and apprehend me. I heard hasty footstepts heading towards the direction of this alley, so I made quick work of my escape. I believed that I turned the corner just before they found this alley.

I found myself running as fast as I could at the time, and down more alleyways I went until I thought I was safe. I slowed down to a stop, and forced myself to keep walking at a moderately slow pace. I tugged at the cerulean scarf wrapped around my neck, it catching the warm breaths I exhaled.

That was far too close for me.

That night, the clouds still had yet to part. The glass of the window I was leaning on was cold with the autumn wind. I sat curled on the maize windowsill, my eyes glued to the outdoors. Beyond those gray clouds, it is said that there is a moon. I could not see it tonight. The dark puffs in the sky finally began to release tears from the heavens. Before long, I left the window and closed the curtains as the rain made my skin shiver.

I curled up on the springy mattress that I called my own. I didn't find the ceiling very interesting, so I fingered through my jacket until I retrieved the delicate flower hidden from the world. I held it up and inspected it.

The Etherflower was a special kind of flower; it was a natural alchemic amplifier that, well... amplified alchemy. I never did learn all the details to the Etherflower. The other thing I know of it is that it's a native flower to New Heissgart, and only blooms in this area. It was unfortunate that most of the area has been paved over with stone and towers. The flowers are losing room to grow, and not to mention how difficult it was to find them in the first place. I was lucky to find just one.

I twirled the fragile flower in my fingers, and watched in awe as the petals spun like a captivating dance. It made me sad that most people no longer enjoyed the beauty in nature, or even bothered to care.

I got bored after several minutes of just that. I sat up and dragged myself out of my warm bed. I cracked open the wooden door and tip toed down the hallway and into the living room. My mother must have left the TV on again.

"The black-haired male alchemist is currently on the run, and investigators are currently interrogating eye-witnesses of the vandalism the alchemist was responsible for..."

The screen presented captured footage of what went down earlier. MP's had the man from earlier surrounded in the street, but the quality of the video was very poor and pixelated. I blinked as I saw what it was exactly that I had done earlier. A video captured my transmuted stone snakes rising from the ground and harmlessly slamming the concrete in front of the police. It cut off shortly after.

"...it is very likely that this criminal has alliances, for the footage shows no signs of the man performing the transmutation. As of now, the search continues. Stay tuned after this..."

I grabbed the remote and turned off the television. I needed to be more careful from now on.

It was then when I heard the front door open. I turned to see my father slip inside and immediately shut the door to prevent the heat from escaping. I didn't smile or greet him when he turned to look at me. His face was tired and blank.

I wanted to ask him how work was for him today. But I couldn't. Instead, I could only sit down and watch him settle in. I quickly found that I didn't even need to ask.

"Is your mother in her study?" My father's voice reached my ears as I was startled into fear. His voice was tinted with annoyance and disappointment, with an overlaying mood of authority. I could only nod reluctantly.

He sighed as if his world had fallen apart. "...Very well. I won't disturb her." He slumped onto the couch, his shaggy red hair hiding his tired eyes. "Get me something to drink... now!" He hissed the order as I tensed up again. I was shaking as I stood up to retrieve a glass of water from the kitchen. I could hear him muttering curses about his day and how his life is screwed over.

I handed him the cup, and he ravenously gulped at it until there wasn't a single drop left. I took the glass and set it down for him. Not wanting to be around the sour attitude anymore, I bowed as if to say 'good night', and turned around to walk to my room. I heard him utter an insult to how dirty the house was and how much of a slob me and my mother was before I was out of earshot. I cringed.

I found my dog laying on my bed when I reentered the brown bedroom. He looked up at me with brown eyes, and was returned with a hug. I then heard slamming from the kitchen. I knew it was my dad looking for food that he would eat. Just because I knew what it was didn't mean that I wasn't afraid of his senile temper.

I found sleep relatively hard that night. The thought that I might be found out and arrested, the thought of facing the firing squad, it horrified me. Alchemists were being hunted down. I was one of the few people who continued to study and research Alchemy. So, in the eyes of authority, I was a criminal, if I was ever discovered.

That also meant that father, in a way, was my enemy. He's a part of the Military. But he has no clue about me and my practice. My mother is a different story.

My mother is an alchemist, and she is the reason I know anything about it. She made my father promise to not expose her to the military and ruin the family's life even further than it already was. He reluctantly agreed, but me and my mother could both see that he may have not been earnest.

Why my mother became an alchemist soon after I was born, I had no clue. But she began researching and trying to invent new ways to use alchemy. She believes that there is a way to bend time, and works hard every day in the hopes that time travel might be possible with alchemy. I find it hard to believe. My definition of time is that it's simply a measurement, invented by man. It's not a physical thing. But she clings to her theories nevertheless.

I wonder how that man was doing. I think I saved his life today. I don't even know what he did to cause the police to point guns at him. But on the news, didn't they say he vandalized something? Or was that just a reason to apprehend him? Or was it just that he was an alchemist, and the "vandalism" they mentioned was actually my doing? It makes me wonder why alchemy is illegal in the first place. So many people had their lives ripped away because it's forbidden.

But I hear tales of a time when alchemists were accepted.

I could feel my eyelids grow heavier. The pattering of the rain outside gradually increased in volume as it lulled me to slumber.

The next morning I found myself on the way to the supermarket. My mother gave me a list of food and ingredients she demanded, and the amount of money it should have cost. I tucked the cenz away in my jacket as I hurried to complete my errand.

Police have been patrolling the area quite heavily, and it unnerved me to no end. In fact, I was too nervous to complete my errand. Instead, I decided to go and spend some time at the lake near the ruins of Old Heissgart. It was a lengthy walk, but I eventually made it. What was waiting there made my stomach churn like rolling thunder.

Construction workers were building a new mall complex, right on top of the lake. My eyes narrowed at the sight. I don't know why but I just felt enraged. The lake was a place of peace, and now it was being muddied and destroyed by urbanization. I had to drag myself away from the sight of it. The lake had a very special place in my heart.

I passed by the ruins before I would make my trek back to New Heissgart. It was like a ghost town, and even that sent chills down my poor spine. Why I did that to myself, I don't know. I came across another Etherflower as I began to head back, and I couldn't resist picking it and taking it with me. The one I had last night had wilted, to my dismay.

It was late afternoon when I mustered up the courage to walk through the streets today. I had to comfort myself, telling my mind that it was okay, and that the police wouldn't know that I did anything yesterday. It would be fine, it would be absolutely fine.

I entered the supermarket, every nerve in my muscles tensed. Nobody paid attention to me or my attitude, yet I felt this lingering sense that somebody different was watching me and my every move.

I pulled out the list from my jacket, and felt like screaming when the Etherflower fell out of my pocket. I immediately scooped it up, hoping that nobody noticed. I had to reassure myself that everything was alright, before having to face my mission.

I returned to my house that evening. It was eerily silent. My footsteps seemed to echo and bounce off the walls as I put away everything I bought. Even after I was finished with that, there was no other sound in the house.

I don't remember what it was that I was thinking. I let my footsteps guide me, and I found myself at the door to my mother's study. I wanted to knock, so I let my fist bang gently on the wood.

There was no reply. I quietly opened the door a crack. As soon as I saw it, the hairs on the ends of my neck stiffened.