Hey guys, sharia013 here with my new FMA story! This is a revamp of my previous story, The Lost Ones, and so far I'm really looking forward to this fic! Oh, it also follows the manga story line, but will have bits and pieces of Brotherhood here and there. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it out :D
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist. Those belong to the honorable Hiromi Arakawa. I'm also not making a profit off of this in any way.
Fire. That was the first thing she noticed when the darkness faded. Flames spewed from the windows, licking the windowsills and walls of the two story house, devouring it in order to feed its never ending hunger. Orange hues flickered, casting dancing shadows yet illuminating her home in a blazing glory, with smoke pouring from every opening and blackening the night sky.
She was so close she felt her body burn from the scorching heat, the thick smog making her cough violently and her eyes water. The scene before her was transfixing, yet what disturbed her most was the silence besides the roaring and crackling of the decaying house.
She knew someone was inside. Why were there no screams of pain and agony, no shrieking cries of help? She tried to sprint forward in hopes of rescuing the resident, but she jolted back as someone gripped her arms and pulled her away.
"Let me go! My aunt's still in there!" she heard a weak and raw voice shout as she fought against the grip. It clung to her, refusing to break away, but after her consistent struggles, it relished its hold on her, suddenly vanishing as if it was never there. With no hesitation, she dashed towards the open entrance of the house, plunging into the flames.
A smoldering heat hit her body in an instant and the inferno surrounded her from all sides. As she crossed over the threshold, it was as if someone flipped a switch. The crackles of the flames and the groaning of the house became muted, leaving her in a strange limbo of silent instability. She felt her pace slow to a walk beyond her control, yet she felt on edge as her eyes darted around, scanning through each passing, perishing room.
The last room she entered was void of any furnishings or windows, completely empty. As she stepped in, the flames in front of her parted and three silhouettes emerged from them. The forms on the left and right were merely shadows, their figures blurring in and out of vision as their bodies flickered like static. The third was strikingly recognizable.
Ice blue eyes under parted black bangs stared vacantly at her, fists clenched and body rigid. As she locked gazes, the sound of a heartbeat faded in, gradually pounding in her head, mixing in with labored breaths.
"A-Auntie…" the raw voice returned, whimpering and barely above a whisper.
Wind howled from behind the figure, sending blistering fumes at her face and smoldering the fire instantaneously. A bright light immediately followed the gusts, sending the shadows and the room drifting away like smoke, leaving her and the recognizable figure in a white expanse of pure emptiness. For a few moments, everything was silent and she felt frozen in place, barely aware of the change of her surroundings. Then, with a trembling hand, she reached out and tried to step closer.
As her foot lifted and met the ground in a single step, the figure's form began to scatter like ashes, pieces falling to the floor yet dissolving before they touched the ground. In its place was a white being surrounded by thousands of tiny black particles, a shadowy sneer spread across its blank face.
"It's all about equivalent exchange, isn't it?"
Her legs gave out unexpectedly and she toppled to the ground, her body slamming into cold concrete. She stiffened, feeling a shiver creep through her as she heard a sickening groan and a slippery squelch.
Aunt Lauren?
She braced herself and pushed against the floor, expecting to stand. Instead, she stumbled and dropped back down with a cry of surprise and pain, and she realized with a start that she could no longer feel her lower legs. Looking down through the darkness, she could see a mixture of blood and blackened ash coating her hands, and she felt the world around her come to a standstill.
No…
A low, guttural moan came from above and, horrified, she slowly looked up.
A twisted, mangled, and living corpse met her eyes, its chest and stomach torn from the inside out and its skin clinging to its skeleton, bones jutting out at sharp angles from inside it. While it was lying on its back, its head and hands were snapped right-side up, its eyeballs rolled in the back of its skull and its jaw stretched open, heaving deep and irregular gasps as its uneven fingers twitched and reached out for her.
Somewhere, she could hear screaming, shrill and high, breaking the suffocating silence. She wanted to cover her ears and avert her gaze, yet her body remained frozen and she could only stare at the monstrosity in front of her. She opened her mouth to call out, to gasp, to whimper, to make a sound, yet her lips were already parted.
She realized the screams were coming from her.
Gasps slipped from her lips as Sabrina snapped her eyes open, her body tensing up in panic and fear. The scream died in her ears and she laid still, her body shaking with ragged breaths as she took several moments for the remnants of the nightmare to completely fade away. Reality hit her slowly, and the girl found herself lying on her bed, a warm quilt covering her as she stared at the ceiling of her room, illuminated by a dim light trickling in through her window.
Just a dream… Sabrina realized she was tightly clutching her bed sheets and she loosened her grip, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths as her body relaxed and her mind cleared up. Images of the nightmare flashed behind closed eyelids and she forced them away, opening her eyes and blinking away tears she didn't realize were forming. Slowly pushing herself to a sitting position with a low moan, she leaned forward and rubbed her face, brushing away salty streaks and regaining focus.
Sabrina pulled her hands away once she was sure the waterworks had shut off and ran her fingers through her hair, allowing her crimson colored bangs to fall over her eyes. I need a trim, she thought humorously as she looked down at her lap.
She shifted slightly as she heard a small creak from her leg and a stiffness feeling came to her in both of her legs. She sat upright and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face as she pushed her quilt away and pulled her knees up to her chest, pulling her pajama legs up and searching for any problems.
Titanium gleamed in the light as Sabrina ran her fingers along the smooth metal, feeling every bump and edge on the surface of her automail limbs. She moved her hands from the ports that connected her fleshy upper legs to her mechanical lower ones, to her metallic feet and toes, rotating her ankles and bending her joints to make sure everything was in order. Despite her rehabilitation recently finishing, the teen's ports felt sore and she figured the reason behind it.
"Damn automail," Sabrina mumbled to herself, lightly smacking her knees. "It was just a stupid dream. No need to get so uptight over it."
The girl swung her legs around and sat at the edge of her bed, stretching herself out and yawning before letting her arms fall back to her sides. She glanced out her bedside window, noticing the sky lightening to orange and red hues as the sun started to peak out from behind the cliffs and canyons in the distance.
"Aw man… It's so early," Sabrina moaned. "I was hoping to sleep in for once. Stupid nightmare…" She sighed exasperatedly then turned her attention to the cot across from hers. To her surprise, it was empty, with the bed made as if no one had slept there.
Sabrina clicked her tongue and shook her head, smiling to herself. "He's inhuman if he can stand getting up this early every day," she remarked. She pushed herself up, testing her weight on her automail and wincing slightly as they gave out weak creaks of protest before settling.
"Gotta get Gabe to check on those," she reminded herself as she took a few hesitant steps before heading out of the room.
The early morning sunlight filtered in through the curtains at the end of the corridor as Sabrina dragged herself down the hall, raising a hand to her mouth as she let out a loud yawn. "Need coffeeeeeee…" she groaned, sluggishly passing through the living room to enter the small kitchen.
For once, the cramped area had been cleaned up the previous night, leaving Sabrina to easily find the equipment and items necessary to make coffee and breakfast for three people. Her mind slowly kicked into gear as she made preparations, thinking of how much eggs and bacon should be made, how the eggs should be cooked, who liked sugar and cream in their coffee and who liked theirs straight-up dark-
An impatient cough sounded from behind Sabrina, abruptly snapping the girl out of her concentration as she whirled around to face the interruption. A teenage boy sat at a small table behind her, leaning back in his chair as he lowered his hand from his mouth. Steel blue eyes shone behind dark brown bangs as a neutral expression spread across his face. Despite the early hours, he was fully dressed in a gray long-sleeved shirt with black trousers, white socks, and white gloves on his hands, a sapphire ring slipped onto the ring finger of his right hand.
Sabrina blinked, unable to contain a sheepish grin as she realized she had walked past the boy without noticing him. "Heya Jamie. Didn't see you there," she greeted.
"Clearly," Jamie pushed back the sleeve on his left arm then gazed down at his wrist, checking an imaginary watch. "It's about time you got up. I was starting to think that breakfast would be skipped."
Sabrina rolled her eyes, resuming her task of making breakfast. "You know, if you were really starving, you could've just made your own breakfast," she pointed out.
"Nope," Jamie fixed his sleeve and shook his head. "I made breakfast yesterday. It's your turn."
"You didn't even want to help me out?"
"Not really."
"Well, aren't you considerate."
"I know right?"
Sabrina shot the boy an annoyed glare, but an amused smirk played at her lips, which Jamie returned. They turned away from each other and the two fell into a companionable silence, only interrupted by the water in the kettle boiling and the sizzle of the pan as Sabrina placed bacon strips into it. For a few minutes, the girl found herself immersed in the process of cooking; getting lost in the scents of warm meat and eggs over the heat of the stove, along with the aroma of freshly ground coffee powder as she mixed it into the kettle. It wasn't until the bacon was perfectly crisp and the eggs sunny-side up that she found the lack of conversation overwhelming, and she spoke as she plated the food.
"So, how'd you sleep last night?"
In normal situations, the question would've sound awkward, if not somewhat creepy, but Sabrina had known Jamie long enough that she figured he had gotten used to her weird topics. However, she received a lack of response, and when she glanced over at her friend, he merely met her gaze and shrugged.
"Meh," he simply replied. "You?"
While Jamie was used to Sabrina's conversations, she was equally comfortable with his lack thereof. She took it as another way of saying, "Fine" and continued on.
"Wish I could say the same," she admitted, setting a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of her friend. "I had a bit of a rough night's sleep last night."
"So I figured," Jamie said, picking up his fork and setting to work on his food. "I heard you tossing and turning in your bed."
Sabrina paused in pouring her own cup of coffee and gently set the cup down, looking over at Jamie with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked.
"No, don't worry, It was happening more when I got up," Jamie replied, pausing to munch on his eggs.
Sabrina nodded then took the seat across from him, food and drink in hand, and the room fell into silence once more, albeit tenser than before. The two focused on their food as best as they could, but it didn't take long before Sabrina couldn't take any more of the heavy stillness.
"…I dreamt about Auntie," she muttered, turning her gaze to her half empty plate.
The girl continued to hear Jamie's fork scraping against his plate, but she could feel his eyes boring into her skull. When he said nothing, she continued, "There was the fire… and I saw her in the house. But there were two other people with her. I didn't recognize them."
Her eyes drifted to her lap, where she realized her left hand was gripping the fabric of her pajama pants tightly, the knuckles turning white.
"And… There was the…-"
A tanned hand slammed down on the table between the two teens, making them start and lean back in their seats. Sabrina's gaze darted to the owner of the hand, her startled expression switching to annoyance as she glared at the man before her. "Morning to you too, Gabe," she said, monotone.
Said man stood above them, grinning and showing off a mouth with several teeth of gold and silver. The aging man had tan skin and a wiry build, with faded and stretched tribal tattoos covering his bare arms. Dark biker shades and a gray bandana covered his eyes and head, yet wisps of silvery white hair fell over his wrinkled forehead and a short ponytail stuck out from the back. Despite his clean apparel of a t-shirt with a leather vest, khaki shorts, and sandals, he reeked of oil and smoke, the scent going strong even after two years.
"What's all this crap talk?" Gabe asked, leaning over the table and staring the teens down. "Whatcha worrying about nightmares for? They ain't real! Best to forget about 'em and move on, if you ask me."
Sabrina opened her mouth to make a snide remark, but the elderly man averted his attention to her half empty plate of food and coffee. "Dammit, you kids started without me?" he complained. "What happened to waitin' for your elders?"
"Should've gotten up earlier, gramps," Sabrina bluntly retorted, taking a long and obnoxious sip of her coffee and making Gabe scowl in annoyance. "Mmmmm, nice and warm."
Jamie coughed to cover up a snicker and added before the old man could blow a gasket, "Sab made a plate and cup for you. They should still be warm."
Gabe snorted. "Least someone in this damn house has manners," he spat.
As he turned away, Sabrina met the geezer's gaze and gave him a mischievous grin. Gabe furrowed his brow, but the girl noticed the corner of his lips twitch into a smirk, sending the signal that no harm was done before they looked away.
As the old man picked up his meal and joined the teens at the table, he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, flicking the box open and pulling out a cigarette with his teeth. "Nothin' like a good smoke with a good meal," he muttered humbly, raising his lighter to his lips.
Suddenly, the cigarette was ripped from his mouth and Jamie clenched it in his fist, crumpling it up then throwing the remains into an open trash can. "The hell?!" Gabe exclaimed in anger. "What gives?"
"Bad Gabriel!" Sabrina scolded, wagging her finger at the old man. "No smoking at meals, remember? You shouldn't even be smoking those cancer sticks in the first place."
Gabe scoffed but slid the box and lighter back into his pocket. "I don't have many years left to live anyhow," he muttered. "And us elders should be the one orderin' you kids around, not the other way."
"Oh, hush up and eat your meal," Sabrina replied, going back to her food.
Gabe continued to murmur complaints under his breath, but they eventually faded away as he dug into his food. The group began to lapse into idle chit-chat, with Gabe and Sabrina doing most of the conversing and Jamie adding in his bits when directly spoken to. The tension of the nightmare was slowly forgotten and it wasn't until all the plates were clear of food and the cups completely drained did Sabrina remember her aching joints.
"Oh, Gabe," she perked up. "My ports have been pretty sore since this morning. Think you could take a look?"
"Sore, eh?" Gabe frowned but got up and went over to Sabrina, kneeling down to get a better look. Sabrina pulled up her pants legs, fully revealing her automail for the old man to examine. The latter chewed his lip thoughtfully as he scrutinized his craft, often tapping at the metal and having Sabrina bend her legs a few times.
"Seems fine to me," Gabe concluded. "Might wanna test it out back if you're still unsure."
"Alright," Sabrina nodded then looked over at Jamie, who was cleaning up the table and preparing to do the dishes. "Whaddya say, old boy? Fancy an early morning spar?"
The girl expected an almost immediate response, but, much to her surprise, Jamie seemed to hesitate. He paused then looked down into the sink, gripping the edge with both hands. "Well…" he muttered, appearing troubled.
"You should probably test yours out too, kid," Gabe broke in. "I know you take good care of that arm of yours, but it's good for you two to get out of my house and hair. And don't worry about the dishes, for Pete's sake!" he loudly added as Jamie opened his mouth to retort. "I'll take care of it for you, but you better make a hell of a good lunch, ya hear?"
Jamie gritted his teeth, appearing disgruntled, but he relaxed after a few moments and sighed in defeat, meeting his gaze with Sabrina's. "…Alright," he gave in. "Just be ready for an ass beating."
Sabrina shot him a cocky grin and stood. "We'll just see about that!"
And that was the first chapter! So, what did you guys think? I know it's pretty slow to begin with but the plot will start to pick up in the next few chapters. Until then, please leave a review in the box below! I wanna know what you guys think, because believe me, it really helps a girl out.
Until next update my friends, sharia013 signing off~