Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist © of Hiromu Arakawa.
Description: A new house can be scary, especially when it might be haunted.
AN: No pairings. It's a horror story so expect things you don't like. You have been warned... No, seriously.
WARNING- NC(Non descriptive), blood, violence, death
Chapter One- Wild Imagination
Streaks of blue-white light shone through the curtains onto the dusty hardwood floor. The mattress squeaked as it's inhabitant turned over and deep steady breathing could be heard from the other room. The house was empty but for these two. Furniture was sparse even the kitchen held little food. It had been lived in for a month now but one wouldn't know it.
A low groaning sound was heard as the wind blew and the old house responded. Then something else, like a whisper. Too low to make out.
It would be a long night if he couldn't get to sleep. After a while he realized that he was staring at the brass bars of the bed. The reflection looked odd in the dark, almost like a face behind him but it was distorted and couldn't be made out properly.
He leaned forward out of curiosity and found the closer he looked the more real it appeared. Then the eyes blinked open and stared strait at him with red irises like blood that began to blur and melt down towards the sheets.
He couldn't breath. Heart beating so fast he thought it would stop he made to move back but his hand slipped off the edge of the bed and he fell forward onto the floor.
In a panic he scrambled away from the darkness under the bed.
There was no one on the bed or anywhere else in the room.
"I'm not crazy it must be my imagination." He whispered to himself then fell silent in fear that he might miss a telltale sound.
Air blew through a crack in the window but he didn't hear anything else new.
But if that was new... It had been completely closed when he went to sleep. With trepidation he walked to the window and sure enough it was open about half an inch.
The noise stopped when he pulled it shut. Something like that could be easily overlooked right? It didn't mean anything.
He really was getting tired. He pulled back the covers and saw a single tiny drop of what looked like blood.
"OK, that's it." He mumbled to himself as he turned towards the door.
But then his brother would think he was being a baby, he couldn't prove that wasn't there before hand.
He stood frozen in uncertainty. It was probably all his imagination, in the morning he would think himself foolish but at least he would be the only one to think so.
Tears stung the corners of his eyes as he tried to make up his mind and in the end he decided that waking up Ed at this hour was much scarier then any prospective ghost.
The light (or lack there of) outside was beginning to turn a deep blue by the time he fell asleep. When he woke up he wasn't afraid anymore but when he remembered why he should be he felt himself tremble. Ever so slowly he turned to look at the sheet but the stain was gone.
"Maybe a dream then?" Alphonse asked himself with a sigh.
"Maybe what was a dream?" He saw Ed in the doorway. Now that was scary, Ed was up and it was still morning!Al stifled a giggle at the thought and told him what had happened, stressing the point of it being a dream.
"Really?" Ed crossed his arms as he spoke. "Because the same thing happened to me last night."
"It did?" He leaned forward on the bed.
"Nah, I had the best sleep of my life last night."
"You have 'the best sleep of your life' every night Niisan."
"True, I'm going back to bed."
"Hey! Why did you get up in the first place then?" He shouted as Ed left the room and got a response muffled by the wall that sounded something like "I dun-oh"
Al sighed and briefly considered going back to sleep as well. Unlike Ed he hadn't slept that great but there was way to much to do.
Almost wishing he was back facing the horror of the previous night he got up and ready to clean the house once and for all.
As he swept the thick dust covered floor he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye but ignored it. He was to busy now to worry about ghosts and the such but when it wouldn't stop he turned and saw it definitely wasn't a ghost. A swarm of cluster flies gathered over something that might well be a dead mouse. It's flesh was eaten away by decomposition and insects. He would have to clean that up but right now he was not in the mood.
"Don't do that!" He scolded Ginger, the kitten Ed had gotten him. It was ready to pounce on the mass. She perked up when he spoke to her and rubbed against his legs purring. She loved attention more then anything.
He patted his hip and she obediently stood, leaning against his leg for support. That way he could pet her without bending over but normally she did this when she wanted to be picked up.
His mind off the mess for now he contemplate the kitten. Sometimes he could swear they were just like babies.
"I have to get back to work now Gin but if you're good I'll let you sleep in my room tonight." He set down the disappointed ball of fluff
Seeing exactly how extensive a mess was left made him change his mind. Maybe he should make breakfast while it was still morning.
He could hear Ed snoring as he walked into the kitchen and broke eggs into a pan. He also made sausages and toast and set out two plates and two glasses of orange juice.
"Niisan? Wake up."
"Go away, I want to sleep more." Al had eventually learned to understand Ed when he talked with his face buried in the pillow.
"Breakfast is ready."
"Oh, food. OK then." Ed sat up zombie like and followed Al to the food. One of the few things he prized as much as sleep.
After, Ed made coffee and they sat talking. This was the best part of Al's day. Before Ed got caught up in something or had to go off somewhere, sometimes for days at an end. It could get lonely sometimes with his brother gone and no one else around for him to talk to... In a huge empty house deprived of life. There was only so many times he could explore its rooms or the village. It actually scared him more then the house did with it's inhabitants always giving them odd looks. Whenever they bought something there was never a line because the store cleared out and the clerk would try to hurry them along. Then again he hadn't been scared of the house at all until last night.
"Al? You in there?" Ed managed to get Al's attention off of his cup.
"Sorry Niisan, I was just thinking we have to get more groceries."
""Uh-huh." Ed didn't sound like he believed him but wasn't about to argue about it. "You know if you want to talk about anything I'll listen right? I might not give the best advice but it's better then nothing."
For a second Al looked up at him and considered telling Ed everything that had happened and everything that was bothering him. There wasn't much Ed could do about it and he didn't want to make him sad too. He especially didn't want to be felt sorry for. "No. It isn't anything really. I guess I'm in a strange mood today, actually I'm really tired. I didn't sleep well."
"Oh yah, you had a dream right?" He felt Al's forehead.
Who laughed at the effort. "You don't get sick from having dreams."
"You still have been acting weird, maybe you're coming down with something. You are a bit warm."
Al looking surprised put the back of his hand against his head. Ed was right.
"Maybe you should go back to bed."
"No. I have way to much to do."
"Well, promise that you'll take it easy. I have to fill out some paperwork but I'll come see how you're doing later."
"OK." Their fifteen minute visit with each other was over once again. But this time Ed stopped as he walked past to squeeze Al's hand before continuing on.
That made Al smile even if the rest of his day seemed terrible. He really did have the best big brother ever. He was lucky, if he asked Ed would give up everything. He would stop his research and would spend more time with him. Al would never ask that though. Besides the fact that they needed the money he knew Ed loved the research. Al loved alchemy too and liked to help Ed out now and then so he knew how Ed felt and would feel if he wasn't able to be apart of it anymore.
There was something, maybe he would try and find some new books.
Enough time had been waisted, it was nearly noon, time to get back to work. It took all day but he managed to rid the entire first floor of dust. It seemed impossible to do. Last time he had started cleaning it was just as bad if not worse within a week. This time he had cleaned everything not only the floors. Tomorrow he would clean upstairs.
Al hummed as he put away the broom. He was sure he had heard this tune before but couldn't place it.
It was getting late, well past nine and he had been so caught up he hadn't eaten since breakfast. It didn't seem that long ago. By this time Ed would have given up and made himself something so he fished around for a bit and came up with some bread and butter with cheese and a glass of milk. Not much but he wasn't that hungry.
Before he took the bread out of the bag he remembered he hadn't washed his hands so, hoping Ginger didn't spot the food, he went to the bathroom to wash up.
Splashing water on his face he looked up and froze. Reflected in the tarnished mirror was a distorted face like he had seen the night before.
He couldn't make a sound, couldn't draw a breath. He collided with the shower door as he backed away and the image got closer like it was walking up to the mirror from the other side. Everything looked like a blur now, not just her. Clammy hands touched his skin and he felt breath against his neck accompanied by a strong sense of violation.
When he woke he was on the bathroom floor and felt tired as if all the energy had been drained from his body.
Ginger was clawing at the door meowing. It all must be in his head. Maybe if he got a good night's sleep for once his mind would settle down.
On his way out he scooped up the kitten and went strait for bed. Falling asleep as soon as he lay down despite everything. Exhaustion outweighed fear it seemed.
Fully night now he was in a deep state of sleep and only barely registered the hiss. Alphonse rolled over thinking he must have lay on Ginger's tail.
XXX
Birds tweeted outside and morning light shone through the curtains. He awoke feeling refreshed but when he reached his hand out to pet Ginger she wasn't there. Or anywhere else in the room for that matter. The door was closed so she couldn't have gotten out on her own. A strange urge compelled him to look for her but it proved harder then he first thought. Eventually his search lead him upstairs to a part of the house rarely used.
Oddly one of the doors was open that should have been locked. Maybe Ed had gone in? Considering that if Ed was in there Ginger probably followed him.
When he entered he saw the worst sight yet, worse then the bloody image in bed or the bathroom mirror.
His new kitten was in the room but oh how he wished it wasn't. Glass littered the floor. She lay curled in a stiff ball, bits of rib could be seen through her rotting flesh. Like the mouse from the day before.
She was cut up by the glass around her but how was all this possible? It couldn't be. There hadn't even been a mirror in here, definitely not a broken one.
He knelt beside her knowing it was pointless and checked her. She definitely was dead. The fact couldn't register in his mind. It wasn't possible. It wasn't fair.
Then he saw Her again. Her face reflected a thousand times in each shard of glass. Staring at him with malice, her red bleeding eyes wishing him worse then death. Everything began to get dark again then he realized it was dark. It was dark outside! And he was screaming.
Morning hadn't come yet he was still in bed along with his kitten. It had all been a bad dream.
Ed wouldn't be happy, even he couldn't sleep through that. Right? After a few minutes passed and Ed hadn't come rushing in to see if he was safe he began to wonder. With growing dread he found Ed's room empty.
Holding Ginger tightly in his arms he proceeded to climb up the stairs to where he had found the kitten in his dream. Just like before the door was open.
Al stopped outside of it, his hand frozen about to touch the door knob, straining to listen.
When he realized he would either have to look or give up and go to bed he plunged into the room like a skydiver jumping out of the plain. No turning back.
What he saw startled him.
Also like his dream he found glass littering the floor but unlike his dream nothing sinister was there. Or anywhere else in the house. It was like nothing was wrong or ever had been. Except of course his brothers disappearance.
Maybe this was another dream? He really couldn't tell the difference anymore.
Why was this happening now? They had been here for a month and there hadn't been one sign of anything out of place.
Now he was left in a world of solitary insanity.
Footnotes!
We all know this has to be Alphonse because if anything ever tried to haunt Ed he would bash its face in or yell at it to leave him alone then go back to sleep.
And now I am ging to go eat leftover spaghetti. Even though it is six in the morning.