Chapter One: Blood Lust (part one) Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish it was though. If it was, Envy, Ed, or Roy, wouldn't show up very much as they would be stuffed in my closet (at some points, in Erin's). You can have Maes, Erin. Hehe.
Actually this story is dedicated to a few people. First of all, to Brigadier Erin Lightning. Thank you soooo much Erin, for reading this as I wrote it and giving me so many ideas. Though I have to say, my favorite idea you gave me has to be Alina tripping over Ed. Lol.
Next, to Karylanne ('Kairi'). Yes, sissy, I know you despise this show almost as much as you despise Edward himself but I still dedicated it to you just to spite you. Love ya!
"Alina, I'm sorry!"
"Like hell you are!"
"Please Alina. Listen to me!"
"No, I've listened to your lies long enough! I can't trust you with anything. I never could!"
"Damn it Alina, listen!"
"No! I'm tired of doing this over and over, Elaine. I'm tired of listening to your sorry excuses and fake apologies. I'm not going to listen to you anymore."
"Alina, dear, please. Be rational. Hear your sister out."
"No, I will not! I am not listening to the crap that comes out of her mouth any longer! And as for being rational, I have been rational. For the longest time I've been rational. But you idiots don't see that. You only see the rash parts of me."
"Don't speak to your mother like that, Alina. It's rude. Now, I understand how you fee-"
"Shut up. Just shut up. You don't know how I feel because you don't know shit about me. And you don't know shit about me because you don't give a shit about me. Why should you? You have Elaine, your oh so perfect daughter! I'm just the troublemaker, the problem child, the damned bitch that everyone fucking hates! And screw being polite!"
"Alina, that's not true and you know it."
"The hell it's not true. You don't get talked about, Elaine. You're everyone's favorite student, favorite friend, employee, daughter; the list goes on and on. Have you ever stopped to listen to what people say about me? I'm the outcast, Elaine; the social misfit. I don't fit in with 'society', Elaine; not at all. I'm too different. No one talks to me, much less looks at me. And if they do talk to me, they don't look me in the eye. That or they fidget. Hell, my teachers don't call on me, even if I raise my hand. Do you have any idea what it feels like? Having a perfect sister that even the damned teachers brag about?"
"Alina, I'm sure your sister didn't mean to—"
"God damn it! Why do you always side with her? Every single time we fight, you take her side!" Alina couldn't believe this. They always did this, her parents. Her sister, Elaine, would say one thing and they would automatically side with her. It wasn't fair.
Her father opened his mouth to say something. Probably a praise for Elaine; beautiful, smart, perfect Elaine.
"Augh! Don't say anything! She wins. Are you happy? She wins, as always. I'm leaving."
She spun around and started for the door.
"Alina! Alina, come back!" Her sister called after her.
"Go to hell, Elaine. And don't follow me on your way there." She opened the door and walked outside. The cooling air hit her body, sending a small shiver up her spine, and Alina calmed down a bit. The night, not the weather, always seemed to do that to her. She stopped a few steps away from the doorstep and glanced towards the house. Just as she expected, the door flew open.
"Alina!"
Alina breathed in and held it for a second. "I said don't follow me. I meant it." Her eyes narrowed and she jogged away from the house, away from her sister, her parents, everything.
Elaine ran after her, calling her name, telling her to come back. Her left, red hued eye, and her right, blue colored eye both glistened with tears as she ran.
Alina skidded to a sudden halt. Her black and blood hair fell to shade her back from the pink-orange light of the setting sun. Whirling to face her sister, Alina growled, "I said don't follow me, Elaine. I mean it. Leave me alone. I don't feel like talking to you or Mom and Dad right now. Just leave me the hell alone." She turned and sprinted down the lane, leaving her sister standing there in the growing darkness.
Elaine watched Alina go. Her sister's words had long since broken through her defenses, and the ones Alina had just voiced only added to her pain. With a sigh, Elaine wondered if Alina would always be so cold and harsh. She blocked herself off from the world, just as the world had done to her. Elaine sighed again and turned back to the house and went inside.
Alina closed her eyes, running blindly down the dirt path. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and ran faster, trying to leave it all behind. Why the hell was she so different from everyone? She couldn't stand it sometimes. It just got so…so frustrating. A tingling feeling started in her muscles. She didn't slow down though. Instead, she ran faster, ignoring the now burning sensation in her legs.
Tears stung at her eyes but she didn't let them out. She wanted to go back and apologize. Or at least… her better, nicer half wanted to. The darker piece of her rejected the idea though, and let the darkness that was her rage and pain flow over her, fill her.
Night soon fell, but Alina kept going, refusing to go back just yet. She let the rhythmitic beat of her feet hitting the ground whisk her away. Her blood pounded in her ears. She was running blind again.
Suddenly, she tripped over something and fell forward into the dirt. She lay there for a few seconds, her breathing fast and hard. She moved her hands and pushed herself up to her knees. She was about to stand up when the yelling started.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? AM I TOO MICROSCOPIC FOR YOU TO SEE!"
Alina fell back to the ground, the yelling surprising her. She groaned and started getting up again. "Owwww…"
"Ow? You have no room to be saying 'ow'! If anyone should be saying 'Ow', it should be me! You tripped over me!"
'What the hell…? Who's yelling? I've never heard that voice before. I hope I'm not yelling at myself again…' These were the thoughts that trailed through her mind as she got to her knees and stayed there for a bit, listening to whomever was bitching do so without taking any breaths it seemed.
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!"
"No…not really. In fact…I'm trying not to." She said, standing up.
"WHAAT? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?"
"No. I really don't want to know either. Just keep it a secret to yourself." She said as she began to walk away, not even glancing back to see what this eccentric, yelling, not to mention loud, idiot that was yelling at her looked like.
"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME! I'M STILL TALKING TO YOU!"
Alina stopped and turned her head to look at whoever was yelling.
The kid, for he looked to be about a year younger than her, had blonde hair that framed his face, accenting his amber eyes. A red overcoat hung over his shoulders, a black shirt covered his upper body, and black pants covered his legs. And to add to her confusion, he was being held back by a giant suit of armor…that talked…"Oook…I'm walking away now..."
"YOU ARE NOT! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!"
One of her eyebrows arched. "Yes, but see…I'm finished with you, short stuff. I don't give a fuck who you think you are. I don't care."
"I'M NOT SHORT! I'M A STATE ALCHEMIST! I'M NOT A BEAN! NOT SHORT! CALL ME A SHRIMP AGAIN AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!"
"Brother, calm down. Please, just calm down. I'm sure she didn't mean it." The suit of armor pleaded.
"She called me short though…" The kid whined. He sighed and looked at Alina…but she wasn't there anymore. She was already walking away from them. He scratched his head and shrugged. "Come on…Let's catch that train to Central." He said and began walking off towards the train station. The suit of armor sighed and followed his companion.
Alina's vision blurred and she stumbled. She managed to right herself before she fell. "Damn it… I want to go back now but I don't want to apologize. It's not my fault. I shouldn't have to say sorry." She rubbed her temple with her fingers.
'You don't give a shit about me!' Alina winced. "That wasn't really fair for me to say." She sighed and looked up at the moon. "Tell me… Why am I so different? Is there a reason for it?" She whispered into the night air.
As if answering her, thunder rumbled across the sky. Alina scratched her shoulder and sat down in the grass. "Thanks… I can really understand that." She mumbled.
She leaned back and lay down on the cool grass. Sooner or later she drifted off to sleep and dreamed of rain. Only, the rain wasn't water; it was blood. Her eyes shot open as she felt wetness splash on her face. She blinked and rubbed it away but almost immediately was replaced with another drop.
Alina smiled softly as the drops began to hit her face at a faster pace. She wiped the drops of rain away, and, on a sudden impulse, looked at the liquid on her hand. What was she looking for? She didn't know.
Blood.
She wiped it away on her pants. Frowning, Alina looked at her hand again. She could almost swear that the water had turned red. She shrugged and sat up as the rain fell harder and faster.
Sighing, Alina got to her feet. "What is it…about me?" She asked quietly, tipping her head back, letting the cold rain come down upon her face. "Why is it so hard for the world to accept me as I am? Can it not acknowledge the fact that I will change for no one? I don't think it can. I don't think it ever will." She stood there with her head tipped back and her eyes closed, asking her questions. When no answer came to her, she smirked and brought her head down, opening her eyes. "It's time…to go home. Maybe even to apologize."
Alina started home, her mind unusually blank. Except…
Blood…
Alina stopped in uncertainty. "Blood? What the hell?" Lifting a hand to rub the back of her head, she gave an uncontrollable shudder. "I must be daydreaming. Still…Ah…Whatever…" She resumed her walk, moving at a moderate pace.
Soon enough, the house came into view, looming ahead of her in the darkness and rain. Lightning flashed across the dark clouds, illuminating the glass windows. Her eyebrows knitted as her eyes closed. Something felt wrong. Really, really wrong. She shook her head, ignoring it.
Thoroughly soaked, Alina walked towards the door. Her hair, which was long enough to touch the middle of her back, was plastered to her clothes and face; making her seemingly unnaturally colored eyes stand out, creating a look of disquieting animosity upon her face. She reached up with a hand and brushed her sopping hair behind her ear.
Looking back up at the house, that feeling came back. It was stronger this time; worse, in some way. One might even go so far as to say it felt weird.
Gathering up her quickly diminishing courage, Alina took a deep breath, steadying herself. Reaching out, she took the door knob into her hand and twisted. Pulling the door open, she stepped inside. The unsettling sound of water being disturbed echoed up to her ears.
Glancing down, she saw the gathered liquid. She stepped farther into the house, ignoring the water. It made sense that it was in here. It was storming pretty bad outside and the house itself was pretty old and run down in some places.
"Mom? Dad? Elaine, where are you? Listen, I'm sorry…" Alina called, walking towards the main room. "I shouldn't have said those things. It was really unfair…of….me…" Her voice trailed off, her mind refusing to register what her eyes were taking in.
Blood dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the floor, seeping into the carpet. It ran down the wall and stained the white paint. The furniture was strewn about the room in a distraught fashion. It was as if there had been a fight. And the loser had paid with their life more than likely.
And there, in the middle of the room lay something no one should ever have to see.
The mutilated bodies of her parents lay on the blood-soaked carpet. Both bodies were missing limbs and her father's stomach was slashed open, his entrails spilling out onto the floor. Her mother's skull had been cracked open like an egg, her brain oozing out. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at the ceiling.
"Dad…Mom…" Alina managed to whisper. "No….no…" Her legs wouldn't budge. She couldn't move. Not an inch. Shock held her rooted to the spot. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (though it was really only a number of seconds), Alina was able to move forward.
She rushed to her parents' side, silent tears streaming down her face. She reached out and felt her mother's neck for a pulse. For a fleeting moment, Alina thought she felt the faint pounding of blood being pumped through the big vein in her mother's neck, but her mind forced her to be reasonable and deal with the fact that they were both dead. "Still…" She mumbled as she felt her dad's neck for a pulse.
'How long…have they been…dead?' She wondered. 'It looks…like they've already started to rot…'
Indeed, the flesh at their necks had already turned black and rotten near where Alina had touched. Alina hadn't noticed this before. Had that even been there?
'What happened here?' Her brain managed to ask. 'Who…who did—' She was jolted from her thought by a sharp laugh.
Alina turned to see a tall form holding a smaller being by the neck. The assailant's black hair fell to her shoulders and hung about her back, a bemused smile across her face. She wore a black dress that had no straps and came down far enough to reveal a tattoo of a snake wrapped around a six-pointed star, eating its tail. The nails on her free hand were impossibly long, and they looked as sharp as knives. Black gloves covered the rest of her hands, the tips shredded where the person's nails protruded from her fingertips.
'An ouroburos...' Alina thought. 'Impossible...'
Author's Note: Hey guys. I hope this story isn't too weird for you. I admit, it is kind of…sadistic…and scary…and odd…and, oh forget it. You understand what I mean, right? This first chapter is written kind of oddly. I usually hate starting stories out with so much dialogue. But this story...got to me I guess. Don't ask because I really don't know.
Anyways, please review. Oh, and if you have ANY (absolutely any) questions about any part of this story, feel free to e-mail me or whatever. I'll be glad to answer your questions, because I know some parts of this story is confusing. Don't worry….it only gets worse from here.