Chapter 2: Town of Rein, 07:20 hours.
The car pulled to a stop near the entrance to the town. It was a small village like town with many houses and shops, mostly made of wood. The ground was paved, making a path that lead through the center of Rein. The driver turned off the engine and turned back to Roy.
"This is where we stop sir."
Roy nodded and stepped out. He straightened his overcoat and fixed his cap. He had to make a good impression for the townspeople. As he walked into the town, people looked out the windows of the houses and buildings in curiosity, yet not coming out to meet him. Finally, a handful of people came forward to talk to him.
"Are you the help that we have asked for?" said a tall man dressed in old style clothing.
"Yes, I am Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist," he replied with a nod.
There were murmurs and the people all looked at him.
"Then you must help us!"
"Yes, we are plagued by vampires!"
"They have killed 19 of us so far!"
The Colonel sighed. He knew it… more superstitious nonsense. But, he didn't want to be rude to them by saying they were being ridiculous.
"Alright, alright, settle down. Look, do you have any evidence it was vampires that did this?"
The people all looked at each other with uneasy looks.
"Well… we dispose of the corpses quickly, lest we wait and allow them to become vampires as well," said one of the villagers.
Roy sighed. "So, you destroyed any evidence that it was vampires that attacked?"
The villagers all nodded. This only made Roy's job harder. Now he not only had to convince the village folk that it wasn't vampires, but he also had to start from scratch.
"Alright, then when do the attacks usually occur?" he asked, hoping that it may start some leads.
Suddenly the people became very edgy and panicky.
"Night," shouted a freighted woman, "they always strike at night!"
Roy looked at the sky and noticed that the sun had set. It wouldn't be much time then if the killers were to strike. So, he started to devise a plan.
"Okay everyone; I need your cooperation with this…"
--- 08:45 hours ---
Time seemed to go by hours a minute. He had managed to coerce a villager into becoming bait for the killer and told them to act as casually as usual. Roy waited inside a nearby shed, his fingers ready to unleash a burst of fire on the suspect with a single snap.
The flame alchemist began to grow weary from waiting. It had to have been over an hour by now and still nothing. He was about to call it off when the woman he used for bait shrieked in terror.
Roy turned and saw she had fallen back and was crawling away from someone, who was looming closer. Not hesitating he burst from the shed and snapped his fingers. Crimson color sparks flew from his gloves and channeled into the air, creating a blast of fire in front of the person, startling him and sending him back.
The Colonel ran in front of the woman and ordered her to flee. She didn't think a second thought and hurried away as fast as she could. Roy then turned his attention to the person he had shot the fire at.
"Who are you and why are you attacking this village?"
The person chuckled darkly, in an almost in human way. For some reason, the sound sent a shiver up Roy's spine, as if he had made a terrible mistake.
Every sense in his body felt as though it had run cold. Roy's mind seemed to scream at him to run, but why? What was this feeling he had? He scarcely recognized it, but had long forgotten it.
It was fear.
"And what business would it be to you, Colonel Mustang?" the person said in a dark voice.
Roy gasped and looked at the person, focusing him more clearly. He recognized the voice but couldn't believe the face.
"L-Lt. Col. Archer?!" he yelled in disbelief.
The Lt. Colonel boldly looked up at Roy; his eyes were cold and strangely held a tint of deep red. His skin, which normally was pale, was bleached whiter than Roy's under shirt. But what struck the Colonel as most bizarre, was the Lt. Colonel's grin. His canine teeth were long and sharp, sticking out of his mouth as fangs.
"Is there something you want Colonel?" Archer asked, keeping his same cold demeanor.
The man in question looked up at Archer, his gaze a little startled, but hardly noticeable. He, Roy Mustang, and esteemed Colonel in the State Military, could not show any fear. This was an emotion that had to be ignored or discarded when it came to a man of his caliber. And yet… he couldn't shake this terrible feeling he was getting.
"Lt. Col. Frank Archer," he said in a stern voice, "Are you the one responsible for the attack and deaths of the villagers in this town?"
"And if I am?" he replied coolly.
Roy's anger suddenly flared up. "Tell me, why did you do this?!"
Archer hesitated with his answer, but this wasn't what made Roy mad. What made him furious was the fact that Archer was smiling.
"If you must know Colonel, my minions and I were just harvesting some fresh victims for the upcoming battle…"
"Victims?!" yelled Roy in disbelief, "What are you talking about? And what battle?!"
Archer just laughed darkly, sending another chill down Roy's spine. All of a sudden, he felt the presence of others around him. He looked around, but before he could even move, three figures jumped from the shadows and grabbed him, holding his arms and legs so he couldn't get away.
"What is the meaning of this?!" yelled Roy.
"I'm sorry Colonel… but now that you've found out our secret, I'm afraid I can't let you live to tell others," replied Archer in a sinister tone.
He walked closer to Roy, his fangs appearing to grow. The Colonel tried his best to get free, but he couldn't. Then he realized his ignition gloves were still on. He looked at Archer and a smirk came on his face.
"You should have known it would take more than this to keep me down Archer."
He snapped his fingers and an explosion of fire blew the beings holding him and the approaching Archer back. Seizing the opportunity, he ran. He ran fast, his heart beating loudly in his chest, the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.
He knew it now, this was definitely fear he was experiencing. The adrenaline pumping through him, making him gain speed, the dark sensations running through his body, he knew all too well that it was fear.
As he ran, he heard the figures get up and give pursuit. He didn't dare look back, but he felt as though they were closing in on him. Soon he reached his car, but found it empty. The drivers were missing…
As he was contemplating where they might have gone, something grabbed his ankle. He looked down and his eyes widened. It was one of the drivers, but his face and hands looked wrinkled and dry, as if his blood had been drained from his body.
"C-colonel… run…." The driver said in a cold raspy voice.
He shook loose and ran inside the car. He slammed the door shut and tried to start it, but the engine wouldn't turnover.
"Come on… come on you piece of junk…" he growled in anger, turning the key again and again.
"It won't start Colonel Mustang," came a voice form behind his seat.
An arm grabbed him from behind and held him in a chokehold. He tried prying himself free, but he couldn't. His breathing was becoming shallow and he could hardly see straight.
Suddenly he heard gunshots ring out in front him. Almost a spilt second later, the shots blasted through the window, zinged over his head, and he soon heard them make contact with the being behind him.
As the being fell back and let him go, Roy kicked the door open and rolled out of the car. He looked in front of him, trying to focus on where the shots exactly came from and saw a soldier running towards him, a female soldier.
"Colonel Mustang!" she shouted, her pistol still aimed and ready as she ran.
"Lt. Hawkeye!" he shouted back, sounding almost relieved. He ran up to her and turned around. The being in the car had mysteriously vanished.
"Sir, are you alright?" Riza asked.
Roy nodded slowly. "I'm fine… but I'd like to now what exactly is going on around here."
He heard a sound behind him and quickly turned around only to come face-to-face with his two subordinates Fury and Breda.
"W-we told you s-sir…" Breda said shaking, "V-v-vampires!"
He, Colonel Roy Mustang, the legendary Flame Alchemist, had no answer. In all his years of service, he had never experienced something such as this. He merely sighed and stepped past them.
"I assume you followed through with protocol?" he asked.
"Yes Sir," replied Riza, "You didn't report back in so we came out here looking for you."
"We almost thought you got attacked!" yelled Fury.
"Well technically I was attacked," Roy replied solemnly, "But it's over now. I need to get back to headquarters immediately."
As the four walked, they soon came to a large black military car. Patrolling around the car, rifle close in hand was Lt. Havoc. His hands were shaky and he kept scanning the forest, the slightest sound making him jump.
"Okay… calm Jean… calm…" he kept muttering to himself, "there's no such thing as vampires… no such thing…"
There was a rustle in the bushes behind him and he shot into it three times before realizing it was just a squirrel. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Heh… it... it's just a squirrel…"
Chuckling nervously, Havoc waved at the Colonel when he saw him approach, but just as he did, a figure swooped in from the trees and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the darkness.
"NOOO!!!!" he screamed, the sound of his rifle going off ringing through the night.
"Havoc!" the other four yelled as they ran toward the truck.
Riza ran up and aimed into the forest, scanning the trees for even the slightest movement. She saw nothing in the darkness, but the dim light of the moon as it shined through the trees.
"He's gone… sir," Riza said slowly to Roy, disbelief in her voice.
"G-gone?!" yelled Fury.
"But… he can't be gone!" piped in Breda, his voice heavy with fear.
Roy again was speechless. He had seen soldiers lost in combat during the Ishbal war, but nothing like this… this was all too strange to him… it all just felt so… surreal.
"We need to report back to head quarters now," Roy repeated, trying to regain his composure. He opened the door of the car and got in, Riza entering the driver's side and Breda and Fury getting in the back.
Riza started the car and began to drive away. Roy looked out the window at the trees as they passed by, recalling the events that not so long ago, left him feeling more terrified than he had ever been.
However, as tree by tree passed by, he saw shapes following them through the forest. Fury, upon looking out the window, noticed this as well and immediately panicked.
"S-something's ch-chasing us!" he screamed in terror.
Breda looked out the back window and saw three flying figures giving chase to the speeding car, and gaining on them fast. Strangely, the Lieutenant didn't feel any fear. He instead felt anger. These "things" took away his friend, and now he was out for revenge. Grabbing his rifle he broke out the back window and aimed at the figures.
"This is for Havoc!" he yelled as he opened fire on them.
The bullets reached their targets and the creatures howled in pain. Roy shouted at Breda to stop, but his shouts were blocked out by the sound of each gunshot. Finally, the creatures broke off and Breda ceased firing.
"Heh," he laughed nervously, "I… I did it… Hey guys I did it!"
As he turned around though, something grabbed him by his collar and pulled him out the rear window.
"Lt. Breda!" yelled Roy in shock.
"Take the wheel sir!" shouted Riza as she leaned out the window, pistol in hand.
Roy grabbed the steering wheel as Riza opened fire on the creature that took Breda. However, it and Breda soon disappeared into the darkness. Riza lowered her pistol and sat back down in the drivers seat.
"Don't… don't tell me he's…" started Fury, but he was unable to finish due to the shock.
Roy lowered his gaze. Two of his most trusted officers just went MIA and now an unknown number of flying "creatures", all seeming to be vampires, are possibly pursuing him.
As Riza kept driving, she noticed someone in the middle of the road. It looked like man in military clothing pointing a pistol right at them. She swerved to avoid him, but as she did the car swerved out of control and went off the road and down a hill.
Roy braced himself, but slammed his head forward as the car made contact with a tree. Dazed, the last thing Roy remembered was the smell of gasoline and smoke, and a strange feeling like he was moving. A few seconds later, the car exploded, sending scraps of hot metal soaring through the air.
The military officer who stood in the road calmly walked over to the side of the road and gazed down at the burning wreckage. The light from the fire revealed him to be none other than Archer himself.
"It's a shame," he said as two other vampires joined him, "Colonel Mustang would have made a fine addition to our cause…"
With these last words, he and the others disappeared into the night…
-To Be Continued… -
