This chapter sucks, in my opinion, but it was necessary. Basically this is just some more insight into how Roy and Ed are doing. Chapter 3 is a bit better, and chapter 4 really kicks off. Keep your eyes open. I've just started writing chapter 4, btw.

Disclaimer: Characters, except for OCs, are not mine. The premise of FMA is not mine. This plot is mine. If you steal it I'll be upset. Possibly angry. Perhaps murderous. That is all.

The rest of the day crawled slowly, the hot sun beating down on the two lone alchemists. They had managed to make an odd-looking shelter with their clothes and the legs of the upturned table, and neither of them had said a word in hours. The sky was starting to turn pink and gold with the setting sun, and the light glimmered on the water. Finally, Edward spoke.

"Colonel..." His voice was barely a whisper. "How long... How long do you think it'll take... Until they find us...?"

Roy looked at Ed, hidden in the shelter with his face behind his knees. "Until Central finds out what happened, sends a search team, and finds us..." He trailed off, looking at the sea. "I honestly don't know."

Ed looked up suddenly. He crawled to the edge of the raft, taking water in his palm and letting it drain through his fingers.

"Don't drink it."

Ed looked up at Roy, his face contorted in an odd expression. "What?"

"We're both thirsty, but drinking salt water will only make you thirstier. That, and the overload of salt will cause your kidneys to fail, and if your kidneys fail, you die."

Edward shook his head and sat back into the shade. Roy resumed looking off into the distance, and lost himself in his thoughts until Ed suddenly brought him back with a sharp "Hey!"

"What?" Roy asked, turning around.

"Hangman." Ed smiled a semi-honest smile and took out a piece of chalk. "Apparently some survived in my pocket."

"I thought you didn't need chalk," Roy said, amused.

"Not for transmutation circles," said Ed, drawing on the raft. "But chalk is always handy."

"I'll take your word for it."

5 PM the day before

Both Ed and Roy were leaning on the rail on the side of the ship. Roy's mind was off somewhere and Ed kept mumbling under his breath. Things like "stupid boat" and "gotta go back" and other general rambling. Roy looked down at him, somewhat annoyed.

"I thought I told you why you're here."

"Yeah, yeah, military duty, who cares? This boat is BORING."

"Well, go down to the kitchen bother the cooks, they're always lonely. I bet they'd appreciate some company."

Ed glared at Roy for a second, then slumped over the rail. Roy smiled, amused.

"It's going to rain," Ed said suddenly. Roy looked at the sky. He couldn't see any clouds.

"The sky is clear."

"My joints always tell me when it'll rain." He stretched out his arms, staring at them, and then left quietly, leaving a perplexed Roy behind.

8 PM that day

Roy was sitting on the bed that was in the cabin assigned to him. There was a table in one of the corners, with two chairs around it. A lamp illuminated the cabin with an eerie yellow glow, casting shadows on the walls. A large bookcase sat in one of the corners, and as Roy looked over the titles of the books, he found that most of them were about ocean currents, the wind, and general navigation. There were a few history books as well, and some dusty mystery novels lying on the bottom shelf. Roy picked out a book about the ocean, and as he read it he found he couldn't understand most of what it said. There was a nice map with arrows indicating the direction of the currents.

There was a knock on the door, and Roy looked up.

"Come in."

The door creaked open.

"Fullmetal," said Roy, surprised.

Ed was standing by the door, and he suddenly looked very embarrassed.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have come here," he said hastily, and turned to leave.

"No," Roy found himself interrupting without thinking. "It's allright." Ed looked over his shoulder, his expression surprised and yet somehow unclear. He stepped in, avoiding eye contact, and sat at one of the chairs.

There was an awkward silence.

"The cooks said dinner is ready," Ed mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"So you took my advice after all."

"They're so annoying. All they ever talk about is all the trips they've had to do, and they keep asking me if I have a girlfriend." Ed saw the book Roy was reading. "What's that?"

"This?" He flipped it over. The cover said 'Scientific Analysis of the Sea'. "Some book I found on that shelf. Can't understand a word it says."

"Why do you bother reading, then?"

"I'm just... curious."

"Like every good alchemist should be." Ed got up, a trace of a smile creeping across his face. "Dinner's ready, and I'm starving."

See? Wasn't it awfully boring? What? You don't think so? Then tell me with a review by pressing that cute lil' button in the corner.

The part with the cooks asking Ed about his girlfriend is based off of my mother and her friends constantly pestering me about having a boyfriend. Come on, stop insisting that a boyfriend is something every 15-year-old should have...

-Julia