Condemned
Chapter 2: The Boy Who Slept For Ten Years
March 20, 2006
By CCD


TEN YEARS LATER…

The war between Amestris and the US had been intense. It had lasted for several years and had yet to have a side bend to the other. The war was started shortly after Amestris had been discovered eight years beforehand by the United States' Navy, it seemed that other nations sought to take it over for it's own. When the U.S. stepped in to help, Amestris stated that it didn't want help. An uprising rose after the Fuher had, had enough that went into a full-scale war.

Colonel Kara Dramazic stood in her tent. She was looking over her piles of paperwork. Reports of the prisoners, missing, dead, and injured were growing longer and longer. The troops of her superior officer had been stationed in the town of Dublith, which was south of the capital and they were waiting for orders.

Colonel Dramazic had gained her rank for her skills as a tactician and interrogatoralong withloyalty to her country. It made her seem like a hero to some, but to many she was just a hot woman who was single, but out of everyone's reach. Not very many people dwelled on such thoughts once they met her. Many thought she was too stubborn for her own good and too hard on boys that she met.

Soon Major Neil Lesner ran into her tent. He was one of her loyal subordinates who always told her the latest dirt from the front lines and from military intelligence. Major Andrew Truesdale, another loyal subordinate of Colonel Dramazic, followed him. Major Truesdale was a good friend of the Colonel and knew her since high school.

"Colonel, we've got news," Major Lesner said as he plopped on her swirling stool, one of the few comforts that she had.

"What is it, Major?"

"Well, we got some more prisoners from the front. That Flame Colonel of theirs is among them. Seems he got injured in the previous battle and got himself captured. Seems that many of our troops are rejoicing over something so small it's almost funny," Lesner said.

"Yes, it was one battle, but it's not the end of the war," Dramazic said as she turned over another report.

"Colonel, the General asked me to give this to you," Truesdale said handing her an envelope.

She opened it and looked it over. Her eyes widened and she sat down on her cot.

"What is it, Colonel?" Lesner asked.

"It seems that the military might have a secret lab in the area where they harness their human alchemy and other human experiments to their potential. It's totally barbaric and worse yet, the general wants us to find it, infiltrate it, and destroy it after pulling out civilians."

"Joy, next they'll want us to go and hug each other and go back to the flower power era," Truesdale said sarcastically.

"Don't be disrespectful, Andrew," the Colonel said, using his first name so that he knew she wanted him to stop as a personal favor to her.

"Yes ma'am,"


A week went by and soon the Colonel had been asked to lead a sweep of the Laboratory 38. She stood ready to begin with Major Lesner and Major Truesdale.

"All right troops, we're sweeping the lab, not going on a rampage. Capture any civilians and leave any experiments alone. Also take any military personnel if they come quietly. If there is anything unusual, report it back to me. Is that understood?

"Sir, yes sir" came the reply as the soldiers took off.

An hour went by and the sweep of the lab was nearly complete. They had found that they were experimenting with the prisoners from Prison 8, right next to them. There were several humans who had been combined with animals to form Chimeras and other random experiments that couldn't be explained at the moment. Soon Major Lesner came running out.

"Colonel, Colonel," he yelled.

"What is it Major?"

"You have to come see this."

She followed the Major into the building quickly till she was brought into a large laboratory. Major Truesdale was standing there pointing his gun at two scientists. A large tube was in the center of the room.

"What's going on?"

"Well Colonel, I'm going to let them tell you," Major Truesdale said, as he turned towards the scientists.

"It was by the order of the Fuher, we didn't want to hurt the boy, just try to freeze him alive. He's still alive, we've monitored him since that day."

This made the Colonel turn towards the tube they were staring at and gasped. Inside the tube was a boy that didn't look a day over 12 or 13 years old. His long blond hair floated around him making him look peaceful and angelic. An oxygen mask was over his face and an IV was in his arm.

"Take him out of there," the Colonel hissed.

She was appalled. The scientists scrambled and soon the boy was lying on a lab table. The Colonel took her long coat off and placed it over his body. She then turned to the scientists.

"So what can you tell me about him."

They handed her a file and were then escorted by Major Lesner to the other prisoners. She flipped it open and studied it.

"What does it say Colonel?" Major Truesdale asked.

"His name is Edward, Edward Elric. He was sixteen when he was put into prison, but it doesn't say what for. The experiment was started one week later and he's been like that for the past 10 years," she made a face.

"What is it now, Colonel?"

"He looks like he's 13. How can he be twenty-six?"

"Well, he may not have aged a day since he was sixteen, and you know that everyone is different and they mature at different times."

"True," she said as she handed the Major the report and walked over to the boy on the table.

She began to study him more closely. He looked peaceful in his sleep. His hair, oddly enough had not stopped growing since he was locked away and she was sure it went down to his feet. The report had said that it was a weird side affect of the process. It kind of made him look like a girl.

"Colonel, we should get out of here," Major Truesdale said.

"Yes," she said as she picked up Edward and carried him out of the lab, hoping that the General would be willing to let him have some medical attention.


"Ten years?" General Mike Roberts said in disbelief.

He leaned back in his desk chair and looked up at the Colonel holding a teenage boy. She had just informed him of what had transpired in the laboratory and that the boy was in need of medical attention.

"Yes sir. Please let me take him to the medical ward at least until we stabilize his vitals. I'm sure he could probably do without, but I don't want him to wake up and turn on us. We could get him to work for us, sir. Apparently he was a State Alchemist that was thrown in jail for something. I don't know what he was imprisoned for because the report never said. I don't know if he'll be bitter against his own country or not, so why don't we try."

He said nothing for the moment. He was contemplating the situation in his head. He finally came to a decision.

"Very well, Colonel. I'll give him medical clearance, but you are responsible for him. When he wakes, try to find out if he'll work for us. If you told me correctly, he would now be twenty-six and since he was employed at such a young age, he'll know what he wants to do after presenting the situation to him. Besides, if we can persuade him, we'll have an alchemist on our side. You are dismissed Colonel," he said as he gave her the papers for Edward's medical clearance.

"Yes sir," she said as she left the room, taking Edward down to the medical ward.