Hi everyone, surprise! I was able to get a another chapter out before I had to leave.
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"Hello Edward."
Ed felt the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. He gagged a little on it before spitting the red liquid out. His tongue glossed over his lips, feeling a gash that his teeth had created.
'What just happened?'
A sudden burst of pain caused Ed to cry out in agony. 'Where is that?….my back!'
Ed reached over his shoulder towards the source of the crippling pain. After a moment of searching his fingers touched something metal.
The metal hilt of a knife.
Ed gasped as his arm movement caused the knife buried in his back to cut deeper. Through the pain filled haze, he could faintly hear the sounds of approaching footsteps. Ed lifted his eyes and bored holes into the shadow looming above him, Barry the Chopper.
"You son of a bitch." He growled, trying to push himself up before screaming in pain as the knife in his back was viciously pulled out. The blade slid out of Ed, causing him to fall back on his stomach.
"And thus the Shepherd has come for his little lamb. But only for he, himself, to become the wolf's prey." The Chopper chuckled as he stood up, his knife gleaming with Ed's blood. I must say Edward, I wasn't expecting you for several more days. You've ruined my whole schedule." The killer then kicked Ed in the upper back, sending pain shooting all through his system. Ed's eyes clenched shut, tears forming. "You really do have a knack for spoiling my fun."
His eyes opened to glare up at the man standing above him. Moving quickly Ed rolled onto his side and clapped his hands together. But before he could slap them against the ground and transmute, the Chopper moved.
Crack!
The killer brought his knee down hard against Ed's chest, knocking the wind out of him. Barry was on top of Edward, pinning his flesh arm against him. Ed grunted from the weight on top of him and tried to move his automail arm. When it didn't move he looked over at it. A long blade had pierced through the palm of his metal hand, pinning it to the ground. The steel fingers of the arm were twitching and unresponsive.
A cold chuckle brought Ed's attention back to man on top of him. His eyes widened in surprise. Barry the Chopper looked almost exactly the same as he had two years ago; except for his eye. What used to be Barry's right eye was now a bloody knife wound. A long red line ran across the demolished eyeball; blood and other bodily fluids flowed from it. Despite that, he was grinning like today was the best day of his entire life.
"It really has been too long." His left eye gleamed maliciously, the blood from his wound dripping down onto Ed's face. "You've gotten slightly taller and Winry's gotten far more beautiful."
Ed growled and pushed up with all of his strength. Barry's face showed slight surprise as he was shoved off the young alchemist. The killer stumbled before catching himself with the hand holding the bloodied knife. Moving quickly, Ed jumped to his feet and charged the Chopper. He reared his flesh hand back and smashed Barry square in the face.
The serial killer fell back to the ground and rolled onto his feet, the two knives in his hand. Ed's back was burning and standing up so suddenly wasn't helping. He could feel warm blood running down his back. Ed grit his teeth, a bit hunched over, as he glared at the man in front of him. Mustering every ounce of strength, Ed took a defensive stance, ready for any attack.
Barry still had a look of absolute delight on his face. The blood falling down his face only made him look more demented. His tongue collected some of the blood as it past his mouth.
"You don't know how good it feels to taste my own blood once again." He said with what sounded like a content sigh. "To feel the essence of one's own body, it makes me feel alive."
"You sick fuck!" Ed growled. "You hurt Winry!"
"Yes I did." Barry smiled. "But my real target was you Edward."
He then lunged forward with speed that caught Ed off guard; his knives outstretched. Ed jumped back, doing his best to avoid the swinging blades. The Chopper slashed at Ed's face with his right knife. Ed swung his automail arm up to block it, but he missed the Chopper's left one.
Ed hissed as the knife nicked his right shoulder, stumbling back as he felt blood dripping down his arm.
"It's always been you." Barry grinned as moved forward. "You're the one who got away."
Ed swung his metal arm clumsily at the Chopper, who easily dodged it.
"Come on Edward." The Chopper said tauntingly. "I was expecting more. I've been waiting years for this moment, don't disappoint me."
With that Barry continued the attack, stabbing and slashing at Ed. Ed ducked under the blade and shot up, uppercutting the Chopper. Barry grunted and stumbled back. Ed pressed forward and slammed both fists into the serial killer's chest. Barry gave a wheeze and hunched over, only for Ed to viciously backhand him across the face. This knocked Barry to the ground. The Chopper rolled with his fall and was quickly back on his feet. Ed quickly dealt out a roundhouse kick, knocking the knife out of Barry's right hand.
"That's more like it." The Chopper spat a mouthful of blood into the dirt. He was enjoying this; immensely.
Ed's breaths were coming out in angry huffs. "I'm going to fucking rip you apart; you bastard."
"My, my, it sounds like you want to kill me." Barry chuckled as he took in Ed's hunched over, injured form. Although it was too dark to see, the Chopper could tell that the wound on Ed's back was hurting like a bitch. Barry's grin only increased as an idea formed. He was going to enjoy this. "You'll have to try harder. Winry put up more of a fight then you."
The taunt caused Ed to lunge forward with a cry of fury. Barry retreated, stepping back to avoid Ed's attacks. Ed slapped his hands together as he charged and brought the automail blade out again. Barry's retreat came to a stop as he waited for Ed to come at him. Ed raised his metal arm and then swung it down, arming for Barry's head. The Chopper brought his own blade up to meet it.
Clang!
Ed's eyes widened in surprise and he scrambled back to avoid Barry's next attack. The Chopper's swing just barely missed cutting Ed's chest, creating a large rip on his leather coat. When he was a safe distance away he looked down at his metal arm. The automail blade had been completely cut off, leaving only a broken tip. The Chopper's knife had cut through the metal like a cake. It had been the same one that Barry had used to stab his hand.
"Impressive, isn't it." The Chopper chuckled as he advanced on Ed. "I made this particular knife just for your automail. I've spent days sharpening the blade. I guess you could call it my special knife. It's actually the the same knife I used to cut Winry's finger off."
Ed growled and moved forward to attack. However, a sharp stab of pain in his back caused him to fall to one knee.
"Does that hurt?" Barry asked. "I believe I hit you somewhere on your latissimus dorsi muscle, located about somewhere between your lungs and liver. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
He then lunged forward with his special knife, aiming at the young alchemist's throat. Ed had no choice but to block with his automail arm.
Sling!
Ed stumbled back from the force of the blow. He quickly regained his balance before examining his arm. The blade had once again cut right through the metal. A inch and a half deep cut ran across the arm. Cutting wires and almost severing the entire arm itself.
'Fuck! My arm can't take another hit like that.' Ed thought before diverting his attention back towards his opponent.
Barry reached down and grabbed a large rock. He then hurled it at Ed, who rolled out of the way. When he rose up, the Chopper was already on top of him. With a grin, Barry raised a foot and kicked Ed in the face. With a grunt Ed fell onto his back, dazed. An instant later agonizing pain exploded in Ed's lower stomach. He gasped in pain, jolting up into a sitting position just to get kicked in the face again. He fell back to the ground with a pained groan, blood pouring from his nose. His eyes clenched shut before shooting open as something was twisted in his lower stomach. Ed gasped in pain and looked down to his to see the Chopper wrenching a knife out of his small intestine.
"I would be concerned about that though."
For a moment he couldn't move a single muscle, his arms felt like weights. 'Keep fighting! Don't give up. Use alchemy.' Ed gave a growl and tried clapping his hands to transmute. But Barry brought his foot down on the stab wound. Ed lurched forward, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Ed fell back to the ground and tried to roll to the side. He was halted by a kick that sent him on to his back. Ed could see the Chopper standing above with a sick triumphant grin on his face. Ed gritted his teeth and turned to his automail hand. Although the blade on his hand had been mostly severed, there was still a really sharp tip left. Glancing back up he saw the Chopper had the knife raised, preparing to stab him again.
"I'll tell you the same thing that I told Winry. This is only going to hurt a lot." He chuckled before bringing the knife down fast, aiming for Ed's flesh arm. This time Ed was able to roll out of the way, just barely dodging the knife as it impaled the ground. The Chopper was now hunched over the ground, only inches away from him. Seeing an opportunity, Ed lifted his automail and plunged what remained of his automail blade into the killer's side.
A strangled gasp left the Chopper's lips as the blade pierced his side; about six inches below his left armpit. Ed twisted his arm as blood began to run down the metal limb. Barry made a choking sound before gripping the automail limb. With a cry that could only be described as animalistic, he wrenched the blade out of him. This action almost caused the killer to lose his balance; leaving him wide open.
Moving quickly Ed kicked his automail foot out, knocking Barry off of his feet. As the Chopper fell to the ground Ed was finally able to clap his hands. He slapped them together then brought his hands to the ground, causing alchemic sparks to fill the air. The Chopper tried to angle his body away from the oncoming spike, but it pierced him through his shoulder.
The serial killer let out a hiss as the rock cut through his skin. He was now partly suspended above the ground by the spike in his shoulder. With a pained grunt the Chopper gripped the spike and began attempting to wrench himself free.
Ed painfully pushed himself up into a sitting position, one of his hands went to lower stomach. There he felt warm liquid flowing over his fingers. 'God Dammit!' He thought as a shudder went through his body. 'This is not good. I'm losing this fight. He's gotten me three times already. I don't know if I can keep...Wait! Where's Winry!'
Due to the confusion of the last few moments, Ed hadn't seen her. The last thing he remembered was holding her before the Chopper threw the knife into him. After that the two of them had fallen and-
'There she is!'
Ed spotted Winry laying several feet away, sprawled face down on the ground. Her body was motionless and she appeared to be unconscious. It was hard to tell in the darkness but she appeared to be breathing. Ed wanted nothing more than to run over to Winry and take her in his arms, but this fight wasn't over. Reluctantly turning away from her, Ed focused back on the Chopper. Barry had hacked his way through the rock and pulled out the piece inside of him. With a growl the Chopper tossed the sharpened rock aside and turned towards Ed.
Ed brought his hands together, only wincing slightly from the pain of his various stab wounds. When his hands collided however, he heard a crack. Time seemed to slow down as several joints fell out of the automail. As they fell, the top half of the arm went as well, leaving it dangling by wires. Ed was so preoccupied by his automail breaking that he didn't see Barry charging him. The force of the Chopper crashing into Ed knocked him off his feet. Ed flew back and fell down a small rocky ravine.
Ed tumbled down the hillside, unable to stop himself. He felt every thud. Everytime he collided against the ground or bounced off a rock it was like another stab wound. Although the fall was only seconds, it felt like minutes for him. Eventually Ed stopped rolling and came to a stop at the bottom, bruised and bloody.
Back up the hill, Barry chuckled. This chuckle turned into a gagging cough as he spit out a mouthful of blood. His hacking cough forced him to his knees as the wounds in his chest dripped into the desert floor. His hand moved up towards the wound. It was more towards the center of his chest than his shoulder. The wound beneath his armpit was bleeding heavily as well.
Pushing himself up the Chopper slowly made his way down the slope. Fullmetal was laying at the bottom, the fight seemingly out of him. Barry stumbled as he walked, his breaths coming out labored. One step caused the dirt under him to give way and he found himself sliding down the hill as well. Only he was sliding down on his back, while Ed had been a violent tumble. When Barry reached the bottom he came to a stop near Ed. From his position on the ground Barry could see the sky above him. It was a perfectly clear sky. No trace whatsoever of the bad weather of the previous days.
"That's a pretty sight, wouldn't you say Edward?" Barry turned his head to look at the young alchemist.
Ed had come out of his daze and was attempting to push himself up. Without a word Barry swung the special blade, cutting off Ed's automail at the port. Without any support from his right side, Ed fell back to the hard ground. Barry gave a tired sigh and turned to look back at the stars.
"Very pretty sight." He said almost wistfully. "A person could die looking at this and be just fine with that."
A few moments of silence passed after that, until Barry started laughing. It started as a quiet laugh, nothing more than a chuckle. It grew from there until the point where he was throwing his head back with mad laughter. Ed merely laid there watching the Chopper through heavy eyes; too weak to move.
Still laughing Barry sat up and kicked Ed over. Ed was pushed onto his back so that he could also look up at the sky. Barry then climbed on top of him, straddling the tired alchemist. Barry gave a grin as he stared at his exhausted opponent. Ed's left eye was swollen shut from hitting it against a rock, but his right was unobstructed. His flesh arm moved up to grasp Barry by the throat. Barry caught this, however, and tossed Ed's hand to the side.
"This has been a fun night, hasn't it?" Barry questioned.
Ed said nothing and spot a mouthful of blood in his opponent's face. Barry didn't react at all and continued to look down at Ed.
"You should save all the blood you can, Edward." Barry said. "It's very bad to run out of it."
This was followed by Barry coughing up some more of his own blood.
"I need to follow my own advice." Barry said with a shake of his head. "Looks like we're both spent Edward. I don't even think I have the strength to climb up that hill and carve up Winry's beautiful throat. I'll try though." With that the Chopper began to stand up.
Ed grabbed the Chopper by his sleeve, his own eyes burning with fury. "You leave her alone you fucking bastard! Don't you touch her!"
Barry looked at Ed with mock bewildered before giving a sigh. "You should really be concerned about yourself. Instead all you're worried about is Winry. After all these years, you're still trying to save her. Truly touching." Barry grabbed Ed's arm and twisted it until he released his jacket. The Chopper then brought his fist back and clocked Ed right in the face.
The back of Ed's head hit the dirt ground and for a moment he threatened to black out. Ed gasped out a breath as his vision blurred before becoming clear.
"Don't go out on me now." Barry said, one of his hands tracking to Ed's stomach. "We can finally talk."
As soon as he stopped talking, he jammed his fingers into the knife wound in Ed's chest. Ed screamed in agony as Barry twisted his digits inside the bloody wound. Ed tried thrashing and kicking, but the Chopper successfully held him down. Ed gritted his teeth and grabbed Barry's arm with his one remaining hand. He pulled on it with all his strength, but it wasn't enough.
"For two years I sat in a prison cell. No windows, no paintings, nothing; just four blank walls and a roof. When you carve up twenty two people they don't put you with other prisoners. I was alone in permanent solitary confinement. I thought I was going to lose my mind. But I didn't." Barry then ceased fingering Ed's wound and wiped his fingers on Ed's face. "The thought of you kept me sane. Thoughts about escaping, of hurting you, of watching you squirm. Don't worry you weren't alone, I thought about Winry too."
Ed could barely see, the pain was too much. His whole damn body was on fire. "Fuck you. You fucking inhuman piece of shit!" Ed growled.
"Inhuman? I'm inhuman you say?" Barry's grin was an amused one. "Why? Because I hurt other humans? Because I kill other humans? I guess to someone as ignorant as you, I would appear inhuman."
The Chopper started to laugh as if he'd just been told the funniest joke ever. Ed could only lay there, glaring at him in fury.
"But Ed, don't you see. What I do is human. I'm just as human as the next man. Think about it: we rob, maim, rape, humiliate, and kill our own kind every second of everyday. That's what I love about humanity. Killing each other is in our very blood, it is our primordial instinct Edward. We all come from different cultures, and speak different languages. But through death and killing we are all the same. Underneath the masks and false faces we're all animals! Taking life is what unites us all and yet you call me crazy? I kill therefore I am. That's what it means to be human!"
A sudden cough interrupted the Chopper's speech before a gurgling sound escaped his lips. Ed winced as warm liquid landed on his face. Barry brought one hand up to wipe at his mouth; the other hand held the knife. He then pulled his hand back to examine it, Ed could see moonlight reflecting off the blood that covered the killer's appendage.
"Such a precious thing." The Chopper murmured, staring at his hand as blood slowly dripped out of the corner of his mouth. He then gave a humorless chuckle. "You know what? I'm not ready to die just yet. I can survive these scratches. There's still more people I want to kill." It sounded like he was talking to himself rather than Edward.
Ed was having a hard time focusing, his vision kept blurring in and out. The blood loss and blows to his head were starting to get to him. 'He won't get out of here before the military shows up! At least they'll get him...Winry can survive this if he just keeps talking.'
Barry smiled as if he had just heard Ed's thoughts.
"Look at me. Rambling on and on just when it looks like I can't be beat. As I recall that's what foiled me in that butcher shop." Barry started to moved his knife's to Ed's throat.
"It's time to end this."
Ed grabbed Barry's wrist and tried his best to keep the blade away from him. He pushed back with every thing he had left, with every ounce of strength. Barry just smiled and pressed the knife down further. It was only inches away from his flesh.
"I had wanted this to last longer." Barry coughed a little. "I would have striped you of everything you had."
The strain was starting to get to much for Ed. He grunted as he tried to fight back; to keep the knife away. But it wasn't enough. His arm wouldn't hold out much longer!
The knife was only centimeters away now; get closer, closer…
"Hey asshole!"
"Huh?"
The shout was followed by the sounds of clumsy steps and scattering pebbles. Barry stopped pressing the blade down and quickly turned his head towards the source of the sound. The Chopper's change in position allowed Ed to see what, or more like who was making the noises. He gasped at what he saw.
It was Winry!
She was stumbling down the hillside, Ed's red coat flowing around her.
"Leave him alone!" Winry shouted as she came to a stop near the base of the hill. Her left arm was pulled back as if she was going to throw a baseball. Whatever was in her hand gleamed in the moonlight. With a huff she threw the metal object in her hand. The shining object spun in the air as it quickly came towards them. Barry tried to move his head but the metal object sliced across his face, carving a red line from the right side of his jaw to his left ear. The metal object stuck into the ground, revealing itself to be the knife that Barry had dropped earlier.
Barry growled in pain, one of his hands coming up to bleeding face. Ed felt the pressure of the knife lessen against his throat. Seizing this opportunity Ed bit down on the hand holding the knife. Barry yelped as Ed drew blood. Moving fast, Ed's left arm reached out and grabbed for his broken automail. His hand quickly wrapped around the metal limb. Ed's teeth bit down one last time, causing Barry to drop the knife. With that out of the way, Ed swung the metal arm like a club as hard as he could. Right at the Chopper's head.
Crack!
Barry's jaw broke under the force of the metal crashing into his face. It also knocked him off of Ed completely and onto the hard desert ground.
Ed sucked in a breath as the Chopper's weight was taken off of him. That final swing was the last strength that he had in him. He curled into his side as the sound of hurried footsteps came closer to him before kneeling down.
"Ed!"
Ed felt hands grabbing him and propping his body up. His eyes cracked open to see beautiful pools of azure blue looking down upon him. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared down at him; worry etched all over her face.
"Ed can you hear me?" Winry cried. Now her eyes were getting misty. Soon Ed's vision cleared and he could see more than just Winry's eyes. He could see her face, her perfect face. Despite the bruises and the cuts, she still looked as beautiful as ever to him. But now with the moonlight illuminating her like that, it stole his breath away. Ed was literally shaken out of his daze by Winry's hands on his shoulders.
"Ed?!" Winry cried again, her voice even more worried by the lack of response.
Before Ed could answer, they heard a quiet groan from the side. Winry glanced over and saw the Chopper laying there unconscious. Her face darkening, she grabbed the knife that she had thrown. She was about to move when she felt Ed's hand on her arm.
"Winry don't." He said weakly.
"What?" Winry asked incredulously.
"Don't kill him." Ed winced in pain.
Winry looked at him like he was crazy. "He has to die Ed. After everything he's done to us, he has to die."
"Not like this." Ed moved his hand to take the knife out of her hand. She resisted at first but eventually allowed the metal to slide from her hand.
"Hand me that stick." Ed pointed to a small twig close to them. Winry reached over and grabbed it. She handed it to Ed who rolled onto his stomach. Ed started carving into the dirt with the twig. As he did this Winry took in the state of Ed's injuries.
"Ed…" She whispered her hand reaching out and touching his bloodstained shirt. She brought it back and gasped at how red her hand was. 'He's lost so much blood.'
"Ed...you're hurt." Her voice came out as a whisper. 'I'm sorry.'
Winry knew that she had to stop the bleeding. Grabbing the red coat around her, she began ripping it like Ed had done earlier for her. While she started to tear strips from the coat, Ed finished the circle he had drawn. He weakly slapped his hand against the transmutation circle before it fell down limp. Bright sparks went up around the Chopper as a small pillars rose out of the ground. Soon a small cage formed around him. The bars were two inches thick and made of pure stone.
'Good luck getting out of there, bastard.'
Ed rested his head against the dirt, seemingly unaware of Winry removing his shirt. She needed to get a look at his injuries. Winry pulled the black fabric off of Ed before gasping at what she saw. Although it was dark out, the moonlight still illuminated the dark stains of blood covering Ed chest. He was hurt, bad; hurt trying to save her. Tears were forming in her eyes again. Ed was hurt because of her, he had fought for her!
'Get a hold of yourself! He needs me!'
With slightly shaking hands she grabbed the strips of red fabric. She then wrapped two long strips around his back and his stomach wound. She then tied them tightly to try and prevent any more blood loss. Once Ed's serious injuries were taken care of, Winry then used the lasts strips to wrap the cut on his shoulder and the gash on his head. When she was done, she barely had any coat left to wear. Winry then gently moved Ed until his head rested on her lap. She then looked him over and was satisfied that her bandages would hold. Once she was done Winry sat back and gave a sigh of relief. She almost jumped when Ed's hand reached up and touched her cheek. Winry glanced down to see him looking up at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked with concern.
Winry's jaw dropped before a weak smile formed. "You stupid, brave idiot." She sighed. Why was he always so selfless?
Ed suddenly gave a small groan of pain and shifted in her lap.
"Oh Ed...We need to get you help." Winry reached under Ed's shoulder to get some leverage on him.
"We just need to get to the road." Ed said pointing to the slope above them. "Paninya's coming with help soon. If we get on the road, they'll see us."
"Then let's go." Winry helped Ed sit up. Ed winced at the movement, but sucked it up as he stood up on his legs. Leaning against Winry, the two of them made their way towards the hill. The Chopper lay in his cage unconscious.
Ed's wounds were burning, every step hurt. But he kept moving, forcing himself to keep going. they had to get to the top of the hill; they weren't out of this yet. He tried to not put too much weight on Winry as she herself was injured as well. But her grip on Ed only tightened as she helped him up the hillside. It was difficult and slow, Winry could only support him with one arm as her other was too injured. They stumbled over rocks and almost lost their balance on the sliding pebbles. Yet the two of them refused to stop pushing forward.
"Come on Ed, we're almost there." Winry said through heavy breaths. "Just a little further."
"Who are you calling little?" Ed said with a chuckle, Winry resisted the urge to slap him.
"I'd hit you right now, but I'm worried it might finish you off." Winry muttered.
"Try and wait until help arrives." Ed grunted. "At least then you'd be safe."
Winry stopped walking to look at Ed. She saw him staring back at her with a hint of reverence in his eyes. She stared back for a few moments before she looked back ahead of her, a blush forming on her cheeks.
After a few steps, Ed winced and stumbled. Winry had to wrap her bad arm around him, causing her to give a small cry.
Ed's heart dropped at the pained sound she made. Glancing over, he saw that she was sweating like crazy. Her breaths were coming out in labored pants. Every step she took looked as if it hurt like hell.
"Just drop me." Ed said, panting. "I'm just slowing you down."
"Are you nuts? No way in hell Ed!"
"Please Winry, I don't know if I'm-"
"Hey shut up with that!" Winry said, her face scrunching up with anger. "You're not going to die, so don't say things like that."
Winry stopped berating him when she saw the look of pain on his face. She then looped his left arm around her shoulder; taking the brunt of his weight.
"Come on."
Several minutes passed before they finally reached the summit, both of them toppling over onto the road. Ed groaned and rolled onto his side to avoid further stressing his wounds. He lay there panting for several moments before he heard Winry crawling over to him. He turned his head just as she wrapped her arm around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Winry?"
"Thank you." She whispered tearfully. "Thank you Ed."
Ed turned his head so that he was looking her in the eyes. "You don't have to thank me Winry. I'd…I'd do anything for you. I mean it."
Once again Winry felt a blush on her cheeks. She glanced away so he wouldn't see, not that it mattered since it was dark. As she stared off into the distance, her eyes traveled to the bottom of the hill. Winry frowned deeply and sat up so that she good see Ed's face better.
"Why?" She asked quietly as she looked down at him. "Why did you stop me?"
Ed's hand went to her left hand, which he gripped. "I wanted to kill him too. I know he deserved it and I know he hurt you Winry. But if you, or I, had killed him…" He said, looking straight into her eyes. "We would have proven him right."
Winry's brow creased slightly in confusion but decided to go more in depth with Ed about this at a later time. At least the Chopper had been taken care of and they were safe.
A flash of light in the distance caught their attention. The two teenagers both turned to look at the direction that it had come from. They could still see the light, turning and moving, as if someone was waving a flashlight around.
"What is it?" Ed asked, trying to stand up only to be pushed down by Winry. Ed grunted but allowed himself to be laid down. Winry held his hand and stood up.
Winry squinted to look in the distance. The lights, for now there were more, continued to move around until two bright beans came over a hill.
Winry smiled and gave Ed's hand a squeeze.
"We're going to be okay Ed."
OoO
OoO
Yay, they're safe!
Ok, so the same warning from the last author's note applies to this one. I do plan to release a final chapter for this story, but it may take quite a while for that. I hope you've all enjoyed this story so far and please review.