Silent Song

Chapter 8: To Help Another


Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own the original content.


The sound of dogs barking in the distance awoke me from my slumber. I opened my eyes and blinked the bleariness out of my sight. When my vision cleared, I saw that I was in an unfamiliar room.
I sat up, glancing around the space. It was small; a twin bed pushed against the wall with a side table and a window were the furniture in the room. My bag sat in corner.

Yawning, I stretched out my muscles. My legs were sore from yesterday's running around. I slowly stood up, arching my back. It made a cracking noise and the stiffness went away. I kicked my leg over my head, onto the wall. I leaned into it, feeling the muscles burn.

I repeated process to my other leg. When I was done, I finally noticed my attire. I was still wearing my dress from the day before. It was wrinkled from me sleeping in it. My cloak was draped over the bed, and my bandanna sat on the side table. I didn't remember much from the night before-only what had happened with the impostors and Belsio letting us stay with him-, so I assumed that I had been too tired to properly get undressed.

I dug through my belongings, taking note that I needed to do laundry. After picking out a clean set of undergarments and a dress, I grabbed my toiletries and tied on my bandanna. I slowly opened the door. The sun had only risen a little, so I was guessing everyone else was asleep. A quick peek around the house told me so.

I finally found the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The bathroom had a shower, along with a sink and toilet. A mirror that swung open to reveal a cabinet sat above the sink. It looked relatively clean, considering only one person used it.

I undressed and stepped into the shower, shivering at the water as it heated up. I scrubbed at my hair, taming the snarls that had formed while I slept. The floral scent of the soap calmed me. It reminded me of a calmer time in my life. It was the same scent I had used for most of my life: peonies.

I showered quickly, not wanting to waste the hot water. I dried myself off and then got dressed. I let my hair stay loose, since it was still early and would dry faster that way.

After putting my belongings back in the room, I rummaged through the kitchen. It was well stocked; more than enough to feed one person. A bowl of lemons sat in the table. They were ripe and I could smell their citrusy scent.

Inspired, I heated up the oven and took out flour, sugar, milk, and some other ingredients. I stirred them together in a bowl, before adding in some freshly squeezed lemon juice. This made a thick muffin batter. After checking a few drawers, I found a muffin pan. In a grown man's home.

Some people never ceased to amaze me.

I rubbed oil over the pan, and then scooped the batter into it. I checked to see if the oven was done preheating. It was, so I put the muffins in and set up a timer.

While I was waiting for the muffins, I washed the dishes. Not that I had made a mess if the kitchen, but it looked like it needed organizing. The cooking had taken my mind off what had happened the day before, but washing dishes didn't distract me as much.

It was odd, how someone could so easily impersonate Edward and Alphonse. Most people had already heard about the characteristics of the brothers: the older one had a bad temper and the younger one wore a suit of armor. Not mention that a state alchemist would have the pocket watch for identification. The town didn't look too rural that they didn't know what it was.

I was so deep in thought; I didn't notice someone else enter the room. "Good morning."

I jumped and whirled around, ready to fight. It was Belsio. I calmed down when I saw who it was.

He put up his hands. "No need to get worked up. Are the boys up yet?"

I shook my head, returning to my cleaning. I finished up and dried the dishes using a towel. After setting the dishes back in the cabinets, I checked the timer. Belsio took a peek in the oven. "Are those muffins?"

I nodded. He stared at me, as if waiting for me say more. It was one of those awkward moments when someone hadn't figured out I was mute. I pointed to my throat and shook my head. His gaze softened. "What kind of muffins are they?"

I gestured toward the lemons in the table. He picked one up and said, "It's a shame that all the lemon farms closed down. God knows how much they could help us now."

I tilted my head in confusion. He continued. "Everyone got obsessed with the gold, so they spent all their time mining it. But eventually, the gold dried up. They refused to let it go, and they found someone who could make a Philosopher's Stone to produce more." He shook his head sadly. "I tried to tell them to let go of the past, but they don't want to."

The aura in the room dimmed. Sometimes, the last was the hardest to let go of. The past was familiar, comforting. But if one never truly moved on from it, they would never be able to go forward. It was a fatal flaw that so many people had.

The loud "ding" of the timer jolted me out of my thoughts. I grabbed a pair of oven mitts and took out the muffins. Then, I placed the pan onto the cooling rack I had set up. They smelled wonderful.

The muffins were still too hot to eat, but they cooled down fast. I waited a few minutes, absent-mindedly playing with my hair, and then eased one muffin out of the pan. I broke it in half, offering one to Belsio. He took it with a nod of his head, and popped it in his mouth.

"It's good," he said, after trying it. I followed suite. "Looks like you have a knack for cooking."

I smiled proudly at his praise. Most people complimented me on my cooking, yet I still felt pride whenever they did.

The door swung open. "Good morning, Uncle Belsio."

It was Elisa. Belsio stood up. "If your father finds you here, he won't be happy."

She stepped into the kitchen and shook her head. "Not to worry. Daddy's too wrapped up in talk about the gold mine to even notice."

Her eyes landed on me. "Are you the girl with those alchemists yesterday?" I nodded to answer her question. "You shouldn't wear that hood. You're pretty."

I flushed at her compliment. Not sure what else to do, I offered her a muffin. She accepted it happily and started munching in it.

"Good morning." I heard from behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know that the Elric's had woken up.

"Hey," Elisa skipped over to them. "It's the make-believe Elric brothers."

I glanced over to find Edward's cheek swollen up, red with irritation. Elisa pointed at it. "That must hurt. Did somebody hit you because you were telling lies again?"

Edward yawned and then glared at the girl. "I'm telling you, we're not the impostors here, kid. But I did get clocked by one of them."

He looked up at me and I threw a muffin at him. He caught it, staring curiously at the pastry. His stomach growled.

"Wait," Elisa cried. "You don't mean you were the ones who snuck into Mugear's mansion last night, do you, pretend brothers?"

"Of course we did," Edward snapped at her. He took a bite of the muffin, speaking with his mouth full. I sighed. His manners were atrocious. "We couldn't just let those phonies run off with our names. Besides, it's a major crime to use a Philosopher's Stone to make gold. You're going down."

After finishing his rant, Ed shoved the rest of the muffin into his mouth. He chewed furiously.

Al set his hand in his brother's shoulder. "Brother."

Elisa was staring at the floor with a disappointed expression. Her bubbliness had dissipated, leaving her to face the harsh reality. I was guessing that she didn't know how much of a crime it was to transmute gold. The small town didn't have any alchemists, so they must not have learned that law. They never thought they would run out of gold.

Edward rushed past Elisa. "I'm going to see what I can find out in town.

He ran out the door, only stopping to grab a few more muffins.

"Brother!" Al reached out for him, but he was gone. Alphonse sighed.

"Hey, big guy." Belsio said suddenly.

Al perked up. "Yes?"

"How would you like to run down to the pharmacy for me today?"

"What do you need?"

"Elisa needs her medicine," Belsio stopped to think for a second. "And your brother? He could probably use a cold compress."

"Okay," Al agreed. He glanced at me. "Lark, do you want to come?"

I shook my head and mimed cleaning something. We had been traveling for a few days, and I suspected Edward needed some clean clothing, so I planned to do laundry. Though the gesture was general, Al didn't ask any further questions. Belsio handed him some money, and he was off.

Elisa cheered up again after a few minutes, chattering about a variety of things. Belsio and I listened, him asking questions and making remarks every once in a while. The two of them has a comfortable relationship. From what I had seen, there weren't many children around her age in the town, so she must have spent a lot of time with her uncle.

When breakfast was done, Belsio headed off to work in his lemon grove and Elisa went home. I cleared the table, nothing else to do. Belsio had offered to do it himself, but I had managed to shoo him off. Now, the house was silent, the only sound being the rushing water.

I finished washing the dishes, and dried my hands. Though I didn't really have to: I was planning on doing my laundry next. Underneath the kitchen cabinet, I found the tub used for washing clothes. I hauled it around, looking for soiled articles. The boys didn't pack much, with Alphonse having armor as a body. However, the clothes Edward wore were filthy. They reeked of sweat, and were covered in dirt.

I threw them inside the tub, being careful not to inhale. I gathered up my clothes, some soap, and dragged the tub outside. It was then filled with cold water from a faucet, followed by soap. Floral scented bubbles formed in the water. I scrubbed the clothing and rinsed them out, and then refilled the water to repeat the process, until the water became clear. I dumped out the rest of the water, leaving only the freshly cleaned garments inside the tub. The clothesline was already set up, so all I had to do was hang up the wet cloth. I carefully wrung out the water from a shirt, and then snapped my wrists to smooth out the wrinkles.

I hung them up to dry using clothespins, pinning them so the wind wouldn't blow them away. The sun shined like a fire from the cloudless sky, making me strip off my jacket. I tied it around my waist, and then wiped my brow with my bandana.

The last article of clothing was my cloak. It had been covered with grass stains and dust, so I decided to wash it. I pinned one end of it to the clothesline, and then realized there were no more clothespins. I let the cloak hang on one side, looking for another clothespin. The wind picked up, blowing my hair in my face. As I used my fingers to brush it away, I heard a loud whooshing sound. I turned back to see the cloak flying off towards the woodland.

I cursed inwardly, set the bucket down, and chased after the runaway garment. Hopping over roots, I ran into the forest. The cloak had settled onto a tree across a river. I came to a stop a few feet from the river. The river came down from a waterfall at the side of the mountain, from a hidden source. I walked around the area, looking for a crossing.

After searching for a few minutes, I found a collapsed tree. The tree had fallen across the width of the river, stretching from one end to the other. I hoisted myself onto it, taking a few experimental steps across it. When it didn't move, I scuttled over the trunk, onto the other side.

The cloak was stuck on a branch at the top of the tree. I circled it impatiently, looking for a branch low enough for me to climb. The lowest one was about two feet above me; I could have reached it if I took a running jump. So I did just that.

I grasped onto the rough bark, feet scrabbling on the trunk. I managed to pull myself onto the branch, hands raw from the bark rubbing against them. The branch held steady under the weight, not that surprising, due to my light frame.

Slowly, I began ascending the tree. I flipped myself onto nearby branches, stretching to grab ones further away. I had climbed many trees in my childhood, despite living near a desert. Percole had been an oasis, a good place to settle down. However, compared to the trees there, the one I was currently on was taller. Not that I minded; I wasn't afraid of heights.

My mind went blank as I scaled the tree, only focusing on which branches to grab. I barely noticed that I had made my way to the top, right next to the cloak. It fluttered like a flag, large and grand. I picked it up, being careful not to snag a hole in it, and began making my way down. When I got to the lowest branch, I jumped off of it, rolling my body so I wouldn't hurt myself.

As I brushed myself off, a thought came to me: I could have used alchemy.

I punched the tree in self-anger, clutching my hand back when the impact injured my knuckles. I immediately regretted my action. It seemed as if everything that day wanted to mess with me.

I neared the river, needing the water to clean the scratches. As I got closer, I noticed a strange smell coming from it. I scrambled to the edge of river, finding that the water was tinted red. Almost like I was in a trance, my uninjured hand reached out to touch the water.

"Hey! Stop!"

I snapped out of my haze. The voice had come from behind me. It was familiar, yet I couldn't place it. However, when I saw the person that the voice belonged to, I instantly recognized him.

It was the taller blond impostor from the day before.

He was about a yard away from me, but he was running towards me. I remained frozen with panic even as he snatched my hand away from the water. "Don't touch the water: it's poisonous!"

He spun around to face him. His voice softened. "Hey, I didn't mean to scare you. But that water is dangerous."

It struck me that he didn't recognize me. I remembered that I had been wearing a cloak when I broke into his lab, the same cloak I had just saved. I tucked the cloak under my arm, and then cocked my head at his warning.

He released my hand and stepped back. "It has some byproducts from our experiments." He extended his hand toward me. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm Edward."

Pushing down the urge to slap him for using Ed's name, I tentatively smiled at him and shook his hand. I winced when the movement caused pain to radiate up my arm. He saw my expression and inspected my hand. He took out something red, still holding my hand. "Stay still for a second."

I did what he told me, curious to see what he was going to do. The item glowed, and I felt the skin mending itself. I took in a quick breath, realizing that it was the stone he had used the night before. "Edward" let go of my hand, and I flexed it, stretching out the stiff joints. I inclined my head towards him, a silent "Thank you".

He nodded, as if waiting for me to say something. I pointed to my throat and shook my head, hoping he got the hint. He stared at me in confusion, but a moment later, his eyes lit up with understanding.

The blond haired boy remained silent for a few seconds, and then he dug through his pockets, searching for something. He held out his hand, a crumpled piece of paper and a pen in it. "Can you write?"

I took the paper and pen, smoothed out the wrinkled sheet, and wrote: "Of course I can. My name is Lark. I'm new here." I didn't feel like lying about my name, nor did I expect myself to stay there for long. I showed him the writing, and he said, "It's nice to meet you, Lark. What are you doing out here alone?"

"My laundry ran away from me." I wrote. He read it and laughed. Despite he had stolen my friend's identity; I could feel myself warming up to him.

"Well," he chuckled. "Do you need to find a way out of the forest?"

Only after he had mentioned it, I noticed that I had absolutely no idea where I was. I had been too busy chasing after the cloak to figure out where I was. I nodded my head gratefully.

"Ed" turned to the riverbank and set his hand on the ground. A large area of light glowed beneath the water, followed by a bridge rising out of the river. My eyes widened, but other than that, I showed no signs of surprise. He looked back at me, and held out his arm. It was an odd gesture, but I looped my arm through his.

We crossed the bridge, and he led me through the forest. Once in a while, he would point out a plant or animal to me. If it hadn't occurred to me before, it certainly became clear to me now: he was trying to impress me.

It wasn't as if a boy hadn't flirted with me before. It was just that I usually brushed it off. Back in Percole, I would be too busy to pay attention. They would eventually take the hint and stop. However, this time, I was in close proximity with the boy. The impostor wasn't that bad looking either. He was taller than me; with a long swoosh of hair, and mysterious eyes.

I blushed a little bit when I realized I had been staring at him. I wasn't interested, but I did know what attractive looked like.

We were able to find our way back to town, a little ways away from Belsio's backyard. It was fine with me. Xenotime was a small town; the impostors probably had already heard about the real Elric's staying at Belsio's. The boy beside me slipped his arm out of mine and asked me: "Can you find your way back?"

I dipped my head in a nod. "Edward" continued. "Well, I have to find my brother. We have some things to do." He started walking away. "I hope we can see each other soon." With a wink, he was on his way.

I felt my lips tug up in a smile. Impostor or not, this guy was definitely smoother than Edward Elric.


After finishing my laundry, I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for food and picking up supplies. Since I had a hood over my face the day before, none of the villagers recognized me. By the time I got back to Belsio's house, the brothers were already there. Right when I came in through the front door, Ed stomped up to me and said, "There's something we need to talk about."

I couldn't help but think that he had seen me with his impersonator. I studied the boy's face, and found no anger in his expression. So he didn't see.

Holding up my groceries in front of me, I moved past Edward, towards the kitchen. He followed me impatiently, waiting until I had closed the cabinets. Then, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to his room, where Alphonse was. He deposited me next to Al on the bed, checked the hallway, and shut the door.

"Hi, Lark," Al greeted me cheerfully, with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "How was your day?"

I ignored the skittish aura around him and shrugged indifferently. Edward came to stand in front of us. "Now's not the time for small talk."

I raised a brow at him, questioning his military-style tone. He coughed a little bit, and settled back into his normal way of speaking. "Today, around town, that impostor was fixing everybody's tools and transmuting wheels."

Confusion clouded my face. However, Ed's next statement explained it all. "The thing is; he wasn't obeying the law of equivalent exchange. He was creating materials out of nothing."

A smirk found its' way onto his face. "Tonight, we're going to sneak in again."

I frantically scribbled in a piece of paper I found in the room. Al read it for me. "'Isn't it too soon?'"

"Exactly," Edward replied. "They won't be expecting us."

I didn't complain. How could I? With his devious grin, he didn't look like a person to be argued with.

That night, after the lights in the house went out, Ed, Al, and I snuck out the back door, and up the mountain. We managed to find our way back to Mugear's mansion, and while the guards weren't looking, we made our way across his yard.

Edward popped his head out from the side of the building. He glanced around, searching for anyone who could see us. Compared to the night before, security had definitely tightened around the place.

He turned to face us. "Tonight, we're going to try operation Mole Hole."

"Mole Hole?" Alphonse asked, bewildered by the "operation".

To answer his question, Edward transmuted a hole in ground. He jumped in, gesturing for us to get in as well.

"Um, you first, Lark." Alphonse said awkwardly, disconcerted with his brother's odd plans. Though I was as well, I leapt into the hole.

I landed on my feet, shoes sinking into the soft dirt. Edward had already made a tunnel, but I had to crawl to move around.

"This way," he whispered, holding a lamp. "Just follow the tunnel."

I gritted my teeth, and started inching along in my hands and knees. I made a mental note to myself to get clothes more designed for moving around when I got to East City. The dress I was wearing wouldn't show my undergarments if I bent down, but it did drag along the dirt.

A metallic thump from behind told me that Alphonse had joined the party. I whistled quietly for him to go in the tunnel. He started crawling as well, armor emitting clunks and clangs.

The tunnel started moving upwards, causing me to have to dig into the dirt to keep from slipping. This only furthered the fact that I would have to do more laundry the next day. At a certain point, Edward stopped and declared: "By my calculations, we should be at the center of the mansions right now."

"Are you sure?" Al called from behind me.

"No," Ed admitted. "But we got to come out somewhere."

With a flash of blue light, an opening appeared at the end.

"We're in!" Edward exclaimed. He set the lantern down and hauled himself up. I did the same with ease, but ended up having to expand the hole so Al could go through. We struggled for a few moments, trying to not make any noise, but in the end, he made it to the surface.

I slumped against the wall, panting for breath. I felt a little light headed, but I did get a good look at where we came up. We had resurfaced in the middle of a tunnel, the end of it a few yards away. A steam of red water ran through one side, the yet was pavement. The air was heavy, and smelled familiar.

"What is this?" Al took a glance around.

Edward was studying the red water. "So, that's their plan. I think this is the chemical used to produce the red stone."

"What red stone?" Alphonse asked.

"I remember reading something about it in the library in Central," Edward replied. "It's a theoretical solid pumped full of alchemical catalysts. You put this red water under a few mega tons of pressure, and it turns to stone."

"The Philosopher's Stone?"

"No, more like a cheap imitation. I think, some alchemist named Nash or something was researching the red stone. But in the end, it never panned out." Edward finished his sentence, and started coughing.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried, alarmed by the hacking.

I had heard about the red stone in my parents journals. However, according to their research, the red stone had been made, but they had drastic side effects. My eyes widened.

The red water emitted a toxic gas. If someone breathed in too much of it; they would die.

"I'm having trouble breathing..." Edward fainted.

Al caught him, shaking his shoulders. "Brother! Brother!"

He turned towards me. Something in my mind flashed. Red smoke. A dark hallway. People yelling. I staggered around, searching for the wall. The poison was starting to have its effect on me, causing me to have hallucinations. I quickly pulled my handkerchief over my face to prevent more toxins from entering my body.

"Lark!" Al cried when he saw me get unsteady. "Are you okay?"

"This way!" someone called. A figure stood in the doorway at the end of the hall.

"Who's there?"

"It's me. Come on! Hurry!"

"Fletcher." Alphonse mumbled before scooping Edward and me up in his arms, and ran toward the light.

The opening led to another room. Our savior shut the door after us, and then locked it. He turned to face us. Despite the mask covering half his face, I could tell it was the other impostor from the day before, the younger one. Ed's impersonator had called him his brother. Alphonse had called him Fletcher.

The boy ran to a table beside us, and started rifling through the contents in it. He grabbed two vials off the top, uncorking them as he came back. He handed one to me, then one to Al. I gulped it down without question, trusting that the little boy wouldn't poison me any further. Al tipped Ed's head back, and poured the contents down his throat.

Edward sputtered a bit, but didn't wake. After a few moments, color returned to his face, and his breathing cleared. I calmed my breathing, but still remained dizzy. I looked back and forth between Al and the little boy, wondering what their relationship was.

Alphonse saw my bewildered expression and explained. "Lark, this is Fletcher. We talked this morning when I went to get Elisa's medicine."

Fletcher tipped his head. "I'm sorry for all the trouble Brother and I caused you."

"He and his brother just wanted to continue their father's research," I shot the little boy a sympathizing glance. "He spent his entire life in it."

A groan sounded from Al's lap. We all leaned over, seeing that Edward was stirring.

"Brother, are you alright?"

"Huh," Ed blinked hard. "Where-where am I, Al?" His eyes focused on the person beside us. "And what the hell is he doing here?!"

Fletcher backed away, whimpering under the waking boy's glare. "I'm sorry..."

"What are you sorry about?" Ed demanded, still disoriented. "What did you do?"

"No, Fletcher," Al spoke quietly to his impostor. "It's what you didn't do, isn't it? If you know something, tell us. I have a feeling you don't like what's going on here."

Fletcher stared down at the floor, not saying a word. Shame and guilt rolled off of him in waves. I wanted to comfort the small boy, but I didn't know what he did.

When he finally spoke he said: "The red water you saw, it's a toxic substance that's been polluting the whole town." I flashed back to the red tint in the water. It must have been the red water mixed into the stream water. I had no idea that it had gotten into the water supply of the town. "But it's the vital ingredient in creating the red stone."

"Is that why the people of Xenotime have been coughing so badly all the time?" Al questioned.

"I'm so sorry!" Fletcher burst into tears. His little body shook with the burdens he carried. I rubbed his back, hoping I could calm him down.

Ed stood up and brushed himself off.

"First things first," he declared unsympathetically. "Let's demolish this lab."

"I can't let you do that after we finally created a red stone." A familiar voice rang out across the room. We all whirled around, only to find Edward's impersonator standing by the main door. In his hand, he held the red stone. "My father gave everything he had to do this, Mr. Elric. If you think I'm going to give up now, you're quite mistaken."

His eyes flickered over my face, surprise coating his features. "You're the girl from earlier today! You're with them?" A realization passed over him. "You were the person in the cloak yesterday!"

"We can talk about that another time," Edward snarled. "So you care that much about a piece of lame costume jewelry?"

Wordlessly, the impostor pocketed his stone and placed his hand on the desktop lamp beside him. There was a flash of light, and the lamp became a jet-black sword.

Ed smirked. "Ha! A fake sword from a fake Stone, huh? I think I can top that."

That said, he clapped his hands together. He put his hand in his right arm, the automail one, and the top of it became a blade that expanded past his hand. Edward charged at his opponent, yelling furiously.

The other boy was just as quick, blocking the blow with his sword. They struggled for a few moments, until a crack appeared on the impostor's blade. Edward saw, and his eyes lit up with the promise of victory. "Mine's the genuine article."

Before the sword could completely break off, the fraud kneed him in the stomach. Using the momentum, Edward flew back towards us, landing neatly on his feet. While he did that, the imitator created a hose out of the door.

Ed ogled at it. "What the-?"

"Red water straight from the tap," the other boy said maliciously. "If you're doused with it, you're a goner. You'll lose a lot more than your consciousness."

"Fine. Let it rain." With another clap, Edward transmuted his automail arm into a mini-umbrella.

The impersonator twisted the knob, and red water gushed out of the hose. He directed it toward Ed, causing the water to splash all over the area. The umbrella blocked the rush, but I flinched back. It was getting out of control!

"Ed, this is crazy!" Al cried. I agreed with him. Unfortunately, with the way things were going, I wouldn't be able to jump in and save him.

"Your brother's right. Just go and you can live."

"Never. I'm not giving up to some naive kid who's desperate to be just like Daddy."

The masquerader gritted his teeth. Growling, he turned up the pressure of the water. The force of it pushed Edward back. Even more water spilled all over the floor. I backed away from the growing puddle of toxins.

Finally, the ground had become too slippery, and Edward lost his footing. I watched in horror as his body started plummeting towards the poison covered floor.

Before anybody else could react, Fletcher pushed the falling boy out of the way. Ed landed on his back, not touching the red water. But the damage was done. Fletcher had taken the brunt of the blow. He was completely drenched in the toxins.

Alphonse rushed over to the fallen boy's aside. His hollow body was impervious to the red water. "Fletcher! Fletcher, hang in there!"

The smaller child looked at his brother, face contorted in pain. "Brother, the reason Dad wanted to create the red stone was to bring happiness to people, and make their lives better. But what we've been doing here, it's actually making people suffer, hasn't it?" The older boy stared at the floor. "Don't you see the cost of forging that stone? It doesn't matter who gets the credit anymore. Because this isn't..." He paused for a moment, stumbling over his words. "Because Dad would be ashamed of what we've done."

Everybody stayed frozen in place, processing what Fletcher had just said. It was as if we had finally awoken from a dream.

Then, a piercing siren sounded out.


Okay. now we are back on track. I hope you guys liked the Winter special. Sorry it took a lot of time to get it online. The site wouldn't let me log in, so I couldn't post until they fixed it. And then the site broke again...

Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed. To those who didn't: Please do so. It would mean so much to me if you gave me feedback. There's 25 followers now, and I'm so glad that you guys are following, but it wouldn't hurt to take some time to write a review.