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Chapter seven
Melanie smiled widely at them, gesturing with her hand towards the two free chairs at the end of the table. "Well, please sit down you two."
Roy carried Ed over to the chairs, putting him carefully down on one of them, not failing to notice the winces caused by his broken ribs. He then sat himself down next to him, thankful that Melanie was sitting at the other end of the table, far away from his subordinate. She wouldn't be able to hurt him from where she was sitting.
Although you're the reason that his ribs are broken, aren't you Roy? The marks around his throat are made by your hands.
Roy felt sick with what he had done, absolutely sick. He had actually killed his subordinate with his own hands after breaking his ribs because he had beat him to a pulp. And the child had been unable to move away. How horrifying that must have been for him, Roy had no idea.
He looked down at his own knuckles for the twentieth time this morning, noticing the broken skin, the swelling, the bruising. He hadn't been pulling his punches. When he had been hallucinating or whatever the hell it was, he had been aiming to hurt the other him for killing Ed. To make him pay.
How could he not have noticed that the body was far too small? How could he have killed the one person that actually was on his side here? That didn't want to see him tortured in this way?
It took a lot for Roy to crack under torture. A hell of a lot. But hurting him through his twelve-year-old subordinate? A mere child that has seen more than enough hell already? He didn't really know how much he could take of that.
"So, I guess that introductions are in order," Melanie said, smiling as she stood up and walked over to them. Roy tensed up as she stood behind Ed. "Everyone: this lovely young boy is Edward Elric, the military's new puppy. He's not so fond of games, but he's so fun to play with. Just look." She slid her arms over his shoulders and began pressing her hands against his broken ribs, making him wince as he bit down on his lip. Roy was going to hit her soon, he just knew it.
"Aww, Ed is trying to play tough right now, so maybe it would help if I —" She began kissing the side of his face before she slowly began licking it instead. Ed reacted instantly and Roy had to say he was impressed as the boy simply grabbed her tongue in his fist and turned around towards her. "Stop it you perv," he growled.
Melanie looked shocked and incredibly stupid.
Then she meowed and bit Ed's hand, making him let go. She then grabbed his shoulders, throwing him to the floor. Ed yelped with pain. She stood on all fours above him. "You remember what I said about not liking annoying brats? Well, I suppose you didn't learn your lesson last time! Which means that we are removing some of your privileges." She dragged Ed's boxers off him and Roy panicked for a second. She wasn't really going to do that, was she? She then stood up, leaving a blushing Ed fully exposed on the floor, before she grabbed his wrist and dragged him off. Roy was on his feet, she wasn't going to do that to him, he wouldn't let her. "No worries, Roy, I'm just putting him in the freezer for an hour. Maybe it will cool him down a bit. Make him reevaluate his behaviour. Now sit down again or it will be two hours instead."
Ed looked at him, fright in his eyes, but he gestured ever so slightly back to the table with a nod. Roy did as he was told.
Melanie opened a large steel door and dragged Ed inside, leaving him on the floor and then she walked out again, closing the door behind her. She then walked up to what had to be the thermostat, and she turned the knob, probably to make Ed freeze even worse.
Roy was going to kill her.
Melanie walked over and picked up the pair of boxers and then shredded them with her nails. "Oh, well, so much for showing kindness, I guess."
Roy was boiling with anger, but didn't dare say anything. Not when he couldn't protect Ed. Not when he was at the mercy of Roy's actions.
"I'm sorry people, it seems that you won't get to see how fun Ed is. But he behaved badly so he had to go sit in the corner. Hopefully he learns his lesson."
Then Melanie came over and sat herself down on Roy's lap, putting her right arm over his shoulders. "Go on, Roy, put your arms around me, I won't bite. Seeing you hold onto Ed made me a bit envious. I want some warmth too. Or I'll just hurt your little boy some more, and Daddy Roy doesn't want that, does he?"
Roy snarled, but did as he was told, putting his arms around Melanie. Oh, how he hated her. Melanie made a purring sound and snuggled closer to him, resting her cheek against his.
"This is nice, isn't it?" she said, stroking his free cheek.
Roy just growled.
"Oh, Roy, why don't you just let yourself have some fun? I know that I am an attractive girl, many of the scientists certainly thought so. They were all over the place."
Roy actually felt sorry for the woman in a way, but not enough to not feel sickened by her. And he was worried about Ed. Being stuck alone in a freezer for an hour wasn't going to be fun. And Melanie was robbing him of his pride by removing even his underwear. The boy was twelve, damn it! He wasn't supposed to be here. Roy still deserved this, but Ed didn't. Ed was just a small boy that had been unfortunate as hell.
"Well, Roy, it's time for you to meet the rest of my guests."
Ed was shivering. He was lying on the cold concrete floor in the total darkness. His shivering was making his ribs ache like hell. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. This wasn't what the military was supposed to be like. Yes, he would be sent out on missions and have an irritating Colonel as his boss, but he was supposed to be reading through research documents and find a way to get Al's body back. He hadn't thought that he'd be tortured and humiliated and left in the darkness of a freezer.
He hated this. Every single breath was torture and he didn't even know what the bitch was doing to the Colonel. Because Ed couldn't help here. He was merely a tool with two missing limbs and a few broken bones. He needed the Colonel not to give in to his guilt, otherwise they would die here. He needed to be there to keep Mustang thinking straight, because Ed didn't want to be left here alone. He didn't want to break his promise to Al. He had to get him his body back.
I can't die here. I can't do that to Al.
Ed curled his right leg slowly up to his chest in order to try and preserve at least some warmth. He didn't know what else he could do. He would just have to ride it out, just like the automail.
But lying here, naked, hurt, and so cold, he felt like a little kid. He just wanted some warmth and some safety.
Honestly? He wanted a hug. For someone to tell him that it was going to be all right. For a way out of this. Because Ed was useless. He couldn't do anything to get out. And it was so cold. He wanted this nightmare to end, to be saved, to go home and have Al take care of him until he was back to normal.
Stop thinking like that, Ed! It won't do you any good! You have to keep strong or you will die here. Just focus on how you're going to beat Melanie into a pulp!
But how will I do that? I can hardly move.
Don't worry about that. You will find a way!
Ed honestly wasn't so sure anymore.
And so Ed kept fighting that internal battle of wills for a long time.
Roy felt dreadful. The ten Ishbalans had all told their stories. They had made him relive the monstrosities he had committed. He couldn't get himself to look at them. He had stolen so much from them.
Melanie had seated herself on the other side of the table as they talked. suddenly she jumped up. "Oh! It seems we have forgotten about dear Edward. He must have been there for about ninety minutes now. I suppose you should go and fetch him, Roy. You deserve the be the one to see him first, after all, you were the one who failed to notice how much time we have spent here."
That bitch. The only reason Roy hadn't said anything was because he was afraid that Melanie would stretch it to be two hours because of her unstable mood.
Roy stood up immediately, walking over to the steel door, opening it. His heart clenched as his eyes fell on the naked, shivering form of his youngest subordinate lying curled up on the floor. Ed lifted his head slowly. His teeth were chattering loudly. "Colonel?" he said weakly.
Roy immediately walked over and picked him up gently, trying to mind his ribs while also trying to get him out of there as quickly as possible. Ed was stone cold.
"Well, Roy, you're free to return to your room, just don't try lending him your undershirt, it will only earn further punishment," Melanie said.
Roy didn't need asking twice, he needed to get Ed some warmth right now. Ed was obviously in a lot of pain as well, probably due to the violent shivering combined with his broken ribs. The boy clutched his undershirt in his hand and seemed to cling onto the warmth coming from Roy.
"Thanks for getting me," Ed said through chattering teeth.
"Of course. Now let's get you warmed up."
"Sounds like a plan."
Roy carried him over to the bed and put him under the duvet before he slid under it himself and hugged Ed tightly, trying to lend him some warmth.
"You know, Colonel," Ed said from under his chin, still shivering a lot. "It was fucking great to actually just get that bitch to stop for a second. She looked so stupid. I'd almost say that it was worth it."
"That may be, Ed, but you still shouldn't have done it. I don't want her to hurt you anymore."
"You have to admit that she looked hilarious for a second, though?" Ed seemed to be laughing slightly, but the laughter soon turned into a set of shaky breaths instead.
A few seconds later, Roy felt something wet against his collarbone, just about where Ed's eyes would be.
Roy felt his stomach clench. "Don't worry kid, we'll get through this."
"I don't wanna die here," came a frightened whisper.
"I won't let you."