CHAPTER 3:

Ed shifted slowly back into consciousness. Everything hurt. He opened his eyes, but to no avail. Everything was pitch black. He realized he was laying on his side. He smelled blood. Probably from his shoulder. He felt like he was in a dream. His mind floated around, not able to piece together what was exactly going on. All he knew was that he was hurt, bad and he couldn't move. He tried to remember what happened. His head panged in pain.

Oh right.

The mine…

Ed shifted slightly. The mine! It had collapsed on him. How the hell was he not dead? He couldn't see anything. He forced his eyes open and wheezed out a painful cough. His lungs burned. Despite his body's protests he took in a few deep breaths. Trying to focus on getting his mind set straight.

"The mine collapsed. My shoulder and leg were injured during the fight with Lust. My arm got destroyed." He thought to himself. He tried to wiggle his fingers on his good arm, thankfully he was able to move it slightly. Although it felt like a ton of bricks and lifting it even a few inches off the ground made him feel like he just ran a marathon. It seemed however, his arm was free. His legs on the other hand… His automail leg was totally crushed and he couldn't move the other. He was probably pinned against a rock. It seems the rocks fell in a way that gave him a small cubby that protected him from getting completely pancaked. He let out a sigh of relief. So he still had some luck left in him. Although, he knew he wasn't out of the dark yet. Literally. He couldn't move, couldn't use alchemy, he was stuck here. He let out a small whimper. He was scared, what if no one found him? What if he bled out here and there? All the thinking made his head swim again. "Fuck. Fuck… FUCK!" Ed let out in a pained whisper. Al… Al… It was all he could think about. He felt hot tears spill from his eyes, his breaths became ragged. He was terrified. He had had panic attacks before but Al was always there. He was alone. The darkness was unbearable. He needed someone, he needed Al. With the last of his might, he let out a pained scream. It ripped from his throat. Although it stung and burned every inch of his body, he forced it to keep going. Someone had to hear him. Someone had to help him. He screamed until his entire body gave in on itself. He slumped his head down and tried to catch his breath. He felt like no air was getting into his lungs. He choked on a sob and put his forehead down into the dirt. Cursing under his breath. The last thing he thought about was Al, before slipping back into unconsciousness.

"This is taking too long." Hawkeye said. She said it low, and almost to herself. However, Mustang heard her. The twinge of worry in her voice was ever-present.

"He's gonna be fine." Mustang said. He hadn't known how many times he's said that in just the few hours they've been there. He said it not only to reassure everyone around him, but himself as well.

A scream.

Faint. Pained.

"Ed…!" Roy said breathlessly. He and Hawkeye ran over to Al, who was standing in awe.

"That was brother. It's him!" Al said, nervous excitement jumping from his skin. Ed was alive. Probably in a shitty state, but alive. Roy let out a sigh of relief and turned to Havoc and the rest of the officers.

"Pinpoint where that noise came from and dig from above!" He yelled. The team saluted him and got to work. They had sweat dripping from every inch of their body and were covered in dirt and soot, but the scream ignited a tenacity within the team. They moved quicker than they ever had. Getting above the mine and beginning to dig down carefully, lifting rocks out and passing them along an assembly line to toss them away from the area. Al and Hawkeye watched from below anxiously. Mustang however, was right in the mix, digging with Havoc and the other officers. He usually hated getting dirty, but he didn't care. He had to get to Ed as soon as possible. That scream was full of anguish and fear. They had to move quickly and carefully.

"I see him!" Havoc called. Peering a light down the hole they had created. Ed was sandwiched between two large rocks. His legs were underneath a large boulder, while his upper half was free, thankfully a rock had fallen slanted and caught the other rocks from falling right on top of Ed's head. Roy wanted to gag. Ed was pale. Too pale. A large puddle of blood was formed around him. He was still.

"Fullmetal! Can you hear me?!" Roy called down.

No answer.

Roy turned to Havoc who nodded back at him. "Get a rope and lower us down there!" Havoc yelled out. The other officers were quick to move. Roy had his focus fixed on Ed. He looked so small. Yeah he was short, but Roy really saw just how tiny he was, lying there in the dirt.

"Brother!" Al's voice cried out. Hawkeye was trying to hold him back. "Let go of me! I need to see him!" Roy looked up.

"Al! It's too dangerous for you to come up here, don't worry we got him!" Roy said, trying to not let the fear in his voice be too evident. Al stopped thrashing and sat down with his head in his hands. Hawkeye put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Even though he couldn't feel it, he appreciated the sentiment.

A few officers came back up to the top of the mine with a few ropes. Roy and Havoc quickly tied themselves securely and were slowly hoisted down by the other officers. The area was small, but they had cleared enough debris for the two of them to fit. They had to get Ed out of there. Roy looked at the giant boulder that crushed his lower half.

"Cover his head." Roy said to Havoc. Havoc didn't even question him, he knelt down and laid gently over the boy. He tried to ignore the blood smell seeping into his nostrils. Roy pulled his glove on and snapped, a large fireball crashed into the rock, breaking it into several pieces. He then used another fireball to push the rocks back further into the mine. Since they had a clear opening at the top, he wasn't worried about anything collapsing on top of them. Ed's legs grew free. His automail leg was destroyed. All that was left was a few wires. It was quite literally holding on by a thread. His other leg was twisted in a weird angle and blood seeped from it under his torn pants. Definitely broken. Roy turned his attention quickly to the small boy. Havoc now had him cradled in his arms. His entire body was limp, eyes closed. Roy quickly placed two fingers on his wrist. His pulse was weak, but there.

"We need to get him out of here, now!" Roy called up to the other officers. They quickly scurried out of their sight, the only light peering into the small hole was the bright moon and the small flashlight Havoc clung to. Roy knelt down and brushed Ed's bangs from his face. He had a large gash on his head that was oozing fresh blood and his shoulder looked like It got impaled by something. He was losing a lot of blood. Roy quickly slung his jacket off and pressed it to the boy's shoulder wound, trying to get the bleeding to stop. Havoc still held Ed tightly. His arms wrapped around his back and supported his entirety. Roy felt sick. If he didn't see the slow rising and falling of Ed's chest, he would have thought he was a corpse.

"Colonel!" A voice called down. Roy snapped back to reality. A couple of officers were standing at the mouth of the hole. "We are going to lower down a stretcher! Put the Fullmetal Alchemist on it and we will hoist him up! We'll get you two up afterwards!" The same voice called. Roy nodded up to them. They quickly scoot to one side of the very small space they had so the stretcher could be lowered. Havoc stood and hoisted Ed up gently, cradling his head and his other arm under his knees. Ed's head slumped back, his mouth opened slightly.

"God." Havoc whispered, looking down at Ed.

The stretcher was quickly lowered down and Havoc gently situated Ed onto it, strapping him in tightly, Roys jacket was still draped over him. The officers were quick to bring him up to the surface. They then threw a rope down to Roy and Havoc to climb. Roy never scaled a rope faster. A hand was held out and he quickly took it, hoisting himself up the rest of the way. He was covered in dust and dirt, and probably reeked. He didn't care. He didn't even wait for Havoc to come up. He dashed to the ambulance where Ed was taken. Al and Riza were standing outside the door while the medic team were quickly working on Ed inside. Roy joined beside Riza. "How's it looking?"

"We don't know." Riza sighed. Al was dead silent. Watching his older brother get pricked and prodded. An oxygen mask went over his face and he was quickly getting bandages wrapped tightly around his wounds. They put a splint on his leg. Roy was amazed how quickly they worked to stabilize the boy. A young woman, probably early thirties, stepped from the ambulance. She had a small clipboard in her hands. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and approached the trio.

"We are taking Ed to the Military Hospital for emergency surgery. We have stabilized him for now, but we need to move fast." She said, matter-of-factly. Roy nodded slightly.

"Hawkeye, go with Fullmetal. Me and Alphonse will drive behind you." Roy said. He wanted to jump in and go with Ed himself, but he knew Riza would probably be able to hold her composure better than he would. He was about to fall apart, but he couldn't make that known to anyone. Riza nodded and followed quickly behind the woman into the ambulance. The sirens began to blare as it sped off. Al and Roy were quick to follow. Roy jumped in the car and started it within seconds. Al always had a tough time getting into cars as accounted to his size, but even he managed to get in it at lightning speed. Before the door was even shut, Roy was speeding off behind the ambulance.

"This is all my fault." Roy thought to himself.

"All. My. Fault."