Chapter Thirteen
Edward and Al hadn't been at the apartment and exhaustion had dictated that Jered stay and sleep. The next morning Jered hurried his way down to Rush Valley Police Station where he knew he could find the Elric brothers. He walked quickly to the front desk, the tired lady stationed there recognized him.
"The boys aren't here right now."
Jered frowned. "Where did they go?"
"To the crime scene." She said simply, as if it were obvious.
Jered felt his stomach drop painfully as worry ate at him. "What crime scene?" He asked desperately, his hands clenching painfully into fists.
"You didn't see the paper or hear the news on the radio?" She asked, seeming startled. At his blank and panicked look the woman at the desk quickly continued. "There was another body."
His heart beat painfully in his chest as he wet his lips and asked the question that was weighing on him. "Who was it? Do they know?"
"Poor dears name was Shana Carter."
Jered couldn't help his relieved exhale. "Where are they?"
The woman blinked at him, then reasoned with herself that this boy would find the brothers eventually anyway. They had interacted a lot since the Rockbell girl had gone missing. "They're off the corner of 5th and Maple Street."
A new wave of dread mixed with hesitant hope overwhelmed the young man. "Thank you. I have to go." Jered rushed out as he turned and ran from the station.
Ed replaced the sheet over the body and stayed crouched, rubbing at the forming headache between his eyes. Seeing the violent damage this girl had gone through before she died only served as a grim reminder of what Winry was currently going through. This was the fifth day she had been missing and judging by the amount of damage sustained by Shana, he had a growing pit of dread that seemed all consuming. Eating and sleeping had been difficult for Ed lately, and Al had been quieter and more distant than usual.
"Al! Alphonse!" A familiar voice called past the other police at the scene.
Al turned in the direction of the call and Edward stood, making his way through the officers and approached a panting Jered.
"What is it?" Ed asked sharply, examining the panting teen before him.
"I think I know who did it!" Jered gasped out, straightening.
"What?!" Ed lurched forward but restrained himself from grabbing and shaking the guy in front of him.
"I was in this area last night and saw the dog catchers' truck being suspicious around here with no lights and then drove away suddenly. I thought maybe they had caught a stray, but this body, here, is no coincidence."
Edward looked at his younger brother. "Let's go."
"I'm coming too!" Jered protested as Ed barked orders at one of the police men to drive him and Al to the dog pound.
Edward jabbed a finger in his direction. "You stay here!" he bellowed, slamming the vehicle's door behind him, and barking at the poor young officer to hurry up and drive.
Letting out a frustrated yell, Jered took a deep breath before running off in the direction of the pound.
The police wagon, the only vehicle large enough to transport Al as well, screeched to a halt outside the pound. Edward lunged from the back seat, Al close on his heels as he shouted orders over his shoulder. "Call for back up and an ambulance but wait for my all clear!" The brothers ran around to the back door and crouched outside of it. Ed looked around furtively and even peeked in the dusty window set in the door before clapping his hands and grasping the knob, now unlocked thanks to alchemy.
Ed crept low and scouted ahead, waving Al around the corner once it was all clear. There was an office and Ed glanced around, finding it empty as well so they shuffled in, closing the door quietly behind him. They didn't have to explore long before Al beckoned his brother to a drawer that contained several purses, a few wallets, an assortment of feminine personal belongings and a wrench that looked stomach-droppingly familiar.
"It's hers." Ed growled, clenching the wrench in his fist before tucking it into a pocket to return to his mechanic later. Now they had irrefutable proof this is where the girls had been kept. "Let's go get her." Ed said, his eyes flashing dangerously.
The barking of dogs picked up suddenly and then they heard the noise peak sharply as a door opened and then quieted again as the door slammed shut behind whoever was walking heavily down the hallway.
"Brother!" Al protested as Ed swung the door open and sprinted quietly down the hall, quickly approaching the hulking man from behind. Ed's sprint turned into a leaping kick to the man's back, bringing him tumbling down in a heap.
"What the fuck!" The large man hollered as he struggled to turn over. He managed to shift his weight beneath the smaller alchemist, but before he could shove the teenager away, a blow rocked his head back with a snap. Alternating blows rained down on his face, the left side taking the brunt from the metal fist.
"Brother! You'll kill him! We still need to find Winry!" Al cried, catching his brothers automail arm before it could hammer another blow into the bloodied face of the man sprawled below him.
Ed shifted his weight off the man and jerked him sitting upright by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall nearest to them. "Where are they?!" Ed demanded.
"What are you… talking about?" The man wheezed as blood dribbled from his mouth.
Ed slammed the man bodily against the wall again. "The girls you've kidnapped! Where are you keeping them?!" He demanded, losing what little patience he had left.
The man hesitated, but as Ed readied himself for another blow, he quickly answered. "They're in the basement!" He cried, arms flying up to protect his battered face.
"Al, grab him. I want him to go down first." Ed turned just enough to see his brother nod then bend down and hoist the man unsteadily to his feet. A strong armored arm steadied the man as he was marched towards the basement door. The man stalled, pretending to struggle with the locked door and Ed, not willing to wait, clapped his hands and blew the door open on its hinges, revealing a rickety staircase that led down to a dank, dark basement. Al continued steering the man down the stairs, Ed close on their heels.
Winry heard the commotion on the stairs and tried to curl into herself, but all the bruising and swelling made everything hurt. Instead, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath before she turned her head ever so slightly to try to track the man's movement with her eyes. She blinked, seeing shining armor and a red jacket. She closed her eyes, sure she was hallucinating as she swallowed dryly.
Once the boys and the man had reached the bottom of the stairs and came around the corner, they stopped, frozen in horror. Al let a strangled sound escape him and his grip on the man tightened, keeping him in place as he winced at the pressure.
"Winry…" Edward croaked and before he knew what was happening, he was rushing forward, hands clapping and then ripping away the chain link fence that separated him from her. He fell to his knees before her, hands hovering tentatively over her broken body. Winry was curled in the fetal position, her face covered in mottled bruises in different stages of healing and dried blood, her eye nearly swollen closed. Despite all the swelling she appeared gaunt. Her clothing had been ripped and torn off her, lines of cuts and scratches following the lines of torn clothing. Her right arm was extremely swollen and discolored, hanging at an odd angle, and Ed suspected it was broken. Her torso was littered in more cuts, bruises and her side was swollen and bruised a nasty dark color, most likely the source of her pained, shallow and ragged breathing. Her left knee was three times its normal size and looked incredibly painful.
Edward didn't even know where to begin, but he quickly stripped off his red jacket and carefully lay it over the girl before him, preserving any modesty she had left. "Winry?" He whispered again, very carefully brushing some sweat and blood encrusted hair from her face.
"Ed…ward…?" She asked, her voice coming out much harsher than he was used to. She attempted to shift, and Ed was very careful to slide an arm below her shoulders and as gently as he could he cradled her in his lap; his heart breaking at the pained faces and sounds she made no matter how careful he was. She slowly raised a shaking hand to the blonde boy's face and ran her calloused fingers across his cheek. "You are real." She said in a breathy whisper, her eyes shining with fever.
Ed swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to find his voice. "I-I'm here now. I've got you and we're getting you out of here." Edward struggled to keep his voice from trembling.
The broken girl's good eye closed and a small smile tugged at her split lips. "I knew you would come for me." She said softly as she let herself relax against her warm friend, feeling hope and relief for the first time in what felt like a very long time.
Ed bit his lip to stifle any words or sounds that threatened to come out. There was a ragged cough from nearby and Ed lifted his head and stared at the cement wall of Winry's cell. The mechanic's good eye opened in confusion and blinked a few times before clarity seemed to fill her and then determination. Her good arm gripped Ed's black jacket front, demanding his attention.
"Yuki…" She rasped.
"Yuki Hirashita?" Al cut in from behind them, still holding the vile man by the shoulder, keeping him simultaneously on his feet and from escaping.
"She's still here." Winry answered, getting agitated and trying to sit up in Ed's grip only to gasp in agony as broken and bruised body parts shifted. Ed immediately tried to settle her, running a thumb along the cheek under her good eye that wasn't painfully swollen and bruised.
"Al, get him out of here, take him to the officers outside and then have them call an ambulance for two kidnap victims." Ed barked out, refusing to let his gaze leave the dazed and pained girl in his arms. There was a metallic shuffling and pained grunting before there were heavy footsteps on the stairs. After a few moments of stroking the blonde girl's cheek and having one hazy blue eye stare back at him, tears leaking down her cheeks as he cleared his throat. "I should get you out of here and to the hospital." He turned his attention away from her face as he felt the impotent rage building inside him again mixing with the inability to do much for his badly damaged friend.
Ed began to gather her in his arms and started to stand when Winry began to protest. "Wait, Ed- AHHH!" She shrieked as resistance met his attempts to lift her off the ground. He carefully lowered her back to the floor and followed the source of the resistance and found the thick metal cuff surrounding swollen and raw flesh of her left ankle. He had been distracted by her other injuries and had overlooked the flesh that had been rubbed raw from Winry's struggles and the cuff led to a thick chain deep seated in the thick rock wall.
The Full Metal Alchemist had to tamp down on his rage once again and he clapped his hands together and the chain and cuff turned to sand and fell away. "Are you-"Edward paused, his voice shaking as he took extra care shifting the blonde into his arms again, trying not to take her wincing personally. "Are you alright?" He asked her, immediately regretting the stupidity of the question.
Winry tried to smile and grimaced ever so slightly as her bottom lip split open and fresh blood welled to the surface. "Feeling… great…" She said, panting just slightly.
Loud clanking footsteps sounded on the stairs and Winry instinctively curled against Ed, becoming as small as she could, whimpering as she shifted against him. Ed quickly announced his brother's arrival for Winry's sake. "Al." he said quickly and felt some of the tension leave the woman in his arms before he continued. "Everything go alright? He's in custody now?"
Al stopped behind his brother to peer down at their friend and Winry blinked one blue eye up at him and Al couldn't help the small gasp that escaped as he examined her face, which was the only thing visible beneath his brother's red jacket. "Uh, yeah…" He responded to his brother, taking a moment to realize he hadn't answered his questions yet. "They're calling a couple of ambulances in as well."
Ed nodded, still not looking away from his mechanic. "Can you get Yuki and bring her up? I'll bring Winry up in a moment."
"I'll get her now." Al said, dismissing himself and the two blondes listened to chalk scratch against the lock of the cell next door before a blue flash of light shone bright and Al was able to get into the cell with the other kidnap victim.
Yuki was also battered, bruised, bloodied and barely conscious. He was bending to begin carefully collecting the poor girl when his brothers voice suddenly cut through the background noise of dogs barking. "Don't forget the chain on her ankle." Al halted his reach for the girl and noticed the thick chain and manacle on the teen girl's ankle. Al gripped his piece of chalk, but was careful not to break it, no matter how angry this situation made him. Maybe he shouldn't have stopped his brother from beating the man to death before he was remanded to police custody. A transmutation circle was carefully chalked on the blood and rust encrusted manacle before he pressed his armored hands to it and transmuted the cuff to sand and the chain and cuff crumbled away.
Al proceeded to scoop the barely alive teen into his steel arms and carefully maneuvered his large body out of the cell and paused only briefly to see his brother still crouched over Winry, flesh thumb brushing delicately across her uninjured cheek.
"Edward?" Winry asked, feeling confused as he gazed down at her and looked so sad.
Edward kept Winry cradled in his lap and bent down to lean his forehead against hers and closing his eyes, so he didn't have to look at her broken body anymore. "I was… scared… for you." Ed admitted quietly, holding her close and savoring the press of his skin against hers, reassuring him she was really there with him. After a moment, he pulled back to look at her.
The tears increased and Winry's voice shook and came out as a whisper when she confided in her best friend. "I was really scared too." Edward held her as she cried what few tears her dehydrated body could muster.
Edward rocked her in what he hoped was a comforting way until her cries quieted shortly after they began. "I… I wasn't sure I was going to see you again." He admitted reluctantly.
"I was starting to think I would never see you again either… but I had hope you would come eventually." Winry murmured, feeling tired as the adrenaline of her rescue began to fade and her exhausted body began to catch up to her.
Ed noticed her beginning to droop so he stood, balancing carefully, and adjusting to her added weight, which was less than it should have been. "I'm going to get you out of here, and you're going to be alright." Ed declared, maybe to the semiconscious girl draped across his arms or perhaps to himself, he wasn't sure anymore. He was careful not to jostle her as he climbed the stairs and was able to leave through the doors left open thanks to Al.
Since he had taken his time, the ambulance that Yuki had been placed in was just getting ready to leave. Several EMT's ran up to Edward and began taking note of all of Winry's injuries. They tried to take her from Edward, but he glared and growled at them to give him a moment, making the medical professionals give them a respectful distance. He approached the stretcher that had been set up for Winry and carefully settled her, laying her out gently and readjusting the jacket over her. "I'll see you later, in the hospital, okay?" Ed said softly, trying and failing to give her an encouraging smile.
"Visit as soon as you can?" Winry asked, fighting to stay awake just a little longer.
"I'll be there when you wake up." He promised. There was a brief hesitation before the Full Metal Alchemist quickly swooped low to brush a gentle kiss on her uninjured cheek before quickly walking away, his golden bangs hiding his furious flush and allowing the EMT's to finally give Winry some much needed attention.
Sarahplainntall here! Sorry this is taking so long to get out, I've been suffering writers block lately. Thank you to Elvenstar146 for the comment! I hope this was a satisfying chapter. Please leave comments, even flames, they make my day.