Written in Blood
By: K-c

A/N: Ok, basically this is just gonna be a funny chappie with a bit more serious and confusing stuff at the end. If you are like: "what the hell?" when you're finished reading this chappie, don't worry . . .it all gets explained in the next . . . So . . .all of the things that happen in this chappie (the funny things) really did happen with my friends. I base the events off of them! Most of them are inside jokes (ex: "smooth as silk" from last chappie), but a lot of them are just plain weird. Yea . . .my friends and I are crazy . . .Get used to it! So, here ya go! Thanks for the reviews, BTW!

Disclaimer: This is gonna be my last disclaimer for this fic . . .so . . . I do not own any of the characters in FMA. Sorry, cya!

Ch.4: Welcome to Central
"Ah! The fresh air of Central!" Winry declared, spreading her arms wide and facing the sky as if to embrace it. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a second, but opened them back up when I muttered something about holding up the people behind us. The large crowd that had gathered behind us started to push their way through, trying to get off of the train. Winry looked over at me and smiled, moving out of the way of the rushing passengers. The huge stream of them passed between us and I lost sight of her for a moment, but the next thing I knew, she was standing right beside me. I grinned wearily at her, struggling under the weight of her bag on my back.

"Well, where should we go first?" she asked me, excitement rising high in her voice as she leaned towards me, her blue eyes wide in anxiety. I staggered slightly for a moment, almost losing my balance but straightened back up again to face her. She was waiting on my every breath to tell her what exactly we were going to do and I felt like I was in the spotlight. We weren't really going to do much here . . .just report and leave . . .She must have a shopping spree on her mind . . .

"Somewhere to put these bags down, maybe?" I suggested the idea, adding extreme emphasis on the word 'somewhere', indicating my head in the direction of the heavy bag on my back. Her face calmed down a bit when I had said that, but she still looked crazy with energy. She grinned at me for a second, placing her hands on her hips and looking away from me, a proud look on her face. I stared in confusion; the bag slowly causing me to sink closer and closer to the ground as my knees gave out.

"Oh of course!" she declared, still beaming off into the distance. Her odd behaviour was starting to irritate me in an exasperated sort of way. A long and awkward moment of silence sidled through us as the train sped off behind us. What was that long pause there for, then?


"Here's your key!" the small lady with light brown hair and a smile that screamed: 'I hate my job, but I'll pretend to like you' said from behind the desk in the lobby of the roomy inn. I reached out and snatched the key from her hand as she held it out to me. After holding the gold key in my palm, I started to realize something and grimaced.

"Hey . . .this is only one key . . ." I stated, waving the key in front of her, trying to catch her attention but she was busy tending to someone else. She glanced over at me, smiled in that creepy sort of way again, and turned back to her other customer. I could practically feel the heated gaze of Winry on my back and I started to blush in a million shades of red. She appeared beside me, peering over at me and my frozen position, still holding out the key. What . . .the hell . . .?

She gazed at me with that worried expression of hers that only made the blush grow more intense on my cheeks. "Something wrong?" she asked me, her voice full of concern and question. I slowly creaked around to face her, waving the key in her face. Her eyes widened a bit, but she didn't show any other signs of the emotion that was running through my body. One key . . .one room . . .this . . .sucks . . .What am I gonna do?

"Listen lady! We need two rooms here! It's not like we're married or anything!" I shouted at the lady from over the counter, slamming my fist on the hard wood. A hushed silence fell over the crowded room that was previously bubbling with conversation as all eyes turned on me. This only made me blush even more. The host turned around slowly, her brown eyes shining with fury and frustration. Suddenly, she was sweet again.

"Married? Oh why would I think that? After all, you're too young to be married . . .you have to be at least 14!" she teased innocently, that strained smile reappearing on her weathered face. That did it . . .she called me short . . .well, indirectly, but still!

"C'mon, Ed!" Winry quickly called, grabbing my arm before I could start a tantrum and make more of a scene. I glared evilly at the lady as we passed by and all the other people who were either sniggering or staring. Winry pulled me up the stairs and down the hallway before she let go. I was still fuming, but stopped when I saw her serious face.

"So what number is it?"

"Don't think that just because we're IN the same room means I'll actually BE in the same room as you!" I retorted back at her, even though she hadn't said anything about it. She narrowed her eyes at me, giving me a hard glare, and swiped the key away from my hand and gazed at the number scratched on it. She then turned down the hall and continued until she stopped at a door near the end. I followed her slowly, kind of regretting that I had snapped at her without any reason behind it. You're such an idiot . . .

"We're 17 now . . .don't be such a baby . . ." she reprimanded me, shoving the key into the lock and turning it. I hung my head in subtle shame, staring at the wood floor beneath me. When I had looked up, she was already inside of the room and I was alone in the hall. I walked inside of the small room and saw a medium-sized bed up against the wall, bathroom to the left and a large window across from me. All in all, the room looked dark and melancholy. Winry was walking around the room and turning on all of the lights as she went, in an attempt to cheer the dank mood surrounding us. I blinked in the bright lights and walked to the bed, throwing her bag down on it. I noticed how the bed sank about five inches when the load was on it . . .

A thought quickly struck my head and made me panic. I suddenly rummaged around for my pocket-watch and flipped it open. The hands read: 9:57 a.m. Oh crap! I'm gonna be late! AHH! MUSTANG'S GONNA KILL ME!

"I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" I hollered back at her as I took off out of the room and raced down the hallway, not waiting for an answer. I flew down the stairs, passing the stupid lady on my way that shouted something at me that I didn't hear, and burst through the door, knocking into something hard. I fell backwards and almost landed on the ground, but grabbed onto the table beside me for support. I looked up to see what it was I had collided into and I saw a young girl with long black hair staring at me. Her big, light purple eyes seemed to scream apologies to me, but they also were extremely transfixed on me. I straightened awkwardly to my feet and scratched the back of my head, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't see you there . . .are you okay?" I asked her gently, smiling at her in a gentlemanly manner. She only smiled at me, her pearly white teeth brightening the rest of her face.

"Yes, yes . . .I'm fine . . ." she assured me in a sweet little voice. There was something in that voice that sent shivers up and down my spine, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. She walked past me and into the inn without another word, but still grinning in that strange way. I stood there for another moment in the doorway; my thoughts jumbled up in confusion until my hand involuntarily grasped my watch. 10:01.

"I'M LAAAATE! OUTTA MY WAY!" I ordered every passerby that got in my way as I stormed down the street, a cloud of smoke billowing out behind me. I ran with all the speed my body could muster in the general direction of the State Alchemist building.


"You're late, Fullmetal."

"Yea, well . . ." I paused. "It was Winry's fault! She was all: 'Let's check in and take our own sweet time!' and THAT'S what made me late!" I rambled, speaking in a high-pitched voice in my imitation of Winry. I knew that it wasn't her fault . . .but I had to make up some sort of excuse for my tardiness. Mustang glared at me from over a huge stack of papers and spun around slightly in his swivel chair. I stood before him, panting and sweating from my run there as he looked upon me with that smug look on his face.

"You haven't changed a bit, I see," he sighed under his breath. I looked at him curiously, starting to catch my breath again. I couldn't tell if he was finding me humourous or exasperating—it was so hard to tell by his tone of voice. It was so dead. He turned the whole way around in his chair so that I only saw a huge black mass of the back of it. "You're still the same, little boy who came here several years ago . . ."

"LITTLE!"

"I see that hasn't changed much, either . . ."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING—"

"I don't really have a report for you, but the reason I called you here on such short notice is because I thought you would just like to catch up. We will discuss the matter of the mysterious people later. You are dismissed," he stated, his back still facing me. I stood still for another second, shocked at what he was saying. So now what? I turned around and began to walk to the door when I heard the chair creak around again.

"And Fullmetal . . ." I looked back around to see him facing me, but staring at a piece of paper on his desk and writing something. He didn't look up at me as he said the next words, but they were obviously directed towards me. "Most of the people in this building have come to believe that you really were dead, so just prepare for strange reunions . . ." I nodded my head, even though he wasn't looking at me, and exited the room.

He was right. As soon as I had closed the door, somebody grabbed my shoulders roughly, seizing a hold of me and spun me around. I was staring at a wide-eyed Hughes. He gaped at me; his glasses practically falling off of his nose as his grip on me didn't loosen a bit.(A/N: This is not based off of the anime or manga . . .so he's alive in this fic . . .)

"ED? EDWARD ELRIC?" he shouted, still staring at me with that amazed look on his face. I grinned nervously and started to chuckle weakly, the circulation on my one arm slowly cutting off.

"That's me . . ." I muttered quietly, not quite sure how to respond to someone shouting your name in disbelief. Two simple words can make someone go from estactic to flat-out crazy in a matter of seconds. Note to self: don't respond like that anymore Hughes' eyes grew to about the size of dinner plates and he suddenly strangled me in a tight headlock of happiness. The cut off of my circulation now moved to my neck . . .

"WHERE WERE YOU? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! WELCOME BACK!" he yelled joyfully, thrashing me about in the tight headlock. I guess I'm gonna get a lot of this . . .oh joy . . .

"Umm . . .can I breathe now?" I asked softly, my voice cracking with lack of air. Hughes stopped throwing me around and released me from my prison of his arm and I panted heavily. He once again grabbed my shoulders and stared fondly at me, smiling like an old friend.

"C'mon . . .you need to catch up . . ." he offered, and led me down the hallway to where the cafeteria was located. We entered the room and all eyes drifted on me. As we walked by nonchalantly, I saw familiar faces and new ones, but they all showed the same expression: MORTAL SHOCK. Even the people I've never even seen before looked at me as if I was a close friend to them and that they were amazed of my appearance. My face was burning bright red underneath all of the looming stares, but I focused on following Hughes to a table along the far wall. We sat down on the benches as he made himself comfortable, but I remained rigid, still feeling everybody's eyes on the back of me.

"I presume you've had to tell a million people so far about the whole 'I wasn't really dead' thing, so I won't ask you that today," he assured me, resting his elbows on the table and peering over at me through his glasses. I let out a sigh of relief when he had said that. Sure, I haven't told THAT many people, but I still didn't want to relive every horrible experience I went through in those two years . . ."Are you traveling alone?" he asked me curiously, ripping me from my thoughts. I knew he was asking me this because I always used to travel with Al, and now he was wondering if I currently went places alone.

"No . . .Winry's with me . . .She—"

"WINRY'S ALIVE TOO?" he bellowed; only to receive more shocked stares in our direction. He almost stood to his feet in amazement, but calmed down a bit when he saw my exasperated face. I nodded my head slowly, trying not to show too much emotion on the matter.

"Yea, she's here too. She saw me one night and she's been following me around since," I stated coolly, making the events that occurred not sound so lovey-like. Even though they weren't. Get yourself together, Ed! "She forced me to bring her along . . .with a wrench."

Hughes grinned at my last statement, understanding the long saga of Edward vs. the Dreaded Wrench that Winry always wielded proudly and used it against me at any given moment. I almost smiled too, but stopped myself quickly. He got up from his seat and walked over to where the drinks were located. During the time that he was gone, a loud wave of whispers erupted from the crowd behind me and my face grew red again. I could still feel their stares burning into me and I wanted to turn around and tell them to beat it, but Hughes came back before I could even move a muscle. He handed me a cup of coffee with many little cups of milk beside it. What's this symbolizing?

Hughes stirred in some milk and laid down his spoon. "Have you heard?" he asked me quietly, his voice full of seriousness. I looked up at him from staring furiously at the coffee before me and saw his face. He was looking into his cup, but I could still detect a dark feel to him.

"Heard what?"

"About the three people we've been targeting for four days now . . ."

I didn't respond, but switched my gaze back down to the cup of coffee that was steaming into my face. I stared into the dark, murky depths of it, thinking deeply but not saying any thoughts aloud. That was the reason I was called here . . .but I still can't grasp the fact that they're really back . . .I thought they would leave when I did . . .

"Ed, they're homunculi," he stated to me matter-of-factly. I already knew this fact, but hearing it aloud sent a shiver down my spine and I grabbed the cup in front of me on the table to make it seem like I wasn't shaking in fear . . .but I was. My heart was pounding like crazy and every muscle in my body seemed to have lost all control . . .leaving me limp and unmoving. My hands had grown freezing cold and they started to shake slightly as I held onto the cup for all my life. I looked back down into the coffee and saw my reflection staring up at me . . .pale and sickly . . .

"Whether you want to believe it or not, they're back and they're just as bad as before. We have had about 15 cases so far of kidnapping, destroyed buildings and murders without a single sign of a cause. It's starting to get out of hand—"

"SO YOU CALLED ME TO DO THE JOB WHEN YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT I WENT THROUGH?" I shouted at him, standing to my feet so quickly, I knocked over my cup and the coffee spilled all over the table. The fear inside of me was now mixed with fury and hatred . . .hatred to all of the people who used me like bait to bring them here . . .I didn't care if everybody was staring at me right now . . .they all had a link to the decision of choosing me and I hated every single one of them. Hughes gazed up at me, his face rather calm looking.

"Relax, Ed. We just figured that you would have some sort of unfinished business to take care of with them . . .we all know what you went through and we thought you would want to do something in an effect of it," he told me calmly, not raising his voice at all. I stared back down at him and then sat back down across from him, almost all of my anger gone. Everyone thinks that I want revenge . . .do I? Do I really want to get revenge on the homunculi? Do I?


"Winry?" I asked to the back of the girl sitting on the steps of the building I was coming out of. Winry turned around to face me and stood to her feet with a smile on her face. I went down about seven more steps until I was standing just about one or two above her. When did she get here? Had she been waiting that whole time for me? Is she mad at me for leaving like that? Why did she come to meet me?

"Oh there you are! How'd it go?" she inquired me, holding her hands behind her back and peering at me curiously. I walked right past her and to the street without saying a word. It wasn't long before she appeared at my side, still trying to look me in the eyes to get a direct answer. When I looked at her, I saw that her eyes were now filled with concern yet again, which only made me want to look back to the street beneath me.

"So where do you wanna go?"

She looked up at me from the street, a confused look covering her face. I smiled warmly at her, trying to cover up my real feelings and thoughts. She didn't answer me at first, just stared at me in amazement (maybe), but then a wide grin spread over her face and I immediately knew what she was thinking. Mechanic shop. I didn't even have to ask, I just headed in the direction where I knew one was located, stuffing my hands in my pockets. Winry skipped alongside of me cheerfully, attracting a helluva lot of attention.

We were walking for a bit when I suddenly saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to my right and saw a small brown cat peeking around a corner at me. I stopped walking and stared directly down at it, and it gazed back to me. Winry stopped a little ahead of me, not realizing my ceasing of movement. A cat . . .I never really liked them . . . after that bad experience with the cat in the woods when Al and I were little . . .It's gonna bite me, I know it. Its' big golden eyes stared up at me in wonder.

"OH YOU'RE SO CUTE!" I jumped out of my skin as two arms reached down and seized the poor animal off of the ground. I looked back up to see Winry swinging the cat around in her arms joyfully. I opened my mouth to tell her not to do that, but it was too late for me to say a word. Amazingly enough, the cat didn't do anything. After she had had her fun, she placed the cat back down on the sidewalk and started to walk away like nothing had happened. I stared at the cat for another moment and we exchanged another staring contest. I reached out my hand to pet it when it's mouth clamped around my hand.

"OW! WHAT THE—" I cried out, flinging the cat around, trying to get if off of my hand, but it's bite only tightened. Winry ran over to me and gently and simply took the cat away from me and placed it on the ground and wagged her finger at it stupidly. I stared at my bloody hand sadly. Why . . .?

"You can't just pet any random cat! They'll hurt you like that!" she scolded me, turning to look at me. I glared at her furiously, the pain in my hand forgotten momentarily.

"YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK! YOU SWUNG THE THING AROUND LIKE IT WAS A SACK OF POTATOES!"

"So? Cats like me."

"WHATEVER! LET'S GO!" I yelled, grabbing her hand forcefully and pulling her down the road. I could tell that she didn't like the feel of my metal hand, but it was better than a blood-covered one. We eventually reached the mechanic shop, in which she immediately dashed inside. I slowly walked in and observed her crazy behaviour that resembled a four year-old in a candy store. She looked at this, and then she ran over and looked at that, back and forth, muttering stuff to herself the entire time. The man behind the counter watched her with a huge grin, obviously counting on her buying a lot. I glared at the man as I passed by, crushing his dreams into powder. I rested a hand on her shoulder as she had her back to me, actually staying in one place for more than ten seconds. She spun around, shoving a handful of bolts and other sorts of stuff in my face. I stepped back from the pile, taken by surprise by her treasures and her huge, sparkling eyes.

"LOOK AT THESE!" she declared, shoving them closer to me. I took another step backwards, desperately trying to get as far away from her as possible . . .I knew all too well how crazy Winry can get when she gets in a mechanic shop.

"Uhh . . .they're certainly nice, Winry . . .but aren't they a little expensive?" I asked her nervously, pointing to the price tag on the barrel that was rather high. She looked at the barrel behind her and then at the pile in her hands sadly. I sighed in relief by her upcoming decision; happy I didn't have to spend so much money on something like that. Then, she glanced up at me, her eyes sparkling once again and a huge grin on her face.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Don't make me . . ." she warned, reaching to her side where she kept her wrench. I cringed and covered my head with my arms as she did so. So that's what she meant when she said 'only if you don't do something I want you to do' . . .

"Ok ok!" I shouted, putting my arms back to my sides and pulling out my wallet. Winry flung her arms around my neck and walked with me to the counter, constricting me and screaming "thank you's" in my ear. I paid for the items with her still clinging to me and walked out of the store with the bag in my hand. Finally, she released me. I was starting to get tired of having people cling on me today . . .

"So where now?" she asked me excitedly, her eyes shining with hope of me buying her something else. It was just too hard to say 'no' to that beautiful face . . .and her wrench. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, not really caring about our next stop.

"I was thinking that we should go buy something to—"

"CHEESE, NORMAN, CHEESE!" a man's voice suddenly bellowed in my ear and I spun around to see a man with huge eyes holding out a large wheel of cheese to me. He glared furiously down at me. I froze on the spot, frightened and confused by this.

"Ex-excuse me?" I stammered out, bending away from him. He leaned down closer to me, holding the cheese closer to my face. Winry clung onto my back from behind, peeking around my shoulder cautiously.

"CHEESE!" he screamed at me.

"B-but . . ."

"Wait . . .who are you?" the man suddenly asked me, looking calmer now and peering into my face curiously.

"Edward Elric . . ."

"Oh . . .whoops. Sorry . . .wrong person," he said and walked away from me to torture another person with his cheese. I watched as the person started to sob apologetically, obviously the person he was looking for. He looked a lot like me . . .but still different. Winry leaned over to me and whispered in my ear:

"What was that about?"

"I really don't know . . ."


"TURN LEFT!"

"DAMMIT!"

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TURN TURN TURN!"

"I'M TRYING, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT WALL!"

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU'RE GONNA CRASH!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Winry dug her nails into my back and leaned over me further, staring down at the track in front of us. My hands shook as I frantically turned the knob on the controller to make the little remote car turn around the curve. Sweat was running down my face as I quickly reared around one corner and onto the straightaway. People all around us were staring intently at us, confused by our behaviour. Winry screamed her head off when I crashed the car into a wall.

"LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!" I hollered at her, pointing at the jumbled up heap on the track. Winry stood up from kneeling behind me and loomed over me.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CRASHED IT!" she screamed back at me, reaching for her wrench once again and for about the twentieth time so far today.

"IT WAS YOUR DUMB IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE TO DO THIS!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE HORRIBLE AT CONTROLLING A TOY!"

"YOU WERE PUTTING PRESSURE ON ME!"

"Let's go!" she giggled cheerfully at me and started to skip out of the store with following stares from other people. I stood to my feet and threw down the controller in frustration and stomped out after her. The sun had already began to set as I walked out of the store and into the fresh air. Winry was walking ahead of me, a light bounce in her step and three bags dangling from her arm. I gave in too much today . . .

We didn't say anything else to each other on the way back to the inn for the night. I stared at the back of her head as we walked and sighed. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the inn. She stepped inside of it and I quickly followed. I don't quite know why, but when I was inside of the lobby room, I looked around for that girl that I bumped into earlier. I didn't see her and I went up the stairs after Winry and to our room. She sat down on the bed and took of her shoes. I, however, remained where I was in the doorway. She smiled over at me sweetly and I walked inside of the room.


Don't wake up, please . . .I don't want to scare you. Just sleep . . .

I turned the knob of the door very slowly . . .trying not to make a single sound that would wake the beauty sleeping soundly on the bed. The pile of blankets I had been sleeping on were in a jumbled up pile to make it seem like I hadn't left in case she woke up. I opened the door to a crack and the dim light from the hallway poured slightly into the room, falling on her stomach. I squeezed myself through the crack and slipped into the hallway, closing the door behind me with a click. Safely out of the room, I began to walk more casually, fewer nerves on my back. I neared the stairs and stepped down then quietly, making sure not to wake the rest of the guests in the inn. The lobby below was completely empty and not a soul was around, not even the bitchy hostess. I felt like I was in a ghost town as my booted footsteps echoed in the void of emptiness.

I shivered in the freezing night air as I stepped outside of the inn and stood in the street. I stopped walking and gazed up at the dark sky with bright stars shining above me and took in a deep breath. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I turned and traveled down the street to nowhere in particular.

I went outside almost every night, ever since it became a habit in those two lonely years I spent. I know that if Winry would ever find out, she would chain me down to make sure I wouldn't leave her anymore. I may only leave for about an hour, but I know she would worry sick over me.

Something moved ahead of me and I glanced up to see the tail of a black coat whip around a corner to an alley. I moved a little faster to catch up to whatever it was, my curiousity getting the better. I turned the corner and saw the same young girl that I had bumped into earlier today staring at me, her violet eyes shining in the lamplight behind me. She didn't move and stayed frozen where she was like a thief caught in the act of a crime.

"H-hey! Miss!" I called out to her as she ran deeper into the alley. I don't exactly know why, but I followed after her, keeping the fluttering coat she was wearing in my sight. She kept quite a distance ahead of me, but I eventually got close enough to grab her shoulder. She spun around so suddenly; I almost fell to the ground. Her once scared eyes were narrowed in rage and she glared at me.

"I-I'm sorry . . .I didn't mean to startle you . . ." I stammered out quietly, attempting to assure the frightened girl. Well, of course she's scared . . .I just chased her down an alley! What am I thinking!

"What do you want?" she blurted out in a hostile voice, quite unlike the one that I had heard this afternoon. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it when I realized I had nothing at all to say to her. She jerked her shoulder out of my grip and took off away from me again. She suddenly threw open a door and dashed inside of it without another word. I ran over to the door that she went inside of and pulled it open.

The place inside was completely dark, but I stepped in anyway. I couldn't find a single trace of the mysterious girl, but I knew she was in there. I squinted around in the darkness and took a few steps away from the door that slammed shut. My boots echoed on the cement walls around me.

"Edward? Edward, is that you?"

That voice . . .it sounds so familiar . . .but it can't be . . .

"Edward? Please answer me . . .are you there?"

I took a step in the darkness; my body covered in goosebumps and chills running up and down my spine. Far ahead of me, I saw a dim red light peeking around the corner and illuminating somebody's tall silhouette. When I got closer, I saw who it was and I immediately ran into her outstretched arms.

"Mom!" I cried, hugging her tightly though my mind couldn't comprehend a single thing that was going on. It felt so weird . . .like I wasn't hugging the real thing . . .but I couldn't help it . . .my mind went completely blank . . .I couldn't even see straight . . .

"It's okay, Edward, it's okay! I'm here now . . ." she whispered gently in my ear, hugging me tightly like she used to. Part of me wanted to cry my eyes out into her shoulder, but I couldn't even bring myself to say a single word. I tightened my grip around her and smiled into her shirt collar.

"Edward . . .Alphonse is alive . . ."

I looked up from her shirt and stared into her eyes. She was smiling at me as if bringing good news. I didn't know what to say if I could say anything at all. Every word she said, though, it made me want to believe. I wanted to believe her . . .I had to believe her. . I did. I couldn't help it . . .she's . . .my mother . . .

"You can still save him . . .he's not dead . . .Edward, son, you can bring him back . . ."

"Mom . . .how . . .?"

"Look at me," she ordered softly, taking a hold of my cheeks and turning them to face her. I looked her straight in the eyes and suddenly, everything grew a tint of blue. There was something in her eyes that drove me away . . .but pulled me close . . .

"Go."

I let go of my mother and turned around to head to the door. I didn't know where my feet were taking me, but I allowed them to carry me along. Before I knew it, I was walking steadily back to the inn, my eyes focused directly out in front of me. I could hardly breathe . . .what's . . .wrong with me . . .?


"Did it all go according to plan?"

"Yes . . .he took the bait perfectly . . ."

"Good . . .very good . . ."


K-c