Edward sat on a bench and rubbed his knee a bit as it continued to throb, taking the time out to enjoy the morning. Winry had told him over and over not to walk to work because his knee wouldn't take him very far without hurting but he did it anyways. He hated having to rely on other things to help him get through a day. He could make it just fine by himself. The boy had yet to figure out exactly why Mustang had asked for him to join the military. Sure his father had been rather well known for his studies in the occult and science, and yeah Ed and his little brother had been curious kids and read through them all the time but he wasn't sure what had made Mustang come to him and ask him to join the military as it's occult specialist. He wasn't completely sure why a military even needed such a position or what he could offer. Of course the bastard would never tell him anything other then he just seemed to be a natural at it. Not like he could disagree. Edward had always picked up on things fast and he had loved spending hours reading his father's books with his brother.
Sighing he got up and continued his slow walk. He didn't want to think about that right now.
Turning a corner he barely missed running into someone though the action earned him a spot on the ground. He glanced up at the tan hand that was offered to him and gratefully accepted it. The strong hand had a tight hold on his own and the man stared down at Edward, unnerving him. Ed in turned stared back, a bit uneasy and when it seemed like the man wasn't going to let go anytime soon Ed removed his hand and mumbled a thanks before walking quickly away. Glancing back he saw the man was still staring at him and decided to turn into the nearest alley way. Sighing in relief he continued towards his destination happy to be away from the man.
"What a weirdo. Come to think of it, that scar was pretty weird to. How does someone get a scar like that on their forehead anyways? Yeesh."
"Mr. Edward Elric"
Ed stopped as he heard his name come from behind him. His body froze as an image from his dream flashed through his mind. Heavy footsteps echoed down the narrow alleyway as they approached him. He was so close to the end, he could see the sunlight shining brightly only a few feet away. The sounds of the usual crowd were so close. All he had to do was move a few feet and he wouldn't have to worry, just a few feet. He could do it; he didn't have to turn around.
He tried to move his body but his legs wouldn't move and the footsteps were getting closer. Before he could turn around a hand fell on his shoulder and Edward Elric screamed.
Turning around he reached out and barely missed hitting one of the lower ranking military officials.
"Are you okay sir?"
Edward glared at him panting slightly at nearly being scared to death. He nodded, not trusting his voice just then and tried to regain his composure. The officer gave him a reassuring smile.
"I'm glad you're okay, we've been looking all over for you."
Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion not sure what could be so important this early in the morning. He wasn't expected at work for another couple of hours or so.
"Do you need me for something?"
"Well it's just that there's a killer loose in this area..."
Ed blinked not sure he had heard that right. His day was just getting better and better.
It had seemed like the information department was extra busy lately though, but he had been entranced by a book by a brilliant man named Marcoh, been reading it all week in fact, staying well out of their way. Not to say he hadn't caught parts of conversations but the book was far more interesting then who Major Lavine was going to be with that particular weekend. Edward had decided that adults were very weird human beings and tried his best to ignore them. Minus Hughes who dropped by as much as possible to see how Ed was doing, occasionally bringing him food from his wife. Of course Hughes was the weirdest out of all of them but Edward still respected him and always looked forward to seeing him though Edward wondered how Mrs. Gracia could do so much cooking especially since she was expecting a baby soon but he appreciated it none the less. Althoug he had noticed he hadn't been around quite as much the past few days.
Edward looked at the young officer. He didn't remember seeing him but he didn't really know most of the people in the Central branch of the military except for Hughes, Mustang, and Hawkeye.
"Did you say a killer?"
The man nodded. "Apparently a man is going around killing military personel but not just any, he seems to go for certain people. We're not sure the connection yet though. Colonel Mustang asked me to come get you and escort you safely to Headquarters. Please follow me Major Elric."
"So you are Edward Elric"
Edward glanced behind the officer noticing someone was behind him. It took him a moment to realize it was that man he had run into a moment ago, the one with the strange scar. He glared at the taller man, getting that uneasy feeling again. The officer on the other hand had a look of terror on his face as he looked up at the man. He reached for his gun and before he could pull it out the man had grabbed his face and Ed could only watch in horror as the man was seemingly blown up from the inside. As he dropped the now dead officer the man turned to Ed.
He could only stare as the man got even closer. He knew he should run but his legs wouldn't work and he panicked as the man got even closer.
"What do you want?"
"Those that have strayed from the path of God must die."
That was all he needed before turning and running towards the end of the alley. He swore as he scratched his arm on a sharp part of the wall as he stumbled into it, trying to get away from man. A rather familiar sound reached his ears as a bright light flashed, showing to Ed's horror, that a solid wall was now in front of him at what use to be an exit. The boy stopped in front of the wall and put his hands on it, not quite able to believe that it was real. It wasn't possible for a solid wall to appear out of no where was it? No it couldn't be, it just wasn't possible. He turned around with his back to the wall as the man had stopped several feet from the now terrified boy.
The boy tried to make himself appear smaller as if he could just melt into the wall and rather wished he could at that moment as the imposing figure slowly started walking towards him again.
"I don't know what youÆre talking about. I haven't done anything I mean sure the military doesn't make the best decisions but I'm just a researcher and I'm not all that great. Mustang always yells at me for the stupidest crap and trying to send me all over on crappy missions. He says he needs me but I think he's full of it, I'm not really worth much. So no real reason to kill me right? I'm not one to go to church to be honest but I'm not a bad person right?"
He was rambling and he knew it but he was hoping that somewhere in that messed up sentence it would stop this man from coming after him. The man wasn't really going to kill him was he? Edward wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe it was all just a dream. Yeah that was it. How else could all this happen? No one could make a wall appear out of no where and while he was sure he'd pissed of plenty of people none of them wanted to kill him, especially not some God-obsessed psycho. Any moment he'd wake up and realize this whole thing was just one big crappy dream. Maybe he fell asleep on that bench? He had felt kind of tired when he had sat down. That had to be it.
Shutting his eyes tightly he tried to wake himself up as the footsteps echoed with each step. He felt the man's shadow fall over it and he started shaking unable to bring himself to open his eyes and jumped as he felt a large hand settle on his head and knew what that meant. Somehow that man had put his hand on the officer and he was dead. He didn't know how he had done it and he really didn't want to.
"I'll give you a moment to pray"
He opened his eyes and stared at the ground, trying his best not to cry. There was no escape and he knew it. All he was doing was minding his own business. He didn't do anything to deserve this. And that poor officer had only been coming to get him, he hadn't done anything either. It wasn't fair. Edward clasped his hands together in front of him as if he was about to take up the man's suggestion but stopped. The idea of it seemed pointless.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no god I feel like praying to"
He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall in defeat his hands pressed against it, wishing briefly he could destroy it. He heard the familiar sound, and saw the flash of light and suddenly he was falling into darkness.