Bane; "I'm going to say it now so it doesn't come unexpected. This chapter is very graphic. I took careful measure in describing the more disturbing areas. Nothing, to those who reacted to 'graphic', is going to be sexual. But, if you have an especially weak stomach pertaining to blood, corpses, or bodily entrails, I suggest that you either sacrifice any past interest in this story and go on your way, or continue to read, skipping the less than appetizing portions… "
Drumstick; "Usually we'd have something funny…but Marta died… and that wasn't funny…"
He had left her to sit in her own pooling blood. Racking sobs shook through her at the intensity of the agony emitted from her diaphragm. Doubled over, she shook violently, tensing her muscles in an attempt to lessen the pain. Her calloused knuckle was of no comfort; she had chewed it through earlier, involuntarily masticating the skin until it was severed from the joint.
Her own thoughts were muddled, all begging for Edward to stay where he was; far away from her, lest they found him. And still, the crimson fluid that soaked her through was punishing her for her defiance. The claret was reminding her of the moment that she had selfishly wished…
Shifting slightly, the ache tripled, causing her utter a small cry.
…Dying would be such a small price to pay now…
…You mustn't think that way…it destroys us…
…What is there left of me to destroy?…
Her thoughts quarreled ceaselessly.
The stench of her own blood sickened Winry. The metallic bitterness was beginning to recover scraps of images; of Edward. In her mind, the rain poured once more, the knock at the door muffled, but still hearable. Al carried his sibling, pleaded for his aid… She shook her head to rid her mind of memory. Of which caused her to whimper with the coming wave of agitated wound.
Edward lay down, sighing heavily. The train seat was uncomfortable, but anything would do to rid him of fatigue.
"What do you suppose he meant when he said 'sudden happenings'?"
"Al, give it a rest."
"Why?"
"Because I need some."
Alphonse gave a slight sniff, but only prodded Ed in the stomach before continuing.
"I'm serious. I think we should find out, Brother."
Edward sat up to face Alphonse, giving him a look of annoyance. It was a moment before he spoke again, "Al, the Bastard Colonel says all sorts of things that don't make sense. And this is one of them."
He lay back down and closed his eyes, wadding up his overcoat and laying it on his face as Alphonse insisted on carrying the conversation further to indicate that he no longer wished to listen.
"Have you heard from Winry?" Al asked incredulously.
The Colonel's expression was steely, but quite unconcerned.
"I'm afraid we haven't heard from Mrs. Rockbell since February."
Ed didn't add any input, only stared off into space. He could feel something in the pit of his stomach. And the 'something' was fortelling of happenings he knew he wasn't going to find pleasant…
Bane; "For those who didn't get it; that was a flashback. I just didn't feel like labeling it, cause everyone does that…and that's not cool... for me to do it too…"
Drumstick and A; 0.o?
A; "I want a lemon! And my lemonade!" howls and whines.
Bane; -.-' "It's coming. Eventually."
"Pinako? Winry?" Alphonse called when nobody answered the doorbell.
Still nobody came.
So what else could they do but open it themselves? Edward watched Al push the opening slightly ajar. It was then that it hit them; the rancid, bitter fume that seeped through the long unopened doorway.
An understanding as to what lay inside hit him a fraction of a second too late. His younger sibling had already begun forward, retching slightly.
"Al, don't—"
But his reaction was a bit delayed; the full aroma had been released, and he was forced to cover his nose. His eyes streaming, he made out Al's figure in the threshold. Already he gained a better understanding of what would lie further into the house. Gently, Edward pushed him back, making his way in front of his sibling.
The sight, as well as the new burst of stench made him gag. He turned around to face Alphonse, who was still unable to see, but still craned his neck slightly.
"Al, get out."
"What is it, Brother?"
"You don't need to see this."
The boy stood his ground, "I'm seventeen. I think I can handle it."
"OUT! Do you hear me?"
"Brother…"
"DO YOU HEAR ME? OUT!"
Taken aback, he nodded. Trodding resentfully back through the threshhold, he sighed.
"And stay there."
He mumbled something like, "…not a kid anymore…" But Edward ignored him adeptly. There was only one word that made sense to him right now, and that was 'Winry'. The stairs creaked under his metal frame.
"Winry? Winry, are you there? Winry!"
There came no reply, and each room upstairs had been ransacked. It was obvious that nobody had entered the house for a good long while. Everything was on the floor, books, shelves, and drawers. Whoever had comitted to such a mess must have had time at their leisure to look for valuables.
A phone ring interrupted his thoughts, and his feet pounded as he came back down the flight of stairs to take the call, lest it be important.
Clutching the telephonse, he brought it to his ear.
"Yeah?"
"Fullmetal?"
Irritation was dripping from Edward's next words, " Yeah, it's me. What do you need, Mustang?
All the while, he watched the corpse warily. The gasp from behind informed him of his mistake; Edward instead should have been eying the doorway.
"Pinako!"
The reciever dropped to the floor with a clatter.
"Al—"
"Why—What?"
She was slumped against the far wall, dead. Her eyes would have portrayed expessions of shock and percants vacancy, had they not already decayed. Around her pooled dry crimson fluid, and the same dripped from her forhead. It had been a clean shot; she obviously hadn't had time to react.
It was nearly impossible to determine how long ago Pinako's death had occurred with his knowledge of such, but by the rate at which it was already decomposed, it must have been quite a while.
The bridge of her nose had been eaten through, and both Al and Edward were revolted to see a fly emmerge from it.
"Damn it, Al!"
Alphonse was trembling, now.
"Get out, you shouldn't have to—"
"Brother," his reply was shaky, as though he felt sick, "…What…happened?"
"NOW!"
Once he was once more alone with the lifeless corpse, it was a few moments before he realized the line was still on.
"Sorry about that. Now, what is it that you want?" His wording was tense, his wording cautious.
"What the hell was that, Fullmetal?"
"Nothing, we've just got… a few technical difficulties."
"Mmmph. Nonetheless, Fullmetal, I need to see you again in Central, difficulties or not."
Edward heard a whimper to the side and lost patience with both the Colonel and his brother, putting the phonse it its cradle with a satisfying click.
"Al, damn! What did I--- Al?"
He was kneeling next to Pinako, now. His face was wrought with feeling. Walking over to him, his fury lessened considerably. Ed lay his hand on Alphonse's shoulder.
"It's okay, Al. She's somewhere we can't go yet, that's all."
The younger boy, with much hesitation, rose his hand to touch the old woman's face. The skin was somewhat unfirm, giving into the bone at his lightest touch. As he broke the contact lightly, the ligament in the lower jaw snapped, detatching and hanging on the right side.
Alphonse jumped up, tears streaming from his eyes. He seemed quite horrorstruck
"I-I didn't mean…to…"
Edward steered Al out of the house, closing the door behind him once more. His protest sounded more like a child's now…
"Y—you can't just…just leave her there!"
"Oh yes we can."
"Brother!"
Still pushing his sibling down towards the village station, he exposed a look of unconcern in an attempt of comfort. It was not received correctly.
"Relax, Al, I'll come back and deal with it later."
"She wasn't an 'it', Pinako was a person!"
"Al, damn it! I can't do anything right now. In a week or so, we'll come back and have her properly buried. But we need to focus on those we don't know are dead."
"What- what'd you mean?"
"I mean Winry."
Guilt seemed to slowly drown the anguish, he had forgotten about Winry… Edward could tell he was looking for a way to say something that equalled a 'sorry'.
"Al, I told you to relax. We're going to figure this out."
Bane; "As I wrote this, I was eating something of the same consistancy as what was depicted in my mind to describe the corpse…and now I feel extremely nauseous. Almost regurgitated. So I want you to know what it cost me to write this." –sticks out tongue-
-.-'
"I'm gonna' have nightmares about this stuff…actually, I bet YOU'RE gonna' have nightmares about this…"
"Al, you mind waiting here?"
The boy nodded, and sat down in a traditionally uncomfortable chair in the lounge to wait. He hadn't spoken since they'd gotten on the train back.
Agitated, and in no mood for any formal greetings, he pushed the Colonel's door aside.
"You wanted me?"
"Yes, thank you for coming back. I know you're enjoying your time with Ms. Rockbell and her grandmother…"
Edward let this remark pass; after all, he hadn't any idea…
"But I'm afraid I need to send you somewhere other than Resemboul."
"That's a shame."
"I agree."
Silence was a luxury that even Roy couldn't afford.
"There's another outbreak of slaughter in Ishbal. I find it necessary to send you; perhaps you can settle the dispute."
"I can't."
"We'll take care of the travel costs; it shouldn't be difficult, I'm sure you can mana—"
"I can't, Mustang. It's not the travel cost."
"Then what's the problem, Fullmetal?"
"I've got something more important to settle right now."
The look of confusion was illsuited on Mustang.
"I think you forget your place. Either that, or your loyalty to the Military."
"I haven't forgotten anything. And to think that my loyalty is to the Military is a big mistake."
The man came around his desk, just so that he was now a foot away from a fuming, eighteen-year-old Edward Elric. A flash of desperation caught Roy's gaze, but it was quickly replaced by the boy's rage.
"Then I guess the mistake is mine. But turning your back on the Military isn't as easy as it seems, Full Metal."
The tension loomed heaily over them both, but Ed chose to resolve this by going at a different angle…
"Mustang, what if Hawkeye was abducted tomorrow? What would you do?"
"That's off subject."
"Just answer the fucking question."
"I'd go after my Lieutinant, of course."
"You damn hipocrit."
"Fullmetal, this has nothing to do with—"
"So if Winry has been kidnapped, I shouldn't do a damn thing about it because you would go find Hawkeye if the same thing occurred with her?"
Understanding torrented into Mustang abruptly. That would explain everything; the odd yells over the phone, the behavior of Edward… He reached out his hand towards Ed's arm in a consoling manner.
"DON'T.TOUCH. ME."
The anguish was apparent in not only his eyes now, it reverberated through his tone.
"I'm…sorry, Fullmetal. We'll try everything—"
"Drop it. I don't need your help. I don't need the Military's help. I can do this fine on my own."
He turned to leave, pausing for a moment in the doorway to fish into his pocket. The object of his search fell from his hands. Once he heard it hit the floor, he continued to make his way out.
"Comeon, Al. We're done here."
His brother followed him out into the chilled December air. And only then did the Colonel bend to pick it up, studying it for a moment. It was something he had never thought to see from the boy's possession; his silver pocketwatch.
Bane; "I suppose I owe a brief explanation as to why it took so long for everything to come out, and a few other things I haven't yet stated… A stopped reading my fics for a while…so I lost esteem in them… a few people at school said something about my writing (oh, props for my writing esteem, let me tell you…) But now I'm writing regularly again...(I hope...)
Drumstick; "Bane is off of grounding until the day after Christmas, whereas it will resume for the rest of the break as planned, 'kay?"
A; "Yes. Meaning, she basically can't give you any fics after Christmas until about the middle of January. If it persists, then she'll have me post how long in the reviews…"
Bane; "I'm grounded, can you believe it? For turning a damn project assignment in 4 days after it was due…"
Drumstick; "Enjoy your Angst-free break, tee hee!"