From What We Once Were
Chapter 3; Embalm
Bane; "Sorry it took so long, but hey! It's here! 3! The next one is on the way soon, don't worry."
A; "Enough! They've been waiting. Shut up and upload it."
Bane; -sniffles-
"So tell me, Bitch, why are you so damn hard to break?"
She coughed roughly, a movement that caused the deep cut wounds across her sternum to sear with webs of unceasing agony. The hacking became so fierce that she was forced to bring one hand to the gash and the other to her mouth in an attempt to stifle the wracking shudders.
Winry felt moisture on her bruised palm; a small crimson body of liquid had been emitted from her throat. With a flick of her wrist, the blood was thrown, perhaps more or less splashed, to the side.
With blue eyes aflame with defiance, she gazed into his grey listless orbituals. The look she passed on in that one moment gave him sufficient understanding as to what she would ever do to him once she had recovered. If she ever recovered.
The man gave her another kick to the side and left the room. Nobody came back through the threshold until nightfall; not even to deliver her usual meager meal.
"Al?"
The boy barely stirred; the window was apparently a better preoccupation than having to talk about something he knew was going to bring back the memory. Alphonse's hair was ruffled, his eyes telling of distress and fatigue.
"Al, talk to me. What's wrong?"
He shifted his gaze from the pane long enough to look accusingly at his older sibling, "You know what's wrong."
They both let out a sigh at the same time, giving them a short snicker together until the weight of the situation readjusted itself to squash their minds free of relief.
"Why are we going back to Resemboul?"
"For Pinako."
The smaller of the two shut his eyes against the covey of images and smells resurfacing from the simple mention. It did nothing to cease their now constant flow.
"What are we going to do with…the…?"
"Call the authorities, see if we can have them do an autopsy this late in the decaying process. Maybe there's some clue they left behind… maybe enough to find Winry."
"Hawkeye?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"I need you to do something for me."
"Yes?"
"I need you to track the Elric Brothers. If they do anything… drastic, I'd like to hear about it immediately."
"Colonel, wouldn't it be wiser to simply have him report?"
"Have you ever known Fullmetal to respond directly under orders, Hawkeye? Because I definitely have not."
She flushed slightly, then nodded in a formal manner.
"Thank you, Lieutinant."
She gave a barely deciphered 'you're welcome' before departing from his office. This was going to be no easy task. If she was to trace the Elric brothers, as far as she was concerned, she might as well have given up right there. Hawkeye would probably have to sprout wings to keep up with them. Maybe, she wondered to herself, I should begin collecting feathers.
He was leaning over her again, bearing the knife down to her already healing wounds. Winry was breathing heavily, attempting to keep the screams from escaping into the cruel surrounding air.
"Where is the Full Metal Alchemist?"
He was bellowing at her, now. Still trying to get answers from her as his blade met bone. The flesh at the sternum erupted with silent agony.
"You'll never find him. Never."
With the knife in hand, he dealt a blow to her face. Incidentally, he left a mark of a four inch length. The blood began to meld with her tears drop…by…drop.
"Hello, this is the Morgue Help Line. What can I help you with?"
"Brother? Brother, what are they saying?"
Edward placed a hand over the mouth-piece of the reciever. Al glanced at him anxiously, as though to question what was happening.
"Well, they're a bit to happy for a morgue…"
"Mmmph."
Edward just rolled his eyes and continued to speak to the overly peppy woman on the phone. Feeling his sibling shift, he sighed, turning to him. "Al," He snapped,"touch the body and we can have these guys pick you up too."
Alphonse drew back, now carrying a slightly miffed look. Of which Ed took little notice; he would live.
"Yeah, I've got a… problem."
"Yes?"
"Umm… this body…"
"Yes, we are the Morgue Help Line. If it's dead, we handle it."
"Is there any chance you could say that again with less enthusiasm?"
He heard an aggrivated sigh from the other end of the line, and found cause to roll his eyes once more.
"So where are you and how long has the body ben lifeless? An hour, maybe two?"
He glanced at the body a few feet off with a mixed expression of disgust and estimation.
"Umm… weeks, months even. We're not sure."
Her voice was high and unervingly strained now, " I'm sorry, we don't handle cases as complicated as this."
"Complicated? There's no complicated!"
"Sir, we simply don't take on heavy tasks such as this as a morgue."
"But you said that if it's dea—"
"Well, yes, but… you see… we don't mean… that dead."
"But—"
"…"
He slammed the reciever down.
"Brother? Brother, what is it?"
"The damn woman hung up on me."
Alphonse's eyes were alight with worry. He took a breath, and murmured, "So what happens now?"
"We get to play morgue."
Bane; "Next chapter should come in th next couple of days… )! So… how do you like it? Review me!"
A; "LEMON!"
Drumstick; -.-'!
Bane; "…ooookay…"
Everyone; 0.o