This chapter is gonna be a little different from the last few so I hope ya all enjoy eh!
Chapter Five: Her Thoughts
Carmons' POV
I don't think I've ever met anybody more enigmatic then Edward, he's not the nicest person I've ever met, but to me, it seems like he's hiding something. I'm not one hundred percent sure. Then there's his presence, I know I've never seen or met him before and yet there's this ever present sense of security.
Just the other day I found him entertaining Ally, he even taught her how to climb a tree with exceptional ease. This had taken me by surprise since he'd always seemed to dislike having her around, but at that moment, it was almost as if they were ment to find each other. Not in the 'relationship' sort of way, but more so to be there for each other. Ally had lost her whole family to New Genesis; the only reason why she survived was all thanks to her father who had sent her off to buy some milk.
"He's so irritating…" I got up from my spot on the ground and stretched, Ally was playing with the small stuffed dog Edward had been carrying with him, Edward himself was nowhere to be seen.
"Carmen, Ed told me to tell you he'll be back in an hour," Ally said looking up, "Look what he gave me to play with!" she held out the dog and laughed.
"Ed? He lets you call him that?"
"Yeah…he said it was ok," Ally sighed as she flopped the dogs ears back and forth, "I wonder what I should name him?"
"Ally, do you know where he went?" I asked.
"Yes, he went over there." Ally replied pointing off into the trees.
"Do you think you'll be ok if I go look for him?"
"He won't like that, he said he wanted to be alone." Ally said looking up again, "Carmen, he's not that bad really, just…sad…that's all."
I knew Ally had a way to see past people's dispositions and see their 'true' selves, it was a kind of gift she had.
"Is that so?" I sat down next to her; "Did he tell you this?"
"No, but I could tell, nobody should look as sad and distant as he does. That's what gave him away."
"Really? Tell me Ally, what do you think he's really like?"
"Well," Ally tilted her head and held out the toy dog, "his temper is the same, but he cares more then he lets on and hides his own pain and suffering so others won't worry about him."
"Huh…" I stood up again, "Well, if he's going to be that way, I'm going to look for him."
"But…"
"I know he probably won't like it, but I don't care, I have to make sure he's not ditching us." With that said, I started in the direction Ally had pointed. I got about five steps before Ally came up behind me and grabbed the back of my shirt and said,
"I'm coming too…"
"Ok…"
--
We'd been walking for a good twenty minutes before we came to a small creek, Ally ran down and splashed her feet in the water. I followed closely behind and paused, I had one of those feelings people have when they know there's something wrong but can't figure out what it is. I crouched down near the edge of the creek and placed my hands in the cool water, it was a warm day after all and I wanted to wash my face and cool off.
Just as I was bringing my hands up I froze, there was an odd tinge to the water, I stood up quickly letting the water in my hands fall back into the creek, that's when I saw it,
"Ally, get out of the water."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Come here, quickly!" I quickly gestured to here to get over here fast; she did so and continued to ask what the matter was.
"There's blood in the water, you shouldn't play in it." I said as calmly as I could but one question started to bubble to the surface of my mind, who's blood was that? "Ally, wait right here, I'm going to check up the creek."
"Ok." She said simply. I started through the brush leaving Ally just for a moment; I got a good eleven to twelve yards away when I noticed the red in the water becoming more distinct. That could only mean that whatever, or whoever, was bleeding was getting closer, I pulled back some brush and quickly stepped back. There was a seriously mutilated deer lying on the bank of the creek bleeding everywhere,
"Uh geez…" I gave it a reluctant closer look, "What did this?" something snapped just behind me and I nearly jumped out of my own skin. Edward stepped out of the brushes with an irritatedly questioning look on his face,
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you, making sure you didn't run off on us." I replied.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to, I hate the fact that I have to drag the two of you along but I also hate the fact that Ally would have to stay with you if I left…"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"
"Never mind, I want you to go." He said.
"Do you know what did this?" I asked pointing to the nearly unidentifiable animal on the ground; Edward gave it a half glance before answering,
"I did…"
"What!"
"You followed me for another reason did you? You wanted to know more about me, to say 'get to know me'." Edward answered, "All right, you want to know me fine…"
"So wait…you did this? Why?" I asked, I knew he was short tempered and moody but to utterly destroy something like that deer, it just didn't seem…right.
"Because…I wanted too…normally I wouldn't…but I wanted too." He replied simply, "You remember how the sand from the pit had gotten on me and I was having trouble getting it off?"
"Yeah…"
"That was because I couldn't tell what was skin and what was sand, the two had sort of blended together, like a chameleon. Then there was the case with my tree climbing ability, honestly, have you ever seen a live human being climb a tree as well as I can? Kind of like say…a cat or a monkey even. My agility is hardly matched, and my sense of smell, hearing, and seeing is unrivaled."
"What are you saying? That you're just a bunch of animals?"
He sighed and shook his head, I obviously didn't get it, at least he thought so. Ed then looked up,
"You know what happens when someone is exposed to a large amount of radiation right?"
"I've read books, they say the persons' body starts to swell up and then their insides start to liquefy and eventually they die."
"That was the first time someone was 'reportedly' exposed to it in large amounts. That's because they covered up the first time it happened."
"What?"
"Seeing as you're acting slow and stupid, I'm going to have to tell you the story aren't I?" Ed glared looking irritated.
"You don't have to be rude, but yes, I'd like to hear it."
"First, where's Ally?"
"She's over there, why?"
"Never mind." Ed waved off, he then sat down and gestured that I do the same, he said that the deer would mask our presence, I didn't really get that. He then went into telling me about himself; it was a long story and very disturbing in parts, almost unbelievable. He finally got to the part where he arrived in the U.S. and was assigned to work on the development of the atomic bomb, he said that after he and his brother searched for it in hopes of destroying it, he eventually aided in its' creation.
But it was during the first lab test that caused him to lose everything, he said that he was asked to record everything that happened during the test. The test went well but, he got sick and had to miss a lot of his work, eventually the military said that he was a casualty and he was thrown in the quarantine cell.
"How could they do that! That's just wrong!"
"Shush!" Ed snapped, "I'm not done yet. Since I was all ready starting to feel the affects of the radiation poison, something very strange happened, it all stopped. I couldn't explain it, at the time I didn't care. It wasn't until after I'd escaped from that hellish pit that I realized that there were quarantine cells next to mine, that housed animals."
"Animals…they where probably used in tests and stuff."
"Yes, but because of that…that…" Ed stopped, he had a sudden lost look on his face as his hands dropped to his side and he sighed, "It was…them…that's the only possible explanation."
"What?"
"Energy is never created or destroyed…it can only be redirected…because humans have a smaller version of the Gate inside them…and if you have a skilled alchemist who knows the secret to opening that Gate." Ed paused, "When those animals died, their 'souls' or 'energy' or whatever you want to call it, went through the Gate. But since animals can't use alchemy…it went through the only Gate close enough…me." He started rubbing his palms into his forehead in frustration. He then held out his arm,
"I killed it…because I don't want to die yet."
I glanced down at his arm, at first I wasn't sure what it was exactly he was trying to show me but then I saw it. There was a very ugly looking wound; it looked kind of like a chemical burn and it was bleeding pretty badly.
"Oh my god! You have to get that fixed up or it'll get infected!"
"Don't…it'll be fine…" Ed pulled his arm away and got up, "I can't believe you left Ally alone, honestly." He started back in the direction I had come. I got up and followed him to the best of my ability because he'd somehow managed to get way ahead of me. I was still having trouble seeing him do such a thing to a living creature but…if it ment that he'd live longer then it was explainable, sort of.
"CARMAN!"
"That…was Ed." I snapped out of my thoughts and started running, when I found him he was standing in the spot where I'd left Ally, she was gone, "What happened?"
"Damn," Ed knelt down and picked up the toy dog, there was a note attached to it that read,
'To Whom It May Concern,
We've taken the girl, if you want her back show up at the border of New Genesis territory. There you will be escorted to our humble abode and we'll discuss a trade off.'
Edward turned and glared at me, it was a very cold glare and it gave me a very sinking feeling.
"You shouldn't have left her alone."
-To Be Continued-
CLIFFIE! WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ehem…right…yes…I just had this wicked idea and man is it gonna be an 'OMG!' thing, at least that's what I'm shootin' for. It should pop up in the next chapter…yes…heh, heh, heh.
