AN: I started writing this today with the intention of working on it over the course of a few days, but I guess I had a burst of motivation so enjoy this chapter! I'm sorry if Danny's a little too creepy in this; I enjoy his character but I get these real bad creepy vibes from him whenever he interacts with Rachel that I wanted to portray. It makes me uncomfortable so I wrote it to be uncomfortable. Otherwise, I hope you like this!
Threw in a little meme, comment if you spot it!
Chapter 5
Ed paused, the erratic thoughts in his head coming to a standstill as he processed what he had just heard echo from outside the room. The elevator?
Sure enough, he heard those heavy metal doors slide open in the silence, followed by the sound of footsteps creeping out. Ed's heart raced. Was it another victim? Maybe they could help him. From their shuffling, he guessed they were checking out the lobby area.
"Hello?" He called out, and he heard their movements stop entirely. He continued, "I'm locked in this room! Help me out here!" Ed raised his voice a tiny bit, hoping it could help them pinpoint his location.
He waited for a few seconds, frowning when he only heard silence on the other side of the door. He opened his mouth to call out again when a flurry of footsteps approached the door in a rather hurried manner. He stumbled back when a weight hit the door, and the person on the other side seemed rather aggressive in their attempts to open it.
"Hey! What the hell, man? You scared the shit out of me!" He snapped, narrowing his eyes. A familiar laugh sounded from the other side, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach.
The killer from the last floor!
"My bad, pipsqueak!" The man barked from the other side as Ed backed away. He ignored the flare of anger in his chest at the nickname- no one's called me that in years- and let his eyes roam the room as the killer on the other side tried to physically pry the door off it's hinges. "You're gonna be doing more than shittin' yourself when I get in there! You're gonna be begging me to spare your little life!" He spoke with such a sadistic glee that it almost caused Ed to gag.
"What did I ever do to you?!" Ed shouted, starting to physically search the room himself. He looked in drawers and in cabinets, desperately searching for a weapon to defend himself with.
Time to add this to the list of times I wished I had alchemy still-
"It hurt when you hit me with that pipe!" The maniac growled out, throwing his weight into it now as the door groaned at the pressure. There was no way it could hold much longer, reinforced or not.
"So?! You tried to kill me!" Ed retorted, and his brain barely processed that he was arguing with the man about to break through a reinforced door, but he pushed it aside; he needed to find something he could use against him. He hurried over to the beds and bent down, peeking underneath them. Nothing.
"That's the fucking point, twerp!" Bang, bang, bang.
Ed could hear the door starting to break. He whipped around, eyes scanning the walls and shelves. He had to find something-
CRACK! SLAM!
Ed froze as the door finally gave way and slammed back into the wall, and the familiar form of the killer stepped forward, still brandishing that scythe. Ed scrambled to his feet as the man's eyes locked onto him; wild and thirsty for blood.
For his blood.
Ed almost felt surprised that he was still making enemies, even in a place he never remembered coming to, but he supposed he just had that kind of charm.
"Got you now." The killer said triumphantly, grin spreading ear to ear across his face. "Time for you to scream and cry, pipsqueak. It's the end of the line."
Ed scowled, feeling his agitation flare up. Call me short one more time, asshole- "Actually, I beg to differ!"
"Then beg, shorty."
That's it!
He rushed forward, thankfully catching the maniac by surprise as Ed brought his right fist back, promptly punching him right in the jaw.
"Doctor?"
Rachel blinked in confusion as she saw Daniel return, alone. There was no sign of her companion she had met two floors ago, and her concern flared up.
"Where's Ed?" She asked, holding a fist to her chest as she craned her neck to look past him, hoping that the man was simply lagging behind. No such luck.
"Ah, well you see..." Daniel started, causing her to look back up at him. He smiled reassuringly, and knelt so he was eye level with her. "Edward and I found the keys, but he unfortunately got stuck in a room. Now of the keys would work, so I think there may be another one somewhere. Let's look together, alright?"
Rachel paused, feeling an uneasy weight settle in the pit of her stomach. Something felt wrong. She stared at Daniel as he smiled at her, waiting for her answer.
Despite her gut telling her to get away, she nodded, resolving that it would be better to help Ed as soon as possible. "Alright, doctor." She said quietly.
Daniel responded immediately. "Please, Rachel, I'd prefer it if you called me Danny." His smile was beginning to unnerve her.
"...Danny."
He seemed pleased, and moved away, standing up straight, and he pulled out a small key ring from his pocket. "Shall we explore the other rooms together?" He asked, already moving in their direction.
Rachel hesitated, watching Daniel for a brief moment before her gaze shifted to the dark hallway. She didn't know Ed very well, but she knew for certain that she felt a lot safer with him than she did with her own therapist.
Daniel unlocked one of the rooms, and turned to look at Rachel. He paused upon noticing her far off stare. "Rachel?" He called. She snapped her attention to him almost immediately, and he smiled. "This way."
Rachel frowned, but complied, approaching the doctor and following him into the room. He placed a hand on the small of her back as if to help lead her inside, and she suppressed the shudder that threatened to overtake her at his touch.
She missed Edward already.
"You fucker!"
Edward watched as the killer stumbled back, cursing Ed out as he rubbed at his sore jaw. He took the opening, delivering another punch to the man's gut and watching as he grunted, doubling over. For good measure, he brought his left leg up and kicked the scythe out of his hand- the metal weapon clattered to the floor a few feet away, and Ed felt relieved now that they were both unarmed. It wasn't that he wasn't sure he could take him while he was armed, but Ed knew that with a long weapon like that scythe, there was no way he could get close without receiving a serious slash.
The maniac took a second to recover, and when he looked up at Ed once again, he looked positively livid. If looks could kill, Ed knew he would have been absolutely slaughtered right then and there. This was a killer who wasn't used to his prey fighting back, and he seemed to realize that Ed wasn't going down without a struggle.
To emphasize this to him, Ed closed his fists and brought them up, taking an offensive stance. He stared at him intensely, challenging him to make a move.
Stupidly, the killer made a move.
Ed quickly realized this man didn't have much knowledge when it came to hand-to-hand combat, as his punches were sloppy and uncoordinated. He could have laughed, but held back from doing so from the murderous stare he was giving him and from the force he was putting into his swings. Ed was able to dodge them easily. To think, this guy kinda scared him just one floor ago.
He grunted as the killer's fist suddenly connected with his cheek, and he cursed inwardly- he let his guard drop a bit after witnessing the man's incompetence at something as simple at punching-
Another hit, this time to his shoulder. He felt himself step back, before the maniac threw his weight onto Ed, toppling him onto the floor. Ed gasped as he collided with the cool floor roughly, and choked when bandaged hands wrapped themselves around his throat and squeezed-
He threw blind punches up at the killer, feeling his heartbeat spike. The man grinned, a sick sort of excitement flickering in his eyes as he settled his weight on Ed, practically sitting on him. Ed kicked his legs out, feeling his lungs strain for air as he coughed, trying to get as much air as he could. The hands on his neck squeezed tighter.
"The game was fun, but I want my prize now." The killer said, leaning down and putting more forced into his hands. Ed choked, closing his eyes tightly. He then opened one to glare.
It was the first time he could get a real good look at this man's face. The bandages really did cover the majority of his skin, and Ed could only get a glimpse of darkened skin underneath them. His eyes, while wide and blood shot, appeared more amber than gold as he last noticed, and he took note that the pupil of his right eye was dilated to the point the color of his iris was almost gone. He didn't seem to be much older than Ed himself.
"I'm gonna break your little neck." The man sneered, starting to laugh as Ed grabbed his wrists. He was starting to become lightheaded as his vision blurred. He had to get out now.
Ed kicked his legs more aggressively, twisting his body this way and that under the killer, who shifted in response.
"Stay still, ya little-FUCK!"
Ed's left knee had gone straight between red clad thighs, and he found himself immediately freed as the killer toppled over onto his side. He coughed, rolling away and getting to his knees as he gasped for breath.
Once he recovered, he stood, sending one last look to the poor man curled up in pain before sprinting out of the room.
Sometimes, Ed was glad he still had at least one automail prosthetic.
Rachel didn't like this one bit.
Daniel was starting to really terrify her, and she was beginning to feel like he had only wanted to get her alone from the start. He had lead her into an operating room, and had been talking some sort of nonsense about her eyes, before sending her into the back room to search for... for his eye?
"Remember Rachel; My eye is alexandrite." He had said to her, and she only felt confused as she slowly ventured further into the dark room. It was hard to see, and she felt too nervous to reach out and feel out her surroundings. She thought of Edward, the young man who she had met not too long ago, and the words he had said to her not even an hour ago.
"I promise I'll make sure that nothing in this building will hurt you."
He really did promise her that, didn't he? A total stranger, and already he was willing to protect her like that. It surprised her how such a seemingly kindhearted individual had ended up here in this place.
Of course, she didn't know why she was here, either.
She finally reached the desk in the back, seeing a dim light, and she squinted to get a better look at it when she gasped. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. The light was being emitted from a small jar, and she could see eyes floating in the liquid. Whether they were real or not, Rachel didn't know, but she had a good idea of the answer and felt dread well up in her chest.
"Rachel." Daniel's voice spoke from behind her, and she whipped around, bumping into the desk as she looked up at him fearfully. His dark figure loomed over her ominously, and he smiled at her through the darkness. "What's taking you so long, Rachel?"
"I..." She trailed off, her tongue suddenly so dry. She cleared her throat, lowering her gaze and hunching her shoulders up. "I was looking... It's hard to see..."
"Of course. I'm sorry you had to strain your pretty little peepers." Again with the eyes. "But I think you found it! Please, give it here."
That caught her interest. She looked up at him, then turned, staring at the jar she had just found. "...You mean, this?" She asked, pointing at it.
"Yes!" He sounded a bit hysterical now. "Give it here, now!" He demanded, causing her to flinch. She shakily picked it up, hesitated a moment, then held it out to Daniel.
"Here." She said quietly, and shuddered as his fingers brushed over her own. He takes it, smiling eerily.
"Thank you. Now, go wait outside like a good girl, Rachel. I just need to get this in now... I'm not myself without it in, you see." He sounded oddly calm now, and Rachel felt her heartbeat spike up. Without saying another word, she hurried out of the dark room and returned to the light of the operating room. Daniel's voice echoed behind her. "Don't run away now, Rachel. You won't like the consequences of running away." He warned as the door closed behind her.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she hurried around the table, dashing for the door. I have to get out-!
She grabbed the door handle and tugged, and her heart throbbed in her chest as it refused to budge.
He locked it, she realized.
Rachel whipped around, eyes frantically scanning the room, and relief rushed over her at the sight of a crowbar underneath a chair. She rushed for it, picking it up, and returned to the door, now using it to pry it open. It occurred to her that Daniel must have also locked Edward into a room in order to separate them. It made her feel sick.
Finally, the door gave way, and she smiled as it opened in front of her.
"Rachel."
Her heart stopped, eyes widening, and the crowbar clattered at her feet. Hands settled on her shoulders, freezing her to the spot.
Behind her, Daniel spoke. "You bad girl, Rachel. I told you not to run away." He sounded disappointed.
"D...Doctor." Rachel's throat felt raw from how dry it was. She swallowed thickly. She tensed when he leaned down, his breath against her ear.
"This is my floor, Rachel." He whispered, giddy as if he were telling her a secret. "I'm not letting you get away without doing anything to you."
At that, Rachel felt her feet move, and she lunged forward out of his grip. His hands let go of her shoulders, only to grab her wrists and tug her back. He laughed as she let out a scream, struggling against him, and he dragged her towards the table against her will. She felt her heart sink in her chest; even while using all her strength, she was unable to wretch her hands free or even get them close enough to hurt Daniel.
He spun her around to face him and pushed her around, and she felt her back connect with the table as he pushed her onto it, his body towering over hers. She screamed louder, thrashing her body to free herself. Daniel grinned, eyes wild, and she noticed with disgust and fear that his right eye was different from before- now, the eye looked to be two separate eyeballs crammed together, as both a green eye and a reddish-brown eye stared down at her.
The sight terrified her, and she closed her eyes. "Edward!" She cried out, straining her voice, hoping he could hear her.
Daniel cackled in her face, tongue lolling out and hanging from his mouth disgustingly. "He won't be able to hear you from here, Rachel! You're all alone!" He taunted, maniacal grin spreading across his face. "Please open your eyes, Rachel! They look so lovely filled with fear like that." He then sighed. "But they're no good to me now. They need to go back to how they were before."
She couldn't understand his talk about how 'things were before', and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Rachel opened her eyes, feeling the pressure of tears starting to well up behind them. "Danny, please, let me go!" She whimpered, feeling so small against the table. "I just want to see my mom and dad again!"
He seemed vaguely surprised by that, before a knowing look crossed his expression. He smiled his usual smile, once appearing trustworthy and now looking deranged. "Oh, Rachel, you'll get to see your parents again soon." He was oddly calm now, and his words caused her to pause.
"What?" She asked, her voice small. She recoiled as his smile widened to an ugly grin, and his wild eyes bore into hers. The air left her lungs as his next words felt like a punch to the gut.
"You'll see them again in hell!"
AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was pretty fun to write. Ed's enjoyable to write as and I can't wait until Zack joins the team because he's gonna be equally as fun to write as. We're getting there!
I have a question for you all; Is there a ship you'd like to see in this? I've seen a little interest in Ed/Zack but that'll depend on the majority. I don't plan for romance to be a huge part of this fic but I'm not against writing little moments throughout the fic. The only ships I won't write are Zack/Ray or just Ray with any adult character- nothing against those who do ship it but the age difference makes me a little uncomfortable.
Let me know your thoughts!
