AN: Hey! I've been kinda busy with college, so I'm just getting around to this now. Hope you're all having a great day and enjoy!
Chapter 8
The elevator was quiet.
Ed shifted awkwardly, staring ahead at the metal doors. He glanced at Rachel, seeing her dead stare also settled on the elevator doors, and then shifted his gaze to the killer- Zack, he said his name was? He regarded him suspiciously, his body tense. A bead of sweat trailed down his face. An uneasy feeling had settled in his gut when they began their ascension to the next floor, knowing that he and Rachel were in a small, closed off space with a murderer. What if he decided suddenly to kill them? They couldn't avoid that scythe in an elevator!
Zack, seeming to sense eyes on him, made eye contact with Ed. They stared at each other for a split second, before Ed broke it, staring ahead, quietly gulping.
Ed could almost still feel the sensation of Zack's hands around his neck, squeezing to cut off his air flow. He very easily could have taken his life back there. Subconsciously, he brought a hand up to gently touch his neck, and flinched at the sore feeling he found there.
He had a strong feeling there were bruises on his neck.
Ed glanced over at Zack once again, only to see his gaze still on him, staring intensely. He almost jolted, and averted his gaze once more. The pattern of the elevator wall was suddenly very interesting.
"So, did you two know that guy?" Zack asked, breaking the silence. Rachel remained silent, and Ed chose to follow her lead and hunch his shoulders up.
Zack gritted his teeth, his eye twitching, and he looked away with a "hmph!"
Silence.
"Did you know him?" Rachel asked after a moment, catching both Ed and Zack by surprise.
"Huh? No, what gave you that idea?" Zack seemed perplexed.
"You called him by name."
"Oh? I did? Don't remember." Zack almost immediately dismissed her, and Ed squinted at him.
Dumbass...
The elevator dinged, signalling their arrival to the next floor, and Ed felt a shiver run through him as the doors slid open, feeling like a freezer was just opened on him.
"It's so cold!" He said, hugging himself as he took a step out. The new floor was completely different from the last- the floor and walls were brick, and two small pools of water sat on either side of a pathway in front of the elevator. Ed stared at the water, taking notice of the wisps of condensation coming off the liquid like steam. Ed spotted an area in the water that bubbled, and he tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow raising. Rachel also seemed to take notice, staring at the bubbles blankly.
"Oi, get over it and let's fuckin' go." Zack said, briskly pushing past Ed and taking the lead, and Ed glowered at him.
"Wait." Rachel spoke up, and continued when Zack paused to look over his shoulder at her. "How well do you know this place?" She asked, and Ed felt unnerved by the lack of emotion in her voice. Not even a shred of curiosity laced her voice, making her sound bland.
But she did ask a good question. Ed looked at Zack, his interest piqued. Zack seemed to raise a brow at the duo, then looked away.
"Not very well." He answered after a moment. "I never really left my floor."
"What, really? Don't you have a life besides killing?" Ed couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of his mouth, and from Zack's sharp look, he pursed his lips, biting his tongue to keep from speaking.
"Shut up. It doesn't matter, anyways." Zack growled, turning his back to the two blondes. "All I know is that the other residents are psychos. That's why I stayed on my floor. Now, stop wasting time, and let's get a move on." He resumed walking, his pace brisk. Rachel, not wanting to lag behind, followed after him.
Ed couldn't help but make a face as he trailed behind, muttering under his breath, "You say that like you're not a psycho, too..."
Thankfully, Zack didn't hear him.
Entering the next room, Ed frowned at the sight before him. The room was larger than the previous room, and in the center, two rows of graves greeted them, the smell of soil filling the air. Directly across from them on the other side of the room, rested a door, and on either side of the room were corridors. One of the graves was open, and beside it on a pile of dirt, sat a pickaxe.
"Graves..." Rachel spoke, staring at the slabs of stone standing before them.
Zack glanced at her, then snorted, turning away as he walked forward. "You gonna jump in one?" He asked, huffing.
Ed shot him a heated glare, digging holes into the back of his hooded head.
Zack kept the lead, trekking down the hallway to their right, and Ed and Rachel kept an even pace behind him. Entering a new room, Ed felt his jaw drop at the sight of more graves- this time, taking up the whole room.
"Oh my God." He said, covering his mouth. Four rows of graves lined both side of the room, with one path going straight through the middle. Before them, a stone scripture was laid out to be read, and beyond that, Ed could see one massive grave, followed by a decent grave, and what appeared to be a lumpy rock.
Despite the strong reaction Ed had, Zack and Rachel stepped forward without a problem, stopping in front of the stone slab. Ed stared at them in bewilderment.
"Wait! How does this not bother you?" Ed shouted, pointing at the duo as they turned to look at him.
"Huh?" Zack grunted, staring at Ed as if his behavior was peculiar. "What are you going on about, shorty?"
"Don't call me that!" Ed snapped, then growled, hunching his shoulders up. "I mean, how can you guys just... act like this is normal?"
"How do you mean?" Rachel asked this time, no change in expression, and Ed could only feel himself grow even more confused.
"The graves!" Ed stated it as if it were obvious. "They're everywhere! We're- we're probably standing on graves right now!"
The two stared at him blankly, and Ed felt as if he were going insane. Why was he the only one concerned about this?
"So?" Zack asked, eyebrow raised. "It's just graves. What's the big deal?"
"It means that there's so much life that's been lost here!" How could they not see that?
"And? I don't see the point, shorty."
Ed felt his ire rise. This motherfucker-
"Don't fight, please." Rachel interrupted. "This isn't the time for that."
Ed held back his tongue, stopping himself from snapping at her, and he settled for taking a deep breath through his nose, exhaling softly. He shouldn't let himself get so worked up, especially in a situation like this.
Zack turned back to the slab, regarding it disdainfully, then gestured to Rachel as he stepped around it. "You. Read this." He said.
Rachel looked at him, before stepping forward, quietly clearing her throat. She began reciting the script engraved in the stone, her monotonous voice filling the silence.
"The welcomed by the Holy Land.
The chosen by thee Lord, the Good men,
the Beloved by the Angels, the Special Ones,
leave yourselves in the magnificent glory of the Lord.
To the traitors,
here will be then prison forever."
Silence.
"I don't get it." Zack stated bluntly, an utterly bored look on his face.
"Of course you don't." Ed mumbled disdainfully, keeping his gaze averted.
Ed wasn't as fortunate this time, as Zack swung around to glare.
"What was that, shorty?!"
Ed whipped around, scowling as his temper flared. "I said, of course you don't, you moron! And stop calling me short!"
"And what are you gonna do if I don't stop, huh, shorty?" Zack sneered, stomping forward and getting into Ed's personal space. He stood tall, staring down his nose as if to emphasize the inches in height he had on him. That irked Ed to no end- he wasn't short anymore, and just because he came up to Zack's jaw didn't mean that he was short, that just meant Zack was freakishly tall.
"I'll have you know I'm average height!" He berated, gritting his teeth. "And if you call me short one more time, I'll knee you in the crotch again!"
"Heh?" Zack dragged out the sound as long as annoyingly possibly, a sneer on his face at the sheer anger he was provoking out of Ed. He then leaned down, making Ed take a step back as Zack made himself eye level with him. "No fuckin' way you're average, unless you're from a town of midgets."
Something told Ed that Zack liked making fun of him, and it pissed him off to no end.
Ed clenched his fist with the preparation to swing, when Rachel's voice called over to them.
"I found something." She said, and both boys turned to look, surprised that she had managed to walk away without them noticing. Rachel was standing in front of the grand grave stone, back to the duo.
"Hey! You better not be trying to run off!" Zack straightened up immediately, hurrying over as if she were going to book it at any second. She remained in place as Zack reached her side, and Ed followed slowly, taking the time to calm himself before he joined them. He's really getting on my nerves.
"What are you looking at?" Zack inquired, looking down at Rachel before looking at the writing on the grave.
"The name..." She started, her voice slow. Ed sensed a bit of a difference in her tone, and felt a weight settle in his gut as he came to her side. Gazing at the stone, he felt dread fill his chest. "It's my name... Rachel Gardner." Ed noticed that Zack seemed surprised, as if he had forgotten Rachel's name, and scowled at him.
"Huh? Is that so..." Zack turned his attention to the two other graves beside Rachel's. "That what are these two?"
Ed made a face when his eyes moved to the decently made tombstone on the right, seeing his name carved with clean, bold lettering. "That one is mine." He said bitterly, approaching it and placing his right hand on it.
"Then if those two are yours, then this one..." Zack trailed off, turning to the lump of rock settled on the left of Rachel's grave, and he snorted. "This one is mine? It's a piece of shit!"
Like you, Ed thought bitterly.
"Pisses me off." Zack continued, sneering. He lifted his scythe above his head. "I'm gonna break it."
"What you're gonna do break is your scythe, genius." Ed snapped, causing Zack to pause. "Don't be an idiot."
Zack gripped the handle of his scythe and glared at Ed. "I know! Fuck off!" He lowered his weapon, and glowered at Ed.
"There's a draft." Rachel intervened once more, and Ed swore he could hear a bit of annoyance in her voice. She pointed ahead, and Ed and Zack looked, taking notice of a gap in the brick wall directly behind the graves. Judging by the size of it, Rachel could make it through just fine, but Ed would probably struggle if he tried to go through himself.
There was no doubt that it would be impossible for Zack to go through.
The group was silent for a moment, before Zack spoke up. "You think there's something in there?" He had his scythe settled loosely against his shoulder, his free hand shoved in his pocket.
"Should I go look?" Rachel asked.
Zack shot her a foul look, tightening his loose grip on his scythe, before swinging the blade around. Ed jolted, his eyes widening in shock as he stepped back to avoid getting nicked.
"You're not thinking of running away, are you?" He asked, his voice lowering to a threatening growl.
"I won't run away." Rachel turned to him quickly, startling Zack, and allowing her to continue. "We made a deal. You still have to kill me."
"Rachel." Ed said sharply, and bristled as Rachel ignored him in favor of continuing.
"I shouldn't be long."
Zack stared her down, his eyes seeming to search her face for any sort of falsity, before he closed his eyes with a sigh. "That bullshit again." He lowered his scythe and pulled it away, resting it on his shoulder, and he made a face at Rachel. "You're really creepy, you know that?"
Ed kind of agreed with him at this point.
"Go ahead." Zack finished, turning away from her.
Rachel nodded, moving around the gravestone, and she stopped to regard the two men. "I'd like you two to search for the exit out here."
"What?" Zack immediately snapped, his shoulders raising. "Don't order me around."
Ed rolled his eyes at Zack's defensive reaction, and crossed his arms. "We'll look." He answered, ignoring the dirty scowl Zack sent his way.
"There's nothing but fuckin' graves around here!" Zack basically shouted.
Rachel looked at him. "There may be a switch that we can't see."
"You think I would know a switch if I saw one?"
Ed and Rachel stared at Zack, before nodding in sync.
"Yeah..."
"Right..."
"...Huh?!"
Rachel turned to Ed. "You look for the switch. I'll check inside."
"Got it." Ed replied, scratching his cheek, feeling at the marks Daniel left on the previous floor.
Zack, thoroughly insulted, turned away and grumbled as he walked over to his grave, kicking at it sullenly. Rachel, content with Ed's agreement to help, made her way to the opening in the wall, when Zack decided to speak up.
"If you get caught in a trap and die, then you better tell me, brat!"
Silence.
Rachel turned to look at Zack. "I can't talk if I'm dead." She deadpanned.
Zack's eye twitched, and Ed snorted, covering his mouth and looking away to avoid Zack's death stare.
"Also-"
"What now?!" Zack exploded, barring his teeth in anger. Rachel gazed at him calmly.
"Could you please not destroy my grave?" She asked quietly.
He stared at her, the corner of his eye twitching. Ed stared at him, watching as Zack processed the question, and averted his eyes, looking away from Rachel. "...Whatever. Just go already."
Content, Rachel turned, leaving the duo alone.
AN: In my plans for this fic, this chapter was actually suppose to include more, but I felt this was a good spot to leave off so I'm splitting this into two chapters. I hope you enjoy it, anyways! This was really fun to write.
I got a question for you guys; What voices do you prefer for our cast? For FMAB, I prefer the English dub as I grew up with it, and for AOD, I prefer the sub; I love Zack's voice a lot in the sub.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments! I look forward to reading what you have to say!
