AN: Hey! Just wanted to say real fast that I noticed I forgot an important detail in the previous chapter, so I've updated it quickly. It was when Rachel finds out about the switch mechanism for the door. Sorry about that!
Chapter 10
Ed couldn't believe his eyes.
Stepping into the graveyard room, his jaw dropped, eyes widening to the size of saucers, as Zack laughed maniacally. The gravestones were shattered, every last one of them- except for Rachel's, oddly enough- and the debris littered the floor. Zack had his back to Ed, unaware of his return, and continued to laugh, a pickaxe settled on his shoulder. Ed clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth, and his hands coiled up into fists. His blood boiled as anger welled up in his chest.
He didn't even register when his feet began to move, and Zack only seemed to notice his presence when Ed was upon him, turning at the last second and receiving a punch to the jaw. Zack grunted, toppling over to the floor, and he held his cheek as Ed loomed over him. Zack looked up at him, mouth open to shout, but his words seemed to die in his throat as he hesitated.
"What the hell did you do?!" Ed demanded, rage swirling in his golden irises.
"I was lettin' off some steam!" Zack retorted, and grunted as Ed bonked him roughly on the head.
"You fucking idiot! How could you do something so disrespectful?!" Ed berated him, swinging his arms out to gesture to what little remained of the gravestones around them. rubbing his head, Zack took a second to inspect them, his eyes trailing over what was still standing to what was on the floor, and he let his gaze travel back up to Ed's eyes.
"They're just graves." He reiterated, scowling up at him, and Ed swore never felt the urge to strangle someone more than right now.
"They're not just graves!" Ed yelled, his hands balled into fists, and he was going to continue when he heard a noise.
"...What on earth..." He turned his head, spotting Rachel as she entered through the hole in the wall. She walked around her gravestone, settling her hand on it as she stared. "...What happened here?" She asked.
Ed turned his head away, shoulders shaking and hair obscuring his face. He clenched his teeth together, unwilling to speak in fear he'd snap at her.
"Nothing." Zack spoke for him, causing Ed to seethe. Glancing down at the rubble, Ed's eyes caught sight of a certain piece of stone a bit bigger than the rest, broken cleanly in two, and splitting up the name, Nina. His shoulders slumped and he felt sorrow replace the anger he felt, turning his body and kneeling down. He ran his hand over the name forlornly.
"What did you find?" He heard Zack ask, glancing over to see the man dusting his pants off as he stood. He narrowed his eyes at him, averting his gaze, and he stood.
"Some papers." Rachel answered, digging them out of her purse. Unfolding them and smoothing out the creases, she continued. "They're about us."
"Oh?" Zack hummed, but he seemed uninterested overall. Ed, on the other hand, grew curious and approached. He kept his distance from Zack, and focused on Rachel to avoid letting his temper flare.
Rachel shuffled the papers, nodding. "Yep. One for each of us." She lifted her gaze, eyeing Ed, and he couldn't help but feel she was suspicious of him somehow. "Ed, yours is blank." She informed him, and he grew surprised.
"Wait, really? Let me see." Holding the paper out for him to take, Ed received his record from Rachel, turning it over, and he couldn't help his confusion that grew. It was clearly him in the picture- though he noticed he didn't remember ever taking this particular picture, which creeped him out- and it had his full name printed clearly, but everything else about him was labelled "confidential". In utter disbelief, Ed turned the page around to look at the back, finding it completely blank.
What the hell?
"Why is mine blank? Is yours the same?" Ed asked, looking up at Rachel, and she shook her head.
"No. Mine is filled out." She answered, holding her sheet up for Ed and Zack to see.
They both gazed at it, before Zack scoffed, looking away. "So what? It's just a sheet of paper with some words about us. Who cares what it says?" He asked, and Ed ignored him, letting his eyes run over the first few lines. He paused, feeling as if the air was caught in his throat, his eyes widening by a fraction. His body froze to the spot, his eyes glued to the sheet.
Rachel and Zack seemed to notice his tense form, and watched him, perplexed. "Ed?" Rachel asked, but he didn't hear her. His eyes ran over the lines again, and again, hoping, praying to God or Truth that he was reading them wrong. But he wasn't.
Name: Rachel Gardner
Age: 13
Birth date: June 10th, 2005
"Is that... is that the correct date?" Ed asked, his mind reeling.
It can't be. If she was born in 2005, then that would mean it's 2018. It can't be 2018, it's impossible-
"My birthday?" She asked, her face only slightly scrunching up in confusion. "Um... yes. I was born in 2005. Why?"
WHAT THE FUCK.
Ed could only stare, and he backed away a bit, staring at her, at Zack, at their surroundings. His mind felt like it was about to break, his ability to process things shutting down, and he was starting to feel lightheaded.
"How...?" He managed to get out, the words dying on his tongue.
How did I jump a whole 100 years into the future?
"Oi, are you fuckin' okay?" Zack asked, his voice breaking through his thoughts and bringing him back. Ed stared at Zack, who looked annoyed and confused, and his eyes moved to Rachel, who despite looked as dead as before, was showing signs of concern as she regarded him.
"...I-" He began, but stopped himself, looking away. He gripped his fists, lowering his head as he internally fought with himself.
What do I do? Do I tell them?
No way! They won't understand; they'll think you're insane!
But if I don't tell them, they'll think something is up!
Then lie! It's not like you haven't lied before!
"...I'm fine." He answered finally, looking up at the duo. He felt obvious in his little lie, but he couldn't let them know. He smiled, albeit shakily, and he repeated himself, "I'm fine. It's nothing."
I'll tell them eventually... Maybe.
Ed chose to ignore the particularly dirty look Zack sent his way, focusing mostly on Rachel, who seemed unconvinced. "Are you sure you're okay, Ed?" She asked.
Ed nodded, avoiding his gaze from Zack, who's glare got harsher. "Yeah. I'm okay."
He didn't understand the look Zack was giving him. Did he know he was lying?
Ed ignored his worries, instead clearing his throat and turning the attention away from him. "The last record?"
"Ah, right. This one is about a guy named Isaac." Rachel said slowly, her gaze staying on Ed for a moment, before she shifted the papers. "Zack, this is you, right?" She asked, holding the sheet up to Zack for him to see, but he ignored it, staring Ed down intensely. Ed felt a slight chill travel up his spine.
Rachel, seeing as Zack wasn't going to look at it, turned it to her, and began reading. "'Isaac Foster. Estimated to be 20. Birth date unknown. In childhood, there is evidence that he was placed in an orphanage. The institution was unauthorized, therefore details surrounding it are unknown. Possible trafficking. The institution was later charged for substandard living conditions, but Isaac Foster was already missing by then."
Ed frowned, glancing towards Zack and catching his gaze. The two stared at each other in silence, Ed feeling a twinge of sympathy in his chest, while Zack remained unreadable.
Rachel continued. "'Concurrently, the bones of several children were found in the institution's yard. Moreover, also found is what is believed to be the slaughtered bodies of the proprietors. There is a large gap between the time of death for the slaughtered children and proprietors. Based on the slash wounds on the bodies inside the institution, the suspect is believed to be Isaac Foster. The whereabouts of Isaac Foster are currently unknown. However, he is involved-'"
"How does reading that make you feel?"
Rachel paused in her reading as Zack finally broke eye contact with Ed, turning his gaze on her, and she slowly looked up at him. Before anyone could blink, the blade of Zack's scythe was under Rachel's chin, threatening to press into her neck, and Ed felt his heart lurch. His eyes widened, his jaw clenching, and his body tensed. Rachel didn't flinch.
"Isaac Foster... is me." Zack spoke lowly, his face cast in shadows. Rachel stared him down, and he gripped his weapon a bit at her complete lack of reaction. "Well? What do you think?"
I'll show you what I think- Ed thought, ready to deck Zack once again, but he paused upon seeing Rachel subtly raise a hand to stop him.
"...It's just a sheet of paper with some words about us." She said, repeating his own words and surprising Ed with how calm she was handling the situation. "It's nothing more than that."
Zack raised the blade to tip her chin up. "You're not afraid of me?" He asked, watching her carefully as she shook her head. He smirked, and it only widened when Ed finally stepped forward, grabbing Rachel's arm and pulling her back slightly from the weapon. "I once knew someone else who said they weren't afraid of me..."
"Oh, yeah?" Ed asked, regarding Zack with caution.
"Yeah." Zack replied, looking at Ed now as he continued. "The bitch was going on and on about how she 'wasn't afraid,' and was 'such a fan' of me, and how she just wanted a chance to meet me."
Ed grimaced, the image of a woman hitting on the serial killer before him forcing itself into his head. "Gross."
"What happened next?" Rachel asked, and Ed thought for a second she may have been interested, but it was hard to tell with her lack of tone.
Zack grinned. "It amused me so much I gave her five seconds to run instead of three. 'Course, she didn't get far." Ed felt like Zack's attention was solely on him now, and he didn't like it. "When I caught her, she was crying about how she didn't wanna die. I said, 'I thought you weren't afraid' and you know what she said to me?"
"...What?" Ed asked, not liking the creeping unease settling on his shoulders.
Zack kept his gaze on Ed's eyes, the intensity of his stare only growing. "'I lied.'" He growled out, and Ed suppressed a chill from running through him. "I hate liars. So I killed her."
The air felt stifling, and Ed was sure that any second now, Zack would try and strangle him again. He felt caught- he knew his lie wasn't the most convincing, but he thought he could at least make it for a while without being confronted.
I shouldn't have lied.
"...Okay, and?" Rachel spoke up, and both Zack and Ed looked at her in confusion.
"Heh?"
"The story, does it have anything to do with me? Will you kill me if I run away from you?" She asked, and Ed bristled.
"Rachel!" He scolded her. "You're not going to die."
She looked at him. "But-"
"No buts! I'll be damned if I let you die on my watch." He said stubbornly, placing his hand on her hair and ruffling it up. She pouted a bit in response, and Ed heard Zack mumbling to himself about how he forgot Rachel wanted to die, and let himself breathe out a small sigh.
That story didn't have anything to do with you, Rachel, but I'm pretty sure it had everything to do with me.
"There wasn't anything else, was there?" Zack asked, annoyed as he rested his scythe against his shoulder. Ed felt relieved that he decided to drop the whole thing, and he let go of Rachel's arm.
"Yes." Rachel said, looking towards Zack. "There's a door that I can't get through that needs to get activated by a switch, and I have a sneaking suspicion I know where it is. We have to go back to where we started on this floor, though."
Ed smiled, impressed by her work. "That's great. Anything else?" He asked.
Rachel paused for a moment. "...I heard a voice."
Ed's smile faded, and Zack looked at her. "What?" Ed and Zack spoke in unison, and Ed ignored the scowl Zack sent him.
"They said... They said that this floor was their domain." Rachel continued. "And that they know what I desire."
Zack frowned, narrowing his eyes. "...Is that so?" He asked, stepping away. Ed, meanwhile, raised his guard, glancing towards the hole in the wall. He had completely forgotten that each floor was suppose to have a resident. They could be anywhere- hell, they could be watching them right now.
He heard the sound of metal hitting the floor, and he turned, perplexed at the sight of Zack lifting the pickaxe. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"I'm gonna destroy the grave." Zack said, approaching Rachel's grave. Rachel's and Ed's eyes widened.
"What?" She asked quietly, before speaking up louder, taking a step forward. "You can't-"
"Yes, I can." Zack retorted, swinging the pickaxe down on the gravestone with all his might. "Your grave isn't here!"
With a loud clash, the pickaxe split the elegant stone in half, sending the top half tumbling to the floor. Rachel stared in dismay at the ruined monument, and Zack tossed the pickaxe to the floor, discarding it and picking up his scythe once more.
"Why... would you..." Rachel spoke up quietly, and Zack scoffed.
"What did I say?" He asked, and Rachel turned to look at him slowly. "Your grave isn't here. Just forget about the stupid thing." Zack scolded, looking away, and he made his way for the exit. "Let's go."
Rachel stood there, looking at her broken grave, and Ed frowned softly, approaching her. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Rachel?" He asked, and retracted his hand when she shrugged him off. She silently trudged off after Zack, head bowed, and Ed rubbed the back of his head, watching her. He turned his gaze to her grave, eyeing the piece that had her name engraved. His mind wandered, going through everything that had just transpired, and he couldn't help but bring one worrying piece of information to the forefront of his memories.
"I hate liars."
God... Al, you wouldn't believe the mess I got myself in this time.
"Hey, pipsqueak! Hurry up! We don't have all day!" Zack shouted at him from the doorway, shaking Ed from his thoughts, and Ed quickly turned, following after the duo as they left the graveyard room.
AN: This chapter is again, not action packed and dialogue heavy. I like writing their interactions, but please forgive me if some of this is too boring. I also was really excited to get out the whole year plot point! I wonder what happened to Ed? Haha!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please review!
