Ed could hear faint humming, sounding distant and pleased. He almost relaxed into the sound before he began to feel the throbbing headache stabbing behind his eyes. Ed let out a low groan as he became more and more aware.
"Oh, you're awake, how wonderful!" Called a deep voice in a sing-songy fashion. Ed cracked open his eyes to reveal none other than Lieutenant Colonel Rogers, crouched upon a low stool a few feet from him. A quick look around the room revealed that he was in some type of cell, barred shadows falling upon the dirty concrete walls and floor. He sighed. Why did things like this always happen to him. He pulled on his arms a little, tight metal cuffs digging into his wrists, which were bound above his head. A look above his head showed two pairs of handcuffs, one for each of his hands, both nailed securely into the wall a few feet apart, keeping him from clapping. Ed screwed his eyes shut against his pounding head.
"I bet you're wondering why you're here, hm?" Ed shot open his eyes to glare at Rogers, who looked far too happy given the circumstances. He smiled. "Welcome to Murin, my young alchemist! Since you had a little trouble accepting my offer last night, I thought I'd give you a little... incentive." Ed shivered at the sinister grin Rogers sported. Ed shifted on the cold floor. "Now that you've had time to really think about your answer, got anything to say to me, Eddy-boy?" Rogers leaned in close to Edward, who shot him the dirtiest look he could muster. Ed spat in the face of the lieutenant colonel.
"Fuck you." He croaked. Rogers looked astonished as he raised a hand to his face to wipe off the spit. He closed his wide eyes and slowly stood up. Edward followed him with his eyes.
"I see how it is, then." Whispered Rogers, bringing up his metal-toed boot and swinging his body into a kick to Ed's side. Edward's breath caught in his chest as his eyes shot open with a heavy grunt. Ed gritted his teeth. Before Ed could calm down from the hit, Rogers swung back around with an even harder kick to his opposite side. Ed bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. He panted for a minute, only to be cut off by the kiss of unforgiving leather-coated metal to his left eye. Ed whimpered faintly as a he felt a hot drop of blood stream down from his cheekbone. Calloused hands gripped his chin and roughly twisted Edward's head to meet Roger's crazed hazel eyes.
"That offer starting to look appealing to you yet, Eddy?" Spat Rogers. Ed gritted his teeth at the man, never breaking eye contact. He ignored how it hurt to breathe, and he blocked out the sharp agony in his head, only worsened by the kick to the face. He would never give in to this man. He would rather die than give him that satisfaction. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Mustang would be melting off Roger's face. He smirked at the thought.
"Go to hell." He sneered. Rogers frowned.
"Alright, but know that you chose this." He gave Ed one last kick to the chest, and this time Ed swore he heard a crack. Rogers moved towards a metal table tucked in the corner. Ed's eyes grew at the sight of many sharp and painful-looking tools lining the tabletop. He followed Rogers hands as they hovered over everything, settling on a small but sharp pocket knife. Ed swallowed as Rogers' boots echoed through the cement cell towards him. He crouched in front of Edward, flicking open the knife to reveal the glinting blade. Rogers sawed straight through Ed's black tank top, letting it fall open before settling the knife in the middle of his chest. He slowly dragged it down, deeply splitting the skin. Ed screwed his eyes shut and grunted through gritted teeth. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound, dripping down Ed's middle and staining the waistband of his pants. Rogers dragged the knife about 10 inches before lifting it off of his sternum. As Edward cracked his eyes open, he felt dread pool in his stomach as he saw the white of bone in the center of his chest. As Ed processed the true severity of the wound, a sharp pain shot through his bicep when Rogers swung the knife down against it. The skin split open and began to bleed heavily. Ed closed his eyes and tried to keep his breathing and heart rate calm. If Rogers continued at this rate, Ed would die of blood loss before morning. Ed tried to keep the thought out of his mind. Apparently, Rogers came to the same realization and decided to switch tactics. He wiped the knife clean of blood on the remnants of Ed's shirt before wandering back over to the table. Ed watched nervously as he picked up what appeared to be a lighter. Rogers settled on his knees in front of Ed, grinning as the flames licked around the edges of the knife. Ed began to prepare himself for the pain.
"Changed your mind yet, brat?" Ed growled at Rogers, who shrugged before pressing the red metal to the skin to the left of Ed's naval.
This time, he couldn't hold back the scream.