Thank you for your positive feedback. I'm glad to see that you all are excited for this story.
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"Come on! Come on! Come onnnn!"
Edward Elric smashed his automail fist against the wall, cracking the plaster. His other hand held the telephone as he tried for the third time to call Garfiel's automail shop. But like the first two times, it failed to connect.
"God Dammit!" Ed slammed the phone down with so much force that the device nearly shattered. Nearby, Al stood watching helplessly as his brother panicked in front of him. Edward turned to his younger brother, his eyes wide and fearful.
"Why won't she pick up? Why isn't anyone picking up?!." He shouted at no one in particular.
'Five days! Five days! That's how long that psycho has been out. Shit shit! What if he's gotten to her already? Christ, what if he's hurt her? What if…?'
Al reached forward and grabbed Ed by the shoulders. "Brother you need to calm down. Panicking and freaking out like this is not going to help Winry. Now there could be other reasons for why no one's answering the phone. Besides, how could the Chopper possibly know that Winry is in Rush Valley?" Al too was disturbed by the lack of response from the phone, but someone had to calm Edward down.
Ed's breathing still came out in pants for several moments until they started to slow down. "I'm sorry Al, it's just...the only reason Winry was ever kidnapped by Barry was because she was visiting us. We weren't talking to her so she came to surprise us. And now he's escaped and she's in danger again! I couldn't keep Winry safe back then, what if..what if I can't do it again? If anything ever happened to her because of me...I don't know what I'd do!"
Al's red eyes softened with sympathy as could only imagine the turmoil that his older brother was experiencing.
"Major Elric!"
The two brothers turned to see the communications operator running out of the back room. "I was able to get into some contact with people near the Rush Valley area. Apparently the region is experiencing severe thunderstorms and several telephone lines were knocked down less than an hour ago." He explained.
"See brother." Al said in a positive voice. "It's just a phone line problem. I'm sure she's fine."
Ed let out a sigh of relief as tension visibly left his body. But he still looked unconvinced. "Al what time is it?"
Al glanced at a clock down the hallway. "It's 8:35 P.M. brother. Why?"
Ed chewed his upper lip before a look of determination crossed his face. "Until I know that Winry is safe. I'm not going to relax. So if we can't call her then we're going go get her. Come on Al, we can still catch a train to Rush Valley and be there by midnight."
"Uh...sir?"
Ed turned back to the operator impatiently. "Yes?"
"I probably should also mention that because of the storms and heavy rainfall. All trains to Rush Valley have been cancelled until tomorrow afternoon." He said hesitantly.
Ed's jaw dropped, weird choking sounds came out of his mouth. "Are you kidding me?!"
"I'm afraid not." The man said solemnly.
Ed let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. "W-we can take a carriage. It'll take us till morning to get there but that's better than waiting."
"Brother, are you sure that you're not, uh, overreacting." Al said carefully. The suit of armor then visibly gulped when Ed fixed him with a vicious glare.
"Listen here Alphonse. The...man who tried to murder Winry has escaped from prison. She has no idea that he's out there. That bastard has been free for five days, and five days is enough time for him to find out where she is! I am not going to take any chances! Not when it comes to Winry. Her life may be in danger! So no, I'm not overreacting." With that, Ed turned on his heels and marched down the hallway. Al looked down at his feet in shame before hurrying after his older brother.
It took the Elric brothers half an hour to get to the outskirts of Eastern City then another 20 minutes to find someone who would take them close to Rush Valley. Ed payed the man whatever he wanted, not caring the price as long as he got them to Winry.
The two alchemists sat in silence as they bounced on the bumpy road. The driver had attempted small talk but was silenced with a glare from Ed. He had since then focused on the road and hummed several tunes to himself. The Fullmetal Alchemist meanwhile sat in a grim, serious silence. Concern and guilt was evident on his face as he stared at the empty space in front of him.
"She'll be alright brother. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." He heard Al say reassuringly.
Ed lifted his head to look at Al. "I'll believe that only when all three of us are on our way back to Central!"
"Do you think she'll come with us?"
"She will." Ed sighed sadly. He wasn't looking forward to her reaction when he'd tell that Barry the Chopper was after her. His fist clenched as the image of her beautiful eyes widening in fear.
Ed found himself thinking back to when he encountered Barry. When he had fought Barry all those years ago in the butcher shop, he'd been terrified. He came close, so close to killing that madman right then and there. If Al hadn't stopped him, he would've stabbed the serial killer to death. After the incident Ed had been glad that Al had stopped him from taking a life. But now Barry was out! He had already killed two other people, men with families. And now Winry's life was once again in danger.
'Maybe Al shouldn't have stopped me...shit here I am talking about how I should have killed someone. If I had killed him, it would have fucked me up big time. Hell I was thirteen for crying out loud.' Ed thought to himself. 'But what will I do now?'
Both of his fists clenched. 'I'll do anything in my power to protect Winry. If that bastard tries to hurt her; if he harms a single hair on her head. I'm going to kill him!'
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11:30 a.m. Rush Valley.
"I'll be back soon Winry. Try not to burn down the shop while I'm gone." Garfiel called as he walked out the front door, with a backwards wave to the aforementioned girl.
"Ha ha." Winry muttered dryly as she finished descending the stairs and into the shop. Once on the ground level she stretched and rolled out all the nicks in her back. Her work schedule was pretty light that day which allowed her to sleep in far later than she usually did. She had woken up 20 minutes earlier and had changed into her usual attire of a white tank top and black skirt.
With a yawn Winry walked down the hallway into a room that served as a sort of kitchen. 'Okay what will we have today.' Winry mused to herself as she began opening shelves. 'Cereal sounds good.'
Winry grabbed a box of cereal, a bowl, and a carton of milk before sitting down at a table in the middle of the room. She hummed to herself as she poured the cereal into the bowl before adding the milk. As Winry watched the white liquid fill the bowl, she couldn't help but think about a certain boy who held her heart.
'I will never understand his stupid hatred of milk. Okay, I know that it doesn't have a real taste but that's not necessarily a bad thing. When it's cold, it's very refreshing. Yet every time I try to make Edward drink it, he freaks out. I'm not trying to poison him for crying out loud!' Winry sighed to herself before she dipped her spoon into the bowl and began to to eat her breakfast.
Several minutes went by in silence before she glanced at a nearby clock.
'Oh my, it's 11:50 already. I better get ready for Mr. Marcus.'
Winry wiped her mouth with her hand and stood up from the table. She placed her bowl in the nearby sink and cleaned it out. Once Winry was done she placed the bowl on a tray with other cleaned plates and bowls. Satisfied with her work she turned and exited the room. She needed to get her tools ready and make sure Marcus' arm was clean before-
"Hello Winry."
Winry froze. A man was standing in the hallway. He wore almost all black, his figure was tall and imposing. But that wasn't the most frightening part of the sudden situation, the scariest thing was that she knew this man.
"No...not you." Winry whispered, her eyes widened and her body began to tremble. It wasn't possible, this couldn't be happening! Ed had told her that this man was in prison and currently on death row. Yet here he was; standing in front of her. The man who had kidnapped and terrorized her. The man who had hurt Edward. The man who had tried to murder her.
Barry the Chopper.
His black eyes were wide and filled with excitement, his eyelids twitching. His mouth was set in a demented grin. He looked like a rabid animal, a predator, that was about to devour its prey.
"Oh I'm sorry to tell you this, my lovely little lamb. But I am indeed here." His voice was still the high pitched hiss that she remembered. "My goodness, has anyone ever mentioned that you look so pretty when you're about to cry."
Winry felt a sob building in her throat as reality finally hit her. It hit her like a runaway train. She was here, alone, with a mass murderer. Winry did the only thing she could do, she turned and ran like her life depended on it. Which it did.
"Winry come back here!" His voice shouted after her. He sounded excited that she was running, that he could run her down like the terrified prey that she was.
Winry tore down the hallway, whipping around the corner and running to the back door. 'I got to get out! Gotta get out! If he catches me then...oh god!' She practically slammed into the back door in her rush to escape. She stepped back and began twisting the doorknob frantically.
It wouldn't open.
'What the fuck! No no no no!' She panicked. Tears formed in her eyes as the door still refused to open; no matter how hard she pulled. She could hear his loud footsteps echoing off the walls as he chased after her.
"It won't open Winry. You might as well accept your fate." His voice shouted as he closed in.
'Oh god. Please! Not like this!' Winry began to slam her fists against the door.
"Help! Help! Help me!" She screamed for someone, anyone, to hear and come help her.
Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her roughly, covering her mouth. Another arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms as well. She bit down as hard as she could on his hand but he was wearing thick gloves. The madman pulled her away from the door and back into the hallway. Winry struggled, kicked, clawed, and bit in an effort to get away. But it was no use, his grip was literally crushing the life out of her.
'No! Not again. Please oh god someone help me.'
Winry froze when she felt him lower his head into the crook of her neck. She could feel his filthy breath against her skin, goosebumps formed in its wake. "Please don't struggle my little lamb. At least not yet." He then inhaled her scent. "You smell all nice and clean. Perfect."
Winry couldn't control the tears that leaked from her eyes or the sobs that shook her body. She was helpless, trapped in the harsh arms of a psychopath. "Pl-please d-don't do this." She whispered, not caring that she was begging to him.
"Oh Winry, I'm not going to kill you now. That will come much, much later I'm afraid." His voice was like slime oozing down her back.
Suddenly she was thrown violently into the wall in front of them. She slammed into the hard surface before falling on the equally hard floor. Her head screamed in agony as her body throbbed in pain. She felt his hands grabbing her and flipping her onto her stomach. Winry's watery eyes were closed as she felt him straddle her waist. Her eyes opened to see a shiny piece of metal in front of her right eye. It was a knife.
"Now...this is only going to hurt a lot." Barry chuckled as he raised his knife.
A moment later, screams filled the house.
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Two hours later.
Something was wrong.
Ed knew something was wrong the moment him and Al exited the carriage. The driver dropped them off half a mile away from Rush Valley. Ed had hit the ground running, taking off immediately. Al did his best to keep up but the mud created by the rain slowed him down. But Ed didn't notice that his brother wasn't next to him. All he could focus on was the clenching feeling of dread that was threatening to eat him alive.
It had filled Edward the moment his foot had touched the ground. A sheer, cold terror that crept into his very soul. He didn't know how, but Ed knew that Barry was here and Winry was in danger.
Edward ran down the wet, muddy road. It was close to noon and he could see the sun reflecting off the metal buildings in the distance. His breaths came out in pants and sweat began to form as he kept running.
"Gotta get there, gotta get there." He huffed as he ran as fast as he possibly could. Jumping over rocks and speeding through deep mud.
It took him about 15 more minutes to reach Rush Valley. Even then he didn't stop running. Ed's lungs were on fire and his legs were beginning to cramp. Yet he still kept going. He ran through the industrial city, past stores and vendors. He didn't stop until he rounded the corner onto the street where Garfiel's automail shop was. He finally stopped when he saw the soldiers in blue uniform outside the house and the yellow crime scene tape.
"Oh god." He gasped. "No!"
The rattle of metal behind him signaled that Alphonse had caught up. Al came to a complete stop next to his brother and gasped loudly at the sight before them.
"Brother…"
Edward didn't respond to his brother. Instead he took off running again towards the crime scene. As Ed neared the yellow tape, a soldier tried to stop him.
"Excuse me but no civilians are allowed back here." The man said; mistaking Ed for a civilian.
Ed had no time for this and whipped out his state alchemist watch before pushing past the soldier. He ran through the front door and saw Mr. Garfiel and Winry's friend Paninya standing with several soldiers. It looked like Mr. Garfiel was crying.
"Garfiel!" Ed shouted as he entered the shop. All eyes turned turned to him and Garfiel let out a gasp while Paninya sighed in relief.
"Oh Edward, thank god you're here!" The feminine man cried before turning back to the soldiers. "See, I was telling you the truth."
"What happened here?! Where's Winry?" Ed practically shouted as his eyes frantically searched for any sign of her.
Garfiel let out a choking sob while the soldiers exchanged glances. Ed's panic began to turn to frustration. "Where the hell is she!" He demanded.
One of the soldiers, a lieutenant, stepped forward. "Fullmetal, sir. I'm afraid that Ms. Rockwell is missing."
It was like all the air was sucked out of Ed's body at once. 'No no no, that bastard has Winry!'
Suddenly he heard Al's voice from behind him. "What do you mean missing?"
"Gone! Taken!" Garfiel sobbed into a tissue. "I came back from some errands and found the house empty. The neighbors told me they heard someone screaming and then I found...I found…" He trailed off.
Ed fought to keep his composure. "Found what?"
The lieutenant turned to one of his subordinates and nodded. "Show him."
The soldier stepped forward holding a small cooler. He opened it and held it open for Ed to see.
Inside the cooler was a lot of ice. But in the center was a bloody plastic bag, and in that bag was a severed human finger.
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"Where...where am I."
Winry's eyes slowly blinked open as she groggily regained consciousness. Once that happened she quickly became aware of several things. One that she was sitting back against a wall in a dark, empty room. Second that her arms were suspended above her head. Third, that her left hand really, really hurt.
She cried out as agony tore through her body. Not only was the pain coming from her hand, but her head and stomach as well. It felt like a few of her ribs were fractured and there was a gash on her forehead.
'What happened? Where am I?' She thought as she tried to move but found that she was chained to the wall. Suddenly Winry remembered what happened back at Garfiel's shop. She remembered him.
'Barry the Chopper! He was there. Then that means...oh God!' She clenched her eyes shut. 'But he's suppose to be in prison? How did he get out? Why didn't Ed tell me that he had escaped?'
Winry began to frantically pull on the chains that bound her arms to the wall and her feet to the floor. But the movement only caused her more pain. Suddenly Winry froze as she felt something moving down her left arm, something warm and wet. She looked up and gasped; her hand was covered in dried blood. It was almost as if she was wearing a skin tight red glove. Longs lines of red liquid streamed down her arm, all originating from one single wound.
'My finger! He cut off my finger!'
Memories flooded Winry as she remembered Barry holding her down before proceeding to slowly cut off her pinky finger. She had passed out from the pain shortly after. Winry let out a sob as she once again tried to pull on her chains. But deep down, she knew that she had to get a hold of herself. Or else this shitty situation would just get even worse.
'It's just like that day! Two years ago. God Dammit, I let myself get kidnapped again.' Her breaths came out ragged before they slowed down. 'But I don't think Ed's coming this time.'
Ed!
Images of his beautiful golden hair and piercing eyes filled her head. 'Does he know I've been taken. Oh god, what if...what if I die here. What if I never see him again!'
Winry shook her head in an effort to expel the negativity. 'No, Garfiel's probably called Edward by now and he knows. Ed's going to come and find me. I know he will. But I just can't sit here and wait. Okay, okay. What would Ed do in this situation? Apart from using Alchemy, he'd remain calm and try to find a way out of this.'
Winry surveyed the room that she was being held in. It was a filthy, molding room with no furniture. The walls were covered in chipping grey paint. A single weak, flickering light was on the ceiling's center. She saw that her chains were attached to latches that were out of her reach. But they were tight enough to keep her from moving. Her arms were being pulled tightly above her head. While her legs were sprawled out in front of her. They two were chained as well. She could lift her legs slightly, but she couldn't stand up. Heavy manacles were around her wrists and ankles.
'If I could just get a loose screw or a hair pin. Something metal and and thin, then I might be able to get these cuffs off my hands.' She thought, looking above her.
Suddenly a voice from outside the room rang out. It sounded like it was coming from down a long hallway.
"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb."
"Mary had a little lamb,"
"His fleece was white as snow,"
"And everywhere that Mary went,"
"The lamb was sure to go, sure to go, sure to go."
Winry's breath caught in her throat. It was him!
"He followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day."
"He followed her to school one day,"
"Which was against the rule,"
"It made the children laugh and play, laugh and play, laugh and play."
"It made the children laugh and play"
"To see a lamb at school."
The voice grew closer as Winry could hear his footsteps getting louder.
"And so the teacher turned it out, turned it out, turned it out."
"And so the teacher turned it out,"
"But still it lingered near,"
"And waited patiently about,"
"Till Mary did appear."
Tears threatened to fall as Winry clawed at the manacles around her arms. 'There's got to be a loose screw, a crack, something!'
"Why does the lamb love Mary so? Mary so? Mary so?"
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
"The eager children cry."
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
"The teacher did reply."
He was outside the door.
The loud sound of metal moving alerted Winry that the door was being opened. With the click of a lock, the large door swung open revealing a grinning Barry the Chopper.
"Rise and shine, my little lamb." His voice was like nails on a chalkboard. It sent chills down Winry's spine and caused goosebumps to break out.
Her response was something between a squeak and a whimper. "Where am I?"
His snake like grin grew as he entered the room, slamming the door behind him. Winry let out a gasp as she realized how helpless she was, trapped in a room with the man who had haunted her dreams.
"Don't worry Winry." He spoke her name with such relish that Winry started to feel sick. "We're still in Rush Valley. Well actually that's a lie, we're a few miles outside the city. That way we can have a more...intimate setting."
Winry swallowed nervously. 'I don't see a knife on him, but he can still hurt me. I can't believe this is happening again!'
Barry began to walk forward towards her causing Winry to shrink back against the hard wall in panic.
"Stay back!"
Barry chuckled, his walk was slow and predatory. The flickering light flashes over his skeletal features before briefly plunging the room back in darkness. The light from the doorway outlined his dark silhouette before the flicker showed him to be even closer to her. Soon he stood merely three feet away, towering above her.
Winry trembled under his dark gaze, her mind wandered to that horrible day two years ago. Where Barry had threatened to take her apart and see what made her tick.
'No! I can't give into my fear. Not again.' Winry thought. 'What would Ed do in this situation? He wouldn't act afraid, he wouldn't give this psycho that satisfaction.'
"You're wondering how I escaped prison, aren't you?" He asked.
"I-it did come to mind." She spoke just above a whisper.
"It was so easy. All I had to do was get out of my handcuffs. A rather easy task once my thumbs were out of the way. After that I killed two men and walked out." He paused as he looked her up and down.
"My, you've grown." Barry spoke with a chuckle. "You're not the same naïve little girl who climbed into my meat truck are you."
"You haven't changed at all." She spoke boldly, lifting her head defiantly. Last time she had met Barry, she'd been a cowering little girl. Not this time.
"I'm so glad you noticed." He said before dropping to his knees in front of her.
Winry stiffened as they were both at eye level. She glared while he continued to grin, his smile sickening. "Two years ago I had you chained just like this. I was just about to begin when we were interrupted."
He reached into his coat and pulled a largw butcher's knife out. Winry's breath caught in her throat as he held the large knife out in front of him. The sharpened edge was pointed directly at her.
"Tell me, my little lamb. Do you want to know what I was going to do to you?" Winry didn't respond or move as he continued.
"Well, first I was going to start with your limbs." He began to drag the knife through the air in front of him. "I'd cut you slowly, letting the blade merely graze your skin before penetrating you." He stopped cutting the air and pressed the flat end of the blade against her right thigh. Winry squirmed and tried to back further into the wall. Unfortunately this caused her skirt to bunch up, it was now riding high on her hips practically exposing her underwear. Barry eyed her exposed skin with a look that could only be described as joy.
"Soon the incisions would get longer, deeper. I'd be careful not go too deep, we wouldn't want you bleeding out now would we. I'd sever all the tendons on you hands and feet. The other lambs always screamed loudly at this part, especially when I get to the Achilles' tendon. Hmm I wonder how you'd scream?"
Barry then dragged the blade down Winry's outstretched leg. She bit her lip and struggled to remain still as the knife scraped her flesh. He brought the blade and pressed it sharply against her ankle. His excited grin grew, exposing twisted yellow teeth.
"I've heard that if you sever the Achilles' tendons the pain is indescribable. You can't walk due to how much pain you're in. I've seen what happens to people once I sever it." He turned the knife so that the blade was pressed against the aforementioned tendon. Winry bit her upper lip so hard that it drew blood, her defiant demeanor was crumbling.
Suddenly Barry flicked the knife, piercing her skin. Winry let out a shriek as pain shot through her body.
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I'm starting to think I have a obsession with putting Winry in horrible situations. It's kind of disturbing. I don't hate Winry or anything, she's one of favorite FMAB characters.
I should upload the third chapter within the next two weeks.
Please Review and share your thoughts!
