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Chapter 2
"Out! Hurry up!" shouted Mustang. He was on his feet already and hoisted up the limp body of his youngest subordinate. Ed protested loudly but this time the older alchemist didn't pay attention.
"You go first!" he ordered the other soldier. "I'll hand you Fullmetal."
Havoc ran to the hole and squeezed himself through as fast as possible, tearing his uniform in the process. It was dark in the wood, the sun had already set. He turned around and reached out for the boy. The makeshift supports groaned again and the stone wall shifted. No time to be careful. He gripped the teen's arms tightly and pulled him out, then stood him on the ground somewhere behind him. The young blond fell down like a broken doll with a pained cry, but the older man didn't notice as he turned around to help his superior.
Mustang was halfway through the hole when the structure finally gave up. The older alchemist cried out in pain as heavy stones pinned down the lower part of his body. He tried to get out but he was trapped. Havoc grabbed his superior's arms and pulled with all his might. Roy let out another agonizing scream, but a second later the stones loosened and he was free. The blond soldier stumbled a few steps back before he tripped and both men fell on the ground. They just laid there for a few moments, panting.
"Havoc..." wheezed Edward. "I'll... kill you!"
Only now did he notice what he had tumbled over, or rather who.
"Chief! I'm so sorry!" he got off the teen, his superior officer still in his grip, but the other man cried out.
"Colonel!" shouted the soldier with worry, laying him carefully on the ground. "What..." then he saw it. Mustang's left leg was all torn and bloody and definitely broken. Open fracture. "Oh, hell..."
"Huh?" Ed mumbled and turned his head slightly so he could get a better look. Even in the dim light he could get a glimpse of white bones in the bloody mess. He paled. Bile rose up his throat and he had to gulp forcefully. Then he closed his eyes, trying to settle down his stomach.
"How bad...?" asked Mustang, his voice tight with pain.
"Pretty bad, sir." answered the lieutenant.
A booming sound came from inside the cave. Everybody set their eyes where the entrance had once been and the large cliff above it. Who knew how far the damage reached?
"We should get out of here." said the colonel. "It's not safe."
"Okay," agreed Havoc, putting his arm under Mustang's back. The man grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
"Fullmetal first." He ordered.
"You idiot!" shouted the teen. "You're hurt worse than I am! Just because I'm a kid-"
"No," interrupted him the colonel. "It's because I'm your superior officer and you're my subordinate. You go first. Unless you can get up and walk on your own!" He didn't care how harsh it sounded. This wasn't time for discussions.
And Edward, no matter how much he hated it, had to agree. His arguments didn't sound that strong when he was sprawled on the ground, unable to move. Although he already recovered from the worst, just this little outburst left him breathless. He tried to get up but his back screamed in pain. The world swayed before his eyes. He was still trembling violently and his body just refused to obey his commands. Ed had to admit he already pushed himself beyond his limits.
"I thought so," stated Mustang.
Havoc took the boy in his arms. When hoisted up, the teen let out a pained yelp.
"Sorry," apologized the soldier. He felt guilty when he realized what he'd done while getting the boy out of the cave. There wasn't time to be more careful; even like this the colonel didn't manage to get out in time; but still, he could have seriously hurt the younger alchemist.
Now that Havoc could get a closer look at his young comrade, he winced. With his upper clothes torn and useless, Ed's chest and stomach weren't well protected against the sharp stones. A new set of deep scratches now covered the teen's torso. The good news was that Ed's leather pants saved his legs and more private parts from the same fate. Havoc was really glad for that. The boy was in enough pain already.
The lieutenant stopped under one large tree about twenty meters from the cave and kneeled down but then paused.
"What?" asked the young blond in his arms.
"Just thinking," replied the soldier. "Would you be okay laying on your right side?" That seemed to be the only relatively unhurt part of the teen's upper body, and Havoc didn't want to worsen the boy's injuries.
Edward sighed tiredly. "Think so."
"Okay," said the older man, gently laying his living burden on the ground. He bent one of Ed's legs so he wouldn't fall on his stomach, unbuttoned his jacket and placed it carefully around the teen's shoulders. Ed watched the soldier, who was already running back to the cave, worried.
A few moments later he was back, supporting his superior. They were moving slowly. Mustang's face held a pained grimace and he leaned heavily on the other soldier. Havoc helped the older alchemist to sit down and propped him against a tree. Then he crouched down to examine the broken leg. The older alchemist started to say something but Havoc stopped him.
"I know, Fullmetal first."
"Not this time!" shouted Edward.
"No discussions, Fullmetal." grunted the colonel, but his voice was weak. His arguments didn't sound that strong now either.
"No!" objected the younger alchemist. "I have just a few scratches. You're bleeding all over the place!"
"I have enough of both of you!" snapped Havoc angrily, taking off his shirt. "I'm the medic here and I'll decide who needs to be treated first!" Both alchemists shut their mouths and looked at him, surprised. "Insubordination be damned, sirs." he added and started to tear the shirt, but then stopped and looked at Ed.
"Can you still use alchemy? It would be much faster that way."
"Of course," answered the teen. "Just bring it here."
As the older blond handed him the shirt, he carefully made contact with his bloody left hand and his metal one. There was a flash of blue light and he touched the fabric. It formed into a pile of bandages.
Meanwhile, Havoc found a thick stick, jabbed it into the ground and Mustang lit it on fire with a snap. When it could be seen more clearly, the wound looked even worse, the blond soldier noticed. He took the bandages and returned to the colonel.
"First I'm going to stop the bleeding. Then I'll take care of the chief. Then I'll fixate the fracture. No objections from either of you."
If the older alchemist wanted to voice any objections, it was cut short when the lieutenant applied pressure on his wound. He went pale and his breath hitched. He had to bite his lip hard to keep himself from crying out.
"I'm sorry," said the soldier apologetically. "I'm trying to be gentle."
"No, just go on," breathed the colonel, his voice tight with pain. "There is no gentle way to do this." He clenched his fists tightly and sat still while Havoc continued to dress his wound.
Edward just laid there and didn't say a word. When seeing his superior officer in such pain he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He was angry at himself. If he had been stronger and not just a dead weight for the two soldiers, Mustang wouldn't have gotten hurt. The rational part of him was reminding him that he was already hurt himself and there wasn't anything he could have done; and that he got hurt while saving the other two's lives, but one glance at his superior's pale and sweating face twisted in a pained grimace shut this rational part of him up.
People always assumed that Ed and the colonel didn't get on very well, but they didn't hate each other. Most of the insults and bad words were just a façade; like a game they both liked to play. He never wanted anything bad to happen to the man; especially not getting hurt this bad. When he thought about it, he had never seen the colonel hurt. Mustang was an annoying, egoistical idiot, but he was a good alchemist and a good fighter, Ed had to admit that. His flame alchemy was really impressive, too. He seemed to be nearly invincible. What happened today though shattered that image completely. The colonel suddenly seemed more... human. His usual mask was gone. He didn't look like a heartless bastard now; and for some reason Ed hated that even more. If the man wore his usual smug smirk on his face, it would be easier to ignore what was going on. But Mustang could feel pain the same as anyone else. Edward looked away, but the image of those black eyes full of pain couldn't disappear that easily from his mind. The colonel often talked about protecting his subordinates no matter what. Now Ed thought he understood that resolve in his superiors words. Risking his own life was something Ed could deal with; he had done it numerous times before. Watching someone else getting hurt was so much worse.
Edward didn't notice his eyes had shut until Havoc gently tapped his cheek.
"No sleeping, chief," the man said.
"I'm not sleeping," countered the young alchemist, but he was surprised by how tired his voice sounded. "Just resting."
Although he had to have dozed off for a moment, he realized. Mustang had his leg bandaged already and he was resting against the tree with his eyes closed. He was still pale and sweating but at least his face was calm now. Ed couldn't recall when Havoc finished dressing the man's wound and came to him.
"Well, you have every right to be tired, and I'm sure the blood loss isn't helping at all, but stay with me, okay?"
"Blood loss?" the teen stared at him in surprise.
"Boss isn't the only one who's bleeding all over the place." answered the soldier.
"Oh," the young blond stated weakly. He was still bleeding? He hadn't realized it was that bad. It had to be quite some time already. He didn't even know how much time had passed; since the stones first shifted, everything was a pained blur. He could now recognize the signs of blood loss. It explained why he was so weak and dizzy and why he fell asleep. Well, some of it was caused also by the exertion, but he had to admit his back hurt. A lot. How badly was he injured? Back injuries were dangerous. One bad hit to the spin and it could get serious. What if he suffered a permanent damage? There wasn't a way for automail to fix something like that. He was suddenly filled with dread.
"You're spacing out again," Havoc cut off his train of thoughts.
Ed blinked. How long had he laid there staring at nothing? Don't think about it! He ordered himself. Now wasn't the time to burden his mind with pointless worries. He had to have a clear head.
"I'm okay," he assured the soldier.
Havoc nodded and took off the jacket and the rest of Ed's useless clothes. The teen shivered when the cold wind touched his wounds. Then the lieutenant took a clean cloth and wet it with water from his bottle. At this sight, Edward realized how terribly thirsty he was. He had to have been really out of it if he hadn't felt it until now.
"You want some?" asked the soldier when he saw the longing look in the boy's eyes. The young blond just nodded. Havoc gently lifted his head and allowed him to take a few swigs.
"Okay," the man said when he returned to his original task. "I'm sorry but this isn't gonna be pretty."
"Tell me," Edward said, and his eyes hardened. "How bad it is?"
"Much better than it looks, I'm sure." the older blond answered. Or so he hoped; he didn't have time to examine the full extent of the teen's injuries. "It's mostly scratches on your back, just a few deeper wounds. But it's full of dirt and debris. I have to clean it."
"Okay," Ed sighed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Havoc started to carefully take out all the dirt from the boy's wounds. It wasn't just the dust and debris from the cave. The man felt guilty when he saw the amount of pine needles and dirt sticking on the teen's bloodied back. The dirt had gotten there during his harsh try to get the young alchemist out of the cave. Havoc wished he could have been more careful. He hated to see how much pain he had caused his friend.
Mustang slowly opened his eyes and looked at his youngest subordinate. If he could've somehow prevented this... It was his fault Ed was here tonight instead of studying alchemy books with his brother. He knew there wasn't a way to protect the teen from all dangers, no matter how much he tried, but it didn't stop the feeling he was somehow responsible.
Edward laid still. His eyes were shut tight and Roy could see his clenched muscles, but the teen didn't even flinch. Any other boy would be already crying or screaming at this point. Ed didn't, because he had faced much worse situations than this. To Roy, this showed not only the teen's strong will, but also the terrible wrongness of the older Elric's life. There was the loss of two limbs and the automail surgery; the man didn't even want to imagine how much that had to hurt. And one would need much more than the fingers on his both hands to count all the life-or-death situations he had to face during his life in the military. Ed had seen more that anyone his age should. Hell, nobody of any age should be facing such hardship! Despite of all that, Ed wasn't defeated. He was still here, fighting. For some reason he couldn't quite grasp, knowing this made Roy feel really proud of the boy. A smile slowly appeared on his face. Just hang on, Fullmetal! I'm sure that one day you'll find a way to get your bodies back and then you'll be free from all this pain.
Suddenly Edward cried out and squirmed away from Havoc's hands. The older man quickly backed down. He looked at the teen's pale face with worry.
"What is it, chief?"
"Hurts," he wheezed. Ed tried to take a steadying breath, but his back screamed in protest. It made him gasp, but that hurt even worse. He bit his lip and tried to settle down his breathing.
"You mean it hurt where I touched you?" asked the soldier. "Worse than the other wounds?"
Edward nodded, confirming the man's worries. That was the worst cut the teen had, the one he got from the boulder digging into his back, and judging from how awful it looked it wasn't just superficial.
"It hurts to breathe, doesn't it?" he asked again when seeing the boy's discomfort.
Ed nodded again. Havoc frowned.
"What is it?" asked Mustang. He could see a serious expression in the face of his subordinate.
"Trouble breathing," answered the lieutenant, "and strong pain in reaction to applied pressure would indicate broken ribs. If that's true," he realized, "we could've caused him serious injuries when we moved him earlier. Internal bleeding and such."
Havoc shivered. When looking at the bleeding boy in front of him, he couldn't get one image out of his mind. Edward, hurt and exhausted, who he had in his arms while getting him out of the cave, and then just stood on the ground without any help. Edward falling to the ground. Something he didn't fully realize at that time. He could've killed him. Oh hell, he could've killed him!
"You didn't."
"Huh?" Havoc blinked.
"You didn't cause me internal bleeding." Ed repeated. "That'd hurt a lot more and I'd be coughing up blood, wouldn't I? It's just broken ribs. I can live with that."
"But..." the soldier didn't know what to say.
"It's okay," the teen stopped him. "You did what you had to. I'll be alright."
And he desperately hoped it was true. Ed tried not to think about it but he still couldn't get that catastrophic image, what would happen if he was permanently hurt, out of his mind. Not that he'd tell Havoc. The man was blaming himself enough already.
"I'm sorry, chief."
"It's alright." he repeated. It surprised him how natural it felt to him. He was using the same phrases when talking with Al. I'm okay. Everything is going to be alright. He was so used to pretending that nothing was wrong that he automatically wore the same mask when he noticed that Havoc blamed himself for what happened. Ed didn't want anyone to worry about him, especially not those who were close to him.
"Yeah," the lieutenant smiled and looked at the boy's back. "I need to finish this. I promise I'll try not to aggravate the wound, okay?"
"Okay," Ed smiled back and relaxed.
Havoc worked as careful as possible. To his relief Edward stayed calm. Either he didn't cause the boy any additional pain, or he was just too good at hiding it. Unfortunately, the latter was more likely. When all the scratches on his back and stomach were clean of dirt, the man took some bandages and put them on the deepest wound, minding the broken ribs. The boy just winced when he tightened the bandage and it was done.
"Well," sighed the lieutenant, looking over the remaining wounds. "I'd like to see it all covered but I don't have enough bandages."
"Here," said Mustang while unbuttoning his shirt. "Use this." And he handed the shirt to his subordinate.
"But, sir," countered the soldier. "You're hurt, you need to stay warm!"
"I still have my jacket." stated the colonel, relaxing against the tree. It was clear from his voice and posture that he wouldn't take any arguments.
"Okay," Havoc sighed and started to tear the shirt.
"Bring it here," mumbled Edward, and with a clap of his hands he turned the shirt into a pile of bandages. It was now that Havoc noticed the boy's left hand was also bloody. He had completely forgotten about that, due to more serious stuff. He carefully took it in his hands and examined it.
"How did that happen?" he asked.
"Huh?" Ed looked up at him. "Got smashed with a stone. No big deal. It's just bruised."
"Can you move the fingers?" the man asked, and he was happy to see the teen clench and unclench his fist easily. "Good, no broken bones. That's at least something. You're lucky, chief," he smiled.
"I'm lucky my other hand doesn't get bruised so easily," said the young alchemist. "The automail sucks, but it comes handy at times like this."
"Then I guess we're all lucky you have a prosthetic arm," chuckled the soldier while he cleaned and bandaged the boy's flesh hand.
"If you say so..."
Then the man took new bandages and looked over the teen. "Can you sit up?" he asked.
The young blond shrugged.
"Come on, I'll help you." said the lieutenant. He carefully grabbed the boy's shoulders and slowly sat him up.
Edward gasped. Careful or not, the movement sent a burning pain in his back. It radiated from his spine to his left side, digging in like sharp canines. He tried to catch his breath when the world swayed before his eyes. His head started pounding. Black dots appeared in his vision. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He felt like he was floating...
"Hey, chief! Can you hear me?" Some voice was trying to reach him. He felt like his ears were full of cotton. It took him some time to realize it was Havoc. What was Havoc doing here? And where were they? The woods. Yes, they were in the woods. Ed would rather be in a warm bed right now.
"Fullmetal, answer me!" That was the colonel. He sounded strange. Worried. But why? Mustang told him to answer. Answer to what? Oh, did he black out again? His head started to clear slowly. He could feel again. First came the burning pain in his back, but he put it aside. He was leaning against something. Something warm. He blinked. Havoc? Yes, the man had him leaned against his chest and was supporting him with his arms. Now he remembered. Havoc wanted to bandage his wounds. He told him to sit up. Bad idea.
"Fullmetal!"
Oh, yeah, he should answer. "'M 'kay" he mumbled.
Both men sighed with relief.
"Don't do that again, chief," smiled Havoc, squeezing his shoulder lightly.
"'M sorry."
"No, I'm sorry." said the man. "It's the blood loss. I should've expected this. You okay now? Can you sit on your own?"
Edward nodded, but it was clear in a moment that his body couldn't support his weight anymore, so Havoc still had to support him. Ed's head was pounding and his back was burning but he sat and held still so the older blond could continue his work. He didn't pay much attention though. He was surprised when a minute later he was wrapped in warm jacked again and laid down carefully. Havoc was really fast. Or he was still out of it.
"Here," the man let him take some more water.
"You feel okay?" the soldier asked. "You're not gonna pass out on me, are you?"
"No," the young alchemist assured him. He was still tired but at least his voice was a little stronger now. "I'm okay."
Havoc nodded and moved back to the colonel. "Now I have to do something with this so we can get out of here."
Considering where they were, it wasn't that hard to find some straight pieces of wood and splint the leg. Finding something to make crutches from won't be that hard either, the man thought.
"You're not going to set it?" Edward asked. At that thought, Roy paled.
"The leg? No," answered the lieutenant. "It's dangerous to manipulate with opened fracture. The standard procedure is to stop the bleeding, immobilize the limb and get the injured to a doctor as soon as possible. Which is what I'm going to do with you both." He sighed and looked at his superior. "I can't carry you both, sir. If I make you crutches, you think you can move on your own?"
"I don't have that much of a choice, have I?" the colonel chuckled humorlessly. "I'll be okay."
"I'm going to find some branches." Havoc said and stood up. "Can you turn them into crutches?" He asked Edward.
"Yes, I can." the teen answered. "Of course I can. Anytime. What'd you do without me here?"
The man chuckled. "I'd be totally lost."
"Yeah, of course," Ed rolled his eyes and looked at Mustang. "I bet it's part of the basic training for the soldiers. 'If you have a problem, find the nearest alchemist, he'll take care of it'."
"We just do things too easily," smirked the colonel. "They don't have a reason to try and do it themselves."
"You make life so easy for us, lesser humans," said Havoc with an ironic smile, handing Edward two thick long sticks. "It's so tempting."
The teen grumbled something when he clapped and made the crutches, but a smile still appeared on his face.
"Too bad you can't just clap and heal yourself." Continued the soldier more seriously.
"Alchemy isn't magic," said the colonel with a sigh.
"That'd be cool, don't you think?" smirked Ed.
"What?"
"To know magic!"
Both adults laughed.
"You know, chief," said Havoc, standing up. "Some people think your alchemy skills aren't that far from it. Come on, we have to get out of here."