Hey, thanks for coming back! I'm soo sorry for not posting this earlier but it's been hectic with homework and exams, I'll post over the summer for sure! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 4

Marie now lay on the bed. Silence filled her room just as flecks of dust did drifting past her vision. She closed her bleary eye and sighed heavily. She didn't know what was happening, but the sky outside was getting slightly darker as time wore on. In all her years, the sky, she assumed, resembled the living worlds weather changes, but the darkened sky here could very well mean a storm of unnatural consequences was coming.

She looked up at the ceiling and counted the tiles there for the umpteenth time. She was utterly bored in this dream world, not being able to leave the room for fear of what sought her outside the door. Whenever she remembered a desire of a past time, that object would simply disappear from her lodgings. She looked at the desk where she had written in her journal about the past days events. She didn't know if it would exist in the waking world, but if it did, it would be useful information for those who wanted to learn more about the dream world and the waking.

She sat up and rapped her finger on her metal knee, humming a tune her mother used to sing to her during her surgery and long sleepless nights. She then let her mind wander to the boy she spoke to in her dreams. Would he come for her? Would he be able to find her? Was he here already? She looked out at the darkened sky and sighed. Yet another dreamy day went by and nothing interesting happened.

The other night she had counted the entries in her journal. The days that had gone by in this sleepy world, and she came to the conclusion that about 403 year had passed in the waking world. She sighed again. Even if she was saved she wouldn't know anyone alive. She'd be older than her time and she probably wouldn't adapt to the change in atmosphere of the new century. She stood up and flipped through her lifeless journal and sat in the desk chair. Just another day of waiting.

Ed and Al looked around the musty smelling map office as the door shut behind them. Ed turned to Al and sniffed loudly. "This place is dirtier then the puddles out side." He groaned with displeasure. Al shook his head. "Oh brother, that's not so nice, it's not that bad." He chimed. Ed was already looking through the stacks of books on the desk as Al went looking for the owner.

No one was around, not another costumer or the owner no was to be found. He saw a small bell on the desk and decided that would call out the mole if there was one. Al put his leather finger on the bell and listened as it rang through the office. "Hello? Is there anyone here?" He called out into the quiet room. Ed shuffled into sight and sneered. "We're all alone Al and we don't need help, I've got it all under control." He said and he sneezed as the dust flew up and the maps flew from his arms as he tripped. "OWW." He groaned, rubbing his backside angrily. It just wasn't his day.

Al pressed the bell again and a tall thin man came stumbling into the room with a grumpy face. "What d'ya want?" He said in an unwelcoming voice. Ed looked up at him from the floor and stood quickly next to AL at the desk. He spoke before Al got the chance to speak.

"Well, I'm looking for a map!" He said. The owner looked at him. "Well you're at the right store, what kinda map are you looking for?" He asked, his smile growing lower as the conversation went on.

"I'm looking for a map to Dreams Meadow." Ed said smiling. The owner lost his grin altogether and his eyes went dark. "You're a fool if you're looking for that ghost town. It's abandoned, for 400 hundred years. If you're looking to die of fright then I'll get you a map, but I'd advise against that." He said darkly. Ed stared at him expressionlessly. "Ya, I want a real horror show pops, just show me that map." He said just as dark. Al rolled his eyes at his brother. "Ed, don't be rude." He whispered. "He was rude first Al!"

The owner went under the desk and shuffled a bunch of stacks. Minutes later, after a mountain of dust and some extreme coughing contests, he rose from the pits of doom and slapped a wrinkly old falling apart map on the desk. "Two gold coins. That's all, it's a bargain. No one wants it and I want the map gone, gives me the creeps, if you know what I mean." He said wiping his greasy hair behind his ears. "Sold!" Edward said slapping 2 gold coins on the desk. "Nice doing business with you. One word of advice," He continued, pushing the line a bit far. "Clean this place up a bit and I'm sure you'll get more customers." He stood tall and rapped on Al's armour, turning towards the door. "All right Al, time to get moving!" He said walking out the door and the owner stared dumb struck at his comment.

Ed looked at the dusty ripped map outside the door as Al stood behind him, reading over his shoulder. "So were is north?" Ed asked. Al looked at the map and pointed to the emblem in the top corner. "By the looks of it, I'd say it's behind the shop here." He said chuckling to himself as Ed slumped. They looked for a path behind the stores. The dead trees of summer stood bare in front of them as the wind howled through their branches. "Uhhh, do we have any means of transportation Al, I don't want to walk through this waste land." He pleaded to Al. Al shook his armoured head. "No Ed, you signed up for this, besides, I'd say it's only about a weeks walk from here, come'on." He said starting to walk forward. Ed sighed and then followed suit. "What ever you say -Boss-" He grumbled.

The dark sky was filling with big, black clouds as they trudged on and the wind got stronger as the trees became more scarce. Ed stared straight ahead as he walked blindly behind Al. The landscape was barren and bland as nothing seemed to change from when they first started. Ed complained frequently about his eyes hurting from all the boringness. Al couldn't put up with his complaints so he shoved the map in his face and told him to keep an eye on the map incase it blew away. Ed just stared at it instead.

As they passed some bent trees to the right and a dried up river to their left, a small village appeared over the rim of the sunset. The clouds still covered most of the sky and the clouds were now letting loose some small rain drops. As Ed covered his golden blond hair with his hood the clouds let out full blast and they ran into the abandoned village and stood under the arbor of a small hut close to the front entrance.

"Argh, I hate rain." Ed complained. Al creaked a bit from the moisture, feeling the rust creep into his suites joints. "Ya, me too." He said. "It looks like we made it though, just in time." He looked out over the barren expanse they had just crossed. "Should we wait till the rain goes before we continue?" He asked his brother. "Ya, I want to roam free, without worrying about rusty joints." He sat on the bench under the arbor and looked at the map again.

"Hey, did you notice this?" He said pointing at a large drawing of a house at the far end of town. "It looks like a rich place, it owns the most property. Do you think that's the place? The old man said they were pretty rich in their day." Ed said putting pieces of the puzzle into place. It was a large puzzle though, and many more pieces were still missing. Al looked at the map. "Ya it does look peculiar, but we should check out the whole town for clues before we go to that house." He looked up the street where he caught a glimpse of the house from where they sat. "It looks kind of spooky, wouldn't you say?" Al shivered, if armour could shiver. Ed looked out towards where Al had glanced. "Ya you're right. So, now that we're here, how do we wait for the rain?" He asked, dreading more boredom. "Sleep!" Al ordered, and so Ed dozed off listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the old tiled roofs and the packed, weed covered dirt of the towns' street, and the ting tang of the rain on Al's armour. And he dreamed of her again. Of Marie.

And so this short chapter ends, I hope you liked it, and leave reviews! thanks for reading, and have a great summer!

edited and updated!