Chapter 2:
A Timid Murderess?
"Um, excuse me, but you did ring the service bell, right?" said the girl. Her brown hair was pulled back into a long braid and her green eyes seemed like emeralds in the sunlight from the front windows. But Edward didn't have time to notice such trivial detail when he was staring the proof he needed right in the face. The red stain on her apron seemed new and it was dark in color, but he new better than to jump to conclusions.
"Well, it was sort of an accident that I hit it. But I was just wonderi . . ." Edward started to explain, but then Mustang caught her eye.
"Oh! Brigadier Mustang! I was just going to call you!" the girl said, running to the back for something. She brought back a large bouquet of flowers and handed them to Mustang, who was awakened by the commotion.
"Thank you, Katie! Is there a card, too?"
"No. This one was from one of the secret admirers! She was awfully pretty, too!"
"Really?" asked Mustang, now fully awake, "What did she look like?"
"She had semi-long blonde hair and pretty golden eyes!"
"Like his?" Mustang said playfully, pointing at Edward, who wrathfully flipped him off, but Katie didn't notice.
"No. Her eyes were darker and her stare was really strong. It seemed like she knew you." A face of shock and surprise passed over Roy's face for a split second but he shook it of.
"Alright, Katie. I'll be sure to look for her! But I think my friend Edward over there has some more questions for you."
"Yes, I do! Well, I did, but right now all I want to know is where that red stain on your apron came from," Edward said, pointing at the large spot on her shoulder.
"Oh! Um, well, yeah, about that, I . . . ummmm . . ." Katie said, trying to think of something, but soon she just gave up. "Okay," she sighed, walking towards the back of the store, "Follow me, please." Edward stayed close behind her while Mustang stumbled along somewhere behind.
They got to a rusty steel door.
"Edward," Mustang said moving out of the way of the door, "Would you do the honors?" Ed, unsure of what he would find, grabbed the doorknob. It was ice cold. Then he remembered the cooler. Images flashed into his head. The dead pigs hanging from the ceiling, Winry chained just the same, the sight of his breath as he ran from the butcher through the maze of frozen dead animals. The fear, the panic, the feeling of relying only on instinct, it all came back. He released the knob and stepped back for a second, shaking off the memories, sending them to back of his mind to be kept from returning for a while.
"Sir, you okay?" Katie said looking at him a little worriedly.
"Yeah, it's nothing. Alright, let's do this," he said grabbing the doorknob again and pushing the door wide. A gush of frozen air flew out the door, blowing Ed's and Kate's hair back. Mustang walked in, refreshed by the cool breeze, but as soon as he stepped inside he could do nothing more than stare in shock at the scene before him.
Blood-drained animals still hung from the rafters, but smaller ones such as goats and calves. The gutted creatures were hanging lower from the ceiling than before, but Mustang and Edward guessed it was because of their newfound suspect's height. As they looked about, they saw a table in the middle of it all, covered in an assortment of sharp various sized knives.
Edward fell to his knees as the memories returned again. He was relentlessly attacked by them and was knocked into a mental coma. Mustang just stood, bewildered by his ignorance to see behind Kate's cute face and charm. Suddenly, a something grabbed Mustang's jacket. In the spilt second it took him to turn around, he'd pulled the glove from his pocket and slipped it on. He held his hand threateningly at the figure who had surprised him, Kate. She stood, crying in front of him, with her hand still on his jacket, tugging at it weakly.
"Sir," she whimpered, "your friend isn't moving and I can't get him to say anything! You need to help him! Please!"
Mustang still stood in attack mode as she cried in front of him, his eyes sharp with fear and confusion. His eyes then turned to Ed and the quivering form that he'd become. He was still confused, but Edward needed help fast so he handcuffed Kate's wrist to his own, tossed Edward over his shoulder, carried Kate under his arm and ran out to his car.
He placed Edward in the back seat of the car outside and threw Kate in the passenger's seat next to him as he started up the car and raced to the military hospital.
Please review! I just got back to typing so I am working as hard as I can to type my chapters and still enjoy my vacation AND finish my summer reading assignment! So no hatin'!!!