Chapter 9: Empty
Riza's eyes fluttered briefly as she sleepily opened her eyes. Through the dim light peeking through, she could see the green canopy of trees above her. As she stretched the sleep from her body, she could not remember how she got there or why she was even there in the first place. Propping herself up, she noticed that Roy was also lying on the ground not far from her except that he was still asleep.
"Hey, Roy." Riza whispered as she softly shook her sleeping friend. "Wake up."
"Hmm? What?" Roy muttered incoherently. "What are we doing here?"
"I have no idea." Riza stifled a laugh. "I was about to ask you the same thing."
"We must have come to Edinburgh Forest." Roy yawned as he stretched his arms. "Probably dozed off or something."
A sudden rustle in the nearby bushes caused Riza's eyes to snap warily to where the sound had come from. Ominous shadows were cast all around them due to the canopy effect of the leafy forest above them. Squinting into the shadows, Riza thought she saw someone's figure prowling around, but it could have just as easily been her imagination playing tricks with her head.
"Roy." Riza whispered nervously. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Roy replied without restraining the volume of his voice.
"Shhh!" Riza hissed as she began to grow uneasy as the rustling continued. "Keep it down."
Suddenly, five figures seemed to materialize from the shadows. There was a dull glint of metal reflecting off of their weapons as they walked into the dim light. From the insignias on their uniforms, they were definitely Drachman soldiers. As they appeared, Roy quickly jumped in front of Riza, attempting to shield her from view with his body. Hiding behind Roy, Riza dared not look at the menacing group of soldiers approaching them.
"Well, well." The Drachman officer leading the others whistled. "What do we have here?"
"It seems we found two lost pups that have wandered too far from their homes, sir." A soldier replied with a menacing laugh. "We could hold them hostage or we can just kill them right here. I have a score to settle with Amestris after their military pushed us out of the town we were supposed to raid."
The man lifted his rifle, aiming it Roy, and switched off the safety. However, the Drachman officer quickly placed a firm hand on the rifle's barrel and lowered it to the ground. The officer walked several steps forward for a closer look. Riza had latched herself to Roy's back, too afraid to let go. Roy tried to appear brave although Riza could feel his body quaking with fear. The officer gave a satisfied grunt.
"Two Amestrian teenagers. A black-haired boy and a blonde girl. Looks like we may have found them." A sinister smile grew on the man's face. "Ransom is out of the question. You know we don't take prisoners or extra baggage. However, I believe there may be someone else among us who would enjoy killing these two far more."
"They sure do fit the description."
"Hey!" The Drachman officer called to the empty shadows. "We've found the two responsible for your little fire accident!"
A Drachman soldier suddenly emerged and shoved his way to the front. As he walked into the light, the man's face or what was left of it was illuminated. Riza felt herself grow nauseous at the sight, for the right side of the man's face had been burned into a grotesque mask.
"Remember me?" The soldier snickered. "I hope you do, for there is no way I would have forgotten you two. I don't know how you two made fire appear, but I know that you two are responsible. Do you see what your Amestrian witchcraft did to me, what it did to my face? I've been itching for revenge ever since."
"W-why can't you just leave us and our town alone?" Riza managed to stutter from behind Roy.
"Oh, but I can't do that. Not until this whole town is burned to the ground. I want this whole town to suffer and die, and I will start with the two of you."
The soldier walked forward and grabbed Roy by the neck. As the soldier tore Roy away from her, Riza clung on desperately. She wanted so badly to scream and fight against what was happening but somehow neither her voice nor her body would respond. The only thing she could do was to hold onto Roy for dear life.
The soldier slammed the stock of his pistol into her head, and Riza fell back in a daze. She had felt the impact, the force that flung her to the ground. However, there was no pain. She felt nothing, absolutely nothing. Not even dread for what she knew was about to happen. Nobody was coming to rescue them this time. Her father would not suddenly appear in their midst with flames flying. The Amestrian military had no idea they were out here. They were on their own, and they had no hope to cling to.
"Since last time didn't seem to work out as planned, how about I switch it up this time?" The soldier checked to see if his pistol was loaded and pointed it at Roy's chest. "I'll kill this boy first, and then I'll get to you. Oh, and I won't make it quick like I was planning to last time."
The soldier pulled the trigger, firing a round at point blank into Roy's chest. The bullet punched through his body, puncturing his lungs in the process.
Riza watched in horror as Roy collapsed to the ground with blood spilling from his wound. She felt the urge to scream, but her voice still would not respond. She crawled to where Roy lay on the ground, coughing and gasping for air as blood from his wound filled his lungs.
"Roy! Roy! Don't die! You cannot die! Say something!" Riza choked as she pressed both her hands against the hole in his chest, trying to stop the profuse bleeding. "Please…don't leave me alone…"
Roy did not respond. His light in his eyes faded and grew dim and distant as the color drained from his face. Riza picked Roy's lifeless body as she knelt beside him. She could feel his blood seeping through her clothes. Riza desperately continued to hug him as if hoping for him to suddenly come back to life again as if nothing had happened.
The Drachman soldier watched with satisfaction as the boy died in her arms. Satisfied with the suffering he had caused, the Drachman soldier approached the silent girl.
"It looks like your friend has finally died. Don't worry. Since there is no one here to suffer and watch you die, I'll make it quick for you."
Riza looked up at the Drachman soldier without emotion as she held Roy's lifeless body in her arms. The man was slightly taken aback by her apathetic appearance. There were not tears. No cries of pain. No look of fear or dread in her eyes. She was merely an empty shell, devoid of emotion.
Riza felt the cold steel of the man's pistol between her eyes. It was all about to be over. At this point, Riza reasoned that death would only reunite her with Roy. Thus, Riza almost welcomed the prospect of a quick, painless death. Riza looked up past the metal barrel at her to-be murderer.
She saw him squeeze the trigger and felt the slight movement of wind in the gun's barrel as the lead bullet thundered towards her. It was her one way ticket to seeing Roy.
Note: I'll try to get the next chapter out a little faster next time. The next several chapters that I have planned are when things really start to get in motion. Thank you everyone for their continued support for my story and Monk'ichii, -HoPeLeSsRoMaNtIc-29-, BlackBrightField2007 for your reviews!
