I was afraid that showing my monster to Sister would ruin our relationship but it didn't. Sister stuck by me sill. She did tell that it was wrong to attack children, that if I did it again she wouldn't forgive me. She told me if I ever heard crying again and couldn't stand it I should just run away. Get as far away as I had to so I wouldn't have to hear it. If she didn't follow or I lost her it was okay. We made a plan that if we ever got separated, we would meet back up in the last place we'd spent the night.
We had been traveling together for a couple of months now. I couldn't help but notice it was starting to get colder especially at night. The metal of my automail would seem to absorb the cold like a sponge. But I am homunculus and while I feel cold it couldn't really hurt me. I was more worried about Sister. I'd noticed her shivering at night.
The city we'd been staying in had this old abandoned factory. I should have realized that nothing good can come from abandoned factories. But I didn't. It's not that I forgot what happened at the last time I was in one, I just didn't realize that all abandoned factories are bad luck. Maybe the factories are abandoned because they are cursed or something. I hadn't figured this out yet so I thought the factory was a lucky find. We could sleep inside and then we wouldn't have to feel the cold wind. We could even start a little fire inside when it got colder.
When I suggested to Sister that we start sleeping in the factory she got this funny look on her face. She looked at the sky and sighed. "I can't, I'll never sleep with a roof over my head," she said real quietly. So quiet she was almost whispering.
I didn't understand why she'd say something like that. There was nothing wrong with sleeping inside. I'd done it before and nothing bad had happened. "You're cold at night." I told her. "The building would protect you from the wind."
"I'm okay," she replied. I knew she was lying but she said it in a voice that I knew I couldn't argue with.
"Please, the metal gets really cold a night," I pleaded. I wasn't lying cause it does, but I was sort of lying too because it didn't bother me that much.
She looked up at the sky again. I think she was looking for an answer. Then she turned and looked at me. I felt like now she was searching me for the answer. She must have found it or made up her mind on her own because when she finally spoke she said, "Okay Brother, I will sleep inside, for you." I don't know why it was such a big deal, but to her it was.
We walked over to the abandoned factory to check it out. She stopped twice on our way over. I was afraid she was going to turn around. But she took my hand in hers and kept walking. I'm not sure what the factory used to make but it reminded me of the other factory I'd been in: the one where I killed Lust and where Ed sent Sloth mommy back to the gate. I started wondering if this was really such a great idea. Sister didn't like the factory either- she was real tense and squeezing my hand.
I knew for sure that it was a mistake when I realized the factory wasn't as abandoned as I thought. Someone else had been staying there. I noticed the remains of meals on the ground and a few blankets over by one wall. Sister saw them too. "Let's go," I said since she was being the silent one.
"So soon," came a male voice. I turned and saw a group of boys a few years older that Sister standing in the doorway. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as a realized that we had just walked right into this gang's hideout.
"I'm sorry," said Sister. She had gotten her voice back and it seemed strong but I could detect the slightest quiver underneath. "We didn't mean to intrude," she continued reasonably. "We didn't realize that this was your territory. We'll just go now."
"You don't have to do that," said the tallest boy walking over to her. His voice came out real smooth, the words just slid easily from his tongue. "You can stay if you like." I didn't like the way he was looking at Sister. I noticed that the most of the boys were still standing in the doorway blocking it. A few boys had appeared in the door on the other side of room we were in. They had blocked all the exits.
"No," said Sister firmly. "We really should go; mother is going to worry if we're not home soon." She was squeezing my hand so hard it hurt a little.
"She must be very worried," he said with fake concern. "You been gone for weeks at least." Sister must have forgotten or hoped that he wouldn't notice that it pretty clear from looking at us that we'd been living on the streets. "You don't have to stay on those cold, hard streets. You can stay here with us- be our guests."
"I really must go," Sister tried again. Her voice was slipping. I knew I should have done something. I shouldn't have let them scare Sister. But there were so many of them, a fight would get messy and I didn't want show Sister my monster again. I was a homunculus so they couldn't stop me but I wouldn't fight unless they made me. Nothing really bad had happened yet.
"What kind of gentleman would let a lady and child go back on the street? I insist you stay."
Sister saw that she wasn't going to win this. "Ok-ay," she said finally. "For a little while at least."
I finally update and then I leave you with a cliffhanger- I guess I'm just not very nice. I actually write my chapters far in advance (for a number of reasons). I finish a chapter then post one I finished months ago. I had just finished this chapter when I started posting the Rush Valley part 1 and it felt like I would never actually get to posting this one. I'm not sure how long it's going take till I update again but I have the remaining of the chapters plotted out in my head so I'm nearing the home stretch.