Chapter 2
The evening sun glistened off the IV that was attached to Ed's arm. He was hooked up to so many machines and apparatuses that it looked like Ed was becoming a robot.
Roy, Dayna, Al and the others stood outside the room. No one said anything; the doctor was in the room, doing tests as he was trying to figure out what was wrong with Ed. Al sat still and Dayna twiddled her thumbs together and bouncing her leg, with impatience.
"I can't take it anymore! I need to see him now!" cried Dayna, sitting up quickly.
"Hold it! The doctor said that what he has might be contagious, we can't go in yet" said Roy.
"Well, I can't wait"
"As your commanding officer, I'm telling you to SIT DOWN NOW!"
"Or else what? What are you going to do?"
"I can have you court-marshalled, or I can think of worse things!"
Dayna was about to open her mouth to say something when Al took hold of her arm. She stopped and looked at him.
"Dayna, I'm worried too. I'm sure that the doctor will be out soon. We have to be strong for brother, please sit down".
Dayna sat down and kept her mouth shut.
Five minutes later, the door opened and the doctor emerged. A look of shock came over his face as everyone raced towards him, looking for answers.
"Is he going to be alright?"
"What's wrong with him? Please tell us."
"Is it contagious? Should I have everyone quarantined?"
The doctor put his hands up and everyone calmed down. He cleared his throat and began to give his findings.
"I have good news and bad news. The good news is that what has is not contagious; the bad news is that he has contracted a rare disease."
Everyone was in shock.
"What kind of disease?" asked Roy.
"It is incredibly rare. We don't have a true name for it yet, but everyone calls it the 'Disease of Departure'. There have only been three known cases of it, unfortunately, all of the victims have left this earth from this illness".
"Is the disease really that horrible?" asked Hawkeye.
"Yes. It's quite horrific to watch the victim. The boy has already began the first stage of the disease: violent coughing, leading him to expel blood from the body. I hate to say it, but the body actually starts to deteriorate as it progresses. Different stages can include trouble breathing, vomiting, expelling more blood, extreme pain and also seizures"
Dayna covered her mouth in complete shock. Tears were pouring down her face and she turned to look through the window into Ed's room, where he was hooked up to a machine to help him breathe. She placed her hand on the glass and stared at him, wishing that he got up and he was better.
"Isn't there anything that we can do?" asked Al "I want to help my brother get well. I'll do anything!"
The doctor removed his glasses and polished them on his coat.
"I think that there might be a way. I read up on a certain flower that, if given at the right time, can stop the disease. Unfortunately, it's very rare. The previous person to have the disease didn't get the treatment in time and they died."
Al sighed and turned when he heard a noise behind him. He and the others turned to find the noise.
Dayna entered the room and pulled up a chair beside Ed. She sat down and watched him breathe. He seemed fine, but made slight wheezing noises when he inhaled. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as Dayna stroked Ed's hair, she undid it when they got to the hospital, so he wouldn't have to lie on the braid.
She moved her hand and saw the sweat come off his face; she wiped it off with a nearby cloth.
'He's getting warm'.
Dayna wet the cloth and placed it on Ed's forehead and then she sat back down. She then grabbed his left arm and put it to her face.
'Ed. Please wake up. Come back to me and Al. Please Ed.'
Al sighed again when he saw Dayna in there. He hated seeing her like this, Ed hated making her cry, but this was completely unexpected. Al turned around to see the doctor returning from his office with a file in his hands.
"Doctor? How could my brother have gotten this disease?"
The doctor looked up at him, "I'm not sure, the sickness is not contagious nor hereditary. It seems to come out of nowhere onto some unsuspecting individual, it's completely random."
The doctor opened the file he held in his hands and was flipping through the papers.
"What is that doctor?" asked Mustang.
"A few notes that I acquired about the 'Disease of Departure'. The disease time also depends on the person."
"Disease time?" asked Al.
"The time counting down before the person dies, it differs from person to person. The last person who got the sickness died within sixty hours!"
"How old was the last victim?"
"Not that old. Early to mid-twenties."
"Did you find anything on the flower that you spoke of earlier?"
"Yes. Here it is. It's called the 'Orchid of New Life'. It's a bluish-white flower that grows in some mountains just east of here near a town called Pineal. Here's a picture of it that someone drew."
"So we have to bring this flower here and brother will get better?"
"Yes, but there's a catch. Once the orchid has been picked, it has to be back here within twelve hours. The nutrients and other parts of the plant will only live for that long, any more and it will be useless."
Mustang put his hand to his chin and thought something over.
"We'll have to send someone to Pineal to get this orchid, if we have any hopes of saving Ed."
Mustang was about to choose a person when the door from behind them slammed shut. Everyone turned around to see Dayna standing in the doorway.
"I'll do it and I won't hear no for an answer!"