CHAPTER FOUR- Diagnosed:
The sun rose waking Ed up. He stood up and stretched.
"Morning Al." He said yawning. "Did she do anything or go anywhere?"
"No, she is still asleep." Al said with a bit of worry in his voice.
"What is it Al?" Ed said wide awake now. Al shrugged. He wasn't sure but he thought something was wrong. Ed rushed over to Claire, pulling her hood back. She was so pale she was almost transparent. She had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and darker circles under her eyes.
"Claire! Claire, Wake up!" Ed said shaking her gently. She opened her eyes a bit but they were glazed over. Her eyes searched but she wasn't really seeing anything.
"Ed…it…it hurts." She moaned.
"What is it what's wrong? Claire?" Ed was beginning to panic.
"Brother, we need to get her to a doctor!" Al said. Ed leaned over and picked Claire up, carrying her in his arms gently.
"While I was getting some wood yesterday I saw a small town just down the hill." Al said rushing up the hill, Ed following close behind.
"Hang in there Claire." Ed said holding her tightly to his chest.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER:
Ed and Al sat in the cafeteria waiting. Ed was pacing back and forth when the doctor came in. he looked at Ed with a tight face and their stomachs dropped. Al stood as Ed stopped and watched the doctor.
"Well?" Ed burst out. The doctor cleared his throat.
"It's not good…she has been suffering a while without letting anyone know, so I'm glad you brought her." the doctor said.
"Tell us what's wrong with her!" Ed said freaking out. The doctor cleared his throat.
"Well she is dieing from kidney failure. My guess she had been in a lot of pain in the last couple of weeks." Ed froze.
Dieing...Ed thought in pure shock.
"You said she was dieing…how long does she have?" Al said in a panicked voice.
"I guess around a couple weeks." The doctor said. "I have her on some painkillers but she is awake if you want to see her." Ed and Al rushed to her room and opened the door with a load click. Claire was standing up and was trying to pull the IV in her arm out when Ed and Al rushed over to her.
"What are you doing?" Ed asked as he grabbed her hand, stopping her. She looked up at him with a stern look on her face that surprised Ed.
"Let. Me. Go." she said.
"Why?" Al said, stepping forward. She was quiet for the longest time. Her eyebrows were draw together as if she was in deep thought. Ed's grip loosened, Claire noticed. She jerked her hands free, ripping the IV out in the process making her wince. She turned on her heel and grabbed her clothes.
"Where do you think you are going?" Ed asked, trying to stop her.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving"
"But you can't!" Al protested. She rushed to the door and reached for the handle. The door swung open before she could grab the handle. A man stood at the doorway. He was tall with his black hair slicked back. He had an eye patch and a big smile planted on his face.
"The Furer!" Al said as he and Ed stood up straight. Ed looked over at Claire as she slowly backed away from the door. She had a look on her face that made her look like she had just eaten something sour. The Furer looked down at her and she looked him right in the eye with out flinching.
"I heard that there was a friend of the FullMetal in our hospital. I just had to come and see who it was." He smiled down at Claire. "Hello, I'm-"
"I know very well who you are." She said her face going blank. The Furer's smile frayed a little. They looked at each other closely, neither one making any sudden movements.
"Oh, do you now." He said. The room fell silent as the tension rose. They all stood there for awhile. Waiting to see what was going to happen.
"Claire?" Ed asked about to step forward but before he could blink he heard a sharp sound of metal hitting metal. He blinked at what he saw. In less then half a second Claire had her steel ban up in the air with the Furer's sword pressing against it. She glared at him. The furer laughed suddenly making Ed and Al jump. He lifted his blade and slipped it back in its case.
"Well my dear, I guess I will be going." He said waving to Ed and Al before putting his hands behind his back and walked out. Claire's shoulders sagged a bit as she lowered her arm. Ed and Al just stared at her, not knowing what to say. She walked into the bathroom and got dressed.
She came out a little while later fully dressed and headed for the door. Ed and Al hurried after her. She walked out the door and straight down the hall, the opposite direction that the furer went, without saying a word. She didn't even look back at them.
"What was that about? Where are you going?" Ed asked.
"Are you feeling ok?" Al said. They kept probing her with questions. She stopped and spun around almost bumping into Ed.
"Stop following me! And leave me alone." She said loudly before she turned and ran. They hesitated for a moment before they chased after her. She had run up the stairs to the roof. By the time they reached the roof she had jumped over two other roofs and was still running. They followed her for a couple of blocks before they were able to get close enough for her to hear them.
"Claire stop!" Al yelled.
"Come On, Claire. I'm SICK of chasing you." Ed yelled after her. She looked back at them for a second before turning and running faster. Ed let out a frustrated sigh as he watched her jump down from the roof that was just ahead of them into the alley below. They jumped on to the ground and ran to the end of the alley.
"Brother! Look out!" Al said from behind Ed. Ed turned to see a black figure rushing toward him. It ran past him, crashing into his shoulder. It knocked him off balance making him land flat oh his face. Al rushed over and helped Ed up.
"What was that?" Al asked.
"I don't know, but I think it was after Claire." Ed said as he gained he balance. They ran over to the end of the alley to see that the black figure was cornering Claire against the end of the alley. She had her blade in her hand and a fierce look on her face. Ed turned his arm into a blade as they ran up behind them.
"Claire!" Ed yelled. She looked past the black figure and saw Ed and Al, her face held a hint of annoyance. She look like she wanted to say something to them be were interrupted by the black figure.
"Good…smell good…lust…lust…can I eat her now?..." the thing said in a human voice. It took a step and walked out to the light at the other side of the alley. It was short and very fat. The thing was drooling slightly and was still mumbling to itself. Ed and Al recognized it instantly. It was the homunculus that they had met a while back, it was named Gluttony.
"Damn it Ed, I told you not to follow me! What were you thinking?" Claire yelled over Gluttony's murmuring. She scowled at them as she waited for an answer.
"What are you talking about? It's not like we would leave you alone after…" Ed said cutting himself off. She new what they meant and frowned a bit.
"What? That I'm going to die?" she paused then swallowed, "Well I can take care of my self and I don't get why you should care so much you don't even know me! Let alone that I'm a fugitive!" she yelled the last part at them. That left Ed and Al at a loss of words. They all had almost forgotten about Gluttony, until he turned and lunged at Ed.