Brief Commentary
Thanks to everyone who reviewed - I still can't believe I have over a hundred of those things (with NO flames)! And after only twenty chapters...geez, you guys really are too nice to me. XD Props to ya! (What does that mean, anyway? -shot- ) Anyway, here's chapter -OMGSHIT- twenty-one. I'm going to refrain from saying 'Please Review!' because then I would sound like a greedy bitch. :)
And we're all to blame
We've gone too far
From pride to shame
We're trying so hard
We're dying in vain
Reasons Not For Your Ears
Chapter Twenty-One
Four days passed in what felt similar to a daze to Winry, who had, for the moment, put Edward aside and tried to forget about him as much as possible. He simply wasn't worth her time. But still a small part of her brain wondered where he was, and if he was safe. Well, as safe as one could be when living on the streets, but that was besides the point.
Paninya had grown exceedingly more and more irritable through the rest of the school week, and although Winry had investigated the cause, she had only received a "Mind your own fucking business" in return. Ling had also pursued an answer, but she wasn't nearly as gracious as she had been with her friend. The unfortunate exchange student had to ask to be excused for the remainder of the day due to the severe punch he had received in the gut. Much to Ranfan's chagrin, he did not grant her permission to 'take care of' the dark-skinned girl.
Winry couldn't help but wonder if Paninya's 'time of month' was not the initial cause for her behavior, but decided it would be better to hope for a more cheerful, Paninya-like mood the next week following. As the first day of spring approached, the sun was (at last) beginning to set later into the evening and rising earlier in the morning. For this, Winry was grateful - her chances of being mugged (or possibly running into Edward) were much slimmer when it was broad daylight outside.
She mused over this as she made her way home, carefully chewing on a fingernail as a warm breeze swept through her hair. With her book bag swung over her shoulder, she walked quietly along the street, with a reassuring glance up at the sky. She still had several hours before she could possibly be caught out in the dark, and she was no where near the area of town where she had met with Edward twice before. Humming softly, Winry pursed her lips as her stomach grumbled, alerting her of extremely sudden hunger pains.
"At least I know I'm eating when I get home," the blonde-haired adolescent muttered, placing a hand on said stomach.
As she passed an alleyway, a sudden movement caught her eye. Swallowing slightly, Winry spun on her heel to peer towards the alley's mouth, hoping against hope that it wasn't Edward or Scar.
To her relief, it wasn't.
Instead, she found herself watching the backs of none other than Ling, Ranfan, and Mei Chan, who was accompanied by a small, cat-sized panda. Winry blinked rapidly to make sure her imagination wasn't getting the best of her. The three exchange students were muttering angrily at one another, the panda's fur bristling with obvious distaste. They all (even the panda) seemed to be in some kind of heated argument. Unable to suppress her curiosity, the younger Rockbell started towards them, preparing to call out until they turned a corner, going deeper into the maze of the back alleys. Interest piqued, she began to follow, her wariness of such an environment pushed to the far reaches of her thoughts.
Eventually, they seemed to notice they were being followed - although she was pretty sure that they didn't know it was her. They managed to lose her in no time, as if they knew the workings of the alley system by heart. She would turn a corner she had seen them go down and see them disappear down the next, left behind to try and catch up. It was within several minutes of this game of chase that she realized that she had lost them, and that she was incredibly lost herself. The wariness she had felt before was now the foremost emotion in her mind. The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, shadows around her growing longer even though she still had a few hours or so before it would be completely dark outside. With a shiver, Winry tightened her hold on her book bag and drew her sweater closer to herself, beginning to walk down the alley she stood at the mouth of.
"Hey there."
Winry nearly jumped at the sound of a human voice. Her gut throbbing with dread, she turned slowly to face a man she did not recognize, with a dirty leather jacket draped over his bare shoulders and a pair of torn jeans low at his waist. His hair, a disgusting brown color, was long and shaggy, his breath reeking of tobacco and alcohol. No shoes were on his feet, and she thought she glimpsed the blade of a knife a pocket of his pants. The blonde teenager gulped audibly, backing away from him and squeaking as she ran into another person.
"Where you goin'?" the man behind her could barely conceal the smirk in his voice. Turning her head to look at him, she nearly gagged. His grimy face was stretched into a grin, yellowed teeth flashing in the dimming light of the sun. Although his bright red hair was cropped short, and he wore only a shirt and a pair of leather pants, his condition was very similar to that of the first man. The bulge of a gun was evident in his front pocket.
Not bothering to respond, Winry twisted into a new direction in hopes of evading them, only to stop short at a third man blocking her way. He was fat and sweaty, licking his lips with a grin as she fearfully met his eyes. He was twirling a pistol in one of his grubby hands. Spinning around on her heel, she began to feel panic well up from her stomach as a fourth and fifth man kept her from escaping, their appearances identical right down to the shape of their noses. One hefted a rifle back in forth in his hands, while the other examined a rather rustic-looking dagger.
Five men. All armed with possibly lethal weapons. One of herself. Not even a hair pin on her.
"Um, I don't have any money on me," she squeaked, raising her hands in the air.
The fat man spat near her feet, causing her to jump away. He laughed as she did so, then lowered his voice to a chuckle.
"Do you think we care about the cash you got, pretty bitch?"
Winry choked back a cry of fear as they advanced, flinching as one reached out to touch her. They smirked in unison, the first of the two identical men grabbing at a lock of her hair and twisting it roughly around his filthy index finger. She let out a small whimper as he gave it a harsh yank, almost throwing her off balance.
"What pretty hair," he hissed in an amused tone.
"P-please stop," Winry begged in a pitifully quiet voice. This seemed to trigger them, as the five men all lashed out at once, some hands tearing at her clothes, at her bag, at her hair, while some holding knives slashed into her skin, sending her on her knees to the ground. Tears flowing down her cheeks, she let out a blood-curdling scream, startling the men at her volume. Bitterly realizing she had them distracted, she jabbed at their legs, toppling some over while throwing others a ways off of balance. She groaned as she received a sharp kick in the side, mutterings of "Damn bitch" ringing in her ears.
Clutching at the spot on her flesh where she had received the wound (a bruise was certain to blossom there), her vision grew slightly hazy as she was hit - hard - in the back of the head. Desperately trying to focus on the bandages that had remained on her arms (these were the deeper cuts from the porcelain), Winry felt her eyes burned with tears as she was roughly picked up by her hair, attempting to kick out at them as they did so. She found herself staring straight at the brown-haired man's face, a snarl on his lips as he spat at her,
"Stop trying to resist, girl. The madder you make us, the...rougher we get."
He and the other men grinned, as if sharing a private joke.
Her stomach dropped in dread as she realized what that 'private joke' was.
She was thrown ruthlessly onto a pile of garbage bags, the greedy eyes of the potential rapists glittering in the dimming sunlight. Winry cringed and screamed again as a hand tore her shirt mercilessly from her torso, while another pulled eagerly at her skirt, tearing off jagged strips of the cotton material. As she tried to cry out a third time, a large hand clamped over her mouth, the fat man's eyes peering directly at hers, licking his lips as he observed her nearly half-naked state.
"Aw, now," he smiled unpleasantly. "Can't we just have a little fun?"
She squeezed her eyes shut as another hand snaked towards her underwear.
Winry didn't see the movement get stopped short, then the hand yanked away all together as the man was pulled back. He let out a cry as he was punched mercilessly in the stomach, then the face, then socked in the jaw. Startled, she allowed her eyes to slowly open again, and couldn't help but gape as she observed each man get beaten to a pulp - it was so fast and efficient that the technique would have to be one learned throughly by an expert in the subject.
A man drew his gun and attempted to fire at his assailant several times, but the pistol was knocked from his hands and a kick landed squarely on his throat. With a gulp, she quickly realized that, had the kick been any harsher, the man's neck would've snapped, and the now retreating figure would be rendered dead. Finally, they turned, and their eyes met hers. With a rattled gasp, she realized who it was, and let out in a cracked whisper,
"It's you..."
Then, due to the throbbing from the back of her head, Winry's vision seeped into nothing but blackness, and she fainted.
Until next weekend, ladies and germs. :D
We're hopelessly blissful and blind
To all we are
We want it all
With no sacrifice
