"Mom? Mom!"
Running up the garden path, two young boys burst through the door to their house and rushed in to their mother's bedroom, where a woman lay in the bed, her face pale and drenched in sweat.
"My boys… are you okay?" The young woman asked, her green eyes dull and glazed over.
She winced a little as the doctor beside her took a look at her hand were a small bit lay nestled, the skin around the puncture turning a green/yellow colour.
"W-what happened to my mother?" The oldest son asked, staring at his mother, taking her free hand and holding on to it tightly.
The doctor paused a little and sighed, staring to bandage up the wound. "Your mother was bitten by a rat and has caught something from it," He explained in the simplest way he could. "She should be fine, your Grandmother found her and called me over before it was too late, I've given her some medicine to help her get better,"
"…" Both boys paused and looked to each other for a moment, before back at the doctor. "Thank you, doctor," The eldest said with a gentle nod of his head, his eyes looking at his mother.
"Boys…" Their mother spoke up, her face turning a pale shade of yellow. "I'm… sorry," She whispered before her eyes drifted shut and she fell limp in the bed she rested in.
"M-mom? Mom!"
"Boys, step back please,"
"No! NO! That's our Mom! Mom come on! Wake up!"
Just as they wished, their mother woke, sitting up straight. But something was different about her. The colour of her eyes had changed from bright green to pale white. Her skin was a sickly green colour, and didn't look like it had done before.
All three paused in horror as the woman let out a low moan and started to claw at her children and the doctor.
"What the hell…?" The doctor began before he yelled in horror.
The woman had grabbed his outstretched arm and took a clean bite of his flesh.
Both boys screamed as the doctor pulled his arm away from her, falling back to the ground and writhing in pain.
"Run boys! Run!" The doctor cried as he grunted in pain, rolling around on the floor and trying to subside the crimson liquid flowing from his arm.
The woman that had once been their mother, turned to look at her sons. And as soon as her gaze met the eldest's, he knew she wasn't their mother, and grabbed his brother, running out of the house.
Eyes easing open, the youngest brother came to realization of what was happening and sprung to attention. "B-brother?!" He asked, looking to the older male, who was dragging the two of them out of the city, towards something which he could barely make out in the distance.
"I-I'm sorry brother, I must have passed out again,"
"It's fine, Al, just keep moving!" The older brother almost screamed, which made Al jump a little and look behind him, gasping at what he saw.
Four, no, maybe even five of those things were crawling towards them. One didn't have a lower body, but still seemed to manage to pull itself along, leaving rotted blood and entrails to seep from the open wound.
"Ed!"
"I know Al! Just keep moving will you!"
Realizing his legs weren't moving by themselves, Al managed to find his footing on the ground and started to walk before he yelped in pain and looked at the cut in the side of his leg. His knee buckled under the weight, and he was forced to leave it limp, using only the one leg to help himself along, along with Ed supporting him.
"W-we're almost there," The older brother said comfortingly as he pulled with all his might, making sure his little brother wasn't left to the hands of those creatures. It was already incredibly risky with Al's open wound.
"Brother, do you really think… anyone's there?" Al panted, the lose of blood taking it's toll on his small body.
"Didn't you see them Al? Two people, I know they were there! Come on, let's just keep going," Urged Ed, perking up a little as he saw something approach them in the distance.
It was the same white Honda from before.
"Get down!" A voice commanded, and both boys complied instantly, dropping to the ground, Ed shielding Al as the sounds of gun shots echoed through the wasteland, the sound of bodies dropping to the ground, motionless.
Al allowed himself to look up in to the bright blue eyes of a tall male with bleach blond hair, a gun still aimed at their pursuers, waiting for them to move.
Another man with dark hair and piercing dark eyes also got out of the truck and walked to the two boys. His face wore a scowl, but it eased in to a sort of smile as he knelt down beside the two boys.
"Are you alright?" He asked, but didn't wait for a reply, instead looking at the other man and nodding, picking Al up from the ground and helping him inside the four seated truck.
The other man took Ed and placed him beside him.
"See… I told you I wasn't lying…" Ed said weakly, taking Al's hand in his and squeezing it.
"I'm sorry I ever doubted you… brother…" Al said quietly, relaxing in to the comfortable seat and finally allowing himself to rest after days. He glanced at his brother, who had both of his eyes shut, breathing heavily as he drifted to sleep.
Al smiled and shut his own eyes, drifting off in to a deep sleep.
Driving back to the base, Mustang parked the truck and got out, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked over at Hawkeye and then back at the two young blonds, who slept peacefully in the truck.
"Two boys, brothers by the looks of it," He said as Havoc got out, carefully shutting the door as not to awaken the two boys.
"One has a rather bad looking leg wound, but doesn't look infected, and as for the other, only a few cuts and scratches, tired if anything,"
Hawkeye nodded and took in a heavy breath, looking sadly at the two boys, the younger one curled up on the older brother's lap.
"Do you know their names?" She asked.
Havoc shook his head. "No time to ask them their names," He said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up, breathing in the smoke. "They had four, plus a half of one, chasing after them," He said, tapping the stray ash on to the ground.
"They're dead now,"
Hawkeye nodded her head. "We should tend to them now though, I doubt we'll be able to wake them up after what it seems they've been through," She said, walking over to the doors and gently opening them up.
Havoc walked over to help her and they both took the boys to be treated.
After what seemed like forever, Ed finally managed to open his eyes, not feeling so tired for once. He blinked a little, trying to remember what happened. The room he was in was completely white, and his head throbbed, like the rest of his body.
Where was he? He didn't remember.
And Al? Where was Al?
Sitting up straight, his eyes widened with fear until he felt something warm beside him and he looked down, sighing in relief at the sight of Al. "Thank God," Ed whispered, relaxing back on to the comfy double bed they were laying on and curled around Al protectively.
Suddenly the door clicked and Ed sat up in shock again, almost shoving Al off of the bed by accident.
The little brother groaned and opened his eyes, yawning and watching as the dark haired man from before and a young blonde woman walked in to the room, looking down at the two carefully.
"It's you," Al said in realization, sitting up beside his brother. "You were the ones who took that truck,"
"Ah, so you saw us did you?" Mustang asked with a small smirk, taking a vacant chair beside the bed.
"So you followed us all the way from there to here?" Hawkeye asked in amazement, also sitting herself down.
Both boys exchanged nervous glances. "Actually… no, we were hiding out in one of the apartments on the outskirts of the city… we saw you and decided to follow you," Ed admitted, rubbing the back of his head lightly.
"Well, it doesn't matter now," Mustang said dismissively, lacing his fingers and leaning forward in his chair a little. "You're safe with us, rest assured,"
The brothers looked at each other and sighed happily, both of them seemed to relax in to the wall they were leaning against. "Thank you, Sir," Ed said, dipping his head in respect.
"Please, call me Roy, Roy Mustang, and this is Riza Hawkeye," He said, gesturing to Hawkeye, who waved her hand lightly at the boys. "Hello," She greeted.
"I'm Edward Elric, and this is my little brother, Alphonse," Ed announced.
"Little?" Mustang repeated, blinking a bit. He could have sworn Ed was the younger one.
As if reading Mustang's mind, Ed narrowed his eyes. "Yes, he's my little brother," He said irritably.
"Don't mind my brother," Al said with a weak sort of smile. "He's very sensitive about his height… but it's not like we've had the right nutrition to grow…" He added lightly.
As if on cue, both boys' stomachs growled loudly; so much so they had to clutch them to make them be quiet, both of them laughing nervously.
"Hungry are you?" Hawkeye asked, rising from her seat and walking off out of the door without another word.
Both boys nodded. "It's been a few weeks since we've had anything to eat…" Ed murmured.
Mustang smiled gently. "And yet you managed to drag your half dead brother across the wasteland towards us, you must be quite strong young boys," He said. "How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen," Ed said, blushing a bit at Mustang's compliment. "Al is fourteen,"
"So… what exactly is this place?" Al asked as he looked around the room. "A military bunker or something?"
"You're right," Hawkeye said, walking back in to the room, carrying a try. On the tray were two plates, piled as high as they could go with beans, bacon, sausages, scrambled egg, fried egg and a few slices of pizza, with two large glasses of water. "Sorry if you don't like the food, but it's what we're having to eat today," She said, setting the tray down in front of the two boys, who stared.
"C-can we really eat all of this?" Al asked, growing slightly tearful. Ed just stared, slack jawed.
Both adults laughed. "Yes of course, that's why Riza bought it in," Mustang said with a gentle smile, getting up. "Well, we'll leave you boys to it, and we expect those plates to be clean by the time we get back, okay?" And with that, he and Hawkeye took off.
Ed and Al didn't need telling twice. As soon as they dug in, both boys began to cry, tears of joy streaming down their faces as they ate everything on the plate, from the last single bean.
Satisfied, they both lay down, huddled up to each other and sobbing gratefully until they both fell asleep again, thanking God they were finally away from that city.
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Authors Note: This chapter actually made me cry writing TTnTT I feel like such a wuss. Anyway, not as long as I intended it to be but I think that'll do for now. Don't forget to R&R!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fullmetal Alchemist characters used in this story.
