What could I say? Zorn and I just stood there and watched four innocent people, who offered us food and showed us light, get massacred by Neid. And…did it matter that they were Jewish? If anything, Abraham and Carmela managed to show me that it didn't matter what someone's religion was; the only real measure of a person was who they were deep down. Right? However, every single thing Neid ever told me was echoing throughout my mind – powerful words about how Jews were scum of the world, about how the Fuhrer was correct, and how we, as a race, were superior to those who didn't obey. The propaganda swirled in my brain, bouncing off every nook and every cranny that my skull had to offer so much that it was giving me a splitting headache.

As Neid surveyed his work and left the bloody hut, I felt my stomach lurch. A hot feeling rushed to my head, and there was a sudden surreal twinge bouncing around my face. Time appeared to stop as I felt my legs wobble and give out from under me, and the world faded into black.

I don't know exactly how long I was out, but when I came to, I was still in the hut. Alles erschien gerade wie, wie ich es verließ. My eyes blinked a few times before my head lolled to the side. Right there, staring me in the face with unmoving, bloody blue saucers, was one of Abraham and Carmela's children. She was lying right beside me, her body wallowing in its own blood, her eyes wide open and a surprised expression frozen on her face.

Was konnte ich anders tun als Schrei? My legs wanted desperately to rise and run, but I was far too weak to. Instead, my arms flailed and beat upon the earthen floor, sometimes even splashing in the pond of blood, as I tried to get away by any means possible. I think someone was calling out my name, but I was too busy trying to escape from the grotesque scene before me that I didn't fully notice.

"Ed!" A voice was ringing in my ears, yet I refused to hear it. Nothing could be attended to until I got the sight of the dead child out of my mind, and avoid it being seared inside my conscience forever. The world was being flipped upside-down, being turned at supersonic speeds, and it was sickening – it was as if I were in a nightmare and being rocked on my bed. No word could describe the sensation, and it was gradually getting more and more intense. Intensifying, intensifying, intensifying…

Something curled around my chest and the whirling stopped; fast wie jemand hatte ihren Fuß davor gestellt. My screams slowly died down into faint whimpers – never before, in my life or dreams, had I seen something so gruesome, so…

I couldn't find the words to describe it.

It was then that I felt something working its way up the side of my neck. This was cold and moving in a random pattern. And it wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I figured out what it was. Or who it was, I should say. For some reason, though, perhaps the visual trauma I'd just experienced, I didn't stop his lips from working their way up to my earlobe. Once there, his teeth gently nibbled on it for a second or two. Still, even though I wanted nothing to do with his attraction, I let him continue.

When it was over, he breathed softly into my ear. "It'll be okay," he told me as his finger left my shoulder, and, a few moments later, began twisting my golden hair.

"No it won't…" I groaned, taking a deep breath. "He…he killed them, Zorn. Just like…" I snapped my fingers weakly. "…That…" After that, it was like all the strength had been zapped from my bones, and my arm slumped against the floor. The heat was making my head toast, and I knew I couldn't hold it much longer.

"Zorn…"

My head fell forward and I could taste the bile coming up my throat before it reached my tongue. And as it spread before me, mixing with the blood, the world once again darkened.

Ich konnte nicht genau erzählen, als ich aufwachte. No light streamed into the Sklavenheim, one of whose cots I was lying upon, so I assumed it was night. The air was uncharacteristically still – even when Alphonse and Nina had been alive, there'd been some illusion of life floating around the Sklavenheim. Now everything seemed…dead.

"Z-Zorn…?!" I called out, able to hear the pitch of my voice rise and shake in a slight panic. No one answered me. At that, I felt my eyes widen a small bit. "L-Lyra?!" Still no answer…My fingers clenched against the meager sheets resting around my waist, tightening with every passing moment to the point where sweat was rolling off my fingernails. Where was everyone…? Was I alone…? But, more important than all that, where was –

"Good evening, handsome."

Scheiße. Scheiße, scheiße, scheiße. The extremely last person I wanted to see was Neid, and when I looked up, there he was; leaning against the far wall, hovering uncomfortably close to the mysterious stain. His orchid eyes scanned me with the knowing eye of an artist, but not an artist I would want near me. Now that I knew what he was… Before, I could tolerate the sex and the seclusion, because I was getting rewarded, but now… He was a monster, an absolutely disgusting monster, and I wanted nothing more to do with him.

But the images of Alphonse and Nina flashed through my head. They'd defied Neid, and they were killed for it.

Wie würde ich jemals im Stande sein, gegen ihn zu stehen? Right there, even without his otherworldly outfit on, he was God… In the Sklavenheim, he made the rules; he made the threats; he was the beginning of all things, and the ending of them. To stand against him would be to challenge God. I was nowhere near that level of strength and determination.

"Why the long face?" he asked me, a wicked smile twisted onto his face. As he advanced, he continued. "You did quite a good job of distracting the Schtüke…" He made sure to speak slowly, so that, when he ended "Schtüke" with an emphasized scowl, he was right next to the cot I was laying helplessly on.

Neid's ungloved hand came to rest upon my right shoulder, but I dared not look up into those horrible eyes of his. Even without staring, I could just feel the darkness written all over him. "Perhaps too good of a job…"

It was faster than an instant; quicker than a moment. His hand struck me across the cheek, sending the other half of my face spiraling into the hard mattress. By this time, I'd gotten used to Neid's violent behavior; nonetheless, the hit was harder and fiercer than any other attack I'd endured from him. Almost against my will, my head turned to the man, and I saw the seething cruelty that burned in his eyes. I thought my eyes were wide, what with the surprise of being hit so hard; Neid's put mine to shame.

"What in the hell do you think you were doing?" he breathed. "I gave you explicit instructions to work your way into that slum and take it out from the inside." His hand was clenched into a fist, his knuckles a ghostly white; his face was deep red. "Instead, what do I find? You clinging to Zorn, that little…that little freak!"

"Don't you call him a freak!" I screamed, the first time I ever remember doing so to my superior's face.

At that moment, something in Neid snapped. Right in two. He came down onto me like a great condor, his talons snatching my sides. With an almost feral roar, he lifted me up and threw me to the ground, at least a good fifteen feet away from my cot. "Don't you talk back to me!" he shrieked. His air was coming in long, deep, heavy breaths, and he was slouched over like a brainless monster; I merely stayed where I lay, too frightened to move another muscle.

Neid stalked towards me, and I could already see that his uniform was sliding off his shoulders; his hat flew over into the mess of cots, landing with nothing but a soft thump. It wasn't hard to figure out what was about to happen, and as much as I didn't want it, the answer was concrete: es sollte kein Herausfordern ihm geben. Neid's glove slid off his slender hands as he told me, in a calm voice that was so unsteady it dared to break, "I'm going to fuck you so hard that you'll wish you'd never been born." His voice was dark as night, and in that moment I realized I never should've betrayed him.

Not more than a minute later, he was completely naked, and I felt my body being lifted from the floor. Roaring, he rammed me into the Sklavenheim's wall, sending drywall flecks cascading into the air. Neid had completely lost control; before I could assimilate what was happening, my shirt was on the floor in shreds; moments later, my pants joined them. When I started to finally struggle, Neid bit at my shoulder and punched me square in the center of my face. The salt of my tears mixed with the blood in my mouth and was an atrocious flavor.

Neid was planting kisses and love bites anywhere he could – some on my sore face, others trailing down my neck, and others still below my waist. His fingers, which were more like claws, gripped my wrists and held them above my head – there was a ferociousness in his eyes that I'd never witnessed before.

My body was banging roughly against the wall of the Sklavenheim, showing how much raw power Neid was exerting. I felt terrible, more terrible than any other time, even the first, that my commanding officer had done this to me.

And that was when I felt his fingers snaking up into my rear. Like nimble spiders, they danced around, making sure to pluck every spot that gave me even the slightest twinge of guilty pleasure; and I didn't like the experience at all, but there were places that Neid could find that would make me gasp. I hated those areas with a passion – they gave off the illusion that I enjoyed it.

Ich würde es nie genießen.

Leaning into my ear, he whispered, "This'll teach you to disobey me." In a flash, his fingers were out, my crack was parted, and Neid was shoving himself into me. The animalistic gaze slowly wore off, replaced with one of utmost pleasure. But that didn't make his attacks any less fierce. In fact, with every time that he started to retreat, only to go in again, it felt like he was going further and further, with more and more force. As much as I tried to block everything out, as hard as I bit my lip to keep from screaming, nothing helped. He was stroking my traitorous manhood, enticing it to do what he wanted.

But I couldn't…I couldn't…I had to hold out just a bit longer…

I failed. With a loud cry, I came, spraying a white substance all over Neid's chest. And as he began to laugh maniacally, Neid came inside of me, filling my rear with his seed. Still, though, he refused to stop; he kept going, shoving himself into me again and again and again. My strength was sapped from the effort it took to release, and I was powerless to do anything, even voice my displeasure.

When he thrust into me again, and I came onto his chest for a second time, the world started to dissipate. Colors started blending together, and before I knew it, the entire world was black with flashes of greens and reds and yellows and blues, among other bright, vivid colors.

When I threw up and finally came to, Neid was gone. I was on the floor, lying on my side, a throbbing pain shooting up through my entire body. Even when I tried to move, the pain was so great that I slumped back.

After a few minutes of heavy breathing, I raised my head and saw a note attached to my… Neid was, without a doubt, the most disgusting creature I'd ever known. Willing against the hurt that flowed through me, my arm reached out, untied the piece of paper, and brought it back to me eyes. His writing was a bit scrawled; he must've written it quickly after our session was done.

Edward,

I don't think I've ever felt so alive in my entire life. You're really a lifesaver, and the greatest pet I've ever had. My little kitten, you're so good, I'm giving you a big promotion: you're going to be the 2nd in command of the 14th Infantry. How does that sound? I'll see you tomorrow, when we're going on a wonderful excursion.

Yours,
Neid

I had to read the note twice to truly get the impact of what it said. I was going to be the 2nd in command of the entire squad…? It didn't seem fair, since there were many others who'd been there so much longer than myself. Still, it wasn't like I was going to turn it down; not like I had a choice in the matter, anyway.

"Ed…?"

My eyes stretched all they could, and a friendly face finally came into view: Zorn. His eyes were full of tears. "Ed, I'm so sorry…"

But I didn't want him to say he was sorry; I didn't want him to take the blame. Zorn deserved so much better… He deserved a life where he could get whatever he wanted. And this life wasn't the place to get it. I felt awful knowing that not only my existence, but his as well, was bound to that of Neid. And from what I could tell, Neid wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Nothing was turning out the way it should've… Ignoring the immense pain, I reached up and clawed at the boy's shirt, burying myself into his chest and sobbing.

Alles erschien gerade wie, wie ich es verließ - Everything appeared just like how I left it

Was konnte ich anders tun als Schrei? - What could I do other than scream?

fast wie jemand hatte ihren Fuß davor gestellt - almost like someone had put their foot in front of it

Ich konnte nicht genau erzählen, als ich aufwachte - I could not tell exactly when I awoke

Scheiße - Shit

Wie würde ich jemals im Stande sein, gegen ihn zu stehen? - How would I ever be able to stand against him?

es sollte kein Herausfordern ihm geben - there was to be no defying him

Ich würde es nie genießen - I would never enjoy it