A.N.: Sorry for the long wait guys! Here's the newest chapter you've all been awaiting patiently ^.^ Btw, some of you might have gotten confused with the chronology of events, so let me clarify a bit.
- Riza gets thrown into the river and gets found by Jill on the same day. (obviously because she wouldn't survive for days in the water...)
- Riza is in a coma at the hospital for the next month and three weeks
- A week later, so about two months after she was thrown into the river, Roy and the guys find Rob and Jack.
So technically, we're going back in time for Riza's chapter because the last one with Roy was already two months ahead. Hope it's not too confusing (it is for me though, lol). Enjoy.
RIZA
She was always hearing voices, but they were muffled and unclear. No matter how hard she tried to focus on them, she could never make out what they were saying. All she was able to do was to differentiate the pitches. She knew when it was a woman or a man speaking. She had heard so many voices, but she had no clue who these people were or why they were always talking to her or around her. In the beginning, she had tried to keep track of the different voices, but she had soon found it too difficult to remember all of them. Her mind was in a constant state of lethargy. She couldn't seem to focus or think about anything in particular. Worst of all, she couldn't will herself to move.
She was sure that she had been continually drifting in and out of consciousness. Every time she was able to focus enough to realize that she was conscious, her memory seemed to have missing links and forbade her from remembering anything. In those times, she would try to open her eyes, but they always seemed to be too heavy for her to pry open, as if some invisible force was resisting her efforts and keeping her in the dark.
One thing that she did have was time. She had a lot of time to think, but it was an exhausting task and it always concluded with emptiness. She was well aware of who she was, but she couldn't seem to remember anything about her life or how she ended up in this situation in the first place. It was a strange predicament. She knew who she was, but at the same time, she didn't.
Why can't I wake up? Is this a dream?
She wasn't in pain or anything. All she ever physically felt was numbness. She couldn't tell if she was in any discomfort or if she was hot or cold. Sometimes, she did have a feeling that someone was touching her or moving her, but it was hard to tell.
There was also that incessant beeping noise that echoed through her head. Whatever it was, it never stopped and that irritated her. What am I doing here? Just wake up!
One day, she heard something close to her moving around. She heard it clearly: footsteps. Someone was shuffling around on her left side, clearly unaware of all the noise he or she was making. Then there was the sound of water, like someone was wringing out the excess water from a cloth. But that wasn't all. The unthinkable happened to her, Riza Hawkeye, when she felt hands on the front of her chest, tugging on her shirt and slowly opening it.
She forgot everything, all the noises she had previously been focusing on. Her mind was in a turmoil. Panic instilled itself in her as she tried to process and understand what was happening. Riza used all the strength she had to force her eyes open. They did.
Everything was blurry, but she saw the outline of a person in front of her. It was very bright so she closed them back quickly. She squinted her eyes to look around, but everything was just white and undistinguishable, so she focused her gaze on the person in front of her. Slowly, the images were taking shape and she saw a young lady opening the last few buttons of her shirt. Why is she undressing me?
Riza tried to speak, but her throat was too dry and she only managed to make cracked and throaty sounds. The lady jumped back and yelped in alarm. Her hands flew to her mouth when their eyes connected.
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed to herself, still staring with disbelief at Riza. What's wrong with her? By then, Riza's eyesight was almost back to normal. Her head would spin a little bit when she moved her gaze too quickly.
"I'm going to get a doctor, miss. Please don't move, I'll be right back," the lady said urgently with great precaution before she dashed out of the room.
Riza looked back down at her shirt, determined to look proper before someone else entered the room. However, when she tried to move her arms, they were very stiff and difficult to move. Her left arm was also in a sling and it hurt every time she moved it. Too confused, she decided it would be best to try to accomplish this urgent task for the moment with only her right hand before it was too late, but her right hand proved to be just as useless. Her fingers didn't exactly move in the way she wanted them to. They were stiff and numb, making them very clumsy, thus, impossible to do a difficult task such as buttoning a shirt, which requires a large amount of dexterity.
Before she could even get one done, a man in a white coat entered the room, followed by the same nurse. Riza held her shirt closed and watched them warily.
The man smiled at her gently before saying, "Kate, could you please assist the miss in buttoning back her shirt please?"
The nurse apologized and quickly helped her with the shirt while the doctor looked away politely. When she was done, she backed away a few steps but stayed in the room. The man took a seat on a little stool beside her bed and presented himself.
"I'm Doctor Carl Wilson. I'm the doctor in charge of you here at Central General Hospital. How are you feeling today miss?" He spoke gently and slowly to her, well aware that she was probably very confused at the moment. Riza just stared at him with a hard look. Why am I at the Central Hospital? What's going on? Anger was slowly rising within her. The whole situation was irritating her for some reason. She looked back and forth between Dr Wilson and the nurse, Kate, before looking behind her at the open door, where many heads were peering in, trying to get a look at her. Riza felt overwhelmed and her privacy invaded.
Sensing that Riza was not going to talk easily and that she was quickly retreating into herself, he asked Kate, "would you be so kind as to shut all the blinds and leave us alone in privacy, please?"
When Kate left and closed the door behind her, the silence that Riza had always relished occupied the room, making her more comfortable. Dr wilson saw her face muscles relax a bit and smiled at her. He offered her a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully and drank slowly.
"Can you tell me your name miss?" he tried asking.
"Riza Hawkeye," she croaked after a bit of hesitation.
"Miss Hawkeye, do you remember where you live?" This time, Riza had to pause and think. She looked up at the white ceiling and frowned. I left home didn't I? Where did I go next?
"You don't have to force yourself Riza. Is it alright if I call you by your name?" she nodded and he continued, "do you have any siblings or parents?"
"No." That's right, my father passed away.
"How old are you Riza?" She had to think a bit, just to make sure she would say the right age.
"I'm eighteen." The doctor's features hardened.
"Are you sure?" he asked again. Riza stared at him blankly. Did I say something wrong? His question and expression had made her confused and unsure.
"I'm not sure. My mind is a bit cloudy." But in reality, it wasn't. She had been sure she was eighteen right before he had asked her a second time.
"That's normal Riza. You've just woken up from a coma." Riza stared at him with wide eyes.
"Excuse me?" she asked dubiously. What the hell is going on? She shook her head multiple times while staring at him.
Dr Wilson held up his hand and leaned forward a bit. "I need you to stay calm Riza. I'm going to explain, but I just need you to stay calm and listen to me. Can you do that?"
When she nodded slowly, Dr Wilson leaned back out and rested his hands on his knees.
"You were in a coma for a month and three weeks. When we found you, I was a travelling doctor with a merchant caravan, going from place to place all over Amestris. One day, while we camped out in the East near a river, we found you in the water after coming down a waterfall. I don't know how you ended up in that situation, nobody does, but it was a good thing we were around at that moment. The caravan's healer and myself did everything we could to keep you alive, but we could only do so much out there. That's when we brought you here, to Central, where we could offer you the best care." Dr Wilson paused, just to see if she wanted to say anything, but Riza just stared at him expressionlessly and in complete silence.
"You were in a very bad shape and we had to keep you under an artificial coma in the beginning to give your body the time to repair itself and to recuperate. Actually, we had only taken you off the medications three weeks ago and you stayed asleep until now." This time, when he paused, Riza looked away.
Everything was too surreal. Riza couldn't remember the last time she had been to the hospital, but here she was, freshly awake from a coma. This isn't true. I didn't do anything to end up here. How did it even happen? Riza was trying to keep calm, but it was the eve of a storm of emotions inside of her. Her heartbeat was increasing slowly and the doctor did not miss this sign on the monitor.
"Riza," he said gently but firmly.
"How bad was I?" she said before he could say anything else. "I was in bad shape, but how bad was it exactly? Tell me everything." The doctor pursed his lips into a tight line, clearly debating on whether he should tell her everything or not.
"When we found you," he paused, "you were very close to death. It was thanks to the caravan's healer, who knew how to perform medical alchemy, that you survived. Traditional Amestrian medical practice would not have been able to save you, even the best trauma doctors wouldn't have been able to do anything in that situation. You were underweight, malnourished and very dehydrated. You had five broken ribs, a fractured sternum, punctured lungs, internal bleeding in multiple places, a severe head trauma, a sprained knee, a twisted ankle, a dislocated left shoulder and a broken collarbone. You had bruises and scratches almost everywhere. We also found scars from a bullet wound and burns."
Riza closed her eyes. Listening to that exhaustive list was overwhelming. I'm dreaming. This can't be happening to me. I'm nobody. She couldn't even fathom the idea of being involved in anything remotely dangerous. She was Riza Hawkeye, the quiet gloomy girl from a remote town in the middle of nowhere. How could any of this happen to her? This was the life of an entirely different person.
"Riza?" Dr Wilson asked worriedly. She broke out of her thoughts and looked at him. She was confused and starting to panic.
"It can't be true. This can't be happening to me," she mumbled to herself. She had a sudden urge to leave this place. It was a bad place.
Riza attempted to sit up, but it was much harder than she remembered it to be. She had very little strength and every time she moves and contracted her muscles, jolts of pain rushed through her. She fell back down on her bed and breathed hard.
"Riza, calm down. Take deep breaths and calm down. Everything's going to be alright." She shut her eyes. Everything is wrong. Nothing's alright. This time, she used her right arm to support herself and made it up to a sitting position. However, the sudden movement made her blood rush to her head and she felt dizzy and even worst.
Riza leaned forward and groaned. Waves of pain racked her body, but it was too late to lie back down. She was already halfway there. By now, Riza's ears were pounding and she couldn't hear anything the doctor was saying anymore. She saw his mouth move, but it was useless. She needed to get out of here and go back home.
Riza was breathing hard. She felt her rapid heartbeat and the adrenaline coursing through her. When she felt strong enough to continue, she attempted to swing one leg off the bed. Her toes touched the cold floor and she felt a shiver run up her spine.
She could guess by his look and his gesture that the doctor wanted her to get back in bed, but she ignored him. I don't have time for this. I have to find out what's going on.
While dragging her other leg off the bed, she tried to take a first step. Unfortunately, the moment she stood up and put pressure on the first leg, she heard an ugly sound and fell hard on the floor, landing on her left side.
Riza rolled onto her back and cried out. Her ankle and shoulder were pulsating in pain.
"Riza! Look at me! Open your eyes!" This time she heard him. He was crouched on the floor close to her and practically screaming in her ears to get her attention. She did as she was told.
She saw many people surrounding her. The nurse, Kate, had come back, accompanied by others, some in white coats, others not. She felt hands lifting her up and she struggled against them. They're going to put me back in bed!
"Let me go! I have to go!" she yelled at them in frustration. She wanted to fight back, but she didn't have the strength to do anything. They had iron grips on her and even if she tried her very best to free herself, they didn't budge. It hurts! Her entire body was in pain. She couldn't tell which part hurt more anymore. Her head was spinning and the world was becoming a blur.
"Riza! Calm down. We've injected a sedative to help you relax. You need to lie down in bed and rest. Your body is nowhere in shape to be moving around." She saw him, although blurry, in front of her and his words resonated in her ears. Her mind was slow and heavy. Her body slacked and she let herself be carried back to her bed.
They were still around her, bustling everywhere. Leave me alone. She couldn't hear what they were saying anymore. Her body was hurting, but numb at the same time. She wanted to sleep, but she wanted to leave this place too. I'm too tired for this. In the end, she succumbed to her drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.
The annoying sound from the heart monitor was still beeping busily. Damn machine. Riza was slowly awakening from her slumber after she had heard some footsteps beside her. It was hard to concentrate on anything. She still felt the residual effects from the sedative. When she was finally able to open her eyes and start to focus, she let out a frustrated groan. Her throat was still dry and her saliva was thick. She tried to swallow, but she just ended up having a coughing fit.
"Oh my, miss Hawkeye! I didn't know you were awake! Here, have some water." It was the young nurse, Kate. She slowly brought up the bed so Riza wouldn't choke while drinking. Kate handed her a glass of water and Riza took it gingerly with her right hand. The glass wobbled unsteadily as she tried to bring it up to her lips. Kate immediately helped her hold the glass, so that the water wouldn't spill.
When Riza was done with it, she took it back and placed it on the bedside table. Riza thought she would continue doing whatever she was supposed to be doing, but no, she just stood there awkwardly, giving her nervous glances. Riza gave her a hard stare back.
"What it is?" Riza asked with impatience. Kate jumped and started mumbling and playing with her hands. Riza stared at her with an irritated expression waiting for her answer.
"Th- there's nothing, really. I was just, um, I just had to keep an eye on you. There was always someone in here since the last time you woke up and now it's my turn. So that's why I was in your room. I'm sorry if I woke you up. I didn't mean to. Uh, I- I'm not supposed to let you leave here, so..." Kate was nervously ranting and Riza was not known to be someone who tolerated things like these.
"Stop. I get it. I won't move. Go tell the doctor or whoever wants to know that I'm awake," Riza said.
"Oh really? Alright. Thank you. I'll be right back. Please don't get out of your bed, please." Riza nodded again to appease the poor nurse before she ran out of the room and shut the door quietly.
Riza looked out the window and saw an orange glow on the sky. Late afternoon. I guess no matter where you are, the sky will always stay the same. She looked around her room. It was a small private room, with all the walls painted in white, a wooden chair in a corner, a stool beside her bed, a bedside table and an adjoining washroom.
Riza looked down at her body. What happened to me? That was the inevitable question. The doctor had said that they didn't know how she had ended up in that state. She didn't either. She remembered the house where she lived in with her father until his death. She remembered selling the furnitures and everything that she could sell to gather as much money as she could. In the end, she sold the empty house too and left with one luggage and a handbag. Where did I go after that? It was weird. Her memories up until that part were clear, but afterwards, she just couldn't remember anything. How did I end up in the river? Multiple reasons came to mind, but it could have been anything.
Riza didn't hear the door opening, nor the light footsteps. She was staring at empty space with a disturbed look. Her hand was trembling.
"Riza?" Dr Wilson asked cautiously. Riza jumped and looked around her as if it had been the first time she had seen the room. "Are you alright Riza?"
Riza stared at him, then released her tense muscles and relaxed. They sat in silence. Dr Wilson waited patiently for her to be ready to speak.
"I," she started while staring at her sheet, "I can't remember what happened to me. I can only remember my life until I was seventeen or eighteen." This confession took a weight off her chest. She looked up helplessly at the doctor, who gave her an empathetic smile.
"You just survived a traumatic accident and various injuries, including a serious one to the head. When you were still in a coma. We took some scans of your brains. One of the parts that was affected was the one that stores your memories. Don't be surprised if you can't recall them. You don't have total amnesia since you still have your memories of your earlier years."
"Will I get them back?" Riza asked. Dr Wilson frowned and breathed loudly.
"I can't guarantee anything, but most of the time, it's only a temporary memory loss. It could take a few days like it could take a few years to regain your memories. But even then, you could never get all of them back."
"I see." Riza looked back down. So I still have some hope of getting them back. She didn't know what to do. Did she just have to sit there and wait?
"Do you have anyone that you could contact? A friend?" Dr Wilson asked her.
She didn't have to think hard about that question. She had always been a loner at school, so she had no friends from there. In town, people steered away from her because of her father's reputation. She had acquaintances, but nobody she could really call a friend, especially someone around her age. Her father did have some apprentices who lived in the house with them, but none of them lasted long enough for her to warm up to. Well, there was him. Roy Mustang. He was the only person who stayed more than a year. Actually, he stayed five years and learned almost everything her father had to teach. He might have been the closest thing to a friend, but she wasn't quite sure.
"No, not really," she answered in the end. I don't even know if I've seen him since the funeral...
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kate came in with a tray and put it down on the bedside table.
"I've brought a little supper for miss Hawkeye." When Dr Wilson nodded and moved out of the way, Kate proceeded to turn a knob to lift the head of the bed up, allowing Riza to eat comfortably without any risk of choking. Riza gritted her teeth discreetly every time she felt an ache and tried to remain passive when her head started spinning. Kate brought a little table that would slide on top of the bed and positioned it right in front of her. Riza looked at the food that was placed in front of her quizzically and stared at it with mild interest.
"I know it's not the best first meal, but after waking up from a coma, we really can't give you any solid food. Your body will need to readapt itself to food intake and prepare itself to receive solid food in the next few days. The quantity will also be steadily increasing as you get better and as your body can handle more of it," Kate commented with too much enthusiasm.
On the tray, there was a fruit and vegetable smoothie and a chickpea puree. Old people food... Great. Riza was not enjoying any of this. The food was bland so she had to force herself to swallow it. She tried telling them she wasn't hungry, but they wouldn't let her stop until she finished everything.
Everything was wrong. She woke up with her memories all in a jumble, her body was aching terribly, she was in an unfamiliar place with strangers and she was practically forced to eat bad food that made her want to throw up after every bite. She wanted to be left alone. She wanted to roll up in a ball and cry, but unfortunately, it would hurt too much to do that.
When she was done and they finally agreed to leave her alone after making her promise not to get off the bed, she sighed heavily and leaned her head against her propped up pillow. I'm 29, great. Before leaving, she had asked the doctor for the date and it would seem like she had lost eleven years worth of memories. How is that possible? Isn't that too much? It was overwhelming. She didn't have clear memories of the past eleven years, but she knew they would come back. Even though she felt like it was her first time in Central, things still felt familiar in some way. She knew she had been here before.
What did I do after I left home? Riza tried to recall her memories, but nothing came up. She just ended up with a headache. She closed her eyes and moments later, sleep and fatigue took over her.
She was rudely woken up by Kate's not too gentle shaking.
"Miss Hawkeye! Are you alright? You seemed to be having a nightmare," she said with a worried expression. Riza looked around wide-eyed and confused, soaked in cold sweat. When she remembered where she was, she looked down at her sheets and frowned. What was I dreaming about? Was it a memory or a dream? Indeed, she had been having a nightmare, but she couldn't remember it anymore. All she remembered were her feelings. She was afraid, stressed and on the edge. What was happening?
"Miss Hawkeye?" Kate asked again, seeing that she was not responding.
"Yes, yes I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." Riza waved her away and refused to look her in the eye, afraid that she would see how much the dream had disturbed her.
"Alright then. I'll bring you a new set of clothes and help you change into them." Riza nodded absentmindedly.
She touched her left shoulder and cringed. Somehow, she knew that her nightmare held some part of the truth. Someone tried to kill me. Riza had always had an excellent instinct and that was what it was telling her.
Kate came back with a new set of hospital clothes, a big bowl of steaming water, a sponge and some towels. Riza eyed the items warily.
"I bet you want to get cleaned off before changing and going to bed," Kate said with a big smile.
"No, no, it's okay! I'd just like to change. I'll clean myself tomorrow," Riza said frantically.
"We have plenty of time right now to get you cleaned off. Wouldn't you rather sleep comfortably after being cleaned?"
"I prefer taking a shower tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, but the doctor won't allow you to do that because you shouldn't be walking or standing up for too long. I've been in charge of cleaning you since you came in, so you don't have to worry about anything!" Kate said cheerily.
Riza looked down uncertainly. She would definitely prefer sleeping clean then dirty and sweaty, but she didn't want people to look at her back. Has she seen it? She looked up at Kate slowly.
"Have you... have you seen my back?" she asked cautiously. Kate's smile changed to a sympathetic one.
"Yes I have. I haven't told anybody about anything that I've seen. You shouldn't worry about your tattoo. I know some people who like alchemy arrays as designs too. It's quite popular actually, so you're not the only one." Kate grinned sheepishly.
Riza stared at her dumbfoundedly. So... she doesn't know about its meaning? She inwardly sighed with relief. I just have to play along then.
"Really? I was really embarrassed about it. I thought it would be cool, but it doesn't even mean anything and I was scared people would laugh if ever they saw it." Riza pretended to be self-conscious and awkward, playing with the end of her blanket. Fortunately for her, Kate seemed to be quite dense.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that! I don't understand anything in alchemy, so it wouldn't have meant anything to me even if it was a real array. But don't worry about it, my lips are sealed. I promise you. If the doctors saw it, then they've kept quiet about it too, because I have never heard any rumours or been asked about it either." This time, Riza couldn't help her lips from twitching upwards a tiny bit.
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
"No problem! So would you like a sponge bath before this water gets too cold?" Kate asked playfully. Riza nodded and she proceeded to carefully help her remove the hospital clothes.
In a simple white cotton underwear, Riza felt incredibly naked. She was a shy and reserved girl to begin with, so this level of exposure was on a whole new level for her. Luckily, her sling helped her cover a major part of her chest and with her right hand, she covered the rest. Kate tucked some towels under her to prevent the excess water from wetting the whole bed and proceeded to wash her back. The hot water was soothing and made Riza realize just how tense she was.
"Most of your wounds have healed nicely. All your flesh wounds are nicely sealed. Your bones healed well and are good and strong! But you have to be careful because they're still fragile. It'll take about six months for your bones to be completely healed. Your ankle and knee, however, will need some therapy to get them back in shape. Because you were in bed for so long and didn't have any physical activity, your joints are stiff and weak. That's why they hurt a lot when you first stood up."
"Yeah, I realized that the hard way," Riza said bitterly under her breath, but Kate still heard it and chuckled. She was about to do the front when Riza stopped her hand and asked to do it herself. Kate politely gave up her sponge and faced away as Riza cleaned her front as best as she could.
I'm so skinny and ugly. Without the gown covering her, it was the first time that she saw her body after waking up. Her skin was deathly pale, her ribs were sticking out, she saw greenish yellow bruises everywhere. If these bruises are still here, that means they were pretty bad to have lasted over a month. When she felt clean enough, Kate helped her into a new gown and securely tied it in the back.
"Thank you," Riza said quietly, still preoccupied by her self-image.
"No problem miss Hawkeye. I'm going to lower the bed now so you can go to sleep."
Riza was still feeling some aches and pains when she moved, but it was nothing serious and she didn't let it show on her face. Kate bid her goodnight and left her in the dark, with only the moonlight shining through the cracks of the blinds. The more she thought about her situation, her degraded body and her memory loss, the more she felt depressed. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically.
What am I going to do? She covered her eyes with her right forearm and sobbed silently. What should I do? Where do I start?
Riza was plagued with nightmares. She thrashed in her bed and whimpered in her sleep. What is this? Where am I? Scenes were flashing in her mind like an old movie. The images changed abruptly and were too fast for her to recognize them. She was partly conscious in her dream and felt like she was living in them. They were trying to tell her something, something she knew that was important. Something I mustn't forget. What is it? It was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't put an image to it.
She was hot and surrounded by fire. It was a desert-like place. The buildings were crumbling and it was completely silent except for the roaring fire, with nobody in sight. Where is this? Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a person standing on the edge of a broken building on the top floor. The person looked at her and lifted a foot. Riza tried to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat. The person fell down.
Riza panicked, her eyes watering and breathing with difficulty, and ran towards the place where the person fell. She had to climb up some broken walls, avoid spraining her ankles on the rubble and leap over big cracks in the earth. How am I even capable of all this? Even in the dream, she was amazed by her agility, but her body seemed to know what it was doing so she didn't stop. Arriving at the top of a fallen brick wall, she peered down into a ditch and saw it. The person who had fallen was a young woman, now dead and bleeding on the ground, with her eyes wide open and staring at her. Riza gasped and choked as she stared back wide-eyed at the girl. Her bright red eyes seemed to watch her and blame her for her death. They were filled with fear, hate and anguish.
Riza ducked behind the fallen wall she had climbed up on and violently threw up whatever was in her stomach. She was on her knees, taking deep breaths, slowly leaning back against the wall for support. Saying that Riza was shocked was an understatement. Her body was trembling, she had the shivers and was sweating profusely. When she looked back down at the place she had climbed up from, she froze at the sight. Bodies littered the ground everywhere. Children, women and men of all ages were staring at her with their red eyes. Riza clutched her head and shut her eyes. What is this! What's going on?
She was praying for this nightmare to end, praying they would stop staring at her with those grudge-filled eyes. Suddenly, a loud noise exploded and an unbearable heat enveloped her. Her eyes snapped open and the land was covered in fire. Everything was burning except her. The bodies bubbled, sizzled and and melted away. Riza gagged and her stomach acid came out. Get me out of here! Get me out!
As if answering her prayers, she heard footsteps and saw a silhouette through the fire. It was approaching slowly. She watched with anticipation, hoping he or she would be her savior. But then a man emerged from the fire, towering over her, shading his face. Who are you? She tried to ask, but she was still voiceless. It was a military soldier. She could recognize that blue uniform anywhere. The man seemed to have gone through a war. His uniform was tattered and covered with dust.
Riza didn't move an inch, not sure if he was a friend or a foe. The fire was growing stronger by the second and sweat was beading down her face, but still, she didn't move. Suddenly, the man slowly raised his hand in a snapping position and held it in front of her. He had a white glove on, which appeared to be glowing red with the fire around them. She noticed a design on the back of his glove and gasped. She didn't know why, but her whole being froze up in fear. He was dangerous. She knew that deep down. Despite being stricken with fear, her eyes never left the array. Where have I seen that before?
Time seemed to have stopped as she dug into her memories, trying to remember where she had seen that pattern. However, before she could recall anything, the fingers moved, snapped, and a spark formed, followed by a burst of flames, engulfing her. The ground gave way and she fell, breathless and speechless, seeing the mysterious man looking down at her with his face still unrecognizable.
She woke up gasping and breathing rapidly. She was sitting on a chair in the middle of a grey-white room. A simple wooden table furnished it and in front of her stood a video camera on a tripod, with its case on the table. Riza tried to get up, but realized she was tied to the chair with ropes. Where am I now? What is going on? Having just gone through that hell-hole, her senses were all heightened and on maximum alert.
She tried to wriggle out of her restraints, but they were tied too tightly, so she examined the room she was in and waited for something to happen. It was eerily quiet and the lighting made her uncomfortable. What is it here that I'm supposed to see or remember? Is it something that I have to know? She stared at the camera and saw that it was rolling. Is this some kind of sick joke? Is someone watching me? She tried to speak, but it was still a futile attempt.
The light was directly on top of the table. She stared at its content, the camera case. It was a plain dark leather case with flaps for extra storage. There was nothing special about it, but she couldn't seem to avert her eyes. It seemed so familiar and she knew she'd seen it before. Where have I seen it? Her eyes scrutinized it and then she saw it, the fine imprint on the leather. Marcus Orman, Central. Just as she'd finished reading it, the door behind her screeched open and a man came to stand beside the camera. He grinned sadistically at her and it was then that she associated this man as Marcus Orman. She remembered that face, that evil smile like a psychopath's. He was well groomed, clean and proper, but beneath that facade, he was a cruel and sick man.
Rage was building up inside her. She felt her face heat up and her muscles tense. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She was his prisoner. Marcus' grin grew wider, mocking her attempts to get to him. Marcus! She couldn't really remember what he had done to her, but she knew this man was involved in her current situation. However, the next thing that happened took her by surprise.
When he opened his mouth to speak, he said, "we don't need her anymore, so get rid of her."
Her anger vanished and was replaced by a confused stupor. What- what is this? She was shaken. The voice didn't seem to match the face, that she knew for sure. Then what is going on? Who said that? She stared at Marcus, horrified, while he grinned at her and laughed. That made her even more confused. The laughter was definitely his. Then, who was the one who spoke before? The room was spinning and Marcus was still laughing at her. She screamed, begging for it to stop.
"Miss Hawkeye! Miss Hawkeye! Wake up!" Kate shook her roughly. Riza fought back against her as best as she could with her one arm. When Kate backed off, Riza calmed down, but stared at her with big frightened eyes. "Are you alright miss Hawkeye?" Kate asked cautiously, not wanting to alarm her. "You were screaming and having nightmares so I woke you up."
Riza glared at her warily while calming herself down. She looked away from the nurse and said, "yes, I'm fine. It was... just a nightmare." Her throat was dry and she looked around for some water. Kate immediately handed it to her without a word and watched her drink slowly.
Riza laid back down and breathed deeply. She was damp and hot from her sweat. So much for resting. I feel more tired now than ever.
"If you want to talk about it, I'm always ready to lend you an ear," Kate broke the silence. Riza stared at her for a few seconds, much to Kate's discomfort, but then turned away.
"Thank you, it's good to know." Seeing that Riza wasn't going to speak about it, Kate went to open the curtains. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a nice clear blue. Riza had to squint her eyes to wait for them to adjust.
"Breakfast will be served in about an hour or so. If you need anything, you can always press the call button and I'll come running to you as soon as I can." Kate smiled and left the room quietly.
Alone in the bright room, everything seemed so surreal to Riza, especially after the frightening experience in her dreams. Why did I have those dreams? The worst was that they felt real. When she was in the dreams, she felt like she had lived through something similar. They were her memories and real-life experiences. What was I doing?
Riza's body was filled with tremors. She was afraid of herself, of the person she had become, of the things she had done. Who am I? All she remembered was her childhood, spent in her old house with her father. She was afraid to remember, afraid to discover who she had become. Why were they all staring at me like that? Those red eyes haunted her even now.
The rest of the day was busy for Riza. After breakfast, the doctors came to visit her and bought her to do all kinds of tests. Needless to say, Riza was distracted from her thoughts and didn't have the time to think further into the meaning of her dreams.
"How are you feeling today?" Dr Wilson asked her after they returned to her room. They had assessed that she was physically well enough to be put in a wheelchair, though only under supervision.
"I'm fine thank you."
"I heard you were having nightmares this morning. Is everything alright?"
Riza hesitated before saying yes, but Dr Wilson didn't seem to believe her.
"Were they dreams or memories? Are you remembering things?" he tried pushing a little bit further. "From the looks of your scans, we're suspecting that it won't be a permanent amnesia. You have a chance of regaining part or all of your memories." At that news, Riza looked at him hopefully.
However, when she remembered what her memories could possibly contain, her mood instantly darkened. "I'm not sure if they're my memories."
"It's alright. If they do come back, you'll know it," he said to comfort her, oblivious to the real reasons she was feeling down.
Kate knocked on the door to signal her presence and gave the doctor a folder. For some reason, Kate was uncomfortable and hesitant.
"The people at the administration told me that you needed to bring this up. They won't wait any longer," she said in such a quiet voice that Riza almost didn't hear her.
Dr Wilson took the folder gingerly, almost cringing at the touch and let out a frustrated sigh through the nose. Riza looked at them curiously, unaware of the situation. Why are they like that?
"Miss Hawkeye, I'm afraid there's a pressing matter we have to discuss about that cannot seem to wait," he said in a way that was almost to himself. "It's about the hospital bills." Oh...
Riza immediately felt herself tense and her breath catch in her throat. What am I supposed to do? Do I even have money?
"As I've told you yesterday, you've been under our care for a month and three weeks." He looked at her, but she didn't move an inch. Riza felt like she was listening to her death sentence. "There's some good news though. The first two weeks have been paid by the people that had found you. When they left, they left enough money to cover approximately two weeks of your hospital bills." Riza looked up in surprise. They paid for me? In all her life, at least the part that she still remembered, nobody had ever paid anything for her before.
Dr Wilson chuckled when he saw her expression. "That's not all. Dr Carson, Dr Paige and myself were able to convince the hospital to sort of sponsor your treatments while you were in the ICU. So that's another two weeks covered by the hospital. When you were stable enough, you were moved to this room, which is a private room. Normally, you would've been put in a public room, which is shared by four patients, but since there were private rooms available, we convinced them to let you stay in this room in the meantime with the same charge as a public room."
After hearing this, her death sentence didn't seem too bad. "I- I don't know what to say. Thank you so much." She knew the fact that she didn't have to pay for her critical care treatments was taking off a lot of money from her bill.
Dr Wilson smiled at her. "So, in the end, you have the three weeks to pay for and the rest of the time that you will be staying at the hospital." His smile was no longer there, which meant that it still wasn't too good. He handed her a paper and pointed to the total.
Riza didn't know how to react. "$27,875?" she asked in a breathy voice. Her hands shook, so she put them down on her thighs to make it less noticeable.
Dr Wilson nodded gravely. "It includes all the medication, the room, service charges and some taxes."
How am I going to pay this? Do I even have enough money? Do I even have any money? When she left her house, she left with nothing. She had to sell her father's house for money and even then it wasn't that much. The house was run-down, old, in the middle of nowhere and needed a lot of renovations so it didn't sell for much. It's barely enough to pay for this bill. If I still have that money that is.
"Do you know if you have insurance?" Dr Wilson asked her.
"No, I don't think so." How could I afford insurance? I can't even remember if I had a job?
The silence was unbearable. She didn't like people pitying her. "I'll have to check my bank account. If it's still the same account, then I can check it."
"Alright. Do you know which bank it is? I'll have someone help you get the phone number."
"Amestris National Bank", she answered in a monotone voice.
"I'll have someone get you their phone number."
"I'll do it!" Kate intervened. This whole time she had been standing quietly near the door, sadly listening to the inevitable conversation.
"Would you like to go back on your bed miss Hawkeye?" Dr Wilson asked after Kate had run out of the room.
Riza nodded and the doctor helped to keep her steady as she hoped and wobbled to her bed. When she was comfortably installed, she held the bill up and asked, "can I keep this?"
"Of course. I'll let you have some time alone before Kate comes back with the number." Before he left, he turned back around and took out a letter. "Before I forget, this is a letter from the girl that first found you when you fell from the waterfall. She made me promise to give it to you when you'd wake up."
Riza stared at the white envelope. It was written 'Miss Waterfall' in a rather clumsy way. Riza carefully opened it and took out the piece of paper. It read:
Dear Miss Waterfall,
My name is Jill and I'm thirteen. I decided to call you miss waterfall because that's where we found you and we didn't know your name. I didn't want people to give you any random name so I chose this one. Anyways, I hope you're feeling better now that you're awake (if not you wouldn't be reading this letter, right?). I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you until you woke up. I'm from a merchant family and we travel all over Amestris and Xing to buy and sell merchandise. It was time for us to leave Central, so I had to follow my parents and head back to Xing before winter sets in. Dr Wilson is an excellent doctor and so are his friends, so I know you'll be in good hands. I'm so happy that you were able to survive that fall and I hope we get to meet in person one day.
Till the day we meet,
Jill
Riza folded the paper carefully and placed it back into the envelope. Despite her current situation, Jill's letter brought her a bit of joy, knowing that someone out there was genuinely hoping for her to get better. Jill, thank you. Riza smiled to herself as she thought of the young girl. She knew from the content of the letter that she must've been an active and cheerful girl.
"I've got the number!" Kate exclaimed suddenly from the doorway, making Riza jump. "Oh, I'm so sorry if I scared you." She bowed in apology multiple times and rushed to Riza's side breathlessly.
Riza took the small piece of paper from her, which contained a scribbled number on it.
"It's the number for customer's service at the Amestris National Bank right?" Riza nodded. "Luckily for you, since you're in a private room, you have your own phone so we won't need to bring you out in the hallway to make a phone call!"
Kate gave the receiver to Riza and pulled on the cord to bring it as close as possible to her. "Would you like me to compose the number for you?" she asked.
"Yes please," Riza answered politely. After she dialed the number, she excused herself and left Riza to her own privacy.
The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.
"Hi my name is Annabel, thank you for calling the Amestris National Bank's customer's service line. How may I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like some information on my bank account please," Riza said.
"No problem. Can I get your account number please?" Annabel asked.
"It's 3857 9368 7551," Riza said nervously. Please let it be the same!
"Alright, I'll just need you to confirm your name and birthday please." Riza gave her the information she needed. "Miss Hawkeye, I'll just need you to answer a security question before we can proceed."
She felt her her heart skip a beat. That's new. Please let it be something I can answer!
"What was the name of the street of the first house you lived in?" Annabel asked. Riza's eyes widened in a surprise. Seriously?
"Kildart," she answered confidently.
"That's correct. Thank you for your patience miss Hawkeye. I can now proceed to answer any questions you have about your account."
Riza sighed with relief inwardly. Thank god I put an easy question. "I'd like to know the balance of my account please."
"Would you like the balance to include your investments and savings or just the amount you have in the checking's account?"
"Could you tell me the total and how much I have in each?"
"Yes. You have a total of $78,567.52, with $45,987.82 in investments, $26,742.85 in your savings account and the remaining $5,836.85 in your checking's account."
Riza's mouth was hanging open, completely shocked and blown away. How did I make that much money? Didn't I need to pay rent or anything? What about food? She couldn't comprehend how she had ended up with that much money. Never in her life had she seen that much money, even after she had sold the house. Well, it has been eleven years. That makes a lot of time to save money, but... I still needed to pay for living expenses at the same time, didn't I?
"Miss Hawkeye? Are you still there?" Annabel asked after a moment of silence.
"Y- yes, I'm sorry," Riza managed to say after she came out of her shock. The news had brought her so much relief.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Actually, I lost my wallet, so I was wondering if I could get a new credit card and debit card," Riza asked tentatively.
"Of course. I'll put that in the system right away and you should be receiving your new cards in four to six weeks. Would you like us to send it to your home address or would you like to come pick them up at the bank?"
My home address? I don't even know where I live? "I'll pick it up at the bank please. Can you tell me which one it's going to be at?" Riza estimated that by the time her cards came in, she'd probably be out of the hospital and able to go get them.
"It's the one at the corner of Belleville St. and Central Ave. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"
"No, that's everything. Thank you Annabel."
"It was my pleasure. Have a good day miss Hawkeye."
Riza reached over to her nightstand and hung up the phone. A small smile crept up on her lips knowing that she wasn't exactly in a financial crisis. That's one burden off my mind. She would have to be careful though. Not knowing what her job was and without any memories of her current life for an undetermined amount of time, she knew that she wouldn't be having any income for a long time. I have to be careful on how I spend it.
The day's stress was making her tired and all she wanted to do was sleep even though it was only mid-afternoon. She rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes. Her mind slowed down and sleep was slowly seeping in. However, she heard a rustling sound beside her, near her bedside table, and willed her eyes to open again.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I woke you up." It was Kate. She has brought in a stack of magazines and newspapers and placed them neatly on her little table. "I just thought you might get bored in here, so I brought you some things to read and to entertain yourself. Maybe they'll help you remember some things too."
"Thank you," Riza said tiredly. She eyed the stack lazily and considered whether she wanted to sleep or to read something.
But, as soon as she saw the front page of the newspaper on top of the pile, she froze and focused her eyes on the cover image. Her heartbeat sped up and her throat felt constricted.
"Is everything alright miss Hawkeye?" Kate asked with a hint of worry. Riza's eyes didn't leave the image.
"Can you pass me that newspaper please?"
Riza held it with a trembling hand. It can't be. The dream from that morning replayed in her head.
"Do you recognize him? Everyone knows about him," Kate smiled and added, "especially the girls. He's all the nurses are talking about anyways. Well, it's normal because he's so handsome and rich and single too!" Kate was rambling on, completely emerged in her own fantasies.
'Fuhrer Roy Mustang', it read. Mr Mustang? He's the Fuhrer? Everything came as a shock to her. Her memories of him, this image and the dream she had were not mixing well together. She remembered him as a kind and gentle young man. He was polite, respectful and possessed an almost shy look. This man, on the other man, had a hard, stern look. This man was more mature and serious, and the lack of happiness and life in his eyes made her doubt it was the same person. What happened?
"But I'd have to say the best thing about him is the fact that he's the Flame Alchemist." Riza shot her head towards Kate's direction the moment she heard that comment.
"What? Flame Alchemist?" Oh no. She had a bad feeling of what was to come.
"Yes, he's the famous Flame Alchemist who fought during the Ishbal war and helped us win. Everyone calls him the Hero of Ishbal."
Riza released a shuddered breath and looked back down at Roy's face on the paper. Ishbal. It sounded so familiar, yet it was foreign to her. Riza clutched her forehead with her good right hand. Her head was pounding hard.
"Here's a better picture of him." Kate deposited a magazine on Riza's lap beside the newspaper. On its shiny glossy cover, Roy Mustang was smirking at her in his full uniform. "This is the issue that came out right after his inauguration. Ah, he's so handsome!"
Riza stared at it. Then she saw them, those white gloves with a red array intricately sown on the back. She remembered the dream she had, the man that stood over her, the fire everywhere. It's him. He was the one that had burned the land, that had snapped at her. Oh God, this can't be happening. The red eyes were staring at her again. Ishbal. Yes, she was starting to remember. The desert, the Ishbalians, the military. Ishbal. How could I forget. She had been a sniper. She had killed hundreds.
Riza was wheezing and breathing with difficulty. Her head felt like it was about to explode.
"Miss Hawkeye! Are you alright?" She saw Kate leaning in front of her, helping her to lay back down on her pillow, but she couldn't respond. She was in another world. "I need help! The patient is going into shock!"
Riza felt cold even though she was sweating. What's going on? She was back in Ishbal, her hands covered in blood. No, no, no! She looked around and saw him, with his back facing her. Mr Mustang! Nothing came out, so she ran after him. When she was a few feet from him, he stopped and turned around. He was solemn and his eyes seemed different. When their eyes met, he looked at her coldly and murderously.
"We don't need her anymore, so get rid of her."
What? Why is he saying that? Where did I hear that before? She stumbled back a step and fell on the ground. She continued staring at him in silence, trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, someone walked out from behind him and stood on the side. Marcus Orman! Why is he here?
Marcus smirked at her, but said nothing. No, no. She was in denial. Someone had definitely tried to have her killed, but she refused to acknowledge what she could deduce from this. It doesn't make any sense. Why would he want to kill me? That's when she made the link. They had both been soldiers who had fought in the Ishbal war. They had both killed many people. She had seen what he could do, what he had done, how he had snapped his fingers without a second thought.
Fear coursed through her body. Is this to hide your past? Am I a threat to you? She had been the one who gave him his powers, who had trusted him with her father's research. Does he want to eliminate me to keep it all for himself? She didn't know the answers. She didn't know the reasons why they wanted her dead. One thing she knew though, was that Roy wanted her gone and Marcus was helping him.
Anger boiled in her. Ishbal. Roy Mustang. Marcus Orman. I won't forget you. Her consciousness was dwindling and darkness was seeping in. I won't forget. Her back was aching again.
A.N.: Riza is going crazy! No, jk. Her mind is playing tricks on her. I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter. If things are still unclear or a mystery, then it's completely normal. There's still a lot to explain and it will all develop in the next chapters. Anyways, thank you all for continuing to read this story. There's so many possible endings I could choose from and I don't know which one to go with. One thing for sure: Roy and Riza will not be reuniting soon. Hahaha!