Hey, y'all! I really need to apologize for taking ages to post this chapter. College this semester was kicking my butt and I also got very bad writer's block for this chapter. I don't know when the next time I'll update this fic, but I am for sure going to finish it eventually. Please bear with me. Thanks. I appreciate all the love this fic has gotten, you don't know how much it means to me. So, thank you for supporting me!
The night sky glittered under bright stars, new and old. They twinkled, hinting at their death from billions of miles away. On any other night, Alphonse would've called them peaceful. Now they mocked him, lulling him into a false sense of security. Yet at the same time, he was the safest he'd ever been, his friends asleep back in the office while he kept close on a bench outside.
His brother had been missing from his side for two months, twelve days, and five一no一ten seconds.
Even beautiful nights like these couldn't soothe the way his metaphorical heart ached as the days passed, days without leads - no leads on where his fiery older brother was, or if he was even alive.
He banished that thought quickly.
He missed watching over Ed, missed hugging his older brother to his chest whenever he had a nightmare, missed their bickering and how he would stay up as late as he needed to to make sure that Al was okay when the armor became overwhelming when he felt so exhausted and wanted nothing more to be able to sleep but couldn't. He missed Ed's feral grin when he discovered some little piece of information to use to blackmail Mustang, whenever he joked around with Havoc or Breda.
He missed him so terribly that it felt like his heart was breaking without him. It felt like his non-existent lungs couldn't breathe without Ed there.
And it was Mustang's fault.
Mustang had been the one to tell Ed about the killer. Mustang had been the one to drive Ed to desperation. And yet, Al knew it was just as much as his brother's fault as much as it was Mustang's fault.
Al didn't realize he was trembling until there was a sharp squeal of metal and a dry, metallic sob escaped from him.
Please, brother. I need you.
"Alphonse?"
With a sharp gasp, Al spun around, coming face to face with Mustang. The man's dark eyes were half-lidded, dark hair unkempt, and sticking up everywhere. A frown appeared on the Flame Alchemist's face as he noticed the trembling.
Al knew he must've been a pathetic sight, curled up on the bench, shaking like a little kid, but he supposed everyone deserved to break down from time to time, especially after something like these last few months.
"Colonel Mustang, shouldn't you be asleep?" Al asked quietly, turning his head away from the man to look at his metal hands. He didn't think he could bear the Mustang's stare. It felt as if he was trying to pick Al's mind apart piece by piece.
The bench released a loud squeak of protest as Mustang settled his weight on it; it wouldn't hold the both of them for long.
"Alphonse," Mustang began, pausing as if to pick his words carefully. "Are you alright?" Mustang asked, placing a hand on Al's hard shoulder.
"I miss him!" Al burst out, clenching his fists and barely stopping himself from yelling. "We barely have any leads. It's like he disappeared right off the face of the earth!" Al gestured wildly, throwing his hands up.
Al dropped his helmet into his hands. "I feel like a failure. If it'd been me, brother wouldn't have slept until he found me," he whispered.
A sharp sigh escaped from the man beside him.
"This isn't your fault, Alphonse; it's mine," Mustang said, voice quiet and tired.
"I know but it's not entirely your fault," Al whispered, he didn't believe it was entirely Mustang's fault yet he felt that he should've stopped his brother before he had done anything.
Mustang brushed a hand over his face, wiping away the remnants of sleep. "You blame me, don't you, for putting him in the position." It was more of a statement than a question, and when he finally looked over, Mustang's obsidian eyes hardened, as if preparing for Al to yell at him, tell him he hated him, to have some sort of outburst.
For several long moments, it was quiet except for the chatter of crickets and frogs. Just before the silence could grow awkward, Al finally spoke.
"I―well―," Al stammered; he groaned in frustration, unable to figure out what he wanted to say. "My mind is telling me to blame you, but…"
"But?" Mustang prompted, dark gaze filled with curiosity.
"Another part of me is telling me to blame Ed for being careless and not thinking things through more. I just feel so lost, Colonel…" He let out a choked noise. "I don't know what to do," Al said, a sob in his voice. "I miss him so much."
"I miss him too," said a quiet voice. Al startled at the small voice. He and Mustang both turned to look at Winry, dressed in pink pajamas and her hair up in a bun. For all the despair on her face, there was still fire in her eyes.
"Scoot," Winry said. Mustang scrunched up so she could take a seat beside him. He scowled at her, and she frowned back. "By all means, make yourself comfortable," he muttered.
Winry threw another glare his way before resting her head against Al's metal shoulder. "You know Ed would throw a fit if he saw us like this," A quiet, wet laugh escaped Winry.
Al glanced at his best friend, metaphorical heart falling at the tears dripping down her face.
"He'd tell us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves," Al chuckled lightly, wrapping his arm around Winry. "I remember when he nearly died on the Shaual case, and Mustang was worried sick."
Mustang sputtered noisily, pulling two small laughs from his companions. He sighed heavily and buried his hands in his face. "You try not being concerned about a person that nearly drowned and was technically dead for five minutes." He grumbled.
Winry's tearful blue eyes snapped to Mustang's, shock and surprise glittering in her eyes. "Was that why he came home with his inner arm covered in rust?"
"Yes," Mustang deadpanned.
"Don't tell me," Winry groaned, "He didn't even care that he could've died?"
"He acted like I was crazy for lecturing him on why he shouldn't have jumped off that boat. He has two metal limbs for crying out loud!"
Al and Winry laughed, causing a small smile to appear on Roy's face. The laughing dissolved into a comfortable silence, only broken by Winry sighing.
"I just hope he's staying out of danger," Winry whispered. "He never misses the chance to start a commotion."
Al and Mustang hummed in agreement, both thinking about when the fourteen-year-old had shown no restraint in starting an argument with anyone over something minor.
"I just hope it won't be long before一."
"Colonel Mustang!" A voice yelled, interrupting whatever Winry had planned to say. Each of them spun around, taking in the excitement in Hawkeye's fawn eyes.
She clutched a piece of paper in her right hand, which had something scribbled on it that Roy couldn't make out.
"The phone rang!" She panted in between breaths.
"At this time of night? Who was it?" Roy's brow furrowed, slight annoyance on his face.
"Our informant. They found him; they found Edward!"
Roy heard gasps come from the two teens behind him and then a muffled sob. "Do we know if he's safe? Is he hurt?" Roy's questions bombarded the Lieutenant. His heart picked up; Ed was no longer lost. They were one step closer to rescuing him.
"Was that all that was said, Lieutenant?" Roy jumped to his feet, regaining his professional air, ready to make any commands to get Ed home.
"No, sir. I've been informed that tonight there will be an escape attempt for the elderly and young. They've been instructed to head to the border, where Briggs will intercept them into their care."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. We should probably go to start preparing communications with Briggs." Roy flashed her a thankful smile, obsidian eyes bright for the first time in a long while.
"No need, Colonel. Our informant has requested that we head to Briggs as well. There's a kid that he wants us to meet, someone that Ed met while in there." Hawkeye informed.
"Well," Roy sighed, curiosity filling him to the brim, "let's go make the arrangements. Knowing Fullmetal, this kid is probably important."
"We're coming with you, Colonel!" Alphonse's metallic voice rang from behind them. He looked over his shoulder, glancing at the determined look on Winry's face and the way Alphonse held himself. A simple 'no' wouldn't stop them from saving the one they loved.
Mustang stared at them, then relented, sighing and dragging a hand over his face. "I'm not going to convince either of you to stay, am I?" Mustang Inquired. He was sure he could argue all day with the younger Elric and not dissuade him.
"No." They both said at once.
"Alright then, go get your things and then get back here. We have a lot to do." Mustang's eyes flashed with a determined light before heading back into headquarters, Hawkeye close behind him, leaving the two teens alone.
Winry stood, pausing for a moment, looking at the stars. "Winry, are you alright?" Anxiety trembled in Al's voice; gone was the hopelessness from an hour before. Winry quickly wiped at her face, turning to Al. "Let's go get him back."
With those determined words, Alphonse followed Winry to the barracks. He caught one last glance at the stars as they twinkled. Soon, brother. You won't have to wait much longer , Alphonse promised.
The stars continued their silent vigil, uncaring.
The scream that tore from Ryler's throat was ungodly and piercing. Ryler stared slack-jawed with horror at the wolf on Rose's chest, tearing into her, blood flying, pooling from somewhere; there was so much of it. The wolf's face whipped around to him; bloodied jowls pulled back into a snarl.
The creature was a big, white beast, blue eyes piercing and staring right through Ryler. He'd heard stories from the others around him, warning him of the scary monsters that lurked right outside where they'd been kept. He now wishes that they hadn't told him that story.
He tore his eyes away from the wolf, terrified gaze drifting to glance down at Rose quickly. She lay unmoving, auburn eyes slowly closing. A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth as she worked on trying to say something, all the while the wolf had returned its attention to her, tearing at her.
"R-Ry-Rye..ler...run." She gasped, going still.
He could hear voices echoing through the trees, responding to his scream of terror. He needed to run before the wolf finished, that much he knew. Ryler's breath came out in shuddering gasps, lips trembling, a terrified sob bubbling in his throat.
"Go away!" He screamed, voice coming out as more of a high-pitched sob. The wolf stopped tearing at Rose's motionless body, ears pricked, and it swiveled Its head in Ryler's directions. The echoing yells sounded distant and many miles away despite the voices getting closer.
Ryler quickly glanced down at the nearly completed transmutation circle. A quick change in one or two of the lines would turn it into stone. Activating it would hopefully scare the wolf away.
His vision blurred with tears; he swiped snow over old marks, quickly replacing it with new lines. The boy panted, struggling to draw in breaths in but refusing to stop. Terror seized his already terrified mind for a moment when he placed a hand on the array to activate it and couldn't visualize what the transmutation would look like.
A small scream of frustration tore from his throat, and the array forced itself into his adrenaline-filled mind. He smacked a hand into the middle, and blue electricity filled the area. The next few moments pass in slow motion.
The wolf wails a sharp, high-pitched sound as a sickening squelch is heard. Its sounds of pain grow louder as the stone twists around the wound. The sound dies down to whines just as quickly as it begins to hobble away, limping on three paws, a bloody tear on its rear left leg and flank.
A scream tears itself from the small boy, and he crumples into the snow, blood pooling under his shoulder from a rebounded stone.
It goes quiet.
"They're over here!" A voice yelled. Nausea fills the boy's throat, the pain barely dulled by numbing snow. A cry pulls itself past the tears; horrified faces appear above him. His eyes fall shut against the pain.
It hurt so badly. Should it have hurt at all? Ed hadn't mentioned alchemy hurting. Someone touched his shoulder, pulling a small whine from him. The grip tightening, shrieking whines growing. "Stop," He moaned, pushing the hand away, "It hurts."
The hands pressed harder; then there was a tug. Ryler's not sure which he reacts to, the sharp ache that radiates through his neck or its suddenness.
They really should've told him before making him hurt.
The pain melted away all of a sudden, as did his scream. The smell of blood no longer touches his olfactory senses. The world was white as if blanketed in snow. Which the world was. The white faded to a dull gray, then to a pale blue above him.
Ryler blinked, but the blue didn't go away. He frowned and wiggled his fingers, the movement sending dull shards of pain down his arm. Something was under his head, but any movement to try to get up sparked pain through the boy. A small whimper pulled from his lips.
The sound must've alerted someone nearby because a face appeared in his vision. They were blurred, but he slowly focused on one of them, knelt beside him, and brushed a stray hair from his face.
What was her name? It started with an 'M'... Right, it was Marley. She was a kind older woman.
He moved his arm to grasp onto her, causing the sharp ache to turn into a burning. He whimpered a harsh sound. "Hurts." He moaned, tears falling from his tightly squeezed eyes. Marley pulled him into her arms, positioning him to nestle his face into the crook of her neck.
"Is he awake?" A voice called over the rustling wind, Brandon he recognizes. The chin on his head nodded, and a set of footsteps approached.
A rough, calloused hand took hold of the boy's chin, gently pulling his face away from the woman's shoulder. The man immediately noticed the boy's tightly shut eyes, so tight that a trail of tears fall down his face. Slowly, the boy's face slackened, the pain dissipating for the time being.
"Ryler, can you look at me?" Brandon asks gently, a hand resting on his cheek. Slowly, the boy peels an eye open, then another. His bright but slightly dulled blue eyes drifted to the man's face.
The man's lips curled into a small, barely noticeable smile once Ryler's eyes reached him, tension leaking from his shoulders. "You're lookin' much better, kid. You looked real bad earlier."
"What happened?" The boy's small voice quivered. He vaguely remembered the wolf, blood, and the flashes of Miss. Rose on the ground. The flashes of Miss. Rose were so sudden that he jolted out of Marley's arms. He ignored the small jolt of pain from his shoulder. Where was she? He remembered that she was so still on the ground while the wolf was on top of her.
"Miss. Rose," Ryler gasps, staring up at Brandon, blue eyes filled with disquiet. "Is she alright? The wolf didn't hurt her too badly, did it?"
There's a small silent pause. Marley and Brandon exchanged looks, a pained expression on both faces, something Ryler doesn't catch, "Where is she?" She isn't too badly hurt, right?"
"Ryler, sweetheart," Marley begins, drawing Ryler into her arms. She rested her chin back on his head. The older woman opened her mouth, momentarily gaping as if she was a fish. "She's gone."
"Gone?" Ryler asked, his head cocked, a look of confusion on his face. "What do you mean? Why did she leave? Isn't it dangerous out here?"
Marley grimaced; a shuddering breath escaped her lips. "Ryler, sweetheart, the wolf...her wounds..she died an hour ago."
"Died? What does that mean?" Now the young boy was perplexed. He'd heard the word thrown around by Ed and others multiple times, but he was too afraid to ask. There was always a feeling of heaviness accompanying the word.
"It means she's gone. She passed to a better place." The older woman brushed her fingers through Ryler's hair. The explanation confused the boy even more. If she was gone, then why couldn't she just come back?
"Why not?" The boy's shoulders trembled. "Did I do something wrong? I tried as fast as I could to activate the circle. I promise." The boy's voice trembled.
"Sweetheart, no," The older woman murmured, fighting back tears of her own. There was no way that he would understand as young as he was. "You did nothing wrong. The wolf made her very sick. She didn't survive."
Ryler still didn't entirely understand what the older woman meant, but he knew what it meant for someone never to come back. Mom and dad had left him, Ed had left him, and now Rose had left him. He was alone.
Ryler's face screwed up, teeth clenching. His chest felt tight, warmth building in the back of his eyes.
They're gone.
They're gone.
They're gone.
Then he was sobbing, loud, and desperately clinging to the woman holding him. It really wasn't fair that people kept leaving.
It really wasn't fair.
"Brother, stay awake!"
Ed snapped awake with a sharp gasp, confusion filling his frozen mind. Panting, ragged breaths misted the air in front of him, momentarily warming him before the bitter cold was felt again. He could've sworn...was it a dream, or had that really been Al's voice?
He shook off the thought as quickly as it came. It seemed to be nothing more than an auditory hallucination, something that happened when one's brain was exhausted. He shifted, body protesting with aches of pain. His face throbbed, one eye swollen shut under a layer of blood and ugly bruises.
He turned his head as much as the collar would allow, Jack's grey hair filling his periphery. He could barely tell, but it looked as if the man's beard was spotted with blood. The other five guys couldn't have looked any better. Still, he needed to know the state of their injuries if they were going to escape and survive the night.
Slowly, as to not pull the collar surrounding his neck taut, he carefully shifted the cuffs around the post, hissing quietly as the movement pulled on the quickly scabbing knife wound on his shoulder.
It took a few minutes, but finally, finally, he managed to face the older man. His heart chilled in his chest for a moment, the man's breaths barely misted in the air around him, chest faintly rising and falling. He could imagine that if he'd been able to press two fingers against the man's jugular, he'd find the pulse to be thready at best.
Anxiety swelled in his throat; it was nearly completely dark. It was only logical that it would get much colder throughout the night.
Shit!
"Jack!" He hisses. The man twitches, slowly dragging himself to the land of the living. He breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Jack's head droops, and Ed knows he doesn't have much time to do this.
"Jack!" He hisses once again. He can see the man jolting and turning to look at him in the corner of his eye. The older man shivers violently.
"Kid?" He asks softly.
"Yeah, I'm here."
Ed hears the man breathe a sigh of relief. He swallows down the lump in his throat. Shifting more than the ropes and restraints allow but he has to know if the man is alright. He nearly chokes, the collar pulling, taut, but he needs to tell the man the slight plan he has.
"H-How, tight are the ropes around your wrists?" He chokes. He has to shift back for a second to breathe. He hears the man pulling and tugging, grunting against the strain. Then there's a sharp hiss of annoyance.
"I could probably get out of them with some time. They're looser than what yours appear to be," Another hiss, then a tired sigh, "I can barely feel my fingers, so it'll probably take a while."
Ed glanced down at his fingers; he curled them, frowning at how long they took to respond to him. It was so cold. He sighed, glancing back up at the man. A mix of emotions fluttered through Jack's eyes, sorrow being the biggest. Ed had to look away. It felt like hours before he could look at the man again without tears burning his eyes.
"Trying rubbing the rope against the pole. Maybe it'll fray."
Ed saw the man nod and begin rubbing the rope. He leaned his head back and allowed his eyes to slip shut, mind in turmoil. There wasn't much they could do about their current situation, escape and wait who knows long until the Drachman's came or mother nature would take care of them first.
It wasn't until thirty minutes later when he could barely see the older man in the moonlight, that Jack broke free. The older man rubbed at his wrists, wincing slightly. Ed breathed a trembling sigh of relief. He nearly laughed.
Jack was sluggish in his movements to stand, and Ed could tell that he didn't look good at all. He made a move towards Ed, but the young alchemist shook his head. "Free the others first; it'll take longer to get me free."
"Alright, but the collar is coming off." Ed went rigid as the man walked behind him. It was hard not to after everything that had happened. After a few minutes, the collar falls slack, relieving the tight pressure around Ed's throat. He sighed with relief.
He held himself tensely, the moon having gone down for a good while now. He slowly relaxed his muscles, calming himself. Wolves were mostly nocturnal; it would be a while before any of them came around. They'd be long gone by then.
He was proven wrong, not even a moment later.
The first sounds to reach his ears were high pitched yips, resembling a small dog's bark. That wasn't worrying; many animals could sound like that, specifically foxes. Maybe that was the denial; the howling began moments later.
Ed's heart rose to his throat. The howling was far away, but it was only a matter of time before the wolves would catch up; after all, a wolf's sense of smell was one hundred times greater than a human's.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Ed scrabbled, turning himself into an uncomfortable position so that he could see Jack. The man was halfway done, and that only increased Ed's desperation. To Ed's horror, the howling only grew closer.
"Jack!" He finally yelled, they were out of time. They had to get out of there. Behind him, the voices rose with his panic. Jack's footsteps pounded in the snow, finally reaching him and working to remove the cuffs tightly wound around his wrists.
The old man cursed furiously and panic swelled in Ed's throat like a bulging river. Something collided with one of the metal rings, sending a sharpe ache up his arm, the ring gave way. Yes! He pulled his flesh wrist in front of him, it ached from the hours it had been pinned. He reached back blindly, searching for his metal palm.
He heard the buzzing of the lightning as soon as his palms connected.
The second ring gave way and Ed wrenched his other arm in his lap. He jumped to his feet, counting the number of people with him. The howling broke his concentration, pulling it to the edge of the pit. There was snarling, something he hadn't heard minutes ago.
They weren't there, then they were.
Eyes reflected from the moonlight, five wolves, huge creatures, peered down at them, their jaws pulled back into a snarl. Three of them were grey, gold eyes staring horrified into shared gold eyes. The two biggest, the color of midnight, eyes the color of ice.
The world ground to a standstill, breaths paused, the snow stopped falling, it was just them and the wolves. They were at the mercy of mother naturemothernature .
Unfortunately, mother nature is rarely kind.
One of the wolves moved, breaking the tense silence. It jumps down the side, barreling towards Ed, not giving him any time to move before tackling him to the ground, sinking its teeth into flesh.
Ed screamed.