Soldier Blues

VIII.

Edward tiptoed down the hallway, easing over the creaky stair and heading down to the kitchen where he’d hidden his and Alphonse’s satchels. Alphonse should already be rappelling down out of their bedroom window and moving to unlock the front door from the outside for Edward’s own escape. At least, Ed hoped Alphonse was doing that. If Edward got caught sneaking out, so soon after getting home at that, he’d be unable to sit down for at least a year. He eased the cabinet open and grabbed hold of the bags, pulling them out of their hiding spot an inch at a time in order to avoid making noise. He held his breath and let it out slowly when the pair of bags came free. He eased them both over his shoulder and rose, looking around to see if there was anything else he should take with him, but he pretty much had everything they’d need for this journey. So he began his tiptoe trek to the front door, noting with relief that his brother had done his part.

In fact, Alphonse waited for Edward just off the porch, almost crouched in case he had to make a sprint for it back to the rope of bed sheets that hung outside their bedroom window. He rose when he spotted his brother creeping off the porch and hurried over to take his bag from him, smiling a little haphazardly.

“We’re really going through with this, aren’t we?” the younger Elric asked.

The elder nodded. “We have to. I want to know what’s going on and he’s the only one who knows. So I’m going to get it out of him, even if I have to beat it out of him.”

Alphonse smiled a bit and hurried after Edward as the elder blonde hurried toward Resembool proper, the two running under the stars, sneaking past soldiers that waited just within the light of fires, guns held at the ready for anything that could be perceived as a threat. Edward pressed up against the wall of a house to wait out a patrol and made sure his brother was hidden beside him, the pair watching the soldiers march past and turn down an alleyway, leaving them free to make a bolt for the train station. And bolt they did, running as fast as they could for the station. They had to time their flight just right, because the early morning train was just pulling out, and they needed to jump on board. It wasn’t as easy as it looked, but Edward had spent the time he should’ve been sleeping figuring out the correct speed the two of them needed to make a clean landing on the caboose of the train.

Ed hit the landing running, pouring on all his speed and reaching out for the pole of the caboose. His fingers closed around it and he swung onboard, turning to grab the hand of his brother. Alphonse swallowed his scream of pure terror as he leapt, feeling weightless for a split second before he started to fall, scrabbling for purchase on a nonexistent surface. He heard Edward cry out and Alphonse was sure he was going to die, crack his head open on the ties and be forgotten until the midday train rolled over his lifeless body. But a hand closed around his arm and he was hauled onboard the train. Alphonse fell to his knees, panting to try and cover up his nervousness and found Edward beside him, staring up into the crimson eyes of an Ishbalan. Alphonse looked up and swallowed hard. The scarred Ishbalan stared down at the two of them and grunted.

“I see you’re running off,” the Ishbal native muttered as though he’d just bumped into the two of them on a merry stroll throughout the countryside.

Edward shifted to make sure he would be the prime target instead of his brother. “Wanna make something of it?”

The Ishbalan prudently ignored Edward and looked right at Alphonse. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Hey! Stop ignoring me!”

“Ed, please,” Alphonse took hold of his brother’s shoulder and held him back, clutching to him because he knew if the Ishbalan threatened him in any way, Edward would snap. Alphonse swallowed and looked up at the Ishbalan. “We couldn’t tell anyone. They’d try to stop us.”

“Perhaps you should be stopped.” The Ishbalan said after a moment of silence. Just when Edward was about to argue, the red-eyed man sighed. “Or perhaps you just need a keeper.”

“We don’t need a keeper.” Edward hissed.

The Ishbalan simply eyed him. “Of course not.”

Alphonse made a placating gesture toward his brother and tugged on his sleeve in askance for a private conversation. When Edward turned to him, Alphonse put his hand up against his mouth as if it would keep his words from reaching the Ishbalan’s ears. “Maybe it would be a good idea to take him along.”

“We tried to make sure we were going alone.” Edward hissed in return. “We’re going to draw too much attention with him.”

“We’re going to draw attention with you, too.” Alphonse reasoned. “Besides, I can’t carry a gun let alone shoot one and if you manage to get a hold of one, you’re going to get hurt.”

“You’re suggesting to let him be bodyguard?”

“Well,” Alphonse paused. Finally, he nodded. “Yes, I guess.”

Edward stared at him, then glanced up at the Ishbalan man. He glowered for a few moments before he looked back at Alphonse. “Fine. But if he turns out to be a spy or something, I’m beating the crap out of you.”

Alphonse smiled at the empty threat. “Whatever you say, brother.”

Edward rose then, turning to look at the Ishbalan. “You have a name?”

The Ishbalan simply stared at the elder Elric before he turned his gaze to the younger. “My name is Scar.”

“Scar? What sort of name is that?”

“Edward, shut up,” Alphonse said as kindly as he could, holding his brother back from attacking their bodyguard. “It’s a pleasure, Scar. I’m Alphonse and this is my older brother Edward.”

Scar’s red eyes flicked to Edward and then back to the younger brother. He simply grunted and opened the caboose door for the two brothers and pointed inside. Alphonse dragged his brother into the cabin and kept a firm hold on the elder Elric’s upper arm to keep him from lunging on the Ishbal native when the man filled the doorway, effectively blocking the brothers’ escape. Alphonse just tugged Edward toward an empty bench once they made it to the main cabin of the last car and made his brother sit, holding tight to him to keep the elder blonde’s explosive temper from finding its intended target. Alphonse shivered and sighed. It was going to be a difficult trip.


For the most part, Edward actually behaved himself. Of course, it took much begging from Alphonse to just ignore their Ishbalan bodyguard, and Edward soon seemed to be a little more amicable to their unwanted guest when the Ishbal native put on the sunglasses Alphonse gave him at their last stop on the train. Still, the elder Elric brother seemed just a little tense around the red-eyed man, his uneasiness made up for in spades by his little brother’s ability to trust without needing proof of the person’s trustworthiness. After all, what more did Alphonse need to know? Scar, the Ishbalan, had saved his life. Sure, perhaps it was to return the favour Alphonse did his people, but Scar must have other reasons for traveling with the Elric brothers than just to repay a debt. Right? So Alphonse snuck glances at the Ishbalan man whenever he could and tried to keep his brother from making too much of a scene. Which wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Edward had several vices that always seemed to set him off, no matter how pleasant he had been the moment before. The first and foremost was anything about his height. Though Edward was the older brother, Alphonse had the inches, so most people confused the two of them. In retrospect, it seemed like a good thing; it proved his time in the war had done nothing to his psyche. Alphonse was grateful for that. They rode the train for what seemed to be hours, stopping here and there to pick up and drop off passengers. Scar didn’t move an inch, always sitting across from the Elric brothers with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. Alphonse couldn’t help the smile that formed when he looked at the Ishbalan, though he quickly stifled it before anyone saw.

When the train reached Central, all three were eager to get off the train for good. Edward stretched and mewed as joints popped, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around. The station interior was full of noise, happy people who chatted as thought nothing was wrong. Ignorant or not, it still grated on Ed’s nerves that the city people could move about with nary a care about terrorist attacks. Of course, at the moment, the same could be said about Resembool as it was under military occupation.

“Brother?”

Edward turned to look at Alphonse. “Yeah?”

Alphonse’s golden eyes dulled a little bit. “Are you sure we should be here? Isn’t there other places we could go?”

The elder Elric frowned. This was the quickest way to get information since Envy (or at least Envy’s files) were going to be here. But he didn’t want to risk Alphonse.

“Brother?” Alphonse prompted.

Finally, Edward answered, looking pensive. “It’s the most direct way, but I’m not going to drag you along if you don’t want to go.”

Alphonse sighed. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t. All we’re going to do is talk to Envy and find out what the hell is really going on. Then we’ll leave.”

Alphonse brightened a little then. “That’s all?”

Edward smiled thought guilt twisted his stomach. “That’s all.”

As Alphonse and Scar moved ahead of him, Edward mouthed an apology at their backs. For, you see, Envy wasn’t the only one he had come to see.