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Day 5: Enemy to Caretaker
It was an accident, honestly. Edward hadn't tried to hurl himself off a cliff; he'd just been running too fast to see where he was going. He must have hit his head pretty hard on the way down, because he couldn't quite remember why he'd been running in the first place.
Ed guessed it was about two in the morning. Which meant he'd be sitting here with a definitely broken leg for hours before anyone would even realize he was gone. He'd been on watch, so neither of his companions would even be awake for another few hours. Maybe he'd get lucky. Heinkel and Mr. Gorilla sometimes joked with each other about their animal instincts, so maybe one of them would instinctively feel something was wrong. Surely Ed wouldn't have to sit here all night.
Ed tried to adjust his position again and barely bit back a scream. He'd probably busted some ribs, too. He felt like he'd been stabbed every time he took a breath. His automail was fine—good; he really couldn't take Winry yelling at him right now—but his right leg had a compound fracture. He tried not to look at the little white bit sticking out of his calf. He'd rolled up his pant leg to check when he'd regained consciousness, and now he couldn't bring himself to roll it back down. The thought of the fabric brushing against the exposed bone nearly made him puke.
He still had both arms. He could transmute a crutch and drag himself back up. Or he could try to heal himself again like he had in Baschool. Neither of those options seemed particularly promising. It was just a broken leg; he'd be fine. He'd had much worse. The burning throb made him hiss through his teeth with every little movement, and the stab in his ribs took his breath away.
And it was cold. He hadn't exactly kept great track of the days, but he was pretty sure it was mid-January, and even though they weren't in the North Area anymore, the cold winter air still bit at his exposed skin. He really should try to move, even if it was just to make shelter. He couldn't afford to get hypothermia.
Ed put his hands together and pressed them against the ground, and the frosty dirt moved around him to form a little cave. He hoped it looked unnatural enough that if someone came looking, they'd notice and check it out, but it was pretty small and the only opening was near the ground to keep out the weather if it snowed. He might have just successfully hidden himself away.
Whatever. The nice little dirt igloo would keep him warm enough to survive the night, and then he could figure something out when everyone else was awake.
He carefully rested against the back of the cave, biting his lip through the pain. He should probably wrap his leg to keep the protrusion from getting infected. His head swam as he looked at the broken bone again, and he had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths.
All Ed had to work with for bandages were his long sleeved shirt and his ratty old pants. He wasn't even wearing shoes. He must have been sleep-walking. Sleep-running. He'd never done that before.
He shook his head to clear the new stress. He didn't need to worry about that right now. He could ask his companions about it when they found him in the morning.
His pants were a little too short, anyway, so he transmuted the bottom of his left pant leg into a long strip of fabric. He'd needed a new pair for a couple weeks now; might as well make use of them.
Moving his broken right leg closer to his body wasn't an option, and bending over to reach proved to be ridiculously painful for his chest. Ed couldn't tell if he was dizzy from pain or from hitting his head in the fall, but he struggled to focus through the fog in his brain. It really wasn't that bad. He wasn't even bleeding out, so he could take care of himself with no issue. Honestly, the bone sticking out wasn't even that bloody. He'd expected something more gory when he'd realized what the white bit was. But he touched the area just above the wound and bit his lip hard as his vision flashed white. Blood filled his mouth and he had to close his eyes again.
Breathe. Just breathe.
Damn it, this was pathetic. Ed's face burned with embarrassment even though nobody was around to see him struggle.
“My, my, what a funny-looking rock.”
Ed's eyes snapped open. For a split second, he was almost relieved, but he quickly recognized the voice and cursed silently.
“Are you in there, pipsqueak?” Envy chuckled, rapping his fist against the top of the little cave.
Shit, Ed couldn't fight him off like this. Even if he could call for help, Heinkel and Gorius wouldn't get to him in time, and Envy was stronger than both of them. What was the homunculus doing here? How had he found him?
“I'm under strict orders to keep you alive, so let's not make this harder than it has to be.”
No. No way. Envy was here to rescue him?
Yeah, right. Like Ed would believe that.
He quickly transmuted his arm into a blade and glared at the entrance of the dirt cave, waiting for Envy to stick his hand in. Instead, the homunculus slammed both fists over the top of the cave and it crumbled to pieces over Ed's head. Right, the guy could really pack a punch thanks to his ridiculous density.
Ed coughed as he inhaled some of the dirt, stealing the one second he had to attack. Envy yanked him upright by the back of his shirt, and Ed nearly blacked out as he instinctively tried to hold his weight with both legs. Envy sneered as he lost his balance.
“I still don't see why I had to come save your sorry ass,” the homunculus said. “Surely you're not this pathetic—”
Ed plunged his automail blade into Envy's chest, and he let go of him with a shriek. Ed tried so hard to run. He grit his teeth and told himself that he could take the pain until he was safe. But he took one step and collapsed face first into the dirt as agony tore through his leg.
Envy kicked him hard in the side, throwing him a couple feet away. Ed felt some of his lower ribs give at the impact, but he didn't have the breath to scream.
“Ugh, you're always so rude. What an ungrateful brat.” Envy crouched down beside his head and yanked his face up by his hair. “You know we only need you alive, right? It doesn't matter to me what condition you're in. You don't even have to be able to stand.” He nudged Ed's broken leg, and the whimper that came out of Ed's mouth was pathetic.
Ed propped himself up on his forearms and glared with as much fire as he could muster. The position strained his busted ribs, and he almost whimpered again. “Don't need…your help,” he hissed instead.
“I wish I could leave you out here to freeze to death, but I can't, so don't be so snappy.” Envy started to pick him up, and Ed slashed wildly with his automail blade. The homunculus just stepped back and tutted. “That's it; you've just lost your arm privileges.”
Before Ed had a chance to squirm out of the way, Envy smashed his heel down above his automail elbow, his foot shape-shifting into a thick ax blade. Envy's unexpectedly large weight put enough force behind the ax that it tore through the outer body of the arm and wedged into the interior frame. Shocks of pain shot through Ed's nerves into his shoulder, leaving him gasping for breath as Envy stomped down again and again, severing the nerve connections and smashing his automail to bits. And Ed didn't even have the strength to roll away.
“There,” Envy said, morphing his foot back to normal and kicking the severed arm out of the way. “Now let's get going, runt.” He dragged Ed back to his feet, holding him tightly by the back of his neck.
The world spun around him like a carousel, and black spots danced through his eyes. Envy pushed him forward and Ed let out a breathless scream as his broken leg took his weight. He had to fight; he couldn't just let Envy abduct him like this—
“How pathetic.” Envy put his arm around Ed's waist and threw him over his shoulder as if Ed weighed nothing. The pressure on his broken lower ribs made him scream again, but no sound came out.
Ed weakly beat his remaining fist against Envy's back, and Envy's free arm twisted unnaturally to sock him in the face. Blood splurted from his nose and tears sprang to his eyes. Damn it. Damn it. Ed let his head hang down, and the blood dribbled up over the bridge of his nose into his hairline. His body was too weak. His eyes were too blurry. All he could do was hang over Envy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and hope this whole thing was just a bad dream.
Ed didn't realize he'd passed out until he woke up somewhere warm. He blinked the blur away as best he could and tried to sit up, only to find his remaining arm tied to a bed headboard. A thick quilt covered his entire body, but when he wiggled, he realized he was wearing nothing but underwear, and his heart nearly stopped. What the hell? Where was he? What was going on?
A gas lantern sat on the bedside table on his left, illuminating the room in a soft orange glow. No one else was in the room with him. The room itself was bare save for the bed and the table, and there was a window on his right with the shutters closed and rattling in the wind.
Ed tugged on the rope tying his wrist to the headboard, and sharp stabs of pain spread through his chest. The door opened and he lifted his head up to see who it was, and his broken nose throbbed with his frantic heartbeat.
“Oh, great. You're awake,” Envy said, sarcasm oozing from his voice. He had something in his hands, but Ed couldn't see what it was.
“What do you want?” Ed croaked.
“I already told you, pipsqueak. You're a sacrifice. We need you alive.”
Envy pulled the quilt back and Ed shivered at the loss of warmth. His leg had been bandaged and a few dark bruises patterned his chest, but he had no new injuries. And that was as good as it got. The upper bruises were probably cracked ribs, but the dark angry purple meant at least a couple of his lower ribs were broken completely. No wonder breathing hurt so badly. Every tiny movement made him want to scream.
He opened his mouth to ask Envy what he meant by sacrifice, but the homunculus rested something very cold against his upper chest, and Ed let out a breathy wheeze instead. He squirmed under the ice pack, and Envy flicked his forehead. It hurt worse than it should have.
“The sooner you calm down, the faster you'll heal, and the quicker we can be on our way.”
“Where?” Ed grumbled, wincing as Envy moved the ice pack across his chest.
“Back to Father, obviously.” Envy rolled his eyes and put the tiniest bit of pressure against Ed's bruises, making him hiss in pain. “He's decided that you're too important of an asset to let run around so recklessly, so he's just going to keep you safe for a while. Really, you should be thanking us. How many times have you almost died now?”
“So you're just gonna—” Ed grimaced as the ice pack moved again. “—lock me up until he needs me?”
“That's the idea, yeah.” Envy smirked. “It'll do you some good to hold still for a while.”
“No way. No way in hell—” Ed’s words cut off with a yell as Envy pushed his knee against Ed’s side, right into his broken ribs. His vision tunneled and it took everything he had not to black out.
“Remember I said I need you alive, not well.” Envy left the ice against Ed’s chest and moved down to examine his leg. “I want your leg fixed up so I don’t have to carry you all the way there, but everything else is free game.”
“S-so you’re lazy—”
Envy punched him in the stomach, leaving Ed gasping for breath. He coughed against his will, and fire exploded through his chest. He couldn’t keep the strangled scream from tearing through his throat, and Envy chuckled as he tried to curl up. The rope tying his wrist to the headboard cut into his skin.
He coughed again, and again, and then he couldn’t stop. Each cough ripped through his chest and drew out a breathless cry, and tears streamed down his face before he was even conscious of crying. His body convulsed as he tried desperately to keep from coughing, but the movement only made the pain worse. Drops of blood ran down his forearm and he could taste the iron in the back of his mouth. He couldn’t breathe without coughing and he couldn’t cough without screaming.
Something jammed against his lips and cool water ran over his tongue. Ed coughed it back out. “Come on,” Envy said. “Drink.”
Slowly, Ed managed to take careful sips and clear the rasp in his throat. When the water was gone, he closed his eyes and let out a pained sigh. The bedsheets were wet with sweat.
“There, see? Everything’s much better when you shut up and lay still.”
“Bastard,” Ed muttered. Envy grabbed his chin, and his eyes shot open. “Hey—”
With one swift push and absolutely zero warning, the homunculus shoved his broken nose back in place. Ed let out a shout as reactionary tears sprang to his eyes and blood filled his nose again. He tipped his head up a little to keep as much blood from draining into his throat as possible, and Envy gave him a very lumpy pillow to prop himself up with.
“Thought you…said you didn’t care.” Maybe Ed should stop talking. Everything he said only made Envy angrier. But his mouth moved without permission and his brain felt mushy when he tried to think. Probably a concussion. Hopefully a concussion. Then Ed could blame his stupidity on a brain injury.
“I don’t,” Envy said, moving the ice pack from Ed’s chest to his face. “It’s just fun to see you squirm.”
He should have known. There wasn’t an ounce of kindness in Envy’s whole ridiculously dense body.
“Someone’s gonna come after me,” Ed said, the blood from his nose dribbling over his lips.
“I hope so. If it’s your whiny little brother, we’ll just hang on to him, too, and if not, well…” Envy stretched his arms over his head dramatically. “It’s been a while since Father let me kill anyone. I’m out of practice. The less allies you have, the better. And yet you keep picking them up like fleas on a stray dog.”
Ed forced a wry smile. “S-so I got a lot of friends. What, you jealous?”
Before he could even blink, Envy was on top of him with his hand around Ed’s throat, squeezing the life right out of him. A strangled squeak escaped his mouth, letting out the last of his air, and Envy’s grip tightened. The rope tore into his wrist again as Ed tried desperately to claw at Envy’s arm, his lungs screaming for oxygen. His broken automail flailed uselessly against the bed.
Envy didn’t laugh. He didn’t smirk or make fun of him or anything Ed would have expected. Instead, there was a darkness in his purple eyes that Ed had never seen before. Ed looked into those eyes and realized with a horrifying jolt that Envy was actually going to kill him.
Well. So much for keeping him alive.
But just as his vision began to go dark, Envy released him and stepped back. Ed sucked in a gasp of air and violently coughed it all back out, squeezing his eyes shut against the stabbing in his ribs. Envy shoved another cup of water against his mouth before he could have another fit. The rim hit his teeth, and he grimaced. His throat ached when he swallowed.
“Just try to get some sleep, dumbass,” Envy grumbled when Ed finished. He set the cup on the nightstand and turned off the lantern, and then flung the quilt back over him. “Mouth off again and I’ll break your jaw. I can’t wait until I never have to see you and your pathetic friends again.”
At least they agreed on something.