Swords & Scars Original Concept

Chapter 2

Kady walked along the dirt trail to the train station. Rea was excited to go to Ishval, as she hadn't been there in forever. She was skipping alongside Kady. "I can't wait to meet Edward and Alphonse." She said admiringly. "They're like the people you hear about in legends! They've accomplished so much, not to mention how cute Edward is!" Kady laughed quietly. "Woah, slow down there, missy." "What?" Rea looked at her. "I think I have a chance." "I think you do too." Kady smiled. "You can't get your hopes up though, especially when you haven't even spoken a word to him yet." Rea nodded. "I know." She ran ahead, already spotting Edward and Alphonse up ahead. Kady squinted, hoping she was headed to the right people. It was getting harder to see with every passing day. When she finally reached them all, Edward gave out a small sigh. "Come on, we're going to miss the train at this rate." He started walking towards the boarding platform, with Alphonse walking alongside him. Rea followed, and Kady tagged along at the back. Kady was surprised to see Alphonse and Edward with no bags, while Rea had such a large one. Kady hadn't packed much, just what would fit in her small pocket bag. She always saw it easier to pack light in case something happened. They climbed onto the train and Edward took them straight to the back. The person taking tickets didn't bother to ask for theirs, but Kady didn't say anything. She hadn't even bought any for Rea and her, so she saw this as a freebie. "Why are we going this way?" Rea asked. "There's a wanted criminal on this train." Edward responded. "He's supposed to be sitting in this cart somewhere. It's not our job to take care of him, but we changed our plans to be able to at least get a better description of him." "Oh." Kady looked at Rea. I didn't expect anything like this to be involved. Rea gave her a smile. "Isn't this exciting?" Kady nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it is." Edward slid open a door to one of the carts. "Ladies first." Rea and Kady filed into the cart and sat next to the window. Edward and Alphonse slid into the seats next to them, leaving the door half-way open. "I can't believe there's a criminal on-board. This one would get in so much trouble if she ran into them." Rea pointed at Kady teasingly. "I can hardly keep up with her as it is." "Are you bragging or complaining about me?" Kady asked. "Complaining!" Rea shouted playfully. Kady could feel the stares of the people in the cart across the hall from them. She crossed her arms and looked down, closing her eyes. "Keep it down, would ya?" Edward whispered angrily. Rea slumped down in the seat and ignored them. "So, is this criminal one we know of?" Kady asked. "Probably not." Edward laid his head down on the table. "His name is Farter." Rea giggled. "That's a funny name." Kady nodded in agreement. "You'd expect him to go for a much more interesting name to go by if he decided to be a criminal." "He didn't get much of a choice. His real name was found in documents after he committed his first few murders." Edward stated. "It's believed that he's working with Scar, but we don't know for sure." Rea kept giggling. "Still a funny name." Rea's giggling was stopped when someone opened the door to their cart all the way. They stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind them. "I heard you laughing at my name." They turned around, looking directly at Rea. Rea tensed up, pressing back into the seat. "No one was laughing at your name." Kady said calmly. "We don't even know who you are." "Oh, well you should if you use your brain." The man smiled at Kady. "I mean, you were just talking about me. You aren't exactly quiet." Kady saw Edward and Alphonse tense up. This must be Farter. She studied his appearance. He definitely looked crazy enough to kill someone. He would pose a threat to Kady if she was walking around town alone for sure. Kady opened her mouth to say something, but she never got to. Farter had pulled out a handheld pistol and was pointing it at Rea's head. His finger was already on the trigger. "I don't like being talked about behind my back." "Whoa hold on there." Kady stood up. "There's no need for that." Farter looked at her. "I've been given orders to take out a specific group of people. That group consists of these two young men." He blinked calmly, motioning towards Edward and Alphonse. "Your friend can not stand to bear as witnesses though, so I will have to get rid of her. As for you, I should've killed you when I had the chance." [Kady has a flashback to when her father died. Farter had broken into her home after her father had put her to bed, and shot her father. His figure then hovered over her in bed before leaving her there. The flashback ends, and Kady is panicked for a moment upon recognition of Farter, and then tries to shake it off.] Kady rested her hand on her sword and tried to take in the details of the room. It was small, with just enough space for the seats they were in and the table between them. Farter took up the only standing space. There was no way for them to escape unharmed. She squinted at Farter, hoping that maybe there was something about him that would help them take him down, but saw nothing. "You can't kill Rea." She said quietly, feeling defensive. "Oh, I very much can." Farter gave Kady a sly smile. "I won't let you." Kady pulled out her sword, hoping she could throw it at him at an angle that would take him out. Farter shot a bullet at Kady. It grazed her cheek, causing her to drop her sword out of shock. "Sit." Kady hesitated, but sat down when he cocked the gun in her direction again. "Now what?" Rea whispered. Edward and Alphonse stayed quiet as Kady shook her head. "I don't think there's anything we can do..." Time seemed to freeze. No one moved. It had seemed as though the train itself had stopped. Kady wondered if anyone could hear her heart pounding against her chest. She had never been in a situation like this. She had always had a chance to run away or fight. Now she was trapped, and her own friend was in danger this time. Kady looked down at her sword on the ground. It wasn't too far away. She tried to drag it closer with her foot, but the train hit a bump, causing it to slide away. Darn! She looked up at Farter when the train hit another bump. It was much larger this time and caused him to lose his footing. He fell to the ground, hitting his head against the wall harshly. Rea stood up and used this opportunity to summon a portal. It sucked Farter into it, and the portal disappeared. She stood there silently. I guess black magic can be a good thing sometimes... Kady looked at Rea quietly. "Good job." She sighed. Kady knew that if this man was truly working with Scar, then Rea and her were now targets. Rea gave her a smile. "Thanks." She picked up Kady's sword and handed it to her. Kady put it back in its sheath. "So... how long will this ride be?" She asked. "I forgot to check the schedule." "Only a few hours." Alphonse responded. "The towns here aren't too far apart. It's a few days once you go down south though." Kady nodded in response.