FullMetal Alchemist Falling in love with Envy

Encounter

Book in hand, I found myself staring into thin air, thinking about what I had seen back at Alfred's house. The image seemed almost animated in my memory; I could imagine them move, how they stood still to take the photo, how they carried on with their experiment after that. It was like watching a movie in my head. Many questions circulated in my brain, unable to be processed and getting stuck like cars in traffic. The more I focused on my thoughts, the more I found myself losing touch with reality.
The answer to all the mysteries my imagination has created could potentially be in the basement where it all happened. But fear captures me at the thought of stepping a foot back in there. My blood runs cold; my heart starts pounding faster in my chest, my eyes unwillingly open wider as if viewing an atrocity. Snap out of it Beauty, why do you even care about all of this? Dad died, and there is nothing you can do to get him back. You might have seen him die or just blackout that day, but why do you torture yourself with questions and try to find the answer from thin air? Either look for clues or stop thinking about it.Without my brain giving orders, my body responded to the thought of searching for what I can find in the basement. I found myself standing in front of the door leading downstairs.
A feeling of fear and dread surrounded me like an aura of dark energy emanating from the depth of that room has engulfed me. The doorknob is right there; all I need to do is twist it and open the door. I froze in place, unable to process my following actions as if a force of an unknown source had complete control over me. This state angered me, placed me in a situation where I just wanted to break free of fear shackles and undo the trauma I've lived. But I can't adapt nor overcome. The only thing worse than the fear of knowing the truth is the fear of ignorance. I mustered the strength and placed my hand on the doorknob.
A sound coming from downstairs stopped me.Though it feels as if my bones have no more strength and my muscles are all out of power, I still have the option to remain still, to be quiet enough to choose how to fight. I listened more carefully to check if I heard correctly, placing my ear at the door. Rumble noises; it sounded like someone going through some papers and glass. There is only one small window in that room; it's sealed shut for a very long time. There is no way a cat or a bird or a rat could have gone in there; there is no way in nor out. What should I do? Should I call the police? By the time they get here, who knows what could happen. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the sharpest knife I could find. Wondering how I managed to muster all of this bravado but something fiery stirred up in me. I turned the doorknob slowly with the tip of the knife aiming at the opening crack as I opened the door slowly, trying not to make any noise. I took each step cautiously, feeling the air dampen more and more as I got closer to the basement. The closer I got to the room, the louder the sound became. Taking a peek into the area, I saw them.
A short man, obviously old due to his white hair, wearing a face mask, was looking through my father's things. He was grabbing stacks of papers and throwing them away, looking through books and casting them aside. He seemed to be in a hurry. He was looking for something but couldn't seem to find it. Now what? What do I do? I can't just tell him to stop then call the police; he might take me out in seconds. Although it doesn't seem that he has a gun on him, he could be hiding it. I should retreat and ask for help. Sadly that plan was a failure. As I tried to go back upstairs, I accidentally stumbled on a few small urns and made some noise. My blood froze. What have I done? What am I going to do? "Who's there?" He said, turning around and laying his eyes on me.I pointed my knife in hand at the stranger, scared of the situation I have placed myself in and wondering what could happen to me. He placed his arms in the air in surrender mode. "I'm not here to cause any trouble!" He said calmly.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"
"I didn't know you would be here."
"I live here; what did you expect?"
"I didn't think you would come down here after all these years."
"What? How did you know that I don't set foot here?" This man seemed to know too much. Has he been watching me? Was he following me? Who is he? I asked him, but he didn't answer. I approached him carefully, pointing my knife to his face, showing anger and rage to frighten him. "Wait, wait!" He took a few steps back.He placed his hand slowly on the mask and took it off to reveal his identity.I was shocked at that familiar face."Alfred?!" I said, lowering the knife down. "What... What are you doing here? Why are you here? How did you get in here?"
"I have spare keys to all the rooms in your house. Your father gave them to me when we used to work together."
"Why are you here, Alfred?"A moment of silence; he didn't utter a single word, trying to find the correct words to say to me, formulating the sentences in his brain. "Just say it, Alfred!"He took a deep breath and spoke.
"What I am about to say is a secret I vowed to your father never to speak of it. But for your safety, I have to let you know the truth."
"What truth? What is going on?"
"Beauty... Your father..."
Pierced by long sharp black looking nails, he got cut off. "No, no, no Alfred..." A strange female voice said, "That is not a way to keep a secret!" The long nails that pierced Alfred in the chest emanated from her hand. She pinned him to the wall with ease.I froze.I was shocked. I couldn't explain what my eyes were viewing. Was this another nightmare? I might wake up after things start to feel more dangerous and life-threatening. The body won't let you die in your sleep; it awakens you immediately as a safety mechanism. It feels just like that. Yeah, I will wake up in a few.Will I? I closed my eyes to help maybe change scenarios, but it was useless. I opened them to the same view, Alfred in pain pinned to the wall. Blood trickling down from his wounds where that strange woman entity had her nails dug. My body began to shiver. My tongue got stuck, and my breathing became heavier.
"I'm pretty sure your father is very disappointed in both of you." She said, looking away from Alfred and locking eyes with me. "Daddy told you countless times not to come down here, hasn't he?""How do you know that?" I asked, scared and with a shiver in my voice. She smiled more and looked back at Alfred. "I'm disappointed in you, Alfred. You almost ruined everything; it's a good thing we came here on time."
"W...we?" Alfred tried to mutter.
"Yes, we!" Said a strange male voice. The source of the voice came from behind the woman. He had long dark hair, almost dread-locked with a bandanna on. "Surprised to see me, Alfred?" The man said.Alfred couldn't speak due to his wounds; blood was oozing from his mouth as he tried to articulate words.
"You brought this upon yourself, Alfred. We only let you live because no one told us to do the opposite. But now, I think it's important if you disappear." The woman said as her nails retreated from his body fast, all the blood gushing from his wounds. I ran to Alfred and sat beside him, trying to stop the bleeding. But it was to no avail; the wounds were too many and too large to be taken care of to buy time to save his life. "Now that we got that out of the way." She said and did an order with her head to her companion. He came towards me and forcefully picked me up; and placed me on his shoulder. This man was strong, I tried to wriggle away from his grasp, but I was no match for him. I screamed for them to let go of me, tried to let the neighbors know, but it all failed. "Oh! Would you just shut it already!" The woman said as she hit me with a needle. I relaxed, my body went numb, and my surroundings went black. Maybe I'm waking up from this nightmare right now?