To Live In A Land Of Blood (A Fullmetal Alchemist War Fanfic) (COMPLETED)

Others Are Bound

The train rolled into the small, rundown station near Creta by early morning, two days after it had departed from the station.

Ed had been almost physically sick from the nausea of the thought of what he would be expected to do. He had hidden it well behind a cold, emotionless façade, but he couldn't stop the slight shaking in his hands.

They filed off of the train, and were almost immediately separated into ranks and positions.

Ed was in the very front, along with a dozen other state alchemists who looked either deathly pale or slightly green. Ed, and he was grateful for this, was neither. He looked normal, completely relaxed and almost elegant in his uniform.

Orders were barked out harshly, and the procession of soldiers began, all synchronized marching and blank stares.

Some of the alchemists carried weapons in case they couldn't draw arrays fast enough. In fact, all of them did. Except for Edward.

He carried no weapon besides his own hands and alchemy.

--

The fighting did not begin for another two days, in which Edward had written a letter to each of his friends, which were only to be sent if he were to die.

If he didn't, then the letters would never be opened.

And that would be perfectly fine with him.

But now, however...Edward was surrounded by the furious cries of war, the anguished and pained screams of people, injured or dying.

And he was causing it.

He had caused the most deaths so far, impaling dozens with stone spikes with a single clap of his hands.

The Cretan army pulled back for the night, tending to their wounded and counting their dead.

But Ed knew it would only happen again the next day.

And it did.

Each day that passed was a blur, and Edward began to hate himself.

He had nightmares every night of not only the failed human transmutation of his childhood and the gate, but also of the thousands he had murdered within a week.

Constantly, he was throwing up, never able to keep a meal down.

He had been forced to see an on site doctor, but they had pronounced him perfectly healthy, even if they had been disturbed that one so young was fighting this war.

The seasons changed slowly, the heat of summer turning into the cooler temperatures of autumn.

And when Ed was told he would be able to visit Al for a day?

He could have kissed the Private who had delivered the message.

--

He boarded the next train to Central, not one bit mournful to be leaving the carnage of war behind him.

And when he arrived, knocked on the door to his and Al's dorm, dressed in full uniform and with a smile on his face?

Well, Al's cry of Brother and the crushing hug that followed was the best thing he had experience in ages.

--

Ed almost cried when he got onto the train for Creta, hugging Alphonse close and not letting go for a good two minutes.

Alphonse had been surprised by how clingy Ed was, but had accepted it nevertheless.

It was almost as if he was afraid of leaving again.

But that was absurd. Edward wasn't afraid of anything...right?

--

Almost as soon as Edward arrived back at the front lines, he was confronted by a Colonel who looked rather panicked.

"Major, get your ass to the front!" They snarled, looking pale and rather pathetic.

Nonetheless, Ed saluted stiffly and started to run towards the distant gunshots and explosions, the screams being blocked with an ease that was scary.

He burst through the Amestrian ranks, clapping his hands together with a focus that would be considered impossible to achieve if it were anyone but him.

He skid to a stop, pressing his hands to the ground and sending a wave of spikes into the enemies ranks.

Shouts of pain and fear were all he could hear for a moment, but he was already clapping again, enlarging the spikes he had previously made.

The screams turned shrill, before cutting off suddenly.

They were dead.

The battle didn't even pause at the brutal deaths.

--695 Words--
Okay, so, I warned you this would be a short fic. That means small chapters as I try and stretch out what I want to happen. Enjoy! ~The_Sin_Pride