Night 71: Patient Library

[forsworn]

[from here]

Shortly after Kratos closed the library door, the intercom came on abruptly. For some strange reason, though, the voice that came through was not Landel's, and it was soon joined by several others who also were not Landel. The rebels? How had they accidentally hijacked the intercom? And more importantly, where were they broadcasting from and what were they doing? Those questions, though, had to be saved for later: their goal tonight was very clear; they had their own mysterious lead to decipher.

He began to move again once the broadcast turned off, heading straight for where they'd found the switch the previous night. "Check the right side of the center aisle," Kratos said as he passed Lloyd. "We're looking for the Oxford Book of English Verse."

Comments

[fullmetalheart]

Ed sighed and looked down at Al. "I think so. I can only do this for just so long."

He didn't reply to Al. He didn't see much point.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar nodded, reaching out to take hold of one of Al's arms. His grip was strong and firm. His own brother had been prone to occasional episodes like this, toward the end... At least they had Landel to blame, now.

"The dead do not come back, Alphonse." How many times had he repeated those words?

And still, he often felt that they were as much for his own sake as they were otherwise.

[armoredsoul]

"No, she's there! Why can't you see?" Al struggled, clawing at the floor to pull himself away from their grip.

[fullmetalheart]

"Al, if she was there, don't you think we'd be seeing her too?" Now that Scar's also hanging onto Al, Ed is able to start working his way up instead of sticking to hanging onto his legs.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar grabbed at Alphonse's hands, stopping him from clawing at the floor. At this rate, he was going to make himself bleed!

He was beyond trying to talk sense into the boy. It simply wasn't going to happen.

[armoredsoul]

Al kept struggling, crying for Trisha and begging Scar and Ed to let him go. It went on for quite a while before he started to calm, shaking his head as if to try to clear it.

"...what just happened? I...I saw Mom, and..."

[fullmetalheart]

"You hallucinated her presence and refused to believe us about her not being real. Which is why we're hanging onto you. You you wouldn't run out of here and get yourself fried or something," Ed said, his voice a bit thick due to listening to his brother for the last fifteen or twenty minutes.

He let go and just laid in place for the moment, letting his emotions recover.

[envy_the_sinners]

When Alphonse's struggling finally began to waver, Scar let go. He allowed himself to sit back, exhaling for what felt like the first time in ten minutes.

He was quiet, allowing the boys to collect themselves. If they didn't want to go on, tonight... he wasn't about to stop them.

[armoredsoul]

...damnit. Again he was the one falling prey to the traps and monsters, the one holding everyone up. Al bowed his head, wrestling with his emotions for a moment before he looked up. "The passageway...is it still open?"

[fullmetalheart]

"No idea. I was focused on you." Ed slowly pushed himself up onto his feet and extended a hand to his brother to help him up.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar stood, giving the brothers one last glance before peering around a shelf to the staircase that had opened in the time they had been distracted.

"It is. Do you wish to continue?"

[armoredsoul]

Al accepted his brother's hand up, pulling himself to his feet. He scrubbed at his eyes, still sore from his earlier crying. "Yeah, let's go. We need to get up there."

[fullmetalheart]

Ed rubbed his own eyes to get rid of the traces of his own crying and turned to go to the stairs. "Let's go then. We don't know how much longer we have."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar nodded to both boys, eyeing them to be certain that yes, they would be okay. They had endured worse, he supposed. Not that that meant much. Scar, of all people, knew that.

He turned in silence, his flashlight pointed at the supposed entrance to the third floor. The darkness swallowed him as he stepped through the hidden door.

[To here]