chapter 20

[November 30, 1917]

You run your hand over the spine of the books, giving a small, satisfying thump. The past week had been eventless, quite contrary to what you and the brothers had experienced before.

The dull color and musty smell of the books blur in your mind as you look for a book, any book about alchemy or the gate. Or anything, really.

There were gaps in the shelves where other people had taken books and the books that were left toppled over, but you fix the fallen books back into a straight line the best you could.

The library was almost empty except for a few other people, Ed and Al, and you, so it was quiet, the cool air almost suffocating.

None of the books catch your eye, and you look around, walking through the aisles for the fourth time. You sigh as nothing interesting shows up. You start to walk back towards the table where Ed and Al were, the wooden floor beneath you creaking with different loudness'.

When you reach the table, no one's there and the table had no books anywhere. Confused, you look around 360 degrees before spotting the Elric brothers sitting against a wall in the far corner of the library. You sigh again and start to trudge towards them.

You stomp on the ground, attempting to catch the boys' attention. None of the boys seemed to hear you. You guessed that was because they both had their noses buried in their books (not literally) and there were piles upon piles of books besides them.

You watch them and see that Ed is reading with a frown of annoyance and Al seems to be trying to hold back laughter. You bend over to see what they're reading.

Both of the books were different, but they both had something in common: the word "Alchemy" was bolded and emphasized. You bite your lip. How did find books about alchemy?

You turn your head towards the pile of many books, at least thirty or forty of them. And guess what? They were all about alchemy. You growl.

The books were taking up all the space, so you stand back up and grab the top five books and head towards another part of the library.

You find a wall where no one was resting. Setting down your books, you slide down the wall. There's a small pinch in your right hand and you pull it up towards you. A long wood chip is stuck in your hand. You scowl and pinch the chip, pulling it out. There wasn't lots of pain, but it was there.

You turn around to inspect the wall. The wall is chipping with wood chips, nothing too odd. So you sit down and open your book.

There's a click and suddenly, the wall behind you gives way and you topple backwards, giving a small silent yelp. You quickly scramble upwards and look into the hallway. It's completely dark and has stairs leading down into it. You recognize the layout and gasp, stumbling backwards. The door suddenly closes and you're stuck in the dark.

You look around frantically, trying to adjust to the sudden change.

When nothing happens, you slowly step forwards, down the stairs. You're afraid of the outcome, but push yourself on forwards. You reach the bottom, and you run your right flesh hand along the wall, your feet echoing through the wet hallway.

Suddenly, the wall to your right drops away and you feel a rush of air from the left. You know it's a split path. You-

(Choose one and proceed to read the corresponding sections)

~or~

-turn right. Slowly, you step forwards. The dark hallway doesn't yield, and you follow the wall. You hear a faint sound far in front of you and your breath hitches. You freeze.

A thump much closer rings the hallway and you press yourself back against the wall, scared. You hear metal scraping against metal, like someone sharpening a knife, and you flinch at the horrible sound.

Without warning, pain explodes over your left cheek and you yell in pain, your hand flying to your sore face. You feel three, deep scratch marks. Warm and sticky leaks down your face and onto your shirt and the ground.

A crazed laughter bores into your head and you take in a deep breath.

"You have up until December 27, (Y/N) (L/N). But might as well get you now." A menacing voice says. You turn away and run, following the wall with your left hand.

The metal causes a loud scraping sound, but you ignore it. When the wall is gone, you quickly turn right. There are no footsteps behind you. You sprint up the stairs. The door behind slides open with a growl and light floods in. The hallway is empty.

-turn left. Holding out your hands, your feel for the wall, and soon, you're walking and following the right wall. You can't see anything, but you continue on.

Without warning, the ground falls away beneath you. You yelp silently and fall into the hole. You hear a door open to your right and you snap your head in that direction, standing up and stepping backwards.

There are footsteps.

You stumble backwards until you hit the wall.

"Looks like it's (Y/N) (L/N)..."

Your eyes widen, and you press yourself against the wall as hard as you could.

"Haha. Am I so scary that you can't talk?" The voice says.

You suddenly really want to retort something back, but you can't, of course.

You hear the man step forwards more, and you sidestep to the right, following the wall.

"There's no use running, (Y/N). I can sense you, even in this darkness."

You press your lips together.

The man is suddenly holding you against the wall, digging little crescent-moon-shaped dents into your neck. You gasp.

"Now tell me. Where do the Elric brothers and you live?"

You frantically shake your head. A loud metal-against-metal sound echoes through the hole, and you flinch.

"Tell me, or you'll face consequences."

You shake your head again, and a deep-set pain sets through your left cheek. A knife digs a sharp cut through your cheek, and your eyes water in pain. You clench your jaw tightly to try to get rid of the pain.

"One..."

You struggle, and the knife digs into your cheek again. It carves the same path as the first one, but a bit more down. You scream silently.