Full summary: The Huntsman is the newest problem Central city had too deal with. Not much is known about him other than the fact that he is killing innocent people. Ed is furious about it and after an encounter with him he becomes the Huntsman's next prey. The blond Alchemist is no match for the murderer and most are wondering how much longer Ed has to live before he too, becomes prey to the ruthless killer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter 1

Ed walked down the snow covered street of Central City. It was -6 degrees and the freezing wind kept blowing his hat off his head every time he attempted to pull it over his blond hair. His flesh hand was numb even though there was a glove covering it.

"I hate the damn cold," Ed muttered bitterly, his golden eyes glaring at the snow that gently fell from the sky.

"Stop complaining," Al said, clearly irritated by his older brother's constant complaints about how he hated the snow and cold.

The two brothers continued to trek through the snow. Several minutes passed before Ed suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze fixed firmly on the crimson blood that splattered the white snow. Ed looked around and spotted more blood splattered on the ground, each drop staining the snow red.

Ed noticed that each drop of blood connected and formed a trail that led into an alley. He walked forward cautiously and eventually took a hesitant step into the darkness of the alley.

It was darker than he expected. He allowed a few moments for his eyes to adjust before he risked it and walked further into the alley. He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in shock. He heard a clang and Al appeared beside him.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Al asked, his metallic voice echoing throughout the alley.

"A-Al." Ed's voice trembled as he pointed a shaky finger at a bulky shape that lay at the back of the alley about three feet from him. "It's a-" His voice broke and he never managed to finish his sentence.

Sure enough his thoughts became reality when he saw, even in the vast darkness, the mangled body of a human. Its body bloody, covered with deep gashes that crisscrossed the skin. The eyes appeared to have been scraped out, leaving behind only bloody pools in the empty sockets.

Ed's heart pounded in his chest as he continued to stare with wide eyes at the dead corpse.

"Big brother, look!" Al was shaking his shoulders, trying to get his attention.

Ed pried his gaze away from the body and looked to where Al was pointing. Amid the setting sun and falling snow, Ed managed to make out the shape of a person standing on the top of a building. Ed blinked and he was gone.

The blond shook his head roughly to clear it and looked over at Al. "Alphonse, go get the Colonel and tell him about him." He pointed his thumb at the body. "But leave out the the part about what we saw on the building. Got it?"

"What are you going to do?" Al asked.

Ed glanced at the roof of the building for a second before directing his attention back to Al. "I have something I need to check out."

Ed walked along the frozen, snow covered roof of the building where he saw the person standing. His gaze darted back and forth as he carefully scanned his surrounding's slightly blurred by the increasing amount of falling snow. The snow on the roof was untouched and it didn't appear that anyone had been up their for a while.

He walked a few more steps before coming to an abrupt halt. There, a faint outline of someones shoe with the snow surrounding it slightly kicked up. Seeing that made Ed positive that he saw someone up there, and judging by the upturned snow they just left.

What's going on here? Ed thought. He walked carefully towards the edge of the roof, careful to make sure that he didn't miss anything else. He looked over the edge of the building and had a clear view of the alley and murder below him.

"Fullmetal, what are you doing up there?" Roy's voice called up from the dark alley.

Ed looked closer and saw Roy Mustang looking up at him from where he stood just inside the alley. The blond easily Transmuted a staircase using the stone that surrounded him and walked back down into the alley. Once he was on solid ground he Transmuted the staircase back to it's original form and headed over to Roy.

"Did Al show you yet?" Ed asked.

`Roy shook head. "He told me that you would show me."

"Follow me." He headed further into the alley but when he looked back he saw that Roy wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?"

Roy nodded and began to follow him. Ed reached the spot and pointed at the body but he kept his gaze away from it. He didn't like seeing the many horrible gruesome ways that people had their lived forcefully taken from them and the final terror filled expressions that lay forever frozen on their lifeless faces.

Roy walked closer to examine the body. He looked at it closely for a minute before standing up straight and fixing his dark gaze on Ed. "Fullmetal, I want you to come with me to HQ. Now." There was a demanding authority in the older mans voice as he spoke to Ed.

Ed didn't know why he suddenly wanted him to go to HQ, but he didn't have anytime to ask because he felt a chill run down his spine and a whisper sounded on the breeze. Ed felt his heart pounding painfully against his rib cage and he looked around to find the same person standing across the street.

Ed and the person stared at each other for a brief moment before it suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye. He continued to stare at the spot well after it disappeared.

Someone was shaking his shoulder and he snapped back to reality. He blinked a few times and saw Roy staring straight at him. A hidden emotion was in the older man's eyes as he stared down at Ed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Roy looked around anxiously and then grabbed Ed by his arm. He walked quickly back to HQ with Ed trailing along behind him.

The blond's mind was absorbed in his thoughts and he didn't pay any attention to where he was walking until he slipped on the snow and landed hard on the ground. There were screeching tires and Ed saw a car slamming to a halt just before it hit him. Roy ran over and pulled Ed away from the street.

Ed was still shocked at what happened. He was almost hit by a car.

"Ed, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Roy asked within seconds after the car stopped. Ed couldn't find the words to answer. He was still staring at the car with wide eyes, terrified as he realized that he could have died if he was hit.

"I'm fine," Ed answered after a long pause. He rose to his feet and walked away from the car. All he wanted was to get as far away from the car and street as fast as he possibly could. He hated to admit it, but he was scared, terrified as he continued to think about how he nearly died. His legs trembled slightly and he wished that the event didn't happen.

He began to walk towards HQ again, his legs still shaky. Like Roy, Al seemed to be terrified as well. Ed knew what it felt like to be alone, to see your brother disappear before your eyes. He never wanted Al to experience that unseen pain.

When he finally reached HQ, Roy dragged him to his office and locked the door once the two brothers were in their with him. Roy headed to his desk and sat down. He laced his fingers together and put his chin on his hands as he stared intently at Ed.

"Fullmetal, take a seat. I want you to tell me everything."

Ed fell heavily onto the couch, thankful to sit down and relax. The longer he stood the more his legs shook. He looked at the Colonel, who stared back at him.

"You can start," Roy told him. He sounded different. There was a kind look in his dark eyes that took away the cold expression that usually dominated his face.

Ed took in a shaky breath. He didn't want to tell Roy what he saw on the roof, he'd probably think he was crazy. "I-I can't tell you."

"And why's that?" Roy was staring straight at him, curiosity shining in his dark eyes.

Ed shook his head and looked down at the floor. He couldn't seem to make up his mind overpowered with jumbled thoughts. He couldn't think straight and he was soon standing up, walking towards the door. He didn't know why he was leaving, but something inside him told him to go.

"Fullmetal, wait," Roy ordered.

Ed froze, his hand reaching out to grab the door handle. He turned to look at Roy and saw the older man walking over to him. Ed pulled open the door but Roy pushed it shut again.

"Let go of the door," Roy ordered. When Ed didn't react, he pulled Ed's hand away from the handle and looked him in the eye. "Why don't you sit down for a minute? You can tell me when you're ready."

Ed nodded awkwardly and sat down on the couch beside Al. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he breathed out a small sigh and looked at Roy.

"I saw it again." His voice was small as he spoke. He couldn't manage to talk loudly for some reason.

"What is it?" Roy asked.

"I don't know exactly what it is." Ed released a slow breath. "But I have a theory."

"What do you mean?" Roy asked.

"What I mean is that the last time a saw it I almost died. I think it's trying to kill me again" Ed watched Roy with saddened golden eyes as he waited for a reply. Roy looked at Ed for a minute before letting out a long laugh. By the time he was finished he was holing his sided as he tried to stop the unstoppable laughter that shook his body.

"I'm sorry Fullmetal," Roy gasped out between laughs.

"You damn bastard!" Ed shouted. He stood up suddenly, startling even Al. "Stop laughing at me!"

"It's just too funny," Roy laughed.

"Shut the hell up!" Ed walked out of the office and slammed the door behind him. He walked down the hallway as fast as he could, trying to get as far away as he could from Roy's office. He felt the anger boiling down deep inside and knew he had to release it one way or another. As his anger reached his peak he punched the wall with his flesh hand, creating a small crack in the white painting.

His angered action attracted the attention of Major Armstrong. He walked over to Ed and looked down at him.

"Edward Elric, it appears that you're angered," He said in his deep voice. "Why's that?"

Ed turned his golden gaze to glare at the Major. "Why do you care?"

The major looked taken aback by the harsh tone in Ed's voice, but he stayed there and continued to look down at Ed. His height was beginning to make the blond Alchemist feel smaller than he was.

"I care because I don't like seeing people mad like this." He looked down at Ed with kind blue eyes.

Ed sighed in slight irritation. "The Colonel won't believe me."

"Hmh, and why's that?" Armstrong asked.

Ed shrugged and turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets. "'It's nothing. I have to go."

"And where are you going?"

"It's none of your damn business," Ed snapped. He began to walk down the hall, not really knowing where he was going to go. He just wanted to get away from HQ and everyone in it.

He walked out the front gate of HQ and down the snowy street. The sun was nearly set and the air had dropped several degrees, he ignored the claws of cold and kept walking. He jumped at every sound, every gust of wind sending a shiver through his body, but it had nothing to do with the cold.

He walked until his legs ached, until most of him was numb, until he was too cold to think clearly, but he didn't stop his quick pace. The sun was soon gone and all that brightened the land was the moon and the stars that glowed dimly in the dark sky.

He lost track of how long he had been walking. The cold was becoming close to unbearable by the time he decided to turned back. He didn't think that he was going to make it, he was getting cold and had little to no feeling in his flesh.

When he got to HQ he walked straight to his dorm and dived beneath the blanket on his bed, pulling it tight around him. It was only a few seconds before he found himself slowing sliding into sleep, thankful for the warmth that spread throughout his numb body.

"Ed, wake up. It's important!" A voice shouted at him as he opened his eyes.

Alphonse was standing over him, his pale white and red eyes staring at him. Ed sat up and yawned. "What is it Al? What's so important that you have to wake me up this early?"

"Nothing," Al said with a concealed laugh.

Ed pulled the blanket back over his head as he sat up. He pulled it tight around him, feeling unusually cold. Then he realized the open window that blew the cold winter air into the small room. Ed shot a glare at Al and pointed at the window.

"Why's the window open?" He asked.

Al let out a nervous laugh. "Well, you see. It was getting hot in here so I uh-"

"Did you forget that you can't tell hot from cold?" Ed asked quizzically.

Al looked around before letting out another nervous laugh and taking a step away from his older brother.

Ed got out of bed and threw on his red coat. He turned to Al. "Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

Ed gave Al a long look. "I'll tell you in a minute." He turned to the door and began to walk. "Hurry up."

Al followed, still with no idea where they were going.

Ed looked around the snowy streets until a shadow shot past in the corner of his vision. He turned fully and saw a woman walk into an alley. He walked forward cautiously but stopped suddenly when he saw someone follow her into the alley. Ed took off at a run, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Wait, stop!" He shouted. But he was too late.

By the time he got into the alley the innocent person was already gone, killed in a brutal way. Ed then saw the murderer, it was his first good view of it.

It didn't look like a normal human would. A large black trench coat covered most of its body and a black hat was placed over top of it's head. His clothes were all black and a large obsidian ax was held in one hand while the other hand was covered in a thick layer of bandages with crimson blood faintly glowing beneath it. His eyes were black the shone like a polished obsidian stone. They sent a spark of anxiety through Ed the longer he stared at them.

It then suddenly disappeared in a slit second and all that was left were the words, You are next, written in glistening crimson blood on the wall of the alley.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of The Hunted. I'd like to give a big thanks my best friend who has been working with me to create this amazing story.