The train slowed to a crawl, before stopping altogether, breaks squealing loud and high enough to shatter eardrums and make its passengers grind their teeth to the point of breaking as they braced themselves against it. Many had to find something to hold onto, or else they'd be flung forward from the sheer force of the cars bumping into each other.

Once the squeals died down, new noises took their place. All were foreign noises, and they were doing nothing to alleviate the fear that was quickly claiming all of the kids that were trapped in the train car with Edward. They all began talking at once, some curious murmurs, others apprehensive whispers, all blending together into a single rush of voices that only served to fuel the tingling anxiety in his belly. They had been traveling in this thing nonstop for almost a day, so finally arriving at their unknown destination had everybody ready to spring up and run away from anything that looked remotely threatening.

A hollow thud reached Ed's ears as the gangplank was set against the car, and following it, was the low, rumbling roar of the door being pulled open. The sounds of men's voices and their bustling around in the dirt or yelling out orders suddenly became magnified as the roaring ceased against the side- rail, booming loudly when it came to a stop.

There was someone standing in the shaft of light that was now radiating into the car, his appearance intimidating despite the fact that the look on his face didn't match. He told them all that it was time to get out, shouting over the noise in the background.

All of the children in the car with him looked naturally up to Ed for guidance and protection, since he was the oldest one among them. Their eyes were very wide with concerned fear, none of them willing to make the first move, but afraid what would happen if they disobeyed. Ed tried to quell their silent uncertainty by taking them all in at a sweeping glance, eyes soft and smile consoling. He then redirected his attention at whoever had been unfortunate enough to scare all of them so badly, expression changing very quickly.

Mind now burning with a feisty sort of anger that he had grown very familiar with, Ed pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, balancing almost his entire weight on his left foot. It shook terribly, no matter how hard he willed it to keep still and not radiate his weakness to the entire world. He straightened to his full height and narrowed his eyes coolly likewise, trying to send a clear message that no matter what this guy had to say or do, he wasn't going to be intimidated by him and certainly wasn't going to let any harm come to these kids.

The man standing in the doorway sighed, seeing the stubborn glint in the boy's eyes, which were most certainly concealing a thinly veiled feeling of being thoroughly pissed and nervous at the same time, and knew that the kid wasn't going to just walk off the train obediently. That figured. There was usually one rebel still trying to preserve his dignity, despite what others had done to take it away.

So he grudgingly made his way towards him, noting how the younger kids were now on their feet as well and huddling behind the boy who they seemed to know would fight to protect them if that's what it came down to. But the man was in no way looking for or in the mood for a fight.

"C'mon now," he reached out for the long rope hanging down between Edward's hands that were binding them together in front of him, "Not gonna hurt you. It'll be alright, come on."

Ed turned his upper body away from the man half heartedly, his glare sharpening and jaw clenching suddenly against a retort that he wasn't in the position or the bodily condition to be spitting out. He watched, frustration and fury roiling harshly in his stomach, as the worker grabbed his rope, and gave a gentle tug in the direction of the open doorway. Ed breathed in deeply and held his head a little higher, before allowing himself to be led forward like a pack animal, trying to control his limp so that he didn't trip over the lip of the gangplank against the base of the doorway. He would hold onto his stubborn pride as for as long as he had it, because it was the only thing he had left at this point.

However, once the outside world was finally revealed to him, he stopped abruptly at the edge of the train car before he could hike himself over said lip. His eyes flicked back and forth, trying to take every sound and sight in at once. There was very little out here scenery-wise, wherever they were, except for a few small hills and enormous mountains in the far distance, and a few hundred men hauling iron and timber from one end of the work area to the next. The smell of something burning, perhaps fossil fuels or other materials, was mild but very distinct along the edge of Ed's awareness.

"Edward?" a small voice rasped behind him.

It was one of the children, the boy peeking out behind him, and obviously alarmed by the same sights that Ed was seeing.

"It's alright," Ed soothed in a voice normally reserved for his younger brother, turning his head towards them slightly and relaxing his glare. He could only hope he sounded reassuring.

Ed then fixed his gaze forward resolutely once more, the steely glint returning to his eyes, and allowed himself to be led down the gangplank, listening to it creak woodenly as he made his way down it with mild difficulty. A bolt of pain pounded its way up and down his leg as he finally hopped onto the ground, and Ed in turn gritted his teeth and swallowed a grimace, praying the stupid thing wouldn't start bleeding again. That was all he needed. If it bled anymore, he was sure he'd be in trouble.

Once he was clear and started limping behind the worker who was leading him forward, the gangplank started rattling again with the sound of the other kids being led down it as well, their steps hesitant. Other children from other train cars began to join them little by little, some heading in one direction, some heading in others, and none of them having a clue as to where they were going or why.

So that was something they all had in common. Ed had no idea why they were here, but what he did know was that they had to escape before they could find out.

~*~

"You're staying here for tonight. Be ready by dawn."

No sooner had the worker spoken those words than Ed allowed himself to all but collapse in the dirt that lay on the floor of the shed. The ropes remained bound to his wrists, and apparently no one had any intention of removing them. They couldn't allow him or any of the other kids they had taken prisoner to escape for some reason. Instead, the man left without another word, stepping over the other children that lay on ground that had already gone to sleep for the night.

Judging by how badly his legs had been trembling on the short walk over, and how heavy his head felt on his shoulders, Ed figured he should follow their example. Whatever he needed to be ready for at dawn, he couldn't be ready if he was too tired to keep his spine straight enough to sit upright. So, he heaved a sigh, his shoulders rising and then falling with the effort, before lowering himself onto the dirt, far too exhausted to care how cold and uncomfortable it was. From how crazy and fast paced things had been in the last couple of days, every muscle fiber was practically screaming for the warmth and rest of deep sleep.

He closed his eyes, almost immediately feeling that wonderful, lightheaded sensation of sleep lapping at his conscious, pulling him away from the chaos of the waking world. He shifted a bit more, getting more comfortable, feeling the pull grow stronger…

"Edward?"

He furrowed his brow a bit. Did someone just call him? No, he was too close to falling asleep, he was probably just hearing things.

"Ed, is that you? Edward?"

The voice was growing hopeful, female by the sound of it. And it was also growing very irritating, like nails on a blackboard or some other noise that made his insides squirm and gave him the strong desire to break things. Ed huffed a sigh through his nose, and hefted himself off the ground with his arms, leaning heavily on them as he glared around the shed, head panning from one side to the other. Part of him was praying to all the powers that be that he was indeed hearing things, so that he could just sleep.

His eyes flicked abruptly to the right when somebody started shuffling toward him, and a familiar shape formed in the soft moonlight coming through one of the windows. And she was certainly the last person he expected to see in a place like this.

"Rose?" Ed blinked a few times, straining his eyes through the mess of blond bangs that had fallen in front of his face to make sure he wasn't mistaking.

She crawled forward on her hands and knees eyes highlighted and glowing eerily, before coming to sit beside him. Her face broke slowly into a small smile, obviously relieved at finding a familiar face.

"I never expected to see you of all people here," Rose admitted, allowing her hands to rest in her lap.

Ed blinked again, and turned his head from her direction to stare at the ground straight in front of him. He laughed quietly, bitterly, lips quirking upward into a smile that was only half full of humor.

"I didn't expect to see me here either."

They allowed those words to echo in silence between them for several moments, before Ed shifted his weight to try and take the pressure off of his right leg. He felt something catch it and let go a moment later on the ground, flinching in turn from the uncomfortable sting it left behind. Rose's eyes immediately filled with quiet concern.

"Did they hurt you?" she asked hoarsely, gaze flicking rapidly from his face to his unseen injury. She vaguely noticed his jaw tighten from the pain.

"Eh, some son a bitch shot me in the leg," he condescended, shrugging. Noticing how her eyes widened in silent horror, he quickly added, "Don't worry. Went right through."

Rose gaped at him."What did you do to make them want to shoot you?"

Ed laughed again, although this time because he actually thought her question was funny. Really, what hadn't he done to piss people off lately?

However, the next thought that followed quickly sobered him up again, and his face went straight and somber again.

"Cause they shot at Al first," he whispered, the words catching noticeably, "He went into the river running alongside us, and I had to go in after him. Someone shot me before I could, but he didn't last long after that. I took care of him and went after Al."

Edward's gaze darkened considerably.

"Jumped in after him, and we both almost drowned. I never knew water could move that fast, or be that cold…" his shoulders shivered, and he allowed the moment to pass before he continued, "But I managed to drag him out, and that was when I noticed that he didn't just fall in because he lost his balance. They actually got him. It was bad. There was…a lot of blood."

"Easy Al, I'm just trying to stop the bleeding."

Ed pressed down on his brother's breastbone with bare hands, trying and failing to staunch the blood that was sliding so effortlessly out, and at the same time trying to keep him still through the deep burning sting that was surely following.

Al gave a whimper pathetic enough to make Ed decide that he never wanted to hear his brother ever make that noise again, and in the same breath, said tightly, "I know…I know you are. Doesn't change the fact that it hurts."

To make matters worse, the sun was sinking further behind the mountains every minute they spent on the riverbank, and it was getting colder. And they were still soaking wet, clothes clinging to skin tightly.

Ed was barely aware that he was shaking slightly from both the plummeting temperature and the fresh bursts of adrenaline tingling through his veins. He was far too concentrated on putting pressure on his brother's wound that absolutely refused to stop spilling over the top of his chest. Ed's hands were very red now with the stuff, he noticed, but didn't care.

"You gotta get out of here," Al told him sternly, though the words came out more like a moan, "They shot you too. And soon they'll be looking for you."

"Not a chance in hell," Ed growled, teeth grit in concentration and anger, "What on earth is wrong with you? Have I ever left you to save myself before?"

A slight pause, in which Al made the effort to smile shakily and suck in a deep breath through another wave of agony, before answering, "Not that I can remember…"

"Then what the hell makes you think I'd leave now!?" Edward all but screamed at him, voice raising a couple of octaves as his control of it slipped.

His brother said nothing, sides simply continuing to heave up and down, and listened to Ed hiss a string of vowel and consonant sounds that he could only barely make out. Most were probably curses directed at him anyway for even thinking something like that you stupid, stupid moron! The only reason Ed was swearing at him so much, he knew, was because he was panicking so badly over his poor little brother, and that was just how he was venting that panic.

"I think I got the bleeding to stop after a little while," Ed mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest as the too-fresh memories kept resurfacing, "I had to wrap it. It was too dark to see five feet in front of your face by that point though, so we couldn't go back. I just stayed with him by the riverbank."

He sat by his little brother, legs crossed, ignoring that his body was shivering so hard by now that he could barely keep himself in that position. Now that the adrenaline had died down a little as well, he was beginning to feel the spasming ache in his calf where they'd gotten him, but he forced himself not to pay attention to it.

Al had fallen asleep not too long ago, back pressed against Ed's thigh, the contact doing more than to just comfort the younger of the two. The heat that bled through the older brother's soaking pants gave him the reassurance that he needed that his brother was still very much alive.

Intense anxiety was shuddering through Ed's insides, trying to keep all of his senses on the alert for the military rebels that were surely coming after them by now. It warred with the nearly complete exhaustion of those senses, the cold, exertion, and late hour making his head feel heavier and heavier…

"Must have fallen asleep after that," Ed mused with another shrug, still mumbling into his arms crossed over his knees, "Because the next thing I remember was feeling ropes around my neck…"

"Al! No, godammit, let me go! Al!!"

"Brother…"

His eyes were so glassy and unfocused, his neck barely able to support the weight of his head as he lifted it to see why Ed's warmth had suddenly left him. He reached for him, hand shaking badly, and his brother reached back, the ropes tightened around his neck, and he was pulled away from him.

Edward watched his brother's body spend what little strength it had in trying to keep him by his side, and then give out, head collapsing back down onto the grass, sides giving frail heaves as they fought vainly for air.

Ed allowed his head to lower and his bangs to shadow the crushing despair that had pinched his face, and did the unthinkable.

He went slack, and allowed himself to be dragged off into the unknown.

"I don't know if he's…no, he's still alive. Al wouldn't let himself die like that."

Rose just kept staring at him sadly, and her throat constricted at how obvious it was that he only half- believed the words that he was telling her. Feminine instinct was screaming at her to offer up some kind of comfort, anything to make that raw grief mixed with undeniable truth battling in his features just go away.

"No, he wouldn't," she murmured gently, but firmly at the same time, "Not if he's half as stubborn as you are."

"Maybe," Ed's grip around his knees loosened just a fraction, "Usually when it comes to me, he is."

"He shares your blood. That has to mean something."

At this, a small grin worked its way onto his face. Yeah, he supposed, they did share blood. If that wasn't proof that there was some part of Al that could send a mule to shame when it came to being stubborn, then nothing on this green earth would be able to convince him. Al was still alive. He was, and that was all there was to it. Because, if he allowed himself to think of the alternative, that maybe no one had noticed Al was missing and he had been left there all that day and night…

To his embarrassment, but thankfully cutting off his train of morbid thought, Ed yawned hugely, the weariness that had been building up to this point suddenly reminding him that it was very late, and he still needed to rest.

"You can worry about this more in the morning," Rose offered, although the way she said it didn't leave any room for debating the issue. Her body looked on the verge of collapse itself, her shoulders sagging as if they were as heavy as stone.

"Mmm," he hummed, nodding, suddenly not having the mental stamina to keep the conversation going anyway. Ed then proceeded to all but drop to the ground, keeping one arm under his head to support it and allowing every tense muscle to relax and go limp. And once again, that drowsy feeling of black, shadowy arms reaching for him and pulling him down became very apparent.

Rose was very quiet next to him at first, not making any move to lay down herself, but he could still feel her eyes practically burning holes into him. He had no idea what she was waiting for, until he heard her shuffling and abruptly felt her warm body gently touch his back. He stiffened for just a moment in surprise, not expecting her to do something so bold, before a wayward thought slogged through his sleepy brain. Perhaps she just wanted the contact out of assurance that everything was going to be alright, because now, whether he liked it or not, he was in no more of a better position that she was.

So for now, Edward accepted the contact, showing his consent by allowing his entire body to fall slack and expelling a rather contented sigh, before sleep came to lay claim to him at last.

~*~

"So, that's all there is?"

"All we can get anyway."

"Sure it's enough manpower?"

"Should have just used horses…some of those kids are way too young. They won't be much use."

"We gotta get that steamer hauled through the mountains and meet up with the others at the rally point in a week, no questions asked, end of story. Unless you want to walk out of there carrying your own head, you better be up at dawn."

"Those people up north scare the shit out of me…seriously, each one of them looks like they'd kill you for a Klondike bar."

"Well, just think of that as more motivation. Sooner we drag that thing up there, sooner we can kiss the north and all of its ass-numbing snow goodbye."

A/N: And I'm back. ^^ Virtual cake to those who can guess the movie I took this scenario from. It's a two parter, so keep a watch out.