Red Smog:

Simone’s Notes:

Cultivation of opium poppies for food, anesthesia, and ritual purposes dates back to at least the Neolithic Age. The Sumerian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Persian and Arab Empires each made widespread use of opium, which was the most potent form of pain relief then available, allowing ancient surgeons to perform prolonged surgical procedures. Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civil War before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage. In China recreational use of the drug began in the fifteenth century but was limited by its rarity and expense. Opium trade became more regular by the seventeenth century, when it was mixed with tobacco for smoking, and addiction was first recognized. Opium prohibition in China began in 1729 yet was followed by nearly two centuries of increasing opium use. China had a positive balance sheet in trading with the British, which led to a decrease of the British silver stocks. Therefore, the British tried to encourage Chinese opium use to enhance their balance, and they delivered it from Indian provinces under British control. A massive confiscation of opium by the Chinese emperor, who tried to stop the opium deliveries, led to two Opium Wars in 1839 and 1858, in which Britain suppressed China and traded opium all over the country. After 1860, opium use continued to increase with widespread domestic production in China, until more than a quarter of the male population were regular consumers by 1905. Recreational or addictive opium use in other nations remained rare into the late nineteenth century, recorded by an ambivalent literature that sometimes praised the drug.

Alex lie there in his coma prison in his bed. They had him hooked up to life support. Ella stayed by the boy’s stay the whole time. Mustang stood outside the room talking to a nurse.

“How is he?” he asked. The nurse looked rather nervous.

“You were lucky to get him here when you did,” she said in a low voice. “He seems to be strong enough to fight for his life. We did some blood tests on him. Alex has a large amount of opium in his body.” Mustang looked at her confused.

“Opium?” he asked. “That’s not possible. How did it get into his system?”

“It looks to have been pumped into his system for hours,” she softly explained. Mustang had a suspicion of who. But, that would come later. Right now, he had save the lamb.

“He’s going to be fine, right?” Mustang asked. The nurse shook her head.

“It’s hard to say,” she said. “The opium was too feeble to kill him, but it’s put him in a heavy coma. There is no way to determine when he will wake up.” Mustang didn’t like the sound of that.

“So there is no telling when he’ll wake up?” he asked.

“No sir,” she replied. Mustang into the hospital room. Poor Alex. Those monsters really did him in this time. “Come on Alex!” Mustang thought. “Live through this! You can’t let them win with your death!”

II:

Barren. Alex tried to squint for a better look. Nothing looked familiar to him. Just sand as far as the eye could see. He still didn’t know where he was. Probably this was a desert. It was still silent. It all still looked bleak. Only this time, Alex could tell that he was standing. But yet, he couldn’t feel the sand under his feet. There was no wind or anything else in sight. Just him and the vast landscape of sand. There wasn’t any heat from the sun either.

“Hey!” Alex tried to yell. “Hey! Is there anybody out here?” No sound came out of his mouth. Figures. He was trapped, alone in the silence.

Suddenly, another warm breeze blew over him. A strange feeling came over him. He slowly began to relax all over. A cool breath rested on his throat. “Mother…” he thought. A gentle warmth slowly wrapped around his body in a soft embrace. Alex slowly closed his eyes. His breath began to relax. He felt something like a hand lightly patting him on the head.

“Mother…” he thought as happy memories of his mother slowly leaked into his mind. The days of innocence, home, and his mother danced around merrily in his head as he was being drawn in deeper into the ghost-like warmth surrounding him.

Outside, another warmth was swallowing up Central. Only, it was a poisonous, red warmth. It wasn’t of a happy or lustful warmth, either. This warmth had guilt and pain attached to it. It came in the form of a heavy smog. This didn’t move fast like an army. Their smog slowly crawled into the sky like a crippled trying to get away from Michael Myers in the Halloween movies. But yet, nobody could see this powerful smog. Not even the mystics could see them. The smog only crawled on in the city.

III:

Cold wire metal. No warmth here. Alex jerked his eyes open as if he had woken up from a bad dream. Now, it was pitch bad in this place. Drip. Drip. Drip. Alex’s eyes searched around for something familiar in this place. It was hard to answer that at first. Well… this was an alley. A dark alley at that. The scent of garbage crawled up Alex’s nose and lingered there. The poor boy thought that he was going to be sick. He held his nose as tight as he could.

“Oh god!” he thought. “Where am I now?” Right then, Alex noticed something odd. There was… sound. But, not on the outside. The noises were coming from inside. He could hear his own organs inside his body. He heard his heart, lungs, and other insides working at a fast pace. The whole thing freaked him out. The lamb tried to cover his ears, but the sounds only became louder. “Why is this happening to me?” Alex thought in fear. A cold sweat broke out over his body. A bright spot light flashed upon him. The boy looked up frantically. He squinted in pain and confusion.

“Hello?” he tried to ask. No words came out of his mouth. Whoever was operating the light didn’t speak either. They just kept it trained right on him. Suddenly, Alex couldn’t explain it, but he found himself walking towards the fence. He found like was just sleepwalking while awake. The boy stood only a few inches from this glowing fence. The sounds of his insides had gotten louder with each footstep. It began to make his ears ache. Alex tried to scream out, but his voice was still locked in silence. A heavy wave of darkness swallowed him up whole.

Mustang walked into the hospital room. Ella looked up when she heard the door close. The general didn’t speak at first.

“How is he?” he asked. Ella shook her head.

“Oh,” Mustang mouthed. He walked over to the boy and sat down next to him on the other side. Ella tightly clinched his hand.

“He’s not gone,” she mumbled. Mustang jerked up his head at her.

“What?” he asked.

“Alex is still in there,” the mystic went on. “They have him trapped in his mind with alchemy and opium.” Mustang looked at her in quick desperation.

“How do we get him back out?” he asked. Ella shook her head.

“My own powers are not enough,” she said. “He will have to come back on his own.”

“When will that be?” Roy asked. Ella only shook her head. Mustang kept his concern under his icy mask as he turned back to the lamb. “Come on, kid!” he thought. “Live through this! You have to! Don’t let them win!”

IV:

Tick. Tick. Tick. Alex opened his eyes again. All he saw was wood. Really old wood. The boy felt himself lying down again. By this point, he gave up on trying to figure out where he was. He figured out that he wasn’t going to get a straight answer out anyone. The poor child Alex tried to get up, but he found that in was boxed in and could not move. The lamb really began to freak out. “I’m in box!” he thought. “I’m trapped in a box!” Oh this was not good. Little Iris locked him in the box constantly when she was done “playing” with him. Bad memories filled his head.

Suddenly, a felt a violent jerk in his body. His eyes widened in fear. “No, please! I’ll be good! I’ll be good!” he thought. The jerks got stronger. It was followed by a violent pounding. Alex felt himself shaking as if he was having a seizure. He seemed to have lost all control of all his body. The pain increased in his chest. The air in his lungs became trapped in heavy bubbles. He felt himself getting wet and soiled in his jeans. “No, please! Little Iris, I will be good! Please don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I’ll be good! I’ll be good!” The pain shot up to his ear drums and spread to his brain and spine. The sounds of his insides increased and tormented him until everything went black…

Outside, the smog spread and mingled with the air. Time to feed the poison! That’s when she woke up…