Chapter 16: Them
"Eren, where are you going?!" Erwin yells as I'm running into the woods.
"I'm getting Jean. If we don't get back in time, leave us! We'll find you!" I yell.
I miss the good old days where I could pig out on Hardee's and play games all day. Now I'm running through my least favorite place, searching for one of my least favorite people. Well, he's way farther up on my list than some of the others.
Just like I thought, Jean's sitting on Weed Rock with Marco next to him. It was a sad sight, but we had to leave before we were swamped. A twig snapping under my foot makes Jean's head snap towards me.
"Jean we really gotta go!"
He climbs down, but makes no move to follow me. What is he doing? A sad smile crosses his face and he shakes his head.
"Go, before you die along with me. I just... I can't leave him, Eren. Thank you for making freckles smile all those times." he says before turning his back to me.
No, I'm not letting him die like this! Marcus would be so mad if he was watching us right now... I mumble a quick apology and rush him, delivering a quick punch to the head that knocks him out.
Throwing him over my shoulder, I race out of the forest and through the small streams of zombies that are starting to flood onto the lot. I feel like a quarterback with a Jean-sized football, running from zombies.
Oh wait, I kinda am! Haha. Sorry I'm a bit hysterical right now.. The others are staring at the traitors in anger and shock. Reiner and Bertholdt are supporting Grisha's weight as a black chopper flies down to retrieve them.
"Let's get the hell outta here, Erwin!" I yell as I jump in the truck bed with Jean in my lap.
Everyone packs in and the rest sit on the trailer with weapons at the ready. The Levisquad are the ones with the weapons if you couldn't already guess. My eyes stayed on our old home until it was out of eyesight.
Grisha did this.. No, they did this. This small group of survivors is all that's left, because I didn't kill Grisha as soon as I saw him. Now I have crying friends and a knocked out friend in my lap. He'll never forgive me for that.
They won, because we weren't prepared. They were behind this hell and I never even put it together! This is so much more dangerous than when I was younger. Their technology has improved and they have the resources.
The only reason they let us get away was because of the zombies. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have drones and cameras all over the area. That's not a good thought...
Where are they keeping the zombies and how are they controlling them? None of the zombies went after us after we got on the vehicle, so something turned them away from it, but what?
Are they using some sort of controlling device or something? No, that's not possible. Technology hasn't progressed that much. But.. They did create this virus, so they know more about it than we do.
The truck starts to sputter before coming to a jarring halt. I can hear Erwin muttering profanities under his breath as he heads to the back to talk with the Levisquad. Laying Jean in the truck, I jump onto the trailer and stand next to Petra.
Everything is so quiet and everyone looks so down. After we got out of danger, everyone broke down, even the elites. Eld was trying to comfort a crying Gunther, while Petra and Oluo had tears falling down their cheeks.
Even my eyes were heavy with the tears I was holding back. So many people had died and on top of that, we lost our home. I'm thrown to the black asphalt by Levi, but he doesn't do anything else.
"What do you know?! Did.. Did you know this whole time?" Levi mutters.
Petra smacks him so hard that his head snaps to the side. His eyes are wide as his hand touches the hurt flesh. She... She hit him?! I've never seen her so upset. This is the first time I've seen her without a smile.
"Stop projecting! We're all upset, but don't you dare do this again! I'm not losing Eren, too. Eren, you ok sweetie?" Petra asks softly.
I just lay there dazed as I watch everything unfold. This is all my fault. I should've killed Grisha when I had him at knife point this morning... Now everything's gone and we're on their radar.
We're on the corporation's radar! Oh no, no no no... My hands cover my face as I keep mumbling no over and over again. I can't go back there and I can't subject them to that either. We need to hide, yeah!
"We need to hide! Right now, Erwin! We need to get away from here. Preferably out of the state." I say quickly while pushing him toward the truck.
"Eren! Eren, calm down! Why do we need to leave? Who are 'They'?" Erwin scans my face for the answers to his questions.
"I think I can answer that for you..."
The sweet, soft voice of Krista enters the cold night air. So she does know about her father's work? Is she a part of it? No, they didn't get her into the chopper, so maybe she's not like them.
"They are a corporation of sick fools that probably watched the Hunger Games too much when they were kids. Eren, Reiner, and Bertholdt are just a few of the participants. The victors, the survivors."
"Krista, how do you know this? Were you a part of the participants?"
I look her up and down slowly. Her gait is tense and her eyes hold a sadness I've never seen. She isn't a part of it.
"No, she's not a part of it, regardless of her family ties. Grisha mentioned you before, Historia, right? Her dad thought she was a disgrace, because she thought the games were wrong." I say.
Historia gives me a look of surprise, but it quickly changes to a small smile. I'm not going to let Levi blame her for her family's mistakes like he did to me...
"Eren, I can't tell you how sorry I am that you were forced into that mess. My father is a monster, which is why I left. Eren's right, we need to get as far from here as possible!" Historia says quickly.
The fear and honesty in her voice must have convinced the others, because they start ordering everyone to grab their gear and get out of the truck. Petra and Historia hoist me up and hug me, before Petra goes off to help.
"I know about Abigail and I'm sorry... You feel at ease with me because I look like her, right?"
"At first, yes. But, then I just started to feel at ease around YOU. You aren't Abby, you guys are different. Do you think your father will let us go?"
"You already know the answer to that... But we can't just give up and wait for him to get our friends. Just keep surviving, Eren." She squeezes my shoulder and leaves.
Jean had woken up and was glaring at me, but he didn't look angry. He was just exhausted and sad, so I didn't take it personally. I had to choose between him surviving or letting him do what he wanted, so I chose survival.
"I hope you can forgive me, but I won't apologize. Marco... He wouldn't have wanted that and we both know it. So please don't make me feel guilty for doing one more thing for him." I say before grabbing my duffel.
I left my bat, but I still had my gun in my bag and my knives. Grisha's blood stained the beautiful knifes, but I wouldn't clean them yet. This was my trophy, his blood.
"Eren, Historia said you would have a better idea of our surroundings. Where do you think we should go?"
"You're our leader, Erwin. We need to leave the state, but the rest is up to you." I say quietly.
He nods and pats my shoulder, before speaking with Hange. Apparently Hange, Erwin, and Levi were in the same Squadron in the service. The happy loud mouth was in the service, a trained killer like me..
My mind was still wrapping around why Levi dropped me and thought, for even a second, that I knew about their plan. What happened to the caring Levi that told me to move away from Grisha? It hurt, the lack of trust.
I'd proven to everyone that I was trustworthy and yet, he questioned me. If I was in on it, why the hell would Reiner point a gun at my head?! Idiot!
"Let's go, brat!" Levi yelled.
I followed silently behind the Levisquad and listened to them converse quietly. Petra was eyeing me with a worried look, but I just couldn't bring myself to fake a smile. Could you, after watching your friends die?
We walked in the dark until we stumbled upon a town. With weapons and guards raised we cleared a few houses to stay in until we could think of a plan. It wasn't ideal to sleep so close to camp, but we didn't have a choice.
This wasn't the town 15 minutes from the settlement. Erwin was driving the truck in the opposite way and we walked from there. Squad A took a house and the Levisquad took the other.
Tomorrow morning, I'd go look for a map so we could plan. But for now, I needed to sleep. Hell, we all needed sleep! The others went upstairs to claim rooms, while Levi, Erwin, and I stayed downstairs.
"Leave brat, we need to talk privately!"
"Tough, because I need to talk to you both." I say in a bored tone.
I'm sick of his attitude and superiority complex and I just want to sleep for a million years. I'm not even exaggerating either. Levi opens his mouth, probably to argue, but Erwin smacks him over the head with a glare.
"You're the one acting like a brat, Levi. What do you need to tell us, Eren?"
"Yeah so, tomorrow morning I'm going to get us a map, so we can start planning. I... I think you should know who we're dealing with.."
"Take your time, Eren, but yes, I think we should. If Reiner and Bertholdt were scared enough to threaten to kill you, this corporation must be bad news."
"Let's just say these people spent generations perfecting the games and had billions of dollars to spend on it. I'm not sure, but I think they had something to do with the gas leak that started this."
"Why would they do that, though? It just doesn't make sense. Money has no value anymore."
"It does if they could control the zombies. Did you not notice how only certain people were hit? I think they somehow made it only to affect certain people. The organization has some of the smartest scientists in the world."
"How would you know any of this, brat? You only participated in the games."
"My father was a higher up doctor with ideas for advanced technology. They needed his ideas to advance their game..."
"Anything else you can tell us, Eren?"
"Uh.. I.. The thing I do know is they have stealth drones and a lot of them. I'm sorry I don't have anything else to add. And don't ask Historia either. Her dad didn't tell her and she doesn't need some dick to accuse her of shit!" I say, eyeing Levi harshly.
"Tch, whatever brat. Now leave so we can talk."
I leave quickly and find the only empty room, flipping onto the bed. Maybe I should just go off on my own and find them... If I knew where they were holed up, we could go in the opposite direction and avoid them.
Ugh! The one thing I miss most is air conditioning. It's hot as hell in here and this devil is cranky. Stripping to my underwear, I pull the covers over my head and try to sleep.
There's just too much on my mind right now. Everything is gone. I should've never went there and this never would've happened. Marco is dead, because I hesitated and didn't take my chance when I could.
"If it's anyone's fault it's mine... I stopped you and didn't listen when you said he was dangerous. I'm... Listen, Eren I'm sorry. I've been treating you like shit for no reason."
"No, there's a reason. Fear makes people do crazy things, so I get it. Really, it's whatever. Let's just sleep." I say quietly, turning my back to him.
"No! We need to talk about this, Eren... Just let me apologize."
"Last time I accepted your apology, you took care of me out of pity. I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."
Arms flip me on my back and I see Levi hovering over me. His eyes are searching my own as his hand subconsciously rubs my side.
"I'm sorry, Eren. I haven't done this since...—"
"Since Grace, right? Who was she?" I ask quietly.
He seems to fight with himself for a minute and then he gets off me. His arms wrap around me and pull me to his bare chest. I can feel his fast heart rate and it makes me realize how much this bothered him.
This Grace person did something bad... Turning in his arms, I press a kiss to his cheek and hug him.
"You don't have to. I'm sorry for—"
"She... I thought she was the one for me. We'd been together and happy for four years, so I went home early to surprise her. I found her naked with my supposed best friend. I haven't been in a relationship since.." he says quietly.
His body was tense and he looked about ready to jump out the window. I pull his face closer to mine and just stroke his cheeks softly.
"Thank you for trusting me with that. I've never pressured you for a relationship and I still won't. I get it, really. But, I'm always here, okay?"
He nods slowly at my words and tentatively brushes his lips against my own. I melt into the kiss and let him take control. But he doesn't go any farther. He places a few soft kisses on my lips, then pulls me against his chest.
"Goodnight, brat.."
"Night, Cap'n!"
A chuckle leaves him at my enthusiastic tone, making me smile. Mission success! I cuddle into his warm chest and sleep finds me.
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Two loud squeals, more like banshee screams, wake me up in the morning. I'm still tucked safely against his chest, so what was the noise. Fucking Captain Crazy and Petra! Stupid Fujoshis!
"Guys, what if we were fucking?! You can't just barge in unannounced!"
"Oh please, Eren! You're not very quiet, so we'd know."
"Ha, like you have room to talk, Petra! Your loud ass keening kept me up for quite a few nights." I say loudly.
I peak my head over Levi's shoulder and send a blushing Petra a cheeky grin. Hange is looking between us while laughing her ass off. How is Levi sleeping through this?
A squeak leaves my mouth when he pinches my ass, harshly. Owie!
"Both of you guys get out! I'm tired and you're loud.." he mumbles tiredly.
The two girls rush out, not wanting to deal with the cranky insomniac. Great, leave me with him!
"You pinched me..."
"You were wiggling around and being loud."
"... Meanie..." I mumble quietly.
That earns me another pinch, making me let out an embarrassing mix between a whimper and moan. Red floods my whole face as I hide against his chest, while he chuckles lowly.
Not gonna lie, his tired voice was kinda a turn on. It was so deep and raspy. Eww, what am I thinking!
"Glad to know you like my morning voice.." Levi says with a smirk.
His hands trail down past my ass and pull my legs around his waist as he hovers over me. I can feel his hard-on against my thigh and it makes me whine quietly.
He licks a trail up my neck and then nips at my ear lobe. As soon as it starts it's over and he's putting his clothes back on with a smirk.
"You're a tease, ya know that? But don't worry... I'll get ya back." I say with a grin that he copies.
It's so nice to see him smile again. After we talked about Grace, it seemed to strengthen his trust in me. And it was nice to be held, but... What if it was just pity?
The smile leaves my face as I start putting my clothes on. I hate pity, so I'd rather him openly dislike me than fake our friendship. A hand on my shoulder makes me flinch and turn quickly.
"Are you okay? You're shaking." Levi asks with a concerned tone.
Maybe he really does care and I'm just being paranoid. No.. He acted concerned before as well, but it was just pity. How can I tell if he's telling the truth?
"Eren, why are you crying?"
I'm crying? Feeling my face, I feel my fingers touch water, no my tears. Why am I crying?
"I.. I don't know. You just confuse me, I guess."
"How so?"
"I.. I can't. I'm gonna go find a map, bye." I say, rushing out of the room.
Erwin and the others are downstairs talking, so I just walk past them and go outside. There should be maps in any store or office, so I just need to keep an eye out. I pull my knives out and walk to the stores.
It takes a while to go through the empty stores, but eventually I find a map of the state we're in. There are plenty of exits, which means plenty of options. We just needed to disappear.
With my focus on the map, I didn't notice the presence behind me until their hand covered my mouth. I instantly start struggling in their grip until another person grabs my legs to keep me still.
How unfair? Two against one... Making myself go dead-weight, I act like I passed out. They both ease me to the ground.
"Did ya kill him, Cruiz!? We were just gonna take his stuff and leave, not kill him!" A strange voice yells.
"No, I think they just passed out. Let's take his stuff before he wakes up."
This is honestly kinda funny. Fucking amateurs, not even checking to see if I was actually knocked out! When I feel one of them push me into a sitting position to check my hoodie pockets, I throw my head back.
I earn a satisfying crunch and a groan, before I swipe the legs out from under the other. I grab their guns and check the mags. Full clips, fantastic! Flicking the safety off, I point the gun at the one who's nose I broke.
They're both shaking in fear and giving me pleading eyes. Even though I'm a killer, I only did it for survival. They didn't kill me, so there's no point.
"Word of advice, just ask for help. You're lucky I'm the one that found you, or you'd be dead." I say quietly.
Before I can turn around, I feel pain lance through my shoulder, making me grit my teeth. There had been another man in the corner, watching the exchange. I'm off my game today.
The man twists the knife, making me cry out, but I stand my ground. His eyes widen in surprise, but it's too late. He's dead with a slice to his throat and then his friends get a bullet between the eyes.
They were waiting for their friend to get me, they weren't scared. I need to stop hesitating. Maybe staying with those idiots was making me soft...
My head spins dangerously and I have to catch myself on the doorway. The hunting knife had been stabbed right under my left clavicle, barely missing bone. What's with me and getting stabbed, like for real!!
I shove the map in my pocket and hold a hand against the wound, trying to stifle the amount of blood I was using. I didn't even bleed this much when I stabbed myself in the stomach. He must've hit something important.
My vision blurred as I stumbled towards the houses. So close, just a bit farther... My knees buckle, but I force myself to stand again. I'm not weak! I knock on the door casually and wait until it opens.
"H.. H'ney 'm home hehe..." I slur out quietly.
It's kinda funny, you can't even lie. Me with a stab wound, just knocking casually on the door without a care. Wow, there's two Erwin's cool! There's something I need to tell him...
What was it? Oh, yeah! Those idiots in the stores.
"R'win.. people at stores... might be more..." I mutter while teetering.
Levi comes rushing over with a pale face and picks me up quickly, making my head spin. Oh no, nausea.
"Levi, I'm gonna be sick..."
My head lulls against his chest as I focus on not puking on him. I cover my mouth and whimper quietly. Can't he go any faster? I feel him place me on the bed and the sound of metal hitting the floor.
Just in time, too. He hands me the bucket as I dry heave into it. I hadn't eaten anything this morning, so I was just miserable. My body shivered, making the knife move, which made me heave again at the pain.
Fuck this shit! I rip the knife from the wound, biting my fist to muffle my scream. Yanking my shirt off, I bunch it up and press it against the bleeding wound. At least it doesn't seem like it went clean through...
"What the hell happened, Eren!"
"'Hm not sure... Two guys grabbed me and I fought them off, but there was a third. Why does everyone think it's stab Eren day?!" I whimper out.
I hear a chuckle and glare up at him.
"Sorry, it's just... Even after getting stabbed, you're still a sassy brat." he says before bursting out laughing.
"Glad to know my pain amuses you.. Now find me a needle and wire before I bleed out, asshat!" I yell angrily.
His eyes trail to the blood that is soaking through my shirt and dripping down my chest. That got him moving to his duffle and throwing me what I asked for. He must have kept them after patching up my stomach..
I throw the shirt on the floor, cringing at the wet plop noise. That's a lot of blood to lose.. Threading the needle, I get to work stitching up the jagged wound. It was only about an inch long, but it was deep. Once the wound is fully closed up, Levi puts antibiotic cream and a gauze pad over it.
"Rest. I'll wake you up in a bit to help plan our next course of action." he kisses my cheek then leaves quickly.
Exhaustion and blood loss make sleep come quickly. No dream or nightmares meet me while I sleep.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
rythebiguy
rythebiguy This continues where I left off in last chapter. This chapter is mostly going to be the others realizing the enemy that they're faced with.
I hope you enjoy the chapter and comment where you see fit. I love hearing from you guys!
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