Chapter Text
The sun bore down on Levi, and made him suffer in the oppressive summer heat. It had been a grueling three days walking in the hot sun, and his skin was sticky with sweat. It was hard to think back and remember what it was like to actually feel clean when he had a week's worth salt and grime coating his skin. A shiver ran through him and he wiped his clammy palms on his pants. He tried not to think too hard on it; it was what it was.
He exhaled a moment, taking a good sweeping glance over his surroundings. Garbage fluttered in the wind across the empty road before him, the grass tall and dry. If he had a match, he could set the whole countryside ablaze within minutes. Maybe if those damn corpses had no where to go they'd all burn up, hemmed in by withered shrubs and spindly trees, for even the corpses were not immune to flame.
He took a sick joy in the thought of their bodies being devoured and destroyed by the heat, but it quickly passed. In the end it only made him feel overheated and even more tired than he already was.
Never the less, he kept walking, alert to the shadows moving in the trees. Bits of litter were scattered in the dirt, a large gust of wind blowing a ratty newspaper to his feet.
"Disgusting." Levi sneered, peeling the crumbled paper off his boot. It was brittle and coated with dirt, but he could still make out some print beneath the grime. With a gloved hand he smeared the dirt from the header. The date read March twenty-second: the first of many days into mankind's swan song. It occurred to him that he had no recollection as to what day it was. Then again, he didn't particularly care; it mattered little now.
He crumbled the filthy thing and shoved it into a pocket in his duffel-bag. It wouldn't take much room, and he'd never know when he'd need tinder. He continued on his way again, not quite comfortable with the silence that had fallen around him. It seemed too fragile, and just waiting to be broken.
Sure enough, there was a sound in the distance that instantly put Levi on edge. It'd been awhile since he'd seen a car, but he knew the sound of an engine when he heard it. Whatever or whoever it was, he didn't want to find out. He bolted from the from the road at full speed, ready to dive into a hiding spot. Unfortunately for him, the trees were too small to support a grown man and the bushes were dry and thorny. Never the less, he dove into a shrub, hissing as it's dry branches cut what little skin he had exposed. It didn't give him much cover, but it was enough. As much as he wanted to avoid a run in with a corpse, he dreaded meeting other people. It seemed strange that at the end of the world, it was people he'd come to fear most. Corpses were mindless, predictable. They did what they did because that's just how it was. People on the other hand, had always been terrible, but even more so in this world. When it came to people, especially desperate people, there was no telling what they were capable of.
He took a deep breath, attempting to clear his thoughts. Yes, there were people somewhere around, but he refused to be run down. Nobody would be crippling, killing, or eating him. Not today.
He peered out from the branches, leaves concealing him from sight.
A rickety station wagon groaned to a stop. It was old, but was in surprisingly good condition. The owner really took good care of their car, despite the filth that had caked up on the sides. However, given the current state of the apocalypse, dirt was really unavoidable.
Two blond men, both monstrously tall, and a brunette stepped out.
"Damn, I thought that tire was going to last longer. I wish I could just patch the stupid thing up." The brunette grumbled, sighing.
The woman, at least from what he could tell, wore a lab coat that he suspected was once white. He grimaced. In reality, his own clothes properly weren't faring much better.
"Well I guess it's a good thing we have an extra, isn't it?" The tallest blond had a mustache, and kept twitching his nose like a rabbit. "I smell something."
"Hanji, change the tire. We'll keep watch." The other blond had what could have been a military shave a few months ago. From his demeanor though, Levi wouldn’t have been surprised if the man was ex-military. There was an air about him that demanded his attention and respect.
He deliberately chose to ignore it.
Thankfully the station wagon didn't harbor any more nasty surprises, but he still couldn't believe his rotten luck. If it had been two people, he maybe could have risked it, but not three. Besides, he didn't like the look of their weapons. Between the two of them alone they managed a 9mm and a crude machete while simultaneously looking very capable; it'd be more than enough to mess him up. If he was lucky, which he never was, they'd drive off before they noticed him.
Such was not the case.
“I smell something.”
Levi knew he smelled bad, but he couldn't have been that bad. Besides, walking corpses were much more...pungent. Still, he smelled nothing. If there was anything around, he would have been aware of it long ago.
“What is it?”
“There's another person around.”
His blood ran cold.
“Tell me where, Mike.”
It wasn't so much of a question, but a statement. They all seemed confident enough in this “Mike” guy's freaky abilities they they didn't think twice but to trust it.
He'd seen that level of trust before once a long time ago, and the pain of nostalgia left him bitter and empty.
“I'm not sure. It's kind of still so I can't pin point the location, but if I were trying to hide I'd be in a bush or a tree. Good coverage.” He took his eyes off his surrounding a moment to to look down at the brunette. “How are we coming along?”
“I'm working as fast as I can.” Hanji wiped a line of sweat from her forehead. The car was already jacked up, and the nuts had just been removed. The blown tire came off with little difficulty.
The other blond scanned the environment for any movement, gun following his line of sight. He pointed his gun in Levi's direction, unknowingly, before shifting his sights elsewhere. “If you can smell them, they're probably close enough to hear us.” He let out a soft sigh.
Levi stilled his breathing, blinking furiously as sweat dripped into his eyes. He didn't dare move.
“I know you can hear us.” There was a slight hum to his voice, as if he enjoyed the possibility of a hidden enemy. “If I were you, I'd stay hidden. You can't get the jump on us, and the first sign of movement I see I won't hesitate to shoot.”
“Erwin, that may be a bit much.” Mike shuffled a boot in the dirt, anxiously.
This group didn't see to be too bad off. They were well equipped; perhaps too well.
An idea occurred to him. Of course, he should have realized it sooner. Shit,they were probably cannibals or something. That would account for their weaponry, their supplies, and how well off they were.
“Guys, I have bad news, but there may be something else wrong. Can you sit tight a bit longer?”
“What else needs fixing?” Erwin rose an eyebrow, eyes still scanning over the horizon listlessly.
“It'll take too long to explain to you non-car people. I'll tell you when I'm done.” With that, she bolted the new tire back in place, throwing the useless tire to the side.
“Are you sure it can't wait?”
“Absolutely not.”
A look of displeasure briefly crossed over Erwin's features, but he quickly schooled it back. He said nothing else.
Levi shifted uncomfortably; his knees were beginning to hurt. More than anything he wanted to change positions, but that was a luxury he couldn't afford at the moment. Thus far he'd gone mostly undetected, and he wasn’t' about to risk that fragile victory just because his legs were cramping. Besides, with the level of cover he had he couldn't afford to even breathe. As he saw it, he was doing good to stay out of sight from both the corpses and the freaks ahead.
Out of nowhere, Mike began to slash at the shrubbery around them.
“Mike, what are you doing?”
“I thought I saw something.” His grip on the machete tightened.
“Well if you're so fidgety, go chop some some of bushes or something for tinder. That skunk isn't going to cook itself, and we don't know what will be available later on....” Hanji trailed off, pulling out another tool. “Besides, I trust you enough to lop off a zed-head if it gets closer than it should.” She mumbled from the front of the car.
Shit, he was going to be here all day by this rate, and it was because of these damn freaks. They just had to take forever and flap their gums about. Didn't they know the fucking world was ending? God, he really hated these people. The longer they took, the louder the pounding of his heart became. It didn't help that this Mike guy was edging closer and closer to his hiding spot.
Mike was still hacking and slashing, and was so close he could have reached out and grabbed hold of him. He briefly toyed with the thought of taking the guy down, but that would probably draw the attention of his friends. In the end, it was still a knife in a gun fight. Levi had what they would have called a “BFK”, but it was still nothing against his enemy's weaponry. At moments like this, he really hated not grabbing more bullets from the station when he had the chance. Maybe then he wouldn't have run out so fast, and been in this situation. He could have shot them all down, and taken their stuff. That station wagon looked like it was in fairly good shape, and he could probably go for another month just off of the stuff they'd accumulated.
There was no use regretting it now. The past was the past, and it would do nothing for him now. Best case scenario he wouldn't be found, and they'd go right on their merry way out of this hell-hole. Worst case he'd be found out and kept alive so they could eat him. There were a few more options, such as Erwin using his gun on him (assuming it had bullets, anyways), and die quick. In the grand scene of things, that wouldn't be such bad way to go out. If he died he died. Realism was his brand of optimism.
He would fight though, if given the chance, just like he always had. He was strong, and he would survive, no matter what. Slowly he unsheathed his knife, hand was curled around the handle and ready to strike.
Unfortunately for Mike, he was given just the opportunity.
“Hey Erwin, I think he's near by---” He parted the shrubs to expose Levi to the light of day.
He didn't hesitate.
Unfortunately for him, Mike was quicker than he thought he'd be. Originally Levi had aimed for his thigh-- it was a big and vulnerable target full of delicate nerve clusters--but he ended up nicking his hip instead. He knew the guy was tall, but standing next to him he realized just how much of a giant he was. No wonder he missed his target. He was further disappointed when his opponent's belt clattered to the ground.
“I found him!” He shouted, jumping further away.
Levi regained his footing, snarling as he lunged for him again. The quicker he struck, the sooner he could take the other two down and flee. It was a huge gamble, but he didn't see much choice he had. His course was already set into motion, and the only thing he could do now was follow it.
Luck was never in the cards for Levi since the day he was born, and he found himself too close in range. In a fit of well timed panic, Mike threw a fist into his face.
In another life, Levi would have complimented him for such a knee-jerk reaction, but he was only met with pain. Knuckles met contact with his jaw, and he found the edges of his vision growing black, and spiraling into darkness.
–--
He snapped his eyes open. He violently sat up, his entire body jerking before he flopped back down again, head swimming with pain.
Shit wait, he can't believe he actually woke up. Why wasn't he dead?
He squeezed his eyes shut. God, of all things to black out from. Still, Mike had clocked him good, for what it was worth. It wouldn't bring him much comfort when they were skinning him alive though.
“I can't believe you actually punched him...” Hanji sighed as popped the trunk and tossed the jack in.
Mike shrugged. “I wasn't expecting him to come at me like that.”
“We're fortunate it turned out that way. He really knew what he was doing.”
“Yeah, thank god he caught my belt.” He idly scratched his scalp, chuckling. “Jesus, that could have been really bad, couldn't it?” He let out a deep sigh, “We have to outrun death everyday, don't we?” His hands hung limply by his sides. “I trust your decision Erwin, but are we sure he's one of them?”
Without skipping a beat, he cut his eyes over to his friend. “We can't afford to rule out the possibility until we're absolutely sure.”
“That's true enough, I suppose.”
“Have I been wrong before?” There was a bit of humor to Erwin's voice.
Mike snorted, “Once, but I'll try not to lord it over you.” He paused a moment, as if sensing a chance in the atmosphere, “Crap, he's already awake.”
It was freaky how he could sense things like that.
Hanji adjusted her glasses, chuckling. “Well, yeah, if he'd been out any longer there may have been a chance for brain damage...”
Apparently they were smarter than he'd originally taken them for. Why they bothered to go through the effort of tying him up, he didn't know. He supposed that he should be flattered that they deemed him too dangerous to leave unchecked. Still, despite the brains to tie him up, he could tell they ran out of time to properly finish the job. It was a small mercy that they'd been unable to tie his feet, but he was forced to suffer through the vice grip on his ankles. He tried to sit up again, but only ended up falling flat on his side. It didn’t how much he struggled, his captor’s hold was too strong. A hiss escaped his lips, pain blooming from where he landed on his arm.
“You should just kill me.”
Erwin hummed again in the same eerie manner as before, but refused to say anything. He just looked over at him, studying him like prey, letting Levi fester in the indecision: would he live or die?
He dug his nails into his palms. They were going to eat him, there were no questions about it now.
“Hey, he's pretty well prepared for a random guy.” Hanji rummaged through his pack, disturbing the order he'd meticulously put his things in. A rumpled shirt was sticking out, but it didn't seem to bother her. Instead, she reached for one of the outer pockets.
“Put it down.” He growled, practically lunging for her. He managed to sit up, but was kept in place by Mike.
“Which is it, put it down, or kill you?” Mike’s hands came down and wrapped around his ankles, keeping them still. Just for good measure, Levi tried to wriggle free, but with little avail.
Much to his dismay, his words seemed to have little to no effect on Hanji. Yet to his surprise, she son held his gaze, and set the duffel-bag aside. That was something, at least.
“Just...whatever you're gonna do, get it over with.” He gritted his teeth, preparing himself for the worst.
She looked up at him then, adjusting her glasses again. It seemed to be a force of habit.“We're not going to do anything to you. Not yet, anyways.” She scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Say, what do you think about the cure?”
“...What.”
“Oh I'm sure you've heard the rumors.” She grinned, face lighting up as she began to talk. “When there's a huge pandemic---”
“Is that what they're calling this?” He rose an eyebrow skeptically. He was never one for holding his tongue.
“Shush I'm trying to save your life here, bub. Anyways, supposedly there's a cure being studied on the West Coast to fix the current shit-storm we're in. There are also, supposedly, people who are immune as well. What do you think about that?” She stared intently at him, as if she were trying to gauge his response.
What the fuck? Who ties someone up and starts asking them about some shit like the cure? Maybe he should ask them if they still believed in God, fairy-tales and happy endings while they were at it.
“What do you really want to know? You think I'm immune or something?” He snorted, “What a load of shit.”
The answer, although honest, didn't seem to please her. She stepped back, studying him, as if to determine his use. From what he could tell, she didn’t find much. “Been in any experiments lately?”
Just who were these people? “Are you serious. Do you normally greet people like this?”
“Sometimes. Other times it's the business end of a baseball bat. Your choice.”
He could appreciate her frankness, at least. For once, he decided to keep whatever biting remark behind the cage of his teeth.
Sensing that she had the floor, Hanji grinned and went right on with her speech again, “Like I was saying. Were you involved in any scientific studies lately? Maybe something going by the ‘Session 845?”
These questions were too specific to be without purpose, and it was clear she hand more cards than she was willing to show.
“What are you going on about? Damn freak…”
This time concern crossed her features. “I could have sworn…” She stood a moment, attempting calculate and recalculate whatever had gone awry in her head. Finally she sighed, throwing her hands up into the air. “Maybe you really don’t know…”
“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time.”
“But what do we do with you now?”
Why was she so intent on keeping him around? He didn’t trust her at all.
She put her hands on her hips, lost in thought. Suddenly she snapped her fingers in revelation. “Well, we could use an extra blade around here…”
“And why's that? Got a bit peckish and ate them?” He spat, struggling against the binds. It was futile, but he wasn't about to take his fate lying down. He'd like to at least be propped up on his side, at the least.
Mike sent a dark glare his way, but refused to take the bait. “As much as I agree that we need someone to replace...” He trailed off, voice growing quiet. It was only a second, but the silence spoke volumes, “...to replace Nanaba, but as the person he just tried to kill I say we leave him. He's too dangerous to risk bringing him along.” He exhaled deeply, “Besides, we should hurry up. The car is fixed, and I have a feeling we might have some friends more unpleasant than our current company here in an hour or two.”
“I get what you're saying, but we can't afford to be picky anymore. Either leave him to die or we take him on.”
“He was doing just fine before us. I'm sure he'll get on alright.”
Erwin looked down then, eyes cold and icy. “We leave him.” He motioned for Mike to move away from him. “But leave him tied up.”
Mike looked up, bewildered. The verdict apparently shocked him as much as it did Levi. “I know I said not to bring him, but are we really going to leave him tied up? Are we going to give him any of his stuff back?”
Erwin opened the passenger side, “No.”
“Are you serious--”
“You said it yourself, he's dangerous, and I agree.” He picked up the duffel-bag from the ground, and tossed it in the backseat.
Levi's eyes widened. They had to be messing with him. “Wait, you're just going to leave me here tied up? If you won't even leave me a goddamn weapon just fucking shoot me already. I can't fight like this.”
Erwin turned to face him, and without missing a beat, “You can run, can't you?”
His throat went dry.
“Shit Erwin, that's cold.” A look passed between the three of them. They weren't taking what he said well, but they weren't moving to stop him in the slightest. Instead, Mike gave a final regretful squeeze to his ankles, and stood.
“Cold would be stripping him naked, tying his feet, and stringing him up from a tree. But we aren't total monsters, are we? We simply don't have any more time to waste on him.” He ducked his head as he climbed into the car. “Are you getting in, or not?”
He could tell that Mike wanted to look down at him, wanted to change his fate somehow, but he made no effort to do as such. He just searched Erwin's face, hoping to find some solace for the actions they were about to commit. Whatever he found brought him a peace that Levi didn't share. Instead he followed orders like a good soldier, making his way over to the car and leaving Levi behind in the dirt.
He hated the part of himself that understood their obedience. Erwin was their leader, one way or another, and they depended on him for survival. They could disagree all they wanted, but at the end of the day they had orders to follow. What made it worse was that Levi would have done the same.
In the end, only Hanji lingered, watching him writhe in the dirt.
“Hey, four-eyes, even you can see this is fucked up.” He groaned as he tried to crawl towards her. The best he could do was try and push off with his feet. Maybe he could try and stand, if he got on his knees.
She looked down at him a moment, face passive. He felt like she knew something he didn't, like this was one sick inside joke. Eventually, she too, turned to leave him.
“Fuckin---” He hissed under his breath, “You fuckers, you can't leave me here. Not like this. Not like a fucking dog.”
The engine turned on.
They weren't bluffing.
“I'm outgunned, and outnumbered, you really think I stand a chance?” He was beginning to genuinely panic. “Even if I got the jump on you, I'd only be able to kill one of you before the other two put me down. So either kill me now, or take me with you. Either way, my blood is on your hands.”
He hated this. He'd never begged in his life, but what use for pride did a dead man have?
He shut his eyes, preparing himself for his fate. It was bleak, and he'd done all that he could have, but he wasn't about to throw in the towel yet.
He could still run.
With some difficulty, he managed to roll to his knees. By now he was filthy from wallowing in dirt, and he could feel it scratching against his skin. He could do this. It wasn't like he had that much to lose in the first place. He could get out of this.
Then he heard the car door slam.
He snapped his eyes open, only to see Erwin standing beside the car now, looking down on his wretched form.
They should have been long gone by now, but he didn't dare think twice about it. This might be his last chance, and he was going to take it, dammit.
He moved closer to him, closing the gap and knelt down. “Is this you?” He retrieved a photo from his pocket. It was blurry, beaten up, and filthy, rending the original contact of the picture almost unrecognizable. Wait, was that corpse blood? Jesus Christ, where did they get this? Had it been in his pocket the entire time? Why hadn’t they shown this to him earlier? If this picture was him, had they been looking for him this entire time? Shit, they’d probably planned something like this from the beginning. Fuck. No wonder why he felt off about all this.
“Is this you or not? Your life depends on it.” He looked down at him, but there was no anger in his gaze. Just cold calculations.
“Shit, I don’t know, where did you get this?”
“Just answer the question.”
He did have to undergo some testing, but that was simple blood work right? Surely not…Fuck, he didn’t know anymore.
Erwin set his lips into a firm line. It looked like he was going to leave again.
Levi scrambled for a reason to keep him there. “I don’t know. What reason do I have to lie? What are you trying to play at? Have a guilty conscience or something?”
Erwin said nothing, He just stared down at him, blue eyes boring into his soul.
Finally, he cracked and let out an irritated sigh. He knew when he was beaten. “Fine. I don’t know if I’ve been in any “experiments” as you call it, but I had to have some blood drawn or some shit like that about a year ago. They didn't really tell me what was going on, and I wasn't exactly in the position to ask questions.” He shivered, remembering the cold metal of handcuffs biting his skin. “I have nothing to lose by saying that’s me in the picture, huh? It’s too grimy to tell.”
Erwin rose his brows, and hummed again, silently looking him over. “Very well.” He pulled out his gun.
So this was it. He answered wrong, and now he was going to die because he wasn’t the right person. At least his end would be a quick on. It was a lot better than what most got these days…
“Mike. Help me carry him.” He motioned with his gun for them to come out and help him.
His eyes snapped open. What?
Sure enough, Mike crawled out of the back to help him.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
Mike grabbed his feet, and Erwin snuck up behind him, sliding his arms under his armpits and lifted him up easily. “I know you're desperate, but I'd like to remind you I do have a gun.” He moved in closer, “And it's loaded.”
"What the fuck are you--”
“Calm down. We won't hurt you unless you give us reason to.”
“Are you sure we can't knock him out again?” Mike let out an amused huff, despite his stoic expression.
Surprisingly, Erwin's only response was the ghost of a smile.
Hanji, as if on cue, popped the trunk.
Just what were they up to? Had they planned something while he was out, or did they just follow Erwin's will without any qualms? His heart was pounding in his chest, pulse erratic, blood coursing through his veins. Every nerve was on fire, screaming survive.
If this had been a smaller car the trunk would have been cramped and claustrophobic, but the trunk was more an extension of the backseat. There was airflow, and if he really tried he might be able to crawl over the backseat into the main portion of the car.
They unceremoniously tossed him in the back. Erwin loomed over him, his long shadow falling over him. There was something predatory in his gaze, and it made him want to crawl right out of his skin. Instead, he said nothing and closed the back without a word.
So here he was: bound, without his gear, and in the back of someone's car without a clue as to what the fuck was going on. A second ago they were going to leave him for dead, what changed? Every instinct was on over-drive, burning, burning, burning---
And suddenly a gush of cold air brought him to his senses. Air conditioning, when was the last time he'd felt that?
He became acutely aware to the sweat dripping down his back, how he was boiling in his leather gloves, and how his jaw was aching. The car began to drive off, jostling him. He couldn't see much but the large rear window. It was a patch of blue sky, clear and without a single cloud in the sky.
For once he wasn't baking in the afternoon sun. It was fairly cool in the car, and the plush interior was a welcome change to the dirt outside. Even if he felt every bump in the road, it was a significant improvement than his previous situation. Which, seeing that he was bound and at the mercy of his captives, seemed fuckin' tragic. Still, he didn't have anymore left in him to fight at the moment. The adrenaline rush was gone, leaving him drained and exhausted. He was used up, battered, and wanted nothing more than to grab a little shut eye. He didn't know what laid ahead of him, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
He could fight his battles after he slept a little though. He shut his eyes for the last time, sinking into the cool quiet of the car.
What would be, would be.