Cruel, Beautiful World

Levi's pov:

Fuck everything to hell! My surroundings blurred past as I ran like the Devil was on my tail. I tried to run after Eren and ran smack dab into the waiting horde. Apparently our little scuffle drew their attention.

Now I was running from a horde bigger than I've ever seen. Finally, the cabin comes into view and I almost cry in relief. No time.

"Get your asses moving! Dead-heads behind me.. A horde!" I yell between pants.

I'm not out of shape, but a two hour walk becoming a thirty minute run while panicking does something to you. My lungs screamed and I felt ready to collapse, but I have to push through.

I see my friends running out of the cabin and, without turning back, run in the opposite direction of the approaching horde. There heavy footfall and pants follow me as we circle around the forest and go back to the town.

If Eren came this way, then he'd go straight to a store that had medicine, bandages, stuff like that. I'm so deep in thought that I almost pass the small Walgreens. Spinning and using my momentum, I fly around the corner to the store ahead.

Through the windows I could see a group of people, making me halt. I can see a few of the others turning the corner, Erwin leading, but I shake my head. He stops and signals the others to do the same. By now, with our years together in the Squad, he knows to trust me.

I can only hear bits of their conversation, but I pieced it together pretty quickly.

"...hurt..too bad?"

"No, he... mistake..."

"He seem—"

"Is there a reason you're sitting outside, watching us?" a low voice says behind me.

I turn to see a very tall French Fry with black, thick-rimmed glasses. His face is a mask of boredom, one of my most-used masks. He raises an eyebrow as if waiting for a response. Oh right...

"Have you seen a brat about this tall with dark brown hair and blue-green eyes?"

He steps forward and looks me up and down, sizing me up, before surveying our surroundings. By now Erwin has pulled the others around the corner, so the bean pole should think I'm alone. He opens the door for me and ushers me inside.

Before I go inside, I hold up a closed fist to let Erwin know to hold tight. Hopefully the zombies don't follow us. Getting separated in a time like this is a worst case scenario. It's bad enough that Eren ran off.

I follow the blonde to where the others had stopped conversing. They tracked every movement with their eyes and I watched them all circle around a short ginger. A team, like my own, wanting to protect their weakest.

"Who is this, Tsukishima?" A tan ravenette asks, walking towards us.

His stature and the way Tsukishima bows his head gives me reason to believe he's their leader. Friend or foe? Dangerous or safe?

The blonde shrugs and looks at me, "I don't know, but he's looking for the snarky brunette, whatever his name was."

I tensed at his tone and the way the others shifted closer to their leader. After mentioning Eren, they seemed even more cautious and guarded. Do they know him?

The leader sent me a disarming smile and shook his head at his friends.

"Sorry about them. He gave us quite the scare until we got to know him. Sweet kid with a determination I've only seen in our Hinata. I'm Daichi and you are?" he asks with an extended hand.

I clasp his outstretched hand, "Levi. Sorry to intrude, but do you know where the brunette went?"

The others share looks, one mind communicating to all. A flash of orange jumps over their shoulders, standing in front of me. Impressive jump for a boy shorter than me. His hair looked more orange than red and sat messily atop his head in curls.

He looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Everyone in the room seemed to stop breathing as he approached me. This was their weakest member? He seemed to have a strange control over his friends.

A silver-haired man tried to approach, but he held up a hand, instantly halting him. Is this the actual leader? A bit short, but I don't have any room to talk. Even Petra is an inch or two taller than me...

"I'm Hinata Shoyo, a friend of the brunette. What business do you have with him?" the serious look on his face is the polar opposite to him bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Daichi steps closer to the ginger when my gaze slides over him, contemplatively.

"We got separated in a horde and our group is worried. If you met him he must be alive, right? He was injured. A head wound, possibly broken ribs, and I don't know of any other injuries."

Hinata steps closer, "That doesn't explain your business with him. If he left, there must have been a damn good reason."

"HINA! No cussing!" the silverette yells.

Hinata flushes red and grins sheepishly, "Sorry Mom!"

Mom... The silverette blushed at the name, but doesn't correct him and the others are snickering amongst themselves. It must be an inside joke. Shaking my head, I look back at the bubbly ginger.

"Eren is my boyfriend. I'd like to make sure he's safe. Like I said we got separated in a horde. He has friends worried about him. If you know something then tell me."

My irritation quickly disappeared when I saw the small boy flinch at my harsh tone. The others took a step closer, the ravenette standing slightly between us.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, "I'm sorry... It's just.. I'm worried, okay? Can my friends come in? We just ran from a huge horde and I don't want us to get separated."

They relax at my calm, if not a bit worried, tone and nod. I rush outside and whistle between my fingers. Erwin pops around the corner and signals the others to follow us inside the store. With their group and ours it's a bit crowded, but we'll survive.

I survey my group, a small portion of our group noticeably missing. Turning to Erwin I ask, "Where are the others?"

Everyone shifts uncomfortably on their feet, not meeting my eyes. I don't want to believe what their silence could mean.

"Where. Are. They?" I say through gritted teeth.

The other group, being smart, keeps their mouths shut and just observes.

"Looks like we have some catching up to do, my friend. Eren's missing too." Erwin says, clasping my shoulder.

As if Erwin had just called attention to the fact that Eren was absent, Armin and Mikasa looked around the room. Armin's lips stuttered and I see a few tears fall down his cheeks. Mikasa pulls him into her arms before his sobs escape his mouth.

My heart is thumping so loud that I think the whole room can here it. Before I can rush to Eren's friend, the ginger rushes over, fast as lightning. Holy shit! How's he get there so fast? His friends don't seem surprised.

"Hey, I'm Hinata. Eren is alive, so please don't cry." he says, patting Armin on the back.

Armin looks at Hinata with a tear-stained face and nods with a tentative smile. The breath I didn't know I was holding escapes. Eren is fine. He's alive if these strangers are to be believed, but we have no reason to doubt them.

"I'm glad Eren is okay, but Armin, can you tell me where your partner is? Petra. Oluo. Gunther and Eld. You must know where they are or did you get separated?"

I desperately wanted to believe that this was just like with Eren and they got separated. Desperate to ignore the flash of pain and guilt that crossed Armin's pale face. No.... They aren't...

"We did get... Separated. All of us met up, but got separated by a horde. When we finally managed to break through... The dead-heads had blocked them in and it was... It was too late." his voice breaks.

This.. This can't be happening. My friends have survived hell and back with me. There is no way they were killed... This was going to kill Eren. Petra was like Eren's big sister and now Eren lost yet another person he cared about.

And me.. After everything that's happened, after finally admitting I cared for him, I almost left him for dead. And I would have if it weren't for Casanova being the person harming Eren.

"What did you do? Where is my friend, Levi?" Mikasa says.

I can't bring myself to answer and I wish that the strangers would break the tense silence. That the ginger would say something exciting and happy to clean up the dread and guilt boiling in my gut.

"Levi?" Armin mutters.

"Uhm, I'm Suga. If you're talking about Eren, then he mentioned that he was going to the city."

"Shiganshina?" I ask.

"I.. I think so. I don't know, honestly. He left earlier, around the afternoon. He should be only a few hours ahead of you, so you might be able to catch up with him." Suga says with a tight-lipped smile.

The others were shuffling impatiently like they had somewhere to be. And maybe they did, but so do we. Now we have a location that could lead us to Eren. It's smart. He said he'd kill gamers and where better to go than a big city that hasn't been picked over.

"Thank you for your help. We'll get out of your hair now. Be warned there might be a horde headed this way." I mumble before turning to leave.

The sight of the horde in the distance knocks the breath out of me. I hear curses from my friends and the strangers, but it fades as my ears start to ring. What are we going to do? They're so close.

"Everyone out now. Split up and we'll avoid them. Suga, the others are still away from the horde. We'll go there first, then circle back and find a place to lie low." Daichi's orders breach past my slight panic.

My friends nod and follow his orders until we're separating at the front of the store.

Before they're too far away Hinata shouts, "Take care of Eren! Good luck!" and then they're gone and so are we.

Running in formation, straight toward Shiganshina. Based on my calculations, it should be a few hour walk. The others keeps up with Erwin, Hange, and I's fast pace, because they have to. To survive you have to be faster, stronger, smarter than everyone else.

Armin trips, but is instantly dragged up and carried by Erwin. We can't hear the horde, but I can feel their presence in the distance. We're running on an interstate, passing shells of once-nice cars and the occasional dead-head.

When we reach a hill overlooking Shiganshina we stop in our tracks and backpedal. The streets are so jam-packed with the undead that they're bumping into each other when they move. How are we supposed to get through that?

Better question. How did Eren get through that? There were dead for miles and every street was packed. Even the alleys I could see were filled with them.

"Look! There's a street that has only a few shambling around." Armin says excitedly, pointing at a street near the edge of the city.

I look away when Erwin kisses Armin on the head, "Good work, love."

It reminds me of what I had... Had and threw away without question, without giving Eren the chance to explain. I said I trusted him and then didn't when it really counted.

A small hand on my shoulder brought me to stare at a face I didn't expect. Armin maybe, but not the cold, angry Mikasa.

"We'll find him... And when we do, you better get on your knees and beg for his forgiveness."

I open my mouth, but she cuts me off.

"I don't care what you think he's done. We both know he doesn't do anything without a reason. He's going to need you, especially since Petra... Just.. Let him explain or I'll kick your ass." she mutters before walking off.

This was the first real conversation I've had with Mikasa that didn't turn violent. Well... She did threaten to kick my ass, but it's Mikasa so it's to be expected. Her brother is missing and his boyfriend is the cause, so I understand.

You guys are probably upset too, but you also likely know why he did what he did. I don't, but I want to know. From what he's said, he only knew Abby by name. He doesn't usually know the names of the people he's killed, so how did he know Jewel?

Just her name has memories, both good and bad, entering my mind. Though only older by a few months, she took the role of big sister very seriously. She protected me from father's wrath and many times I was left treating my unconscious sister's wounds.

I knew my father had secrets, but I didn't realize he was connected to Grisha and the corporation. How did he fit into this giant puzzle? My sister was in the games, but I never was. Why?

Historia's old man, or at least I think that's who it was, had said that he wanted to watch our close-knit group break. And break we did... Eren was missing and my friends, the people who always had my back, were dead.

Someone bumps their shoulder with mine. Hange..

"We're headed out. Focus on Eren right now. We need our Captain, so don't think about it until we get him back." and with that she left.

She's right. Snap out of it! I shoulder Eren's sniper and follow my group. Erwin leading with Hange and Armin on either side. My friends were dead and nothing would change that, but if I don't get myself together, the others could die too.

We walked carefully down the hill and used knives to take out the few dead-heads just walking around. The street was almost completely bare, aside from some parked cars. There were some zombie corpses along the road we walked on.

Corpses that we didn't leave... So that must mean Eren's been here! I rush up front where Erwin had stopped and started speaking in a hushed whisper.

"There are some corpses. Someone else killed those dead-heads, maybe Eren... What are you—" I cut myself off when I see the middle of my home city.

This was not the same place it had been when I was younger. The closer we got to the middle of town, the closer we got to the market district and the swarms of undead. Eren didn't go there... Or he didn't make it this far...

"Search each house from here, all the way back to where we came in. Eren didn't go to the market district, so he had to have holed up somewhere. Pair up." I ordered quietly.

Without another word they all split off, leaving me to search with Hange. Of course I get paired with the crazy Fujoshi! Life has never been easy for me and never will it seems. With a sigh, I go to the first house. Empty.

We continue down the line, searching every house for supplies and any sign of Eren. Each house was stocked, as if people just walked out of their houses without packing. Shiganshina really was a perfect loot spot. If you could get past the dead...

By the time we reached the last unsearched house, I had lost all hope. The pantry was almost completely full, living room and bathroom undisturbed. I look over to see Hange digging through the trash.

"If you're hungry go to the pantry. You're not a raccoon, Shitty Glasses." I say, unamused.

She starts pulling cans from the trash and placing them on the counter.

"What are you doing?"

I barely have time to catch the can she throws at me. As a clean freak, touching a can Hange pulled from the trash disgusted me, but it was what was in the can that pushed the thought away. An unopened can of corn. Looking at the counter, I see three more identical cans.

"Hmm... Now who do we know that hates corn enough to do something like this...?" she says with arms crossed and a grin on her face.

Eren! Every time he's even seen corn he would turn a little green and his face would scrunch up adorably. The time I ate corn and surprised him with a kiss flashed through my head. He was so surprised that he kissed back.

When I pulled away, he looked dazed for a moment and then his eyes widened in horror. He gagged and started chugging an energy drink, glaring at my chuckling form. That was a good day...

"Are there—"

She interrupts me with another grin, "Cans of fruit? Yup! That boy is so fruity that I don't know how he even questioned his sexuality."

We both chuckle before I bolt upstairs. Is he still here or did he move on? Were the cans of corn a message to us or coincidence? Only one door was cracked open, so we went there first.

The room was dark, but neat from what I could see. Only the bed sheets lay wrinkled and messy on the unmade bed. With a room this clean there is no way someone would just leave a bed unmade.

My nose twitches at the chemical smell faintly present in the room. What was that smell? It made my head hurt and my nose sting.

"Four Eyes, what this god-awful smell?" I ask, covering my nose with my sleeve.

"Chloroform."

She approached the bed and touched the white sheets. They were spread out in a fashion that could have been a struggle.

"There was a struggle. I hope that the cans were a coincidence, because if not... Eren was kidnapped by someone."

"The corporation?" I ask with a sense of dread.

She shakes her head, "I don't think so. It was probably whoever had the manpower to clear this street. Maybe they claimed it and thought he was trespassing."

Fear had a bead of sweat sliding down my now throbbing temple. They could have thought he was a trespasser, but I doubt it. He's a gamer and Historia's father's words play through my head.

"... they are all wanting to kill the Silver Devil."