11 My Mistake, pt. 2

Levi's pov:

When morning came we were quick to pack up the rest of our supplies and get the hell outta there. I carried Eren bridal style while the others stood on either side of me. The lighting was extremely dim, but it's the best way to ensure that no one would see us.

Erwin was waiting at the door with a concerned look and ushered us in quietly. We managed to get up the stairs without anyone waking up, but when we got up there, Eld and Gunther weren't the only ones waiting.

Mikasa and Armin were sitting against the wall, watching us approach. Before we left this morning, I put him in a hoodie, so no one would see his injuries, but they weren't fooled.

"Let me look at his injuries. Is he responsive? Why is he so pale? What did you guys see?" Armin asked, throwing questions at us faster than we could answer.

Erwin placed his hand on Armin's shoulder and the boy quieted instantly. Armin's been here for a long time and I knew how smart the boy was. He might be the best bet when it comes to helping Eren.

I lay Eren on a sleeping bag that had been covered in pillows, and ushered Armin over.

"Deep cuts in his arms, though none needed stitches, thankfully. Stab wound on his stomach, missed all his organs. I sewed it up. And he was surrounded by broken liquor bottles, a lot of them. Possible alcohol poisoning." I say lowly.

Armin nods and gently removes Eren's hoodie, taking in his wrapped arms and stomach. He rests his head against his chest while counting quietly, then turns to me with a shake of his blonde head.

"His heartbeat is too low, so it's not alcohol poisoning, but we've got a bigger problem... How long has Eren been unresponsive?"

"He's been unresponsive since we got there. Why? What do you know, Armin?" I ask, anxiously.

"He doesn't have a fever or accelerated heart rate, so there's no infection, thank the Titans. But... All this being said, he shouldn't be unresponsive. There are many possible reasons as to why, but I'm guessing he's in shock. If that's the case.. He could be like this for a very long time."

Armin gets quieter as he says each piece of new information. The hopelessness of the situation floods the room, making it hard to breathe. Or is that just me? My eyes blur and I feel like I can't get enough air in my body.

"Hey, hey... Levi, I need you to breathe for me, okay? In through your nose, out through your mouth. Copy me—"

Her arms are wrapped around me and she's taking deep breathes to show me what to do. I copy her and sigh in relief when the black in my vision starts to fade. The others are staring at me with concern, even Mikasa.

"Hun, you were just having a panic attack. Why don't you go take a nap and we'll bring you some food in a bit, hmm?" she says quietly.

No, I need to keep an eye on Eren and make sure his condition doesn't worsen. What if he wakes up while I'm asleep?

"Grab your sleeping bag and lay it next to his, so you'll be the first person he sees when he wakes up."

My shoulders relax when she says when he wakes up, instead of if he wakes up. I nod and place my sleeping bag next to Eren, laying down and turning to where I'm facing him. Sleep might not find me, but at least I can keep an eye on him.

The others all leave us alone, but I pay them no mind, my eyes never leaving Eren's face. His skin is paler than normal, but he looks so peaceful. There isn't a single blemish on his face, which, with how pale he looks, makes his face look like uncut marble.

He looked beautiful, even while he was fighting to stay alive. Petra said he was a survivor, so the brat has to wake up. There's so much I need to say to him, so many things I need to apologize for.

I felt my eyes start to grow heavy, with the stress and exhaustion of the week, but I didn't want to give in. Regardless of what I wanted, my body desperately needed the rest and I couldn't fight it when I was pulled into a restless sleep.

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"Wake up, hun. We brought you up some food." Petra whispers, shaking me gently.

I nod drowsily and open my sore eyes to see my squad surrounding me. They were staring at me with concern, and why wouldn't they? They've never seen me this wrecked over anything, especially a person.

Don't get me wrong, I would be crushed if anything happened to any of my friends, but this was different... My body felt so weighed down that I couldn't even sit up without Petra's help and my eyes felt swollen.

I have insomnia, so it isn't unusual for me to not sleep well. This was worse. I could feel exhaustion in my very bones and I hated it. It made me feel weak and I'm not weak!

I pull myself the rest of the way up and eat the can of peaches and baggie of almonds they brought me. Petra sent me a relieved smile and lead the others to their corner of sleeping bags.

"Gunther and I will be on watch for the next few nights. You guys always take watch, so take a break and rest, Captain, Petra." Eld says, more like orders.

I send him a nod of thanks and throw away the empty containers. Sleep won't find me again and I know that, so I sit next to Eren and grab his cold hand. His skin is so soft, but his hands are freezing.

The last time I felt a chill like this was when I was holding my mom's hand in the hospital. She fell down with an unknown illness that wasn't contagious, so I spent days in the hospital, holding her cold hand in my own smaller one, until she passed away.

The chill that I felt in her hands wasn't from the weather or temperature of a room. This was the chill of death. Eren was still not safe from death. He was still fighting to hold on and I hope he keeps fighting.

"Eren, keep fighting. You're a survivor and survivors fight." I whisper in his ear.

My hand stays in his as I watch him for the whole night. His heart keeps beating and his chest continues rising and falling, but he stays asleep. The others notice and drag me away from his sleeping form.

"Come on, Cap'n. We have work to do. Armin or Mikasa will let us know if anything changes." Oluo says.

I'm reluctant to leave his side, but they're right. I can't get out of my duties just because I'm worried about him. We're all worried, but there is still work to do. They led me to the front where Erwin was waiting.

"You guys will be going back into town today with the truck and trailer. Grab mattresses, wooden planks, tools, etc. Anything that can be used to strengthen our defenses. See if you can find any weapons or medical supplies, too." Erwin says, giving us our orders.

We salute him, then gear up. I eat a granola bar and chug a Gatorade, before leading the others outside. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner I can get back to Eren.

Since the trailer was already hooked to the truck, we all just crammed inside and drove to the town. There were no zombies in sight, so I parked the truck at the rows of houses and gave my orders.

"Search each house and grab anything of importance. Mattresses, weapons, medicine, building materials. Big items, like the mattresses, go on the trailer. Everything else can go in the bed of the truck."

We separate and go from house to house, grabbing what we can. Dragging mattresses outside and putting them on the trailer, gathering extra clothes and blankets, stuffing canned goods into duffel bags.

We're a quick and efficient team, which is why we're the supply runners. We were able to find some painkillers and bandages, but most of the medicine was expired. A few homes had smaller firearms, but not much ammo.

I guess some is better than none at all, though. We got back in the truck and drove to the stores, parking in the middle and repeating what we did with the houses. We got lucky and stumbled upon a hardware store.

I filled an empty toolbox with a whole bunch of different tools, then threw it in the truck bed. The back had stacks of planks and bags of cement, both of which were extremely useful.

"Oluo, drive the truck back to camp, empty it on the lot for Erwin to deal with, then hurry back!" I yell.

I hear the sound of the truck driving off and sigh in relief. This was going to take a few trips if we wanted to get it all in one go. There was a small Walgreens on the corner and I rushed inside to loot what I could.

I'm no doctor, but I knew what words to look for on the prescription bottles. Anything with -cillin or -codine in it was good for infection and pain relief. I shoved a few bottles into my bag, then grabbed some over-the-counter drugs.

Tylenol, Advil, tubes of Antibiotic cream, and a few boxes of pads and tampons for the ladies. Being a girl in the zombie apocalypse must suck ass! I shoved a large thing of bandage wrap in my bag, then left.

When I got back outside, everyone had loaded the rest of our findings onto the truck. From the corner of my eye, I could see the gas station where I stole Eren's cigarette from his mouth.

I give the others the order to go home without me and help Erwin organize. They know by now not to question me, so they get in the truck and drive off, without another word.

Maybe I can find Eren some energy drinks or some snacks for when he wakes up from his long ass nap. I go through the fridges and see no energy drinks. Maybe there's some warm ones in the back.

There was plenty of warm drinks in the back, including Eren's favorite, Red Bull. But that wasn't what I was looking at. I was too busy staring at the sleeping bags. Well, I was more staring at the two people sleeping in them.

They must be heavy sleepers, because I wasn't trying to be quiet. Both around the same age, one was a built blonde with cropped hair and the other was a slim and tan ravenette. I kicked their weapons behind me with a clatter.

They both jolted awake and reached for weapons that weren't there. Both looked scared, but the blonde pushed his friend behind him, protectively. I had no doubt if I wanted to kill them, I'd have to go through the blonde first.

Good thing that wasn't my plan. I sheath my swords and raise my hands to show them I mean no harm. We already have to fight zombies, so I'd rather not add humans to that list.

"I'm sorry to startle you guys, but kicking your weapons away was a necessary precaution. I'm Captain Levi. And you guys are?" I ask in a monotonous voice.

The blonde looked me up and down, sizing me up, before relaxing. I'm fine letting him believe I'm no threat. With my short, lean build, I don't look like much of a threat. The ravenette put a hand on his shoulder before speaking.

"We understand. We're strangers so you did what you had to. I'm Bertholdt and this dork is Reiner. Nice to meet you, Levi." he says in a soft but deep voice.

I nod and pick up their weapons, handing them to Reiner carefully. Both seemed relatively peaceful, but it would be stupid to let my guard down. Walking over to the Red Bull, I grab two four-packs.

"Can I ask you guys a few questions?" I ask, getting nods from them.

"I need to know what you both did before this. What was your occupation? Do you guys work well with others? Where are you from and what are your ages?"

"Reiner and I worked construction before this happened, so yes, we work just fine with others. We were born and raised in Shiganshina." Bertholdt says.

Does Reiner not talk or does he just let his friend do it for him? They are standing pretty close and they worked together, so what are they to each other?

"We're nineteen." Reiner mutters.

That answers one of my questions. So, he's a man of few words. Now all I had were two more questions.

"I have two more questions."

"Go for it."

"What is your guys relationship? Friends? Coworkers? Lovers?"

Both boys blush bright red at my question, but answer nonetheless. Reiner kisses Bertholdt softly, then turns to me with a challenging look. He probably was expecting some homophobic response.

"I was just curious, I'm sorry if that was too personal. On to my last question... Have you killed anything aside from zombies?"

After what happened with Eren, I didn't want anymore surprises. Not again... Reiner and Bertholdt shared a look and nod slowly.

"What was your reasoning?" I ask quietly.

"We were forced to choose. Us or them. We... We were just kids.." Bertholdt whimpers out.

Reiner pulled him into an embrace and runs his hands down his sides in a comforting manner. That reminded me of Eren. I could always calm him down by rubbing his sides. A small smile finds its way to my face.

"What are you looking at?!" Reiner growls out.

"I can always calm my friend when I rub his sides. You just reminded me of how we used to be..." I say quietly.

"You said used to.. What happened to him?" Bertholdt asked quietly.

"He was... In an accident yesterday. He's back at camp and I've treated his injuries, but he's unresponsive. Basically comatose. I need to get back to him and you're free to join if you answer any questions you're asked." I say quickly.

They nod quickly and roll up their sleeping bags, shouldering their packs and following me out of the gas station. The fading light lit the way home as they tried to keep up with my rushed strides. What if he woke up?!

We made it back quickly and Erwin rushes to meet us before we could get inside. Oh no, did something happen?

"Levi, don't look so scared. Eren is fine, but still asleep. Who are they?" he asks quietly.

"Did you say Eren? As in Eren Jaeger?" Bertholdt asks in surprise.

I look them up and down, sizing them up. Are they a threat to him? How do they know him?

"Yes, the one and only. State your name, age, and how you know Eren." Erwin orders, fully immersed in his role as Commander.

"Sir, I'm Reiner and this is Bertholdt. We grew up with Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. Are they all here?"

Reiner has a hopeful look on his face, while Bertholdt is staring at something towards the entrance. I look over and see Grisha striding over sporting a mischievous look. What is he up to? Do they know each other?

"Why is he here?! He's a danger to everyone. Didn't Eren tell you?" Bertholdt whispers out harshly, before Grisha had approached.

So they do know Eren and Grisha. I'd have to see if their story lines up. Erwin dismisses me and Grisha, so he can get to know them before deciding on if they could stay.

Pushing past Grisha, I rush upstairs to Eren. He's still in the exact same position as he was this morning. Not getting worse, but not waking up either. I sit the Red Bull boxes next to Eren and go to Armin and Mikasa.

"There are two men who claim to know you guys and Eren. Bertholdt and Reiner. Do you know them?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah, we all grew up together. They were closer to Eren than they were to us, but they're nice guys. When Erwin's done with them, can you lead them up here?"

I nodded at Armin and took one more look at Eren's sleeping face before walking back outside to grab the two newbies. They were just chatting and there wasn't any tension, so I'm guessing they're free to stay.

"Their story checks out, so if you're done with them, Armin wanted to catch up. Follow me guys." I say, leading them back upstairs.

Bertholdt runs up to hug Mikasa and Armin, chatting animatedly about something, but Reiner stayed by my side, staring at Eren with an unreadable expression.

"He's been through hell but he always survives. This will be no different, but I'm warning you now. One day he's going to kill Grisha and you'll have to choose." Reiner says lowly.

After they visited with the others and introductions were made, they all went downstairs to sleep. My squad was sleeping, aside from Eld and Gunther, who were on watch duty.

What Reiner said stuck with me. Eren wouldn't kill his father, would he? I mean, Grisha was not a father by any means, but they're still blood... Grisha isn't a good person, but he's our only medical professional. We can't afford to lose him, to a family affair or otherwise.

Sleep didn't find me again that night and continued to not find me for the next two weeks. Two weeks of Eren just laying there. We managed to force feed him and keep him hydrated, but everyone had lost hope.

They know we can't just keep feeding him forever, especially since he shows no signs of recovering. His wounds healed nicely, though his side was not fully healed yet. If he woke up, he wouldn't be able to do any hard work for at least a month.

Right now, I'm outside with Reiner and Bertholdt, who are putting their experience as constructors to use. With the two stack barricade of cars surrounding the whole building, we were set, but they said it'd be better if there was an actual entrance.

They started constructing a gate with metal scraps and wood from the hardware store. The gates opened by using a pulley system. Instead of guarding the door, Erwin would guard and outpost next to the gate and pull a chain to lift the gate. It was easy and effective.

It was also strong, so it'd be able to hold the weight of some zombies if it was needed. Reiner and Bertholdt proved themselves to be valuable members to our group. They were a bit distant from everyone, except Mikasa and Armin, but they were childhood friends.

I see Armin run up to me with a hopeful look. When he reaches us he's out of breath, but I get the jist.

"Eren... he.... moved.... not... woke...tho..." Armin said between pants.

"Armin, oversee their work on the gate and let them explain how it works. I'll be back." I order, not waiting for him to respond before I bolt through the door and up the stairs.

Eren is in the same position as he's been for the last two weeks, but I can see his eyes rolling beneath his eyelids and his face is scrunched up in pain. Rushing to his side, I grab his warm hand and give it a squeeze. He's not cold anymore, finally.

I sit and talk soothingly to him, trying to ease his pain and wake him up, but he remains unresponsive. Then, I remember the strange advice he gave me the day he left. Getting close to ear, I whisper his words back to him.

"To surpass monsters, you must be willing to abandon your humanity. You need to wake up so you can tell me what you meant that day... I need to know." I whisper.

I feel him slightly squeeze my hand and look up, but he's still not awake. Did he hear me?

"Eren, the others need you... I need you. Please wake up."

My words are soft and quiet, but with our close proximity, he should be able to hear them. His eyes start moving faster behind his eyelids and then he jerks upright. I move back to give him space as he looks around him, trying to get his bearings.

The cyan orbs, I missed so much, are darting around the room quickly, before his gaze settles on me. His face shows no emotion as his eyes scan my figure. Now that I can see his eyes better, what I thought was cyan, was actually a murky sea green.

His cyan orbs were gone, replaced with that dull murky color. He was alive, but something had changed within him. I couldn't read his eyes like I used to and his body language was odd. What's going through his head right now?

"Does anything hurt? Are you hungry or thirsty?" I ask, keeping my voice soft.

I can't tell what his emotional state is right now so the others and I are going to have to behave carefully. He continues to stare at me, but doesn't speak or even shake or nod his head. Is he unresponsive, again?

He goes to get up, but I gently push him back down onto the makeshift bed. He doesn't flinch or even act like he felt it. He stares unblinking at me as I go back downstairs to retrieve the others and get him something to eat.

The others are waiting at the foot of the stairs, staring up at me expectantly.

"He's awake, but he's not himself right now. Be careful how you act." I say, before dragging Armin to get food.

"What do you mean, he isn't acting like himself?"

"He's awake, but otherwise unresponsive. His eyes are a murky green instead of his usual bright cyan and they had no emotion behind them. Got any ideas?"

"He could still be in shock. That would explain the change in his eye pigment, but I'm not for certain. I'll observe him once we get there." Armin says softly.

I grab Eren a Gatorade and some crackers, since he hasn't eaten much in two weeks. If he ate something too heavy then it would make him sick, but crackers are light. I'll wait until he feels a bit better before giving him the Red Bull I found.

When we get upstairs, everyone is giving Eren odd looks, which he just takes in with those dull, emotionless eyes. When Armin and I approach, he looks us over but says nothing. He takes the stuff I hand him and eats slowly, then drinks the Gatorade.

His pace is unhurried even though he's probably starving and thirsty. The way he moves is fluent, like living water. He never takes his eyes off his surroundings, as if he's waiting for us to jump him.

I take the trash from his lap and throw it away, feeling his eyes track my movement. Armin is staring at Eren with a bewildered look, but he doesn't look surprised by the behavior. I nod my head toward him, signaling for him to come over here, which he does quickly.

"So what's the verdict, Armin? You don't seem surprised by his behavior and neither does Mikasa."

"This isn't the first time he's done this. He's just emotionally drained. With food and rest, he should be fine in a few days, a week tops." Armin says quietly.

I have to wait another week to even talk to him... This is going to be a long week. Now that he's awake, I have so many questions for him. And I want to apologize, but I'll wait until he feels better.