"Armin, what the hell. It is 4 AM."
"Eren," Armin's voice echoed in a panicked whisper. Eren alertly sat up. Something was wrong. God, if he has gotten himself in trouble with the other guys again...
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked in a concerned manner.
"No! Something is wrong with my grandfather! H-he's gone mad or something! He tried to attack me!" Armin whispered before failing to choke back a sob. He took a moment before continuing.
"I'm in the closet now. Oh- God! He's banging on the door!" Eren heard slightly loud thumps from the end of the line and more pleaful cries from Armin. His stomach dropped. Armin was in trouble and needed help.
"I'll be right over. Don't worry, Armin. Stay on the line with me." Eren grunted while getting dressed. He grabbed a pistol from his drawer and sprinted out of his house. His hands shook as he started up the car and sped down the road. The trees around him flew by in a blur and rapidly thinned out to reveal the small town he lived in called Trost. In the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of people running in the streets. What in the hell was going on? He shook his head and focused on the road. This was not the time to get distracted.
"Eren? Are you still there?" Armin muttered even more panickedly through the phone. The thumps grew louder and more aggressive.
"Yes, Armin. I'm almost there. Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Eren mumbled. The anxiety was still there. Any minute, his granddad could do something to Armin. He shook out of his thoughts when he saw the familiar two-story, blue house approaching rapidly in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, nearly bumping the garage door.
"I'm here." He recieved a sound of relief. Eren leaped out of the car and hesitated before entering the house. The thumps were more clear now. It seemed to be coming from upstairs.
He silently climbed up the stairs as fast as he could. The sounds were coming from Armin's own room. Groans. Whimpers. More thumping. Eren approached the entrance. What he saw was unbelieveable.
Armin's grandfather was at the closet, as he had said earlier. He was agressively pummeling the doors, trying to find a way in. His hands clawed at the edges every once in a while. What really bugged Eren the most is that his eyes were glazed over as a corpse's. His skin was pale, white as paper, and he was covered in sweat. The man didnt seem like he could speak. His mouth was open, and all the sounds that came out were grunts and yells. Eren was terrified. He jumped back to his senses when he heard a whimper from the closet. Right, Armin. In danger. He needed to get the man's attention,
so he let out a yell.
"H-hey! Get back from t-there!" Eren shouted angrily with a tinge of fear. Armin's grandfather furiously snapped his head back in response. He let out a blood curling groan and sprinted full-speed at Eren.
Eren let out a startled yelp and the man grabbed him, pinning him down to the floor by his shoulders. Eren quickly remembered the gun in his back pocket and pulled it out. He struggled with all his might but the man was too strong. He gulped fearfully. He had to do something. Eren's heart raced. He would have to kill this man. He would have to do it. For self defense..right? He pointed the gun at the man's forehead. The man didnt respond at all to the threat and snapped at Eren's face. He glanced over at the closet, and saw Armin's devastated face peeking out, watching the horrible scene. He felt a lump in his throat and swallowed dryly. Eren locked his gaze with Armin.
"I'm sorry, Armin." He choked out.
"No!" Armin screamed.
Eren squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. A loud bang followed, along with the splattering of blood against the walls, floor, ceiling, and Eren and Armin's horrified faces. The deceased body slumped onto Eren's chest, covering him in blood. Armin looked like he was about to cry again. They were both frozen in shock. Eren pushed the body off of him and got up. What in the hell has he done?
"Papa..."
Armin heaved and vomited in front of him. The sight was too much to handle. He looked up at Eren with an expression than he would never forget. They stayed there and stared at each other for a few minutes before Armin got up and ran at Eren, screaming, full of rage and dispair. He pinned Eren against the wall.
"WHY?! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO SHOOT HIM?" Armin screamed.
"He was fucking insane! He was going to rip us to shreds if I didn't do something! Did you want that? Did you want to be fucking killed?!" Eren screamed back with the same ferocity. All Eren could feel in his mind was self hatred and panic. Armin froze and let go of Eren. He numbly looked down and muttered,
"No." Armin started shaking before more tears began streaming down his face.
Eren sat there, caught his breath and pulled his cell out of his pocket.
"What are you doing?" Armin looked at the phone and then Eren as he wiped his eyes.
"Calling the police." Eren said as he shakily tapped the numbers 9 - 1 - 1 on the call screen. He lifted the phone to his ear. He'd expected it to ring, but instead he got a busy signal. His heart skipped a beat. He called 5 more times, receiving the same signal each time.
"What the hell? When are they ever busy?!" He yelled.
"W-What? Busy?" Armin asked.
"Fuck it, lets see what the hell is going on." Eren and Armin left the body, rushed downstairs to the living room, and turned on the TV.
"-It is spreading at unhumanly speed across the globe, and there is not enough time to stop the plague." A news reporter rambled.
"Plague?!" Armin gasped.
" Scientists are scrambling to find a cure, which might take more than a year, in which they say might be too late for humanity. The symptoms include increased agression, paleness, fever, excessive perspiration, and violent thoughts or actions."
"You-Your granddad...-" Eren stuttered.
"They say that the most easy way to not get infected is to stay in your homes. Do not make contact with other people. It is spread by biting and scratching. That is all for today. Please stay safe. This is Early Morning news." The screen flashed to the Early Morning News logo. Eren picked up the remote and turned the TV off. Eren and Armin sat there in shock, trying to grasp just a bit of the situation.
Why? Eren asked himself. Why is this happening? What will happen to us now? All of the sudden, they were interrupted by the sound of the front door being slammed open. They jumped back in surprise as a slightly short, older man with a stoic but startled expression rushed in and slammed it back closed. His eyes landed on Eren and Armin and he gasped, pulling out a revolver and pointing it at them. Armin grabbed onto Eren, quaking in fear.
"Stop! We are not infected!" Eren shouted. The man hesitated before removing the revolver from their aim and stuffing it back into a clip on his belt. He let out a short, startled but relieved sigh and glared at them for a second.
"Good. I thought you guys were some of /them/ with all that filthy blood on you." The man replied in a low, ominous tone.
"Who are you!? What are you doing in my home!?" Armin exclaimed.
"Some of the infected were chasing me and I needed a quick escape. Calm down before you piss yourself, little boy," The man hissed. He continued. His mood seemed to soften more.
"My name is Levi. May I ask your names?"
"Uh- I am Eren, and This is Armin." Eren gestured to the both of them.
"Terrible names. Now, this town doesnt look like it is going to hold up for long. Traffic is shit already. We are going to have to leave as soon as we can if we are going to survive. Pack up." Levi instructed without a thought.
"We..You..You barge in here scaring the living shit out of us and now you wanna take us with you?!" Armin growled.
"Yes." Levi stated monotonously. Eren studied Levi. He was rather odd, but he seemed trustworthy enough.
"Come on, Armin. He's probably right. You should grab your stuff." Eren said quietly. Armin left the room for a few minutes while Eren and Levi tried making sense of everything. He entered the room with a large backpack stuffed nearly to the breaking point. They exchanged confused looks but didn't say anything.
"Now, here might be a few of the infected waiting to surprise us behind that door. Do you have weapons?" Asked Levi as he faced the door and then the two boys. Eren lifted up his now bloody pistol (which recieved a small 'Tch' from Levi), and Armin pulled out a small dagger from his backpack. Levi nodded and cautiously opened the door. Outside was what looked like a small family that had become infected. Eren looked at each person, the mother, the father, and the little girl all had such..ferocious looks on their faces. He felt a lump in his throat rising. Levi sighed before he lifted his revolver to the father's head and shot him. The man collapsed with no resistance. The noise captured the remaining females' attention and they both came running. The mother was the first to reach them and Armin, with a shriek of fear, dug his dagger straight into her neck. The lady didnt seem to respond to the wound and Armin gasped. He stood there pushing her back before beginning to weep again.
"W-what?! She isnt dying!" He sobbed.
"You have to get them in the head! I don't know why, but it works!" Levi grunted from behind him. Armin gave him a face of disgust and pulled out the dagger from the woman's neck. He squeezed his eyes shut as he sunk it down between her eyes. The woman ceased moving and he pulled the dagger out. The little girl was all that was left. None of the three men wanted to do this. Levi faced Eren.
"I guess it is your turn, Eren." He gestured to the girl. Eren looked at his bloody hands holding the pistol and then looked back up at her. He raised the gun shakily as he lined up the sights. His mind was racing. This was just a little kid. She could have had a future. She had friends who would miss her.. Eren whimpered a bit and looked away, dropping the weapon.
"I cant do this!" His voice quivered with sadness. He couldnt murder another person today. He looked away as Levi lifted his own revolver and shot the little girl in the back of the head. Levi didn't say a word as he dragged the two boys into his truck. The truck sputtered to life and they backed out of the driveway.
"You guys need to get used to it. It is really gonna become shit out there." Levi finally said.
Nobody knew what else there was to come in the future. The truck was silent as they drove down a dark, unpaved road to their new unknown destination. Eren sat there, staring out of the window.
The silence was broken by the familiar sound of Eren's ringtone. Eren, surprised, looked down at it. His father, Grisha Jaeger, was calling. Why? He thought. His father never called him.. Eren held his breath as he lifted the phone to his ear for the second time that night.
"Dad?"
"Eren, Carla.. Y-your mother.. sh-she.." Grisha was whimpering and sobbing loudly through the phone. Eren stopped completely. Oh hell no.
"What, Dad?!" Eren practically yelled. He knew the answer already.
"Sh-She's dead! Some man attacked her! Im so sorry Eren! Im so sor-" The man was interrupted by the sound of gunshots and shattering glass. The sound of numerous people screaming filled the phone.
The call continued like this until the screams faded and footsteps were heard approaching the phone. The call ended. Eren sat there. He ignored the terrified look from Armin as his mind was racing. Grief and complete anger took over his whole brain. Eren yelled in rage and punched the seat in front of him. Whatever these things were... They were certainly not people. They were monsters. He was going to kill them...
He was going to kill every single one of them.