HOLOGRAPHY
CHAPTER 1
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"What's a weird fact about yourself."
"Come again?"
Levi ran a hand through his hair impatiently before looking up at the operator button. He then looked to the blond man and squinted his eyes in annoyed disbelief.
"We've been stuck in here for 10 whole-ass-minutes. How aren't you panicking?"
"I'm doing my best to stay calm actually."
Levi gave the blond a look.
"Well, good for you. Mind helping me out?"
"Well. Okay. Weird fact you said?"
"I'll go first."
The blond man scrunched his brow slightly. He gave a small laugh before nodding his head once.
"Alright."
Levi sighed. He laid his hands in his lap and looked up at the lit ceiling of the elevator.
"I'm a clean freak now, but I used to lick the crud off of pennies when I was a brat."
The blond man nodded his head at that, confused smile still on his face.
"That's pretty weird I guess."
"Yeah. What could be weirder than that?"
The blond man sat up straight, lifted his leather briefcase from his lap and placed it beside himself. He crossed his arms and looked up at the elevator ceiling.
Then the lights went out—including the lights on the navigation buttons.
Not that they were any help. They'd pressed the operator button at least twenty times when it was on.
"Fucking hell."
"Mm. This storm really is bad."
"Keep talking—answer my question." Levi felt for his phone in the dense darkness. When he found it, he tried to turn it on, but the dim screen just flashed an empty battery icon.
"God…shit!"
A bright light flashed. The blond placed his own phone in between the two of them. The flashlight feature was on and shining straight to the ceiling, painting the edges of their persons with a hum of blue.
Levi pulled a hand down his face. His anxiety was back to its original setting. Talkative panic.
"I used to eat bugs as a kid."
Levi blinked.
"The hell?"
The blond placed a hand behind his neck and shook his head with a small laugh.
"I was 8 and-"
"What?" Levi snorted, "That's too old to be eating bugs. That's nasty as fuck."
"Let me plead my case—please?"
"What kind of case could you possibly have?"
The blond gave a short laugh.
"That coming from a penny licker?"
"You're a bug eater. A bug. Eater."
Humored, the blond man shook his head slightly.
"…My dad was a field researcher. He said that in some places people eat bugs as a source of protein."
Levi rolled his head on his shoulders with a scoff, "I wouldn't go if I knew the way."
The blond chuckled.
"I was an adventurous kid. I'd play outside, climb trees, dig up dirt, chase wild dogs—and I always returned to the house to drink water or have a snack. But if one fly made it in the house my caretaker would cut my adventures short."
Levi put a hand over his mouth.
This bastard had a caretaker?
"I'm outside one day…and I get hungry. It's a summer day and there are nothing but bees and flies all around. I just thought…you know." Erwin shrugged, "I wouldn't run the risk of annoying my caretaker if I stayed outside."
Shaking his head, Levi looked down at the blue darkness that was his lap.
"My caretaker got worried so they came to find me out in the field. I had a cricket in my mouth."
"Dis—gusting."
"Yeah."
"So what flavor was it."
The blond rubbed his chin.
"Cricket flavor."
Levi laughed through his nose.
"I would not recommend it."
The lights flickered back on and the hum of the elevator was back. Levi let his head roll back. The blond sat up quietly, lifting up his suitcase as he came to a complete standing position. Levi followed suit.
A hiss broke the air:
"This is the operator. The elevator will be stopped on the entrance floor. You will be assisted there. Please stay calm and thank you for your patience." The sound box popped a noise before it went dead again. Levi looked at the blond for mutual frustration, but the blond wasn't looking at him. A smile began to peak at the corner of his cheek.
"Patience they said." The blond said.
"They were talking about you."
The blond looked at Levi with a calculating look.
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
"That game of 20 questions is over."
The blond lifted his impressive eyebrows with a tight smile in tow.
"Alright."
Levi crossed his arms. He looked away from the blond.
"…I don't like closed spaces. The dark just makes everything worse."
Before the blond could respond, the elevator's movement halted. A pitched bell sang. The doors opened and a small team of paramedics and technicians were there, ready to check their oxygen levels and take their statements.
When they were cleared by the paramedics, the assistant director of the research facility was passing them by. He stopped and approached them.
"The building's being evacuated. The power is still out on some of the lab floors so we're being let go early."
"Did that come directly from the head director?" The blond asked.
"Yeah. They just announced it by speaker a while ago. But they said-"
All three of them checked their vibrating phones. A confirmation email sent by the head director was dismissing them of anymore work for the day and that work would presume perusal tomorrow morning.
"Well." Levi smirked, "There it is."
"Indeed…" The assistant director peaked down at Levi and then at the blond. He then looked at the technicians coding the elevator doors to stay open.
"Damn thing. Too old to handle storms like this… Alright. You guys be safe. This lightning storm is something else."
When he left, the blond fixed his lab jacket and lifted his briefcase.
"Alright then," he squinted at the name tag on Levi's lab jacket, "Mr. Ackerman?"
"Just Levi is fine."
"Alright then, Levi. Have a safe journey home."
When he turned to leave, Levi snorted.
"Really? Am I supposed to just know your name, bug eater?"
The blond quickly pivoted around, a small flush to his ears.
"I'm sorry. It's Erwin Smith." He bowed his head slightly, "Have a good evening. Penny licker."
The blond man made his way out of the glass double doors and into the wet of the storm…
The sky was webbed and laced with bright shimmers of blue-violet. Erwin smith didn't have a rain coat or an umbrella. He hadn't even bothered to cover himself with his briefcase. "Perhaps," Levi thought, "his car is close to the entrance..." but when Erwin disappeared behind the second row of parked cars, Levi tossed that logic aside.
Quietly, Levi looked down at his phone again. A message was beeping. He managed to read it right before the phone died for good. He put a hand on his eyes and gave a small laugh of disbelief.
Familiar panting sounds…and then slowing footsteps.
"Jesus!"
Levi glanced up with his grey eyes. Eren, lab assistant from the 7th floor, was out of breath in front of him—no doubt having had to take the stairs. The boy was an energetic ball of nerves. He combed his brunette bangs off of his forehead and let out an exaggerated breath. His eyes were sharp sapphires and his smile was mischievous. Levi smirked. Eren was a fun kid.
"Don't ever get trapped on the 7th floor with your worst enemy. He almost looked good enough to eat."
"Tell me about?"
"Sure."
"Let's go."
Eren jogged behind Levi, trying to open up his umbrella all while trying to tell a very strange story about a guy named Kirstein, but all Levi could hear was the blast of far off thunder and the splash of his steps on the parking lot gravel…
Erwin Smith
The chief of science and engineering, a man he'd only known by rumor to be a calculating robot that worked tirelessly on the 15th floor. In all his time at the facility, this was his first time running into his boss. He usually just reported to chief assistants Hange and Mike, who reported directly to the chief for him.
So many rumors... A privileged legacy child who was a lost soul as a young adult because of his father's death—spending his small inheritance on liquor and women—and somewhere in that time, sobered up and fucked the right person to make bank to be licensed and placed at the top of the research facility. These rumors had a taxing result on his popularity. It was split down the middle—he was regarded in distaste or respect. Nothing in-between. Some figured Erwin was a terrible fit and others thought his progress from his tragedies made him an inspiration.
Levi had been on the fence regarding his boss's integrity for the entire 4 years he'd worked at the facility. The man brought in impressive results…what else was there to care about?
Eren was still going on and on about his lab partner. Grabbing a handful of Eren's hair, Levi wedged a wet tongue betwixt the talkative lips. Eren's whole head blossomed red when Levi pulled away. Levi started his truck.
"Jeez…you could've just told me to shut up."
"You can talk if you want."
Eren licked his lips.
"You jealous?"
Levi gave Eren a look. A calculating look.
He really wasn't. At the worst of times, he was disturbed by the emotional distance he held with his bed partners. He wasn't monogamous—hadn't felt the need to tie anyone down with a promise ring or commitment of any kind. His partners were more or less of the same nature.
Eren smiled wide, "Come on. I'm just kidding!"
Levi snorted.
"I like what we have, just like this." Eren squeezed Levi's thigh and Levi let his head tilt slightly toward the window. He brushed Eren's hand away before backing the truck out of the parking space.
"You gotta leave tonight though. I have an early shift. I mean it."
"Okay…but did you hear me about Jean?"
"Tell me later. Turn the radio up."
Eren did as told…but the station it was on was playing 70's music. He scrunched his eyebrows—a betrayed look in his eyes.
"Old. Man."
Jerking the wheel haphazardly, Eren's head bumped against the side window.
"Oh my god!" He laughed.
Levi rolled his eyes before straightening out his truck and speeding out of the parking lot.
"I met a real dinosaur today in an elevator."
Eren's eyes glittered. He loved hearing stories from Levi.
"Oh…are you going to tell me about that?"
Levi thought for a moment…but decided to keep his interaction with Erwin to himself. Levi felt a smile betray him. He could feel Eren's eyes on him. Levi shook his head. Eren shoved Levi's arm—accidentally scaring the both of them.
"Watch it you little shit! Wanna kill someone, kill yourself. Open your door and hop the fuck out!"
"My bad! I just got excited! Why won't you tell me? Was it special? Why can't I know?"
"I'm grown and that means I can keep secrets and not give a rat's ass about your feelings."
Eren's eyes creeped over to see Levi's stoic face.
"You sound like my dad."
They shared a look before laughing.