Chapter 1 – A little lightning never hurt anyone.
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A beeping sound. Female voice. Another beeping sound. Stern male voice. More beeping.
Levi slowly cracks his eyes open only to close them again with a groan, the lights are too bright for his comfort, he tries turning his head to the side but it doesn't move. What's happening? The stern male voice appears again, but closer this time. Levi would've flinched if it weren't for the neck-brace holding him still.
"Sir, can you hear me? Sir I need you to open your eyes for me."
The male voice is not making sense. Levi's instincts are telling him to shy away from the noise and fall asleep. Why do I feel so sore and tired? Levi feels his body moving, or at least the bed is moving. Nausea grips his stomach as the bed turns corners too fast before abruptly stopping. Levi feels needles pricking the skin of his arms and the cold metal of scissors grazing his skin as they cut away his clothes. What was going on? Levi thinks as he desperately tries to recall memories from the last few hours but he comes up blank.
"Sir, can you tell me your name? Do you know where you are?"
It was that male voice again. Levi has yet to respond to him but he doesn't understand why his body isn't co-operating. He thinks long and hard about the questions the voice is asking. What was his name? He doesn't even know where he is.
Suddenly Levi is being lifted onto his left side and fingers begin poking at his back. A scream rips through the air before Levi realises it was him screaming. Electric currents flow through Levi's veins, causing his limbs to spasm and shake. There's suddenly more people in the room and the noise level increases but Levi continues to groan and scream. Why does his body feel like a live wire?
With unexpected clarity, memories begin to fill Levi's mind as the electric currents simmer down to a mild burn. He remembers running. He remembers running in the rain, being afraid of whatever was chasing him. Fear prickles at the back of his mind as more memories return. He was scared something or someone.
The thunder rolls and shakes the air around Levi as he sprints through the forest. He doesn't dare look behind him, he only continues forward in hopes of losing them. Soft earth becomes mud in a matter of seconds and rain starts pouring from the sky. Levi's jeans and boots are soaked and heavy, chafing his wet skin. His shirt clings to the contours of his torso as water continues to beat down on his hair and into his eyes, making his vision blurry.
Cracks of thunder vibrate the earth beneath Levi's feet as he continues running, he hears twigs snapping behind him and he knows they are closing in on him. Levi grits his teeth and moves his legs faster, willing them to speed up. Lightning illuminates the sky, assisting him in navigating the otherwise dark forest. Levi hears heavy footsteps close behind him and he prays the bag on his back isn't snatched first. He clings to the straps and starts looking desperately for a way of out, a way to lose his pursuers. He knows that he was in the wrong, he deserves whatever punishment his regiment can dish out. He's nothing but a thief and coward. However he also knows that he was set up and Levi is determined to track down the person behind it. He should never have taken the assignment in the first place.
Levi suddenly spots a different kind of light ahead and sprints towards it, hoping this would be the escape he needs. A loud noise splits the air and Levi recognises it to be a cargo train. Bingo!
"-an you hear me? Sir, can you hear me?" A soothing female voice breaks through Levi's memories and his eyes shoot open, all traces of drowsiness vanish in an instant. Levi groans a little, squinting as the lights are too harsh for his eyes.
A second passes before Levi's eyes adjust and he can take in his surroundings. With some memory recovered Levi can relax a little, knowing he isn't in immediate danger and now he can start to answer these goddamn questions they keep pestering him with.
"Sir can yo-"
"Of course I can fucking hear you. I'm not deaf" Levi snarks back but instantly regrets it, as his throat is bone dry and screams in protest. Levi looks to see a young nurse with short, strawberry-blonde hair gently offering him a Styrofoam cup with a straw in it. The nurse helps him drink the water then sets it aside on the table next to the bed.
"That's better isn't it?" the blonde responds and Levi tries to nod but finds he can't because he's still wearing the neck-brace.
"Where am I?" Levi jabs, trying desperately not to sound rude. He looks around to see he's in an ER but doesn't know which hospital or even which state he is in.
"Maria Memorial Hospital" the Nurse replies with a smile, "Now can you tell me your name?"
Levi freezes, the last thing he can remember is being chased. It wouldn't be safe for him to tell the truth.
"Rivaille Church" he answers quickly, trying to sound as natural as possible.
"Okay Mr Church, do you know what's happened to you tonight?" The question catches the short man off guard. He hasn't been paying attention to his body until now. He quickly observes a few other nurses and a doctor in other trauma bays but the nurse talking to him is the closest to him, waiting patiently for his answer. He feels safe enough to confine in her.
Levi takes a moment to assess his body then gasps loudly as pain spreads throughout his body, originating in his right shoulder and back. He can feel a scream of pain start at the back of his throat but the petite nurse just whispers reassurances while pressing a button by his hand. A few seconds pass before Levi sighs in relief, it must be a morphine drip. Levi can feel big ice packs strapped across his back. Was he burnt?
"I'll take that as a no." the nurse speaks, "You were struck by lightning, it hit your shoulder and travelled down your back. But don't worry you'll be fine, many lightning strike victims do survive" Levi only half listens to the nurse as his mind reels. How the fuck do you get hit by lightning?
Confusion and shock begins to takes over Levi's body, causing him to shake with anxiety. The nurse only looks on with sorry eyes.
"Wha… What is your name?" Levi asks with a quivering voice, he needs to distract himself.
"Petra" The nurse replies curtly. She then moves to Levi's neck-brace and begins to undo the contraption, sensing that the object is not helping with Levi's panic attack. "You're going to be fine, just close your eyes and get some rest. If you still feel like there is an electric current passing through you, just let me know and I can get you more pain medication" She then proceeds to lower his bed so it is lying vertical and dims the lights a little.
Levi sighs in defeat and lets the cocktail of pain medication put him to sleep, he mumbles incoherently just before falling asleep but clear enough for the young nurse to hear.
"Can't tell them I'm here. Wasn't my fault."
Levi stares down at his long white socks that end above his knees and cringes in disgust before swiftly removing them. He would rather be castrated than be seen wearing them. A few days have passed since he arrived at the hospital and he is ready to set the place on fire. He itches to leave the confining space of his room and never return. The only thing keeping him sane is Petra, the sweet nurse who manages to put up with his foul language and bad temper.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to get rid of those" Petra comments as she picks up the discarded socks off the ground. Levi just 'tsks' and rolls his eyes.
"You should burn those things! And kill the fucker that invented them" Levi remarks but Petra just chuckles and goes about checking his vitals, like she has done every four hours for the last couple of days.
"Well I'm happy to say that you are recovering well and the doctor can probably discharge you today." Petra explains this while finishing her tests. An expression of seriousness settles over her face and Levi suddenly feels nervous. He wipes his palms on his gown, wishing he could read minds.
"Spit it out. Or stop looking so constipated." Levi half jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Petra makes eye contact and the air in the room becomes thick and heavy.
"The night you came into the emergency room… well… I guess I'm a little confused," Petra's words increase Levi's nerves. I know where this is headed. "Just before you went to sleep you mumbled something. I might not have heard you right but you said 'you can't tell them I'm here. It wasn't my fault'. Can I ask who 'them' are?"
Levi begins to panic. Shit! He just had to say the wrong thing while under the influence of drugs. He tries to play it off without sounding nervous.
"I don't know. It must have been the drugs or something. I don't even remember much from that night and-"
"That's what I thought too," Petra interrupts. "In many lightning strike cases, amnesia and confusion is a common side effect. However I did a little digging and found that you don't exist. There is no one registered under the name of Rivaille Church. At first I thought it was just the shock of everything and maybe you were confused about your name but you haven't corrected me about any of your details. Then that led me think of how you actually got to the hospital…" Levi is slowly losing his cool; Petra is a lot smarter than she looks and she's figured out his secret too quick.
"Your report says that you suddenly turned up at the front doors of the emergency room, like someone had just dumped you there. However when we were examining your injuries we found scrapes and cuts on your lower back that suggests that someone dragged you, but no one witnessed your arrival.
"Also your clothes were muddy and covered in leaves which indicates you were out in the bush, which is a good explanation as to why you got struck by lightning because you are more likely to get struck if you are around trees and…"
"Okay stop! I get it, you're Sherlock Homes," Levi remarks, feeling a bit guilty for using sarcasm, but inside the Levi wants to flee. This sweat and innocent nurse just solved an entire fucking mystery by herself. "Have you told anyone else?" he questions.
"No. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. That maybe you could explain to me what happened." Levi sighs and runs a hand through his hair, pulling at it in frustration.
"You're right about a few things. My name isn't Rivaille Church. It's Levi Ackerman. And to tell you the truth you know more than I do about how I ended up here." Petra eases down on the bed next to him, worry written on her face.
"Levi are you running from someone?" this question is simple but it makes Levi want to puke.
"Yes. But I'm not going to tell you who or why. The less you know the better."
"Okay, thank you for being honest. I won't tell anyone who you really are, I trust that you're telling the truth about being in danger" Petra practically whispers.
"No I should be the one thanking you. You're saving my ass for the second time this week. I owe you." Petra smiles and a comfortable silence falls between them.
A few minutes later the doctor arrives on his rounds and discharges Levi. Petra manages to find some clothes for Levi to wear and he quickly changes, finding the clothes too big as the pants nearly slip off his hips. However when he is about to slip his shirt on he catches a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. Levi slowly turns so he looking over his shoulder at the mark on his back.
The mark is like nothing he has ever seen before. It's a spider web of veins and lines that travels down his right shoulder blade and stops at a point near his tailbone. He can faintly see the scratches Petra was talking about but they're barely visible. There is only one word that can describe what the veins look like. A wing. It's still sore however most of the pain is gone but somehow Levi finds it beautiful and mesmerising, even though it almost killed him.
Breaking from his stupor, Levi quickly finishes changing before grabbing what little stuff he has and leaves the building.
"Levi!" Petra calls as she catches up with the young man.
"Hush dipshit! You're not supposed to know my real name." Levi hisses.
"Oh sorry." Petra flushes with embarrassment.
"Well? What do you want?" Levi quips when Petra doesn't say anything.
"I just wanted to know where you are headed. If you needed a ride."
"That's not necessary. I can walk."
"Okay well this is my number in case you decide to get hit by lightning again" Petra jokes handing him a card with two numbers sprawled on it.
"What's this second number?" Levi questions, pointing to the bottom number.
"Oh… Well you said your last name was Ackerman right?" He nods in agreement. "Well I have a friend on the police force in town with the last name Ackerman. I'm not sure if you guys are related or not but that's her number if you want some help. She's trust worthy." Levi stares stunned at the nurse. For as long as he could remember he was alone and had no family.
"Thanks Petra. For everything." Levi says sincerely before he turns on his heel and walks away.
"Will I see you again?" Petra calls after him.
"Hopefully not." Levi waves and keeps walking.
Levi's memories are still fuzzy but he has a good feeling about where he buried his backpack, he just has to retrace his steps. Once he finds that backpack, he will breathe a little easier knowing the contents are in safe hands.
What Levi isn't aware of is the second pair of footsteps that have been following him since that first night in the rain.