I was walking down the street. A warm breeze was ruffling my hair, and the street was badly illuminated by lights spaced too far apart. It was August, and school would be resuming soon, but for now, I was free. Mikasa was spending the summer with some friends that I didn't really know, so I had nothing to do. It felt awesome. Three blocks away from my house, I saw him. There were two men with guns pointed at one guy who looked quite roughed up already. In my usual way, I acted without thinking.
"Oy, you!"
The two men with guns looked up. For a moment I thought that they were going to shoot me. Instead, they lowered their guns and ran for it. I guess they didn't want me to call the police. I hesitated for a millisecond before running across the street to the victim's side. His grey eyes were staring at me in an almost accusatory way, but he didn't say anything as I called an ambulance.
I rode with him to the hospital. I stayed for hours, both because I had nothing else to do and because I wanted to make sure he was okay. No one was waiting for me at my house, so no one would care if I came home late. He was in surgery now. Apparently, he was pretty high on a combination of different drugs, and also physically injured by his attackers. I was amazed he could even stay conscious of the world around him, nevermind fend off two other men.
The hours ticked on. Was he alive? I really hoped he was alive. He may think of himself as broken or worthless, but I saw something in those grey eyes of his. Did he hate me for saving him? Well, that was his problem, not mine. Anyways, what had I gotten myself into? The men beating him up knew my face. They might try to pursue me now, because I had saved one of their potential victims.
Fluorescent lights are harsh especially after sitting under them for ten hours in a cold hospital waiting room. A nurse came out smiling. Thank god. I breathed. I was beginning to think the worst, but the nurse looked happy. Tired, definitely, but she looked happy.
"Hello, my name is Petra. I'm attending to Levi's room for now, and I just wanted to let you know that he's out of surgery. We're still monitoring his condition closely, but he's headed the right way."
"Levi?" I interrupted without thinking. He hadn't told me his name. He hadn't said a word. But how did this nurse know? Was he conscious?
"Oh, you didn't know his name?" I shook my head.
"Then how…?"
"I was walking by. I couldn't just leave him there." I felt it wise to leave out the fact that he was being attacked, and I had nearly gotten shot while trying to save this Levi person.
"Come with me. Mr. um- what's your name?"
"Eren. Eren Jaeger."
"Right, then. Come this way, Mr. Jaeger."
It was odd being addressed as "Mr. Jaeger." I was only twenty, after all. I followed the nurse named Petra down a labyrinth of white shiny corridors until we finally came to a stop. Petra delicately knocked on the door before opening it.
"What the fuck? I just woke up. Do I even get any time to rest? Oh." Levi let out a breath when I walked in.
"Hi." I said. I wasn't sure what to say.
"All you say is 'hi.' Well, thanks, I guess, for saving my shitty existence from two dumbass hooligans who were too cowardly to try to fight me when I wasn't sky high on whatever I could get my hands on."
"Um, you're welcome?" I didn't mean it to be a question, but Levi was a bit different than I had been expecting.
"Okay, shitty brat, you can get your ass out of here, because I want some sleep."
I didn't move a muscle.
"Fine then. Sit down somewhere, but don't expect me to talk to you. Goodnight, brat."
He closed his eyes. And was 'asleep' within seconds. I looked up at Petra. If she knew him, maybe I could get a few questions answered.
"Is he usually like this?" I started.
"Well, it's a little worse than usually. That's probably because he's experiencing some withdrawal symptoms and is in quite a bit of pain from the injuries he sustained," said Petra. I nodded, it made sense. However, he was quite a character.
"Do you know if anyone is, um, out to get him?"
Petra hesitated. It was a really direct question. Levi opened one eye. I cursed my own stupidity. Why did I let whatever random crap I thought of come out of my mouth?
"Not that I know of."
Levi closed his eyes again. Petra's answer didn't seem truthful, but I didn't want to push it. Now knowing that Levi was alive and on his way to recovering, my brain allowed me to acknowledge my pressing exhaustion. Glancing at my phone, I noticed that it was about twelve noon the day after I had found Levi. That meant I hadn't slept in about 37 hours. I sighed.
"I'll be going then. Maybe I'll check back after I get some rest. Thank you." I nodded at Petra and walked out.
It was a fifteen minute taxi ride to get home. The minute I was in the front door, I collapsed on the couch. The cumulative effect of an adrenaline rush, emotional stress, and plain old exhaustion had me out cold for ten hours. I groaned when I woke up. My sleeping schedule was completely screwed, and I had to be on a semi-normal schedule by the time school started in a few weeks.
I tried to go to sleep again hoping to wake up sometime in the morning. But it didn't work. I woke up at one, two, three, and when I woke at four, I decided it wasn't worth trying to sleep again. For lack of anything better to do, I took a long shower. The warm water calmed me, and washed away a bit of dirt and blood that I didn't know had been on me. I walked out of the shower. Five hours before I can visit Levi, I thought.
And then two seconds later, Why do I want to visit Levi? He'll just be an asshole again. I didn't even know him until I picked him up half dead. Sighing, I decided to take a walk around the streets to calm my nerves. I walked aimlessly for about an hour and a half glancing at the time every few minutes to see when I could head to the hospital. A cool mist covered the streets, and it was chilly for August.
Then I heard footsteps behind me. I whirled around. One of the guys that had been attacking Levi was there. I had very little training in combat. The only little bit I knew was actually from Mikasa who insisted I know some self-defense. I saw the second of the two men appear a little in front of me. I couldn't fight them. I couldn't outrun them. But maybe, I could outsmart them. Or not. I reached to my pocket for my phone. I made the movement slowly so as not to draw too much attention to what I was doing.
My fingers closed around the hard plastic of my phone. I tried to dial 911 as I slowly backed up to the wall. Even if I didn't say something, I could scream and the person on the other end of the phone would hear that. My phone could also be tracked, so if someone got here quickly enough, there was a chance I wouldn't be dead. I dropped my phone on the ground. If it was on my person, it was more likely to be found.
The first man attacked. I dodged him just in time. Maybe I could run. The two guys didn't seem too bright. But then I got hit in the back of the head. My vision went blurry as I sunk to my knees. I wasn't a fighter trained in street combat like these two; I knew that. But I couldn't just give up so easily. I pushed myself back onto my feet, my head spinning. I was hit once, twice, three times. I could hear someone screaming, someone yelling "stop!" but I couldn't tell who.
I should help them, right? But my own body felt so heavy, so worn out. Where was I? And what was that screaming? And then I realized it was me. I was lying facedown on the sidewalk. I felt warm liquid around me. What was it? Oh, it was blood. There were voices around me, and a lot of people. Through my closed eyelids, I saw flashing lights. The police were here. And then I passed out again.
Darkness enveloped me. It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and I was simply existing. The pain receded, and for that I was grateful. What did I remember? Blood. That's right, I had been attacked. My face had been remembered. Those guys had to have been after Levi. Levi. And his name echoed through my consciousness.
Levi.
Corporal Levi.
