A/N: Hello and thank you for checking out my story! I actually started writing this 2 years ago, and I finally worked up the courage to post it online. So far, I only have 6 chapters written, but I'm working on revising them as well as writing new chapters. I wanted to make note of a few things really quickly.

1) This is a zombie apocalypse AU that takes place in America. (The setting will be described in later chapters)

2) The relationship between Levi and my OC, Risa, will develop at a somewhat slow rate. (Be patient!)

3) As much as I love writing this story, I am not usually fast at writing, but now that I have actually posted it on this website, I think that I'll have more motivation to write and I'll be able to update as fast as I'd like to. No matter what happens, I won't abandon this story.

Warnings for this story: Will contain violence/blood (nothing too explicit), mild language

Okay, I'm done rambling now. I hope you enjoy!

BEGINNING OF PART ONE

Chapter 1

"The Outbreak"

It was just a normal day when it all happened.

Risa Jaeger woke up at six in the morning, just like she did every day. She got ready and went to school with her brother Eren. Like every other day in her life, she expected to return home with her brother Eren safely to do her homework while she waited for her father to return home from his job at the factory in the evening.

But that day, all of the students in school were evacuated from the building and sent home without warning. Risa clung onto Eren's arm as they walked home together, fearing what was going on. She trembled as she watched people on the streets running in terror as cars zoomed passed.

"Eren, what the hell is happening?" she asked him, shaking in her skin.

Eren observed what was happening around the two of them gravely. "I'm not sure, but we should hurry home." He gripped her hand tightly and took off running in the direction of their house.

On their way home, both of them had to dodge people with wild eyes who approached them numerous times.

Luckily, they made it back home unharmed. As soon as they walked through the door, a cry was heard from upstairs.

Eren and Risa exchanged worried looks before running up the stairs. They found their mother in her room, balled up on the floor as she continuously sobbed. She didn't even notice her children walk in.

"Mom, what happened!?" Risa panicked and rushed over to her, kneeling down next to her. Eren followed Risa, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at them with puffy eyes, showing that she had been crying for a while, but Risa wasn't sure for exactly how long.

Eren frowned. "Mom, tell us what's happening." He smiled at her in attempt to get her to calm down. But that proved to not work when she started crying again.

Eren started feeling frustrated since no one was explaining to him what was going on. All he wanted was some answers, but he wasn't finding any with his mother laying on the floor looking like a mess.

"Mom, tell us what's going on!" he cried, balling his hands into fists.

"Eren, let her calm down first," Risa whispered to him, putting her hand on his arm. "Just stay calm, okay?"

"Risa, how are you not freaking out right now?" he asked her, bewildered.

The truth was, she was feeling like she was about to lose it. But somehow she was able to stay calm even though she felt like crying from the confusion and frustration that was threatening to take over.

It took an hour for their mom to stop breaking down. She had cleaned herself up before she sat Eren and Risa down at the table to tell them about the madness that was going on in the outside world.

"I don't know how to tell you this," she said quietly, looking down at her hands resting in her lap.

Neither of them said anything. They just sat there, waiting patiently for her to go on.

"There was a gas leak at the factory," she explained slowly. She had to pause for a moment, biting her lip so she wouldn't cry. "And then there was an explosion."

Risa's eyes widened. Then, she looked over at Eren, who had the same expression that she did.

"I'm sorry. Your father...he…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. They didn't need her to because both of them knew how the story ended.

Risa could feel her heart shattering at that moment. Her body was enveloped by an emotional pain, but she couldn't react to the heartbreaking news. So she sat there, staring blankly into the distance as her mother broke down right in front of them.

It killed her knowing that couldn't do anything for her. She wasn't able to take away the pain she was suffering from. She didn't know how to help her own mother.

Losing her father was something she never planned on dealing with as a sixteen year old. Nothing could have prepared her for it.

A few hours later, Risa was lying in her bed, not able to sleep. All she could do was stare up at the ceiling with endless thoughts circling around her head. So much had happened that day that she had to try to wrap her brain around.

The gas leak at the factory caused an explosion, which created a virus that was infecting people left and right. That was all she was told. She wasn't sure what kind of virus it was. All she knew was that whatever it was, it was dangerous.

Her mother sat in a chair in the living room with tear stained cheeks, thinking about her loss. A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. She got up, wondering who could be at her doorstep at this time of night. She opened the door to reveal a neighbor standing outside. She cried in horror at the sight she was greeted with.

Risa's eyes shot open when she heard commotion going on downstairs. She exited her room, meeting up with Eren, who had also heard the noise. They both crept down the stairs slowly on alert.

When they reached the living room, their mom locked the door after slamming it shut. She was gripping her shoulder. Risa and Eren noticed that there was blood seeping through her fingers from a wound she was covering up.

Risa gasped in fear. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, breathing heavily. "We have to-we have to get out of here. Right now."

Risa and Eren watched as she headed to the kitchen, grabbing her car keys. Risa raised her eyebrows when she took out two knives from the drawer.

Again, she weren't sure what was happening, but she and Eren followed her out the back door and around the house.

As they were approaching the front of the house, their neighbor crept out of the shadows, staring at the three of them.

"I need you two to make a run for the car," their mother said in a hushed tone. "On the count of three. One."

Risa gulped, glancing at Eren before taking his hand.

"Two."

"Three."

Their mother charged toward their neighbor as Risa and Eren sprinted to the car. The doors were unlocked, so they were able to make it there safely and quickly.

They looked out the windows to see their mom sink the knife she was holding into the shoulder of their thrashing neighbor. She quickly ripped the knife back out, then ran to the car as fast as she could.

When she got in the car, she locked the doors and fumbled with her keys with her shaking hands.

"Mom, why did you do that?" Risa asked about the neighbor.

"There's something not right with her. It's the virus," she answered, starting to drive.

"Where are we going?" Eren asked, looking out the window to see chaos outside.

There were multiple car wrecks, electricity lines had fallen down, and fires were erupting. To top it off, people were still running around like maniacs.

Eren's question was answered with silence.

They had been driving for about half an hour before they ran into traffic. The line was backed up for miles, probably. Their mom got out of the car in a hurry. Risa and Eren looked at each other before figuring that she wanted them to do the same. So, they got out of the car and ran behind her.

Two days later, they were all sitting in an abandoned building, locked in a small room. The tension was high as neither of them were sure what to do after they left this place.

It wasn't until late that evening when Risa noticed her mom acting strange. Her back was facing Risa, and she was able to notice her body twitching. She could hear her grunting, like she was in pain.

"Mom?"

She turned around rapidly and darted to Eren, grabbing him. He struggled as he tried to push her away from him, but she was too strong for him.

"Mom!" Eren yelled, desperately trying to pry her away as she tried biting into him. "Do something, Risa! Get the knife…!" he choked out, noticing his sister standing there in shock.

Risa forced herself to rush behind them to take the knife sitting on the table in the corner of the room. It was almost as if someone else was controlling her. She stared at the knife in her hand, unsure of what she was about to do.

She furrowed her eyebrows together as she snuck up behind her mom, raising the knife in the air.

'I can't do it,' she thought to herself. Could she really kill her own mom?

But she was attacking Eren. If she didn't do something, what would happen to Eren? It was obvious that her mom was turning into something dangerous.

Risa could either lose her mom. Or lose both of them.

She chose the former.

Bracing herself, she raised the knife in the air before plunging it into her mother's back. She winced as she heard her crying out in pain.

Eren pushed her off of him once she had stopped trying to eat him and she fell onto the floor with a thud.

5 Years Later

The hot summer sun beat down on Risa's skin as she trudged through the fields of dead grass, trailing behind Eren slowly.

"Risa, hurry up," Eren commanded, looking over his shoulder to watch her.

Risa rolled her eyes. "Not like we have anywhere special to be," she muttered, motioning towards the emptiness around them.

Eren gave her a look before turning back around. "I promise as soon as we get to a neighborhood, we'll rest for the night."

"My feet are killing me," Risa complained. "Will you carry me?"

"No."

That was the answer she figured she would get. She kept her complaints to herself and walked next to Eren in silence for the rest of their journey to find shelter.

They finally came across a neighborhood of abandoned houses after the sun had set. She breathed a sigh of relief, finally being able to rest.

When the two of them entered the house, Eren said to Risa, "We should probably look around first." When she nodded in agreement, he offered to check upstairs, leaving her alone to roam the downstairs part of the house.

When she turned a corner, someone grabbed her from inside the room she passed, thrusting her against the wall. Not expecting the attack, she closed her eyes upon the impact.

When she felt the cold metal of a knife being pressed into her neck, she slowly opened her eyes to see a man with his face a few inches away from hers, with his silver eyes staring into hers.

"Who are you and what do you want?" his rough voice demanded from her. His hand was still wrapped around her shoulder, allowing himself to keep her pinned to the wall.

She scowled at him, trying to push him away from her, only to have him push her back harder.

"Answer me," he growled at Risa angrily.

"What the hell!?" Her eyes widened when she heard Eren yell from upstairs. A few loud bangs followed after. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of situation the two of them had exactly got themselves in.

She stayed silent until Eren was pushed into the room. A blonde man came in after him, twisting his arm behind his back, causing Eren winced in pain.

"Look, Brother! We caught him!" a perky girl cheered as she entered the room behind the two men.

"Eren!" Risa called out from him. She tried to go to him, but she was still being held with the knife against her throat.

Eren looked at Risa. His eyes widened once he noticed the position she was in. "Let go of her!" he yelled, trying to break free of the captor's grasp.

The man kicked Eren's legs, knocking him to the ground. Risa felt herself bubble up with anger. She tried to get away once again, but his grip on her kept her in place.

"Not until you answer some questions," her aggressor said.

She couldn't admit it out loud, but she was definitely scared of him. And she certainly couldn't allow herself to show how much she feared him. The only thing she could do was glare at him to put up a brave front.

"Risa, was it?" he asked. She nodded. "Who are you and why are you here?" he asked her again. It was more demanding this time around.

"We just wanted to stay here for the night," she answered him honestly, but never letting her guard down.

He stared at her like he didn't believe what she was telling him.

"Why else would we be here?" Eren asked tiredly.

The other girl answered his question. "We just need to make sure that you aren't here to, you know...kill us."

It scared Risa that she said that with a smile.

Risa scoffed, earning a glare from the man staring at her. "No. We honestly thought these houses were abandoned."

The man continued to stare at Risa, but with a blank expression instead of his cold one he greeted her with. She started to tremble as she stared into his piercing eyes.

"Levi, I think she's telling the truth…" the girl told him, looking worried. She looked as if she was about to walk towards Risa, but she remained in place. "Right, Farlan?"

The blonde man, dubbed as Farlan, nodded. "That's enough." Then, he slowly let go of Eren.

Levi lowered the his hand that was holding the knife to his side and let go of Risa's shoulder. He backed up a few steps so she had room to walk away from him.

Risa was back at Eren's side when the girl spoke up.

"Sorry, we must've made a bad impression on you," she said with a frown. "We should introduce ourselves properly. My name is Isabel. This is—"

"Farlan," the blonde cut in.

Isabel turned her head towards Levi, waiting for him to introduce himself. He just glared at Eren and Risa without saying anything.

"That's—" Isabel started to say before she was interrupted.

"Levi. I know," Risa interjected.

"You better not forget it," Levi hissed, taking a cloth out from his pocket. He started cleaning his knife with it, not that it really needed the care in the first place.

Isabel smiled nervously as she placed her hand on the back of her neck. "Heh, sorry about him. I promise he's a lot nicer once you get to know him!"

Levi sent another cold glare towards Isabel, but it didn't affect her at all.

But Risa had no wish to get to know him at all. He had completely jumped to conclusions upon meeting her and attacked her. The least the guy could do was apologize, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. And she could tell that he definitely didn't want to get to know her.

"Come on, Risa, we'll just go to the next house," Eren told her, grabbing her arm to lead Risa out of the house. Neither of them wanted to get involved those three, but Risa had to admit that Isabel wasn't half bad.

Risa stopped dead in her tracks once they walked out the door, noticing a pack of Infected stalking around.

"Looks like we have company," said Eren.

Eren looked at Risa with a smirk on his face. She gave him a firm nod, smirking back at him, before they pulled out their guns.