Epilogue:

ONE MONTH LATER

The sun broke through the clouds nicely, a friendly reminder of spring. The temperature was warning up and more people were crowding the streets around the police station. The inside of the station was small and smoke-filled, framing the officers in a dense screen. Since to town was small, there wasn't a lot of crime and the officers usually just sat around and gave out parking tickets. However, today an unusual call came in.

The caller said they were calling on behalf of the residents who wanted to use the lake located just off the property of Levi Ackerman, but there was a terrible smell coming from the property that was obstructing their enjoyment of the lake. The station never got complaints about another person's property because the town had an "if you have a problem fix it yourself" mentality and if your neighbor bothered you, you took it up with them.

Regardless, the other officers were notified over the main desk and they decided to send the officer who knew Levi the best (better to negotiate with him) and the new officer who needed training in difficult residents. The drive was awkward, but the silence became more comfortable the farther they drove up the long dirt road to the house. Patches of snow still cluttered the ground on the surrounding forest even though it was well into the start of spring. The young officer looked out of the window and thought how amazing it was that the horrible late snowstorm, the storm that shut down the town for a few days, could be reduced to the fragile layers of ice now coating the ground. It always melts, he thought.

"Well, here it is."

The young officer looked at the large cabin style home and office from the dive way.

"This is it?"

"Yeah. The sign on the back says his office is closed, so I guess he's probably at home. It's usually better to go through the office because he doesn't like anyone bothering him at home, especially the police, not that anyone would. Well, anyway, we'll just go in through the front. You ok?"

"Yeah. I just feel weird. Like something's upsetting, you know?"

"Ok. Well Just try not to get sick on me."

"Sure."

The gravel sounded louder than it should under their boots in the silence. The door as locked. When they knocked, no one answered. The young officer suggested he may be out, but the older officer said that didn't feel right.

"I guess we'll just break in."

The locks on the door were old and to break in they had to break down the door, splitting the lock from the frame and leaving a hole in the wood. When they called out, no ne answered. They wondered around the top level for a while, but found nothing but a disgusting bathtub and scattered clothing.

"The house smells terrible! What is that?" The younger officer said.

"I don't know. It smells like rotten meat. This is really weird, he's always so clean."

The narrow wooden stairs seemed like they lead to the source of the smell. Down stairs, the smell coated the air like a thick musk. It was dark in the shop. The older officer split off to check the back. He thought it might be some unrefrigerated animals. At this point they were thinking that Levi might have either fled to escape some kind of threat or been killed. The older officer thought it was a mistake to have brought the new officer with him this time.

The younger officer was feeling worse. He felt like his stomach would turn inside out and he was sweating heavily. Then, in a small room off to the side of the shop, he though he saw something. As he got closer, he saw the figure of a person. It could be him, he thought.

"Hey! Hey, Mr. Ackerman!" no response "Mr. Ackerman, this is the police. Umm, we got a complaint about the smell coming from your house."

The figure wasn't turning around. The young officer was getting nervous. He got closer to the figure. He had no idea what Levi looked like. When he was behind him, he laid a hand on his shoulder. It was hard. What? This is…

"Umm. Mr.…"

When he walked around the figure, its face was frozen in a half smile. Its eyes were lifeless. Its while body looked like a doll. He touched its face. It was also hard and cold. Horrified, he screamed and felt backwards on the carpet. But the thing he saw after that was worse than anything he had seen in his entire life. It was a sticky black mass of putrid flesh and bone splayed over the doll's body. The room was covered in black flies and they swarmed around the mass. The scream must have stirred their nest. The doll just sat there, retaining its pose as they landed on its mouth and eyes. It kept the same half smile expression.

The young officer ran out of the room and screamed for his partner. The older officer ran back with him and was equally as horrified.

"Look! Look what happened to Levi!" the younger officer yelled in panic.

The older officer started at it for a long time.

"That's not Levi."

The two bodies were later identified: one as Eren Jaeger by the perfectly preserved features from a picture on the driver's license in its wallet. The other had to be identified by its dental records. It was the remains of Levi Ackerman.