Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long! I should've posted this a lot sooner than now but I've been really busy. I know its short, don't worry I'm already working on Chapter 10. I'm not a huge fan of this chapter but it was all I could get out and on paper. The next one will be longer, I promise. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers! Please let me know what you think, it helps with the writing process. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own AOT/SNK!
Chapter 9:
Hours passed before Garret and Yuki returned to make sure we were still breathing. I begged and pleaded with Garret to let us go but he only laughed at my feeble attempt. I watched Levi's still form, praying to whatever god was looking down on us that he would be okay.
"Alyx," Levi's voice was soft but serious, "I'm going to get us out of here." He scooted his way towards the wall and got himself into a sitting position, then to his knees, and slowly to his feet. He shambled his way over to me. Blood covered most of his face and coated the front of his shirt. He looked like absolute hell.
"How the hell do you plan on doing that when you can barely stand?" furious whispers slithered from my pursed lips. I scanned over his bloodied face, he had little pieces of rock embedded into his reddened skin, his eyes were blank and almost empty as their lids had darkened and swollen.
"Bite your lip," he mumbled. "Hard enough to draw blood. I'm going to yell that you're trying to bite off your tongue and, hopefully, someone comes rushing in to stop you. When that happens, we'll do whatever it takes to get out of here." I was stunned. He was beat to a bloody mess and I was hanging from the ceiling, so how the hell was this going to work?! "Do it." So, I did. I felt a small pop and a stinging pain shot through my mouth. I tasted copper. It was a nauseating taste. Levi shouted. A young boy came rushing into the room. He looked so small and frail as if he would break with just a little pressure. He ran up to me and pulled a white cloth from his pocket.
"Miss, you shouldn't have done that. They're going to hurt you more when they find-" his eyes widened for a second before he collapsed onto the stone floor. Levi stood behind him; hands free from their bindings. One hand was raised and the other was hidden behind his back. His gaze lingered on the boy for a period of time before he knelt down and took an old fashion sword from the boy's belt and slipped it on to his own. He reached out for my legs when I noticed a hunting knife in his hidden hand.
"Where did you get that?" I eyed the shiny metal object. It looked like it had never been used before; pristine. He wrapped his fingers gently around my ankle and slid the knife over the rope carefully. It cut like butter and dropped to the ground. I glanced up at my wrists in their secured shackles. "These things-" the chain groaned in agony in response. Levi dropped to his knees and searched the boy's body for a kay or something to undo the shackles. I glanced around the room for anything that would work. Levi stood and shook his head. Damn. I looked up at my hands with a resolve in mind. It's going to hurt like a bitch but I don't have any other options. I tensed my right arm and pulled down on my left one. My wrist screamed out in a searing pain. I could feel the skin stretch and burn as I pulled harder. Warmth trickled from inside the cuffs down my arm. The wetness of my own blood lubricated my hand, making it easier to slip from the tight cuff. The pain was excruciating. Bile clawed its way up my throat. I pushed it back. Now wasn't the time to cave in. I flung my injured arm up to my still chained arm. I wiped some of my blood around the top and bottom of the cuff and was able to pull that hand free with nothing but a sore wrist.
"That was a little excessive." Levi was staring at my maimed wrist.
"I'm fine. Let's go." I held my right hand out for the knife he was holding. Willingly, he handed it to me. It was heavy, heavier than it looked. The handle was some kind of fancy wood with little engraving in it. While the blade looked new, it had seen use. There were small nicks and scratches near the hilt, but it was perfectly balanced.
We crept towards the only way out. What in the hell could we be walking into? Were there other guards around; watching, waiting; or was he the only one? My heart pounded in my chest like a drum. This could be the end for us. What the hell are we going to do once we get out of here? We must be outside the walls right? How are we going to get back home? My grip around the knife's hilt tightened. What about Erwin? Oh God… What if he's here too?!
"Alyx…" Levi's voice cut my thoughts like a blade. My eyes rushed to his. They held confidence. Strength. Power. Life. He was right in front of me, a little bruised and beaten, but alive. I nodded at him, letting him know I was ready to move. He pressed his back against the wall, peeked out of the room, and slipped into the hall. I quickly followed. It was quiet and empty. Scattered doors lined the stone walls at different intervals and next to each door was a single lit candle. We padded down the barren hall and stopped at the end. We could either go left or right, neither way looked promising. Both looked similar to the one we were isolating ourselves in.
Excruciating pain erupted against my temple causing me to plummet into the stone wall nearby. Cool stone dug into my palms as the blood running through my veins boiled. I felt hot and cold and nauseous. The stone walls became the ceiling which became the floor as the world around me tilted on its axis. As quickly as it came, the pain was gone and the world was no longer spinning. My legs moved forward taking me down the hallway to the left. I could feel Levi's confused look on my back but he didn't say a word. We continued down the hall for what felt like ages before slamming to a halt and pressing our backs to the wall. I could hear soft voices traveling down the small hallway in our direction. We were at the corner of the wall. Nowhere to go but back the way we came or go towards the voices. Levi and I met eyes for a brief second. I mouthed out what I was going to do and he nodded. Before I could bolt around the corner he grabbed my shoulder and spun me back towards him. His hands cupped my face gently as his mouth came down to meet mine. He tasted like blood. The metallic taste was bitter yet the kiss itself was sweet. As quickly as his mouth came, it left and I closed my eyes. It's now or never. I forced my legs to move.
I stepped out from around the corner and charged at the men. They were tall and extremely well built. Like two separate brick walls they just stood there deadpan. When I got closer, they moved. They didn't move to stop me but to get out of my way. What the hell? I passed them without hassle. Neither reached for me. Neither said a word. They just stood there. I glanced behind me as I moved forward. Levi made it past them too. He had the same puzzled look I did. This is wrong…
Those were the only two people we ran into. We continued through hallways and eventually found our way out. It was pitch black, but there were specks of light here and there mapping out the houses in the area. I slipped my fingers into his free hand as we snuck behind houses and avoided any form of light. I felt like we were ninja, I read about them in an old book I found in the Military Police's 'confiscated' room.
Levi's grip on my fingers tightened and I came to a halt behind him.
Levi POV
Her fingers were soft against my own calloused hand. I promised myself that I'd protect her with everything I had no matter what the cost, but how am I supposed to protect her against THAT. We were stashed away behind a darkened house, me in front, her behind me. The darkness of the night created perfect cover for us to move around in and not be seen, but we stood no chance against what was waiting at the gates of this… little village of sorts. Reiner and Bertolt… I gripped Alyx's hand tighter. We could make a break for it… I shifted my eyes ahead to the wooden fence surrounding the town. We could easily get over it. I shifted my gaze back to Reiner and Bertolt. With Alyx's hand torn up like it is, she doesn't stand a chance in a real fight. Back to the fence. We also don't know what's waiting for us out there. It's the middle of the night, we have no idea how far we are from the walls or any strongholds… We don't have our 3DMG so we'd have to avoid the forests.
"Levi…" a soft whisper behind me brought me back to reality. "What's going on? We've got to keep moving." I pointed ahead of us at the fence.
"Think you can make it over that?" It was silent.
"I think so."
"We're going to move at the same time. Once over the fence, we run. We keep running and we don't stop, no matter what. Titans are less active at night so this is our best chance."
"Got it." She squeezed my hand again before removing it from my grip. I glanced over at her face. She had every emotion plastered on her face. She was nervous, excited, happy, sad, and determined but not afraid. Fearless was not something I would normally call her, but in this moment she was.
Her cerulean eyes shifted in my direction, we nodded at each other, and our legs moved on reflex. It was 50 feet to the fence, 10 feet up, and 10 feet down. I easily got myself up and over the fence while Alyx had a harder time. She made it to the fence and was able to grab the top, but with her injured hand it was harder to pull herself up. I watched from the outer side of the fence as she finally pulled herself up and drop to the ground on my side.
