Attack on Zombies
Eren, Chapter 9
An. Wow, I hate school. Why does it even last as long as it does? I haven't learned anything in two weeks. WHY AM I STILL THERE?!
One more day, Amber. ONE MORE DAY.
Reviews appreciated. I missed you guys over my hiatus.
You loaded Eren into the trunk. Armin, restless after a night of scavenging oil for the truck, stayed with him while you brought blankets. You frowned.
"Do I have to ride up front with Mikasa?" you asked uneasily. "I don't think she likes me very much."
"She just thinks you're dangerous," Armin answered. "Get to know her. It will get better."
Your eyes slowly rose up to look at the girl. She exited the diner, carrying her bag of supplies. Without a word or a glance, Mikasa got in the driver's seat. Armin shook his head at you.
"Just go on, (name). She won't kill you on the ride to Raleigh."
"So you say," you replied, though you found your feet dragging the rest of you towards the passenger's seat. Eren smiled at you, and you smiled back, but it didn't cover up how you felt about having to spend an hour with Mikasa.
You opened the door and got in, slouching into the chair uncomfortably. Mikasa waited to start the car.
"Seatbelt."
"What?"
"Seatbelt, (name). It's still important."
You grumbled and put your seatbelt on, She turned the car back on and put it into drive. "Do you have any idea how to get to Raleigh?"
"Um...we pass through Dunn, go on I-40 West...And I guess just stick with it until we see a Raleigh exit. Do we have enough gas to get there?"
"Enough to get there and back," she responded, ending the conversation.
Ten silent minutes flew by. She stared at the road; you stared out the window. Occasionally, you'd pass by a small group of zombies, but it was nothing to really worry over. You remembered singing in the car before the infection…
"Is this the real life?" you sang, a little off tune. "Is this just fantasy?"
More silence. You looked over at Mikasa. Was she really this boring and flat as a perso-
"Caught in a landslide… no escape from reality…"
You stared at her. Wait. She was singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody?
Anyone who was anyone in the "hey I'm not a boring dick" community knew the words to Bohemian Rhapsody. You decided to test her further, continuing the lyrics.
"Open your eyes, look up to the skies and-"
"Seeeeeee," you both sang in unison, voices actually matching up. Mikasa smiled a little. "I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy."
Through the rest of the song, you either took turns or sang together, creating a neat (yet somewhat out of tune) melody. At the end of the song, you both returned to awkward silence. Now, however, you wanted to talk more. To reach out to her, get to know her better. The meaningless, meaningful lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody had bonded the two of you together in brotherly sisterhood.
Before you spoke up, she inserted some words. "Um...so...I'm sorry I've been treating you so terribly throughout all of this."
Your mouth hung open, but you weren't sure how to respond. She continued.
"I'm not a bad person. But this chaos has made me so overprotective. Eren is the closest thing to family that I have, and I just… I hate seeing him get hurt. I'm not as crazy as I've been acting, and if Eren got hurt, I wouldn't really blame you. You seem to just have bad luck, and any normal person would have made the decisions you have made."
"Mikasa," you remarked, stunned. "That's very noble. I'm sorry I've not really gotten to know you…"
"I wouldn't try if I were in your place, either. You probably thought I was crazy and overprotective."
"You're a little overprotective, but it's understandable. I mean, Eren's immune and there's still constant danger for him! He could die at any moment… hey, do you think that, since Hitch got ill from eating his flesh, that he's… I don't know, contagious? What if it's a blood pathogen? What if it can be transmitted se-"
She stared at you. "I really hope not… Eren's got a soft spot for you, (name). He might really, really like you. If he can't even kiss you for fear of you turning, it will rip him apart…"
"He might like me?" you asked, shocked. "I...I dunno about all of that."
"I'm pretty sure he does. Which adds to my overprotective side. He'd do anything to protect you. Even risk his life."
You thought back on some of the horrible things that had happened to you since the zombie infestation. "Well, you saved me once, too. Remember? You saved me and Armin. I don't know why I started to dislike you, Mikasa. Thinking back on it, you're really cool…"
She smiled. "You're right. Maybe we're all a little stupid."
The rest of the car ride wasn't so bad anymore. You sang a few more songs, talked about Eren, reminisced on old high school memories… Mikasa, as it turned out, had always wanted to be friends with you. Eren had only said good things about you. You wondered if Eren missed you badly while you had your hiatus after middle school.
The interstate signs revealed that Raleigh was getting much closer now, less than a mile out.
"The difficult part will be trying to find the college," Mikasa stated. "Finding Raleigh, fortunately, was simple enough. But look at that skyline! It could be anywhere!"
"Then we'll pull up to the second Raleigh exit and get off closer to the middle of the city."
She paused. "I don't think we can do that, chief."
You looked out of the window. A huge car wreck filled the entirety of the road ahead, leaving you with only one exit to take. She slowed down to a stop, and you exchanged glances.
"I guess...we'll be taking the first exit," you remarked. She nodded.
"I guess so. Tough luck. Maybe you should look for some four leaf clovers while we're out here."
"Not my fault that these guys couldn't drive. Make sure you keep your distance from large amounts of the undead."
"Yeah, I've got you."
She pulled off of the exit ramp and drove around thirty five miles an hour. The city was completely empty. You shuddered.
"This is really weird," you whispered. "Where are the undead?"
"Maybe the college students fended them off?" Mikasa inquired, but she sounded unsure. An apprehensive feeling swept across both of you. "Should we turn back?"
"We're so close," you complained. "I think we should try a little longer. But don't blame it on me if something else goes wrong."
"I'm agreeing with you, so I won't."
She continued driving forward, stopping after about one-fourth of a mile.
"Yeah, I have no clue what to do from here."
The city looked disgusting, though the pictures you had seen of Raleigh before were always thriving and clean. Garbage littered the streets, along with corpses and rotting figures.
"Um… we should turn, I guess, since we're on the outside of the city. Maybe try to go in a little?"
"Right."
She turned down an alley and drove slowly. You rolled your window down, seeing if you could hear anything. It was dead.
"Well...um…"
A screech was heard. Cars?
"Looks like we're not alone, at least!" you said. It sounded like two cars, and by the humming of their engines, huge ones. Mikasa smiled, getting out of the car. Both boys were awake, and Armin had begun to get out.
"You hear that?" the blonde asked. "Other people…"
"Here we go…" Eren mumbled. He rolled towards the edge of the car and used Armin as support for his weight so that he could get out on his own. "Let's see if this was a mistake."
You all four stood in front of the truck, which was now turned off. Mikasa held her equipment, but you left yours in the seat.
A huge black truck pulled into the alley. They stopped, but no one got out. You and the group all waved towards the driver, but received no response. Another came in behind you, this one loaded on the top with weapons.
"Um, guys?" Armin whispered, looking nervous. "I don't think… I don't think these are friendlies."
Both cars took up most of the alley so that there was no way you could go beside them. You were trapped between them, and they slowly began to drive forward.
"W-wait, what are they doing?!" Mikasa shouted.
You looked around. A door was on the left side of the alley, leading into one of the buildings. You ran towards it and tugged at it. The moment you ran, the cars sped up.
"GO!" Mikasa yelled. "OPEN THE DOOR!"
"I'M TRYING!"
"Give me that!" she yelled, pushing you away. She pulled out an axe and chopped at the doorknob, ripping it off. She pushed it, and it swung open. "Everyone, get in!"
You ran in and helped Armin and Eren behind you, sparing no time to admire Mikasa's strength.. Mikasa ran in behind you and looked around for something to prop up against the door. It looked as though you were in some form of a clothing store. To her right was a vending machine - she pushed it against the door and moved away. Both cars outside seemed to stop. Shouting came from the other side.
"They ran into the building!" came a male voice. It sounded very gruff.
"Well we can't just stand around. They had girls, and supplies. You - raid their car. And you, come with me. We're going in the store."
"Fine by me."
You exchanged a look with Mikasa and ran for a hiding place. She pulled Eren behind the register and sat him down so that he was hidden. She ducked down beside him. Armin hid in the clothes.
The main door opened just as you dove behind the information desk. Two men entered, judging by the sound of their footsteps. You turned behind you and couldn't see any of your friends.
"Oh, lovely," spoke one of the bandits. "They're playing hide n' seek."
"No matter, we'll find them. There aren't many hiding places in this store."
You gulped, peeking above the counter. One of the men had a mask, while the other wore a bandana. Your weapons were all in the car. You had nothing back here but a few clothing hangers and a fire extinguisher. The men headed towards the other side of the store first, looking through the clothes and behind desks. One of them turned to you and you ducked..
"I'm going to check out the dressing room."
"I'll keep a lookout out here."
This gave you a chance. One of them being gone would enable a sneak attack on the other. But how…? You couldn't think of a way to actually kill someone with a flimsy plastic hanger.
Mikasa didn't have to improvise. The moment the other guy entered the dressing room, she snuck across the store, heading slowly towards the masked man. You held your breath.
Leaping up, she attacked him from behind, slitting his throat with one quick movement from the knife. She put a hand over his mouth and he couldn't make a sound. You gasped as she hid the body behind the clothes and leapt into the pile.
The man with the bandana re-entered the room.
"Henry? You still here?"
Oh no.
The man walked over to where "Henry" had previously been standing. Mikasa was close. He aimed his gun down at her hiding spot, seeing the blood on the floor.
"So, you brats caught Henry? He was a moron anyways. But don't worry, I'll have your heads soon enough-"
You leapt from behind the counter and charged at the man. "Don't touch her!"
He spun around and aimed his gun at you, but before he could fire, Mikasa took him out in the same manner she took out Henry. You approached her, panting.
"Christ," you muttered. "Are you a ninja?"
Mikasa shook her head. She wasn't unphased - she seemed really hurt by her actions. You left it alone, but looked down at the men. It felt disgusting, playing scavenger, but you needed supplies. Bending down, you took a pocketknife from Henry and a pistol from the other man. You turned the safety on.
"Armin, Eren, it's safe for now. We need to get out of here, though, before more of them come."
Eren wobbled over, and Armin sprinted out of the clothes rack.
"Mikasa! (Name)! Are you both okay?" Armin asked. You smiled.
"We're fine. We just need a way out."
The blonde paused for a moment and moved towards the front of the store. Looking out of the windows, he saw a few more cars passing by.
"I think we're in bandit territory," Armin spoke up. "This is nowhere near the college, but, let's hope they weren't the same organization. If we go upstairs, it looks like there's an emergency ladder we can sneak around on. It will bring us into another building. Let's not cross the street until we're in a less populated area."
More shouting came in from outside.
"And let's move fast."
Eren glanced at you. You felt a bit of worry swelling up in your chest. He tried to soothe it. "I can make it up the stairs, (name); I'm healing up."
You took his hand, causing him to blush a little. "I'll still help you, Eren. I want you to be safe."
You both ran up the stairs, reaching the once employee-only floor. There, on the side of the room, a red flight of emergency stairs ran along the building.. It extended alongside several stores, going both up and down floors along the way. Armin went out of the window first, checking to see if you would be clearly visible to those underneath. Fortunately, they didn't seem to be paying attention to anything going on above them.
Mikasa came out next, and you worked with her to get Eren out of the window. He landed safely, and you all walked as stealthily as you could along the buildings until you reached the end of the row.
"Now what? Should we cross the street?" Eren asked. You looked around.
"We need to… we can either cross to the left of the building, or directly across the road. It looks like most of the traffic is actually gone."
"Let's stick to the outskirts of the city," Mikasa decided. "It might be easier to make an escape."
"We won't have as many buildings to hide in."
"We do have the cars, though. And the environment. There's a lake near Raleigh, literally just called Lake Raleigh. If we can get there, we can try to find the college tomorrow."
"We need a map or something," Armin remarked. "Unless one of you is an expert on the geography of North Carolina, then we will be very lost by the end of the day."
Eren looked down at the group of bandits, now on the other end of the building. "There are so many of them...it's like they've killed off the zombie population of the entire city…"
"Don't count on it," Mikasa whispered. "It's very possible that they missed a few spots here and there."
Armin turned around and entered the window of the building behind him. This was a hotel, and the bedroom had recently been cleaned. Following behind him, you entered the hallway. It was deserted, and a flight of stairs was to the left. You went all the way to the first floor and got out, but froze upon hearing more voices.
"They killed Henry and David," a girl grunted. She had a very masculine, intimidating voice. "They'll kill the rest of you if you're found. The key is to not be caught by them. Catch them first."
"Yes, ma'am," a few voices spoke up.
"We've got the entire building being infiltrated. If we can't find them, then it will be burned down."
Everyone split up and searched the floor. The woman remained in her spot, looking around with a flashlight. You stayed out of the line of sight, biting your tongue.
"Armin," you whispered. "Can you think up a strategy for getting us the heck out of this building?"
He nodded. "Of course. I think it's best to take out everyone but the queen. She isn't armed heavily, and if you can manage to sneak around her, you can take out all of her little bodyguards."
"Of course. Now, how do I get around her?"
"Watch and listen," Mikasa grinned. She took out a quarter and threw it across the room. It hit the opposite wall, which gathered a lot of attention from both the girl and her servants. They all looked up at the ceiling, as if someone had dropped it. You and the group quickly maneuvered your way to the far right of the room, hiding just in time to hear the woman announce an order.
"Second floor, move out. Get up there and find those brats."
She lit a cigarette as five or six men ran upstairs. Four remained downstairs.
"This is so exciting!" you whispered. "It's like a video game."
"Shut it," Mikasa growled. "You'll get us caught."
"Sarah!" one of the men yelled. You all locked up in fear that you had been noticed. The woman turned sharply.
"What is it? Did you find them?"
"No, ma'am. I have new orders from Damien. Here's the new map."
She took it, shrugged, and removed an older map from her pocket, throwing it on the floor.
"So we're plotting another ambush? Who else would be coming through the city?"
"There's a radio announcement for some group trying to find a cure in the university. We can both starve them out and capture new arrivals by holding a stakeout around the campus."
"Damien actually knows what he's doing for once. However, we've got to find these children before we do anything further."
"Aye."
He saluted her and moved away. You assumed that Sarah was a ex-military woman who demanded respect. You could appreciate that, but nonetheless, her military record did not make her a good person.
"I have a plan, guys," Armin whispered. "We just need to take out one person - and we need to take them out loudly. Get everyone's attention in one area. We grab the map, and leave."
"How do we loudly kill one person and not get noticed at all?" you asked. Armin looked at you.
"Either you or Mikasa needs to go back upstairs. Take one of them out. Your chances of survival are slim, but with luck, you can make it back down here. Take the elevator."
You exchanged a look with Mikasa. "Alright. I'll do it. But give me a knife."
"(Name), you don't have to do this," Mikasa whispered. "Can you even kill somebody?"
"I helped you kill one of those men. I can kill one on my own."
Eren watched you take the knife from his friend. You nodded at Armin, and snuck your way back to the flight of stairs. Going up, you had to be exceptionally careful not to step into sight of someone. Fortunately, they had all left the staircase for different hotel rooms. You found the elevator and decided to try and seek out one of the close-by bandits.
In the room you had entered the hotel in, you found a single bandit looking out of the window. He had found out your route thus far.
"Those guys came into the hotel...the others are wasting their time...I should tell Sarah."
You bit your lip and snuck up behind him. You wouldn't use the knife you'd gotten from Mikasa...you'd use the gun.
Lifting up the pistol, you looked up at the ceiling, as if asking for forgiveness before taking the man. Trying not to think about his life story, you pulled the trigger whilst aiming at his stomach, and took off for the elevator before he even had time to scream; heck, before you even heard the gunshot.
Halfway to the elevator, he screamed.
"H-HELP! SHE'S UP HERE! ONE OF THE GIRLS IS UP - ROOM 306!"
You slammed on the elevator button and ran on. You frantically pushed the close-door button and saw as the men rushed either beside you, or towards you.
"Stop!" they yelled. "Don't you close those doors, you motherfucking-!"
SLAM.
You panted, trembling in your legs and hands, and dropped the gun.
What if he doesn't die? What if he suffers?
You panicked, and the doors opened. Eren greeted you.
"(N-name)!"
"Eren!" you yelled, running into his arms. "I… I killed him!"
"I know. I know…"
"I killed someone… I don't know… he isn't dead yet, but I got him near the heart… he'll bleed to death, Eren!"
Mikasa pushed a cart in between the doors of the elevator to prevent them from closing. They had all locked the door to the stairs while you were up there.
"We don't have much time, (name),"Armin spoke, grabbing the map of Raleigh. "Let's get the hell out of here."
You moved from Eren, still shaken. "A-Alright."
Taking off, you all fled the building, running towards the lake as fast as your legs would carry you, but the image of the man stayed fresh in your mind…
"So they'll be surrounding the university by tomorrow," Armin whispered, staring at the map. You had found a lake house to stay in, and boarded it up. Beyond the bandit territory, zombies were once again a threat, though their numbers were not menacing.
"Can't go through it, can't go over it...gotta go under it," Mikasa replied, drawing a few lines on the page with her finger. "We'll just have to take a sewer path."
"Great," you sighed. "But Eren could become infected...his leg is still healing."
"I'll carry him," Mikasa offered. With that, you began to wonder how Eren was holding up. He slept in the first bedroom in the hallway, but he'd fallen asleep hours ago. Standing up, you excused yourself for the night and went to check up on Eren.
Without knocking, you entered. Eren sat on his bed, clad of any clothing except for a pair of boxers, trying to rewrap his leg. He glanced up at you.
"Hey."
"Hey. I thought you were asleep," you whispered, closing the door. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I tried to sleep, couldn't and decided to just change my leg wrap…"
He was somehow failing at that. You came over and touched his hand, offering to properly wrap it up. He allowed this. "You seem troubled, Eren. Something on your mind?"
Nod. "Yeah, I just…"
He paused. A bit of anger built up in his face and tone.
"You really scared me today, you know that?!"
"Huh?"
"Volunteering for a suicide mission! You could have gotten killed!"
You frowned. "I was scared, too, you know. It was my first time killing someone else… but I didn't want to risk Mikasa's life. She's more skilled and necessary than I am."
"But I kept thinking, what if she doesn't come back?! I still had so much to say, (name), so much to tell you-"
"Then tell me, Eren."
There was a momentary silence. He glared at you, fire in his eyes. You couldn't tell if he was angry or impassioned. He puffed up his chest.
"God damn it, (name)! It's obvious! I'm in... I'm in love with you!"
You froze. "You're...what?"
Mikasa was right, then. Though, it must be said, Eren had never really been bluntly romantic enough for you to notice.
"I'm in love with you…" he said, sounding somehow exhausted. After a dramatic pause, he resumed. "You are my world. You've taken over my mind, my emotions - I wake up and the first thing I think is, how is (name) right now? I wonder what she's thinking? You're everything, and I-...I don't know what else there is to say!"
He seemed so mad, like he was yelling at you, but you could gather what his intentions were. With a smile, you ruffled his hair.
"Eren, you don't have to scream it at me."
He blushed and looked down. Feeling more smooth than usual, you lifted his chin and looked him in the eyes.
"Eren… I didn't talk to you for nearly three years…"
"But I thought about you the whole time…" he whispered, not looking out of your gaze. "I dreamed about you. I talked to Mikasa about you. All I could think about was how to get you back, even if it were just as a friend, so that I could get back these meaningful conversations… so that I could get back the way you look at me when we talk…"
All these years of you being away from him, and he'd remained so loyal to you… he'd been in love with you this whole time, and hadn't said a word? But why?
"Why didn't you tell me how you felt?"
"I was waiting for the perfect moment… I wanted us to be like a movie… I mean, I wanted some adventure to bring us together… that being said, this wasn't exactly the adventure I had been hoping for."
You smiled. "Eren, I've told you, every day with you is, and always has been, an adventure… did you become distant Freshman year because you had a crush on me?"
"I didn't know how to tell you, and I was afraid I'd embarrass myself," he sighed. "Are you done interrogating me?"
"Temper, temper," you chuckled. "Eren… I…"
Did you love Eren? You did choose to go with him when all hell broke loose. You did like talking to him, and were willing to lay your life on the line for him at a moment's notice. At Paradise, you'd had a lot of fun together, laying in bed and quoting Mean Girls. That is, before you nearly died…
He looked at you with puppy eyes, waiting for your end of the sentence. The fire seemed to be extinguished from them, replaced with a film of water and fear.
Do I love Eren?
Of fucking course I do.
"Eren, I'm not a very romantically wordy person, so…"
You leaned in and moved his chin so that you could get the perfect angle. Removing your hand, you tilted your head, placing your lips on the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide open for a moment, but they closed as he placed his hands on your hips and pulled you onto his lap.
Thunder clapped from outside. He smiled.
"There's your rain, (name)-"
You interrupted him with a deeper, more forceful movement, pushing against him and prodding his mouth to stay open. You moved away, earning a slight moan from his mouth.
"(Name)-"
"Shh," you whispered, kissing him more. "No more words."
He nodded, blushing heavily, and you pushed your body against his; with your arms, you pulled his head in so that he couldn't escape your lips any time soon.
Leaning over, you blew out the candle. Only the moonlight peeking in through the cracks in the barricade would illuminate you now…
An. Well, fuck. Why can't Jean's chapters be this long?
And yet, it still felt so short...