Anamnesis – Chapter 4
"Haven't you noticed the blood on his jumpsuit?" Reiner asked.
Levi's eyes shot directly to Eren jumpsuit where they seemed to scan its entirety in just a few seconds before they found what they were looking for. There were two dark patches on the tattered garment, one near Eren's midriff and the other near the bottom of his left leg.
Everyone seemed to step forward a little closer to get a better look. Jean got the closest, and Levi got the impression that he would want to be the person most eager to condemn Eren. Levi observed that Jean had already made it pretty obvious that he did not the like the green eyed boy.
"How can you be sure it this is blood?" Eren said, raising his leg and pointing to the dark patch. "Besides, I woke up with this jumpsuit on."
"It does look like blood…" Jean said.
"But doesn't it look old? Like it's already dried in?" Bertholdt asked nobody in particular.
"Besides, look at all of our jumpsuits… they are pretty old." Ymir said.
"They look like they have been worn by people a long time before we ever got it." Mikasa added.
Everyone seemed to look at the jumpsuits, evidently they had been worn and torn, and some even had patches sewn on.
"But guys, it makes sense!" Jean said, pointing to the bloodstain on Eren's midriff. "What if Eren had a partner, just like the rest of us… but killed them?"
"I told you I woke up without a partner! Plus why would I kill them for no reason. There is no motive for me to do that!" Eren's voice was rising out of anger.
"Jean what exactly are you suggesting he used to kill his partner? We haven't found any weapons since we've been here. And if he was handcuffed, how did he get the cuffs off? Bertholdt and I, tried using a chair to break ours off…" Annie said turning the group, "Turns out these cuff are pretty resilient to heavy objects."
The group looked at each other in silence, seemingly daunted at the situation that they found themselves in.
It's like people are just starting to realise the gravity of our predicament. We are trapped and handcuffed for an unknown reason, in this… place. And Jean would make people believe that we have a murder in our midst.
Levi peeked a Mikasa from his peripheral vision and was sure that she was staring a Eren.
"I think we should give Eren the benefit of the doubt here guys. We don't know enough at this point to make a decision as to what we think happened. Also, even if Eren did have a partner and kill them, then what exactly do we plan to do next…?"
Armin let the question hang in the air. He did not say what he thought the others might suggest, for that would be too cruel if that was the case.
Levi made a point to quickly glance at Jean, who judging by his facial expression was not happy at Armin's defence of Eren.
"Fine - but someone needs to watch Eren at all times until we know a bit more about this place. I still don't trust him." Jean said, crossing his arms. The rattle of the cuffs were a not so subtle reminder that Eren was the only one of the group not wearing any.
"I would never have guessed that…" Levi commented.
Reiner laughed and nodded.
"Fine, Eren will be under guard until then."
"And how exactly am I going to be able to prove my innocence?" Eren asked.
"We will have to explore this place I guess, or better yet escape." Ymir said.
"In case anyone was thinking that someone was going to rescue us, I think we should forget about that idea completely. Whoever put us here wants us to figure this maze or puzzle or whatever this is, out for ourselves. The cards with our names and those little phrases prove that." Mikasa said to the group.
"It makes sense." Levi concurred.
"Yes," Armin started, "They - whoever they are, are leaving clues at every turn. But we just have to be able to work out what they mean and put the pieces together."
"We haven't even explored this place fully." Annie added, "We didn't get to finish exploring our room. When we heard you guys shouting, we immediately ran this direction."
"How big is this place? You can't build a place this big and people not notice it." Ymir asked.
"It must be underground." Armin said, "Haven't you noticed that there are no windows."
Levi looked around at the windowless walls and sudden felt claustrophobic. He scratched at his forearm through his jumpsuit as he realised that he did not recall seeing windows in any of the other rooms or corridors either.
It's not a big deal, settle down.
"Guys we are going off in a tangent. We need to search this place in a systematic and organised way. The best way to do that is to split up." Levi suggests.
"And we will come back here and report what we've found." Reiner confirms.
"I hate to change the subject guys," Bertholdt said clutching his stomach. "But does anyone have any food? I've feeling hungry and dizzy for a while now."
Reiner turned to Armin.
"Didn't we see some packed lunch boxes in the room we started off in?"
Armin's eyebrows furrowed before he answered.
"Yeah, I think so."
Reiner turned back to the group.
"Why don't me and Armin go and grab the food and bring it back here? It means that we can all eat together, regain our energy and then head out and explore this place a bit better." Reiner finished.
Everyone seemed agreed on the idea, and bid farewell to Reiner and Armin as they left by the door to the south.
"I guess we should just relax until they get back." Ymir suggested as she looked about the room. "There are a few chairs, and a few small sofas in here. We should rest while we have the chance. Who knows what lies in store for us?"
Eren went to sit down in a nearby chair, before Jean pulled on the collar of his jumpsuit.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jean said, his words drawn out.
"I'm going to sit down, if it is not too much of an inconvenience to you?" Eren replied sarcastically.
"You'll be staying at my side at all times." Jean said, turning to those of the group still left in the room. "That was part of the agreement, that we would watch you, until you can prove your innocence."
No one in the room disagreed with Jean.
"Who's to say, that the moment we turn or back on you or fall asleep, that you won't kill us?" Jean shook his head, "I just can't take that chance, Eren."
With no one coming to his defence, Eren followed Jean without another word, as he and his handcuffed partner Ymir went over to a sofa near the northern exit.
"Bertholdt, we will take this sofa." Annie said, tugging her partner over to the sofa near the western exit.
So everyone still prefers to stay with their original partners only. Except for Jean of course, who has really taken a disliking to Eren for whatever reason… Does Jean think that he is really protecting the group, or is there something else…
"Levi, I need to talk to you." Mikasa said in a low voice.
"Yeah," Levi replied annoyed that Mikasa had broken his chain of thought. "Fine, let's sit on this sofa."
Mikasa and Levi walked to the sofa near the eastern exit, just beside the fireplace and the huge ornate mirror that Levi had noticed when they had first entered this room. The sofa was crimson red colour, with two golden pillows that had detailed lace work embroidery.
Levi sunk into the sofa as soon as he sat down, not realising how tired he was until that moment. The sofa faced the wall, and it was positioned in such a way that the sofa was directly in front of the fireplace.
If that fireplace was lit, I know I would be asleep in second. I can't remember the last time I was this tired… But that's not saying much.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Levi said, his voice betraying how tired he was.
Mikasa looked over her shoulder, to make sure that they were alone. Having decided that no one could hear her and that they were alone, she decided to finally turn back to Levi.
"Yes. I need to tell you something. But if I tell you, you can't say anything to the others. Not yet anyway." Mikasa said slowly, as she carefully picked her words.
"Stop being melodramatic and just say what you were going to say." Levi said, his tone too curt.
"Levi, I'm being serious. This could change everything. I need to you promise me. People could get hurt…" Mikasa said.
Levi saw the concerned expression on her face.
"Fine." This time his tone was gentler than it had been, as he nodded his head in acceptance of her condition.
"I recognise him. I've seen Eren before."
Suddenly, Levi did not feel tired any more.