alive, but filthy
Chapter 1:
"No, no, no!" Carla yelled at her second-born son. "Get that ridiculous thought out of your head this instant, young man!" She grabbed Erens shoulders and shook him slightly. "No son of mine is going to be foughter, do I make myself absolutely clear?!" The 15 year old had no time to control himself before lunging out his chair and yelling back, "Stop yelling at me!"
"Don't you dare-!" but before she could continue, his father chipped in. "It's a nightmare, Eren. The outside. You really have no idea." Eren glared at him.
"Yeah I get it, okay! But anything is better than this life!" He looked down. "I'm not stupid… I know it's ugly out there. I know there's death around every corner. But- we can't just give up on it!" Eren got right up in his father's face, "Because otherwise this nightmare is never gonna end!" He panted. Everyone in the room, including Mikasa, stared at him in almost disbelief. Grisha sighed, "I see…" he stood from his chair. "Excuse me, I'll be late for the fair." Carla jumped up and followed him out. "Darling for heavens sake! Scold the boy, aet him straight!" He removed his hat and turned to his wife. "Scold him? Think this through, your words will not hold back his curiosity. Eren!" Eren looked up at him. "Behave while I'm gone and I shall let you in on what I've been doing down in the cellar. Agreed?" Erens eyes glistened at the sight of the key. "Yes sir! You've got it!" He smiled. And with that, his father headed out the door and continued his travel down the street. It was then that Eren heard the calls of men and footsteps of horses nearby. "That must be them! They're back! They're back!" He grabbed Mikasa's hand and raced out the house. "Eren, wait!" His mother called but they had already gone, leaving behind the pile of firewood he had carelessly dumped on the floor.
It wasn't long before Eren and Mikasa made it to the wall enterance, he pushed and shoved people out the way to try and get the best view. "Hey, watch it kid!" a grown man spat. Mikasa apologised on her step-brother's behalf. Eren groaned, "There are too many people! We'll never get to see them at this rate." That was when a familiar voice called their names from above them. "Huh?" Eren looked up to where the voice was coming from and saw his best friend Armin sitting on one of the house roofs. "Armin! What are you doing up there?"
" Just get up here! You can see everything!" The brunette began to climb the ladder when Mikasa held him down. "Eren, that's a bit high don't you think? Someone might hurt themsleves" Eren rolled his eyes. "You're such a scaredy cat."
" I am not!"
"Yes you are. Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat! Mikasa is a scaredy-"
"Shut up Eren! You can go up if you like but I'm staying right here."
"Whatever. Have fun watching the back of people's heads." he laughed and continued climbing the ladder. "Hey man!" he smiled.
"Shh! They're here!" Armin pointed to the rising gate.
A big group of horses made their way inside the wall, followed by the Survey Corps, there seemed to be less people coming back than there were leaving. They were shortly followed by the Special Operations Squad. Eren and Armin watched in glee. "Look, Armin! It's Eld Jinn, and Oluo and-" Eren didn't realise he was slowly shifting closer and closer to the edge of the building. "Eren you might wanna-" but his friend was too interested in the Survey Corps teams to hear him. "And- OH MY GOD ITS ERW-" Eren squealed before feeling his hand slip, causing his whole body to go flying off the roof. "EREN!" Armin yelled, jumping to grab him but not getting there in time. Gasps could be heard from the crowd below as they saw the boy falling. Eren screamed and squeezed his eyes shut preparing for contact with the hard concrete ground, he even saw what he thought was his life flash before his eyes. But instead he felt himself be unhesitantly held in a pair of gloved arms tightly. He opened one eye confused. "A-Am I dead?" he muttered. He saw the ghostly yet charming raven-haired man staring down on him. The look he was recieving was difficult to explain. It was hard to tell if he was happy, sad, angry, you name it. He looked dead. And empty.
"No. Not yet, anyway." he finally spoke. His voice sent shivers down Eren's spine. He gulped nervously, not sure how to feel. "T-Thanks for s-saving me sir…"
"It's my job. Don't take it personally." Eren half-smiled, unsure if it was a joke or not.
"EREN!" Mikasa screamed and ran to him. "I told you not to go up there! Why do you never listen?! Are you okay?!"
"Yes Mikasa I'm fine." The guy holding him glared at her and put Eren down roughly. "Enough with the suicide attempts, kid." he looked him up and down before walking away.
Eren blushed and cleared his throat. "Are you sure you're alright? You look rather faint."
Eren was still watching his saviour walk with his team. "W-Who was that?"
Mikasa frowned and glanced at where he was staring. "Him? That's Captain Levi, he's the leader of the S.O.S."
"Hm."