A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited so far! It really means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 5

"Left Behind"

One morning, Risa awoke to quietness. All that could be heard were the birds singing their songs bright and early in the morning. Surprisingly, she was the first one awake. Eren, Isabel, and Farlan were still sleeping soundly by the time she got up. And even more surprising, it was the best sleep she had gotten in the past few weeks.

Four days had passed since they hid out in the grocery store, which meant that it had been four days since Levi and Risa got in their argument. Both of them behaved as if it never happened, but a part of Risa didn't want to let it go. At the same time, it was a relief that things weren't awkward between them. Anyway, they now found themselves taking shelter in an old apartment building. The rooms had been completely ransacked except for a few pieces of furniture that had been left behind. Lucky for them, they were able to make use of some of it.

Risa walked out into the main room to find Levi sitting on the kitchen table drinking a glass of bourbon. His head was turned, as he was gazing out the window. Risa couldn't help but notice the way his half unbuttoned shirt showed off the toned muscles in his abs. He was practically glowing from the morning sun beaming in through the window. After a moment of Risa staring at him, his gaze turned to her.

"Staring at something?"

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking over towards him, she saw that he was looking at her with an eyebrow raised. Embarrassed from being caught staring, Risa decided to ignore his question and tried to focus on something else instead. Her eyes darted over to the drink in his hand. "Isn't it a little too early for that?"

Levi shrugged and looked at the half empty glass he was holding. "Don't care," he said, taking another sip. "Want some?" He held the bottle out to her, gesturing her to drink some. She only shook her head. "It's all yours."

He downed the rest of his glass then slammed it down on the table, setting the bottle down next to it. Hopping down from where he sat, he buttoned the rest of his shirt as he walked over to his bag. He knelt down and unzipped it.

"So what's on today's agenda?" Risa asked, slowly walking over to him. She observed him as he rummaged around in his bag, looking for something.

"We're getting out of here so I'm going to go wake up the others," he answered, looking a few different cans of food that he was holding up. When he stood back up, he handed her a can of mixed fruit that he had chosen. "Eat up."

After the girl took it from him, he started to make his way into the other room, leaving Risa smiling to herself. She was probably overthinking it, but she couldn't help but feel grateful for Levi's random act of kindness. While she felt some kind of warmth from his actions, another part of her felt lonely. She found herself wanting another minute longer alone with him. It wasn't every day that she got a chance to be alone with him, so she wanted to use this chance to get to know him better. She had to do something quickly before he disappeared into the other room.

"Levi, wait," she called out to him in a hurry to get his attention. It was completely on a whim, but she didn't want to let that moment go to waste. He turned his head back and didn't say anything. "Maybe we should let them rest a little? You know, since it's going to be a busy day…" she suggested shyly. She hoped that she wasn't being too obvious in showing that she wanted to spend a little more time with him.

To her surprise, he didn't reject her offer. He also didn't question her, much to her relief. So the two of them sat down at the table across from each other to eat their breakfast. Risa observed Levi as he continued to look out the window. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

"Levi, how much sleep did you get last night?" she asked him, trying to sound casual about it.

"Hm." He finally looked back at her. "A few."

Risa raised an eyebrow. "Hours?"

"Minutes," he answered with that same deadpan expression he always had.

"Why?" Risa felt saddened by his answer.

He didn't answer her. Any time she spent trying to make a conversation with him was lost. Whenever it seemed like she was finally making progress, it eventually stopped going anywhere. It was like he refused to open up to her at all. Even though he was rude to her most of the time, she could tell that at least some small part of him was looking out for her. But she couldn't figure out why he refused to get close to she.

Risa watched in silence as he got up and went to the other room to wake everyone up.

By mid afternoon, the group had made their way to an old neighborhood just outside of a large city. The houses were rotted and plants grew out of the windows. As Risa took in their surroundings, she noticed that storm clouds were brewing up ahead. Since the houses weren't in the best condition, it was decided that they wouldn't be a great place for taking shelter.

Farlan discovered a sewer lid on the ground. He suggested going through the sewers and seeing where they would end up. That way the group would be sheltered from the rain. The mere thought of going through the sewers disgusted Risa, but she was in no position to protest. So she followed everyone.

Isabel walked beside Risa as everyone navigated through the tunnels. She aimlessly about the adventures she had been on with Levi and Farlan. The question of how she met them still lingered in Risa's mind, but she could never find the right moment to ask her. Surely, Isabel couldn't have forgotten that she promised to tell her, right? Isabel told Risa that she would tell her someday, so maybe all she had to do was wait. There would be plenty of time for her stories once they had escaped from this mess, so Risa continued to listen as Isabel went on with her tales.

"They all got angry with Levi, but they were no match for him," Isabel laughed as she finished telling a story about how Levi got on a gang's bad side once. Risa smiled, imagining the thought of Levi taking down a group of thugs. She thought about how amusing it would have been for her if she had been there.

"Isabel," Levi snapped, glancing back the two girls. "Enough."

Isabel rolled her eyes at him. "You're not being much fun," she huffed.

Levi turned around to say something to her, but was immediately interrupted by the faint sound of the Infected in the distance. It was silent between the group as they looked around at one another. No one dared to make a sound. No one dared to even breathe.

"We have to get out of here," Eren whispered to Risa, taking hold of her arm. She looked into his eyes for a brief moment, giving him a reassuring smile to let him know that everything would be okay.

Farlan's eyes darted to the way the moans of the Infected were coming from. Risa mentally told herself not to panic as they began to get closer. "Alright," Farlan finally said. "Let's go."

Levi led the way with Farlan in the back. Risa and Eren walked side by side as Isabel skipped along in front of them. Somehow, Isabel looked ecstatic to be in the situation that they were currently in. Risa never understood how danger thrilled her so much or how much fun she had in grave circumstances. Sure, danger was thriller, but not in a good way. Nothing about being in a situation where you might not make it out alive screamed 'fun' to Risa.

The five of them continued on through the everlasting tunnel, going even deeper into the darkness. Levi stopped dead in his tracks, causing the rest of his friends to bump into him.

"Hey! What was that for?" Isabel hissed.

Levi shushed her as he shone his flashlight over to the corner. Isabel gulped as the light revealed a group of the Infected walking aimlessly about. Isabel covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. But it was too late. The Infected turned to face everyone upon hearing Isabel's voice. As soon as they realized that they had been spotted, everyone immediately started to run. The group ran through the sewers with the Infected right on their tails. As much as they tried to outrun the creatures, their speed was gaining and eventually, more Infected had found their way to them.

"Where are they all coming from?" Eren asked with a panicked tone in his voice, looking back to see that the monsters were picking up speed.

"We're almost to the end," Levi informed everyone else, picking up his pace. He urged everyone to do the same. "Let's keep going." They all nodded, agreeing to follow his orders.

Risa felt a sense of relief wash over her when she spotted the end of the sewers. A ladder leading up to the exit was waiting for them. They were finally going to be free.

"We just have to keep going," Risa thought to herself as she started to run faster.

"Just don't look behind us," Farlan warned everyone, looking back at the mob of the undead.

Just a few more moments later, they were finally at the ladder. Levi helped Risa up and went after her. Then Eren started to climb and then Isabel followed. But Farlan never joined them. Farlan made sure that the four of them got up the ladder safely, but the Infected had reached him. He fought to reach the ladder, and eventually his hand grabbed onto one of the rungs. The Infected grabbed onto him, ripping him away from the ladder.

Isabel immediately stopped climbing once she noticed what happened. So did Levi after hearing her scream out, "Farlan, no!" as she was watched the Infected rip Farlan away from them. She stretched her hand out to try to help him, but she couldn't reach him.

Risa stopped climbing to watch Levi as he looked down at the sight before him. She watched in horror as Farlan was being devoured by the Infected right in front of their eyes.

"Isabel!" Farlan shouted out to her. He stretched his arm out, trying to reach her as he was pulled deeper in the crowd of the Infected. He could feel them starting to tear away his limbs and bite into his flesh. Isabel continued to reach her hand out to him as he cried out in agony. Farlan's screams eventually died out as the last of his life was taken away by the Infected. Eren grabbed Isabel's arm and pulled her up with him, forcing her to climb back up the ladder.

"Levi, we have to keep going," Risa told him quietly but firmly. She shut her eyes as she started her ascent up the ladder once again, trying to erase the image of the Infected feeding on one of her closest friends. She forced herself to keep going, trying to shut out Isabel's mournful cries.

Risa felt warm air hit her as she lifted the lid to the entrance of the sewers. Coming out of the underground, she was now finally standing outside in the middle of a run down city. No one said a word as Levi began walking off. She ran to catch up with him, wanting to keep him company. Although there was nothing that she could say to him, she still wanted to be by his side to support him. However, she walked behind him, feeling a deep sorrow in her heart. Not even the sun peeking out from the rain clouds could heal the pain that all of them were feeling.

The next day, the four of them were getting ready to leave the area they stopped to rest at. No one had spoken to each other at all and the silence was beginning to eat away at Risa.

"Alright, is everyone ready to go?" Levi asked. By looking at him, Risa could never tell that he was grieving the death of one of his best friend's. But she could hear the pain in his voice as he talked.

Risa nodded to him in response and started to follow him. Isabel stayed where she was.

"Levi," she mumbled, looking to the ground. "I'm not going."

"Why not?" he asked, turning around to face her. "You need to come with us." He walked over to her and grabbed her arm forcefully. She immediately pulled her arm away from him.

As Isabel slowly pulled up the sleeve to her jacket, she held back her tears. She never took her eyes off of him. "This is why I can't go with you." After telling him, she found that she couldn't look at him any longer.

The color drained from Risa's face as Isabel revealed the bite mark on her forearm. She looked towards Levi to see him staring at Isabel with wide eyes.

'This can't be happening right now,' Levi thought. He had just lost Farlan, and now he was about to lose Isabel.

"Can't I at least say goodbye?" Isabel looked up with a smile on her face.

Levi nodded before turning away to give her and Risa some space. He needed a moment to himself to compose himself.

Tears started streaming down Risa's face as Isabel walked up to her. Risa found it extremely difficult to look her friend in the eye, but she knew that Isabel needed to see her face before they parted ways. Isabel always knew how to cheer her up, so she had to be brave for Isabel. She was so important to Risa, as she was her only friend who was a girl. Because even though their time together had been short, Risa still considered Isabel her best friend.

Isabel smiled from ear to ear at Risa, almost as if nothing was wrong. Her face softened as she peered into Risa's face. "It's okay, Risa. I'm really glad I met you. I had so much fun with you!" Risa noticed how she was trying to sound cheerful despite the situation. Then it hit Risa that she was being strong for her.

"Isabel…" Risa choked through her sobs. She couldn't find the right words to say to her. Of course, she didn't want to say goodbye to her. Goodbyes were the most difficult for Risa.

Isabel wrapped her arms around Risa, pulling her friend into a hug. "Can you do me a favor? I want you to stay with Brother and take care of him. He needs you right now," Isabel told Risa quietly.

"But…"

Isabel whispered to her, "He'll open up to you. Just give him time."

Risa's eyes widened at her statement. Then, Risa tried her very best to smile at her, not wanting to let Isabel down. "Okay, I will. I promise."

"Good! That would make me really happy."

There was still so much that Risa wanted to say to her, but all she could say was, "Goodbye, Isabel."

Isabel said her last goodbye to Risa then she went to say a few last words to Eren. He didn't take the goodbye any easier than Risa had.

The moment that Risa felt her heart break was when she watched Isabel walk up to Levi. Isabel placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a soft smile. "Thank you so much for saving me that day."

"Isabel, don't." He looked away from her sternly, trying his best to hide the pain and sadness he was feeling. He was not ready for this at all.

Isabel looked up at the man that she had spent the last five years with. He wasn't just one of her best friends. He was her family. She admired him so much, and as she thought about how she had to leave him, she felt herself start to come undone. She began to fall apart in front of him.

"I don't want to turn into one of those things," she cried out, wiping the tears away from her face with the back of her hand. "Please, Brother. Don't let me turn into one." She clung onto his sleeve tightly.

Levi turned to face her. His eyes widened, knowing what she was requesting him to do. Then, he cast his eyes down toward the ground. "Why is this happening?" he mumbled under his breath, feeling himself start to panic. After taking a few deep breaths, he looked back at her. "Are you sure?" he asked as he looked right into her eyes.

"Yes. I'm ready now. Just make it quick, okay?" She continued to smile.

Levi nodded slowly, preparing himself for what he was about to do. When he pulled his gun out from his backpack, Risa turned her head away and shut her eyes tightly as Levi aimed the gun at Isabel. Eren walked over to his sister and immediately pulled her close to him. Risa leaned closely against his chest, hoping that she would be able to drown out everything that was about to happen. She didn't want to see or hear anything.

And then the sound of the gunshot rang out through the woods.

It was silent for a while after that.

Risa opened her eyes slowly before turning back towards Levi. He was kneeling down next to Isabel's body. He was holding Isabel's hand as he looked down at her face, taking his last moment with her in. He eventually stood back up after saying his final goodbye. When he turned around, he had that same blank expression on his face that he always did. Risa could see the coldness in his eyes.

Risa averted her eyes from him as he walked up to her and Eren.

"We have to go now," she heard him say.

So, Risa and Eren followed him, not knowing what the future would bring the three of them.

A/N: Ahhh, this chapter was so hard to write. :'( RIP Isabel and Farlan. I'm so sorry for killing off these precious characters, but the next chapter will be an extra special one in honor of them.

Thank you for reading!