A/N: Sorry it took so long! Comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms are always welcome! :)
trigger warnings: gore and violence
Farlan fetches them from her place, saying that there's an urgent meeting called by the Commander and Dr. Zoe in the Research Facility. Everyone is there, with the exception of the trainee kids, the elders, and the little children.
"You all know that Moblit and I – and more recently, Farlan - have been studying what brought the apocalypse and what turned the first human into a zombie, right? Well, I have this theory that we all carry the mutant gene that turns us into zombies within ourselves, within our genetic makeup."
"The reason why we called you here is that we've finally figured it out. Turns out – my theory is true. Here. This is our genetic makeup and this is their genetic makeup. This is where the mutation is."Hanji points to the colored bands flashed on the computer screen.
He feels a chill run down his spine and Petra shivers next to him. Everyone in the room looks disgusted and horrified.
"Actually, we've figured it out a year ago but we weren't sure, even despite the molecular confirmation. We didn't want to believe," Moblit says as he gave them an apologetic look as if to say sorry we kept this information from you guys.
"We still haven't discovered what actually triggers the mutations though. We'd like to find out but we're afraid that it requires for a person to die for us to observe and follow how the mutation happens," Farlan explains further.
The Commander thanks the Research Team for their hard work and after several minutes of stunned silence, Moblit asks if anyone has a question.
"Is there a cure, Dr. Zoe?" Carla Jaeger asks and everyone turns to Dr. Zoe expectantly.
Hanji removes their glasses and takes a deep breath, "There is none, I'm afraid."
"Who knew that Farlan was fucking smart?!" Isabel jests to lighten the mood after the horrifying revelation in the research facility.
"I happen to be a biology major before this shit started."
He still feels uneasy; learning that Petra and his friends could turn into mindless zombies someday made him want to vomit. Petra feels his discomfort and cuddles closer to him, comforting him with her mere presence.
"You should kill me when I turn into a zombie," she tells him while abed one night.
"You wouldn't turn into a zombie. I won't allow it." He instinctively tightens his arm around her. He's been sleeping at her place more than he does at his. Her father doesn't mind and even asked him if he wanted to marry his daughter.
"Ah, I forgot that it's the apocalypse. But an old man can dream, right?" Her father told him once before he went off to chop firewood.
He finds her slumped over the toilet bowl one morning and his whole being freezes with dread. He rushes up to her and helps her up gently.
He takes her face in his hands and looks in her eyes, "Petra, are you – "
She shakes her head, "I'm not. It's just something I ate."
"Are you sure?"
She smiles, "I'm sure, Levi."
He pulls her closer to him and kisses the crown of her head. They wouldn't want their child to live in this horrible, horrible world.
It is winter and he finds himself out of the walls once more. This time they are looking for warmer clothes to wear. The days have been gloomy and grey and cold. The children and the elderly are shivering from the harsh weather, and if they don't get warm soon, they might die of the chill and turn the place into a frozen zombie district.
Mike shoulders the door open, snowflakes swirling and landing on the dark and dusty floor of the house. Nanaba climbs half-way up the stairs and they wait as she makes noise to lure out the undead. They come stumbling out from the rooms and into the hall, hissing and grumbling. There were a number of the undead but the five of them killed them off in no time.
Isabel rummages through the closets in one of the rooms and bags all the blankets she could find. Levi goes up the stairs and Farlan follows. He is so focused on bringing back warm clothing for everyone that he doesn't notice the torso of an undead, sprawled behind the door of the room he just entered. It dragged itself to where he is fidgeting with the locked closet door.
Levi feels hands on his ankle and his muscles being ripped from his body and his mind doesn't register what's happening. He doesn't think about how foolish he is for not checking, he doesn't think about death or about the pain but Petra.
Petra crying over his scorched corpse.
Petra cursing him for leaving her.
Petra broken and lost.
Petra alone in this horrible world.
Petra. Petra. Petra.
He snaps and curses and sinks his dagger deep into its skull. He kicks the corpse away and stomps on its head over and over and over. He panics, oh God, he doesn't want to die. He needs to live for her.
Farlan hears him cursing from the adjacent room and finds Levi fuming and kicking the zombie at his feet.
"Levi, it's dead. What are you –"
Farlan's eyes grow wide as he takes in the sight of Levi's bloody calf. He rushes over, pulls an angry Levi away from the rotting corpse and forces him to sit down on the bed. Farlan rips off a piece of the bed sheet and makes a makeshift tourniquet just below Levi's knee.
"Goddamnit, Levi! What the fuck were you doing?!" Farlan curses as he tightens the tourniquet, stopping the flow of blood and the spread of the infection.
Levi doesn't answer and Farlan shouts for Isabel. She comes running up the stairs, takes one look at Levi's bloody leg and Farlan's pale face and a shiver ran down her spine.
"Saw! Now!" Farlan orders; Isabel nods and runs back down the stairs to look for a saw. Isabel arrives with minutes that seemed as though they lasted for hours with Mike and Nanaba in tow.
"This is the only thing I found," Isabel says as she hands the axe to Farlan.
"This'll do. Mike, hold him down."
Levi bit down on his fist and screamed just as the axe came crashing down.
"You're a fucking idiot. I can't believe you!"Farlan tells Levi as he helps the latter get into the car.
"I'm glad you're alright, big bro," Isabel says beside him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"How did he not pass out from the pain?" Nanaba cringes as the image of Farlan hacking off Levi's leg came into her mind unbidden.
"He's a tough little guy," Mike says as he rolls off the curb and drives towards the district.
Levi closes his eyes. It's been a long and tiring day and Petra is waiting for him to come home.