Chapter 3.
The darkness never left. The darkness stayed. The darkness had become a regular friend to Levi over the years yet it still pissed him off. When Levi managed to squint his eyes opened, he had no idea where the hell he was. Sitting up right, he found himself on a street.
The street floor was nothing more than pure dirt. A few buildings surrounded the place. Some were constructed to look very fashionable, others not. Some of the buildings weren't even complete! Two things they all had in common;
1. They were old and crumbling into dust
2. The dirt that covered them was so thick you could peel it off
There was no sky. No sun, moon, stars or clouds. No heat, breeze, rain or snow. Everywhere you looked, the top was a layer of more solid dirt that seemed to meet the the ground in the distance. There were a few holes in through the the top but that was only to let the sewage water from up top run down below into a puddle.
A few stalls ran here and there selling food that the merchants somehow obtained from up top.
The people that lived there weren't much better than the actual place itself. Bodies lay around the buildings in poor health. Some starved, some puked, some ran high fevers from viruses or bacteria infections, some were killed and the others were just homeless and looking for a place to sleep.
Very few managed to afford what the merchants were selling. For those who couldn't often tried to steal. The cost of this when caught was your hand chopped off with a machete. Only a few managed to escape this punishment. Then the people who couldn't afford or manage to steal lay wasting away.
Levi looked down at himself. He was lying on a newspaper protecting him from the dirt. A "Tch," escaped his mouth. At least Kenny was trying to muse him by keeping him off the dirt ground. Levi now knew exactly where he was.
The underground city. It was a place underneath the capital, Mitras- the inner lands of Wall Sina. It was constructed many years ago but was then stopped. It soon became a home for thugs and others who lived in poverty.
Levi hated it and who wouldn't? Danger all around, starvation, diseases! However, that seemed to be the last thing on Levi's mind. The young nine year old had only one thing on his mind; dirt. He lifted his hand to examine it. On the tips of his fingers and a little on his palm was a dusty layer or dry dirt. Giving another, "Tch," the boy reached into his trouser pocket to pull out his handkerchief which he ALWAYS carried to wipe away the dirt.
Levi then peered at the city. This was his new home now. He better get use to it.
...
Levi was prepared to survive at the time. It took him a week to understand where everything was.
Many people looked at Levi thinking he was five years old and wouldn't last long. They were wrong. If anything, Levi was the only one under the city who was capable of surviving. The nine year old carried a gun and knife with him because let's face it, if he didn't he'd pretty much be on a suicide mission.
Levi walked around everyday with the normal bored expression mostly because he really was bored. You'd think some excitement would happen underground but really there's not. Then again, what can you expect when people are dying around you; literally.
A rumble erupted from his stomach and he responded to his stomach with a, "Tch."
A few things Levi found helpful when it came to getting food.
1. Choose your target
After searching around, Levi found a man with a dark shaggy beard and hair with a machete close to his right hand side. In front, he had a number of fresh green apples. How they stayed fresh underground, Levi will never know. All he knew was he needed an apple.
2. Learn weaknesses in case you get caught
The man was fat on it (must have been lying in his riches up top) so this made him obviously slow. Though strong, he was slow and Levi was fast. Very fast. Eyeing him closer, Levi could see something wrong with his right leg. When the man boomed his loud voice down the street and moved about, he limped.
So if Levi does gets caught (very unlikely), he's to kick the right leg and sprint. Plus, Levi has knives and a gun at the ready so all was well.
3. Patience
This was a pretty big key in getting the food. Levi had to pick his moment to strike for his food.
Casually, he leaned on a wall not far away from the stall but far enough for the man not to see and so that people in the crowd covered him. Plus his height made it more difficult to see him.
4. Distraction
Levi watched as a few boys with ragged clothes, a few missing teeth and bare feet crawled to the stall. Stupid idiots, Levi thought. It could have worked if they weren't so clumsy. They were very loud and when they shushed each other, it pretty much made things worse as their hushes were just as loud.
The man heard them from behind the table but wanted to muse them. One dared to reach for the apple, his grubby fingers pretty much slapping the table till he found an apple. The little boy didn't find the apple, the man pretty much held the apple for the boy to take.
When the boy grabbed it, he immediately dropped it and it rolled on the ground. He reached out to grab for it. That's when Levi walked over.
5. The Grab
People who steal make the mistake of looking suspicious. Wearing black, giving weird looks, shaking and sweating as well as talking with a break in their voice. Levi however stayed calm and acted like there was nothing wrong and anything that he'd do now was a normal every day thing. No need to get all worked up about it.
When the boy reached out for his apple, the man immediately bent down and grabbed his hand.
"'Ello boy," he'd spit into the young ones face. The boys face was beyond petrified. He shook and would probably piss himself in a few seconds.
Levi went up to the stall with an open bag. When passing, he used his arm to swipe the apples off the table and let them roll off and land in his bag. Afterwards, he closed the bag and walked off.
He could hear the screams of the poor young boy as his hand was removed from the rest of his body.
...
It soon became dark. Well darker as the underground was always dark.
With a long and heavy sigh, Levi sat down on the ruins of a front doorway that he had bagged himself for the night. His hand went into his bag and he brought out an apple to munch on. The crunch startled the silence as did the smacking of his lips. He didn't care. The apple was so sweet not to enjoy it as such.
In the poorer districts of Wall Maria, it be very rare for them to get apples so why did they have them? Apples inside Wall Sina were pretty much a common thing that merchants up there brought it down underneath to see who would buy some though people mostly stole.
Levi could hear rattling from his left side but he didn't bother glancing over. He could make out little footsteps and even a few hand smacked on the ground as the person ran on all four over to him. They were probably trying to sneak up on him but they were failing so miserably it was embarrassing.
They stopped and Levi could sense them just around the corner of the wall watching him.
"ROAR!" the person jumped up to grab the apple.
Levi simply closed his eyes and lifted his arm with the apple in it away from their reach. They flew passed him and tripped over Levi's legs and ended up tumbling about the place.
"Eugh," a groan escaped their lips.
Levi turned to look at them.
It was a girl. A very small girl. Her eyes were shut in pain as her knees were brought up to her head. Her clothes were simply a potato sack and she had the longest hair that Levi had ever seen. Her red locks flowed out onto the ground. She brought her knees away from her face and lay flat on the dirty ground; her eyes still shut.
Levi was confused to why her hair was red. Was it even natural to have your hair that red? It wasn't even ginger but actually red as if she'd just washed her hair in a fountain of blood. Still dirty though. Levi could see the dirt in it. He felt disgusted. It took every muscle in his body to hold him in place as he wanted to grab the girl and dump her in a river and scrub her clean.
The girl looked around the ages of seven.
"Ow." she murmured, finally opening her eyes. They glowed green in the dark. Though captivating, the bored expression on Levi's face did not change.
"Tch. You were too loud." he simply stated taking a another munch out of the apple.
The girl immediately rolled onto her belly and ran over to Levi on all four before poking her head over to Levi's and began to sniff.
"Gimme!" she reached out her hand and tried to swipe the apple. She couldn't get very far as Levi had his hand out of her chest pushing her away from him. "Me wants some!"
"'Me wants some?' Tch, is this how you talk down here?"
"Please! I'm so hungry!"
"As is everyone else around here. Beat it."
"Pwetty pwease! Just one bite! I haven't ate in two weeks!"
Levi glared at her with is death glare. She immediately backed away and let him finish his apple.
"Why are you asking me for food? Why not steal your own?"
"They all seem to know when I'm coming.
I wonder why, Levi thought. An elephant running along bubble wrap would probably be quieter compared to this girl. Not that any of them knew what an elephant was or looked liked or what bubble wrap is.
"Tch," Levi took another bite before handing the girl over the core. "Here."
"Oh! Thank-you!" she greeted the core like it was Christmas.
Horror filled Levi's eyes as he watched the young girl devourer the apple core. She had it down in two bites. Her face lit up from the sweet sticky juice that came from the core and licked her lips, savouring the moment.
"Thanks a bunch." she smiled up at the boy.
"Off with you then!" Levi shooed her away with his hand.
He put his legs up onto the doorway and turned onto his side, ready to sleep for the night. The young girl crawled up to him and pulled herself up with his side.
"Hey!" she whispered into his ear. Levi ignored. "HEY!" she called again.
"Get to fuck you annoying brat!" Levi muttered and the girl couldn't help but giggle at this.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
The nine year old looked over at the seven year old with a blank expression. She was pretty serious. Looking at her closely, he could see the cuts and bruises along her body as well as dirt. To make things worse, you could actually see the bones stick out from under her skin- if there was any left. Her ribs poked through her potato sack dress and it disturbed Levi greatly.
"I wouldn't count on it." he turned back onto his side.
"Oh." he heard the disappointment in her voice.
"You didn't ask if I'd let you have a whole apple though." Levi teased.
The young girl spread a smile across her cheeks. "Would you let me have a whole apple?"
"No." he simply stated. He couldn't believe how easily she fell into that one.
"That's cold."
"It is a chilly night."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"
Levi sat up quickly and placed a hand over the girl's mouth to shut her up. She mumbled under his hand but he hushed her. Looking around, he knew someone was there. Gazing around in the darkness he could make out a silhouette of a teenager around the age of seventeen with a pocket knife in his hand. To intimidate them, he playfully twirled it round his hands in many ways as possible.
It scared the girl beside Levi but he himself was unaffected. The seventeen year old had a cigarette stuck between his teeth and he grinned up at them. He stepped closer and Levi could make out his dirty ash blonde hair, grey eyes and bad acne skin.
"So, heard ya got your hands on some apples, huh?" he grinned down. Levi only forwarded his eyebrows when the tall stringy teen asked, "Hand 'em over."
"Tch."
"I said hand 'em over." at this point, the boy had Levi by the neck and the little girl crawled free from Levi's grasp With a bored look, Levi reached for his bag. "Dat's right, good boy. I might now have to kill you after all."
When grabbing the bag, he brought out his own knife and immediately threw it at the boys arm where he held his own pocket knife. The thug howled in pain as Levi got up and punched him; right left. The nine year old then hit his opponent under the chin before swinging a fist at the side of the face. For the finishing touched, the small boy kicked his leg high into his stomach, sending him flying into barrels in the corner.
"Fuck off, scum or I might end up killing you next time." Levi took the knife out of his arm and cleaned it.
Letting out a slight scream, the teenager ran off in fear. Levi turned to find the girl grabbing at his bag with the apples and scampering off, dropping them as she went.
"Sorry and thanks!" she yelled into the darkness.
He was so distracted with the fight he completely forgot about her, now, she was away with the food he earned himself! This was just his luck.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" he couldn't help but yell after her.
"Yeah," he heard her voice echo. "Again, I'm really sorry!"
"Tch, that little shit. Wait till I get my hands on her." Levi cursed.
Levi looked around to make sure the coast was clear before he went back to the doorway and hugged his bag close, knives at the ready and closed his eyes. He didn't dream. He didn't really sleep. His eyes were simply shut but Levi's senses were still going. He could hear the coughs and splutters of those dying round and the loud moans of some poor unfortunate girl that some guy got a hold of for the night. He could also hear a few whimpers and cries as well as others laughing and stabbing.
That's when the familiar racket of the girl from before made her way back except this time, she didn't stop at him. Well, she did but not for that purpose. Levi heard the young girl wheeze and gasp for air as if she had been running. He could also hear the, "Hey"'s of men not far from where they were. "Look, there she is!" called one of the men and they ran towards her. Levi turned to look.
The red head had beads of sweat flowing from her face. Her hair covered her eyes as she was on all fours; her nails sinking into the dirt. The young girl looked around for a place to hide. Not finding any, she made a run for it again on all fours. Levi sat up and watched as a group of men ran after her. There were at least five in the group going after the girl.
What did she do now? Levi couldn't help but wonder. Nothing that concerns me.
With that, the nine year old lay back down and closed his eyes, waiting for the morning to come.
Yay! I got a review! xD Please stop, you make me blush when you say I write like a professional. I read over the two chapters I posted and found a few typos that I didn't find all the other times I read it over before posting it out- ridiculous!
As for the plot, I'm not sure if you could say there's a 'plot' but I've always imagined how Levi was born, how he acted, where his personality comes from and why he's a clean freak. I wanted to share what I thought with others and also how he met Farlan and Isabel and how they became friends and survived the underground.
Hope you enjoy
~ChibiNagisaSakura