A/N: I DO NOT OWN THE LAST OF US OR ANY PART OF THE NAUGHTY DOG FRANCHISE OR ATTACK ON TITAN. THIS IS SIMPLY FAN WORK.
"Don't do anything stupid," one of the soldiers barked as he aimed his rifle at his captives' heads.
The trio laid on the ground under the soldiers' watchful eyes. Eren had been forced into a panic, his breathing becoming erratic; Levi on the other hand fought hard to maintain a calm composure, plotting ways to mutilate the soldiers' wrinkly complexions. Harming them was one thing but doing so without taking a bullet was another.
"I'll alert the squad captain," the other soldier said while mounting his brown steed. "You stay here and make sure these three rats don't pull anything."
"Wait a sec though. Do you have any rope? I wasn't expecting to see three stragglers out and about."
"You don't need any. Pointing your rifle at 'em's good enough. I'll be back in around five minutes."
"Tell him that they got their hands on some maneuver gear too."
"Ho-ho, what lucky bastards then. This isn't gonna sit well with the captain."
The soldier rode off in a rhythmic gallop, heading east of the tunnel. The one left behind then began protocol, whipping out three separate Petri dishes and syringes from a leather pouch. Eren cringed at the sight of the needles, anxiety gnawing at his core. Truth be told, he had seen too many needles throughout his childhood — his father was a doctor after all; but he could barely handle seeing one more at his age. The sharpness of the needles themselves was enough to keep him at bay from anything.
The soldier first approached Levi. He knelt down beside him and saw his unnerving glare; but it meant absolutely nothing to the soldier who then scoffed at Levi's anger.
"I'm angry too you know," the soldier groaned. "I'm pissed off because I gotta deal with this shit again and in the middle of the night too."
He snapped on a pair of gloves, signaling the start of the blood sampling procedure. Using an alcohol pad, he wiped the length of the needle and the back of Levi's neck, killing any bacteria that could potentially enter into the bloodstream after breaking into the skin. He then rapidly plunged the needle deep into his neck without any warning at all.
"Ugh!" Levi groaned at the sharp pain. Blood began to collect inside the syringe. As soon the collection rose to ten milliliters, the soldier pulled the needle out from underneath Levi's skin and quickly released the sample onto the Petri dish. He sealed the dish tight and watched the crimson collection for ten seconds. Nothing happened.
"You're clean," the soldier said as he moved over to Petra.
He repeated the same process with a new needle, forcing out a small yelp from her through the abruptness of the procedure. The results of the sampling came out negative — she too was free from the Titan infection. Mentally, she sighed from relief.
"You lot sure are lucky," the soldier began, making his way over to Eren. "Well, so far. Most of the ones I've examined were infected. Shot 'em on sight you know."
Eren's heart raced through every passing second the soldier took to prep his supplies. His red scarf was tugged loose as he felt the coldness of the alcohol pad run down his neck. His body jerked from the surprise.
"Hold still, brat."
He then felt the needle dig deep into his flesh and a small pressure from the syringe's suction. As soon as the soldier pulled the needle free, he transferred the sample onto the Petri dish; but what he saw did not satisfy him one bit.
Suddenly, Eren shot up and tackled the soldier, shoving him into the dirt. The sealed Petri dish flew from the soldier's hand, rolling onto a rock. Eren whipped out a knife from his pocket and slashed into flesh — at the arms, the shoulders, chest then the neck. The man writhed underneath Eren but quickly gave out after losing an artery.
Levi and Petra watched in shock but were brought back to reality when they heard the trotting of a horse. The mounted soldier cursed at the sight and readied his rifle but was quickly shot down by Levi. The corpse fell hard onto the ground, and the horse fled into the far west.
Eren panted heavily from the adrenaline. He slid himself away from the soldier's dead body, picking up his knife and wiping it dry on the ground. He looked towards Levi with eyes of panic and trembled. "I thought... I thought we were just gonna hold them up or something...!"
Noticing something peculiar, Petra trailed herself over to the dropped Petri dish that rested against a small rock. She picked it up carefully and gasped at its contents. She turned her head to Levi with a dismal expression. She motioned him over.
"Levi… you need to see this."
Levi appeared beside her and yanked the Petri dish out of her hand. He eyed it closely and inhaled sharply from the wretched sight. The blood inside the dish was steaming, and the dish itself was warming up with a miniature fog. Levi rushed over to Eren, cursing under his breath. Mercilessly, he kicked the boy in the chest, launching him three feet back. The boy landed on his posterior and coughed from the sudden impact before he was kicked again. And again.
And again.
"What the hell, Levi?!" Eren grunted as the wind was knocked right out of him.
Levi stomped onto Eren chest, pinning him to the ground. He then narrowed his eyes at him and held the warmed Petri dish above the boy's face.
"Why the hell are we smuggling an infected brat like you?"
Eren looked directly into Levi's cold blue eyes, trembling from his killing intent that was becoming palpable.
"I-I'm not infected!" Eren gasped.
"No?" Levi dropped the Petri dish next to Eren's cheek. "Was this lying then?"
"I can explain!"
Petra stepped beside him and pointed her parrying blade at Eren's neck. "You better explain fast before we end your life in a heartbeat!"
Frantically, he pulled his right sleeve up slightly to the wrist, revealing his whole hand that had been hiding underneath the fabric the entire time. A reddened bite mark was engraved into the skin at the base of his thumb — and it looked fresh.
"Look!" he cried out.
"I don't care how you got infected, brat," Levi pressed his boot harder into Eren's chest, depriving him of oxygen.
"Ugh!" Eren struggled to speak. "It's...! Three weeks old, okay...?"
"Anyone that gets infected turns into a Titan within two days!" Petra chimed in quickly. "Stop trying to lie to us, Eren!"
"It's three weeks! I swear! Reiner wouldn't set you up like that! I know he wouldn't!"
Hesitantly, Petra lowered her blade slightly.
Levi growled, "I'm still not buying it, you little shit."
Suddenly, the same galloping they heard earlier had returned with a vengeance. There was a whole squad in the distance, en route of the trio's direction. Levi rolled his head towards the galloping and cursed into the air once again. He removed his boot from the boy's chest and hopped away from him.
He grit his teeth towards the pending danger and drew his parrying blades. "Take the boy and run, Petra."
The braying of the horses sounded even closer now.
"W-Wait—"
"Over there!" a soldier cried out in the distance.
"Move, Petra!" Levi made a break for it, leaping into the trenches a few meters from the tunnel.
"Get up, Eren!" she shouted as she pulled him up.
He shakily rose from the ground with pain all over his anterior. Petra snatched his wrist and closely followed Levi into the trenches. The two just barely landed on their feet when they dropped in, making a crackling sound in the pebbles underneath their shoes. The braying and the galloping stopped above them at the surface, and the intimidating sound of multiple pairs of boots echoed throughout the trenches. Rifles were cocked and the boots scattered in different directions.
"Keep moving and fast," Levi whispered as they traveled through the trench shadows.
Petra and Eren ran after him, disappearing into the blackness of their path.
"Search for those stragglers!" bellowed a soldier from above. "I want them on their knees in front of me with blood and bruises all over their bodies!"
A chill went up Petra's spine upon hearing the soldier's orders. Eren was terrified, shaking in his boots even while he followed Levi's lead. And Levi himself — nothing seemed to faze him at all. He was cool and composed in the midst of this escape. What went through his head in times like these remained a mystery to Eren. Nonetheless, the boy envied Levi's attitude in these situations. Perhaps Levi was not such a cruel person after all, Eren thought. His methods in dealing with his temper may be the worst thing anyone could be a part of, but he was smart. A quick thinker. A skilled smuggler.
Eren found a form of relief in him, believing that he could bring him to the Shift members in one piece. The thought that scared him, however, was whether or not Levi would even give him a chance to live after they escaped the soldiers' pursuit.
They stuck to the trenches like roaches on the sewer walls — a sight Levi was all too familiar with. The trenches were originally used as a form of defense against the Titans – a small fortress. It did not take long for the military to scrap the idea because the Titans would only step through it like any other piece of land they walked on. The walls were smoothed out from the years of erosion and manmade efforts, but the ground was rough with rocks that would fall inside from the Titans' footsteps. There were no sharp turns in the trenches or forks in the path which made it easy for the group to navigate – but that meant there was only one way out; and who could say that the military was not waiting for them on the other side?
Levi listened to the surface of the trenches, looking for any soldiers that could be found at the end of the path or easily drop in from the ledge by surprise. The coast was clear so far, but he suddenly came to a stop after reaching the end of the trenches. Petra and Eren halted behind his back.
They glued themselves closer to the trench walls to study the new environment before them. They discovered a plethora of debris sitting on the ground, large enough for them to crouch down and hide behind. However, it was not the greatest advantage for them — another squad of soldiers patrolled the grounds nearby, pushing the trio's adrenaline levels to the limit. The soldiers slowly approached the rubble next to the trench exit with lanterns in their hands, dangerously close to the trio's precise location.
"How do we get past them?" Eren's voice shook as he heard the soldiers come closer.
An idea sparked inside Petra's head. She picked up a large rock beside Eren's foot. She crept behind a straight piece of rubble, chucking the rock towards the patrol. The rock flew behind the patrol, landing against a broken wall of a former building. The soldiers then lashed their lanterns towards the noise, startled.
"Come out, you pieces of shit!" a soldier howled. "We won't hurt ya!"
"Yeah, right," Eren mumbled.
"Let's go!" Petra mouthed.
They crept behind the various pieces of rubble, avoiding the military's keen eyes. Well, semi-keen eyes. They were agile as cats, jumping behind rubble to rubble like child's play. Tricks such as that had become instinctive to them — not so much on Eren's part; but he still managed, clinging behind Petra who was much kinder to him in their given situation.
They sped past the last bit of rubble, dropping into another trench. Directly in front of them was a metal door to a small, cement tunnel. Levi pulled it open and hurried inside with Petra and Eren right at his back. Petra guided Eren in front of her as she remained behind to shut the door. As she placed her hands lightly over the rusted metal, she heard the voices of nearby soldiers:
"Did you check the trenches?"
"Yes, sir."
"All of them?"
"Yes, sir. But they're not there. Or anywhere..."
"If we don't catch them, the Titans will. Report back to head quarters!"
"Yes, sir!"
She heard the intense galloping of horses disappear into the distance and the groaning of frustrated men. Carefully, she eased the door shut and followed Levi and Eren out of the cramped tunnel. Upon exiting, she found Eren slumped against a boulder panting and Levi a few paces away with his back turned. She hopped out of the tunnel and approached Eren.
"Okay, Eren," she said, "What was the plan?"
"Plan?" he panted.
She nodded. "Let's say we delivered you to Castle Utgard. What happens afterwards?"
Eren looked down at his feet, apprehensive to reply. "Reiner said... he said that the Shift has their own little quarantine zone with doctors still trying to find a cure."
A cure? Levi questioned silently.
"And... whatever happened to me…" He reached around his neck and tugged from underneath his shirt a golden key. "Whatever happened to me is the key to finding a vaccine. Literally."
Levi scoffed at the notion. "Bullshit."
"It's what he said."
"Bullshit."
Eren stepped towards Levi and snapped at him, "I didn't ask for this you know!"
Levi rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "We didn't either, kid. Let's go, Petra."
"What if it's true?"
He stopped in his tracks, stunned by what he heard. He turned around and gave Petra a disgusted look.
"What if, Levi?"
"Petra," he said her name slowly. "Let's. Go."
"We've already come this far. Let's just finish it."
Levi was cross.
Petra walked up to him and seized his wrist. He suddenly became tense.
"Levi, you stole our gear back from them — there's no going back now. You even said so yourself."
She released her grasp on his wrist, feeling the tension within him disappear. He looked over his shoulder at the huge white moon that sank gradually behind the distant valleys. How long has it been since he last stared at the moon like that? He ambled away with his head craned up to the big white orb in the sky. Petra and Eren simply watched him, noticing his sudden calmness.
In the sky, he faintly saw an image of his old companions' faces – with Isabel smiling widely and Farlan drinking a bottle of beer. They were laughing – happy to be together, wishing to stay forever. Levi's eyes then suddenly widened, recalling their horrified expressions as they were stuffed into a Titan's gape.
"Big brother!" Isabel's scream reverberated in his head. He then clenched his fists.
"Levi?" Petra said softly.
Levi blinked.
"You okay?" she said, bringing him out of his stupor.
His eyes drooped down to the calm valleys beneath the moon. He saw the tiniest dot in the distance – it was Castle Utgard, awaiting Eren's arrival. Closer to them, there were buildings – a village. He sighed deeply, raising his eyes again at the all-seeing moon in the sky.
"Let's go."