CHAPTER 22

The place was a hellscape. The fire drained everything of its life until only ash remained. The floor had been drenched in gasoline, encouraging the fire to go further and further. The air was thick with smoke and soot. The heat was so intense, Eren's hair had stuck to his forehead with sweat.

Mr. Leonhart was sprawled out on the floor. His body laid there eerily still. His eyes were blank and his mouth open wide as if still releasing a blood-curdling scream. Eren was on his knees, silently watching the blood from the multiple stab wounds trickle down his side and into a puddle.

"Eren, look at me." Annie stared down at him as if he were a worm, smaller, as if he were nothing.

"Why did you...?"

"They took me outside, you know."

"... do this...? Eren finished.

Annie ignored him, "Grisha wanted me to take down a Drug Lady. A lot of people were loyal to her so he wanted to take her down to make business grow even more. They made me go undercover, she took me under her wing. I got on her good side and she told me that one day I could be as powerful as her if I wanted to.

"I met her daughter. She was supposed to take over when the mom would retire but she was a real ditz. She spent most of her time buying clothes. Fashion was her whole world. She didn't care about being a Drug Lord. She went out to peaceful places, ate cute food, made silly jokes. She was never tortured. She hadn't been poked and prodded at since she was a baby. And there are so many girls out there, in the outside world that live their life without being hurt or having hurt anyone. They haven't so much as seen a dead body. There's hundreds, thousands of them."

The green-eyed boy wiped his sweaty forehead, "We can tell Grisha it was a stranger who did all of this. He doesn't have to know it was you."

"Don't you get it?" She knitted her eyebrows together.

Eren's gaze shifted around wildly, trying to find any meaning behind all of it, "Get what? That you murdered your own father?!"

"WHY DO THEY GET TO LIVE LIKE THAT?!" Her shrieks pierced through the air, "WHY DID WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT PAIN?! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE WOKEN UP AT 6 AM EVERY DAY TO HAVE MY BONES BROKEN AND MY BODY SKEWERED?!" The fire reflected onto her eyes, making them appear as red as the element itself. Annie swallowed back the burning knot in her throat, "They lied to us. Everything they put us through was for nothing but their own entertainment. This is what I've come to realize."

The girl made her way to the hallway that led to the exit. Annie stopped in the middle of it and turned back, "Are you coming or staying?"

Eren felt his world collapse, "A-Annie, no."

"Come with me." She said in an irritated voice.

"I can't leave my dad. He's my only family. He's already lost my mom-"

The blonde took a deep, deep sigh.

"Stay here then. I can't -and won't- force you to come. You may be happy being locked away in this jailhouse, being experimented on, but I am not. Not even you can get in the way of my freedom." She pulled out a folded piece of paper and scrunched it up, throwing it towards him.

It landed a foot or two from Eren. He fell on all fours to reach for it. Once in his grasp, the brunet opened it up. He pinned the paper down on the floor, scanning the words.

"Keep that hidden from your daddy. It's a bodyguard agency. If you ever decide to escape this hellhole, you'll need it. Grisha doesn't give a shit about me but he'll move mountains to get you back."

Just as Annie was about to turn back, "Annie! Annie! You can't leave, we're one and the same! You said so yourself!"

She gave the boy one last glance, "What happened to you, Eren? You used to be so... unstoppable."

But she didn't wait for a response. Eren watched helplessly as the silhouette of his beloved got smaller and smaller until finally, she was no longer there.

The green-eyed boy woke up with a start.

He was in a sweat but there was no heat around him. On the contrary, there was a light breeze flying through the room. Eren was in that same medical bed he had woken up in not too long ago. He groaned. His whole body ached dully. It always did after he transformed.

"Oh, you're finally awake. You sure took your sweet time, you know that?"

The teen was astonished to find Levi sitting in a chair next to his bed. He sat there elegantly with an elbow resting on an arm chair, legs crossed and a heavy book resting on his lap. He was wearing a dark blue turtleneck and black jeans. A silver chain bracelet on his wrist twinkled in the light.

"Oh, hey... glad to see you're okay." And Eren genuinely meant it. Thinking back on how Levi hadn't checked up on him last time he was in the hospital, Eren found that he liked it when he woke up with the bodyguard by his side.

Levi rested his chin on his hand. "Right back at you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days. I was starting to think you weren't ever gonna wake up."

A lightbulb went off in Eren's head, "Is Mikasa okay?"

The bodyguard nodded, "She's here at the hospital too. Moblit told me she'll have to stay here for a while. He mentioned something about broken ribs but he didn't say how or if there was anything else wrong with her. Things have been a little hectic lately. That being said, if she stays here you'll have to pay for additional costs. If you don't want to pay, you can take her home anytime you want."

Eren shook his head, "No, no. I'll pay whatever. Let her stay here."

The bodyguard hummed, "Yes, I thought so. As for you, they asked me to take you home once you were feeling okay."

A deep scream echoed through the building, "AAAAAH! AaAaaaAAAH! I'M FUCKING BLEEDING DON'T fuckingletme DIE! AAAAH!"

The screams got quieter and quieter, as if the person responsible was being dragged away.

"Yeah, that's why. A guy that leads an illegal weapon-armory asked for our services. He's a usual costumer but he really fucked up this time. Got the wrong people mad. His store was getting torn up when our workers got there. 4 dead, 11 injured. The hospital is gonna need all the resources it can spare." He casually flipped over to the next page of his book.

Eren nodded, "Sure, I get it. I'll get my clothes so we can leave-"

The man waved him off, "You just got out of a two-day coma. No one will know if you lounge around for a couple more minutes."

Levi reached down to grab something for Eren. It was a plastic tray with a petite carton of orange juice, a vanilla pudding and two sandwich triangles wrapped up in shrink wrap, "You hungry?"

The brunet's mouth watered, "Starving."

Levi handed the food to him, "It's not cold anymore. I may have misjudged how long you were gonna take in waking up."

"No problem." Was the only thing Eren said before tearing the plastic wrappings off of the sandwich and taking half of a triangle in one bite.

"So I guess it would be silly of me to ask if you're feeling nauseous or light-headed?" The bodyguard chuckled.

Eren fervently shook his head no. The bite of food had reinvigorated his whole body. In his head, he was singing a happy song to himself now that he had a mouth full of cheese and ham. It took him a while to notice the peculiar way Levi was staring at him. When Eren met his gaze, he suddenly felt like he was under a microscope.

Even though the man said nothing, Eren could feel the way his grey eyes would scan him. The brunet chewed slowly as he realized why the bodyguard was acting so strangely.

He swallowed down the food, "I'm sorry you had to see that by the way." He took a smaller bite.

Levi was puzzled, "See what?"

Again, the boy took his time in chewing his food and swallowing it down, "Me. Transforming. It's not something I like to do. I... I bet you have a lot of questions, huh."

The bodyguard leaned back into his chair, closing his book entirely and tucking it into the side, "I do but that doesn't mean you have to tell me. Some questions are best unanswered. It's your decision what information you share and what you don't."

Eren fiddled with a piece of lettuce that had fallen out of the slices of bread, "Just know that I didn't, uhm, I didn't ask to be that- that monster." Eren's stare was fixed onto his tray.

The raven took a moment before speaking, "You know Eren, no one picks the cards they are dealt. I'm sure if that were the case we would all be billionaire super models. One day, two people decided to fuck and suddenly there you are, wide awake in a house you didn't choose, surrounded by people you didn't choose, living a life you didn't choose, in a body you didn't choose. It's quite terrifying how little control we have over our lives. That's why the things we do have control over are so important." The man examined the brunet carefully.

He continued, "There's nothing you can do about the past, but there is something you can do about how you deal with it in the present. You get what I'm trying to say?"

Eren quickly glanced at the man, "Yeah, yeah, I think so."

The bodyguard stood up and gave the brunet a quick pat on the shoulder, "Good. You stay here now and finish that up. I'm gonna run a quick errand. I'll be back in 20 to take you home, ok?"

"Ok."

It was a calm ride home. Neither person said much, they simply let the soft jazz on the radio fill the space with a comfortable ambience. Once they arrived, they each mumbled their goodbyes as Eren staggered out of the car- his body wasn't responding as it should've.

It had happened the first times he had transformed. The first time, Eren hadn't been able to move at all for a couple of days. Everyone had feared he had lost his mobility forever. Luckily, the recovery period had gotten shorter and shorter every time. However, having not using his giant form in a while had taken its toll and Eren was experiencing symptoms he hadn't felt in a long time.

As soon as he was inside his apartment, he called for a pizza. The brunet was eternally grateful for the sandwich and pudding he had been given but his stomach needed more. Knowing it would be a good half hour before it would get there, he decided to take a quick shower.

On multiple occasions he stumbled and bumped into things. He hoped there would be no bruising the next day because of it. Getting out of the shower, he slipped into his most comfortable pants: blue pajama bottoms with white stripes. For a shirt he wore a white cotton top so bright that it made Eren's tan skin appear darker in contrast.

He was running a comb through his hair -something he did very rarely- when the brunet heard a knock on the door. Putting the comb down he bounced his way to the entrance, already tasting pepperoni and cheese on his tongue. On the other side was a bald, stocky man wearing a thick leather jacket over baggy jeans and a red shirt. He didn't have a pizza in his arms.

"Gotchu, idiot."

The man pulled out of a gun. Two others appeared behind him, sporting similar 'everyday-man' clothes. It was obvious by the way they looked at him, however, that they had malicious intentions. Eren stumbled back, putting an arm in front of him as if that would protect him from anything.

"Who are you guys? What do you want?" He said in a rush.

"Yer not getting away so make it easy on us, wontcha? We won't hurt ya unless ya give us a reason to."

As Eren's heartbeat spiked, he had to remind himself to stay calm. Transforming into the giant form was very much addictive. Just as it got easier to get out of it with each time, it also got easier to get in it.

He took deep breaths, finding that it helped him think better. The boy needed to find a way to contact his bodyguard but taking out his phone was a no-go. Eyeing around the apartment in search for an answer, he remembered something the bodyguard had told him a long time ago. Curtains closed to the middle meant he was fine. So did curtains closed to the left. Curtains closed to the right meant he was in trouble.

"Leave me alone, fuckers!" The brunet yelled as he staggered back. He inched closer to the window until finally he made the performance of a lifetime and pretended to fall down, gripping the curtains as he did so to pull them to the right.

The stocky man laughed, "All bark, no bite, ey?"

Cutting the distance between the two, the man aimed the barrel of the gun right at the boy's head. Eren swallowed hard but he didn't waver. For the first time in a long time he wasn't scared of dying. He simply wouldn't allow it. He couldn't, until Mikasa was safe and sound in her home.

"Who sent you?" Lately it felt like everyone was coming for Eren's head.

"Who do you think?"

WHACK!

The man struck him across the face. However, he must've intended to knock him out, as he looked back at his fellow men to laugh and mock Eren when he fell back on the floor. Realizing this, the brunet grabbed the opportunity and sprinted for the door. The boy knew that with the two men blocking the entrance he would have no chance to escape but all he needed was to get the attention of his neighbors. If someone, anyone were to call the police, it could create the right amount of chaos for him to get out of there.

"HEYY, HEYY!" He yelled to the wind.

Both men threw him back when the green-eyed boy struggled to get through. When he tried again to force himself outside, an undeniable force grabbed him by the back of his hair and threw him down.

The stocky man peered down at him, "Ah, you got a little fight in ya? It won't last long."

He made a gesture for the other two to get out of the way and proceeded to drag Eren along the floors, burying his fingers in the boy's chocolate locks. Eren flailed around but to no avail. He was playing a game with inverted controls. Left was right, right was left, up was down and down was up. He was like a toddler learning how to move around.

As his body slid through the ground, a tiny splinter of wood imbedded itself onto Eren's back. The boy hissed in pain, anger and frustration.

"AGH! FUCK! SOME-SOMEONE HELP ME! HELP ME, ANYBODY!"

Eren's attacker chortled, "Ain't nobody gonna save you kid."

And much to Eren's horror, he caught a glimpse of one of his neighbours peering back at him with vein-ridden eyes. He was a man in his 30s with a sharp nose and even sharper teeth. He wore a dirty wife-beater coupled with ugly boxers and socks that reached his knees. The man stared back at Eren with fear and maybe a tinge of sadness. It must've not been much, however, as he took the money one of the criminals handed to him without question. The neighbour glanced down at the hefty stack of cash in his hand, then one final time at Eren, and after swallowing hard he disappeared back into his apartment.

It clicked in Eren's head that everyone in that floor had been paid off. The green-eyed boy yelled even louder, not because it would help him in any way but because of how betrayed he felt by the bunch of strangers he called neighbors. Did loyalty exist at all anymore?

"Armando, throw me the handcuffs. Woo-jin, keep your gun pointing at him. If he does anything shifty you shoot him right in the foot. Hehe, I'll even let you choose which foot to take." They all cackled.

"Sure thing Boss!" Woo-jin replied.

The boss pinned Eren on the floor facedown. He was so heavy that the boy could barely breath, much less move. Putting on the handcuffs, the boss made sure to tighten them up as much as possible. The brunet wriggled his wrists, stretching and pinching the skin as he did so.

"Fuck you! I'm gonna... I'm gonna kill all of you!" Eren bellowed.

"Sure you are, kid."

In one swift motion, the boss picked Eren by the back of his shirt and threw him down the stairs to the second floor. The boy barrelled down as helpless as a fish being flushed away. At the end of the first section of the stairway, Eren hit his chin with all his bodily force, his teeth vibrating with the impact and reverberating throughout the skeleton. He rose his head in a feeble manner. The criminals were doubling over in laughter.

"He's gonna kill us you hear that! Hahaha!", the boss guffawed.

Eren heard someone running up the second section of the stairs.

"Better watch out, boys or soon we'll have a bullet in our head-"

PEW!

A singular bullet landed between his eyes and caused an explosion of blood and brains to paint the wall behind the boss.

"Boss?!" Armando shrieked.

"What the fuck?!" Woo-jin cried.

PEW! PEW!

They both collapsed on the floor.

Levi crouched down at Eren's side, tinkling at the handcuffs for a bit until they let loose. The boy spared no moment in rubbing his wrists to soothe the pain.

"Levi, thank the Gods." He got on his knees.

The bodyguard wasted no time, "Get your essentials and come back to me. Hurry. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"But- the bodies! We're gonna leave them here?"

"I've got people coming our way. They'll tie up the loose ends here. Now go."

Despite the millions of questions running through his head, Eren sped to his apartment. He threw as much as he could into two duffel bags. When Levi impatiently asked him if he was done yet, the green-eyed boy rapidly scanned the room one final time. Gasping, he lunged for the phone he had left on the stand, threw it in the bag and closed the door on the dusty room.

Levi ushered him to the exit out of the building. Speeding through the floors, the place was completely silent. Everyone was hiding in their rooms. Even the maintenance workers were hidden away. Eren wondered to what extent those criminals had gone to ensure no one would get in the way of their kidnapping. Even though Eren was the taller of the two, he had a hard time catching up to the bodyguard's swift pace. The brunet followed the man outside where it was pitch black. They ventured through the deserted streets before arriving to a black car.

"Get in." The bodyguard commanded.

Eren took the liberty of throwing his bags in the backseat before settling into the passenger's seat. He paused to regain his breath from all that sprinting. The raven revved up the engine and drove away. Without noticing, he began hitting the steering wheel with his thumb.

The brunet exhaled, "Where are we going?"

Levi gave Eren a peculiar look. One with wide eyes and a tense biting of the lower lip. He shook his head to himself.

"Dammit..." the man made a fist and softly punched the wheel.

With his silver eyes glued to the road, Levi leaned over and searched the glove compartment. He threw something in Eren's direction. It was his blindfold.

"I know a place where we can go... but you can't question me about it. Not yet at least."

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Poor Eren can't catch a break huh! Wonder where they are headed to? ;D See you guys next week!