The fight for survival (Sub-category from the official timeline)

There are certain things one thinks will never happen, like all those exaggerated expressions of pings flying or money falling from the sky. Things like the die of rapture coming along to reap the souls of the faithful and the sinner. There is always this distinct notion that all those things are surreal, that they are just words of imagination. That such a thing as the apocalypse and zombies existing was just meant to be stories nothing more than that.

Thinking back on it, as she hacked away through rotten flesh, she can’t help thinking of the twisted and cruel irony. They all constructed of the dead walking amongst the living but they had never really expected to be faced with possibility. Now as she sings her axe yet again into another nameless monster, a creature that used to be a person, she has accepted this nightmare as her reality. Wiping the splattered blood on her sleeve, she moves on without looking back, leaving a trail of rotten corpses behind her. If Mikasa must fight to survive, that is what she will do she will protect herself and those precious to her from humanity’s worst enemy; itself.

La survie. C’était tout ce qui comptait à présent. Et la seule chose à laquelle Eren pouvait penser en claudiquant derrière Mikasa. Il ignorait sincèrement pourquoi elle ne l’abandonnait pas à son sort, lui qui était handicapé et qui n’avait pratiquement aucune chance de s’en sortir vivant sans aide. Bien sûr, il avait une pelle pour repousser les zombies qui étaient assez chanceux pour éviter les coups meurtriers de Mikasa, mais tout de même. Lorsqu’il ne s’en servait pas pour se défendre, il l’utilisait comme béquille. Décidément, Eren était une proie facile pour les zombies. Lorsque Mikasa décapiter le dernier mort-vivant debout, Eren boita jusqu’à elle et enfonça sa pelle dans le corps d’un zombie qui gigotait encore.

«Bon… d’accord… c’était une mauvaise idée de passer par ici… mais si on va de ce côté, je suis sûr qu’il y en aura moins et que nous arriverons plus vite au village!» déclara Eren essayant de se montrer le plus convaincant possible en reprenant sa pelle.

Il n’attendit pas de réponse de sa part pour aller dans la direction qu’il venait d’indiquer à la jeune femme. C’était leur routine de toute manière. Eren guidait leur petit groupe, lorsque tout allait bien. Mikasa prenait le relais et massacrait tout sur leur passage, lorsque les choses se gâtaient. Évidemment, les choses se gâtaient bien souvent et rapidement depuis qu’ils avaient quitté le lieu sûr où ils étaient.

Même s’ils n’habitaient pas ensemble lorsqu’ils étaient plus jeunes, ils avaient grandis côte à côte plus loin du village. Ils étaient voisins depuis toujours et tandis que le père d’Eren travaillait dans un domaine scientifique, le père de Mikasa était un homme plus manuel qui travaillait surtout le bois. Maintenant, ils étaient plus vieux et leur monde s’écroulait autour d’eux alors qu’ils se voyaient arracher à leur famille. Les parents de Mikasa n’avaient pas réussi à résister aux Zombies et le père d’Eren avait disparu depuis, laissant les deux jeunes orphelins face aux morts-vivants. Étant éloignés du village, les deux eurent la chance de pouvoir se préparer en cas d’invasion et ils n’étaient pas souvent attaqués puisque les zombies restaient majoritairement dans les villes. Cependant, leur situation se dégrada rapidement.

Le handicap d’Eren l’empêchait de chasser pour subvenir à leur besoin, ses mouvements devenus trop maladroits et imprécis pour attraper quoi que ce soit. De son côté, Mikasa refusait de se séparer d’Eren, sachant que le jeune homme ne pourrait peut-être pas s’en sortir s’il était laissé seul. Leurs provisions devenues maintenant presque inexistantes, ils n’avaient pas eu le choix de réagir. Voilà pourquoi Eren les guidait maintenant vers le village pour qu’ils puissent aller chercher de la nourriture sans quoi ils ne tiendraient plus longtemps. Au moins, grâce au défunt père de Mikasa, ils avaient les outils nécessaires pour se défendre.

Mikasa had been following Eren around ever since they were kids, everywhere he went she followed. She never wanted to be parted from it because his very presence reassured her. He might be boisterous and loud and seem nothing like a calming entity but it was this loudness, this exuberance that made him shin so bright and made him so warm and it filled her heart with a sweet lull. That was why even when everything had gone bad, when familiar faces had turned against them; she turned to the only face she could ever trust. The only thing that anchored her and gave her a reason to live was Eren and so she continued resolutely following him wherever he may go. She would fight through tooth and nail to keep him at her side.

She hacked the last zombie standing in her way its body crumpling to the floor with its head split open blood and brain fluid leaking out along with clumps of- no she couldn’t keep looking. She turned away from the sight her eyes scanning behind her to find the familiar presence. She was about to suggest they go left as it seemed less swarmed by the atrocities and well she needed a break but before she could utter a word Eren spoke up. Mikasa was speculative on the whole “less zombies” idea since their seemed to be a small part of them gathering around something (probably a dead animal) but the again if they were stealthy enough and managed to avoid them the way up ahead seemed clear. No matter even if there were hordes of zombies she’d follow Eren.

He didn’t wait for her to answer and went on ahead wobbling but remaining steady enough with his shovel. It pained her to see him like this she still could not appease her ache at the very sight. Now of all the times it seemed even more drastic she was scared of losing Eren in this mad world. She swiftly followed him and kept at an even pace in case one of the horrors sprung up and attacked Eren.

Eren avançait aussi vite que sa jambe le lui permettait. Ils ne devaient pas rester à découvert ainsi. Même s’ils étaient encore à une certaine distance du village, il y avait des risques partout de se faire attaquer. Voilà pourquoi ils longeaient la lisière de la forêt. Là ils pourraient fuir dans les bois si le danger arrivait de par le village et ils pouvaient se déplacer plus discrètement. Rendus à l’endroit le plus proche du village, toujours camouflés entre les arbres et les arbustes, Eren se retourna vers Mikasa qui ne le quittait pas des yeux. Il remarqua que son regard était dirigé vers sa jambe. Pourtant, elle savait que ça irritait Eren au plus haut point de la voir dans cet état par sa faute. Il détestait qu’elle s’inquiète plus qu’il ne le fallait pour lui. Il se débrouillait très bien avec sa prothèse de toute manière. Eren fit un pas vers elle et lui saisit le bras fermement voulant la ramener à l’ordre et la faire regarder son visage plutôt que l’endroit où aurait dû se trouver sa jambe.

«Arrête de t’en faire pour moi. On en a déjà discuté!» cracha Eren un peu trop brusquement avant de se reprendre, plus calme. «On arrive bientôt au village… Tu devras t’en faire pour ta propre sécurité avant la mienne d’accord…? S’il-te-plaît… » Continua Eren en replaçant une mèche de cheveux de Mikasa qui se trouvait devant ses yeux. Soupirant, Eren tourna la tête pour regarder en direction du village.

«Alors… je répète notre plan. On se dépêche d’aller au dépanneur ou magasin à grande surface le plus proche. Je prends un panier et je le remplis de bouffe, de ton côté, tu vas chercher des draps, des trousses de premiers soins, des médicaments et … ce dont tu as besoin… parce que tu es une fille… ouais… Tu sais de quoi je parle… » Marmonna Eren en regardant ailleurs. «Avec un peu de chance, il restera assez de denrées pour qu’on n’ait pas à revenir avant longtemps…» termina Eren avec espoir. Il retourna son attention à Mikasa et lui donna un court baiser sur la joue. «Oh... et n’oublie pas les condoms…» murmura le jeune homme aux joues rouge pivoine avant de sortir de la forêt et de marcher vers le village avec détermination.

Mikasa followed Eren carefully and kept at a minimal distance in case his leg acted up or a vile creature attacked him as they marched on her eyes remained focused on Eren while simultaneously scanning their surroundings. She wished she could just avoid looking at the world around her, the world that was once so welcoming had been turned to ruin. It was abandoned and left to rot and so were they, the only thing they had left was each other and really that’s all that mattered. She noticed that Eren’s steps slowed until he came to a complete halt. She stopped and waited for his instructions ready to follow where he would go. Instead of heading direction being barked at her or suggestion softly whispered, Eren gripped her arm and looked upon her with a harsh glance.

Her eyes snapped to his and she could practically feel the simmering anger pouring out of his gaze she flinched slightly at the intense look but new immediately why he was sending her such a reproachful glance. He knew that she was worried because of his leg and she assumed it was because it made him feel weak and like he had to rely on her but Mikasa wanted nothing more than for Eren to rely on her. She was sure his concern came from his feeling like a burden to her but she was surprised to when she heard Eren tell her in no uncertain words that his worries were not focused on his own ineptitudes but rather he was worried for her own well-being.

She broke when he pleaded with her to care for herself she was flooded with emotions torn between deep admiration and love and unrelenting despair at their situation. She bit her lips as she wanted to scream in agony while simultaneously screaming her love for him. But they had no time right now for sharing love confessions or for lamenting their situation. Instead she took comfort in Eren’s hand brushing her hair back and caressing her cheek. Right now they couldn’t do much but every moment with Eren was a relief to her. She nodded her head to indicate that she had listened to him but despite how concerned he was for her Mikasa would never be able to think of her safety before Eren’s.

She shook herself out of her emotional tirade and followed him as he began to walk ahead once again. She walked up to pace with him and stayed silent as he went over their plans once again. She nodded her head at the parts they had already agreed upon several times before but she froze in shock when his voice lowered and he kissed her cheek softly before mentioning condoms. Her face flushed bit red and she wanted to reply but her voice was caught in her throat and she felt that if she spoke the only thing that would stumble out of her lips would be stammered words.

She walked with Eren as he swiftly headed toward their destination his eyes determinedly avoiding hers and she could guess why as the embarrassment also swallowed her up. She walked with him until they reached a store with broken windows and a flickering store sign which was called “The Happy Hour” how ironic it seemed now. She sighed and stood still scanning their surroundings and it seemed she had gotten rid of most of the zombies in the area she could see some not too far off but it would take a while for them to notice they were here and even longer for them to head towards them. By the time they could even pick up on their presence Eren and Mikasa would be gone from this bags filled with supplies. Now the only thing left to do was to determine whether there were dangers coming in from the inside. Mikasa gripped her axe and lifted in position to attack she turned towards Eren and glanced at the store.

“Eren I’ll go in first follow closely behind me and do not make any noise alright?”

Arrivés devant la fenêtre rapidement, ayant eu la chance de croiser peu de zombies, prit les deux sacs à dos vides et la hache que Mikasa tenait pour la laisser entrer en premier. Ce serait plus facile pour elle de le faire les mains vides, déjà qu’ils risquaient de se couper avec la vitre en passant par l’ouverture. Il fouilla dans sa poche pour retrouver la petite lampe de poche qu’il avait amenée et la donna à Mikasa pendant qu’elle entrait. Tout en surveillant Mikasa pour intervenir au cas où elle se blesserait, Eren se tint debout pour faire le guet à côté d’elle. Il attendit un moment qu’elle ressorte le bras pour lui tendre ses deux sacs à dos, plus les siens et leurs armes. Maintenant que la voie était libre et qu’il n’avait plus rien dans les mains, il pourrait entrer à son tour.

Malgré la lumière faible du soleil derrière les nuages à l’extérieur, le magasin fermé depuis longtemps était plongé dans la noirceur. De nombreux étalages étaient ravagés, mais comme la population était plutôt concentrée dans le centre de la ville, il restait quand même une grande partie des articles, heureusement pour eux. Il ne leur restait qu’à trouver ce qui pressait le plus en s’assurant qu’il n’y avait pas de zombie à l’intérieur, ce qui était peu probable. Lorsqu’il entra complètement (péniblement avec son handicap), Eren fut légèrement aveuglé, ne voyant rien dans la pénombre. Il chercha Mikasa en tendant la main et ne fut rassuré que lorsqu’il trouva la sienne. Il soupira de soulagement en reprenant ses sacs.

«Bon, nous sommes dans la section des chaussures… cela veut dire que nous devons traverser la pièce dans cette direction pour aller dans la section pharmaceutique et dans celle-ci pour trouver de la nourriture en passant par les vêtements. Nous devrions en profiter pour ramener le plus d’articles possible… on ignore s’il en restera à notre prochaine visite… Je te laisse t’occuper de la pharmacie et des draps, serviettes, vêtements, etc. Je vais aller de ce côté pour trouver de la nourriture, de l’eau et quelque chose qui pourrait nous servir d’armes dans les autres sections. Si tu as le temps et qu’il n’y a pas d’incident, on pourrait se rejoindre dans la section des vêtements. » Expliqua Eren avant de regarder autour d’eux et d’avoir un éclair de génie. «Nous devrions prendre des paniers! Nous pourrons apporter beaucoup plus d’objets avec ça!»

Souriant brièvement, Eren attira Mikasa par la taille et lui donna un court baiser, déjà bien excité de pouvoir refaire le plein de provisions.

«Sois prudente, mon amour.» murmura Eren avant de s’avancer vers le panier le plus proche qui traînait dans l’allée. Il déposa ses sacs et sa pelle à l’intérieur avant de s’adresser une dernière fois à Mikasa. «Je vais essayer de nous prendre des souliers et quelques vêtements s’il reste de la place dans les sacs à dos. On se rejoint dans les cabines d’essayage dans 20 minutes, c’est bon? S’il y a un problème, tu n’as qu’à m’appeler, je ne serai pas loin. Fais quand même attention, il y a surement des zombies à l’intérieur…» résuma Eren avant de s’éloigner avec son panier.

Once inside the store with her items back in hand she looked around at the chaos surrounding her and was relieved that they could still salvage some material. Eren’s hands firmly grasping hers Mikasa nodded at Eren’s instructions and smiled softly to herself when his lips touched hers in a chaste and sweet kiss, her hand hardly wanted to let go of his. She was scared to be apart from him even a second away made her heart twist in agony. But she knew that if she pampered him and smothered him too much he would turn bitter towards her. Still she could not help but to worry for his safety the world was completely dysfunctional and she couldn’t risk losing him and being left alone. She knew there was bound to be danger somewhere and letting him go while knowing there was danger out there, while having the probability in mind that he could be bitten and well turned into one of them. Well that left her wanting to become his second shadow.

She trembled as he warned her to be safe and let her go she couldn’t even open her mouth to agree with him as she watched him walk away.  Her heart broke a little more for every step he took away from her but she shook her head and walked away too. She prayed nothing would happen to him. She made her way towards a cart and pushed it forward with one hand keeping her axe in the other, she never knew if one of those things would come out and attack her. She always wanted to be on alert and ready in case that happened. She also refused to put down her bag in the cart in case she had to make a run for it without the cart. She couldn’t risk losing more items.

She made her way across the store toward the pharmacy keeping an eye out for any movement, so far nothing seemed amiss. Finally she reached the pharmacy section of the store, relieved so far that she hadn’t run into any trouble. She first decided to browse the medication section after all what would happen if they got sick? Or worse if they got injured? They couldn’t rick getting infections or being bed ridden right now. She let her eyes scan the rows of medication from pain killers, to aspirins and gauze there were so many things they needed. She took whatever seemed to have the largest quantity and pitched them in the cart. She was still held the axe in her right hand but it was slack in her grip while she was preoccupied with filling their cart with the necessary medication. That was why she never noticed the body that had been lying on the ground a few meters away from her, busy chewing on whatever its hands could reach at the time, coming towards her as soon as it had picked up on her scent.

Mikasa would reprimand herself later for being too absorbed in her task and not noticing the very eminent danger before her. She was only altered when a deep gurgle and rattle reached her ears. She froze in shock for a second and her eyes flew toward the disruption. She quickly found the perpetrator that was now oh so very close to her. Still lying on the ground crawling toward her, it made a grab for her leg and she backed away on unsteady feet her grip on the axe tightening once more. She steadied herself and glared at the creature and swung her arm down the axe meeting the things head with a splatter of blood and bone crushing sound. It stopped its feeble attempts at reaching for her and went slack on the floor, dead once and for all. She breathed heavily the sudden attack leaving her a little unbalanced. She tore her axe away from the carcass and flinched at the sight. She turned her eyes away and closed them breathing in softly. She hoped Eren was safe.

Eren passa à travers les allées des chaussures et examina brièvement les paires qu’il y avait. N’étant pas des plus difficiles côté vêtements, Eren pris des chaussures de sa taille au hasard et en pris d’autres pour Mikasa qu’il glissa rapidement dans son sac. Il n’avait pas de temps à perdre avec ça, mais cela ne voulait pas dire qu’il ne devait pas en prendre. Mikasa serait surement contente de remplacer ses vieux souliers troués par une nouvelle paire de soulier de course. Ce n’était pas très luxueux, mais en ce moment, c’était mieux que rien. Le jeune homme arriva au bout de l’allée dans laquelle il était et s’arrêta un moment pour tendre l’oreille avant de continuer. Il regarda autour de lui, ses yeux maintenant habitués à la noirceur, et chercha du regard des mouvements suspects. Ne voyant rien, il recommença à avancer lentement avec son panier pour ne pas faire de bruits.

Sachant qu’il n’était pas un expert de la mode, Eren décida d’attendre Mikasa pour lui prendre des vêtements. Par contre, il jeta tous les vêtements qu’il put trouver à sa taille sur son chemin. Il se prit de nombreuses paires de sous-vêtements, des t-shirts, des pantalons et des vestes. Il osa même se prendre une grande quantité de paires de bas, même s’il n’avait besoin que de la moitié de la quantité prise à cause de sa jambe. Avant de continuer son chemin vers la section contenant la nourriture, Eren remarqua plus loin la section lingerie pour femme. En y pensant bien, Eren était convaincue que Mikasa ne s’y attarderait pas, alors il décida d’aller y faire un tour par lui-même. Il laissa le panier plus loin contenant le reste des vêtements choisis, mais ramassa sa pelle pour la trainer avec lui au cas où. Il marcha en regardant partout autour de lui, regrettant son choix de s’être aventuré entre de nombreux étalages de vêtements où pourraient se cacher des zombies.

Eren, à sa grande surprise, arriva sans problème devant la lingerie et ricana à voix basse et voyant un joli déshabillé noir qui irait surement parfaitement à Mikasa. Il tendit la main pour le prendre avant d’entendre un sourd râlement et des bruits de pas précipités en sa direction. Il se retourna et recula de quelques pas en remarquant qu’un zombie l’avait repéré et serra les dents en voyant un autre surgir non loin du premier. Fronçant les sourcils et continuant de serrer les dents pour ne pas crier de rage, Eren envoya valser le premier a gros coup de pelle en pleine gueule et planta ensuite sa pelle à travers le ventre de l’autre en attendant que le premier zombie se relève. Il retira sa pelle tachée d’une substance visqueuse et décapita le zombie au ventre transpercé en jurant à voix basse. Eren n’eut pas le temps de se retourner que le zombie qu’il avait assommé en premier revenait l’attaquer. Heureusement pour Eren, celui-ci mordit à l’endroit où sa jambe aurait dû se trouver, c’est-à-dire sa prothèse. Quel imbécile ce zombie… Eren lui fit payer cher son erreur en plantant sa pelle à répétition dans le crâne de l’idiot. Enfin débarrassé des zombies du coin, Eren se retourna triomphant pour prendre le déshabillé pour lequel il s’était tant battu, seulement pour découvrir que celui-ci avait été aspergé durant la bataille de fluides malodorants venant du corps des zombies. Pour se défouler, Eren donna un coup de pied au corps du zombie le plus proche et grogna en fouillant dans les étalages pour en trouver un autre.

Prenant quelques ensembles par coquetterie pour faire plaisir à Mikasa (et lui-même par la même occasion), Eren revint les placer dans le panier en les glissant entre les siens pour que ce soit une surprise. Il reprit son chemin en tendant l’oreille, restant sur le qui-vive, voulant absolument entendre Mikasa au cas où elle l’appellerait.

She couldn’t let her mind linger on Eren or she’d never get anything done. If she let her thoughts wonder again she would be engulfed by worry; lost in a sea of possibilities. She would be vulnerable and an easy prey. The raven haired woman had already seen the consequences of being distracted she wouldn’t let it happen again. Mikasa resumed picking out medicine the best she could in the dark lighting. When she was satisfied that she had almost ransacked all the shelves, she moved on toward the hygiene section of the pharmacy.

There were things that never came to mind when one thought the apocalypse was at bay, such as a pressing and urgent need for toilet paper. Never in her life had the stormy eyed woman realized how important toilet paper was and how she had taken it for granted, never again. Mikasa loaded the cart with rolls of toilet paper and moved on to grab some towels and detergent. She tried as much as possible to keep her clothes clean but what with zombie guts being sprayed everywhere like it was a parade well there were bound to be some casualties. Although her clothes would often end up soaked in blood and dirt she still refused to throw away her clothes when they could still be re-usable, hence the detergent.

Next she moved on toward body hygiene products and picked out the biggest bottles of shampoo and body soap she could find, preferably the two in one kind they would take up less up space and last them longer. The young woman didn’t care much for floral scents or rich shampoos she just grabbed whatever seemed useful. Once she was done with that she tried to remember what else she was in desperate in need of. She raked her brains to remember what Eren had demanded of her, her mind immediately flashed back to Eren’s whispered and nervous words when he had reminded her of her…womanly needs and of course of their…well their mutual sexual needs. Her face suddenly felt unnaturally hot but she shook herself out of her embarrassment. Mikase needed to concentrate! It might be a little embarrassing but she couldn’t let those feelings distract her in this instant.
The Japanese woman quickly looked around trying to spot the hygienic pads and tampons she needed; after all she didn’t want to ruin more clothes with blood. Oddly enough she could not spot them but instead her eyes zeroed in on the condoms standing innocently on a stall ripe for the taking. She figured she’d get the condoms first and then the pads then she would join Eren at the agreed meeting place. As the young woman approached the stall she noticed that it was barely disturbed or scratched, no one had bothered it in their desparate scuffle for items. Her cheeks reddened further, no one had found it a pressing need to acquire condoms and yet her she was. Her eyes appraised the different colours that indicated different flavours and sizes, she didn’t let herself dwell on it too much and with her friend hand made a grab for various types and flavours and hastily shoved them in her cart. The only one she had noticed had been vanilla flavoured.

She turned away hastily and pushed her cart forcefully toward another section where she’d hopped she’d find tampons. Now that Mikasa thought about it when the last time she even had her period?
She knew she was pretty regular she’d have them at the end of every month but with an apocalypse happening she lost sight of the days and could no longer keep track of time correctly. The raven haired paused as she arrived before the tampon shelf and her mind blanked. She couldn’t remember. She just couldn’t remember. Her mind raced and she began to panic as she realized it had been more than 2 months since she could remember having her menstruations.

Remarquant qu’il avait accumulé assez de vêtements pour remplir la moitié du panier, Eren s’arrêta dans un coin qui avait l’air sûr pour mettre de l’ordre et retirer les cintres qui prenaient trop de place et s’avéraient inutiles. Il s’arrêta satisfait d’avoir fait plus de place dans son panier et pu continuer d’avancer en direction de la section contenant la nourriture. Lorsqu’il arriva, une odeur de pourriture avancée le fit grimacer de dégoût. En tournant le coin, il comprit pourquoi. Évidemment, ils n’étaient pas les seuls à avoir eu l’idée de voler des articles dans ce magasin, mais ceux qui s’y étaient risqués avant eux n’avaient sans doute pas pensé à s’équiper convenablement puisque ce qui restait de leurs cadavres gisait au sol. Eren regretta de s’être aventuré dans cette section seul, estimant qu’il n’y avait pratiquement aucune chance qu’il ne croise aucun zombie à cet endroit. Déjà, il en voyait au bout complètement de la rangée qui se promenaient cinq ou six à la fois. Si Mikasa voulait des produits surgelés et bien, elle irait se les chercher elle-même pensa Eren en reculant pour vérifier les autres allées remplies de nourriture. Évidemment, il ne pensa même pas regarder les plats préparés sur place qui ne devaient même plus être considérés comme comestibles.

Un peu découragé de voir une autre horde de zombies se promener des produits laitiers, Eren s’avança subtilement dans une autre rangée agrippant tous les produits  non périssables qu’il pouvait trouver. Il faut croire qu’ils devraient à jamais se passer de luxe à moins de se bâtir une ferme après avoir volé des animaux… plan qu’Eren refusait d’envisager n’était pas assez fou pour tenter cela et n’ayant pas la patience et les connaissances pour s’occuper des bêtes. Un peu perdu dans ses pensées, Eren ne regardait que distraitement où il allait et manqua de s’enfarger dans des articles qui trainaient au sol. Heureusement qu’il n’était pas tombé, sinon une bonne dizaine de zombies l’auraient surement repéré.

Prenant son temps pour avancer, ne voulant pas faire de bruit avec le panier ni avec sa prothèse, Eren continua son chemin en priant pour que tout se passe bien pour Mikasa de son côté. Il marchait au milieu d’une allée plus petite perpendiculaire aux allées contenant de la nourriture, refusant de s’exposer en se postant au centre de la plus grande allée où il pourrait être attaqué de tout bord et tout côté. Il évita les rangées où se trouvaient plus de deux zombies, mais s’arrêta à l’avant dernière. Dans celle-ci se trouvaient les pâtes, les sauces et les épices. Eren ne pouvaient pas manquer une occasion de se procurer de telles denrées. Surtout qu’un peu plus loin dans la rangée se trouvaient les boissons. Impossible de ne pas succomber à la tentation, même si ce serait dangereux d’affronter les quatre zombies qui s’y trouvaient. Réfléchissant à un plan rapidement, Eren saisit une bouteille de jus périmée, se positionna et la lança de toutes ses forces à travers la rangée la faisant passer par-dessus les têtes des zombies. Lorsque la bouteille se fracassa au sol, les zombies devinrent très agités et se précipitèrent vers la source du bruit cherchant un coupable dans les alentours.

Eren profita de la voie libre qui ne le resterait pas longtemps et se dépêcha de prendre tout ce qu’il pouvait, ajoutant les sauces en sachet et en cannes, les pâtes de toutes sortes et les différentes épices au panier. Avant que les zombies n’aient la brillante idée de revenir sur leur pas (s’il pouvait vraiment réfléchir à ça), Eren retourna se cacher plus loin, se préparant mentalement à aller vérifier l’état de la dernière allée. Avec un peu de chance et même si cette pensée était plutôt égoïste et inhumaine, Eren espérait que personne ne se soit rendu jusqu’à la dernière rangée : les boîtes de conserve et les autres aliments non périssables.

Le jeune homme s’avança tranquillement en regardant toujours autour de lui. Il arriva à la dernière rangée et fut immédiatement aperçu par un zombie qui marchait déjà dans sa direction. Prenant rapidement sa pelle malgré la surprise, l’adrénaline propulsa Eren sur le zombie et il lui asséna de violents coups sur la tête avant que le zombie ne puisse se jeter sur lui. En relevant la tête, Eren crut rêver. C’était à la fois jouissif de voir qu’il restait beaucoup d’articles, mais décourageant et troublant de voir autant de zombies réunis dans une seule rangée. Zombies qui bien évidemment avaient tout vu des dernières secondes. Eren déglutit et commença à paniquer après avoir compté le nombre de zombies dans la rangée qui s’avançaient vers lui : trois zombies qui avaient les yeux rivés sur lui. Et merde…

Guidé par ses instincts, Eren poussa le panier devant lui de manière à bloquer le passage le temps de brandir sa pelle pour les assommer avec. Il attendit que le premier zombie soit assez proche en contournant l’obstacle et enfonça directement sa pelle dans la gorge de celui-ci, le décapitant sur le coup. Cependant, plus malin qu’il ne le pensait, le deuxième zombie s’appuya sur le panier et se donna un élan pour saisir Eren par le bras. Déstabilisé un instant, Eren essaya de se défaire de la poigne solide du deuxième zombie, si bien qu’il ne vit pas le troisième arriver et se jeter sur lui. Il se retrouva au sol à essayer de repousser l’affreuse créature en repoussant son front, pendant que l’autre zombie s’approchait rapidement dans le but de mordre à pleine dents dans sa chair. Si Mikasa n’arrivait pas à temps pour l’aider, ç’en était peut-être fini de lui.

«MIKASA… AU SECOURS!» Crier était sans doute la pire idée possible à ce moment, mais c’était le dernier espoir d’Eren qui luttait pour sa survie.

Armin, était dans la boutique depuis un bon bout de temps. Il se trouvait dans la section électronique, s'occupant de prendre des batteries et autres objets électroniques encore utile dans ces temps où l'électricité avait été coupée depuis quelques temps. Du coin de l’œil il observait les gros miroirs qu’on l’on avait autrefois placé pour les caméras de sécurités et dure qu’aujourd’hui ils étaient seulement utiles pour observer si des zombies s’approchaient de lui.

Les zombies étaient tous occupés à essayer d’attraper un morceau de viande qu’il avait rapidement attaché pour les distraire pendant qu’il prenait son matériel. Ils avaient même changé ses gants pour essayer d’enlever la sensation de sang qu’il ressentait toujours. Malgré lui il avait encore des hauts le cœur en repensant à la jambe qu’il avait arraché d’un corps qui heureusement pour lui commençait à décomposer et était donc bien plus fragile.

Ça faisait un moment qu’il avait cru entendre des voix, mais peut-être s’agissait-il seulement de son imagination, il avait l’impression de devenir fou dans cette apocalypse, toujours à l’affut de tout et la paranoïa prenait beaucoup de place.

Il était donc convaincu d’être seul jusqu’à ce qu’il entende un cri s’élever en appelant au secours. Son instinct lui dire d’abord de courir loin du bruit, comme les zombies allaient venir en masse vers celui-ci, mais cela signifiait que survivant était en danger et d’après le nom crier il n’était pas seul. Malgré ses principes de sécurité il ne laisserait pas quelqu’un mourir ainsi!

Il referma son sac qu’il glissa sur son épaule, voyageant léger bien entendu, c’était bien plus pratique, il agrippa son casque qu’il glissa sur sa tête avant de prendre son arme en main et glisser vers sa destination. Oui, glisser. Parce qu’il avait des rollers aux pieds. C’était plus rapide que de simplement marché et comme Armin n’était pas beaucoup sur la force physique il se rachetait sur la vitesse.

Pas tous les zombies n’étaient capables de courir, mais contre ceux qui le pouvaient, des rollers étaient la chose la plus pratique auquel il ait pensé. Il y avait beaucoup de détails auquel il pensait toujours depuis l’apocalypse. Il portait des vêtements serrer pour que les zombies ne puisse pas l’agripper plus facilement qu’avec des grands vêtements encombrants, ils étaient également noir comme il ne savait pas si les zombies pouvaient distinguer les couleurs et un casque de moto comme cela il n’aurait pas à craindre que du sang de ces morts-vivants ne l’atteignent aux yeux ou dans la bouche.

Il repéra le jeune homme au sol et qui essayait d’empêcher les zombies de prendre une croquée de lui et brandit sa batte de base-ball. Les haches étaient certainement plus utile, mais trop lourd pour lui. Il heurta un premier zombie, glissant un peu plus loin à cause des rollers, espérant grandement qu’il était arrivé à temps. Il releva la tête et remarqua que l’inconnu avait repoussé le deuxième pour le heurter avec sa pelle, se rapprochant rapidement pour l’aider à se relever et remarquant par la même occasion qui lui manquait une jambe alors que le brunet s'acharnait à planter sa pelle dans la tête des deux morts-vivants.

« C’mon, we have to go, they must have heard you scream » dit-il en observant les alentours et il y avait définitivement des zombies qui arrivait dans leur destination.

Il ne pouvait pas prendre le brunet dans ses bras et fuir ailleurs, il était bien trop faible pour cela. Il remarqua le panier et haussa un sourcil. Cette chose encombrante n’était vraiment pas pratique et peu intelligent même s’ils pouvaient effectivement emmener beaucoup de stocks. Il devait trouver un plan de distraction.

« Alright, take your stuff over there and walk toward the exit » dit-il en lui pointant la direction et commençant à le pousser vers son panier.

Il se dépêcha de s’éloigner et prenant un minimum de courage cria en agitant les bras pour attirer les zombies. C’était une chose de faite, maintenant il fallait s’en débarrasser. Il roula aussi vite qu’il pouvait, vers une toute autre direction pour les éloigner de la sortie, déjà bien essouffler et il ne remarqua pas le sang au sol, glissa dessus et se prenant une belle débarque en roulant et se cognant contre le sol. Au moins, son casque lui évitait des coups à la tête.

Il se releva péniblement et remarqua qu’il se trouvait dans la section des jouets. Avec un sourire, il pensa déjà à sa diversion et il roula entre les allées, faisant tomber les jouets au sol, quelques un commençant des chansons ou des bruits quelconques qui allaient attirer encore plus de zombies.
Satisfait de sa distraction, il se glissa dans une autre allée vider de zombies et se faufila le plus discrètement possible vers la sortie.

Amongst the flurry of her thoughts she almost missed the desperate cry of her name. For a second her blood ran cold and she simply stood stock still but in the next moment she was running, her feet springing into action, her heart screaming, her whole world spinning as the fear and worry let up in her throat. She had been foolish to think everything would go well.

Her cart left behind, she gripped her weapon tightly and let her instincts guide her towards the sound. She had run down several aisles past the clothing section and she could see the grocery section up ahead, she was so close to it. She rounded a corner and could see Eren’s abandoned cart a couple of feet away, but before she could move step further a sickening sound reached her ears. The sound of gurgling and steps (definitely not one…maybe three different sets of feet) echoed in her ears and she stopped her in her tracks. In her haste she had not paid mind to them but they had been aimlessly wondering, that is until they noticed her and congregated the small corner. She gritted her teeth and raised her axe ready to strike the three walking corpses before her. A sound coming from behind her made her rapidly whirl around just in time to embed her axe into the skull of a damn sneaky one.

While she had put an end the zombie that had tried to make a grab at her from behind, the others moved closer unperturbed and still out for any bit of flesh they could get. She lifted her arms to dislodge her weapon from the creatures head but a she was yanked by a creature dragging her towards it. She felt the strong grip tear her away from her weapon and for the briefest instant she thought she was helpless, that she would die being eaten alive. The moment passed as quickly as it came and her limbs sprang into action, she elbowed the creature away making it stumble and fall from her hit, as she made to quickly re-acquire her axe but more hands shot out and grabbed at her. She struggled out of their grip but with a few well-placed hits she managed to keep the zombies away, long enough to wield her axe once again. Her weapon in hand she gauged her situation; the monsters had recovered from her hits and were back on their feet and seemed ravenous in their need to procure her flesh. The young woman grimaced and went about exterminating the filth.

She positioned her axe sideways, extended her hand gripping the wooden handle, and spun with the blade slashing all three in one instant. They back tracked and she used this opportunity to kick one down while decapitating another. The third one jumped toward her and she swung her axe forward planting it neatly between its eyes. The one she had kicked down had begun to crawl toward her, with no time to retrieve her axe from the other corpse’s head; she kicked down on its head hard. She closed her eyes as she repeatedly stomped on its head until she could no longer hear it exhaling. She opened her eyes and observed her now zombie free surroundings, as she made a move to reclaim her axe she winced she suddenly felt nauseous. She emptied out her stomach right there among rotting corpses.

After she had puked her guts out she left herself no time to recuperate and dashed off once again toward where she had heard Eren scream her voice. She had finally made it only to see the cart had disappeared, Eren was nowhere to be seen and three zombies lay immobile at the end of the aisle.

Eren aurait voulu répliquer à l’inconnu qui venait de lui sauver la vie qu’il ne pouvait pas partir tout de suite, mais l’autre s’éloignait déjà avec agilité. Indécis et confus, Eren courut jusqu’aux étalages contenant les boites de conserves et passa son bras le long des rangées pour que toutes les cannes tombent dans le panier. Oui, cela faisait un bruit infernal, mais en quelques secondes, son panier s’était rempli de denrées non périssables de toutes sortes. Il ne lui restait plus qu’à survivre pour en profiter. Entendant des zombies arrivés de par toutes les directions, Eren commençait à paniquer. Il savait maintenant dans quelle direction aller pour sortir du magasin, mais il ne pouvait pas sortir sans Mikasa. Hors de question d’abandonner l’élue de son cœur à la merci de tous ces monstres sanguinaires.

Malgré les conseils de son sauveur, Eren sprinta dans la direction opposée, déterminé à aller chercher Mikasa avant de sortir. Comme il savait que le chemin qu’il venait d’emprunter était parsemé de zombie, il décida de passer par une autre section et de faire le tour pour rejoindre Mikasa dans la pharmacie. Eren parti donc en courant et fonça dans la section contenant les accessoires pour le jardin. Il fonça dans le seul zombie qu’il croisa avec son panier et l’acheva à coup de pelle pour être bien sûr qu’il ne se relève pas. En tournant un coin, Eren remarqua un stand rempli de graines pour faire pousser des légumes, autant des carottes que des fèves et des petits pois.

Une idée folle s’empara de lui alors qu’il traversait l’allée pour rejoindre le stand. Cela pourrait être très utile une fois qu’ils auraient trouvé un lieu sûr où habiter. Sans réfléchir, Eren remplit son sac de sachets de graines de toutes sortes et voulu se retourner pour fuir, mais remarqua qu’il n’était plus seul. Quelques zombies l’avaient suivi, son panier faisant trop de bruit. Coincé, maintenant que d’autres zombies apparaissaient venants d’une autre direction, Eren ne pouvait plus s’échapper. Il ne lui restait aucune issue.

Malgré son handicap, Eren s’aida avec le panier et grimpa sur l’étalage en poussant les articles de son chemin pour pouvoir s’agripper au rebord. Il monta jusqu’au sommet et pu avoir une vue d’ensemble du magasin lorsqu’il fut installé en haut. Maintenant qu’il pouvait voir les alentours, il se rendait compte que venir ici n’était pas l’idéal. Le magasin était rempli de zombie et il n’apercevait pas Mikasa dans les rayons de la pharmacie, ce qui l’inquiétait un peu. Pendant qu’il regardait au loin, Eren saisissait les articles qui étaient sur l’étage du haut et les lançait sur les zombies qui essayaient de grimper pour le rejoindre. S’il pouvait les assommer pour qu’ils lui fichent la paix, ce serait tant mieux.

Fronçant les sourcils, Eren chercha du regard la jeune japonaise où l’inconnu qui l’avait sauvé, mais ne les trouvaient pas. Ce n’était peut-être pas la meilleure solution, mais en attendant, perché en haut, il n’avait rien à craindre et de son perchoir, il pourrait communiquer avec les autres.

«Mikasa!» hurla Eren en regardant autour de lui pour voir s’il pouvait la voir. « Si tu m’entends, monte sur un étalage aussi, ils ne pourront pas t’atteindre!» Eren jeta un coup d’œil sous lui et remarqua que c’était vrai, les mouvements des zombies étaient trop peu coordonnés pour leur permettre de monter bien haut, cela leur permettrait de gagner du temps. Se mordant la lèvre, Eren attendit avec impatience, un signe de vie humain, de préférence, venant de Mikasa.

She wanted to cry out in despair; faced with a situation where she knew her lover was in danger but could find no trace of him. The monstrosities swarmed the area, presumably where Eren had called out to her. With their bait missing their attention turned to her as soon as they sensed her presence. She grit her teeth and clenched the axe firmly in her hand. The raven haired woman breathed in calmly, deeply, once, twice and then she was sprinting, her legs like those of a gazelle. Mikasa’s mind was solely focused on finding Eren and protecting him.

Her stomach protested her sudden rapid movements and the nausea crept up again, waiting to be unfurled but she pressed on regardless of the taste of bile in her mouth. While it would have been ideal for any zombies to fuck off and clear her path, while she ran from aisle to aisle, the world had never been ideal even less so now. The creatures followed her trail while new ones emerged and made grabs at her while she ran toward them. She no longer cared for danger she ran straight through the fray of corpses only to bump into some of them or rapidly push away some others, those who managed to grab at her were either kicked away or have their hands hacked away.

Mikasa kept up this charade losing herself in the maze of rows and aisles. She felt her panic begin to consume her and her fury eat at her until she no longer cared to run. Faced with an agonizing sense of loss and an ill-consuming rage she let her instincts take over:  primal, raw, vicious and deadly. Her body contorted and spun as if dancing to a melancholic melody; without the corpses surrounding her and the blood splattering she would have painted the picture of an ethereal being. Perhaps she was a divine entity, an angel, an angel of death. She was lost in her own madness completely numb to the world around her, that is, until she heard that voice.

She knocked down another zombie before registering that it was really him, it was Eren that had screamed her name, her heart soared and she felt tears prickle her eyes. Once again her legs began a chase and she by-passed the zombies still roaming toward her, aiming to reach that voice it had seemed quite distant when she’d heard it but she knew it wasn’t a delusion. He was still alive and he needed her, she was about to speed up some more until she heard once more his voice over the sound of gurgling and groaning. Heading his advice her eyes scanned quickly for aisle tall enough to get her away from starving mouths and scratching hands.  She spotted a perfect perch only a few feet away from her and made a run for it; once she reached it she placed her axe in her mouth and jumped both of her hands gripping the ledge. She hoisted herself up but before she could fully make it to the top a grip on her leg tried to yank her backwards. She sneered at the beast and kicked it as hard as she could using the solid ledge as leverage, once it was down on the ground moaning and squirming she quickly hoisted herself up and stood  on top of the changing cabin.  Belatedly she realized that she was at the clothing section, their original rendez vous point.

Mikasa felt elated when her gaze located Eren’s figure, she took her axe in hand once again ,and called over to him praying he would hear here.

“Eren!”

There was an unusual amount of restlessness amongst the permanent inhabitants of the department store today, Levi noted as he peeked around a corner to clear his vision field before darting to duck behind the next shelf. He was familiar with the layout of what had now become a part of his territory, and he knew everything about the store like the back of his hand, but something was off that day. The zombies were louder than usual, as if they'd smelled something off, and seemed to be moving a lot more. He wondered why that was. He had been careful, as usual, to hide his human scent with antiperspirant, and his unscabbed injuries had been bound tightly to keep the smell of fresh blood inside his veins, so there was no way that the zombies had seen him coming.

That could only mean one thing: that someone else was here. And by extension, it meant another: that this person was not as careful as he should have been. He didn't know whether he should be elated or disappointed.

His backpack was still empty, flapping uselessly against his back when he ducked through another row of hardware tools, steel-toed black boots echoing softly on the floor as his pace was light enough to escape notice. He had been at this little game of running and hiding for a long time, and after seeing so many people lost to their own imperfections, he had striven to become perfect. The last survivor. Humanity's strongest.

He let his feet take him towards his first stop, the clothing section. His white t-shirt was dirty , torn, and smelled bad, and as much as Levi liked going incognito, he could not stand to be in these clothes anymore. He was reluctant, however, to part with the comfortable pair of black cloth pants that he'd tucked in his boots to keep the clothing tight against his skin, and so he figured that he could probably spare some time at the next source of water he found. For now, he'd pick up some spare clothing and then go grab some rations for the next few days and get out before he caught the bad luck of the person creating restlessness amongst the dead.

But as he advanced towards the clothing section through a path he knew was too crowded with fallen merchandise for zombies to amble through, he realized that he was getting closer and closer to the centre of the activity, the moaning and groaning of the dead ringing ceaselessly in his ears. He wished for a moment that he could wear his earplugs, but he knew better than to impede his senses. At some point, though, through the screeching of the hungry crowd, he heard voices.

Human voices. Breathing, living humans. And they were screaming.

Levi groaned softly at their incompetence, and briefly considered leaving them to the fate they had brought upon themselves. However, the thought was gone as soon as it had come, as much as he tried to convince himself it was the best course of action. He didn't need to be burdened with the foolishness of other human beings. He was fine on his own, he had been until now. Oh, but had he? He dearly missed the presence and company of other people, as much as he hated to admit it, and there was an unstoppable urge to feel like he belonged rising inside of him.

He didn't know why he did it. His grip tightened on the crowbar he had as a weapon, and he jogged right out into the open, immediately ducking under the display racks for clothing. Making his way through, he consciously avoided the rustling racks that announced the presence of zombies, and diverged from the shadows of the living dead that fell upon his hiding spots, until he made it to a tall shelf that was made to carry stacks of folded jeans. He scaled it nimbly, and immediately flattened himself on the top once he made it. And then, he looked around him. On top of a changing cabin two shelves over was kneeling another person, black hair messy and eyes scanning the top of the other shelves for something- or someone.

She clenched her teeth desperate to figure out a solution to her and Eren’s current predicament, if she could only get to him…but how? She was surrounded and so was he. At this very moment she felt fear grip her, what if she lost him? Her mind raced and her heart thumped loudly in her rib cage as the very thought shook her to her core. No now was not the time to panic she had to think this through and stop her emotions from ruling her. She breathed in and out calmly, briefly shutting her lids only for them to flicker open quickly and scan the room to find a way out of this mess. As her eyes move over rows of shelves something catches her eye, for a second she thinks it’s Eren once again but it is impossible as the body laying atop a shelf, the very HUMAN body, is gazing at her with obsidian eyes and cropped raven hair. She blinks rapidly unsure of what she has just witnessed but the longer she stares the more she acknowledges that what she is seeing is not a trick of the mind. There is another survivor among them.

He watched the girl move, fidget and waste precious mental and physical energy that she could be using to devise an escape plan, and yet again, a part of him urged him not to get involved and get away before she yelled to him and gave him away as well. However, it was the look in her eyes that must have stopped him. It could not have been anything else. They had widened now, shock apparent even from his distance, and if she didn't blink soon, she would start to tear up. Her gaze was riveted on him.

Good. She'd seen him. Although this meant that there was no backing out now. They had to get on with it.

Putting a hand up, he watched as her stare was drawn to his fingers, covered with tight leather gloves to prevent injury, and he clenched his hand into a fist as a signal. Then, soundlessly, still looking at her in the eyes, he subtly waved her over. As soon as he was sure she'd gotten the message, he lowered his arm.

And then, all he did was hope the girl was not afraid of jumping across heights.

His gaze was piercing and relentless and she didn’t know exactly what she felt in that very moment was it hope or dread? It had been so long since she had seen another survivor apart from herself and Eren that gazing at someone else almost felt foreign and strange and yet oddly comforting. It was a swell of tiny hope that they weren’t alone in this world that they didn’t only face enemies but that was where her thoughts turned to dread. She remembered, in the far reaches of her memories when this mess had begun people turned against each other stealing and killing in hopes to survive. As she looked on at this man she wondered if that was his goal but what did she have to offer anyways? Right now in this situation she couldn’t see a better option than to follow his lead. She nodded slightly at his signal and gripped her axe firmly. Her eyes traced a path toward him, rows of shelves zig zagging it would need quite a bit of dexterity if she was to make it, good thing she wasn’t afraid to jump into things.

Her first jump was successful and soon enough she was bounding through the air as if it had was a habit, a natural gift. As she was about to make a leap toward a shelf adjacent to his something caught her foot and compromised her balance, she quickly looked down to see a rotten hand gripping her ankle firmly and before she could think twice about it she had swung her blade down and sliced it. She heaved slightly from the effort but righted herself quickly and turned her gaze back on Eren. He was still safe, thank god. She sighed in relief and made the last jump grateful that the shelves had been sturdy enough to support her weight. The young woman turned to the lone survivor and quirked a brow wondering what his next move would be.

Levi watched the girl leap across the shelves, and had to admit his heart skipped a beat when she got caught, only for relief to flood him when she escaped and continued. He watched her until she made it to his shelf and scooted over, motioning for her to flatten herself like he had to disappear from the zombies' vision.

"Listen," was the first thing he said when she complied, and he glared her in the eyes to pass on the severity of their situation. "Do you hear that?" He left her some time to absorb the merciless screeching of the undead clawing at their shelf, and then huffed. "That, that is the sound of death. And you are in the wake of an entire tide of it."

He analyzed her facial expression while the words sunk in, noting the creased forehead, the worried eyes searching for something that wasn't there, the downwards-turned lips that had been thoroughly chewed, and her entire tense stance that was unbecoming of a girl as fair as she was.

"I don't care what your name is," he continued before she could interrupt. "I don't care who you are and what you're doing here, but for some reason, your pathetic wailing has compelled me to help you and your companion, if he has not been eaten already. So don't make me regret it." His cold expression never even twitched. He had practiced apathy for such a long time already.

"Now, if you want to live, you're going to follow my commands down to the last letter. I am going to get you and your friend out of here, and from then on, you're on your own. You are ill prepared to survive in this dog-eats-dog world, and I will not be burdened with you two. However, I will lend you assistance now, and tips once we are in a safer position than we are now," he let out a deep breath. He wouldn't say it out loud, but perhaps this was the last spark of remaining humanity within him that was speaking.

As she flattened herself on the shelf she felt both ridiculous and thankful, the latter emotion quickly dissipated as soon as the man opened his mouth to speak. His words were harsh and unforgiving and he seemed crude in every manner right down to his squinty glaring eyes, she narrowed her own and wished he would stop treating her and especially Eren like untrained mutts. Though she hate his mannerism and certainly his speech she had to agree that they had majorly messed up and were in quite the predicament, so she kept her mouth shut and let him speak despite the rage slowly simmering inside of her. It was no use barking out insults or witty comments in a situation like this when it came down to it this man was here to help.

She knew she couldn’t do it alone not if she wanted to save Eren, while intently looking at the man before her she made sure to flicker her gaze every so often to make sure Eren was still alright and every time a little more relief and worried flooded into her and mixed to create a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finally when the man’s harsh voice (probably roughened from lack of use, after all he didn’t have companions so who would he speak to) she nodded her agreement but felt the need to assert some type of primal dominance, an aura of dangerousness that would indicate that she is NOT someone to be trifled with. “I’ll follow your commands but…” she gripped her axe until her knuckles turned white “if you try anything funny I won’t hesitate to gut you.” She knew her words were brutal but she could hardly trust the first person she met.

"Well then." Her spunk amused him. It felt incredible to communicate once again. It had been months since his last human contact, and he'd forgotten how much he actually needed others around him. He had never been a very social person, and this entire zombie problem that erupted about half a year ago across the entire country hadn't helped him in that department, but he'd taught himself that humans brought nothing but trouble. He'd traveled with groups, he'd seen friends die, he'd killed countless numbers of people and undead, and through it all, he'd told himself he never needed anyone. That he was fine, as the lone, last survivor.

He'd lied. He needed company like he needed air.

"You can very well try," he finally told her, eyes glinting with a spark of amusement that had stayed dead for so long. "Now. Let's find your friend. Point me to where he is."

She almost scoffed at his indignation and was that…amusement? Either way she didn’t have the time to care for such frivolities what mattered right now was Eren and getting him out of harm’s way. She looked at him intently still trying to permeate a threatening vibe but also making sure to get his attention. If this man was all talk and no action she’d have a serious problem but as it was she highly doubted it just from looking at the man she could tell that he’d been from hell and back and obviously he was quiet skilled if he could infiltrate the store and climb shelves while remaining undetected. How he managed was beyond her knowledge but she could tell he had smarts and experience and that’s what mattered. The young woman made sure his eyes were focused on her movement as she pointed at her lover whose outline was visible but still quiet far away.

“What’s your plan?”

"Well, my plan begins with bemoaning the fact that you two have put no thought whatsoever into this expedition," Levi groaned, eyes discerning the vague shape of a fidgeting person over at what he recognized was the gardening section. Great. What a bother. What was he even doing there?

"Alright," he nodded. "Second leg of the plan is getting to your friend. We'll have to make a run for it, and quickly. We're going to jump to the last of these shelves," he pointed in the opposite direction of the girl's friend, "and then we'll climb down, and run through the main aisle to exit this section and return to the gardening section. These shelves are rather sturdy, so climb on the first shelf you can reach." He turned to her to see if there was any confusion in her eyes. "Of course, I'm opening the pace so just follow exactly what I do, and you'll live. And whatever you do, do NOT engage any zombies. By the time you deal with one, you'll be surrounded by four more." His eyes went to her weapon of choice, and he clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Especially with something as heavy as an axe."

He pushed himself up on his elbows, and then crouched for stability, grip tightening on his crowbar.

"Okay. I hope you're ready."

Well now she was definitely past boiling point how impudent could this man be!? Was the criticism really necessary when they were in the middle of a life or death situation? She clenched her teeth and kept silent through his tirade listening to his instructions and trying as hard as she could to not spit venom in his face. If this man wasn’t her only hope she would have left him long ago but unfortunately fate seemed to hate her, with a passion. Despite all his nasty words his plan was good and with the two of them together they might just make it, she pushed down her petty emotions closing her eyes briefly. Once opened her eyes shined with determination and apathy, she was ready to do whatever it took to protect Eren, even following a frustratingly snide stranger. She immediately followed his lead and got into position ready to follow through with the plan.

“Lead the way.”

Levi nodded, and without another word, he darted off the smooth metal surface of the shelf, not even glancing back at the boy they were going to rescue. The first jump was easy, and he sprinted across the second shelf to take the second one, which was just as easy. As a person who had leapt across rooftops and balconies to escape the unrelenting chase of the undead, a few shelves of underwear were nothing.

He could hear the girl running and jumping behind him, and for a moment, he regretted not knowing her name, if only to stop referring to her in his head as 'the girl'. But then again, names meant nothing to him. Being on a first-name basis with someone meant that they meant something to him, and he couldn't make that mistake again. He couldn't bear to lose anybody else he knew.

At the last shelf, he skidded across the metal, and grabbed the edge to vault off, and hit the ground roughly. His knees burned, but it wasn't tall enough of a jump to injure him. He trusted the girl to follow him, and instead concentrated on weaving through the few displays of clothing strewn around. He darted onto the main aisle that separated the store into sections, and began sprinting.

He ran past the crowd of zombies that was still crowded mindlessly at the shelf they'd occupied for a moment, and zig-zagged to go around the few that were joining the commotion from the other sections of the store. The undead just watched him go with their milky, rotted eyes, but did not react fast enough to grab the nimble man who quickly made his way through the crowd. He expertly managed not to engage any zombies, and was quickly as the first shelf of tools in the gardening section, which he lunged at and climbed very easily. He then turned to watch the girl arrive behind him, and perhaps help her if she got into trouble.