The Infected - Hanji Zoe

Chapter 12

"What?" He says, standing up from his seat and walking towards Hanji. His footsteps echoing through the now silent place. "What the fuck do you mean, I'm not coming with you?"

"I mean that you are not fit to come in your current state." She says, pointing at where his arm used to be.

"The fuck I'm not." He scoffs, placing his strength on his remaining arm as he lifts up the heaviest of the backpacks. His face turns a bright shade of red and he furrows his eyebrows, trying his damn best to prove he is more than a perfect candidate.

"When was the last time you were able to sleep?" You ask, your left index finger in your lips as you bite your nails until it draws blood. Your right hand supports your left arm.

"No, don't give me that shit." Erwin replies, pointing directly at your face. "You have barely slept in days and you are going."

"It's her mother's lab, of course she's coming." Hanji refutes, pulling you closer to her chest. You now shift onto biting at your thumb, nervously moving your toes around inside the boots.

"THAT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR." He screams from the top of his lungs, slamming his fist against one of the many filthy walls and causing a cloud of dust to fall from the ceiling. An awkward silence now takes over the room and it is only filled by the incessant coughing that leaves your lungs.

You can't think of anything to say that would soothe the situation so instead, you allow Hanji to take the lead. She takes a deep breath before turning around to hand you the last piece of clean cloth she has so you can wipe your nose. Silently, you accept the offer and take it from her hand.

"If Erwin stays, I'm staying." Levi declares and you can hear Hanji grunting in annoyance. The short man shoots daggers at her with his eyes and you begin feeling as air fails to enter your lungs, a feeling of sheer panic washing over you.

Your eyes fall on Moblit and an urge takes over your body as you decide to speak up.

"ENOUGH." You scream, tears shining in your eyes as you stand up. This discussion had been going on for at least thirty minutes and it is time to put an end to it. "If you don't want to stay behind, then don't."

"But up until two minutes ago you were trying to tell me to stay." Erwin replies, his remaining hand leaving Levi's and massaging the area where his right arm used to be. You clutch your fist shut and tighten your jaw, eyes rolling to the back of your head in annoyance.

"For fuck's sakes, do you want to come or not?" You ask, attempting to go back to biting your fingernails but realizing there is nothing left for you to chew.

"Why are you so mad about this all of the sudden?" Levi asks while looking inside his backpack in the hopes of finding any kind of pain relief medicine that would help Erwin but coming up empty handed.

"Because..." You reply, eyes following the brown haired, nervous man who walks around the room packing everything needed for the journey. "Because I'm tired of leaving people behind."

Hanji's hands gently make their way above your waist, tightly wrapping around your stomach as she pulls your body closer to hers. Her head buried on your shoulder while the tears you once fought so hard to keep away decide to ignore your order and fall down your face.

"We'll go all together." She says and every man in the room nods.

The two teenagers sit on the corner of the room, whispering amongst themselves something that you couldn't quite make out. Eren's head still lays on Mikasa's lap, gagged by the red scarf that once rested around her neck.

Armin's ocean eyes have been clouded since the moment you first saw him after Eren's transformation, all the light has been drained as if the only good thing remaining in his life has been horribly taken away.