Will of the Broken (Levi x OC)

Chapter 78: Reasons

"Wait. Wait! Back up!" Eren demanded angrily.

My ears rang with his pitch, making me wince and lean further away from the left side of the cart.

Each bump on the ground was enough to make me feel nauseated, I didn't need a headache on top of it, especially since I hadn't slept yet.

Hanji had just explained everything she knew about the situation to Eren. She even explained that Pastor Nick knew.

Of course that would set the kid off.

"You're joking, right? This guy knew? He knew and kept quiet?" Eren continued on, lowering his voice only slightly.

"Uh-huh. Afraid so." Hanji answered grimly. "Just about sums up where we are with him."

A few exhales of shock were let loose, but I thought nothing of it as I peeked over my right shoulder.

Pastor Nick looked terrible, completely full of fear. His resolve was cracking under the intimidation.

I almost felt bad for him.

Key word: almost. To me, he deserved it. I had lost much more than he had, and here he was, remaining silent and living a good life.

I couldn't be angry with that either. It was a double edged sword. On one side, I disliked the man severely for his secrecy. But on the other hand, I was the same way, and I understood him.

"Cat's out of the bag now, of course. He's not willing to talk yet, but we'll see how he feels after a harsh dose of reality. Faith keeps him quiet. Firsthand experience, though?" Hanji let the doubt slip past her tongue and I looked away. The longer I looked, the more my father's information gnawed at me and the longer guilt built inside me.

"To hell with that! No! We're doing this backwards!" Eren's hands slammed down on the middle block between them harshly as he rose from my peripheral vision. "If this son of a bitch knows something, he needs to come out with it! Humanity's on the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath?" 

His words cut off as he wobbled with a hand to his head. Mikasa grabbed him and helped him sit with a few gentle words.

"There's more than one way to get at the truth. Granted I may not be in top form at the moment, but it doesn't take much strength to squeeze a trigger. That said. I'm genuinely hoping I won't have to blow a hole in you to settle this. How 'bout you?" Levi's voice, paired with a metallic click set me on edge. He had a gun and he didn't sound like he was joking.

When Levi threatened someone, it was more of a promise. That's how I saw it at least.

"Threatening him doesn't work, Levi. Trust me on that. Agree with him or not, there's no denying our priest is a man of principle. Which of course leads me to wonder: if he's so unwilling to talk, what in heaven's name do you imagine he's putting above the fate of humanity?" Hanji wondered aloud.

It was silent for a moment, allowing me to think properly about what my old man said.

Maybe the priest knew less than my father did. However, I believed that we were standing on the same ground.

Levi's gaze dug into my back, urging me to say something. It was hard to resist him, and I failed in doing so.

Damn, guilt.

I had to use my words carefully and strategically. Even if I had to leave some things out, and play dumb, I would.

"When I spoke to my father recently, he spoke of the Walls briefly. I can't tell if he was insane or not," lies, "but I do know he believed everything he said."