ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇʀᴄʏ {ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴄᴋᴇʀᴍᴀɴ}

The Death of Elise Abernathy

It was my prized possession.
Even though part of me wanted to throw it into the sea after remembering that it was the reason my mother left the house and died, I still couldn't help but need it. It was the only thing I had left of her besides my green eyes and her vague memory.
   "Holy shit!" I exclaimed and gripped the ring to my chest in excitement.
    Captain Levi's eyes widened and he leaned back as if my enthusiasm had pushed him.
    I looked over to see his confused expression, so I held the ring up between my fingers and explained.
    "This ring is my prized possession. I lost it after my head injury and Shannon must've found it. I never thought I'd see it again!"
     Levi stared at the ring with widened eyes and parted lips. He didn't seem to pay attention to my words and could only focus on the circle that pressed between my fingers.
    "How..." He said quietly. "How did-"
    "Listen up, people!" Hange's voice drowned him out. I shifted my focus from the stunned Levi to Hange who had emerged from the sea. "It's time to tell you all why we're really here."
     I rose to my feet while my comrades gathered around the Commander. Levi stared at me with a blank expression as he stood up and headed toward the group.
    "The whole point of this mission was to scope out the land," Hange started. "A Marlian ship is set to arrive at this coastline in three months. The whole point of this mission was the get a good idea of the land, and to scope out any possible threats."
    "Why are we just now hearing about this?" Jean called out from the back of the group which made Hange look down and smile.
     "Well, I wanted to keep you guys in the dark so you could enjoy this exploration without seeing it as a mission. I wanted you all to be able to experience the sea without an ulterior motive plaguing your mind. Now that we all have had our fun it's time to head back. I've collected plenty of samples and have wrote down my findings as well as the start to a plan."
    We all took in their words and I could see the anger on Jean's face dissipate.
    All of my comrades were in dire need of a vacation, and Hange was able to give them one by keeping the mission vague.
We were grateful.
   "So we get to come back here in three months?" Armin asked.
    "Yes. Now that we know the terrain, we'll have the advantage on our enemies, so in three months we'll be coming back here to face them," Hange explained.
    We all thought about their words with wonder and fear. We all were so excited that we would get to come back, but I could tell that all of our minds were racing with anxiousness at the thought of facing the people who hated us.
I glanced over to Levi who stood several feet behind me.
    He had already been staring at me with that surprised look still in his eyes.
   "We'll be heading out in fifteen minutes, so soak up the sea while you can," Hange affirmed.
    After our meeting, everyone dispersed and went back to standing in the sea. I quickly dipped my feet into the salty water one more time before finding a place in the sand to sit.