GIVE YOUR HEART, levi ackerman - book 1

chapter 19; pain

As the adrenaline finally died down, you felt the bullet wound on your leg begin to sting. You wanted to groan in pain as you looked down at your blood soaked leg, but you had to remain quiet. It looked nastier than you had originally thought it was, the bullet grazing deep enough to show a thin layer of fat and muscle under your skin. Shit, I gotta get this cleaned. The wound was coated in a small layer of flour and who knows what else, so you didn't want to risk infection.

As luck may have it, you found yourself surrounded by a wide selection of alcohol, sitting pretty on a well decorated bar shelf. Sweat began to bead your forehead as you glared at the liquids, already regretting what you were about to do. Reluctantly, you hoisted yourself up and limped towards the shelf, grabbing a bottle of clear vodka and uncorking the top. The strong stench made your face contort in disgust. You ripped off a piece of your scout jacket and soaked the fabric in the alcohol.

You gritted your teeth and took in a deep breath before wiping the make-shift disinfectant onto your wound. Your cries of agony filled the store as the warm blood soaked the cloth. You slammed your fists onto the counter in front of you. Your leg was throbbing and burning, but you kept going until the wound was clean. You hastily ripped off the sleeve of your jacket and wrapped it around your leg, tying it tight to stop the blood, but it did little to help.

Light-headed and weary, you rested your body against the shelf of liquor, breathing heavily. You let out a bitter laugh, shaking your head at this pathetic scene. You were a fool for thinking you could take these people on. And you knew it when you told Levi, too. Maybe deep down, you were looking for an excuse to give up, and that was your one ticket out. Go out as a hero, and not have to worry about fighting endlessly anymore.

So then why do you keep fighting? You could have let yourself get caught back there in the market, but you didn't. You could have sat there in the store and bled out until someone found you, but you didn't. What are you still going for?

Levi's face flashed through your mind. His strong eyes bore into yours, mixing with a look of sadness. That's why. I promised him we were in this together. And you intended to keep that promise. If for nothing else, you kept fighting for him.

"If things get bad, you come find me." You recalled his last words to you in your head. So that's what you were going to do. You should have bought him enough time to escape anyway – maybe you two could meet up and find the others now.

You gathered the rest of your strength, took a swig of the vodka before tossing it to the side, and pushed yourself off of the shelf. Your leg may be injured, but you could still maneuver on your ODM gear well enough. Limping to the door, you hissed with each step. Your dizziness was getting worse by the second as blood continued to leak from your wound. You had to find Levi quick.

__________________

Levi had ducked Kenny's men easily enough and managed to slip away from the tavern. As pissed as he was, he knew he couldn't have done it without your distraction. You were right, as always – he needed to make sure Eren and Historia were safe. Still, he couldn't shake the worry from his mind that you would end up hurt.

He pushed on, evading bullets and gunmen, as he came upon the wagon transporting the two kids. He took out a man coming straight at him by gutting him with his blades as he passed by.

"Captain Levi!" He heard a familiar voice shout and a wave of relief overcame him.

He landed on the side of a building and turned around as his squad approached from the rear. Jean, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and Mikasa were all there and ready to fight. And alive.

"We need to capture the wagon before they leave the city!" He ordered. "These men are different from anything you've fought. They're trained to kill humans so do not hesitate." He ordered, earning nods from his men.

"Where's Adeline, sir!" Sasha asked with concern, noticing his second in command was missing.

He frowned, wishing he knew the answer. "We'll circle back for her after we get control of the wagon. She's risking her life right now to give us this chance, so don't let it be for nothing!"

"Yes sir!" They shouted.

He turned his attention back towards the wagon, changing out his blades for fresh ones. There were three men on the carriage; two men in the back hovering over Eren and Historia, and a woman driving in the front. Levi glanced at Mikasa and motioned to take out the two men in the back. 

Kenny's men had noticed the group now, and had began firing, but the two Ackermans were faster and managed to cut down two out of the three enemies.

Armin and Jean had gone ahead, the former knocking the woman out of the front seat. She flew into the back as Armin kicked her out of the way. The thud of her body caused Jean to stumble back.

"D-Don't move!" He shouted, shakily pointing his sword at the girl. She only spat in disgust and kicked his legs out from under him, pointing her gun at his head.

You fool! I said don't hesitate! Levi swore as he prepared to step in, but a gun shot sounded, causing him to pull back in alarm.

The woman fell lifeless, revealing Armin holding a small smoking handgun. The look on his face was ghastly, and he shook in adrenaline.

Unfortunately, more men swarmed the area, and within moments, the group was more than outnumbered.

"Pull back!" Levi called out, swooping in to grab Armin as Connie pulled Jean away from the cart just as Kenny's men overtook it.

They watched as the wagon passed under the exit of the city. It was no use to follow it, and Levi said as much as Mikasa moved to chase after it.

"Eren!" She screamed, and Levi restrained her.

"Let him go! There's nothing we can do for them right now."

She cried in anger and confusion, but didn't fight the Captain.

His squad looked at the disappearing wagon in dismay, and he frowned. "Leave them for now. We'll have no chance of saving them if we're dead. We need to find Adeline first, and retreat." He ordered before leading towards the way you had head off towards earlier.