GIVE YOUR HEART, levi ackerman - book 1

chapter 24; through the smoke

"That's enough!" Shouted the decorated soldier.

You swore at him, earning a kick to the gut from the soldier closest to you. They dragged you to the podium, and threw you to the ground, the noose looming eerily above your head. Where the hell are they? You swore, looking for any sign of your friends like Hange promised. Up on the roofs were a few soldiers on lookout duty stationed with guns. They seemed to feel pretty apathetic towards their jobs, though, as some of them lay against chimneys, half asleep.

You sneered in anger, but were taken by surprise when, out of nowhere, you watched a small group of hooded figures stealthily overtake the rooftops. They knocked out each soldier stationed up there with ease, muffling any cries they made. Finally! You wanted to cry out. Your friends had finally kicked their asses into gear to come save you.

You watched as they moved in closer, silently knocking out as many soldiers as they could. But they weren't moving quick enough as military police hoisted you up on a box and moved to place the noose around your neck. You needed to buy them more time.

"Are we so far beyond civility that you won't grant a woman her final words?" You hissed at the soldiers, who hesitated. They turned to the Captain who reluctantly nodded for you to continue. You pretended not to notice as your friends continued to surround the courtyard.

You turned your attention back to the crowd. "You wanna know why my family left? You wanna know why they chose a grisly life instead of a comfortable one?" You asked, locking eyes with any civilians brave enough to hold your gaze. "They did it to protect you. My grandfather and all of my family before that placed their lives on the line every single day so that you all could live peaceful lives. Titans may be a newfound horror to you, but to me, I've been fighting them all my life."

It seemed like the world had halted to listen to your speech, as if it felt the years of pent up fury seething out of every word, and shrunk in fear at your wrath.

"But you know what?" You continued rhetorically, "I disagree with them. You see, while my grandfather tried to pass onto me his unyielding loyalty to humanity, I cursed each and every one of you. I don't see any point in sacrificing my security while you weak minded imbeciles get to live in ignorance! Because guess what? The only thing I've ever earned from it is jack fucking shit!" Your voice echoed as you yelled, releasing every bit of rage you held inside you. "And I am so fucking tired of you all looking down your pig-faced noses at me without having any semblance of respect for the sacrifices we made. So fine! Maybe this will be the end of me and my god forsaken bloodline. But I want every single one of you to remember that you got to live inside these damn walls without titans for so long because we willed it."

Silence. Silence was all that was heard as you finished your speech. The crowd had now nearly doubled in size, and more continued to join. You could tell your words left a mark on them, as the Captain tried to shake his soldiers from their bewilderment. The same faces that shot you twisted looks of disgust now seemed flustered and confused.

"T-to hell with that!" The Captain shouted in disconcertment. He pushed his men to carry out the execution, and they all stumbled forward, fumbling with the rope.

You glanced upwards at the roofs to see where your friends were perched, still dealing with a few stragglers that seemed to be causing them trouble.. You grew pissed at their lack of speed and urgency. Could no one understand you were about to be hanged?

The soldiers placed the noose around your head and the blood drained from your face. "For fucks sake! What are you waiting for, an invitation!?" You shouted to the rooftops, causing everyone to turn their heads around in confusion.

All at once, Scout soldiers surrounded the courtyard and took the soldiers by surprise. People staggered around in shock at the sudden commotion, and many shouts echoed off the walls of the courtyard. Within seconds, every single MP was apprehended. You breathed a sigh of relief.

The Scouts began removing their hoods, revealing familiar faces. Mikasa had pinned the MP Captain down as he spewed hatred in her direction. Connie and Armin held other soldiers at gunpoint, while Sasha and Jean detained the two soldiers closest to you.

Levi landed in front of you, and for a moment, he briefly faltered, your eyes locking in a silent exchange. "Levi..." You breathlessly sighed, unable to comprehend that you were seeing him again. From the way he seemed to pause, you could tell he felt the same.

He swiftly cut the rope around your neck, letting it fall to the ground. Mikasa had grabbed the keys to your cuffs from the Captains belt, and much to his dismay, tossed them towards Levi. He moved towards you, unlocking the manacles. His calloused hands lingered over yours for a brief second, as if he were afraid to let go. However, now was not the time or place for any of this.

You wistfully broke away from his gaze and rubbed your wrists, which were worn from the shackles cutting into your skin. "Took you long enough." You quipped, earning eye rolls from your friends. "I mean seriously, it's like you wanted me to die."

Levi just shook his head, but you could see a ghost of a smile on his lips as he turned to the crowd. "Oi, what are you all doing here? Did you not get the evacuation drill order?" He asked, annoyed, causing the crowd to shuffle quickly away in fear.

A soldier dropped a set of ODM gear at your feet, and you thanked her as you geared up. "Jean, Connie, Mikasa tie these soldiers up. We'll deal with them later. Once you're done, meet back up with us."

They nodded and moved to deal with the group of soldiers. The MP Captain swore that we wouldn't get away with this as Mikasa dragged him away, but Levi just scoffed. He didn't show it, but he wanted to rip that man apart for the way he acted earlier. He watched the whole speech from the rooftops, including how disrespectful the Captain was towards you.

But he chose to contain his rage, and instead turned to you. "You think you're ready to fight? Rod Reiss is already upon us, so we have to act now."

You nodded confidently, "I've been itching to kill something." You chided. All those days stuck complacent in custody made you antsy, and now that you were free, you were eager to see some action.

Levi smirked at your response, "Welcome back, Abertine."