(snk) Ways to Say Goodbye

Chapter 10: Give Them a Force to Reckon With

A/N: Hey! Sorry, this is a shorter chapter. I haven't updated in a while and I felt like, as I am on spring break, you guys deserve another chapter. I planned for a ton of things to happen in this chapter, but then I began to write, and the story just kind of played itself out. Don't worry, a new chapter will be out in due time! 

xx Petra

That was it. They were gone. 

Levi's soft orbs slipped from your deathgrip of a stare, tracing over your crouched body one last time. So small, so fragile. So powerless. You could feel his thoughts resonating against your hunched figure. And then, they were being led away by the three Survey Corps soldiers, with not a glance behind.

But you had your promise. You had your titanium vow that wasn't going to be broken, because if you had learned one thing in the Underground, it was that a man is only as good as his word. 

And you had grown up with one of the best men in Underground.

When you were sure that the soldiers had gone, you shakily made your way to your feet. You stared at them, caked with a layer of grime and wet dust. These were the feet that had brought you here. You then stared at your palms, tough with calluses, splotchy with scars unhealed. These were the hands that had kept you alive. You slowly raised your right hand, stirring each finger, then curling them into a fist. This was the fist that had helped you stand your ground, even when it felt impossible. Unhesitatingly, you raised your clenched knuckles into the sky, letting crimson blood stencil a second set of veins down your wrist. And this was the fist that would lead you to victory.

There was no time to waste. You had always worried about what would happen to you if Levi and the others got captured one day. You had imagined sitting on your cot for a few nights, living on the scraps left behind in the kitchen, before searching the Underground for a few days. If you didn't find them there, you had planned to pay the Stairwell fee and ascend into the Above. But this circumstance was different. This time, you knew what had happened to your family. They had been stolen from you, and there was nothing in the world that could stop you from taking them back. 

Hurriedly,  you zipped back home, not even bothering to wipe you feet on the fraying doormat. Levi would be furious, you halfheartedly scoffed to yourself. You flung your leather satchel onto the wooden table, then tore open the cupboard closest to you. In a frenzy, you jammed as many canned items as could fit into your satchel. You didn't plan on ever coming back here.

After refilling your canteen, you ran into Levi's room, skidding on your knees to his bedside. You wriggled your small body under the bed frame until your fingers met cool metal. With the box under your arm, you slid out from under the bed. Tentatively, you unlatched the metal container, revealing wads of crisp, ironed bills. A heavy pouch accompanied. After every mission, Levi had taken a bit of money received in commission, and put it here, so we'd have something to live off of if we were ever lucky enough to make it to the surface. They were going to the surface, and you would be right behind them. 

You didn't take your gear to the Surface. You didn't want to be reminded of the downfall that you had brought upon your family. Plus, the military actually did jack up there. Yet, there was no turning back. Not now, not ever. You left the gear behind an abandoned house. Maybe some other street orphan would find it and with it unknowingly ruin their life. Grudgingly, you trudged across town to the Stairwell. You reluctantly paid the fee, and your bag was checked. The thugs, or "soldiers" as they liked to call themselves, took a few cans of food off of your person, along with a good portion of your cash, mumbling excuses entailing "insurance" and "because you're a minor". You knew it was fucking bullshit, and you almost let them know it, but the only thing that mattered right now was getting to the surface. Plus, despite every lesson Levi  had given you on being unbreakable, he had given you two on the subjects of picking your battles and waiting until the time was right to strike back.