A tail for an eye - Eren x Levi

Chapter 18

"Deserted With No Hope"

Pain throbbed against Levi's head, making it feel as though his heartbeat resided there. Aching shot through his body, the weakness it caused meant he struggled to even open his eyes. Instead, he continued to lie there, concentrating on his breathing. Saltiness filled the air around him. Regulating his breathing meant the pain subsided a little, just enough for him to squint his eyes open. The air didn't feel as cold or wet as it last felt when he was conscious. Pain shot in his eyes from the saltwater having got in there, causing him to hiss and close his eyes again. Now more awake, he could feel water on his legs, but a hard and scratchy thing resting on his back. He presumed wood, or a tree. This motivated him to try open his eyes again, he hissed much louder upon opening them and blinking with a constant pattern.

"You're awake." A gentle voice said. It definitely belonged to Eren.

"Where am I?" Levi asked, so hoarse and dry in his voice that it barely sounded out amongst the raspiness. His eyes kept blinking, but he could see a brighter - though still cloudy - sky and Eren in front of him. 

All the memories of last night came flooding back to him in horrible flashbacks. He recalled all the terrified screams, the sound as The Colossal Titan came down with a crash, the sound of water in his ears as he had fought for his life swimming above the surface of water. Worst of all, he remembered Zoe's unconscious body floating down into the sea. They were giving him a pounding headache, worse than the one already there. It covered his entire head, it just irritated him by this point, he needed to think.

"I brought you back to the island," Eren responded. Levi managed to keep his eyes open long enough to take a nosey around. He was rested against a tree, his lower body still in the water, likely due to Eren not being able to get far onto land. It was cold, causing him to shiver a little.

"Why?" Levi asked, still raw in his throat. It burned, everything did. He felt exhausted, as though not having slept in years. Eren sat in front of him, studying Levi's appearance. Levi continued to think about to what had happened to be bothered to return the stare.

"So you'd live. I figured it was easier than making you float on a piece of wood, at least here you can stand up," Eren mentioned to him. As a matter of fact, Eren himself surviving came as a surprise considering he'd been confined in that room and surrounded by dangerous objects that could knock him out or kill him on impact.

Levi sighed, his body failing to relax from the aching. He could already feel bruises and cuts all over him, stinging and causing discomfort no matter how he sat. Although, he didn't exactly move much. He decided to ask the dreaded question, "Did anyone else ... survive?"

Eren looked off into the distance, fiddling with his hands, "I don't think so. I couldn't even find that Zoe girl."

Levi took in a shaky breath, unsure of how to take this news. Of all people on that boat, he didn't feel like the one who deserved to live. Zoe, she'd always been there for him. Always happy and cheerful, bringing up the morale of the boat when things weren't looking so great. She'd been his first proper friend, the person he felt closest to since losing his whole family. He didn't even cry despite all of this, the shock took over his body and every breath he produced felt shaky. Not a single other person had survived. Or if they had then by now they would've probably drowned or died of exhaustion from swimming. Even the boat itself having been brought down saddened Levi. It all felt so wrong, he didn't feel well all of a sudden. He looked down at the water, biting his lip a moment before realising he didn't have his eyepatch nor his hat. Levi moved his hand to his blind eye, of course he was unable to see it, but sensed it.

"Sorry, I took off your eyepatch to help the water get out your eyes. I thought it might be hurting you," Eren said, gesturing to the eyepatch that lay by Levi's side.