Blue and White - Levi Fanfiction

Ch. 16 - How to Turn Street Rats into Soldiers

As soon as those words were uttered, simple though they were, there was a whirlwind of activity. Everything ignited into movement as though we physically lit a flame, and we were unfortunately at the mercy of the soldiers that captures us. We were hefted to our feet as soon as this Erwin Smith gave the word, and we were rather forcefully escorted through the city. 

If we deviated even a step from the path or even dared to avoid a broken bottle or the dried, disgusting puddle of sick left behind by a drunken fool, a pushy soldier was always quick to brandish their sword and keep us in line. Honestly, we were going willingly. They didn't need to be that damn pushy about it.

Oh, and that's not even mentioning how strange we looked.

People normally would look at us when we walked by, that was a given. Being who we were, with the gear we had and the jobs we did and the people we helped. We had a bit of a reputation that preceded us and people would just... look. They would watch us, with hope in their eyes and knowing damn well that we would give the Military Police a damn good run for their money.

And we always would.

But now, they looked at us strangely, clearly confused and clearly wary of the Scouts. In their green cloaks, it was obvious that they were not the Military Police, and the fact that they had caught us...

I recognized a few of the faces. It was hard not to, given that we were walking through a well-populated and busy part of the city for this day. There was Nicholas, one of our regulars. There was Lenny, the owner of the bar we frequented often. There was Ingrid, a woman I didn't know too well but if I wanted a fun night of drinking, I could always count on.

And there, with his guitar strapped to his back... was Mason.

We locked eyes and I couldn't quite decipher what it was his expression was saying to me. His eyes looked to the soldiers, then to the group, and then to me again, to the way my hands were cuffed behind me. Disbelief found his eyes, then something like fear, with more than a little bit of concern mixed in, too. 

I wanted to say something, but I didn't put it past these soldiers to go after whoever was associated with us, so I kept quiet and looked away. I wished, as we turned down another street, one just on the outskirts of our neighborhood, that I had a chance to speak with Mason and to our usual contacts and not only that, but to get home for just a moment to gather our belongings. We had loose ends to tie up, things we thought we'd have time for, but didn't, and I felt awful.

I glanced over my shoulder towards Mason once more, who looked like he wanted to break from the crowd he'd found himself in to run to my side, but I shook my head. I hoped he saw in my eyes what I wanted to say: Mason, my dearest friend... I'm sorry, but I'm going where you cannot follow. Not now.

Now now... but maybe one day, he too would get to see the surface. We would reunite, I knew we would. I only wished I could say goodbye. But he stayed put, taking my silent cue, and I was grateful for it. The way they treated us, there was no way they'd hesitate to capture Mason, who had committed more than his own fair share of crimes. These soldiers didn't want him, they wanted us. There was no telling what would happen to him if he acted out.

I looked now at the soldier with the big nose. "Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "would it be possible for us to stop by our home for a few minutes?"

No answer. Well, that was rude.

It seemed the flour-covered soldier had heard me, however, for he replied with a coarse: "Why?"

I looked at him, trying not to laugh at the sight of him. I did what I could to appear to be meek and like a polite young woman, as though he would have forgotten that I had doused him in powder not even an hour ago.