Cornered

Escape 2

Levi was not happy when he woke up. His shoulder had started to ache again and the sounds of battle going on outside did not make it any better. He packed up quickly but efficiently, stowing his gear in a wagon and grabbing a nearby member of the corps.

"Pack up your belongings in one of the wagons, help any injured you see along the way and ready my horse. You are to wait by the wagons until I come, understand?" The man nodded quickly before disappearing into the fog. Levi drew both his blades deliberately turning them so he would only be using the backs. Then he closed his eyes, took several deep breaths and opened them again. He stood just before the wagons and whistled the order to withdraw to the north, his position. He felt the surge of movement around him and let the first part pass. They would be the members of the corps who recognized the signal and were following orders.

The second wave was not so lucky. They met the fury of a very unhappy Captain Levi. He didn't know how they had been found, but he was not going to let their pursuers off easily. That was the problem after all with catching the tiger. Sometimes you got seriously hurt. He dropped every opponent he met who wasn't wearing a green cloak and the winged crest of the Survey Corps. He didn't try to identify them but he did make sure they weren't part of his company.

Levi could hear that several horsemen had taken off to the north and he only hoped they didn't get too far away. Levi stopped two of the Survey Corps members from running past him and as a group they scoured the camp quickly looking for any pieces of gear that might have been left. After that quick sweep Levi was satisfied and ran to the wagons.

"Mount up!" Everyone not already in a saddle quickly got in one. Levi ran to his horse nodding his thanks to the Survey Corps member he had stopped earlier. Levi swung into the saddle his shoulder twinging in pain that he ignored. Sasha Blouse ran towards him across the wagon bed she was standing in.

"Mikasa wanted me to tell you that Eren is safely away." She spoke just loudly enough to be heard, but not loud enough to carry. He nodded his understanding then signaled everyone forward. They couldn't go too fast since the wagons needed time to maneuver around trees and other obstacles. He was vaguely aware of someone calling for them to wait but he didn't want to lose Eren and Mikasa. He continued forward heading north in the hopes he would come across their trail. He soon found a group of men examining saddles or groaning from the ground. One looked up at him and as their eyes met smiled maliciously. Levi recognized Carl Anderson, and he knew that he should kill him now, but he was more worried about what might have happened to Eren and Mikasa than he was about killing Carl. He rode on, looking for them in the fog. The sun was rising but it would be several hours still before it was strong enough to burn away the mist and might just make it harder to see.

Sasha could just make out the other riders and wagons in the dense fog. Reiner was by far the clearest since he rode as close to the wagon as he safely could. She occasionally looked into Connie's face, but there was no change. He remained perfectly still in her arms. The wagons traveled for at least an hour before Captain Levi called a halt. By that time Connie was still breathing evenly his face slack. Sasha could feel her worry mounting, but she did her best to remain outwardly calm. Reiner rode up beside the wagon and stopped.

"How is he?" Sasha shook her head.

"He hasn't moved, but he's still breathing so he's alive." Reiner nodded. "What's going on? Why did we stop?" Reiner looked ahead.

"There's another group of riders."

"Who are you?" They all heard Mikasa's voice call out.