Painting Monochrome ||Ereri/Riren||

Break Down

Glass shattered. I opened my eyes and sat up slowly in bed, scratching the back of my head and yawning. Something wasn't right. My room was different. The walls weren't their normal pale green color like they were in the bedroom of my apartment. Even in the darkness, I could see the beige color of the new walls.

Wait. Darkness? Did I sleep through the entire day!? Holy shit. I'm going to be so late for work!

I threw back the turtle patterned blankets and matching sheets, then got out bed in a hurry, my small feet touching the cold hardwood floor. Wait. Turtles? Small feet? Hardwood? Where the fuck am I?

I looked around and suddenly it dawned on me that things were much, MUCH bigger here than they were in my apartment. Not only that, but they were rearranged as well. I looked down at myself, and sure enough, my body was different as well. My body was equivalent to that of seven year old Eren Jaeger.

A gunshot echoed through the house, startling me terribly. I ran and hid inside the toy chest on the other side of the room, shutting it quietly, but not all the way so that I was still able to look out. The sound of heavy boots walking around filled my ears for what felt like hours, but was actually ten minutes. Once I was sure they were gone, I ran to my mother's room, my small feet pitter-pattering against the hardwood again.

A sort of...metallic smell slammed into my nostrils. Blood. Her sheets were stained crimson red and there lay her still body.

"M...mom?" my voice cracked.

No response.

I walked over to her bed and climbed up next to her, my legs pressed into the pool of red. Her eyes were shut still, but there was no rise-and-fall rhythm of her chest. I shook her slowly as the warmth of the red liquid soaked my legs.

"Mom? Mom...wake up, please," I spoke, my voice rising into a shout. The tears burned behind my eyes and soon, they began to spill out, bringing shaky sobs with them.

"MOM!"

Her eyes snapped open, and I gasped, moving away from her quickly. Only difference: they weren't her eyes. Not only that, but it wasn't her body either. It wasn't her bed. It wasn't her room. It wasn't our house.

Those eyes, that body, that blood...it belonged to none other than Marco Bott himself. There he was, laying on the hospital bed with the chest tube still sticking out of his side and the mask still strapped to his face. His eyes were locked on mine, and soon, his mouth began to move as he whispered a single word. I reached out a shaky, hesitant hand towards his mask, pulling it away from his mouth so that I could hear him. I leaned forward a little more, getting my ear closer to his mouth in order to make sure I heard whatever it is he wanted to say.

"Failure."

That long and dreadful beep as he flat-lined blared, starting off low but soon rising until I could no longer hear myself think. I dropped to my knees, my hands covering my ears to try and block out the noise, but soon, I could feel my own blood beginning to ooze out of my ears.

"I'm not a failure. No...no...NO!"

I shot upright in bed. My breathing was accelerated and heavy, and my forehead was covered in a thick layer of sweat. I looked around, seeing the pale green walls again, and breathing a sigh of slight relief. I hesitantly touched my ears, sighing again when I realized that there was no blood.

A soft knock sounded at my door as I tried to catch my breath.

"Come in," I said, wiping the sweat from my face. The door slowly creaked open and in walked Armin with a concerned look on his face.