Snake's Pit (Sequel to Mare's Nest) [Ereri]

Chapter One

It was a beautiful day, a rare sight in England. The birds sang in joy from the warm heat of the sun. The ocean water glittered like diamonds as waves lapped at the docks. Everyone cheered as they watched the ships sail away.

But I watched in distraught as the vessel to Coney Island disappeared in the distance.

Eren was gone.

Armin stood beside me, locking his unbandaged eye with the departing ship. "What happened?" he asked. It took me a minute to answer as I wrapped my arms around myself. The lapping waves and cheering audience filled the void of silence between us.

"I messed up," I finally said with a shaky voice. "How exactly?" he questioned. I shifted my gaze to the crowd surrounding us. "Can we go somewhere a bit more private?" I replied. He seemed to just notice the environment behind us and nodded. "We can go back to the warehouse," he said.

Our trek back to the warehouse was silent. I stared down at our shuffling feet as my mind left me. My thoughts turned to Eren. His multicolored eyes, tan skin, and chocolate locks. His warm embrace, soft kisses, and sweet words.

I'm an idiot for lying to him.

We returned to the doors of the warehouse. "Do you want something to drink?" Armin asked as we entered. "Water please," I mumbled. He nodded. "I'll go get our drinks, meet me in Eren's room."

I nodded before we walked our separate ways. I stared at the passing floorboards as I sauntered to Eren's abandoned room. My hand wrapped around the cold knob, and with a sigh, I opened the door.

A knot formed in my throat as I scanned the bare chambers that came into view. The sheets were messily tossed around on the cot. My feet carried me over to his mattress, only to collapse onto it, and bury my nose in the cloth of his pillow. His scent was stained in the linen. I held onto it tightly, knowing it was the last part of him I had left.

Footsteps echoed in his room, and my initial thought was that it was Eren and everything was only a dream, but I looked over to see Armin with two cups in his hands. "Are you alright?" he questioned as I sat up. "I'm fine," I explained. He looked to me like he knew I was lying, but proceeded to sit down and hand me my drink.

Armin kicked his shoes off, to bring his feet onto the bed, and swing himself around to face me. "What happened?" he asked. I stared at my reflection in the water of my cup, not feeling like digesting it, before sighing. I set the glass on the floor. "Do you remember the night after I first met Kimber? Do you remember what you said to me... about harming Eren?" I asked. "That I would slit your throat if you hurt him? Yes, yes I do," he answered.

I worried my bottom lip from his response. "I'm sorry, Armin, you might as well find a knife," I stated. His eyebrows scrunched together as he set his cup down by mine. "Continue."

Fiddling with my thumbs, I explained everything to him while tears pricked my eyes. His facial expressions didn't make me feel anymore comfortable. But I couldn't blame him for hating me.

By the time I finished my rendition, Armin's eye was filled with rage. He looked down to his clenched fists in his lap as I braced myself for death.

"I'm giving you one more chance," his voice was terrifyingly dark, and made a shudder crawl down my spine. But my mind processed his words and a flicker of hope sparked in me. "But tell me, do you still care for Eren?" he asked as his gaze locked with mine. His eye was a bottomless pit. A small hiccup erupted from my throat as the tears finally escaped their prison. "Yes," I answered.

Armin let out a sigh as if he were scared I would give a negative response. "Show me Eren's letter," he demanded. "It's in my room," I explained and began standing. Armin did so as well. "Let's go."

We exchanged no syllables as we walked to my quarter. Armin didn't let his rage-filled gaze leave me. And I didn't blame him.

I found the letter on my cot, and handed it to the blond. He ripped it from my grasp and scanned Eren's writings. Once he finished, he folded the paper and set it on the desk.

"We're going after him," he ordered.

My heart leaped out of my chest at his statement. "Do you think we'll be able to find him?" I questioned. Coney Island is a popular location for tourists, making it impossible to find a particular individual. "We'll have to, or the warehouse is going to be a fucking slaughterhouse to The Mohocks," Armin explained. "Mohocks?" I questioned. His eyebrows knitted together. "They're a ruthless aristocratic gang that despise us," he explained. "Is there a gang The Peaky Blinders are acquainted with?" I asked with my brows arched. Armin crossed his arms over his chest. "Barely. Not a lot of people particularly like Eren, if you haven't noticed," he replied.

"Well, we've moved to a different location, they can't easily find us, can they?" I inquired. "As long as there's no traitor still with us. Reiner and Bertholdt don't know this location exists. Eren never trusted them," he said, "And as long as word doesn't travel around that Eren is gone, we should be safe."

"Then we should start our search," I said. Armin nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Eren took most of our money for the ticket, but we can check for any extra," he suggested. "Alright," I concurred.

We made our way to another room where Armin said they stashed their stolen earnings. Searching the room, we found little money.

"This isn't enough, and we will still need money for food for everyone," Armin explained. "We could ask everyone to look around for loose change," I shrugged. Armin looked as if he were considering my suggestion until his brows knitted together.

"Do you have any money, I mean you ar- were a..." he trailed off. But I understood his unfinished sentence. "I gave the rest to Billy, so I could prevent his attack...but it didn't work out the way I planned," I answered. Armin's bandage became more prominent than usual, and the feeling of guilt settled in the pit of my stomach.

Armin pursed his lips awkwardly and nodded slowly. "Let's go ask everyone for any extra money then."

We asked around for help. Anyone who questioned why, was given a brief summary of Eren's departure to America. A few found small amounts of currency, but not an adequate total for Armin and I to travel to Coney Island.

Armin and I let out exasperated sighs as we returned to Eren's chambers.

"Is there anything we could sell?" I asked. "There is, but since everything here has been stolen, we won't be able to sell it for a high price without causing a potential conflict with another gang," he explained. I groaned as I leaned my head against the wall.

How could we get enough money?

And an idea hit me like a bullet. I was an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. "Armin."

I caught his attention. His brows drew together as he saw my face almost light up.

"It may be a bit risky, but I have a plan."