Drowning - Attack on Titan

Fatal Mishaps

Everything was freezing, and everything was confusing. Eren's head was under water and he was being rolled and tumbled and fumbled about in the water, over and over. He couldn't see, breathe, and his brain was so disoriented.

Then his wet mop of black hair popped up, breaking the water's surface. He sucked in a gasp of air, his skinny arms flailing and flapping, but they seemed tangled in his backpack. Where he was, he assumed the creek wide, fast, and strong. He was swept downstream at speeds he shouldn't have gone, and his mouth seemed full of water at all times.

And, everything was just so cold. And it bit at him, it hurt, it wasn't just temperature, when he caught sight of his lips in his peripheral line of vision, he saw they were blue. And his fingers, once pale and now blue.

Eren shut his eyes.

I'm going to die.

His mind realized that fact with true certainty. As if it were saying, 'Yes, indeed, this body will most definitely shut down.' But his body was stubborn, flailing absently and shivering, it fought against him, no matter what he thought.

It struggled out of his backpack, and he watched as the Wings Of Freedom embroidery caught onto a rock an tore right down the middle. He watched as his legs never stopped kicking.

But, no good.

The creek itself was six feet tall and Eren was barely standing at five-foot-six. He barely had the strength the hold himself up.

Right then and there, Eren was filled with utmost hatred. Not for the creek, but for himself. Because he was small and weak and it was going to take his life. He was going to die and it was going to happen now. Like prime-time television programs.

And... He didn't remember what happened next. Adrenaline, some would say. The last kick to live before you die. There was nothing but anger burning his mind, his legs scrambled and kicked and he had stopped shivering. And his mind knew that the slam his hand took to the rock should have hurt, but he felt nothing.

He looked down at his legs, his stubborn legs that would not stop kicking. Which, maybe was a good thing, because he propelled himself out of the creek and onto the snow and dirt, gasping and panting and... "I made it." He said. "I'm okay." Or maybe he thought it, but his brain was too foggy to register.

But when he tried to stand, he realized how wrong he was. When he tried to hold himself up, his legs wobbled beneath him and all he was aware of was the sharp sting of icy coldness on his skin. He was previously exhausted and nearly frozen, and his clothes felt like medieval armor.

His gloves were gone, and his hat was as well. With every sharp intake of the wintry air, he seemed to get colder and colder and suddenly the shivers came back, violently and all at once.

"Road. Car. That's it, Eren. You need to find someone who has a car and heat up inside it. Mhm, that's it."

He rose, walking forward. But, where was the road? He didn't know, but he had to get somewhere. He stumbled forward, walking into too many roots to count and picking himself up slower then he'd like.

It's these clothes. They're too heavy, I should take them off.

Dimly, Eren knew he was wrong. He was hypothermic. He wasn't thinking right. He didn't care. He would have to take risks. He unzipped his windbreaker, watching it tumble in the snowy forest.

That's the problem. I can walk better now.

Nope. He was still falling and falling and stumbling and falling. Every time, it was harder for his numb muscles to pick himself off the floor. His slacks felt like cold slabs of ice, but then again, they were covered with snow.

Should get rid of those things.

He fiddled with the zipper, until it fell, and he stepped out of his pants in just black boxers.

I need rest now, that's all. Just a little nap for Eren.

Eren sat down in the snow, a little clearing where it was thinner, for some reason, not as much snow. Maybe it was melted. He didn't know, he was wet and cold. He felt so peaceful there, the ground was clear except for his body on the snow. And above, overhanging branches formed a snowy canopy. It was a beautiful place to die.

Eren had stopped shivering, which probably meant it was over. His body couldn't provide any heat and was surrendering the fight. It was going into hibernation and shutting itself down, conserving the heat and slowing his heart rate, reducing his breath as well. It tried to survive until help came, but... Help didn't come.

No one knew where Eren was. Mikasa may have called him, but where was his cellphone? Probably somewhere in the lake... It would be hours until his father came home from late night shifts and his mother was... awake.

And they wouldn't be alarmed that Eren was missing. They would assume that he was with Mikasa, and by the time Mikasa would realize Eren was walking, it would've been too late, and Eren would've been dead.

But Eren didn't care, he couldn't save himself, he reached his physical limit and exhaustion was taking over. He wouldn't be able to move to save himself, even if he had thought of a plan. He glanced at his hands, the muscles were no longer red, they were blue-white.

The main pro here was that, he didn't feel cold. He couldn't feel anything. And he was tired... He had begun the process of death.

White fog filled his mind, he had no sense of time passing and his metabolism slowed to a stop, he was becoming ice. One with the precipitation.

I'm in trouble.

Somebody.

Anybody.

Help.

His last thought was, it's just like going to sleep. And then all at once, there was no rigidity, or discomfort. And, similarly, no heartbeat.