Can't Get Along (Levi X Reader)

13. I Will Always Return

Reader POV

My whole body ached as I groaned, opening my eyes and seeing nothing but darkness. Where the hell was I? And why did the lower half of me feel so weightless... And wet? I was disoriented for sure and had a pounding headache but I managed to move my arm that was above my head on some slimy rock-like surface to my side to feel for what was making my legs wet and cold. Water? I blinked a few times and tried to look around at my surroundings as my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. I could see thick columns faintly outlined in the dark cave that I was apparently in and as I looked around more I could see separate stalactites and stalagmites that hadn't yet merged together to form full support beam-like columns.

With a grunt of pain that echoed in the otherwise silent cave, I pushed myself to my hands and knees to crawl out of the water I was half laying in. I could faintly hear water running from elsewhere in the cave system that I must be in. I sat down and felt over my body slowly for any serious injuries. I found none. I also found that my ODM gear was still fully intact, though lacking any of the blades that likely got dislodged along the way to wherever the water had taken me. I just knew that wherever I was, it was deep underground. I could see no light source and my eyes were becoming more adjusted to the pitch black the longer I looked around.

I needed to get back to the surface somehow; I needed to make it back through titan territory alive and get back to HQ to see Levi and let him know that I was alive. I could only hope that Armin had been able to give him my patch just in case I never did make it out of here or back to HQ. It was highly unlikely that I would survive if I did make it out of this cave system. But hopefully, I could. I needed to think positively about this. And the only thought running through my mind as I pushed myself up into a standing position was that I was going to see Levi one more time. I was going to make it back to HQ no matter what just to see his face, to feel his arms around me, to feel those lips against mine one last time.

I tested the amount of gas I had left in my ODM gear and smiled a bit. Almost full tanks. I would have to be as conservative as possible though. I looked around aimlessly for a moment until I was able to see the moving water. Following that would be my best bet of getting out of here. Water had to lead out somewhere. I shuffled my feet along the ground to get a feel for how slippery it was and bit my lip in concentration as I made my way along the water's edge, following it as it ran through this large, spacious cave. It was an underground river of some kind and I was able to follow it easily for quite a while, though I had no idea of the passing of time in this perfect darkness.

~~~~

I was exhausted and starving as I continued to climb down the slippery rocks of yet another short waterfall of this underground river but when I turned to follow it again I froze. There was silver moonlight streaming through an opening a few meters ahead of me and I made my way toward it with a relieved smile on my lips. I had no idea what day it was, nor how many days I had been unconscious or traversing that cave system but I'd slept at least twice for a few hours each time. I suppose I would find out how long I had been gone when I returned to HQ.

Once out into the open air beside the riverbed of the now above-ground portion of the river, I inhaled deeply and looked up to the sky and stars before looking back down and around myself to see if there were any nearby titans that I would have to avoid. I didn't see any but I knew I would have to be on my guard now that I was in the open and without a horse to make an easy getaway. I watched the stars move across the sky along with the moon, trying to decide which way I would need to travel to find where my home was. It didn't take long to figure it out as the night was coming to a close and the moon had been starting to set. I would have to hurry if I wanted to cover a decent amount of ground before the titans became active.