✓ Blood Lust (Levi Ackerman - Attack on Titan) #wattys2021

Chapter Eight

"Let's go!" I yell. "While they're distracted." I start running in that direction, watching as Jean catches up with me. 

"Stay running as long as you can! Don't use your gas!" Jean yells over his shoulder, not breaking stride next to me. 

"Don't engage! Swerve and keep going!" My voice rings out as we get closer, more Titans turning their focus onto us and not HQ. Together, Jean and I fly through the top floor window into where we used to have class on Titans. "We made it," I tell him, disbelief in my voice as more glass is shattered from our comrades catching up. 

"How many of us made it?" someone asks us. I look around and realize, not much had made it. We here quiet sobbing and turn to see two cadets cowered underneath desks. 

"Are you with the supply team?" Jean demands, grabbing the boy and pulling him out, punching him in the face. 

"Jean! Stop!" I yell at him, placing a hand on his arm. My hand itched to chop him in the throat like I'm used to, but I don't want him incapacitated from it, just in case.

"You cowards! You left us out on our own! People are dead because you didn't have the guts to do your job!" Jean screams at them, the one boy and one girl.

The blood splattered female kneels beside the other, looking up at us in desperation. "The Titans were coming at us from every angle! They overran the supply room, okay?!"

"It's your job to deal with it and supply us anyways!"

"Shut up, Jean! We need to focus on getting it back, and if you haven't noticed, we need all the help we can get." I kneel down in front of the girl. "You did your best with what you had, but we are here now, and we need your help." The female nods, her tear-stained face piercing into mine. I'd rather be on a rooftop surrounded by Titans than confined in this one with them.

"Hit the deck!" Connie screams and a moment later, a Titan head busts through the wall, staring at us, unseeing. 

"Get further inside!" I yell, ushering them in. The Titan head caused a massive hole for the Titans to now find us. "Jean, go!" He's frozen, staring at the oncoming monsters. I grab the back of his jacket, pulling him back with as much strength as I can muster, my ankles not giving me much leverage. When I look back at the hole, the Titans are gone. What the hell?

Another Titan appears, but he has no interest in us. His attention is on the other Titans. Ours turns towards the three cadets that have just come through a window.

"Mikasa!" Jean calls out. 

Connie taps on his tanks. "Running on fumes but we made it!"

I walk forward, ignoring the hand of Jean to stop me. Looking out the hole, I watch the abnormal fight it's own kind. Did the universe decide to finally look in our favor and end the Titan's reign?

He has clear fighting technique, almost like the hand to hand combat we did in training. Against mindless Titans that just want to eat humans, they're no match, except for them rushing in a horde.

I head inside with the others, sitting down in front of Reiner. 

"What's to stop him from turning on us once he's done with the others?" he asks Connie, and honestly, it's a good question. He might just be after anything that moves. 

"We'll worry about that once we're safe," I say. "We just need to focus on getting gas and be thankful that we have a distraction."

"Yeah, you're right," Reiner says, looking at me as if in a new light. "At least he's buying us some time."

Jean comes in with guns, 'courtesy of the Military Police' as he says. It's not much, but it's better than using our fists against them. Armin has a plan, and I let him take over, sitting down to try and rest my ankles before we continue. My adrenaline is wearing off, and the full ache of my injuries are almost full force.

"Eliora," Armin says, getting my attention. "You'll be part of the team swooping in, as you still have gas and you're on of the more agile soldiers." I nod. 

"Alright! The lift's ready to go!" 

I stand up, replacing my blades with my final ones. I have one shot only to take out my target in one blow, or we will all die. 

We walk down the stairs, the ones going to kill the Titans. I'm the only one with ODM gear left, as the rest have ran out of gas now. Still, it's not much of an advantage in this small of a space. Thankfully, the Titans are only four meters tall.

"If you can't hit their neck, just shove your blade up their ass."

"Do you want your final words to be an ass joke, Reiner?" Jean asks in disgust. We climb onto the rafters, watching as the lift descends. Only one Titan has so far gone towards them. Waiting, more finally decide to come, and I breathe a small sigh, as all should be stunned now. 

"Fire!" 

We move into action as gunshots go off, right into the heads of the Titan. I land almost perfectly on my target, slicing his weak spot. Together we go down, but I jump off at the last second. 

"Sasha and Connie missed!" Reiner yells and I look in horror as their two are gaining on them. Using the last of my gas, I jump off from the lift, killing the one after Connie. Sasha's is taken care of by the rest of the team after it trips. This could've ended way worse. 

"Start loading up supplies!" I yell to the ones still in the lift.

The next minutes are filled with us topping off our tanks, and the spirits are definitely higher. I don't think they realize that we are still completely screwed by the wall being open. The Armored Titan can appear at any time to kick in the interior wall like it did five years ago. 

I flick Jean in the back of the head, sitting down beside him. "You did good, Co-Captain."

"We aren't Captains."

"But we did good." 

He looks down in his lap at his tank. "Whatever. Shut up, El." He looks down at my boots, his eyes widening. "Your ankles!"

"They are so swollen, I know," I grin at him. My boots had bulged around the ankle area, almost looking like another set of knees. "We are alive, and when we make it back, you'll hold my hand while I cry like a little bitch as they cut my boot off. Deal?" I ask, putting my hand out for a handshake. He shakes his head at my antics, smiling, his hand grabbing mine.

"Deal."

We get ready to retreat, some already leaving, but Jean lands to my left, looking out a different direction. I go beside him, looking at the abnormal that saved us. It looks like he's going to be fully consumed by the other titans. Then, out of nowhere, there's a newfound strength, and he starts running forward, shaking off the others. We watch in awe as he bites the back of a Titan's neck, using their body to take out other Titans, since his arms are completely eaten off.

Giving one last roar, the Titan falls to his knees then straight onto his face. We stare down at his body, in stunned silence as he starts to de-materialize away. Then, a much smaller body is exposed at the neck. 

"Is that..." I nod at Jean, watching as Mikasa runs down to the kid. 

I guess he is one hell of a survivor.