Yesterday's Enemy [AoT]

EIGHTEEN

'Lorelai,

The situation worsens in Noaks. And, if I'm honest, kid, I'm getting pissed off.

Twelve people are missing, Lorelai. And they have been missing for days now, twelve of them. Gone. Poof. Disappeared into thin air.

And what has our newly appointed leader done? Nothing. Zip. Nada. The military, shit as always, has also done nothing.

There'll be none of us left before long. We're depending on you, kid; you're the only one of us who knows how to play these military fools.

Get your act together,

Romero.'

-A recent letter addressed to Lorelai Bervik from Romero Hyde, delivered to the Survey Corps base in Noaks but unread.

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EIGHTEEN

Wall Maria, South Region, Approaching Trost

Lorelai awoke to the sound of faint snoring and birdsong.

The morning was bright, and streaks of daylight filtered in through the carriage windows. The ominous hooting of owls of the previous night had changed to merry morning twittering. On another day, Lorelai might have delighted in such a peaceful awakening, but not today; she had too much left unresolved.

Levi was still asleep. His head was resting against the far window, his eyes closed in troubled slumber. The two of them were rather close to each other— Lorelai shifted away respectfully.

They must have fallen asleep somewhere along the road. It was no wonder; their little venture of last night had been bordering on 0100 hours. The memories of it flashed before Lorelai's eyes— it seemed almost like a dream.

But she knew that, unfortunately, it was all too real.

They would arrive in Trost in just a few hours. And after that, Lorelai would need to figure out how the hell she was going to fix all this.

A Havasian had died— had been murdered on her watch. A pit grew in Lorelai's stomach. She had to fix this. No one else would die, not while she did nothing.

"Levi," she prompted, reaching over to shake his arm.

Levi startled awake immediately. He seized her wrist, his eyes darting around, breathing heavy. It was as if she'd just woken a frightened animal.

"Take it easy." Lorelai snatched back her wrist. "It's only me."

He exhaled shakily, coming back to his senses. Levi rubbed the sleep from his eyes; he wasn't usually one to sleep in front of others. "Don't do that."

She scoffed. "Someone's jumpy this morning."

Levi ignored her, instead turning to look outside the window. The sprawling countryside of last night had disappeared, in its place, an abundance of cottages and buildings. Trost was near.

"Did you sleep okay?" Lorelai asked as she got up to sort through her things.

The question caught Levi a little off guard. It wasn't something he had been asked all too much. "Fine."