The Infected - Hanji Zoe

Chapter 4

At Your Parents' House

Blood. On the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling. Redness covers the white paint of the living room walls as bloody footsteps form a path to the kitchen. Your father is slumped over with his head propped on the marble counter, a shotgun by his side.

As you take a step backwards, you now notice your mother's body laying on the carpeted stairs. Her veins are popping out of her face and her eyes are cloudy. Upon taking a closer look, you notice the bullet hole on the side of her head.

Your hand trembles as you place it before your mouth, shoving down a scream. The smell of blood and brain matter has filled your house and you hold back a gag.

Quickly, Levi wraps his arms around you and physically turns your body so that you're facing away from the carnage. Once he places you down, his hand carefully rests on your back as he tries to give you some kind of comfort.

"I'll go look, ok?" He says and you simply nod. From behind, you can hear as the soles of his shoes begin to fill with liquid as each step he takes squeaks. He quietly nods at Erwin who puts a still-unconscious Hanji on the couch before making his way past you.

They whisper to each other so you won't hear them as they now walk from the kitchen to the hall, carefully examining your mother's body from afar. You decide to take the opportunity to get a closer look at your father.

You touch his head, which is matted with blood, and push his hair aside in search of a bullet hole. As soon as you realize there isn't one, his hand wraps around your wrist, pulling you closer to him and all you can do is scream while trying to set your arm free.

His skin is so pale that it seems like all his blood is drained. His mouth hangs open while saliva drips onto your arm, his once caring eyes now filled with an insatiable need to take a bite out of your flesh.

Your feet slip on the mixture of blood and saliva beneath him and you fall, pulling him with you. It takes every ounce of your remaining strength to push him off of you and push his head off to the side in the hopes of keeping his mouth away.

Not five seconds pass before Levi rushes back into the room, pulling a knife out of his pocket and stabbing the man right in the head, a few splatters of blood landing on your face.

With a kick, he frees you from your father's grip and extends his hand to help you back on your feet.

No tears form in your eyes, and instead you burst into laughter. Both men look at you with concern in their eyes.

"My dad just tried to kill me!" You cackle, as if it was the funniest thing anyone has ever said. "I'm his baby and he tried to KILL ME!"

Your body slumps forward and you place your hands on your knees, trying to balance yourself as you keep on laughing. You laugh until your lungs and stomach hurt, until you've been laughing for so long that you forget for a second why you were laughing at all.

You laugh until you fall to your knees, punching the floor before Erwin and Levi wrap their arms around you, pressing you in between their bodies. The laughter dies in your throat and you close your eyes, hoping to smell your mother's cooking instead of blood.

"I'm fine." You whisper after a few minutes.

"You're not and that's ok." Erwin says, a caring tone in his voice. "Why don't you sit on the couch with Hanji while we get things ready?"

"No, I want to help." You say, pushing your arms up and releasing yourself from their grip. "There are a few backpacks in the closet down that hall."