The Infected - Hanji Zoe

Chapter 9

The Dreams That Haunt Me

"Please, go on without me." You desperately plead, holding your throbbing arm as blood flows down in between your fingers.

The zombie on the floor holds your once pink flesh in between its teeth, even after Hanji had shot it in between the eyes, its jaw is still tightly shut.

"I refuse to leave you." Hanji says, trying to look at your wound but you will simply not let her. Instead you push her away and into Erwin's arms as he picks her up, much like he did when Moblit was left behind.

Heavy tears fall from your eyes as you begin an attempt to run away, hoping to get away in time to transform and not hurt Hanji.

You can feel their gaze on your back while you limp and realize that they are all crying when you hear a hiccup escaping Levi's lips. Your heart breaks into a million pieces as its beating begins to slow down.

All the way up a hill, you sit underneath a dying tree and a sense of comforting washes over you with the idea that you aren't the only one doomed.

The virus begins to travel through your veins, killing you from the inside out. First, all of your limbs turn stiff and you can no longer walk or move your arms, so you simply lay there, looking at the starry sky while Hanji fights her way back to you.

Then your organs begin to shut down one by one. You can't feel any pain from it but you can tell your body won't last for much longer. Cold sweat flows down your forehead like a river on its way to the ocean and your skin begins to turn paler.

"Come back to me." She screams desperately while still attempting to claw her way out of Erwin's embrace but he won't budge, he has learned from his past mistakes.

As you draw your last breath, your body slides to the side and your head hits the roots of the tree. You didn't have enough time to shoot yourself and now you would come back as everyone's worst nightmare.

"Wake up, Y/N." That is all you can hear amid the darkness that swallows you whole.

"I can't. I'm fading away in the memories I left behind." You say but now your body shakes.

"WAKE UP." Hanji says one more time and you bolt awake, sweat covering your body as the covers stick to your skin.

Tears stream down your face and you touch them with your index and middle finger, brushing them away. Half awake, you feel Hanji's tight embrace around your body, not bothered by the wetness.

Your heart beats fast and you gasp for air as many times as you can while grasping the realization that you are still alive, it was all a bad dream. One of the many bad dreams you've been having recently.

Time has passed since you found Moblit wandering off at the supermarket but you can't quite tell just how much, at least a couple of weeks but definitely more than that. Without any calendars or cellphones, time has become more of an illusion than a reality.

"A nightmare?" Levi asks, handing you a mug with some water and you nod.

"This is the third one in a week." Erwin says, rushing his hand through his blonde hair.

"Which one was it?" Moblit asks from afar as he holds a small pot above the fire he built, the smell of bacon soup fills the air around you and you feel as if your stomach is eating itself. It had been a few days since you were able to stomach anything.

"The one where I get bitten." You reply, looking down at the somehow spotless mug, "Did you clean this?"

"Of course I fucking did." Levi replies and you snort, a comforting feeling coming from his response, almost as if you were back in your dorm room listening to his play fights with Erwin or training as they liked to call it.