The Infected - Hanji Zoe

Chapter 11

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Summary: Months have passed since Erwin was bitten but  now a new challenge appears before you.

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A long while had passed since Erwin's rushed amputation but quite frankly, time had already lost all its meaning the moment your classmate bit out the professor's jugular. The blonde man, who always looked so strong, had sweat dripping down his face as he desperately tried to cling to reality.

It had taken him longer than predicted to recover.

You see, he presented no symptoms of a zombie transformation. His heartbeat was getting stronger with each passing day and his cheeks began to turn a shade of red once again. Hanji and Moblit were able to cut it off before the virus could spread in his body but a question erupted mid surgery: Why weren't you all affected by the virus?

You realized the little amount of knowledge you actually had on the matter and getting to your mother's laboratory had never been more important. But it was hard to move silently through the night when Erwin is constantly needing his mouth to be covered to avoid drawing attention.

"It's not even there, why does it hurt so bad?" He asks, hoping to God anyone would have a satisfying answer and a way to stop it. Hanji sighs knowing she can bring him little to no comfort.

"It's phantom limb syndrome." She begins as she adjusts her glasses, "The brain continues to get messages from nerves that used to "feel" for the missing limb and it can cause severe pain."

"Usually it would be treated with medication but there is little we can do with the resources we have." Moblit says from the other side of the room, he sits by a pot of boiling water with a cloth inside, hoping that it would provide Erwin some kind of relief. "The warm towel and massaging the remaining limb is all we have."

"We've been trying this for days and it's not working!" Levi screams, kicking one of the empty pots while not caring one bit about the amount of noise he is making. Tears shine in his eyes and he turns around to face the wall, avoiding your worried gaze. "Would anything in your mom's lab help?"

"Maybe," You shrug your shoulders, "but I'm not quite sure what she kept there."

"Levi" Erwin whispers weakly, "Please don't worry about me. I will make it until I see what is in that lab."

"Erwin, it's been six months." He replies, his voice breaking halfway through his sentence.

"How far away are we?" Moblit asks as he looks over Hanji's shoulder. She sighs once again, pointing at the paper in front of her.

"At least another month or two of walking." She replies. "This detour took longer than I had previously anticipated."

All eyes rest on the three now sixteen years old teenagers on the corner of the room, or rather, the two teenagers and a decapitated head wrapped in a red scarf covered in blood. Its mouth still moves as it tries to bite the girl, who simply looks at it.

Eren's head rests in Mikasa's hands as Armin once again tries to plead with her, desperately begging to put an end to his suffering. His eyes have lost every ounce of green they once had and they are now nothing but empty, white orbs.

A Few Weeks Ago

"He lost a lot of blood but he'll survive." Moblit says and his words are received with a tight embrace from Levi. The short man's hands tremble as they touch the taller man.

Once he lets Moblit go, he rushes to Erwin's unconscious body on the wooden table. His ear is pressed against the blonde man's chest as he tries to listen to his heart, letting out a relieved sigh of his own when he hears a shallow breathing coming from him.