Road to Hell

Haunting desperation and precious time

Chapter song: Torby Brand - Levi's choice

The metallic clatter of utensils as you stood up filled the room. The sound bounced off the damp walls and enveloped you like an echo, the silence that followed so heavy it could've almost suffocated you. Your hand felt blistering hot against the rotten table, and it took you a moment too long to realize you also knocked off more than half the stew in your bowl. Hot meal now coating your hand and slowly dripping onto the ground.

Food was just as precious as it was scarce in the Underground, and yet you couldn't say you minded spilling the watery blend Furlan liked to call stew. For some reason, he thought mixing everything in a pot was enough to create a tasty meal. In Furlan's case, it couldn't have been further from the truth.

You always used to tease him about it. And yet, he never stopped cooking for everyone.

But then again, people like you couldn't afford to be fussy. You were sure your sense of taste was dead at that point, given how often you had to eat anything you could find to survive, be it edible or not.

Just to see another day.

Sometimes, you couldn't help but wonder if it was all worth it. If you were going to end up dying either way, why had you been fighting for so long? What were you struggling so hard for?

"Why?" you asked, voice strained and eyes unable to face them.

Levi kept eating as if nothing happened, the sound of his spoon against the bowl the only thing disrupting the silence. Furlan and Isabel, on the other hand, were still like statues.

"I already told you why. The deal was only for the three of us," Levi answered you, seemingly unbothered.

You watched him.

The tension in his fingers as he was trying to keep up the normalcy — that power on the verge of bending the metal to his will and rendering the tool useless — was anything but an act of composure.

"I heard that already."

Keeping his attention focused on that goddamn soup, he took another mouthful, before addressing you again. "Then what is it you're asking?"

You couldn't stand it anymore. Your arm reached across the table and took the spoon right from between his fingers. Isabel flinched back and Furlan's breath caught in his throat.

Levi's supernatural reflexes could've stopped you. Everyone knew that.

Instead, he drew in a deep breath and finally let his eyes meet yours. The cold, steely calm on his face hit you, anger creeping beneath your skin. Slow, but scorching.

"I'm asking why you're only telling me now. We've been planning this ever since that noble's messenger hired us."

"They made contact with us today." He paused, allowing his words to settle. "The Survey Corps."

Realizing he was stalling for time, your tone took a tighter turn, "Stop bullshitting me, Levi. We made a plan and we decided to follow it!"

"Again, the deal we made–"

"Then make another one! We knew this would happen at one point or another! Why are you changing the rules during the game?!"

"Because they're something else!" A muscle twitched in his jaw, his face pulled taut, and hands balled into fists. "They're something else entirely from the worthless Military Police we're used to. We made that plan thinking we knew what we were getting ourselves into, but the truth is, we have no fucking idea! We don't fucking know what's going to happen once they take us upstairs, so we need to be careful. We need to be on our strongest."