Driven By Vengeance (Attack On Titan)

Chapter 13: The Wrath of the Scarred

"He-he's what?" Eren looked back at me. I couldn't read his emotion, but I'd say it was a mixture of anger and sadness. Levi stood there, lost in thought. He was irate.

"Eren, he's dead." I wanted him to understand.

"What do you mean he's dead?? How did he die?? He didn't even fight! Let alone could he die!" Eren shouted at me, his fists were clenched behind his back. Levi walked toward me, pushing Eren out of the way. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me closer to his face.

"I want you to tell me what happened. How did Gunther die? You should know I don't like when people die for shitty reasons." He dropped my collar, then took a step back and folded his arms.

"Go on" I gulped. How could I say that I killed him in a nice way...

"Well you see.. I was roped to a tree and when I got myself free, I climbed to the top of the tree that Eren and Gunther were sheltering on. Gunther was up top, and Eren was on a limb closer to watch me. Umm, Gunther must have had a heart attack from all of the action, because he had no open wounds when I saw him." Eren furrowed his eyebrows in anger. He didn't buy my alibi.

"A heart attack, you say? Is that the best you could come up with? I wouldn't be surprised if you'd killed him yourself. What is stopping me from locking you away in the dungeon of this castle? Or killing you for murdering one of your own comrades?" I gritted my teeth.

In a split second I heard a cracking sound erupt the sudden silence. When I blinked, I saw Eren slamming his fist in the Corporal's cheek. "You have no proof! It's your fault for sending us on that damned mission when there was nothing to gain from it! Not only did you risk Gunther's and my life, but you threw Tayler into it as well! You should be the one chained in the dungeon! Your the one who killed his own comrade!!" Eren yelled at him.

Levi wasn't going to take that well, even a blind person could see that. I couldn't let Eren get a pounding like he was about to, especially with his bad leg. I pushed Eren away quickly, then grabbed Levi's wrists. I held them tight, to ensure he couldn't start any unnecessary chaos.

"Levi, stop. He's right. Leave it at that, you deserved it. Don't act on it." I loosened my grip on Levi's wrists a little. Then I finally let go. He clenched his fists tight, but I could see that somewhere in that dark, seemingly empty pit of bleakness he did have a tiny, miniscule, really insignificant heart; and he hesitantly listened to my command. It was a miracle.

""I agree I did deserve it, but don't you think I'm becoming a softie for not punishing you as you should have been." He wiped off his wrists as if I'd reeked of filth. I nodded.

"Did you at least recover some of Gunther's body for his family?" I shook my head. No way in hell was I going to drag a fricken corpse all the way out here. He looked displeased.

"Fine. I expect you to work some chores around the premises." He looked to see Eren, slowly defusing from his action. "-And you, Jaeger, you'll be cleaning the stables with me" Eren's confidence slowly rotted away, I could see fear in Eren's eyes as a malicious smile crept onto Levi's lips.

For some reason it made me want to laugh, how scared Eren was of Levi, but I remembered how fearful I was of him myself.

"You're dismissed" Levi spoke as he gestured for Eren to follow him out the door. I followed after Levi and Eren but I went my own way after a couple of steps. I didn't know what kind of chores I was expected to do, so I thought I would just start by hanging up the 3D maneuver gear and tidying my room.

While I hung up the gear, I saw Petra taking gear down. "Hey Petra, whatcha doing?" She successfully got down her gear, then held it against her shoulder.

She turned around, then answered. "Me? Oh I'm just going out to scavenge for berries or any herbs for medicine. We are running low on supplies. Our equipment supplier should be here soon, I'd say around 3 or so days. But until then, we need to have enough toiletries and food." I nodded.

"Well that sounds helpful, I wish I could do something like that. Then again, I think I've had enough of outside for one day" I sighed. Petra looked at me with a pinch of curiosity.

"Why is that?" She asked. I shook my head.

"It's a long story" I answered. I adjusted the gear on the wall a bit, it was all asymmetrical and it was agitating me.  "So how are you going to scavenge berries and all that on your own? Don't you need another person for back-up?" Petra nodded.

"I do need another person, well I can do it on my own but I'd like to go with someone so I'm not alone. Gunther already agreed earlier he'd come with me once he finished some job that Levi assigned him. Speaking of Gunther, I haven't seen him anywhere. Any Idea where he could be?"  I blinked. Of course Gunther would have to be in this situation.

"Oh, Gunther?" I gave a nervous chuckle. "You should ask Levi, yeah, ask Levi." She gave me an odd look, but almost instantly dismissed it.

"Oh okay. I'll ask Levi as soon as I get everything together. So what are you doing?" I gave her a shrug.

"I'll just be cleaning my room and tidying up." I gave a sigh and murmured, "It's great to be back" sarcastically.

"Sounds like a ton of fun. Enjoy and don't forget dinner's at 7" Yup, a ton of fun alright.

"What time is it now? if you don't mind" She cheerfully answered my question.

"Around 5, you've got some time to waste. Have fun cleaning!" She mocked as she collected her gear and walked off. I made the travel to my room, then began to rearrange my belongings and organize. I made my bed, dusted, and shuffled some of my books, when I came across one called "The Fear of Fear". The title was intriguing, so I decided to give it a looksee.

As I scrolled through the book, a small ruby ring fell from it's pages. I held the ring between my fingers and examined it. I'd had this book for as long as I could remember, and I just now found this ring? As I stared into the crimson color, I started to vaguely remember someone I knew wearing it. But who?

I slid the ring onto my finger and closed the book to the cover. I rubbed my thumb against the old, grainy fabric that the cover was stitched in. The binding of the book was almost torn and I could understand why, I'd used to read it a lot when I was younger. Even before I was abandoned, I'd read this book with my father. It used to scare me and give me nightmares, but all it really was, was a compilation of frightening stories that I thought to be impossible. But in a way, they were all true.

I closed the book and put it back on it's shelf, the ring still on my finger. How did that book get here? I hadn't brought it. I hadn't brought any of these books. Maybe someone from the old squads placed it here.

My father had taken the book with him when he left me, but why was it here? So many questions I had to leave unanswered. Now that I've come to think of it, I don't even remember what my father looked like.

For a moment it was silent, until I heard the ringing of a bell behind the door. That meant it was dinner time. Two hours had passed pretty quickly.