Underground (Levi x Reader)

Reckless

We rode hard and fast, and when we came upon the village, we left the sweating, exhausted horses tied to a tree just out of view of the first few houses.

The three of us crept through the trees, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, and when we reached the first house, I held up a hand to stop the two cadets and glanced over at Johnson. "Johnson. Listen to me." I spoke in a low, hurried voice. "No matter what we find out there, you have to stay focused. Do you understand me?"

His blue eyes met mine and he held my serious gaze for just moment before he gave me a curt nod of understanding. I flicked my eyes over to Miller, who was crouched at my other side, and she gave me a thumbs up to signal she was ready, a look of determination creasing her brow.

We started to moved again, making our way silently around the side of the house. I hadn't seen any signs that the titans had beaten us here, there were no screams, no footprints, no destruction that I had seen, but we couldn't be too careful.

I paused before emerging from the shelter of the house. I could feel the sweat starting to accumulate on my brow, and I wiped away the moisture with my forearm, before I flicked my fingers at the two cadets, motioning for them to follow me forward.

We came around the corner of the house and suddenly, the village was in view before us. Everything was silent, and there was not a titan or person in sight that I could see.

I heard Miller let out the breath she had been holding behind me and then she said in a relieved tone, "They're gone. They were warned in time."

I glanced over at Johnson, whose eyes scanned over the village quickly, and noticed that he wasn't expressing any sort of relief. Miller noticed too, and she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Johnson? Aren't you happy? Your family's okay. Someone warned them before the titans got here."

A crashing suddenly echoed through the trees at the north end of the village, and I looked across the rooftops in time to see a 15 meter titan emerge from the treeline, smashing into one of the houses in the distance. "And just in time too. Here they come." I turned and motioned for Miller and Johnson to follow me. "Come on. Let's get out of here before they all turn up. We need to join back up with the squad."

Miller turned to follow me, but Johnson remained where he was, frozen, as he watched another titan emerge from the trees at the far end of the village.

I stopped and turned back to him. "Johnson. Come on. What are you doing?"

"My house...." He spoke in a halting voice, his eyes still locked on the titans. "It's at the far end of the village. Why would the titans be here if everyone had already been evacuated?" He whirled to face us, his eyes widening with sudden terror. "My house is down there. What if they didn't leave? What if they're not gone?"

"Johnson, that's impossible." Miller took a step toward him, speaking in a calming, reasoning voice. "Why would everyone else be gone, but your family still be here?"

Suddenly, a scream echoed from the far end of the village, coming from the area where the titans were.

Johnson flung his head around at the sound and before I could stop him, he bolted, sprinting toward the titans towering in the distance.

"Johnson! Get back here!" I yelled after him, but he ignored me and disappeared from sight around the corner of one of the houses.

I swore under my breath and turned to Miller, who was still looking at where Johnson had disappeared, her eyes wide with shock. I took her by the shoulders and shook her, making her look at me. "Miller, listen to me. Get back to the horses. Fire a flare. Let Ackerman and the squad know exactly where we are, and wait for them to get to you. I'm going after Johnson."