Underground - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Just as I was considering leaving to go and look for her myself, Levi and his squad landed behind me, most of them covered in steaming titan blood, their skin wet with perspiration. Levi sheathed his dirtied blades as he walked up to me, sweat dripping from his brow, and looking all of us over, said, "Oi, (L/N). Everything went well then?"
I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the cadets, speaking in a low, hurried voice, the panic making it hard for me to breath properly. "Levi. Miller's missing. I don't know..."
He stopped in his tracks, grabbing my arms and turning me to face him as he looked at me intently, his voice suddenly deadly serious. "What happened?"
I felt tears fill my eyes at the thought that she could be dead, and it would be my fault. Not another one. Please not another. "She went after a few titans to the north while we waited for you, and she didn't come back with the other cadets."
I expected him to yell at me, chastise me, call me an idiot for letting my cadets leave my side, but instead, he reached up a hand and wiped the tears from my eyes with his thumb, before he said in a low, fervent voice, "Listen to me, (F/N). I'm going to go and get her. But you have to stay with the other cadets. Don't leave this spot." He dropped my arms and stepped back from me, pulling out his blades once again as he readied his 3DM lines. He glanced over at me, his dark eyes intense. "Don't leave this spot. I promise I'll be back."
Before I could react, he had whipped upward into the trees, disappearing from view among the foliage as he headed north, toward where Miller had gone. I jogged a few steps after him, screaming up at him, "Levi! No, wait!" but he was gone and out of sight, the sound of his 3DM gear nothing but a low hum in the distance.
I dropped my hand back to my side and swallowed hard, trying to force the panic down that was rising in my throat. What if I lost Miller and Levi? And all because I had made a stupid decision? I couldn't handle it. I couldn't go on if I lost anyone else. I almost hadn't made it last time, when I lost Johnson, and I knew I wouldn't make it this time if anything happened to either of them.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and glanced over to see Arlert standing beside me. He gave me a slight, comforting smile, and then said, "Corporal Ackerman will find her. And they'll be back before we know it. If anyone can, it'll be him."
He dropped his hand from my shoulder and returned to the other cadets, who were whispering nervously amongst themselves. I resumed my pacing at the edge of the clearing, not bothering to even attempt to assuage their fears. I couldn't even quiet my own at this point.
After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the faint sound of branches breaking under foot coming toward us through the trees from the north.
And then they came into view.
Miller seemed alright. Dirty and disheveled, and one of the straps of her 3DM harness was torn as if she'd been in a scuffle, but otherwise, she could have been worse for wear.
Levi, on the other hand, was a different story.
His arm was slung over Miller's shoulder, she seemed to be supporting most of his weight as they stumbled along, and his other hand was held over his side, where his shirt was torn and blood could be seen seeping through his fingers and down his side.
I sprinted toward them and slipped underneath Levi's arm, relieving Miller from carrying his weight any longer. They had obviously walked all the way back to the meeting point, and she looked exhausted.
The rest of the cadets gathered around, their eyes wide and worried, as they all talked over each other, asking what they could do to help, as I dragged Levi into the clearing. Miller collapsed to the ground, her head in her hands, and Arlert and Ackerman ran over to her, asking if she was alright as they crouched down beside her.
With Jaeger's help, I lowered Levi to the ground as gently as possible, and dropped to my knees beside him, the cadets that were gathered around us still talking over one another in their eagerness to help and do something.
"Shut the hell up! All of you!" I yelled out, silencing them effectively in one go. I met Levi's gaze, his dark eyes darker, if that were possible, with pain, and said quietly, "I'm going to look at it. Okay?"
He nodded slightly, his breath hissing between his teeth, as he carefully removed his hand from his side. His palm and fingers were coated in a thick layer of crimson, dripping, fresh blood. I cautiously reached out and flipped the edge of his torn jacket aside, so I could see the wound a bit better. I let out a slight gasp as I caught a good look at his injured side.
It was a bite mark. He'd obviously been caught between the jaws of one of the titans on his mission to rescue Miller. The flesh was torn in a jagged line along his abdomen, a large chunk of the muscle gone, the gleaming white flashes of his lower ribs visible at the very top of the large, gaping hole, which was still pouring blood onto the ground around us as I watched, soaking the knees of my pants.
"Shit." I cursed under my breath. Without thinking, I ripped off my jacket and crumpled it into a ball, pressing it into the wound slightly, causing him to wince and let out a groan as the fabric rubbed the raw, open flesh. I flashed him an apologetic look, but kept applying pressure. If I let this bleed openly anymore before we got him back to base, he might not make it. "Shit, Shit. This is bad."
I glanced up at the cadets, who were watching us with wide, stunned eyes, and then flicked my gaze over to Jaeger. I knew I had to take charge. Or we'd all die out here waiting for someone to make the first move. "Jaeger." I snapped my fingers at him to get his attention and when he looked to me, I spoke hurriedly, my voice deadly serious. "Listen to me. Go and get the horses. Take Springer with you. Bring them back here as quickly as you can." He nodded to me and he and Springer took off into the treetops, headed back the way we had come.
I glanced back down at Levi, who seemed to be growing paler by the second, and increased the pressure I was holding to the wound, blowing some of my sweaty hair out of my eyes as I called over my shoulder, "Miller! Get over here!"
After a moment of silence, I heard unsteady footsteps approach and then Miller was in front of me, tears filling her eyes as she looked down at Levi and I, covered in blood. "I'm so sorry, corporal. I'm so sorry...."
"Miller!" I barked at her, causing her to jump, as a fresh wave of tears started to fall from her eyes again. "Sorry won't fix anything. I need you to pull it together and help me." I motioned for her to crouch down beside me, and she did so, sniffing noisily and wiping her tears away with the back of a hand. I glanced over at her. "Now listen to me. I need you to hold this jacket against his wound. Keep the pressure. Don't move. Do you understand? If you move at all, he'll bleed out."
She hesitated for a moment and then seemed to gather her resolve, nodding hard as she slipped her hands underneath mine on the jacket, which was quickly becoming heavy with blood. I removed my hands from underneath hers and quickly began to unbutton my blouse, glancing over at Arlert and Ackerman, who stood beside us, watching. I spoke quickly as I ripped the rest of the buttons open and slipped my shirt off my shoulders, the humid air heavy on my bare skin. "Arlert, Ackerman. When Jaeger gets here with the horses, you take Corporal Ackerman, and you head back to the base. Am I clear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Ackerman spoke, but Arlert hesitated, before he asked hesitantly, "What about you, Corporal?"
I ripped down the back of my blouse, leaving two long strips of the light linen material. I leaned forward and threaded one of the strips underneath Levi's back, and the other I tied around the front of him, across his chest. I pulled them tight, wrapping them around the wadded jacket that Miller still held in place, and then knotted them as securely as I could on his side. Hopefully that would hold pressure until they were back behind the wall.
I blew some hair out of my eyes and met Arlert's gaze as I sat back, letting my blood stained hands fall in my lap as I said, "Those titans you all were after will be headed this way. They'll follow the trail of blood. I'm going to stay here and take them out. We need this area clear. That was our objective."
Suddenly, we heard horses in the distance, and Jaeger and Springer burst into the clearing on their mounts, the rest of the horses trailing behind them.
They came to a stop several feet away from us and they both jumped off their horses, jogging over to us. Jaeger stopped in front of me and said, "The way back to base is clear. We took care of anything in the way. But we need to leave now."
I gave him a brisk nod and turned to Arlert and Ackerman, who were watching me with unreadable expressions. "Alright, you two know what to do." I glanced over at Jaeger. "Jaeger, you take Corporal Ackerman back behind the wall, and you don't stop riding until you reach safety and he has medical care. Am I clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
I crouched down beside Levi, who was barely conscious from blood loss at this point, and pushed his dark, damp hair back from his forehead. "Hang in there, Levi. You made me a promise remember?" As Jaeger, Arlert, and Springer all moved toward us, ready to lift Levi onto the back of one of the horses, I started to get up from the ground beside him, when he reached out suddenly and snagged my wrist in his long fingers.
I looked down at him in surprise, and his dark eyes were suddenly extremely alert, as he opened his lips just slightly and murmured, "Don't do anything stupid, (F/N)."
I gave him a slight smile. "Shut up and get out of here already. I'm going to protect you now, remember? Let me protect you, Levi Ackerman."
He studied me for a brief moment and then he released his fingers from my wrist, and the three boys gathered around him, lifting him carefully up from the ground, and carrying him toward the horses.
I watched them get him settled into the saddle of his stallion, and then Jaeger swung up behind him, reaching around him to grab the reins and hold him upright. He glanced over at me and flashed me a quick salute, as the other cadets mounted their own horses, and one by one, they pulled them around and headed back toward the wall.
When I was left alone in the clearing, after the hoofbeats had died into the distance, I pulled my blades from their sheaths and turned to face the north. I could heard crashing coming toward me through the forest, just as I had anticipated. I felt a sneer curl my lips as I whipped upward into the treetops. If they wanted to come to me, that was just fine.They would pay for what they'd done. I'd leave nothing but a pile of bastard corpses when I was done with them.
After all, I was only protecting what was mine. And I didn't like it when others touched my things.