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“Reports say thousands of refugees are currently pouring into the Trost district a mere day since Shiganshina and its surrounding walled territories have fallen… measures have been taken by the police to root out and eradicate any infected citizen among the incoming crowds…”
The hiss of a steam kettle.
Levi frowned, plucking a teabag from his extensive collection and dropping it into the mug. He poured the scalding water into the ceramic as the television continued droning on, a red strip labeled EMERGENCY BROADCAST bordering the bottom of the screen.
“The government is actively scrambling to provide shelter, especially now, during the brunt of this freezing winter. Unfortunately, we have no new statements made by any of the people organizing these matters. On a brighter note, we do have a reporter on the scene who’s able to show us the condition of these refugees… Ilse Langner...”
With a soft groan, Levi settled onto the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. Even now, refugees were likely pouring into Trost and filling the frigid streets, fleeing the grotesque threat that so abruptly invaded their homes. Levi found himself unable to sleep, body taut with anxiety ever since Shiganshina’s invasion first appeared on the news.
Everyone knew the harsh drawbacks this event would bring. As the numbers of refugees steadily increased, so would the cost of everyday living.
The availability of food was a primary concern of Levi’s. With so many new mouths to feed… could Trost afford to provide for everyone? Their walls are already crammed enough as it is.
“The police have set up checkpoints to inspect each individual for infection before they pass through... but there’s so much pushing and shoving, you could feel the tension in the air,” Ilse reported, a solemn expression worn on her face. “It’s freezing out here, and most of the refugees fled so quickly they weren’t able to bring with them proper clothing to face the elements.”
The reporter pivoted just as a terrified scream cut through the crowd. A woman fought the grip of two policemen wearing protective suits, respirators attached to their faces. They dragged her by the arms as she begged and pleaded, heels digging into the frozen dirt. “I’m not one of them! It’s just a scratch, I swear!” she sobbed desperately, eventually disappearing into a guarded tent. From there, the terrified screams went silent.
Ilse’s face paled, a stark contrast compared to her frigid, pinkish cheeks and lips. “There you have it… the state of these poor people.” She straightened, adjusting the fur-lined hood over her head. “The conditions outside Trost’s walls are horrifying, a startling…”
Terrible. It was just terrible. This would be a recipe for disaster.
Levi avoided picking up his phone. He already knew the social media and news services would be loaded with the same topic. So, it sat beside him on the couch cushions as he sipped idly at the piping hot mug of tea. It calmed his nerves to a manageable degree as the news continued to show footage of the struggle outside of Trost’s gates. Eventually, the screen panned to helicopter footage that displayed the extent of Shiganshina’s damage.
And it was horrifying. Humanoid creatures, bent absurdly out of proportion so far that they were barely even living, ravaged the city’s remains. There were far too many to count. So much so that they easily overwhelmed many of the army units stationed there.
He straightened just as he heard three consecutive knocks on his front door.
Who the hell is up at this time...?
Levi set his mug down with a small grumble, standing and making his way to the door. He twisted the doorknob, rubbing his bleary eyes as he tried to make sense of the bespectacled woman before him.
She panted heavily, eyes blown wide and hair a wild mess. “You... you’re Levi Ackerman, yes? I was told to come here…” Her features were practically frostbitten. The tip of her ears, nose, and cheeks donning a bright red color. “Please… I need- “
The woman was unable to complete her sentence before she came crashing forward. Levi was quick to catch her fallen form in his arms, stiff and cold, not properly dressed for the freezing weather…
“…What the hell?”
Three years later …
Daylight was yet to peek through the gaps in the curtains.
Levi’s alarm clock flashed ‘5:00 AM’ in bright red colors, emitting an annoying beeping sound as he slapped a hand over the ‘off’ button. He groaned softly, rolling out of bed and stepping out into the apartment’s living room. Only one word cut through the sleep induced haze in his mind: tea.
As per his routine for the past couple of years, he set a kettle on the stove and prepared a mug. On consideration… he took an extra ceramic. Coffee was often times preferred by his… ‘roommate,’ but she never argued about his tea.
The second order of business: food. According to Hange, she usually ate breakfast provided by the hospital, which was fortunate since it meant spending less on groceries. So, he simply prepared a bowl of oats with eggs on the side for himself. He took note of the time on his phone, frowning when he looked toward Hange’s room. Was that idiot still sleeping?
He set his food on the counter and went to knock on her door. When she didn’t respond, he grumbled quietly and slowly creaked it open. Her alarm wasn’t even on.
With an exasperated sigh, he approached and ripped the blanket from the bed. “Get up, Four-eyes!”
Hange awoke with a startled yelp, clutching at the blanket that he so mercilessly tore from her. “What the hell, Levi!?”
He frowned and bundled up the blanket in his arms, keeping it away from her grabby hands. “I’m not a damn babysitter. You’re supposed to be up by now. Didn’t you set your alarm?”
“Ah... I think I did…” She groaned and rubbed her eyes, recovering from her sudden awakening. “What time is it?”
“Almost half past five. Now are you going to get up or not?”
“Yeah, yeah...” Hange yawned and slung one leg off of the bed as he pivoted for the door. A few minutes later, she emerged, out of her sleepwear and into something meant for the workday. “Is it still snowing?” she asked, wordlessly taking the extra mug of tea and settling on the living room couch.
Levi nodded curtly, parting the curtains a sliver just as morning light began to spill over the horizon and into the apartment. It reflected off of the tiny crystals embedded into the powdery snow outside, creating a bright plane of whiteness not yet pushed out of the streets by cars. “It’s cold out there…”
“Paradis winters,” Hange merely shrugged, reaching for the TV’s remote and turning on the news as per her morning routine. “Unfortunately, I have to take public transport today. It doesn’t help when the hospital’s clear across town… at least the damage on that car is relatively easy to fix.” A yawn. “But I can pass by the shop and finally pick it up.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Levi nodded, heading back to the kitchen for his food. “That damned thing has been damaged for too long. It’s old and crappy, but at least the heater works. If you spend another day in the cold, you might as well get frostbite.”
“I suppose…” Hange sighed. “Anyway, I might stay at the lab for a few more hours tonight.”
He raised a brow. “Why is that?”
Hange sipped from her mug, relishing the warmth of the tea. “We’re a little behind. I need to make up for some work since one of my assistants panicked and hit the ‘exterminate’ button on a specimen.” She sighed, rubbing her temples with an index finger and thumb. “It set us back quite a bit.”
The television droned on about updates on the weather and potential rush hour traffic. Hange lowered the volume, the reporter’s voice a hushed whisper now. “What are you going to do all day, huh? Be the good househusband you are and clean the house top to bottom?”
“I’m not your househusband,” he snorted, settling the farthest he could from Hange on the couch. “And I have to clean more often because you track in copious amounts of snow, dust, and dirt into the apartment. It’s ridiculous. You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
Levi raised his brows skeptically.
“You know, if I hadn’t shown up, you’d be homeless right now.”
“You pull that card every time, Hange.”
“It’s true!”
“Whatever,” Levi shook his head. “Are you heading to work or not, ‘breadwinner’?”
“Pushy, pushy…” Hange muttered with a dry chuckle, rising from the couch. “I suppose it won’t hurt to be early. Can’t believe you’re kicking me out of my own house.”
Levi reached for the remote abandoned on the couch, flipping the news channel to a random cartoon. He found that the endless stream of politics and world affairs (whatever was left of the world anyway) often put a damper on his mood. So, he tried to avoid the news as much as possible. He peered over the couch backrest, watching as Hange slung a bag over her shoulder and tucked a scarf over the collar of her jacket. “Oi, Four-eyes.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Eh?”
“Don’t get your head bitten off by one of those ‘specimens’ of yours…”
Hange reacted with a small chuckle. “I can’t promise anything.”
With that, she slipped out of the apartment and shut the door behind her with a small click.
It was a simple complex. The apartments were by no means large, yet they were barely affordable with the number of refugees that flooded in just three years ago.
Hange walked briskly once exiting the elevator, crossing the main lobby and entering through the double doors. Of course, she was used to the island’s extreme winter weather. Unfortunately, the cold air was often a slap to the face, prepared or not. Hange let out visible puffs of air, clouds that quickly dissipated before her lips as she walked outside.
She immediately felt falling snow dust her eyelashes, already creating a thin, frosty layer on the exterior of her clothes. The blanket of snow that had landed on the streets was disrupted and pushed aside, either by the busy footfalls of people beginning their workdays or speeding cars. Hange found herself envious of that wonderful heat, sheltered by the car’s metal chassis. For now, she’d have to brave Paradis’ winter until she picked her up her own car from the shop. It couldn’t be replaced, and the cost of repairs was pricey enough.
The pay at the hospital, rather, lab, was decent. She could afford their groceries, car, and apartment. Although… the former was a bit of a stretch. After Shiganshina fell, the stores began to rack up their prices. She’s managed to get by… that is, by lying and telling Levi breakfast was offered at work. The most she ever got was a protein bar. Maybe some stale cup noodles for lunch. Still, Hange didn’t mind. She didn’t require much sustenance to function well, and if she ever told Levi, he’d force a full meal down her gullet every morning.
Hange kept her head down with her nose poking into the fuzzy material of the scarf, mimicking the many people walking along the sidewalk. They kept their gazes to the snowy ground, ignoring the occasional makeshift shelter and homeless man bundled under layers of clothing. Unfortunately, after Maria fell, jobs became rare in Trost. So much so that even the prior inhabitants lost their jobs. Hange considered herself lucky. Prior to the incident, she worked in Shiganshina to examine and research the grotesque threat outside of their walls. Upon fleeing to Trost, she was quickly able to secure a lab job at the hospital because of this. And thanks to connections, found refuge in Levi’s home. The name of ‘Erwin Smith’ was her key. In Shiganshina, he had been the head of their… zombie project, which was meant to contain and study the living dead. These zombies.
Before she fled, he had given Hange Levi’s address, saying he would help her. (Willingly? Ehh…)
It was no easy task, convincing such a stubborn man. In some ways, however, she’s grown fond of Levi. Of course, she’s endlessly grateful toward him for taking her in. Fortunately, she made it up to him when he lost his job, becoming the only person working and all.
Their system worked out well. Levi took care of the apartment while Hange was off to work. It was hard at first, she’d admit, learning to live with a complete stranger. After a while, she reasoned to herself that he was like a roommate. Perhaps he was insufferable sometimes. But that’s just Levi.
Hange let out a little puff of air as she continued walking, snow crunching underneath her boots with every step. It was a long walk, but she finally made it to the hospital. She entered, greeted with a blast of sterile air not much warmer than the wind outside. Still, Hange fished around in her pocket for an ID card lanyard and slung it around her neck. Taking an elevator, she descended multiple levels, deep beneath Trost.
The hospital simply multipurposed as the lab’s coverup. It would surely send the public into a rage if they found out two of these ‘zombies’ were under their feet. Which was understandable. You’d want to be far away from the thing that broke through and infected many of Maria’s inhabitants.
Down here was warm. It lacked the sterile air of the upper hospital levels, something Hange often found sickening and dreadful.
With a ‘ding,’ the elevator door opened out onto a long hallway. Hange stretched her arms up in the air and, upon approaching the door at the end, pressed her ID card against the scanner. It granted her access with an audible click sound, immediately unlocking the door.
She stepped through, pulling off her stuffy scarf and jacket and tossing it somewhere she’d remember later. Hange was quickly greeted with guttural clicking and groaning from the observation room to her right. She turned off the frosted window, allowing herself to peer at the grotesque… creature before her.
It was barely human with it’s distorted and mutilated face. Flesh, rotting and old, clung to raw skin and hung in flaps around those open wounds. Growths of flesh and skin bloomed over where an eye once was. The tumor-like appearance infected every inch of available skin, creating a bulging texture that was sickening to look like.
Fortunately for her, infection only spread through scratches and bites. That is, if the thing didn’t rip you apart first.
“Good morning, Sawney! As active as always, you early bird.”
She strolled on, clicking a mute button on the observation room’s control pad. This way, she’d stop hearing those disgusting noises.
“And Beane!” Hange greeted. The second specimen pressed itself against the window, guttural hisses and cries escaping its throat. Twisted fingernails scraped against the glass.
The two acted the same. Bloodthirsty. Violent.
With a hum, Hange approached her desk across the white-washed and sat.
These specimens were difficult to get ahold of. As Hange had told Levi, one of her assistants panicked and slammed their hand on the exterminate button. What was once three turned into two. Oh, she had been pissed that day.
The lab door opened once more. Moblit, one of Hange’s assistants, stepped into the room. She immediately greeted him and managed to elicit a small wave.
“Stupid snow…” Moblit frowned, shaking off his boots and making his way across with a small squeak. “Hange,” he greeted with a yawn. “You went home yesterday, right? You better not have done another all-nighter in here…”
Hange shook her head. “No, I went home. Heeded your advice.”
“For once,” he chuckled lightly, pulling a chair from one of the empty desks and sitting. “Damn. I thought I could’ve beaten you here this time.”
“Pssshhh, you wish.”
“You don’t even get paid by the hour. What’s the use of getting to work so early?”
“Are you going to scan their vitals, or are you going to chastise me like an annoying mother?”
“Both. I’ll do both.” Moblit stood, reaching for a tablet and approaching the two observation rooms. “Have you had breakfast yet? And please don’t say you’ve had a cup of coffee and a protein bar.”
She leaned back in her seat. “Um… I’ve had tea.”
Moblit sighed. He glanced down at the tablet. “Sawney’s vitals are the exact same as yesterday, with some fluctuations as predicted. Brain activity went down during the night and increased just about a minute before your arrival.”
Hange nodded. “And Beane?”
“Same deal here.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t doubt they can sense people. I’ve seen Sawney idly scratch at the ceiling.”
“We are directly under a hospital,” Hange shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You said Sawney’s brain activity spiked before I entered?”
He glanced back down at the tablet. “Yup. At just about forty Hertz.”
It wasn’t surprising. Because Sawney and Beane’s levels were considerably high, that meant they were much more attentive than the average human being. It was quite a daunting thought. Maybe they scratched at the walls and screamed like animals, but they were watching. Always watching and listening for a chance.
Contrary to popular belief, they weren’t completely mindless. There was still a vestige of logic in those degraded brains of theirs.
“Hey, Hange?”
“Hm?”
“What are you going to do for New Year’s? I’m surprised I haven’t asked you…”
Hange blinked. She’d forgotten.
“Um… I’m not planning anything, actually.” Six more days. The streets were strung with decorations at practically every corner. Somehow, the thought hadn’t occurred. That or she wasn’t paying attention much. The months blurred together. The end of the year, already? “I’ve got a birthday coming up, so it’s a lot to keep up with.”
Moblit chuckled, setting the tablet down and heading for the lab’s freezer. He slipped rubber gloves on and swung the freezer door open, taking a single petri dish. “I understand. Busy, busy, busy… You don’t have much of a life outside work, do you?”
“Who said? I do!”
A skeptical look. It reminded Hange painfully of Levi.
“A drinking life, that’s what…” he snorted, sitting at his desk and pulling over a tray of silver tools.
“You can’t say crap… lightweight. Get wasted on New Year’s and I’m not letting you crash on my couch. For the second time, might I add.”
“That couch is pretty comfy…”
“Nope. Salvage refuge at Mike’s. I’m not doing that again.”
“How cruel.”
“What was cruel was you puking all over our floors!”
Hange recalled that particular incident as a disaster. Levi had a hissy fit cleaning the wood planks, complaining about the fact that Moblit contaminated the ground he’d mopped earlier in the day. The altercation resulted in Moblit’s lifelong fear of Levi.
Ackermanphobia. Ha.
Her assistant merely shrugged, peering through the lens of a microscope and picking at the sample that clung onto the petri dish. “Alright, alright… what about Levi? Does he have any family here he could spend time with?”
Hange shook her head. “No. And he’s not interested in making friends, either. The introvert.”
“Ah, well. I suppose that’s Levi for you.”
She never found herself having a problem with that type of behavior. Levi kept to himself, even around her. Although there have been a few altercations in which his ‘unsaid superiority’ pissed her off. She once made a joke, calling it a stressed ‘situationship.’ He immediately shut it down and told her they were strictly roommates living together because of difficult circumstances. Nothing more. (Seriously, has that man ever been in a relationship anyway? That type of personality is difficult to love.)
Still, Hange would agree they were nothing more than roommates. Roommates that often argued like an old married couple. Anyway, he never talked much about family, and she never bothered to pry.
It didn’t take much longer for the lab to gradually fill in. Hange eventually came to the ground level of the hospital to grab a small snack before descending down to the lab once more. It was a morsel compared to what she should be eating, but… sustenance is sustenance.
She had an organized checklist with the day’s main tasks. Check the vials. Examine the harvested and stored biomass. Update their research logs on any new activity… Hange had to admit these specimens were boring in nature. They behaved as your typical zombie would, repeating the same behaviors which would often be mindlessly scratching at the walls and sturdy windows.
The day was long, and her eyes were tired of staring at the same fleshy masses inside each petri dish she examined. Most of these were harvested from Sawney and Beane themselves, which was obviously quite the challenge.
Hange sighed to herself, sliding the dish back into one of the freezer trays long after many of the scientists clocked out, including Moblit. Mike, the one person who stayed with her for a little longer read aloud Sawney and Beane’s vitals for the end of the day. They were, as always, the same.
“That’s that,” the man nodded with a small yawn, clicking the tablet off.
“This job’s feeling an awful lot like a nine to five,” Hange couldn’t help but complain, flopping into her desk chair that swiveled to face Miche. He let out a small huff, barely a chuckle, and crossed his arms.
“I’ll say.”
“I mean, we’re constantly making new discoveries with what we have, but it’s nothing breakthrough. We’ve had three years of this crap, and yet we haven’t found out what makes these things tick!”
“I’m starting to get run ragged with this long schedule,” he admitted. After a moment, Mike looked Hange up and down. A strained expression curtained his face. “You look like…”
“Crap?”
The man nodded. “Hanjo, when’s the last time you’ve ate?”
She shook her head. “A couple hours ago. Something small. Why?
He frowned. “You look like a zombie.”
“Har-har.”
Mike shrugged. “I’m not Mother-Henning you, by the way. Unlike Moblit. It’s an observation. Frankly, I don’t know how you do it, ignoring your body’s desperate pleas for sustenance.” He pulled a chair up next to Hange, sitting with a relieved groan. “You were probably dropped on the head as a baby or something. Does your brain even work right?”
“If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have a job you know.” Hange chuckled and fished a hand around in her pocket, plucking her phone and unlocking it. “We haven’t had much time to talk all day. How’s Nanaba been, by the way? Still sick?”
He nodded. “She’s getting better, although I’ve warned her against coming to work with any sort of ailment. You know how she is… stubborn. Like you?”
“Like me?” Hange asked with mock offence, bringing a hand against her chest with an exaggerated gasp.
“Exactly like you, Hanjo. I swear, sometimes I worry you’ve died and moved on to possess her.”
“If I died, the first person I would possess would be Moblit. Maybe even Levi.”
“I’d argue being your assistant is worse than burning in hell for an eternity.”
Hange playfully rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say…”
Miche leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms above his head with a grunt. “Hey, do you have a ride today?”
“I’m actually going to pick up the car from the shop today.”
“That thing is finally fixed up?” Miche asked incredulously.
“Yup,” she nodded. “I finally don’t have to walk to the hospital in the cold. It’s only the beginning of winter.” Hange couldn’t help but yawn. “You know, Moblit’s probably going to get trashed on New Year’s. What about you, huh? Any plans?”
Her colleague merely shrugged. “Not in particular. I’d go out drinking with some friends to celebrate, but that’s if Nanaba gets better by then. Otherwise, a night out would probably make her worse.”
“Reasonable. I might just pop open a bottle of champagne and watch the fireworks from the apartment.”
“If my circumstances allow me, I’d like to take Nanaba up to Mitras and watch the ball drop. I went when I was a kid… it’s different in person than on the TV, you know?”
Hange agreed with a nod. “Definitely. Unfortunately, renting a hotel room up there gets insanely pricey. You’d think they’d pay us better for this job, being humanity’s first line defense against ignorance.”
“Yeah, It’s a shame. Maybe one day, eh? I’ll make sure to send you pictures if we do.”
“You’d better, or it’s your head.”
She watched as Miche rose out of his chair. He rubbed his upper lip and went to grab his coat. “Anyway, I think it’s time I head home. I shouldn’t leave Nanaba alone for so long.”
“Sounds good. I should probably be heading home now… there’s no way in hell I’ll spend a night down here. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow. Of course.”
Soon after Mike left, she slipped on her jacket and bundled the scarf around her neck. With a tired yawn, she stepped into the elevator and made her ascent. Through the hospital lobby and into the frigid streets.
Hange made the long trudge to the car repair shop, kicking snow along as she did. A breath of fresh air was always nice after the long hours in the lab. Being underground, the fact that they lacked windows was disappointing.
Fortunately for her, the car was in nice shape when she arrived. She slipped into the driver’s seat, promptly cranking up the heat setting and heading back home. Noting the time, Hange made a quick stop at a nearby bakery. Unlike many of the businesses surrounding it, they closed a little later. Which was fortunate for Hange since it accommodated her type of schedule.
With the baked goods secured in the passenger seat, Hange finally came home.
She burst through the front door, bringing with her a gust of cold air. Hange toed off her boots and shed the stuffy winterwear, then made a beeline for the kitchen. She was practically ravenous, and the smell of Levi’s cooking did nothing to quell her cravings.
“Leeeviii, I’m home!” she announced without a hint of discreetness. Her poor ‘roommate’ glanced up from his cutting board. He was used to her late-night antics after work. After all, she paid the bills.
“You picked up the car, right?” His gaze gravitated toward her hands. “What are you holding?”
Hange excitedly set the white, flimsy box she was carrying on the counter. With an exaggerated flourish, she flipped the top open.
“Happy Birthday, Levi!”
He blinked at the cake before him. White, frosted, and delectable. “You… bought this?”
She nodded quickly; a grin stretched from ear to ear. “Yup! There’s no way I wouldn’t have forgotten.” Hange knew he didn’t give a crap about his birthdays. And to be frank, she didn’t care about her own. Still… Hange wanted a good excuse to celebrate him. “I bought vanilla, since I figured you’re a simple person.”
A fitting birthdate, really. A cold day for a cold person. But she didn’t mind.
“You didn’t need to.” Levi’s gaze quickly drifted back to his chopping. “I don’t celebrate my birthdays very much. You know that, Hange.”
“Well, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to do something for you for once. Here’s a cake for all of the times I’ve tracked dirt in the house and left my blankets unfolded.”
Levi let out a little amused huff. “Whatever, Four-Eyes…”
“Are you… going to try some?”
A reluctant sigh. He wasn’t a sweets person, but…
“Fine. After dinner.”