You have been walking, for three days now, since your old Harley gave out on you nearby a big herd, consuquently you had to leave that junk behind before the cravers of flesh could get a taste of you. You ran without a second of thought; instinct. How you hate that your brain is programmed to survive even though your bleeding heart believes that you are better off dead. This controversy of your actions and torturing mind is what has made you miserable since suddeny becoming all alone in this hell.
The apocalypse started two summers ago, it had to be a little ovet two years; since the fall was settling in nowadays. You travelled north during the summer, getting by on whatever you could find even though you wanted something permanent deeper in your heart, a shelter and a community. Of course, your wish wasn't granted. As the winds got harder and the nights became chiller, you started going towards south, this time with barely any desire left to find any consolation to your survival nor your mind.
As you kept your small, involuntary steps going; you finally came acroos a town sign after spending your days on the highway which felt like it extended forever. As your food ran out last night, with hunger craddling its way inside your veins, your steps grew stronger with a sense of purpose.
After a few more miles, you entered the exceptionally silent town. Something about this place felt odd, your guard came up as your dominant hand rested on the gun tucked in your pants; just in case.
Your eyes travelled all around your surroundings, the outgrown trees, cracked windows of empty houses, the blood stains on the road.. You knew all of this all to well but something else caught your attention; how it smelt less dead, how there was no rotting bodies all around the street, how it was weirdly silent.
You tried your best to swallow down your fear and hesitantly walked over to the Target left on your right in the hope of finding supplies. You knocked on the door. One, two, three, four and five; no sounds, no walkers.
You opened the door slowly, took a long glance around before entering. You walked directly to the storage room, empty. Someone with the same bright idea had been here before you. You were left with no choice but to walk between the aisles and hopefully find something edible.
When you were finished, the only thing you could find was an old can of soup. You sat in between one of the aisles and let yourself relax. You placed your gun and your bag beside you on the floor. You took your can opener out from your bag with a sigh as your back rested against the empty shelf. You ate your tasteless soup silently even though you struggled to consider it food at all.
Moments later after finishing your food, you found that your lack of sleep and the ache of your legs begged you to rest as your eyes grew heavier. You got up and secured the door with a shelf before letting your aching body find itself a corner to cradle on.
You laid down on the hard cold floor and rested your head on your worn bag. You crawled into a fetus position in desperate hope of warmth. Your fingers stayed wrapped around your gun just to give you a false sense of security as your mind went blank and your restless mind finally found rest.
Your body jerked and your eyes shot open hours later when you felt a kick to your feet, your confused and scared eyes locked onto the ones towering above your now helpless body. Your hand immidiately searched for your gun in panic.
The owner of the eyes pointed your gun at you without a word, causing you to sink in your corner as your heart started feeling like it was going to come out of your chest. The two of you locked eyes again, yours glazy with fear and desperation; his observant and dangerous. He kept your gaze for what felt like eternity before finally talking:
"You alone?” he asked with a harsh tone, his guard didn’t break not for a second as his hand gripped your gun harder.
You nodded hesitantly before allowing yourself to speak,your words spilled as your hands trembled further. “I am alone, i don’t mean harm, okay? Just let me leave.” You said as your voice cracked by the end.
His gaze never left your eyes as he let you speak. It felt like he was boring into your soul, like you were whole in his eyes; with everything you were trying to hide. He saw your fear, your vulnerability and the truth of your words but he didn’t stop being cautious.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his tone was more gentle than before but still cold.
You took a shaky breath before responding. “Y/N.” you said hesitantly but never escaped his burning eyes, giving him a guarded, stubborn look back.
“Y/N.” He repeated nodding. “You got any more of these on you Y/N?” he questioned gesturing your gun in his hands.
You shook your head, never breaking eye contact. “No.”
He nodded and lowered the gun as he squatted in front of you. “I am Eren.” he said somewhat softer, still guarded.
Your body jerked away from him when he squatted. He took a step back as he threw a dissmissive hand in the air. “I won’t hurt you Y/N.” he said reassuringly.
As you opened your mouth to respond, the door of the store cracked open. An Asian woman with a tall figure and short black hair walked in calling for the man in front of you.
“Eren, where the hell are you?” she called before her eyes found him, then you. Her sharp eyes grew wider as her sword came higher in defense. “Eren step back.” She commanded coldly.
Eren stood up facing her. “She is cool Mika.” he said softly. “She is unarmed.”
Her eyes locked with yours, still cold and observant. “Who is she?” she asked while her eyes stayed on yours.
Eren talked calmly. “Y/N. I found her asleep by the corner.”
Mika nodded. “Are you alone?” She asked you this time.
You nodded. “I am.” you said before you sighed and continued. “Just let me go, i am not looking to harm anyone.”
She stayed silent before pulling Eren out of your earshot. They started bickering. All you could tell was that she was being hesitant and Eren was trying to convince her to something.
They came back after a few mintues and Eren was the one to talk. He looked at you and casually asked “Are you hungry?”.
You didn’t expect that. Mika didn’t look to happy either. You were hungry but also hesitant. You simply nodded.
Eren nodded back and Mikasa walked up to you. She reached a hand to help you get up. You hesitantly took the hand. Once you got up she glanced over to your bag.
“Mind if i check?” she asked even though she didn’t wait for an answer. You smiled to yourself. She was a badass for sure and you liked it. Eren caught your little smile and his lips turned upwards just barely for a split second too before he looked away.
Mikasa checked your bag and walked back over to you and handed you the bag, clearly she didn’t find anything suspicious.
“Let’s go. I want to see the look on Jean’s face when he sees you brought a stranger to the group.” Mikasa said wittily.
Jean? Who the hell was Jean? How many of them were there? Who were these people?
All the questions kept echoing in your head as you kept following them yet you didn’t voice any. The three of you just walked besides each other silently for a while.
Again, Eren was the one to talk.
“Where are you coming from?” he asked you as casually as someone could. It felt natural even though you hadn’t come to human contact for months.
“North.” you answered simply.
You could tell he wanted to ask more but didn’t want to corner you, so you explained further involuntarily. “I wanted to move towards south as fall started to come. North isn’t really liveable.”
He nodded. “Why did you stop here?” he asked.
“Just took a break.” you said truthfully. “It is oddly quiet here, i didn’t see any undead.”
Mikasa scoffed. “You’re welcome.”
Your brows furrowed in confusion so Eren took over and explained. “We live here and we have a few tricks in our pockets to keep them as far away as possible.”
“Live here?” you voiced your confusion without a thought. “In the whole town?”
He shook his head. “We all live in a farmhouse, we are taking you there. But we still manage a small part of the town and keep it somewhat safer to make the supply runs go easier.” he explained.
Mikasa continued. “It’s no use anymore, there is no supplies left in the area.”
All the supplies in “the safe part” of the town was over? How long were they living here? Or were they just really crowded?
“Hence why we need more people.” Eren said with a hint of pride in his voice for finding you.
Mikasa shook her head. “Some of us won’t think so.” she argued.
Before Eren could say anything you jumped in. “How many of you are there?” you asked curiously.
“Seven.” Eren answered.
They weren’t that crowded so they must be here for a while. You had so many more questions but you didn’t push. You nodded and the coversation ended. The three of you kept walking in silence.
After approximately ten minutes, you reached a farmhouse surrounded by high fences. It was a three-story wooden house painted light yellow. The abundance of trees and bushes around made it look like a fairy playground. You were struck by the beauty of the place. Besides the house laid the garden full of vegetables and crops. Was this place a heaven protected from the hell that was unleashed to the rest of the world?
Before you could form a word, a girl with dark red hair and big freckles came bouncing and running your way with widened eyes.
“Mika,” she whined “where the hell have you two been? We have been worr-”. She cut herself up and her eyes widened as she saw you behind them. “Who- Oh My God!” she singsonged in awe and rushed to you with a smile. “Hi! I’m Sasha.” she introduced with excitement.
You were shocked at the enthusiasm but you swallowed and forced yourself to smile softly. “Y/N. Nice to meet you Sasha.”
Mikasa came in between you and gave Sasha a look of warning. She didn’t trust you yet and that was okay, you gave Sasha another smile and stepped back.
Eren gave you a look of understanding and tilted his head before gesturing you to follow Mikasa and Sasha, who were now walking towards the house.
All four of you entered the house, it wasn’t really organized inside but you could tell that they have tried to make this place feel like home however they could. The entrance was small, a black cat was sitting on the stairs leading to the second floor. You smiled at the cat before they led you to the living room.
There was a cozy fireplace right by the entrance, with the small fire built in it, your body let go of the tension you hadn’t realize was there in an instant. You sat on one of the worn out green couch, facing another couch full of strangers after hanging your coat on the rack by the corner.
The faces looked at you with confusion; there were two guys and a girl. As the boy in the middle opened his mouth to say something to you, Sasha shook her head hastily and looked at Mikasa; to warn him. You didn’t know what to say or do. Eren realized your uncomfortable silence and stepped in to explain.
“This is Y/N. I found her sleeping in Target, she was alone, cooparative and cool so you don’t have anything to worry about. I am vouching for her.” he said softly. You smiled at him vouching for you, why did he trust you so easily? Eren continued. “I think it would be very useful to add her to the group but that’s tomorrows discussion, meanwhile try to get to know her.”
Your eyes grew, no one asked you anything about joining a group; altough you didn’t mind.
The blonde boy on the end off the couch talked. “I trust you Eren, but don’t you think Jea-” The girl on the couch cut him off.
“It’s not just Jean, we can’t just trust her, we don’t even know her.” she said sharply, locking her eyes on you.
“There was a time when we didn’t know you Annie.” the boy in the middle talked. “Eren trusted you, now he trusts her.”
You shifted uncomfortably in your place at all the chaos around you. Before Annie could answer Mikasa jumped in.
“Stop bickering.” she warned. “It’s too early to decide anything, we are just giving it a shot, any objections?”
The blonde boy shook his head before talking, “You should talk to Jean.” he said looking at Eren.
“It’s better if we talk to him together Armin.” he suggested. Armin got up and followed him outside as Annie got upstairs with a sigh and an eyeroll. Mikasa went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. You were left with Sasha and the guy with a buzz cut. The second everyone left, they rushed and sat by each side of you with excitement.
The guy introduced himself as Connie as he shook your hand with a smile. Then without wasting a second they started asking you endless questions about you and told you about themselves and how they wanted you here because the others got mad at them when they talk this much. You listened them with a genuine smile and answered their questions as friendly as possibble.
After an hour or so, the door of the house cracked open as strong and hard steps walked into the living room with rage. He ran his long fingers through his messy mullet as he walked directly towards you. His honey brown eyes looked like they were on fire when his gaze locked on yours.
Eren and Armin followed him as Mikasa came over to the living room with quick steps as well. You looked at him with confusion as you watched him struggle with his words with everyone around whispering stuff to him. They were trying to convince him to give you a shot. It was clear he wasn’t going to. His eyes never teared away from yours as you got up, getting the picture. Sasha pulled you back harshly but not enoght to hurt you, before getting up herself.
You tried to get up again but Armin shook his head at you as Sasha gave you a warning look. You sat back down.
She led the man into the kitchen and started talking like a machine gun, some of them followed Sasha and it turned into a big argument. Annie came downstairs and started agreeing with the man. Everything was chaotic, time was moving so fast yet so slow for you , you didn’t know what to do as your hands played with the sleeves of your hoodie.
As the argument grew and the voices got louder, Mikasa ended all, with just a word.
She growled “Enough.”. Everyone got quiet as she locked eyes with him. “She knows where we live, she knows who we are.” she said in dangerously calm way. “Letting her go is stupider than letting her stay here, unarmed, under watch. If she is bad news, it is one against seven Jean.” she explained tiredly as if she was tired of having to explain something that was so obvious to her.
Jean sighed and ran a hand through his mullet, you could sense that his mind was like a warfare, every possibility feeling like a more dangerous threat than the other. He stayed silent for a while as his calculated and hesistant gaze bored into your presence, trying to see you, trying to see who you are.
You opened your mouth to say something but Connie sighed, clicking his tounge twice as he looked over to him. “Are you really that afraif of women Jeanie?” he mocked. You could tell he did it just to soften the thick air in the room.
Jean rolled his eyes. “Don’t start.” He waited a second later before finally agreeing, just by a silent nod. Almost everyone’s face lit up in joy as Connie gave you a big unexpected hug.
Your face furrowed with confusion when Eren saw you and just shook his head smiling at Connie’s gesture. “You’re one of us now.” Eren said with a light punch to your shoulder.
You smiled at him then met everyone’s smiling gaze back with the same smile. Even Mikasa gave you a slight nod. Despite her coldness towards you, she was the one who convinced him. The thought warmed your heart even to the most rotten and deepest parts.
The sentimental moment was over with Sasha’s growl. “Ughh, i’m sorrry but can’t we do this at the dinner table?”. Armin chuckled at her while Connie agreed. You all walked over to the kitchen.
After everyone was settled into their chairs, you got stuck to the one on the end of the table, across Jean. You sat down awkardly, very aware of how you don’t belong here, how some of them doesn’t even want you here. You kept silent as everyone started eating the meal in front of them.
Everyone chatted inbetweeen small groups, Connie cracked up a few dad jokes, once in a while someone asked you a question just to fill in the awkward silence. Your eyes lingered on Jean.
Even Annie seemed to accept the situation and move on altough you could tell she didn’t like it one bit. On the other end, he was just sitting and eating; not talking, not smiling, not doing anything.
After dinner he got out of the house, you didn’t know where he went. While helping Connie with the dishes you asked him if he knew where Jean would go.
“He is probably over at the barn, he is working on a few things there.. But Y/N, i wouldn’t go there, it won’t end good. Just give him time.” he answered honestly and softly.
“I just want to talk to him.” you said as you finished up quickly. “Don’t worry.” you reassured with a smile and left him behind.
You made your way to the barn without even knowing what you’re going to say. Once you arrived, you knocked on the already open, sliding red door.
He was sitting inside with his broad back turned to you, he had a radio and a screwdriver in his hands. He didn’t bother to look back. “I already agreed Eren, go away.” he said coldly.
You cleared your throat. “It’s Y/N.” you stated before taking a step in.
He looked at you with furrowed brows over his shoulder before turning back to his work. He shook his head to himself. “What do you want?” he asked, clearly bothered.
“I wouldn’t hurt you or your friends.” you said bluntly. “I didn’t even ask to be here, even though i am not complaining; it wasn’t my choice Jean.”
“So?” he asked, unimpressed.
“So you should give me a shot to earn all of your’s trust. I am just trying to survive and i could use a community. A community could use me too.”
He shook his head with a scoff. “What can you offer us?” he bit.
“I can hunt.” you stated simply. “I am good with guns, i survived alone for months, i am a quick learner” you paused, “and i can help you fix the radio you’re failing miserably at.” you bit back.
He turned in his chair, his body now facing yours, he locked his sharp and insulting eyes on you as he laid back a bit and a manspreat on the chair, his eyes roamed around your face as though he was sizing you. “I got it.” he insisted before returning to his gaze back to the radio.
You could tell he didn’t know what he was doing at all. Your grandpa had a vintage music store while you were growing up so you were familiar with radios, but you didn’t push.
“You know where to find me when you are ready to accept the help you definitely need.” you said as you walked off without even giving him one last glance.
You made your way back to the house with quick steps, it was a very chill night, it didn’t make sense to you that he would spend his time outside working, when he had a safe and warm space waiting for him just a few steps ahead.
You shook the thought of him off your head as you walked into the cozy living room. Armin, Mikasa and Eren was there. Mikasa and Eren were chatting while Armin was reading a book.
You smiled at them out of kindness and sat down in front of the fireplace to warm up as you didn’t want to bother them.
It felt uncomfortable, for everyone, you could tell by how they all went silent. Luckily it didn’t stay that way for long as Mikasa sat next to you, leaving Eren on the couch.
You looked at her curiosly as she spoke. “What did you say to him?” she asked implying Jean.
“I just told him that he should give me a shot to prove my worth and earn everyone’s trust, explained i could be useful.” you answered honestly.
“And what did he say?” she asked holding back a smirk, you could tell that she knew he wasn’t going to accept you just by that.
You smiled to yourself. “He is very arrogant.” you stated with a hint of amazement in your eyes.
“And he is as stubborn as a goat.” Eren joined the conversation as he sat down next to Mikasa. “But he will come around.” he said reassuringly.
You nodded before asking hesitantly, “But Eren, why did you trust me just like that?”.
Mikasa looked at him expectantly too, you could tell she trusted his instinct and that was why she was okay with you being here, but she wanted to know why too.
“I’m just good at reading people and-” he sighed before smiling “you remind me of someone.” he said with a hint of bitter nostalgia in his eyes.
Once again, you wondered but didn’t push, you saw him glancing at Armin and smile. It was probably someone they both knew.
Mikasa smiled to herself as if she realized who they were referring to. You were confused but you kept quiet.
After a few moments of small talk, your eyes grew heavier as the weight of the day and the warmth radiated by the fire started catching up to you. Armin realized your yawn and offered to show you to your new room. He informed you that Sasha had set it up after dinner. You made sure to thank Sasha when you see her and accepted Armin’s offer.
You two walked up the stairs in a comfortable silence. Your room was on the third floor, across Jean’s room. The floor was desinged similar to an attic and it was smaller than the previous two, so it just held the two rooms and a small bathroom.
Armin walked you into your room and wished you a good night kindly before leaving. It was a simple and small room, a single bed, a nightstand, a dresser and a small table with a wooden chair. It was not much but it was definitely so much more than everything you had in the last two years. Your heart warmed with graditude as you saw the big sweater and a pair of pj shorts left on the bed besides some personal hygiene products. You guessed they were from Sasha as your lips turned upwards softly.
You changed into the comfy clothes left for you and settled into your bed with a groan. You thought of how much your life shifted in a day. You were safe, laying in a bed in a decent house gathered by people. Warm people, mostly, that you could tell were going to become your family. You were never one to trust easily but seeing how they put their faith in you in this terrible world and even fought for you, made an expection of the habit.
Your eyes closed as they couldn’t resist the need to rest anymore and for the first time in forever, you went to sleep without a heavy heart; the fear, the grief, the gloom and the rage got replaced by thankfulness, joy and excitement for the days to come.