[F/N]

[a/n]: this book has made a comeback from 2014 ;u; this chapter is kinda long because it serves as a 'pilot' episode. okay love you bbys !! also, dedicated to paul because he's my supportive ass kicking brother ♡

6:55 PM. March 21st.

She stared intently at the clock, watching its hand move down and over with each tick. The annual Purge would begin in five minutes flat. She had her ears glued on the radio as the nationwide channel flickered and buzzed to life, warning everyone that The Purge would start in a few minutes.

"Aw, five more minutes til we go on this survival thing we do all year," Jean grumbled next to her, inspecting his scope and loading his guns. "What is the point of this, America? Don't blame it on shit like population control. Why the hell is life so hard?"

Her nose twitched in annoyance. "We've done this for what, six years? Seven years, now? We're basically experts, Jean. We've done this since we were about ten," she muttered, rolling her eyes, then glaring at him. "You're lucky enough I have the damn guns and all at my house--you're all lucky to gather at my place, you punks." She pointed to all of them; they were lounging around on the sofas, the chairs, the floor. Eren sits up straighter immediately, Armin and Mikasa following his example. Jean grumbled a few curse words under his breath before turning his attention back on his handgun.

She pocketed a walkie-talkie, tossing everyone one as well. As soon as she tossed Levi one, he grabbed it with one hand, gazing at her with a look in his eyes that couldn't be read.

Four more minutes.

"Hey, [F/N]--you're pretty much big talk for a short kiddo, y'know?"

"Levi, shut up. You're only like an inch taller than me," she muttered, her tone suddenly hushed. He was someone to respect, for sure--he was the one with the most amount of kills, the most amount of experience, the eldest--but that didn't mean she couldn't have an attitude towards him. Although it could be quite scary sometimes, it was somewhat amusing to see him go all passive-aggressive.

She was daring. Almost foolish, even.

Levi stopped fidgeting with his walkie-talkie.

His hand suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, tugging it upwards so that Levi was all up in her face like bad breath.

"Listen kid--I've known you for a damn whole three years--and I'm older than you, by a fact--y'all are all seventeen year old wimps. I'm the only adult here, seems like. No one is older than twenty, is there?"

"You're only nineteen," she bit back. "Adult my ass. Act like your age."

Levi tightened his grip around her collar, lifting her up higher than necessary. She let out a strangled whimper as her whole life seemed to flash past her eyes.

"Levi," Mikasa said sternly. "You're hurting her."

"Like hell I care," he spat, releasing his hold on her shirt. "I couldn't care less."

Three minutes.

"Hey, Armin, are you okay?"

Mikasa put a comforting hand on Armin's shoulder, telling him he would be okay. Well, it wasn't going to be. He doesn't have more than five kills altogether in the last six to seven years we had stuck together as a gang. Only a lone pistol remained tightly in his belt buckle for emergencies--figures, as he usually is the brain of the group, less of the fighting type--the mastermind.

Mikasa was just the opposite--she usually worked up front since she was so agile in her movements. She wasn't afraid to kill anybody at any given time. She was the muscle of the group, almost like the female leader. She wasn't on good terms with Levi, though--she was very protective over Eren, since his family took her in after the brutal murder of her parents. Long story short, Levi beat Eren up a year ago when he got angry and refused to cooperate, when Levi wasn't doing much of it himself.

Hypocrite.

Eren, now, was the hand-to-hand combat prodigy. Anything with melee and hands that involved fighting and melee--Eren was up to the job. He was also always angry for some reason, and he also felt like it was his responsibility for everything bad that happened to anyone, which was a trait that could serve as good at times, but usually, it would just end up in self-pity, which wasn't that good.

Jean was the big-talker--with his inflated ego and overconfidence, he saw the positivity in everything; but usually, when something doesn't go as expected, he would usually give them the silent treatment, as he felt ashamed on his own part, and blamed everybody for their own. Everyone didn't mind calling Jean a horse, with his elongated face and long nose; but he was her friend, along with everyone else in her little posse. If befriending someone like Jean, there's no other way than to put up with his asshole personality. But it was his skills with the sniping that proved him worthy, or at least of some worth. He was crazy about guns, too, and that was how he got such fine skills handling them. Another thing he was nauseatingly obsessed with? Mikasa's hair.

[F/N] was basically the leader, or everyone just assumed that she was, but she didn't have much of the qualifying qualities to be one. She wasn't very fond of Levi's, or anyone's, occasional cussing, and she was not very collected. She was very obstinate but followed through with anyone's opinions and suggestions anyway. [F/N] was usually better off alone, and she wasn't half bad at sniping, but always fell short to Jean's skills. She almost always preferred a small handgun or twin pistols, or at least something that she could have nearby. [F/N] gave off an innocent, almost pure, vibe, and she knew that. She was always one to blame herself, which she wanted to fix so badly. Another thing that she wasn't satisfied with was her combat skills--as a person, she was usually accounted for as frail. She built up muscle by taking up kickboxing and various martial arts, but that didn't do her much good, as she always fell behind in strength than the others, besides Armin. But everyone naturally respected her because of her position, but also because of her plain, stubborn, straightforward nature.

And then there's Levi.

He was one of a kind.

Levi was someone that she had looked up to a lot in certain situations. Even though his obsession with cleanliness and how he drank his tea got on her nerves, he was someone anyone would respect, not for his personality, but for his skills and experience. For a short guy, he was well built and toned for fighting and shit like that--he was a mere two to three years older than her, but still had that superiority complex within him, and he had a rude, dirty mouth. He makes crappy shit jokes from time to time that no one laughs at, and at times, she finds it pretty distasteful. If she was being honest with herself, she had grown onto him during the years, and he was like the dad she never had--overprotective. He would always shield her from, literally, everyone in the male species.

And there's two others too--Erwin and Hanji. They weren't with them right now, but soon will be--they usually kept her on by informing her through phone or walkie-talkies...they knew everything about, per se, the event. Also, they were usually the 'technology' people--they usually handled fixing her up for stores free to thieve from, or covered her back. When they actually wanted to fight, they were surprisingly decent, as good as any...

Two minutes.

A clamor spread throughout the group. [F/N] managed to keep Armin at a mentally stable level; she looped an arm around him, telling him that it'd be okay, and everything would go fine. But he seemed to take her words for granted; he was shaking so much that it felt like he was vibrating, in a sense.

The radio they've kept on for a good hour buzzed to life as the national station began to spew out more nonsense, reminding everyone there was approximately two minutes til the annual event.

'The Purge will...bzzt...start in approximately two...minutes. It is best that...zzt...that you heed our...bbbzzt... advice. The Purge for...bzzt...this year... has been extended...bzt...due to break...outs...zzt...in the cities...bzt... and the United States government...bzzt...has approved... bzzzt...that the Purge for this year will...zzz...be extended to a full...bzzt...week...'

"Wait, what the hell?" Jean gets up, startling everyone. "A fucking week? How are we even supposed to last...shit! Like a full 12 hours isn't enough, huh? Yeah, you government pricks be all safe and sound, and just watch this fucking massacre happen from your windows--government, my ass!"

"Jean, calm down..." Eren whisper-yelled, even though he was fidgeting quite alot in his place. "We've done great so far...I mean, there weren't many fatal injuries in the past few years..."

One minute.

"Guys, chill the out--there's one minute remaining til this whole thing starts. Hurry up. Are all your guns loaded?" she said, a little bit frantically. Everyone takes a few moments to check their barrels hastily. She does as well, and she pockets some more ammunition just in case.

"Start opening the gate! Nearly thirty seconds til the shit gets real!" Eren yelled, sending off Armin to do his bidding.

The radio flickered back on to life, and the announcer started counting down; it only made her head pound with blood, and she began biting her lip in anxiety.

10....

Armin hastily pressed the button to open the gate, as everyone stood, intently staring at [F/N] as they thought of her as a 'natural leader'. Even Levi, in this case--for the first time, he looked a little anxious.

9...

Eren slung his shotgun, the leather strap crossing his body. He clicked his handgun, loading the bullets into place.

8...

"God...those government brats asking us to do all their bidding for some nasty population control. Producing more birth control and contraception would definitely do the trick, goddamn."

7...

"Ugh, I feel sick..." She heard Armin grumble as Mikasa patted his back for some comfort.

6...

"Let's bitch-slap this skank..." Jean murmured, earning an agreeing nod from Eren, but earning a eye roll from [F/N]. He was never the one to be so serious.

5...

"Can time go any slower?" Mikasa mumbled, tapping her foot out of tedium.

4...

"Oh my god..." she murmured, panicking a little and internally screaming. "A whole week...a whole...week...what if...what if..."

3...

"Hey, dumbshit," Levi mutters, elbowing her side gently. "It's going to be fine...trust me on this."

2...

She nods. "Alright."

1.

A sudden burst of noise spreads through like wildfire outside, that was the cue for all of them to abandon the sanctuary. Levi and [F/N] covered each other's back while the rest paired up as well, not leaving the group in its entirety. They were still close enough in a one meter range. They fired recklessly, choosing the ones that would probably bring harm to the group if they lived. The others went down on the homeless, while Levi and [F/N] cleared the area of threats.

"Hey, Levi--how many rounds you got?" she asked, quite breathlessly.

He snorts. "More than you think, kid--now, less talking, more killing."

As they fought their way downtown, they headed in to the nearby department store for cover and supplies--and a possible shelter for the night. Being out there after dusk would be risky, so unless they wanted a death wish, they would probably be better off looking for somewhere else to spend the night.

A bullet just barely missed her head, wheezing past in almost inhuman force and hitting the person behind her, who flew backwards on impact. She quickly reloads her handgun, shooting away when needed. She was always good with her aim--she has done this for the past seven years, so it would be wrong if she wasn't. While she had lost it for a second, a pain shoots up from her shoulder, snapping her back to reality. She groaned for a second, clutching onto her shoulder. After she realized it was only a graze of a bullet, she decided to join in with Levi and help him clear the area.

They had shot down the threats, and the others fled from the store. As Eren and Armin went to hammer down any entrances, Jean and Mikasa went to the roof for some sniping work and lookout duty--Levi and [F/N] started gathering supplies to last. They worked fluidly together--it was the same for every year, so they were all used to the process. Get supplies last, look for safe shelter first.

"Hey, Levi," she said, arms already holding an excessive amount of food. "What do you have?"

He continued to stare at the shelves, eyes full of admiration and satisfaction. He didn't seem to hear her; his eyes seemed too far. "Levi, what are you looking at--"

Her left eye twitched with irritation as he continued to grab every cleaning supply on the racks. He seemed like a little, rich, spoiled kid when he gathered up everything he wanted. And he did it so leisurely too--this was a matter of surviving, and...ugh.

"Levi, we don't need any of this shit right now," she tries, but he seemed to be in his own little world with flying unicorns and rainbows, except it was filled with cleaning supplies and bleach.

"Shut up," she heard him mumble quietly as the look in his eyes seemed to grow more distant. "I'm getting seventy-five dollars worth of these for free...now, that's what I call a deal."

She rolled her eyes before pursing her lips and hauling the supplies back to the cleared area of the market.

Eren and Armin had scurried back from the other side of the market, hands red with sweat and strain. She gave them a quick smile in approval, before unloading all the supplies down onto the floor.

"Oh, shit," Eren laughed, a grin breaking out on his face like acne. "I haven't had good enough food in weeks--I'm starving as hell!" he grabbed a package of instant noodles, cuddling it. "God bless you for finding these."

"Uh...yeah, no problem." She wrinkled her nose. Of course. Everyone was to the breaking point of starving, as America's economy started to collapse, which only helped bring up the unemployment rates. She started to pack some along-the-way food into her backpack, which she had hauled along; it was half-full of ammo and guns, just in case.

Eren dragged Armin along to look for more things to eat, since I had fended him off from eating any; Levi appeared from around the corner just then. When she looked at his loot, her eyes automatically take another roll. Of course. Cleaning supplies. And at least a dozen boxes of black tea bags.

"Levi, I don't think we should...y'know..."

"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy, sunshine. I'm storing it someplace safe so we can come back and get it later, when it's close to finishing off. Alright?" He only laughed dryly afterwards, fishing something out of his pocket. "Oh, and here's a little something for you," he dangled a necklace in front of her, the gold rim glittering, reflecting off lights that came from above. It had a diamond pendant in the middle, which shone brightly.

"W-Where'd you..."

"Found it on a dead lady," he said bluntly, shrugging his shoulders casually, as if all he did was going around and killing middle-aged women. He looked up, realizing she had a look of vague horror on her face. "No, no, no...you imbecile, I didn't kill her for the damn necklace...I just found it pretty and...just...just here. Take it."

He tossed the warm necklace into her hands, and it felt somewhat relieving that Levi didn't kill the woman for it--but it was a little unsettling, since it was taken from a corpse.

"Thanks, I think...why, though?" she asked, putting it on right away. She struggled with it a little, since her hands were so callused with past experiences, and she couldn't see herself putting it on. He sighed, a soft smile playing on his lips. He took her hand in his, carefully tying on the necklace for her.

"Just a little something, [F/N]. It was too pretty to go to waste. A pretty necklace for a pretty girl, am I right? Now, don't take my words of any romantic interest. It looked too expensive to just leave it there."

She felt her face burn up as she heard his words. She had never, ever seen this side of Levi before, really. Even though he was a little prick with this whole thing right now, this was the gentlest she had ever seen him.

She kind of liked it, actually.

"Hey, you two lovebirds--what're you doing back there?" Eren's voice sang out, a smirk hinted in his voice. She rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Eren, we aren't lovers." She took the bottles of water from his hand, setting them in a backpack, before opening one herself. "Anyways, y'all should get some sleep--it won't be long 'til you guys take over guard."

"Fine, whatever. Hey, Armin, could you go find..."

As she left Eren and Armin to find rightful supplies, she headed up the emergency exit to check on Jean and Mikasa on their sniping work. Not only halfway up, she could hear muffled argues.

"...Shoot correctly, dammit! I should do it for you...."

"....I know what I'm doing, woman, get off me, I know you want a piece of me, but that's something to be saved for later..."

"...What the hell? Who in their right mind would...and don't flatter yourself! Do you think I'm that desperate..."

"Hey, whoa," she opened the exit door slowly, creaking beneath her weight. "I can hear you two screaming at each other from halfway down there--oh, good lord, what..."

Mikasa's treasured scarf was torn along the edges, while Jean's hair was tousled, as if someone pulled on it recently. They both looked back to Levi and [F/N], before quietly settling down to their sniping work.

"That's more like it..." Levi murmurs. "Stupid idiots..."

Levi tugged on her arm to lead her downstairs, and white-hot pain shot up my left shoulder. She let out a sharp gasp, and Levi turned around immediately.

"What the hell, get your ass on track, and...wait, why are you bleeding? Does your body, like, bleed spontaneously?"

She sighed, a little irked. "That's called a period, Levi. Get it straight. And no, a bullet grazed me just a few minutes ago, I'll be okay..."

"No, you dumbshit. You've got to get it healed, and right away. If you infect it, it won't look good, and it won't feel good, and I'll never want to be around you ever again. And, it's your trigger finger. What will you do without your trigger finger? You can't go smashing other people's head in with the butt of a gun. They'll kill you first. Let's take you to Armin..."

He rambled on as he helped her down the stairs.

-

"Disgusting."

Armin dabbed at the small wound, tugging the sleeve of her shirt downwards just a little bit, so he could tend to the wound. She winced at the slight jolts of pain whenever the antibiotics came in contact with her skin. She glared up at Levi due to his unnecessary comment.

"Well, you said I should get it treated, and..what? I mean, if this is disturbing for you, you have my permission to leave, you know."

"I'm just making sure Arlert over here doesn't do anything dirty to you." He nodded towards Armin. He flinched under his intense gaze.

"Levi, he won't do anything like that, please. Why are you so overprotective of me anyways? Is it because I'm a girl? Go to Mikasa instead, I don't need it."

"I don't know," he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Oh, maybe it is because you have a naïve little ass and you won't know you got fucked until there's a baby growing in your stomach. Yeah. And you are far too damn weak to handle any guys, even him. Well, maybe. I don't know," he turned around, refusing to look her in the eyes. "I'll see you."

She frowned in annoyance and confusion. "Armin, I don't get what just happened. He's just overreacting."

His lips were frozen in line, his eyes following every move his hand made as he continued bandaging her shoulder. He averted his gaze, before deeply sighing. "Maybe he has feelings for you. I don't know, okay? He's hard to read."

"Oh, please--I'm a minor, he wouldn't dare..."

"[F/N], tell me--when have rules of the government been a problem with relationships, nonetheless daily lives, nowadays? I mean, the police are barely on duty, and there's people everywhere probably...satisfying their sexual needs with children right now. The world is a disgusting place, [F/N]. You need to know."

She could only stare blankly as Armin cuts off the bandage from the roll. He pursed his lips again before freeing her from his grasp. "You're all done."

She stood up, and a slight tugging at the back of her mind was felt. She only smiled in gratitude. "Thanks. Get some sleep before you keep watch."

-

3:00 AM. March 22nd. Second day of the annual Purge.

She could feel her eyes slowly flutter close as she rested her chin on the back of her hands. It felt nice to be outside, on top of the building, taking watch with Levi. She could hear Jean's snoring from all the way up here, but it didn't really matter to her.

Sharp pain goes up her back as she feels sharp contact of a foreign object against her skin, jerking her awake.

"Ow," I groan, whipping around to see Levi standing behind me with his arms crossed, not looking too pleased. I nearly drop my sniping gun.

"You're more stronger than you think, shorty. I nearly fell off the damn building because of you."

He rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue, like it was irresistible whenever he was irritated. He sends a firm kick to the small of her back, pushing her forward, which almost made her lose her grip on my gun. She sends an irritated 'ugh' towards his direction.

"What are you doing just sitting there, dozing off? Damn, you wouldn't even know until some filthy pig shot you off the building himself," a growl resonated deep in his throat, his tone not too happy with the fact that he was also covering watch for her. She sighs deeply, looking down at the streets from a three-story high distance. She rolled her eyes.

"Why, is that 'filthy pig' going to be you?" she murmured sarcastically, her eyes sweeping the grounds below for any suspicious movement in the dark. Years of doing this trained her eyes to be able to see in the dark very well, but sometimes it felt like it was playing tricks on her with weird shadows that were gone in an instant.

"Hey, this is serious."

"Uh huh..." she says, a little distracted by some shadows lurking in the darkness. She narrowed her eyes, frowning at them.

"Hey, are you even listening, you--"

"Shut up for a second, so goddamn noisy!"

[F/N] whisper-yelled, throwing Levi into a more pissed mood, but he didn't argue with her. She quickly grabbed her gun in a swift motion, looking through the scope lens with careful detail. She locked on one of the shadows that moved suspiciously, and the passerby car lights gave it away. A soft gasp escapes from her lips as she see it is a person, in a very suspicious stance. She could tell by the direction of his head, that he was looking straight at their hideout. He seemed to motion some others by the beckoning of his hand, gesturing them to come closer as he stepped closer to the building. Shit.

"Intruders," she whispered sharply, notifying Levi. "Get the others--do I shoot him right now or not?"

"Don't. Not yet. Don't give it away. If you do, and if anyone gets hurt, it's on you." Levi quickly scurries to the emergency exit door, footsteps silent like a thief's.

She continued to follow her target, always making sure the intersection of the two lines pinpointed his head--the vital point.

She quickly scanned the grounds to see how many there were approximately, when she spies on the others at the corner of her eye. Her eyes lock on to the strangers, only to find out they were slowly advancing towards the intruders, as if preparing for an ambush. She dismisses the unsettling thought, telling herself those people were Mikasa and the others.

There's a sudden creak behind her, and she whips her head around, thanks to her honed sense of hearing. She loads her gun in case, locking in on the shadow behind her.

"Chill out," Eren mumbled, lowering the gun so it wasn't aimed towards him. "Levi and the others are down there--" he points to the group she spotted not too long ago. "--and Armin is on the other side of this floor, checking for other gangs or groups. But right now, we need to get rid of many of them as possible without going noticed." His expression was somewhat unsettling, as it was far too serious for his face to wear. She just nodded, locking in on the targets that were somewhat far away from the most of the group. She pulled the trigger, and he goes down with the whoosh of her bullet--and no one noticed, not yet, thanks to the silencing capability...

Eren fumbles with his gun that also had a sniping lens equipped. She sighs heavily as she gently set the gun down in front of him.

"You were never good at sniping, you're just a handgun or melee guy, sorry, Eren," she said, somewhat blunt to the fact that he sucked at long-range--which he did, obviously. A week before the annual Purge starts, they do all sorts of training in an underground chamber that Hanji and Erwin owned--and god, did Eren only waste bullets.

Thankfully, he nods understandingly, picking up a nearby baseball bat. He salutes quickly before heading down.

"See you later, [F/N]. Alive."

The corner of her mouth tugs upward, sending him a little farewell wave. After the door closes gently behind him, Armin emerges from the back of the building.

"[F/N], the bad news or the good news...which one would you like to hear first?"

Due to her sudden craving for any kind of good information, she asked for the good news.

"Well, we have plenty of ammo to last us a few week, if we aren't too reckless with it, like we were last year."

She nodded, licking at her dry lips. "The bad news?"

Armin purses his lips.

"We're surrounded."

-

[word count: 4637]

》 published march 11, 2016