~Hugh Pov~
The sounds of a raging storm echoed through the empty streets. It was a chilly November evening that night. Many windows glowed brightly, revealing the warm and cozy homes behind those glowing windows. Most of these lights belonged to the members of my pack, who were out hunting or gathering food. Those residents, like me and the other members of our pack hid away in the shadows. Levi and I were waiting, watching, making sure the streets were clear and safe before we took our chances. I had already checked twice but nothing was amiss, except that it seemed that the weather might rain later on tonight.
"It seems that things have quietened down," I whispered to my brother Levi. "Let's go."
Together, we crept through the streets as silent as possible. The darkness was thick around us as we moved forward in search of prey. As we got closer to the main road, our ears strained to pick up on any noises that might indicate where danger lurked nearby. But we came up short, as there was absolutely nothing but silence. Finally satisfied that we weren't going to run into anything else, we broke away and headed towards our destination, the old abandoned warehouse that used to belong to our father. Earlier in the day Levi saw our sister Karina slip into the warehouse and not come out. "She's been in there all way" I thought to myself as I pulled open the large, metal door of the warehouse and slipped inside, followed closely by my little brother, Levi. We walked slowly toward the center of the warehouse, carefully peering around corners and ducking into nooks and crannies. My senses told me that nothing had changed in the last week. The air was fresh and cold. Everything looked the same, save for the piles of wood stacked haphazardly throughout the room. My keen hearing caught the occasional sound of something rustling through the branches overhead. It sounded like mice, or squirrels. I tried not to make any noise and follow Levi's lead. We reached a corner and stopped. I heard nothing. Just the wind howling and the creaking of boards. I signaled for Levi to wait while I scanned the area again. The darkness and the wind played tricks with my sight and made it hard to see the details of what was happening. But my instincts told me to continue onward.After a moment, I spotted what Levi had seen. The silhouette of a small person stood at the end of a long wooden beam holding up an unlit lantern. Its shape was indistinct in the darkness but Levi recognized the figure. "Karina !" He gasped, startling the figure into dropping the lantern. The lantern hit the floor with a loud boom, sending sparks flying.
Karina shrieked and fell backwards off the beam. She landed hard in front of the pile of wood and the lantern hit her in the face. I jumped into action quickly, grabbing the lantern and placing it on the ground beside the stack of wood before helping Karina to her feet. "Are you alright?" I asked, reaching out to help her up, which she declined angrily.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Karina brushed herself off, using the wall for support as she stood.
She was covered in scrapes and cuts from falling onto the floor and the wood. A small bruise was beginning to form on her right cheek and another one under her left eye. "That looks bad." I said quietly as we stepped away from the pile of wood and the light source.
"Don't worry, I'll get patched up later," she replied, wincing as she placed a hand on her head.
"We should probably check on your wounds before we do." I suggested.
"Nonsense, I'll be fine," Karina argued.
"Just humor me. That bruise looks pretty nasty."
"Fine...but it's really not that big of a deal." She grumbled.
I gave her a skeptical look.
"What? Look, I know it's not big, I don't need you to baby sit me, okay? You can leave if you want, I'm fine on my own."
I sighed exasperatedly. "You're not fine, Karina, I've known you all your life, I can see what's wrong. Now, are you going to tell me or should I tell our mom that you've been lying about where you've been?"
My sister huffed angrily and stomped her foot in irritation. "Alright! Yes, I am. Fine, it's a concussion, okay? So shut up about it. Besides, aren't you supposed to be the smart twin here?" She retorted bitterly.
"I am smart."
"Oh please, the only thing smart about you is your sense of humor." Her sarcasm made me grin despite myself.
Her dark brown hair tumbled down her back as she leaned against a large crate filled with different types of wood scraps. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at me, obviously not impressed with my comment.
A small smile appeared on her lips, although it vanished a second later. "Okay, so now that we're friends again, would it be too much trouble for you to explain to me why you two are sneaking into an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night?" She asked impatiently.
"If I told you we're sneaking into an abandoned warehouse, that'd ruin all the fun, wouldn't it?" I teased. "You know what I mean! I know I'm not allowed in the warehouse without supervision and all that, but still…" She trailed off as she noticed my expression faltering. "What?"
" Nothing. But on a more serious note..why are you sneaking in here if you know you' re not supposed to be in here Kara? "
"It's nothing."
"Nothing!? Nothing!? You can say something and then suddenly stop talking to me?! That's not fair! I deserve to know why you two are trying to sneak in after midnight! What's going on?!"
I couldn't hold back my chuckle as I saw how frustrated and worried she was. "It's nothing, honestly..." I began hesitantly as I looked away from her piercing blue eyes."Don't play dumb with me!" she growled.
"Seriously, Karina," I pleaded softly. "Just trust me on this one, ok? I promise." I said reassuringly.
Karina let out a huff and rolled her eyes. She stared at me for several moments longer before giving me a quick nod.
We snuck silently towards a dark corner in the dimly lit warehouse. There wasn't much room between two towering stacks of crates, but we managed to squeeze ourselves behind one of them as quietly as we could.
"How does it smell in here?" Levi whispered after a moment.
"I don't know. Why?" I asked.
"There's someone here." Levi said simply, looking at me quizzically.
"Well, whoever it is, he's not close enough to see us yet," I replied.
The three of us held our breath, listening for sounds coming from within the warehouse. Not five minutes passed before we heard the faint sound of footsteps and the unmistakable scuffing of sneakers across the dirty concrete floor. Then, there came a soft clang as a door opened. After several quiet seconds, the footsteps moved closer and closer to where we hid. They stopped next to the crates we were behind and I heard the distinct click of a latch being undone.
Then there was silence.
"They're gone." Levi whispered.
"Let's go," I nodded to him as he started walking out of the crate. As soon as he was clear, I crawled out after him.
We followed the path through the warehouse in silence until we found ourselves outside the building. In the distance, I could see the lights of a car turning a corner, heading our way.
"Should we try tailing it?" Karina wondered.
I smiled inwardly at her innocent suggestion. I knew she was just worried for me because I was her best friend and she wanted to make sure I was ok. "I think we should give it a couple more minutes. Maybe they don't even live near us. Let's just stay hidden until after their ride passes us by. Then we can go after them."
"Good plan." Levi muttered.
We stayed silent until we were certain that our pursuer had gone away. I turned to find a pair of green eyes watching me intently. " Levi." I greeted.
He didn't say anything but kept watching me. His expression grew somber. I frowned at him. "What's the matter? I'm fine. You don't need to worry. I'M FINE! You guys don't need to keep checking on me all the time." I snapped at him.
"No...that's not it…," Levi murmured, staring off into the distance like he was lost in thought. "Is everything really alright?"
"Yes. I promise. Just drop it already. You don' have to babysit me. You're younger than me." I explained.
"I know..." His voice trailed off.
For once, it was me who broke the silence. "Look, just forget it, ok? I'll be fine," I repeated.
Levi shrugged in response.
"Come on. Let's get going," I urged. "I think we're gonna be late for dinner."
# # # #
Levi and I entered our house and sat down at the kitchen table. After we had settled down and finished our meal, Levi cleared his throat. "So...did you get any sleep last night?"
"Why do you always assume I went to bed early?" I replied, furrowing my eyebrows.
"You've been spending so much time working on those journals lately, I figured since you finally have a break, it was about time for you to take a rest," He explained calmly.
I glanced over at Karina and caught sight of her studying the journal cover intently. I frowned. "You think I might work myself to death?" I joked halfheartedly, but neither one of my siblings responded, causing my shoulders to slump and my attempt at levity to dissipate instantly. "It' just work, alright? It isn't as though it's killing me or anything. It's just research. It's important research." I insisted weakly, trying to convince myself too.
"Sure." Karina agreed quietly. "Whatever you say, Hugh."
"You're not going to talk to me now ?" I asked. She continued to stare blankly ahead. "Do you hate me again ?" I inquired tentatively. I regretted saying the words immediately; my tone was accusatory, hurtful and loud.
My brother shot me an icy glare and quickly got up from the table and walked away. I felt anger rise inside me at the unexpected reaction. I stood up and rushed after him. "Levi, wait."
I grabbed onto his sleeve and spun him around. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward me aggressively.
"What the hell's your problem?" I demanded. "I just wanted to know if I'm really such a shitty person that she's ignoring me now! If so, well, I apologize in advance!" I shouted furiously, pushing his chest. "I can understand she doesn't want me hanging around you anymore, but why did you have to be so damn rude to me? I didn't ask for whatever it is she's blaming me for, ok? This has been happening for weeks now, ever since I first brought it up! I don't know what to tell you. I'm not making this a whole issue with you! Do whatever you fucking want with Karina, but I won' take responsibility for whatever happens next, alright? All I wanna do is study and work and not have to deal with stupid family drama every day!" I continued shouting. Levi remained quiet after that outburst. He slowly lowered his gaze to stare at my hands around his collar. For a few long moments, neither of us spoke. Finally, he reached up, removed my hands from his neck, and took a deep breath before speaking.
"Hughey..." He began, shaking his head.
"It's Hugh, not Hughey, and no, you know not allowed to call me that anymore . Ever!" I cut him off sharply. "Not even you deserve that name! And what happened to 'brother'? Don't treat me like some kid! Like everyone else treats you!"
"Hughey, stop..." He breathed in frustration.
"Fine! Whatever! I'm leaving." I mumbled, pulling my hand away from his grasp. "Just don't blame me if something bad happens to you!" I said as I stormed off towards the stairs. "And stop calling me that, alright? I don't wanna hear you calling me Hughey. Call me something else instead."
"Fine, fine, whatever you say. Whatever makes you happy." Levi said sarcastically. I stopped right outside of the stairs and turned around to look at him. I gave him an annoyed look and shook my head at him before climbing upstairs.
I closed the door behind me when I got to my room. I slumped against it and sighed loudly while running my fingers across the bumpy scar on my forehead. I leaned forward slightly, placing my hands on either side of me to support myself as I lowered my face down to rest in the space between my legs.
"You shouldn't have done that...shouldn't have pushed him that hard..." I murmured to myself quietly.
After what felt like hours, my phone buzzed. I picked it up off of my bedside table and stared down at the screen. A quick glance confirmed my suspicions.
I groaned softly in annoyance and threw the phone back onto the table, rolling onto my stomach. I buried my face into my pillows and tried to ignore the buzzing noise that kept getting progressively louder throughout the night. Eventually, after about an hour, I eventually had to admit defeat. I sat up, throwing the covers off of me and reaching blindly for my phone on the floor. With a sigh, I checked the caller ID.
The Caller ID was Unknown.
Instead of taking the call, however, I waited patiently for it to go through. After ten rings, the connection was made and I pressed the phone to my ear. The line went dead as soon as the operator answered and I heard a muffled voice on the other end telling me to hold the number and try again later.
With a sigh, I hung up the phone and dropped it back on the nightstand. I let my arms fall back down on the mattress and buried my face in them. After a moment or two, the ringing from earlier started again. Sighing in annoyance once again I lifted my arm and reached for my phone once again. This time I managed to snatch the device without dropping it on the floor.
A new voicemail played and I listened to it.
"Hey, Hugh. It's me Deucalion . I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing. I hope you're having fun with your family . I'm sorry I haven't called yet. I've been busy with work and school and I haven't had time to call. I'll call you tomorrow. Have a good night and good luck with your studies. Bye."
There were a few seconds of quiet before it beeped signaling that the message was ended. I didn't feel like listening to the other messages left and simply deleted them without bothering to listen to them. Instead, I focused my attention on my breathing.
Instead, I focused my attention on my breathing.
My breaths became slow and steady and I relaxed completely, falling asleep almost instantly. I dreamed that a familiar figure appeared, smiling at me warmly and holding out their arms in welcome. I ran to meet them and wrapped my own arms around their waist. I nuzzled my face against their chest and they chuckled softly.
"Don't go, Hugh," the stranger whispered.
"What do you mean, Eren?" I murmured back.
He pulled away just enough so that he could look me directly in the eye, his expression solemn. His eyes softened as he gazed upon me lovingly.
"You're mine," He stated plainly, his lips barely touching mine. "No one else." He added.
A tear fell from his eye, landing on my cheek. I looked up at him questionably.
"Eren? What...what's wrong? " I panicked.
He shook his head and smiled. "No, it's nothing Hugh." He whispered, leaning in to kiss me again.
Before he even had the chance, however, my vision faded and all I could make sense of was white light. I could only hear my heartbeat echoing in my ears and feel the heat radiating off of my body. When I opened my eyes, the scene around me changed entirely. The white walls melted into a dull gray and a faint red glow filled the room. My breath hitched in my throat when I realized it was all a dream....Eren was still dead. And it was still my fault. If I had not asked him to go on patrol with me that day, he would have never had to protect me.
He wouldn't have died.
My breath came out uneven and ragged. Tears rolled silently down my cheeks as the dream faded and reality crashed back down upon me. It suddenly occurred to me that someone was talking to me, but I couldn't seem to focus on their words; everything seemed blurred and blurry to the point where they weren' t words anymore. My heart pounded in my chest and my palms suddenly started feeling sweaty; I felt like I'd been thrown headfirst into a pool of cold water and I just couldn't get enough air.
"...hey, Hugh? Hey, hey, you're okay! You're safe. You're here, you're awake!"
My twin's anxious voice broke through the thick cloudiness in my mind and I finally recognized her face. She looked distraught as she tried to reassure me.
"Shit." She muttered, and took a steadying breath. Then, in a quieter tone: "Thank God.
"Mmm." Was all I could muster at the moment.
She frowned, her brows creasing tightly together, as she noticed I hadn't acknowledged anything she had said. Then, her expression morphed into worry and confusion.
"D..did you dream about him again?"
She questioned carefully, eyeing me with caution. I nodded wordlessly. "What happened, Hugh?"
"...I...didn't even know you knew about the dreams," I replied quietly.
"I've know since the funeral, what was the dream about this time?" She urged.
I looked down at my hands as my breathing slowed down. My eyes burned with fresh tears as I tried to process the memories that flooded my brain.
"It was like I was back where Eren died...after the funeral... except...it was just me and him and no one else. He was crying but would tell me why. He asked me not to leave....I felt as if I was trapped inside my own head, unable to escape...I couldn't scream