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It felt like the ground was being torn up, dust was rising and mingling with the flares, colouring the sky the worst shade of black. The abnormal flares were rising, steadily ripping through the right wing of the squadron, and they were heading straight towards the centre ranks. They were completely ignoring the left side, and they were all coming from the same direction in what seemed like a coordinated attack, but this was impossible. Titans are not herd creatures, they do not flock like sheep or hunt like wolf packs. They mindlessly trample and devour, with not a thought in their steam filled skulls. Theoretically, it was completely impossible for this to be happening.
But it was.
"Commander! Your orders." Came the harrowing scream of one of the messenger cadets as they came hurtling towards Erwin's ranks. He did not even move, staying perfectly astride his horse as the ground continued to erupt around you all and the sky was slowly clouding over with black flares like spilled ink over a notebook.
Erwin thought for a moment, completely blocking out the frantic screams of the terrified child beside Miche. From your position on the other side of Erwin, you could practically feel the thoughts churning through his head.
"We head for the treeline, send the wagons into the forest. The outside ranks are to turn around the forest and take position in the trees. Then await further orders." He finally enunciated, not even showing the slightest bit of concern or panic. As the cadet peeled back over to the remnants of the right ranks, you peeled away to relay the message to the left rank. Miche was completely impassive too, knowing the order was to give away no hint of knowledge about Erwin's master plan. If you were to act as if you expected this to happen, then the game would be up. The order last night was to stay impassive, give nothing away, and to focus on the real mission here.
Your horse swerved suddenly around a ditch, and you leaned into the movement for fear of overbalancing and going flying into the meadow at full speed. Nobody would come find you then, not until they were about to run right over you.
A group of 104th cadets came into your view, the brunette you always caught sneaking into the officer's kitchen and her bald accomplice.
"Orders from Commander Erwin Smith. You are to head for the treeline, at which point you turn around the forest to allow the wagons inside. You are to hitch your horses below and take position in the trees to await further instructions. Relay the message cadets," You yell over the thundering of hooves and the screaming of birds sailing fair above you.
"At once!" The bald one cried, half saluting with reins in his hand as he whirls his horse away to the next line of soldiers. You nod to the brunette, and immediately beeline back towards the Command Rank where Erwin was likely preparing for you to head into the forest, and to lay your trap.
The closer you got to the centre rank, the blacker the sky was becoming. More and more flares had been released into the sky, but the single green one cutting right through towards the forest was an ominous sign. The trap was likely already set, and on the horizon behind you, Levi squad was preparing to lead the female titan into the forest, using Eren as bait. Your horse swings around into the treeline, kicking up a burst of dust as the dry floor littered with tree roots takes over. You can tell the wagons have already beaten you here, as their distinct wheel tracks lead you to the trap site. The technicians Hange brought along fly over your head on ODM gear as they rush to pin the harpoon barrels in place.
Those things were packed to the brim with gunpowder, they had the explosive power of a cannon, but instead of firing buckshot they fired hardened steel harpoons. One of Hange's best creations - you'd been floored when they came to you in the Officer's quarters, asking for you to help piece together something capable of holding a titan in place. You thought it couldn't be done, but you'd seen the test firing of the harpoon barrels on covert scouting missions. Those things had a kick that had you worried if one were to backfire and explode rather than fire, would the operator be done for?
You spot the horses and the wagons, a few metres into the woodland - well away from the main trail running through the forest. Erwin didn't want your transport to be caught in the crossfire of the female titan, so he'd ordered them to be hitched well away from the harpoons lest something go astray. Slowing your steed, you turn it towards the group and one of the wagon crew came running over to take your horse from you.
"Ma'am!" The short man yelled, saluting as he took the reins of your horse and allowed you to dismount.
"At ease." You replied, tilting your head directly backwards to scour the tree branches for signs of Erwin. The scout capes blended into the forest alarmingly well, and it left you wondering if that was the reason behind their design in the first place. The emerald green could barely be distinguished from the foliage, and the oak brown boots could barely be told apart from the branches - only the crisp white trousers of the uniform gave away any sign that there were people hiding in the trees, waiting.
Despite telling your subordinate to be at ease, you were truly on edge. You only hoped that this plan would work as well as you had imagined it, all of those late night meetings in Erwin's office, gathered around his table with Miche and Hange, listening to Erwin and Levi bounce ideas back and forth about how to best uncover the female titan's identity.
As you paced along the dusty ground, walking towards the main trail through the forest, a shrill whistle split through the air. That was it, that was the signal. Without a second's hesitation, you took off into the trees and watched as the rest of the supply chain also launched to position. You found your place beside Miche, crouched on one of the thick branches about twenty meters off the ground. Erwin was on the branch in front of you, hood pulled up ominously. Distant thundering of titan feet echoed between the branches, heeding destruction heading towards you. You know what you have to do, the priority is capturing the female titan alive, so any scouts privy to the plan that weren't in charge of harpoon barrels were ordered to cut down anything in the way of the plan.
It was somewhat chilling that Erwin had stated 'anything' rather than simply saying 'titans' because that implied that people would be crazy enough to interfere...
You tried to not think about it too much.
Not too far away, you could see a small cloud of dust rising through the leaves. Levi squad would be on you within a few minutes, and Erwin would raise the signal to fire. There was no movement aside from the branches swaying in the breeze. Not even the birds dared to leave their nests, and none of them chirped. Since the whistle had been sounded, there was no sound aside from the rustling of leaves and pounding of titan steps. In that split second, you realised what it meant to be in the calm before a storm. That eerie silence that settled over the world, that would usually be peaceful but instead you only feel that heavy weight of dread knowing that something terrible was about to happen.
About twenty metres in front of you, charging at full speed, was Levi squad. And less than a second behind them was the hulking form of the female titan. She was even more grotesque than a regular titan - no skin, only muscle. You could see every single sinew and tendon sliding over each other as she moved, faint wisps of steam evaporating from the joints in her knees and hands. Where the cartilage slid over the muscle fibres, you wondered if you could see blood vessels. But she was moving too fast for you to properly observe her.
When she was just in range, Erwin screams from beside you: "Fire!"
He held his sword aloft, and it glinted in the sun for a second before the crackling of harpoon barrels began to take over the sounds of branches rustling. Levi lead his squad onwards, careening out of the range of the harpoons. Taken completely off guard, the female titan was locked in place, and you watched as Hange's barbed metal began to tear through the titan flesh. It locked in place, and could not be pulled out backwards without taking chunks of skin with it. It was effectively created to prevent struggling, pinning it in place while it could be observed.
A second round was fired immediately, before the barrels had even finished smoking. One of the harpoons ricocheted off the back of the titan's shoulder and it was sent off course flying directly towards you. Miche lunged to grab you by the cape, pulling you backwards from the line of fire.
"Erwin! Get back!" You screamed, free falling in Miche's grasp as he panicked to anchor you both. Erwin did not move, he did not even flinch, he watched as the harpoon bounced off the branch just inches from his foot. He did not blink.
A huge chunk of the wood was taken out as the harpoon lodged into the tree and promptly dropped back to the ground, unable to pierce the depth of the branch.
You lurched as Miche anchored you to the tree trunk, and winced as the sudden stop caused you to jostle in his grasp. He had managed to grab you by the strap of your harness, and as you dangled there, it was tightening around your ribs and painfully digging in. It was undoubtedly less painful than if you'd been struck by that harpoon or left to free fall all the way to the forest floor, though.
"You okay?" He asked, wincing as the leather of the strap bit into his palm.
"Winded but alive," You gasp, attempting to manoeuvre yourself into a position in which you could utilise your ODM gear properly.
Above you, Levi dropped onto the branch beside Erwin, and glanced down at you and Miche clinging onto the tree desperately. Judging you both to be safe, he reported to Erwin while you set to returning to your position.
When you returned to the tree, Erwin ordered Miche and Levi to extract the occupant of the female titan. Hange down below was in charge of deploying more harpoons at their own discretion, trusted with ensuring the titan could not move to escape. You watched as Levi and Miche's swords shattered time and time again as they went after the hands covering the nape of the titan's neck.
"Erwin, it appears that it can selectively harden parts of it's body at will," You observed out loud, squinting at the captured titan before you. Miche returned to his post beside you, shaking his head as he held the remaining stumps of his blades for you to see.
Erwin signaled over one of the technicians, not shifting his gaze from the titan. You knew he had heard you, but this was Erwin's way. He would listen without giving a hint of acknowledging your point until he had thoroughly thought it over and then worked through different solutions. He never seemed to give in, he just changed his mind depending on the situation, and the information available to him.
"Prepare the explosives. Blow off it's hands." He ordered.
"Yes sir, but the firepower of the explosives we carry may also damage the person inside." Warned the technician.
"Then set it to amputate at the wrists. Set them off at my signal."
"Roger." The technician retreated, ordering explosives to be brought up from the supply wagons at once.
"I don't trust this." You observe. "That titan is intelligent, it knows we don't have the time to throw away dissecting it. It's going to try hold out as long as possible and seize the first opportunity we give it."
"Then we don't give it any chances to move. You and Hange engineered these yourself, you know the firepower behind them. Do you believe that titan is capable of escaping the harpoons?" He asked, and you could tell it was a genuine query rather than a patronising jab.
"I don't believe that titan could escape the harpoons." You confirm, glancing back towards it. "But, I do believe it isn't going to be this easy to capture the person controlling it. If they've managed to evade detection for the last five years, they likely have many plans in place for such events."
You both returned to watching Levi stand on the head of the titan, goading it with all of the insults in his arsenal. He likely had a lot of hate harboured towards that specific titan, especially since you'd heard the report that the rear guard reinforcements were completely wiped out buying time for Levi squad to arrive at the trap point. You had to wonder if his tactic of angering the titan was a smart thing to do, especially knowing that the titan was capable of rending every single person present into hundreds of bloody chunks of meat. Because if the titan somehow got out of the harpoon trap, you were all undoubtedly done for if you had no hope of even beating it.
Erwin turned to you, likely to respond, but he was cut off by the most horrific sound you'd ever heard. The titan was screaming, a high pitched wail splitting the sky. Everyone was covering their ears and wincing, trying to block out the ringing in their skulls. A few of the technicians closest to the ground pulled their hands away from their ears to find them bloody. Levi angrily kicked at the titan's head, stomping on it as it screamed wildly in what sounded like some form of death throe.
Miche hopped up onto the branch beside Erwin, clearly unhinged by something.
"It stinks, Erwin," He frowned, staring the commander down.
"What direction?"
"All directions, multiple sources at once."
"Ready those explosives! Now!" Erwin ordered, and the technicians in the air rushed to affix them to the wrists of the female before the horde was upon you all.
"Erwin, the first wave will come from the east. They're almost here." Miche informed, staring off into the treeline.
"Cart team, intercept!"
You gasped, looking down as titans came charging into the trap site, and you panicked thinking that the cadets had all been wiped out as they defended the forest. They charged in, ignoring the technicians on the ground blindly scrambling for their ODM gear. The titans were heading straight for the female, and Levi did not stop kicking at it's head.
The cart guard intercepted, as ordered, but the titans breezed straight past them. It was as if they were all abnormal, and you allowed yourself to hope for a second that maybe that meant the cadets were all still intact and had simply been ignored all of a sudden. But you couldn't figure out why. What were they even heading for? The female titan? Was she their target? But you knew titans did not eat their own kind, so you were positively puzzled watching the titans from the east completely breeze past the cart guard.
"Levi! Retreat to your post!" You yelled, finally flexing your authority. He needed to answer to you, you were his superior. But you had a terrifying idea cross your mind that maybe Levi would completely ignore your orders, as he often did. The only problem was that usually him ignoring your orders resulted in nothing serious, but this time he was at serious risk of losing his life.
The first three titans that had approached from the east were quickly cut down by Levi, but a fourth, smaller one had latched onto the leg of the female titan and began to gnaw at her. They truly were trying to eat at her. It was unbelievable, no scout had ever witnessed a titan eat another titan. They only ate humans, and titans were, quite clearly not human. Unless-
You stopped your train of thought immediately, passing off the titan behaviour as them targeting the female because there was someone inside. That had to be the only rational explanation. There was no other way to explain what you were all witnessing before your eyes.
"Titans from all directions!" Came the warning cry as another dozen of them broke through the treeline, headed straight for the female titan. Levi was still in the midst of it, completely ignoring your orders to withdraw. The technicians couldn't get close enough to plant the explosives and things were looking grim.
"All men, engage! Defend the female titan, even if it means your lives." Erwin ordered. Everyone moved into action, leaping for the first target they could isolate. Miche was just ahead of you in the throng of moving bodies, and it was hard to isolate a single titan in the dogpile below.
As you dove down to sever the nape of a five metre titan chewing on the female titan's leg, you were sprayed with blood. You were coated in it, and you couldn't figure out if it was human or titan to begin with. All you could hear was the whirring of ODM gear above you, the screaming of the female titan behind you and the thudding charge of footprints below you. There was some vague yelling from your comrades as orders were bounced around the ranks, but nobody was taken down. There were no fatalities from the attack, simply because the titans did not care about the humans buzzing overhead - they were laser focused on destroying the female titan, ripping her to bloody shreds before your eyes.
But no matter how quickly the ranks descended on your target, their jaws were too fast. They were tearing bloody chunks of the female titan away, spraying blood and harpoons high into the air.
"Retreat men!" Came the order from above, clearly Erwin had also realised that things were futile, those titans were making short work of the female, and there was now no hope of extracting the user from inside the nape.
Hange dropped from their ODM gear to land beside you, observing the horde destroy the muscle and sinew of the female titan.
"Back in formation! Return to Karanes!" Erwin called out. You glanced to Hange, and turned to look to Miche. You were all panting and soaked head to toe in slowly evaporating titan blood. The steam from the carcasses was slowly rising into the canopy of the forest, and if you waited around any longer it would surely conceal the entire squadron. Erwin was probably right to turn and leave before the casualties climbed any higher, but you worried that the female titan was not actually down for the count. If you were to leave without ensuring the user was dead, there was a very high chance that you would be seeing a reappearance of the female titan in the near future. If they were after Eren so badly, then nothing would stop another attack from happening aside from executing the user. And that was assuming there were no other titans in the ranks - after all, nobody had yet found who the armoured or colossal titans were, or where they were hiding. The only clear assumption that could be made was that they were all after Eren, but the motive was a complete mystery. Another mystery was the number of potential titan shifters out there in the world. Just how many of the remnants of human-kind were able to turn into titans like this? And what exactly did they want?
Above you, Erwin and Levi talked. Clearly they were stumped for what to do about the loss of the target, but just as you saw Levi move out to call for his squad, something odd occurred. Erwin ordered Levi to restock his blades and gas. Why? Was Erwin anticipating something happening? Or was it just pre-emptive in case Eren needed defending? Either way, it didn't sit right with you. Erwin had been secretive recently, and you understood his motive for that. What you didn't understand, however, was how he was keeping these secrets from the people he was entrusting to plan this entire trap. How could Erwin expect you to engineer a titan trap without even telling you everything that was going on? It seemed that he only revealed what he wanted you to see.
It didn't sit right with you at all.
Blue signal smoke rose up, the retreat order had been placed. It was loud and clear what was to happen now - the scouts were to turn tail, disgraced once more, and return back to the wall. No doubt when you all returned, the military police would revoke custody of Eren and effectively silence the scouting missions henceforth. It seemed like that would be the first course of action.
There was so much movement, such a mad dash to secure the wagons and the horses as fast as possible before the titans turned attention away from the carcass and onto the live bodies surrounding them. Most of the scouts were already gone towards the horses, but a select few stayed behind in the event the abnormals began looking to eat the scouts again. You were anchored on a tree above the horde, Hange and Miche also anchored opposite you. A few select members of Miche squad were also in the crowd, keenly watching for movement that seemed suspicious. It was tense, almost silent aside from the grotesque chewing noises from below.
Confusion rippled through the small gathering when a green smoke flare went up a short distance from you all. You all glanced between each other, unsure what to make of it. Was it a misfire? That made no sense, as it was a vertical shot. If it was misfired it would likely be at a low angle or pointing straight towards the ground. This one looked like it had been deliberately set off. The second thought that crossed your mind was that it was genuinely an order from Erwin, but since you were not involved in the private plan between himself and Levi, how were any of you to know what order to follow? A second green flare went off, almost as if in response to the call. People continued glancing around.
"We have orders to watch the titans until the wagons are clear! We wait until direct orders from Erwin are passed along." You called into the clearing. Some of the members present seemed nullified by your sentiment. You still felt highly uneasy.
Soon, a messenger came flying towards you all, shouting that Erwin had called for your retreat, the wagons were clear and moving out once more. Double checking the titans below were unbothered by you, the final members of the scouts fled the clearing, heading for their mounts.
A column of horses was beelining towards the entrance to the forest, and they were leading all the horses that were waiting for the rear guard. Miche and Hange dropped into their saddles just in front of you as you all gathered around Erwin in the command rank.
"Erwin, why did you order Levi to resupply?" Hange asked, turning around to search the crowd for the return of Levi squad. They should be back by now. "There's no time to waste."
"The female titan was eaten, but did you actually see the person inside get eaten?" Erwin replied, staring straight ahead at the path. "Because I didn't."
"You mean to say they're still out there?" You asked, nudging your horse forward.
"If your original hypothesis is correct and they can still move to a degree after returning to human form, and if they'd equipped themselves with ODM gear in advance..." Erwin trailed off.
"Then the one within the female titan is wearing our uniform now." You conclude. "The enemy is now camouflaged as one of our men."
"When the colossal titan disappeared, whoever was inside was wearing ODM gear in order to disguise themselves and escape in the steam."
"But at the time, based on what we saw when Eren emerged from the titan, we concluded it would be impossible, His equipment was destroyed and his uniform was gone. Above all, Eren was so weak he couldn't even stand unassisted." Hange argued.
"The female titan was able was able to attract other titans with it's cry. We failed to predict this, and the operation failed. If titan abilities vary depending on skill, it was a mistake to use Eren, a total novice, as the basis for our assumptions." Erwin retorted. You watched as Hange digested the information, mulling over if this was actually a possibility. "If we are to outwit our enemy, we'll need to think outside the box."
"So if the enemy is more experienced with titans, they will have some way to retain its strength. Therefore, it may be able to transform once more." You say, voicing your thoughts aloud. The more you discussed this, the greater you began to worry about Levi squad not yet returning. Just as the words were out of your mouth, a bolt of lightning tore through the forest. A distant wail could be heard, and you recognised immediately that you were correct. Your blood ran cold with dread. There was some one out there fighting that female titan, and you had a terrifying thought that it would be Levi squad laying down their lives to protect Eren.
If Eren were to fall into the enemy hands, the entire mission would be one of the greatest failures.
You glanced behind you, knowing something was terribly wrong. Just before you could begin to speak your mind, a second bolt of lightning scrambled into the sky. Wild howling of titans spread through the trees, rebounding from every tree trunk. Erwin turned, finally showing the first signs of shock.
Determined, you kicked away your stirrups and reached for your ODM gear.
"Two lightning bolts - two titans are fighting. If two are fighting then it is safe to assume Levi squad is out of commission. Levi may or may not already be there." You point out, standing on your saddle.
"If I don't return then you are to continue to Karanes and declare Eren Jaeger lost. Do not turn around. That is my order." You say, staring down Miche and Hange.
You don't dare try direct your gaze to Erwin, because he would immediately shut you down. No matter how high in the ranks you were, you were always beneath Erwin in the chain of command. You could order Miche and Hange around, and try as you might with Levi, but Erwin would never answer to you. He could order you down at any point, he could order you to cease actions and continue on the retreat, but you both knew that you would ignore that order if he issued it. If he was going to be secretive with you, then you could risk a little insubordination without the repercussions of it.
You fly through the trees, navigating by the sound. Your hands were scraped bare by stray twigs that appeared out of nowhere, lacing your skin with long scratches. From somewhere in front of you, a small trail of steam wound around the branches. Someone else was also pursuing the fight. It had to be Levi - nobody else would be flying around the forest, ignoring orders aside from Levi and yourself. The closer you got to the chaos, the more the ground began to rumble.
It was footsteps, and judging from the heavy thud that followed, one of the titans was down on the ground. One of them was screaming, no, both of them were screaming. There was no way to figure out which one of them was on top until you got there. You arrived on the scene to see two titans battling it out. Watching them dodge and trade blows made you hyperaware that there were people inside, controlling the actions. At one point, the female titan was tossed into the air and you wondered if Eren was capable of extracting the host, but then you were taken over with the awe of realising you'd never seen something with the strength to throw another titan. That was an immense amount of power, something you weren't even aware another being could possess. You anchored yourself to a tree, observing from a distance. Could you take out that female titan if Eren couldn't? Were you even capable of that? She'd torn through the entire Levi squad at once, you alone could do nothing.
And just when you were mulling this over, the female titan delivered a sweeping kick to a tree, slicing through it and Eren's titan in one smooth motion. The top of Eren's titan soared through the air in a spray of blood, the limp flesh of the forehead arching under the velocity.
Completely awe-struck, you had no idea what to do. You watched as the female titan dropped to her knees before Eren. What was she planning to do? You pondered, preparing yourself to take off from the tree.
You sprung to action when you realised that the female titan intended to eat Eren. You launched away from the tree, hoping that she would be too distracted with attempting to devour Eren that she wouldn't notice you approaching. Your cover was blown when a scream ripped through the trees.
"Eren!" Screamed a female voice. It was a dark haired cadet, the one that would never leave his side, she was tearing through the clearing in an attempt to attack at the same time as you were. Maybe you could co-ordinate an attack, you pondered, but you were broken from your thoughts by the sight of the female titan's jaw snapping closed and clenching down onto the nape of Eren's titan.
Without even pausing, the female titan threw her head back and devoured him, taking off at a sprint towards the other end of the forest. You shot after the target, leaving the cadet dangling in the clearing, visibly distraught.
Less than a second later, though, that same cadet came breezing through the trees and passed you at a blinding speed.
"Give Eren back!" She screamed, whirling around the female at blinding speeds. You both caught up to the target, and in some unspoken agreement you knew to stop it rather than kill it. Aiming for the ankles, shoulders, knees, you were both just trying to get it to slow down. One of the titan's hands was being used to cover the nape, leaving her only one hand to attack with. She couldn't catch two people with one hand, especially not at the speeds the two of you were moving.
A well placed slice sent a chunk of the titan's ankle flying and she completely lost balance. Unable to flex the Achilles rendon, the female titan slumped and skidded to the floor only to land on her face. Steam was swirling out of the large wounds you'd both left.
"Give Eren back!"
"Don't! It can harden, you'll only shatter your swords." You cry in warning, watching as the cadet attempted to swing for the nape.
The female cadet cursed and swore, spitting insults at the titan. You wished you still had the technicians around with their explosives to blow her hands off at the wrist. As the cadet went to launch another attack, she was swiped out of the air by something. Confused, you looked up to what it was. Levi was soaring overhead and had yanked the cadet back by her harness. She was yelling and thrashing in his grasp.
"Fall back for now." He ordered, and you launched after him. "Maintain this distance, it may be tired. It does not appear to be going very fast."
"Erwin is still maintaining the retreat orders, I'm here to return Eren. If that isn't possible then we are to neutralise all targets." You relay, overlooking the cadet and talking straight to Levi. The cadet was angrily scowling, not shifting her gaze from the female titan for a split second.
"He seems to have been bit right out of her neck. Is Eren dead?" Levi asked. The cadet grimaced, not answering straight away.
"He's alive. The target appears intelligent, and its goal seems to be to capture Eren alive. If it wanted him dead it would have crushed him. The target is fighting to escape after going through the trouble of putting him in it's mouth." The cadet finally replied.
"Its goal may have been to eat Eren, in which case he's already inside the stomach. It's more reasonable to assume he's dead." Levi countered.
"He's alive!" She screamed in response.
"I hope you're right."
"If you'd only protected Eren, this wouldn't have happened!" She accused, turning to you.
"Countless scouts are dead because we were protecting Eren," You spit back, staring her down.
"First, we give up on killing the female titan," Levi stated, completely ignoring the two of you. "We pin our hopes on Eren being alive, and rescue him before it leaves the forest. We tear away at it, and you," he sneered, turning towards the cadet. "Draw it's attention."
The cadet dropped low to the ground, aiming to take out the ankles once more. You and Levi remained above, readying yourselves to swoop down onto the target.
"Cut away at the jaw and Eren may still be in the mouth." You state, pointing at the hinge of the jaw with your blade.
Levi drew his swords, ready to slice. The titan almost knew what Levi was planning, as she turned at the last second to swing. She struck a tree a few feet to your right, but Levi dodged and began to slice along the length of her arm. The tree she had struck completely folded in half, the trunk snapping almost immediately.
Your ODM wire was snagged under the falling weight of the tree, and you tried to set yourself free using the other wire. Panicked, you attempted to latch onto a tree across from you, in an attempt to stop your free-fall from twenty metres up. It seemed almost useless, as the wire would not recoil from under the weight of the falling tree.
The last thing you're aware of is gravity shifting. Because suddenly you're weightless and hurtling in a direction you can't quite identify. It's just trees, forever, and the patches of sky fighting through make your vision hazy as you're thrown around. Then there is the reckoning, the earth catching up to you. Your trajectory must, at some point, be interrupted.
That is when the tree comes up to meet you, and all you can register is a sickening crunch. Before you can quite hit the ground, you realise that something very terrible has happened, indeed.
*
You feel warm. Too warm. Something hurts and you're not sure what exactly is hurting, but everything is swimming beyond your vision. Every time you blink, the light in the room changes somewhat. Shadows move around the corners of the room and you feel sweat gathering on your brow. The only thing passing through your mind is several strings of words, non-sensical phrases stuck in your memory that repeat on loop constantly.
Your head feels dull and heavy, your jaw has been clenched tight for so long that when you finally unclench it, the muscles feel sore. Sometimes when you wake up, your body feels too heavy for you to move and your mouth is so dry your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth.
And no matter how many times you drift back into sleep, you still feel confused.
One time when you wake up, Hange is sat in the corner of your room. You roll your head to the side, conscious of the heavy pressure on your spine from barely moving for so long. Every joint feels stiff and you feel so dehydrated.
"She's awake!" Hange yelled, scampering over to the door and wrenching it open quickly. From behind the door, Moblit jumped in shock and dashed off down the corridor to alert Erwin and Levi to your reawakening.
Hange shoots back over to you, pulling the chair from the corner to sit beside your head. The splintered legs scrape along the stone floor, screeching and groaning as you watch their face grow closer and closer.
"How are you feeling?" They asked, hands cupping their jaw as they peered as close to your bleary eyes as they could.
Your first attempt to speak produced only a dry croaking sound, your rasping throat and pounding headache clouding your mind. The door swung open as you continued to wheeze and rasp into the silent room.
"She needs water, you idiot." Levi mumbled from where he was leaning against the doorway. "For someone who is supposedly smart, you're such a fucking idiot sometimes." He added under his breath.
Moblit handed you one of the dented old tin mugs used for rations on field expeditions, raising the cold metal to your mouth. Hange ignored Levi's jabbing and helped you into a sitting position, pausing every time a random grunt of pain left your lips.
"Be careful with her ribs." Erwin pointed out, standing at the foot of the bed. "They're potentially broken according to the field hospital."
With several large mouthfuls of water finally in your dry throat, your cracking voice finally carried across the room.
"Where am I?" You asked, screwing your eyes up in an attempt to block out your headache.
"Headquarters upon the 57th expedition beyond the walls being cut short after the attack of the female titan." Erwin replied, folding his arms.
"What happened?"
"You decided to fucking ignore retreat orders and go off after the female titan, that's what." Levi interjected. "And then instead of just sticking to my rescue plan, you played the hero and got yourself almost killed saving Jaeger."
"Did we get him back?"
"Unfortunately." Levi piped back up. "The brat is more trouble than he's worth."
"And I assume the MPs have absolutely no problems with this." You deadpan, limbs feeling heavy and breaths coming laboured.
"We've been summoned to the interior with Cadet Jaeger, preparations are being made." Erwin sighed, leaning against the small desk in the corner littered with dirty bandages and empty vials, likely containing the medicine you'd been pumped with while you were out cold.
"When do we leave?"
"We move in two days, to arrive in the interior within a week. You aren't going anywhere anytime soon." Levi grunted, turning to look down the corridor at the approaching doctor. "Not after that stupid fucking heroics act you pulled out there. The order to retreat was in effect and you decided that you're just too good to listen to orders and played the silly little hero."
"Don't talk to me about following orders, Captain." You spat back at Levi.
"Regardless, you're officially unfit for action." Erwin interjected, stopping you both from a screaming match.
"I'm awake now, that's good enough. I can go to the interior, it's hardly going beyond the walls." You reason.
"Titans or not, broken ribs need time to heal. You are retired from active duty for the foreseeable future, until the field hospital discharges you. No sooner than that."
"I can sit in a cart all the way to the interior. Sitting in a bed or sitting in a carriage, it makes no difference to me." You protested.
"If it makes no difference then you can stay here." Erwin stated again, narrowing his gaze at you.
You open your mouth, attempting to rationalise joining them to the interior. But judging from the stares of Moblit and Levi, there was something else going on that you weren't privy to. Some bitter part of you began to resent them for that, as if you hadn't been by their sides for years. Before you managed to say something you'd clearly regret, the doctor entered.
"This is for your own good." Erwin stated, putting an end to the discussion.
*
A small drop of blood gathers on your fingertip. You frown at it, staring into the small slice where the splinter had worked it's way under your skin. The broom handle slides down your sweaty palm, the wood grain smooth with years of wear and tear.
Someone shouts not too far away. There might be laughter if you listen close enough. The only people left at the barracks are those who occupied the field hospitals. The scouts were not here. They had left you behind, reasoning cited as you were still too damaged to be of use to them.
The stables had been cleaned out in anticipation of returning soldiers, the kitchens had been cleaned and prepared to handle feeding the survivors. The infirmary had been supplied and stocked as best it could be with the meagre funding the scouts received. There was really nothing much left to do aside from wait.
Being confined to barracks meant your paperwork was always finished early, every part of your room had been cleaned several times over. Your gear was well oiled and ready for when you were back in commission. Your horse was even growing restless, not used to long stints without stretching it's legs. You spent a fair amount of your time reading, or were often spotted pacing the grounds restlessly for hours of the day. You simply couldn't sleep anymore, there was too much energy in your body to allow your brain to shut off, and often bitter flashes of anger and resentment crossed your mind and left you lying in bed for hours at a time frustrated and feeling hopeless.
Until the shouting started.
There was some screaming to accompany it, echoing around the square in the middle of the barracks. Blood smeared horses and pale faced scouts poured into the cobbled courtyard, some shakily dropping from their horses, others slumping out of wagons. It was hectic, and anybody standing around was already in action - pulling people towards the infirmary and hastily tying tourniquets where they could. Horses were rearing up on the spot, ears flat back and whites of their eyes showing as they panicked. You took the reins of two nearby horses and pulled them out of the way of limping soldiers.
You closed them in the first two stables you could find, knowing they could be placed in their rightful stable later on. One young man staggered towards you, bloodied hands smearing your face and uniform as you caught him before he hit the cobbles. He was garbling something unintelligible, clearly starting to go delirious from the blood loss. He was caked in blood and you couldn't find the source of his injury until he grabbed your hands and pressed them to his stomach. A long, thin line of flesh had been peeled open. His eyes looked manic inside his skull, white in a face bathed in dark red blood.
He slumped, leaning entirely onto you as you realised he passed out.
You pulled his weight along with you down the corridor towards the infirmary. It was teeming with soldiers running in all directions, towards and away from the chaos. You fought along with the tide heading for the clean beds waiting for the injured. When you pushed your way through the door, another cadet - almost a boy- helped lift the soldier into an unoccupied bed. You turned around quickly, heading back to the court.
As you stepped into the outside, a tall, wiry man came jogging over to you.
"Ma'am. The commander has been severely injured. What are your orders for us?"
Faces turned to you, the people surrounding the court turning to you as their salvation.
"Prioritise the injured. Able bodied soldiers from the rear guard are to supply the infirmary with supplies from the nearest warehouse - under the authority of Erwin Smith himself, they are to hand over medical supplies. 104th cadets, you are to take care of the horses, and you answer to the stablemaster. Every other scout is to bring the injured inside. Is there a squad leader around?" You call, making decisions on the fly. Your priority was the health of the scouts in the infirmary, everything else could wait until later. Taking stock of equipment and fixing wagons was low on your list currently.
"Ma'am! Squad leader Vantis!" Shouted a short, middle aged woman from the back of the gathered company.
"Form two teams to prepare food and clean the courtyard."
"Ma'am!" She saluted, and as you turned away towards the Officer's wing, hundreds of feet went scrambling in different directions to carry out your orders.
You headed down the long corridor of offices, the length of the walls punctuated by pairs of doors leading to Hange and Moblit's quarters; further along, Miche's opposite your own; and at the very end of the hallway, Levi and Erwin's.
You push open the last door on the right hand side, the heavy oak swinging on age old hinges. Miche steps past you into the corridor, likely heading for the infirmary for whatever they can spare to ease Erwin's pain.
When he moves out of your line of sight, you see him.
He lies in the bed, face almost completely drained of blood, only propped up by the pillows against the headboard. His shirt is dusty and bloody, stained and smeared with the marks of battle. You stare at him for a moment, clenching your fists in a fleeting display of anger. His right arm is missing to the elbow, with a messy tourniquet and his sleeve completely cut away to the shoulder. You sigh, looking at the mangled flesh torn to shreds just above the joint of his elbow, looking clearly as if it had been ripped from his body. The uneven surface of his flesh show gouges from monstrous teeth bigger than your hands.
You drag a chair from the desk over to the side of his bed. He is still awake, somehow. Sweat breaks out along his ashen brow and sticks his hair to his forehead. For a while you don't know what to say to him.
"You should have taken me with you." You sigh, resting your bloodied hands in your lap.
"You were out of commission for a good reason."
"I could have protected you, it's my fucking job!" You yell, weeks of frustration built up finally bursting through.
"I guess we'll never know." He admits, meeting your gaze. With tremendous effort, he lifts his remaining hand to wipe a drop of still-wet blood from under your chin.
"It's not mine." You say, staring at him.
"I know." He admits, letting his arm fall, smearing the droplet down your neck.
"If you leave me behind again, I'll never forgive you."
"I know." He mumbles. "You're nobody's fool."
"Then don't make me one."
"I'm not."
You snort, knocking his hand away. "Stop lying to me."
"Even if I tell you the truth you never believe me."
"You don't give me reason to believe you. You keep secrets from me and leave me behind, you throw me away when I'm no longer useful and expect that I'll always come crawling back to you. You might as well laugh while I bleed over your boots." You turn away from him, folding your arms across your chest sullenly. "Blame it all on yourself."
"Do as you please."
You stand up to leave. "I think I just might."