AN: Hello all, this my first fanfiction I've written in a long time. I'm mostly writing this because I want to get back into the hobby of writing for fun, and OC fanfiction is always a great way to do it! Please review with your thoughts about my writing, my OC, or anything else! Constructive criticism is always welcome!
I ran as hard as I could around the corners of our hometown like my life depended on it. Rather, like my brother's life depended it. I admired my brother, but I always thought he was crazy for stepping up to fights he couldn't win. I didn't have courage like that. Two streets before my destination, I ran head first into a person.
"Miss Alex Arlert. You wouldn't happen to be going to my house, would you?"
I looked up to see Dr. Yeager's smiling face looking back. "Yes sir. Are Eren and Mikasa home?"
"They were when I left."
"Thank you, Dr. Yeager!" I exclaimed before noticing his suitcase. "Are you heading out of town?"
"Yes, I have patients to see in the inner walls. You'll see me again in a few days, for now go catch my children before they leave again," he said ruffling my hair.
"Yes sir. Have safe travels!" I yelled as took off running again, suddenly remembering why I was in such a rush.
"Only if you keep my boy out of trouble!" he joked as I rounded the corner to the next street.
I was at the Yeager home in less than a minute, and arrived just as Eren and Mikasa were heading out the door. From what I could tell, Eren and his mother had been arguing again. But right then I needed Mikasa to come save my brother. So, I waved to Mrs. Yeager while I told them the situation Armin was in.
"That's right! By hitting me, you're proving me right, aren't you!" I could hear Armin yelling from the end of the street.
"Stop it, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Eren almost did nothing without yelling, and this was no exception.
The bullies turned to see running full out at them, with Mikasa one step behind him, and me several steps behind her. They all scattered at the sight of us, although I was sure it was only one of us that caused them to flee.
"Look at them, scurrying like rats at the mere sight of me!" said Eren jovially while I walked over to my brother, shaking my head.
"I think it was Mikasa they were afraid of," corrected Armin while I tried to help him up.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I can stand up on my own," he pulled himself up on the wall, refusing my out stretched hand.
"You look terrible, looks go to the river and clean you up," he nodded as we all turned to go that way.
After Armin cleaned his face and hands, he sat with us on the bank of the river and told us what happened. Armin had been talking about the outside world again to other people, and saying that humankind needed to venture outside the walls eventually.
"… and then they called me a heretic and started hitting me," finished Armin.
"Dammit, how come you get beat up for saying you want to go outside?" Eren clenched his teeth.
"Well, that because we've lived here in peace for one hundred years. People think going out will invite them in. The royal government has declared it taboo to talk about anyway."
"Then the king is a coward," said Eren.
"That's true. You're right about wanting to go out, Armin, but must you mention it when it'll get you in so much trouble?" I asked. "How does getting beaten up by those bullies change anything?"
Armin shrugged, "I guess it doesn't matter. But talking about it is the only way to get other people thinking about it. But, is being a coward the only reason the royal government doesn't want us to leave the walls?"
"Does it matter? It's our lives, we can risk them if we want."
Mikasa turned to glare at Eren, "No, absolutely not. Forget about it."
Eren met her glare with ease, which I had to admire him for. Mikasa was scary. "Which reminds me, why did you tell our parents I wanted to join the Survey Corps?"
I sat up in shock, "You did what?" I couldn't see Mikasa betraying Eren, ever. Even if it was about something like this.
"I never said I'd cooperate," said Mikasa.
Armin turned to Eren, "Well? How did it go?"
"Not the best."
"I can understand why," I nodded.
"So, you're going to tell me to give it up too?"
I shook my head, "Of course not. But the Survey Corps is dangerous, and you are their son. No parent wants their children to do that. But still, you're right. We can't stay ignorant within the walls forever, it'll come back to haunt us."
Armin nodded, "The people who want to stay in the walls forever think it can protect us forever. But just because they've stood for a hundred years doesn't mean they won't fall today…"
Armin was cut off by a large boom that shook the ground. I could hear screams coming from the nearby streets, and everyone was on the ground.
"What was that?" cried Mikasa.
"An earthquake?" I guessed.
"Let's go see!" Armin took off running to the next street where we could see people looking and pointing up at the sky.
We ran after him. He reached the street first and I could see the horror and fear crack across his face when he saw what made the explosion. I'm sure I had the exact same expression when I saw it. A large, skinless face peered over Wall Maria. The face of a titan. The wall was fifty meters tall, so for this titan to have been able to peer its entire head over the wall, it had to be at least sixty meters tall. Even from this distance, I could see the steam coming from its body. Its eyes seem to be looking straight at us. They were huge, grey eyes. Despite all the terror that ran through me, I couldn't help but think that it was strange how intelligent they looked. This titan wasn't anything like the titans we read about in school. Then a second boom came as quick as the first. The titan kicked a hole in the wall.
The wind from the blast was enough to send people close to the wall flying. We were towards the middle of the city, but we could still see the debris and people that flew through the air. All those people probably died as soon as the landed. The debris from the wall landed on houses on people alike. If that wasn't bad enough, when the smoke settled, we could clearly see the hole where the signa of Wall Maria had been. In it's a place was a hole, with titans already coming through.
Chaos erupted. Everyone started running towards the inner wall. Everyone except Eren.
"Eren, what are you doing? We have to go this way!" I tried to grab him and stop him but I couldn't.
"My house is near where the debris landed! My mother was still at home!"
Mikasa took off after him, while I called for them to wait. I turned to my brother to ask him what we should do, but stopped when I saw how bad he was shaking.
"The whole town, is finished!" he yelled. "Titans are going to invade in endless numbers and devour us all!" He looked like he was already ready to give up. Looking towards the wall, we could already see titans in the town, grabbing people and shoving them in their mouths.
I've never considered myself brave, but hearing my brother cry out like that caused me to move. I didn't want anyone to die. I wanted to save everyone, but I knew there was no way I could. I was a scared little girl who had to ask help to stand up to the neighborhood bullies. But maybe, I thought, I had enough in me to save my brother.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him from where he stood frozen in the street. Our home was closer to the inner wall, and our grandfather was probably near there looking for us. If we could run fast enough to reach him and the inner gate before the titans did, we would be safe. I could only hope Eren and Mikasa had already found their mother and was heading to the inner wall too.
"Help! Help me please!" We hadn't gotten very far before I heard loud cries coming from a nearby alley. I thought about ignoring them and running ahead with Armin when I heard the voice cry again, "Please anyone, help my baby!" I turned down the alley where the pleas where coming from, still holding my brother's hand. A piece of debris had gone especially far and had pushed a woman against the wall of a shop. Only her head and arms were free. A man's legs were sticking out of the other side of the boulder. Next to the boulder was a toddler, maybe between one or two years old, just old enough to walk.
"Please, take her!" the woman was crying and so was the toddler, though I don't think she fully understood what was happening. She was just upset because of her mother's yelling.
I let go of Armin's hand to pick up the toddler and run away.
"Thank you! Thank you! Her name is Isabelle!" That was the last I could hear the mother saying before we were back on track towards the inner gate. As we ran, we passed Garrison soldiers headed to the outer gate, towards the titans.
"What are you doing?" I yelled. "There's no point, you're going to get eaten!"
Most of them ignored me and kept going, but one looked at me and stopped. "That's our job."
My eyes widened, and he continued. "Our primary objective is, and has always been, to keep humankind safe. We have to do that until the very end. Even if we just end up getting eaten, we have to do it anyway. If our deaths save even one of you it's worth it."
"But…"
"We'll die heroes, and we'll die with the knowledge that we did at least one good thing. That's why we joined. So, don't mourn for us," he didn't wait for me to say anything else and took off after his comrades.
"Let's go," said Armin, and I nodded.
Armin was never a physical person. I wasn't particularly strong either, but I always like running and swimming more than he did, so even with a baby in my arms I still could ran faster and longer than him. I was worried he wouldn't make it, but the adrenaline and fear from the situation pushed us both all the way to the inner gate. Our grandfather was there, looking through the crowds headed towards the gate for us.
"Thank Maria!" he pulled both of us into a tight hug, "I thought, I thought maybe you were both..."
"We won't die that easy, Grandpa, I promise!"
In arms, Isabelle was still crying and upset from being surrounded by strangers and being shock so roughly from all the running.
As we headed through the gates towards the evacuation boats, Grandpa asked me about the baby. Armin answered before I could.
"Her name's Isabelle. Her parents were crushed by one of the pieces of the wall. Alex saved her life."
"You two were that close?"
"We were by the river with Eren and Mikasa," I explained, and then I looked around. "Have you seen them? They went to their house after the wall was broken to get their mother."
Grandpa shook his head no. "Have faith in them, though. If I know Eren and Mikasa, then I know they'll survive."
I looked at Armin and he nodded. We had to have faith.
When we got on the boat, I sat on one side of Grandpa and Armin sat on the other. I looked at Isabelle sitting in my lap. She had lovely green eyes and pale, blonde hair. She had finally calmed down and was starting to fall asleep against my flat chest. Then a thought crossed me, I had saved this baby from being devoured, but I couldn't do anything else for it. I was too young to keep and raise her. I was a child, too. What would happen to this toddler, who was now an orphan?
I voiced my worries to Grandpa, who wrapped an arm around me and kissed my forehead.
"Isabelle will be fine. You're right there isn't much more you can do for her, but you've already done enough. When we reach the interior, we'll give her to an orphanage or a foster home. There isn't much else to be done."
I nodded. I knew he was right, but I didn't like giving her to an orphanage. That was such a sad way to grow up, especially since she probably would've had a happy childhood with her parents. If they had lived, she may have even gotten little siblings to love and play with.
For the first time since the giant titan had kicked a hole in the wall, I cried. This little girl's life was ruined. All our lives were ruined. How many people's lives had ended today?
Finally, when the boat was almost full, we caught sight of Eren and Mikasa. They were the last ones to board. Armin cried out, "Eren, Mikasa, over here!"
I was happy to see them too, but my smile faded when I got a good look at their faces. They looked like they had seen hell itself. I also realized that their mother was nowhere to be seen.
"Let them be," said Grandpa. "Poor kids…"
Carla Yeager had not made it of Shiganshina. From where I was I could barely hear the yells from the garrison soldiers to close the gate.
"Close the gate?" a woman sitting nor far from exclaimed, "Is everyone already out?"
An older man sitting near the rails answered her, "Probably not. But they have shut the gate before the titan get through, or all of Maria will have to evacuate."
That's right, I thought, the city of Shiganshina exists to attract titans from other parts of the wall, so if they do break through, not all would be lost. It was almost comforting to know that at least the people of Shiganshina had done their duty as an outlying city, and that the rest of humanity is safe.
Just as I thought that, I heard another large boom. I stood up to get a better view of what happened.
Standing in the middle of the rows of buildings outside of the gates stood a large, fifteen-meter class titan. It was muscular, and was standing in a runner's pose. Its skin looked hard, even from here. And then I saw the hole in the gate, like the one of the outer wall. This titan's body was hard enough that a ran straight through Wall Maria and put a giant hole in it. Terror filled me again when I looked at the beast. It looked up from where it was kneeling and I could see its eyes. They were a solid, glowing gold.
On the other side of Grandpa and Armin, Eren was also standing. Tears and snot were streaming out of his eyes. "I WILL KILL THEM ALL. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. I WON'T LEAVE A SINGLE TITAN LEFT!"
His declaration scared me. Not just me either, many people turned and stared at him. What scared me the most was that I knew he was serious. Eren would kill every last titan in this world, or die trying.