"Oh, fuck my life."
I pushed my bike over a pile of tree branches and through a large bush, a scowl evident on my face. Water from the wet forest floor soaked into my sneakers as they sunk into the mud, while twigs made their way into my hair and hood. My lip curled in disgust as I felt my toes wiggle in dirty water. It had started out as a wonderful day. So wonderful that I had actually decided to leave my bedroom and go for a bike ride to enjoy the spring air and the insects that thrive in it. Of course, because life doesn't like me getting sunlight, I decided to bike off into an unfamiliar and never-ending forest and get lost. There wasn't even a path to bike on, so I have to walk my bike over the massive fallen trees and wet leaves.
I checked my phone for a signal and let out a groan. I knew I should have gone with Rogers. I trudged on, hoping to see a path.
"Just one path, come on…" I pleaded to no one. "All I want is a nice path that will lead to civilization and phone signals so I can humiliate myself by calling my dad to find me…"
Several branches to the face later, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a dirt path. I cheered loudly and pushed my bike towards it. If I'm lucky I won't be too far from home. It was wide path, straight through the forest. There weren't any noticeable footprints in the hard dirt, but there were long tracks from a bike or vehicle. I looked in both directions, trying to decide which way would lead me to civilization. I stood awkwardly for a full three minutes.
"…fuck it, I'll go right."
My reasoning was that I'm right-handed.
I mounted my bike, adjusted the backpack in my basket, and pedaled forward. Now that I was out of the forest, I noticed just how big the trees were.
"I must have wandered further than I thought," I muttered to myself.
The path was long and straight, never turning or splitting. It just kept going and going. I switched gears and went a little faster, my thumb on my bell in case I almost hit someone. It was almost peaceful, the simple pedaling and breeze through my hair. The forest was quiet, and I wasn't exactly complaining even if I did find it a tad strange. After all, not all forests are really loud during the spring, right?
There was a loud, resounding thudding sound, like large footsteps or a falling tree without the cracking. I held down on my brakes and looked around. Where had it come from? The sound had echoed; I couldn't tell if it was behind me or in front of me. There was another, and then another, followed by yet another, and more after that. My head whipped in every direction, my heart speeding up. Was it a really big bear? No, that's stupid, no bear is that heavy. Maybe trees are falling? Or the rocks off a cliff?
Thud… Thud… Thud…
They got closer and louder, but from where? There was a loud thud behind me and I turned my head slowly, fearfully. An enormous hand grasped a higher part of one of the tree trunks. Slowly, a figure emerged from the forest; a figure much larger than any figure should ever be, taller than my house and deformed with an enlarged chest and shortened limbs. Its hair was short and brown, its eyes wide and glassy. Slowly, it turned to me with a wide, cheek-splitting grin that sent shivers down my spine. It looked hungry.
Holy fuck.
Snapped from my frozen shock, I whipped around and pedaled frantically away from the naked, genital-less giant. My heart was ready to leap from my chest as I changed the gears again. I heard it following me, loud and clear despite my pounding heart. The thudding footsteps of the creature followed me with vigor, getting closer and closer. Afraid to look but unable to stop myself from doing so, I turned my head to see how close the creature was, my feet still pedaling. It was right behind me, hand moving towards me. I screamed and ducked as it swiped at me, pedaling harder than before.
Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god…
Its giant hand—easily dwarfing me in length—swiped at me again, this time smacking my bike under me. For a moment I was airborne and I vaguely hear my scream as I flew, but it was hard to hear over my deafening heartbeat. I crashed to the ground, smacking my head on the dirt, and rolled until I hit a tree trunk. I struggled to regain the breath that was knocked out of me as I clutched my aching gut, feeling a warm liquid drip onto my brow. That was gonna leave a mark. The creature reached for me again and I scrambled out of its reach, trying to get to my feet. The creature was unperturbed and bent down to reach for me again. I tripped over my loosened shoelaces and crashed to the ground, a sharp rock cutting my left hand. I hardly felt the sting. A shadow loomed over me and I craned my neck to see its hand about to grab me and stuff me in its mouth. Its grin and empty eyes made me tremble. I screamed as loud as I could, rolling onto my butt and shielding my face.
Whoosh.
A figure whipped down from the trees, and the sound of a metal cord being strained it my ears. In an instant, the giant ceased movement and began falling towards me. I yelped and scrambled out of the way just in time, the creature's hand just missing my foot as it kicked up dust. I coughed and waved the dust from my face, shutting my eyes.
"Are you alright?"
I looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar language. A tall man with blonde hair held out a hand to me. He wore a tan coat with an emblem of wings and white pants with tall boots. On his hips were strange metal boxes connected to wires containing exacto blades the size of swords. I was so taken by shock, numb relief, and the strangeness that was the man's gear that I didn't notice myself staring at him unblinkingly. He kneeled down in front of me and began to ask me questions I didn't understand and couldn't pay attention to. I looked around the path. Multiple people had leapt from trees like it was nothing, all wearing the same thing as the man before me. The giant was on the ground, steam coming off him as he began to… decay. I saw my bike in the corner of my eye, bent and broken with my backpack a foot away from it.
"Miss?"
I turned back to the man, pulled from my numbness.
"Do you speak English?" I asked him.
He blinked in surprise, "Excuse me?"
I bit my lip. He helped me to my feet and the pain of my wounds started to surface. My left hand stung, my hairline hurt, my gut ached, and my feet were still wet and gross. The other uniformed people walked towards the blonde man and I.
"Commander Erwin, who is this girl?" a woman asked the blonde man.
"I don't know. She seems to be in shock, and she doesn't speak the language. This could prove to be troublesome."
I absently wiped my bloody palm on my jeans and chewed my lip nervously. The strangely dressed people were all talking to the blonde man. He seemed to be their leader of sorts. Who were these people? Are they a special division in the military? What was that giant creature just now? Was I not supposed to see what I just saw? Where is this place? Am I even in Canada?
"Hey, brat," a voice drawled.
I turned and saw a man my height—which is short—walk up to me. He had a stony face that looked almost bored and short, black hair. He also wore the strange uniform with the metal boxes.
"You're bleeding," he said flatly, but I didn't understand him so I graced him with a blank stare as I continued to chew my lip.
He sighed as if I was the one causing him trouble and reached into one of his pockets. He pulled out a white handkerchief and held it out to me, pointing to his own forehead.
"Blood. Wipe."
I reached up and touched my forehead, blinking. Oh. I took the handkerchief, nodding my head in thanks and wiped the blood from my forehead. I looked at the handkerchief and made a face. I bled more than I had thought. I held the handkerchief to my hairline—where the pain was coming from—and the man pointed to the corner of his lip too. I touched my lip and looked at my finger. More blood. I licked it subconsciously and the man looked repulsed so I quickly dabbed it with my handkerchief instead.
"Levi," the blonde man called.
He walked towards us with a serious expression. I shrunk back a bit, nervous around these weird people. They were probably a special division in the military, like the SWAT team or something. I left my thoughts and realized that I missed some of their conversation, not that I could understand them.
"Why would a civilian be outside the walls?" the short man asked.
"It's possible that she snuck into one of our caravans and wandered off," the blonde man replied.
"She's foreign, Erwin. She doesn't even speak the language."
The blonde man raised hand to his chin in thought, "That's true. I don't recognize the language she was speaking, either. She looks a bit Asian, too."
"Asian?"
"Yes, a race of humans that died out some time ago. They came from the East, but-"
"We don't have time for your history lesson, Erwin."
The blonde man smiled, "True."
The two turned their attention back to me and I licked my cracked, bloody lips nervously. They approached me again and I shrunk. I never liked authority figures.
"What is your name, miss?" the blonde man asked.
I frowned. The language barrier was definitely going to be a problem. He pointed to himself.
"Erwin Smith," he said clearly. I blinked. He pointed to the short man. "Levi," He pointed to me.
I stammered, "Jessica Jansen!"
He smiled kindly, but it did little to calm my nerves. I really want to go home.
The group of—assumed—soldiers took me back to their camp and caravans on horseback. Some men had retrieved my backpack for me, but my broken bike was abandoned. I mourned for it; it had been expensive. My ass was sore from sitting on the back of the saddle behind that short guy, apparently called 'Levi'. He wasn't exactly nice either, giving dry comments that I couldn't understand but somehow knew were meant to be offensive. We only stopped at nightfall. Everyone sat around the campfire, holding bowls of stew and bread. I was offered a bowl but declined, taking only the small loaf of bread. I felt bad for being a picky eater, but I pretended to have no appetite and simply forced myself to eat my bread slowly. A few people tried to talk to me, but failed not only because I wasn't in a talkative mood but also because neither of us understood each other. I had a strange feeling that my communication skills would shrivel up and die before I learned the language. After everyone finished eating, they set up sleeping bags and someone for watch. Even though they left the campfire, I wished for daylight. I hate the dark. I always sleep with a nightlight, and if I can't do that I sleep with someone else or just don't sleep.
Three people had finished their shifts by the time the short man was on watch. I lay in my sleeping bag terrified of the darkness that surrounded the camp. I tossed and turned, trying to stop imagining the giant from before looming over me just outside the light of the fire, reading to reach out and-
"Hey, brat,"
The short man had taken to calling me that. I hoped that it meant 'miss' rather than 'bitch'.
"Yes?" I asked quietly, sitting up in my sleeping bag.
He looked rather attractive in the fire's glow, but I steered myself from those thoughts.
"Go to sleep already," he ordered.
When I stared blankly to express my incomprehension, he sighed in exasperation. "You, sleep, now," he pointed to me, my sleeping bag, and then downwards for 'now'.
I licked my lips, tasting the Chapstick I had fished out of my backpack to soothe my lips.
"Can't sleep, too dark," I waved my hands awkwardly and pointed at the vast darkness, my cheeks reddening as I admitted the embarrassing fear of mine.
He scoffed, "You're scared of the dark?"
I looked down and began to chew on the skin of the tip of my middle finger. This is a bad habit of mine that leaves my fingertips raw and sometimes bloody. Apparently it's called 'wolf-biting' because it's similar to the way wolves tear the skin of their victims. I tore at my skin nervously, nibbling and hoping that 'Levi' would leave me alone so I could think deeply in peace and solitude.
A hand grabbed my wrist, "Stop doing that," Levi said sternly, leaning down.
I jumped. When did he get in front of me? I obeyed and lowered my hand. Instead I began running my fingers through my hair repeatedly. Levi sighed like I was hopeless and went to wake up the person with the next watch. I slid deep into my sleeping bag on my back and began chewing at my fingers again. Habits die hard, after all.
The next morning I woke up half-asleep with tousled hair and a hungry stomach. The soldiers were already almost packed up by the time I woke up. One of the female soldiers greeted me with a smile and I returned it tentatively. I tried to help the soldiers pack up as they bustled around professionally like they had done it a million times. They probably had. For breakfast I was given a ration bar and some water. We were moving again in no time. This time I sat with the cargo, my backpack on my lap as I prayed I wouldn't fall off. Soon the forest was far behind us and looked much smaller than it had seemed. Levi was at my left and Erwin in front of the cart. The land was grassy and spread as far as the eye could see. I squinted and some the remains of a house or two in the distance, but it was old and destroyed. After what felt like years we neared the tallest walls I have ever seen. It was many times taller than any old house, perhaps even taller than some skyscrapers. It stretched far and wide, probably piecing off a large piece of land.
Yeah, this was definitely nowhere near my house.
Word Count: 2,701
A/N: Was that bad? A thousand pardons. This is the first time I've posted a story on this account (I lost the password to my last one) so I hope it's not too horrid. And yes, I almost literally pulled that title out of my ass at the last minute. I wrote this at like 3:00am so you can't blame me too much. If anyone has suggestions, I'd be glad to listen because that title makes me want to shoot myself in the face. Updates will probably be slow because I suck and I have a lot of tests right now, but I'll do my best. If I get a lot of reviews asking for more, I'll try to update faster. Hope you enjoyed this utter crap! Until next chapter, farewell my dearest fellow decaying organisms!