Chapter One: Runaway
She'd been watching him walk home every day for quite some time now.
Annie couldn't help it—the stranger had a routine. He would hop off the one o'clock bus with two companions, a boy with emerald green eyes and a girl with long charcoal black hair, and they would walk into that little coffee shop Annie had been eyeing for a while (for reasons she didn't know). After about thirty minutes, the boy and his friends would depart from the café and then go their separate ways, Emerald Eyes and Charcoal Hair strolling down the sidewalk while the boy stepped into the city's library which happened to be right next to the coffee shop. Roughly two hours would pass before the boy left the building and continued on his way home.
A shudder ripped through Annie's spine as she watched the boy's figure disappear from her line of sight. Winter had arrived early this year, icy winds and piles of snow beginning to appear in the middle of November. Annie usually enjoyed the chilly season but right now, as she sat alone in the empty alleyway and struggled to keep her hands warm, she wasn't a big fan of it.
Nightfall flooded the sky pretty quickly as did the flow of traffic on the streets. Cars honked at each other and people sped-walk while clutching their heavy jackets, trying to hurry home to where warmth, food, and a bed laid.
For Annie, warmth was her thin white hoodie, food was whatever was edible in the nearest trashcan, and her bed was usually made up of something cold and concrete.
The small blonde closed her eyes for a moment. She was glad no one noticed her. She always tried her best to avoid any human interaction; she wasn't sure why though. Reiner has told her countless times that she's just antisocial, that she's probably afraid of people because they're apparently all stupid, selfish, and cruel. It was obvious that Reiner's feelings toward people were negative but Annie had to internally disagree.
She wasn't scared of people—no rush of anxiety attempted to crush her lungs every time she saw a person. She just…had no desire to speak with them.
Her minute of peaceful silence, however, was rudely interrupted when she felt someone breathe in her face. And it wasn't the playful but harsh blow that flew from puckered lips nor the comforting and reassuring feel of someone exhaling lightly against her skin. It was the kind when the oppressor opened their mouth wide and released hot and suffocating air right in the center of her face (and it didn't help that this bully's breath smelled unpleasant either).
She squeezed her eyes shut and struck out her foot, coming in contact with something hard and firm. Her clear blue eyes frowned at the all-too-familiar homeless man in front of her, back against the brick wall, rubbing his muscular chest while chuckling lowly to himself. He looked over at her, grinning mischievously. "Damn, Annie. Is it your time of the month already?"
A twitch of irritation stabbed her gut. Reiner had the body of a 30-year-old body builder but had the brain development of a 13-year-old. He was 6"1' of pure muscle with short platinum blond hair, small baby blue eyes, and barely visible eyebrows. He was wearing his usual dirty brown jacket that he stole from another homeless man about a month ago, faded blue jeans, and big bulky snow boots. Annie continued to glower at the ignorant mountain as he fetched a grey beanie out from his jacket pocket and tucked it over his thick skull, that smug grin never leaving his lips.
"It was a joke," he clarified, "you know that, right? So that means you can stop glaring at me like I just killed a man."
Annie raised one of her eyebrows at him, causing her to wonder about such a thing. She wasn't completely sure if he actually killed someone, probably not. Despite his friendly teasing and sociable attitude towards everybody, Annie figured he would be the type of person to cause pain on others to get what he wants, though.
She saw a large hand reaching out to her out of the corner of her eye. Glancing up, she realized it was another one of her acquaintances: Berthold. He smiled shyly at her and said quietly, "Hi, Annie."
A short moment of silence passed among the three of them. Annie stared at Berthold's fingerless-gloved hand and then back at his dark, puppy-dog eyes before pushing herself off the brick wall, ignoring the timid man's hand. She brushed a strand of her lemon-colored hair out of her eyes and stuffed her own snow white hands into her hoodie pocket, aware of Berthold's eyes still on her.
Berthold was the exact opposite of Reiner in almost every single way, which had its pros and cons, in Annie's opinion. He had a good few inches on Reiner and was much skinner than the giant jock of a man. He had a long face and softer features like his lengthy nose and anxious eyes. He awkwardly shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, his broad shoulders raised to his chin. This painfully shy man usually followed Reiner around despite the trouble they'd always cause. It was usually small things, however, like stealing a few snacks from the gas station or getting into fights with other homeless people. Annie trailed after them too, participating in most of their dangerous activities. She knew it was wrong, in society's eye anyway. But sometimes you just had to do horrible things to survive—that's all the trio seemed to know.
"We found an awesome place to spend the night," Reiner announced, taking a step toward the other two broken souls. "Came across a girl today, had a nice chat. She's homeless too—thrown out of her own apartment 'cause she couldn't pay rent. But anyway, she's got a place and guess what? It's fucking indoors." He broke into a wide smile with a hint of amusement gleaming in his eyes.
Annie turned her head to peer at Berthold, who gave a simple nod in her direction. She couldn't blame him for his excitement—it's been awhile since they found shelter that involved four walls and a ceiling.
"Who is this girl?" she inquired, speaking for the first time that day.
Reiner shrugged his abnormally large shoulders. "Don't know. She didn't say her name."
The small blonde shifted her weight onto one foot. Reiner groaned loudly, knowing exactly what this seemingly innocent action really meant. "Listen, Annie. I wouldn't have taken up on this offer if I didn't trust this girl. And if she doesn't turn out to be the person who she says she is…then we'll take care of it."
She stayed silent while her eyes rested on a half-eaten apple core behind Reiner's feet. Why was Reiner so eager to trust strangers? They were in a bad position, yes, but that didn't give him permission to jump on every proposal that came flying toward them.
The next thing she knew, something heavy slung around the girl's shoulders, causing her to stumble a bit. Reiner's arm squeezed her shoulders and began guiding her toward the crowded streets. "Why don't we just go so you can see her for yourself, princess? Do tell us if this other homeless person is trustworthy, oh Annie the Great and Powerful!"
A bubble of fury exploded in her stomach as she ripped away from Reiner's grasp, her infamous icy glare piercing into his soul, it seemed. "Don't fucking touch me." The tone in her voice reminded Reiner and Berthold of a demon crawling out from the deepest pit of hell.
Berthold sped up his walking pace a bit while Reiner raised his hands in surrender, muttering "Fuck, okay fine, geez…" under his breath. Annie strolled behind the two giants, silently agreeing to meet this homeless girl with indoor shelter—supposedly, that is. Annie didn't know how these two idiots could easily put all their trust into one unknown person. If she learned anything from her past experiences, it was to never trust anyone with your life, or even to let them in for that matter.
The three frostbitten bodies shuffled pass other frozen bodies wrapped tightly in heavy clothing, hurrying about. Annie crossed her arms and gripped her sweatshirt, struggling to brace against the whipping wind. Several people and vehicles would cross her path but she would always find the familiar oval-shaped head of Berthold looming over everybody else and would direct her route towards him.
Soon enough, they came to a stop in front of an old abandoned building. The structure itself was well-hidden from the rest of the bustling city; placed in a quieter part of town where nothing but crumbling apartments and shady houses surrounded them. Judging by the shattered windows and the graffiti walls, Annie guessed this place had been uninhibited for some time. If it weren't for the rusted sign that hung next to the bloody red door, the trio would've never predicted this place had once been "Three Walls".
Three Walls was a small bar that closed down about ten years ago. Annie remembered it as being the tainted escape that people of high importance went to like lawyers and policemen, including her own father. Apparently there were many bar fights and the drunk policemen did nothing about it. Eventually customers stopped going there once a new bar entitled "Rightful Ruler" opened up a few streets down.
Annie wondered if her father was there now.
"Are you sure this is it?" The words slipped from her chapped lips before she could swallow them down.
"Yeah." Reiner stepped up to the door and turned halfway to grin at his uncertain friends. "She taught me a secret knock so she'll know it's us."
Annie rolled her eyes and Berthold pursed his lips together.
Reiner faced the door again and tapped his knuckles against the wooden door twice, paused for two seconds, and then added another knock. Within a short moment, the door peeked open slowly, forcing a loud groan to echo throughout the nearly empty road. A face suddenly appeared in between the crack of the door and the threshold—which Annie couldn't see clearly since Reiner's huge body was blocking her view.
"Hey," he greeted. "It's me and Berthold again. And I brought her, just like I said."
The door opened a little wider and Annie could make out a tall figure with a white long-sleeved shirt on. "Hey! It's you! The two titan-sized boys I met earlier." A head poked out from beside Reiner's shoulder. "Too bad your friend isn't titan-sized. More like a hobbit, really."
The taller blond stepped to the side, revealing this homeless girl he saw earlier in the day. She was tall and slender, though a little bulkier than Annie despite the tough muscles her body contained. Her greasy, mud brown hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and her small almond colored eyes narrowed in on the shorter girl. Small blotches of freckles powdered across her nose and cheeks and she possessed the same snarky grin that Reiner owned, unfortunately.
Annie could tell already that she wasn't going to get along with this girl.
"You must be Annie," the girl continued, leaning against the doorframe. "What's up?"
She scowled and said nothing.
"Whoa, whoa. I can sense your enthusiasm all the way over—"
"Reiner said you offered us shelter," Annie interrupted.
She put a hand on her hip. "Yes I did. I guess this is the part when I say 'you guys look cold, wanna come in?'" She then opened the door as wide as it could go and stepped to the side, that smug grin still plastered on her face. The three acquaintances walked inside and gazed around the vacant room.
Off to the left was the actual bar, two bar stools still standing by but all the bottles of vodka no longer there. On the right was a small but wide platform—probably where a band used to play. The rest of the room was completely bare besides some broken glass scattered about the hardwood floors and one lonely wooden chair sitting in the far left corner.
"Like my place?" the girl asked, closing the door and strutting over behind the bar. "Sorry, no alcohol was left behind when Three Walls closed. A real shame."
"As long as the heater's working, I'm good," Reiner said, already taking off his jacket. Annie was starting to feel the warmth too, now an unfamiliar feeling to her.
"Yeah. Found the furnace and fixed it myself." She looked up at Berthold. "Is the heat reaching all the way up there?"
Berthold nodded shyly, his cheeks reddening from the heat—or was it embarrassment?
"Who are you?" Annie questioned, making her way through the room cautiously, making sure to not step on any of the glass.
"The same as you: a girl tryna get some damn sleep for once." She laughed after this, throwing her head back like it was the funniest thing in the world.
Annie stopped and looked at her. Her glare must've been sharper than usual because the freckled girl laughed harder.
"Damn! You just can't take a fuckin' joke, can you? Ha, ha, ahhh…well, if you must know, you may call me…" She put a finger to her chin in mock thought. "…Ymir."
Reiner and Berthold raised their eyebrows at the unusual name but Annie simply placed her fist on her hip and said, "Ymir? Like the mythological creature?"
The girl pointed at Annie with a somewhat surprised look on her face. "Hey! You actually got it!"
"Wait, what?" Reiner glanced between the blonde and the burette. "What does 'Ymir' mean?"
Ymir looked up at him. "It means two things. One: In Norse mythology, Ymir was an evil ice giant that basically made the earth with his body when he was killed by the great Odin and his brothers. And two: I don't trust you either. It's a codename."
Everyone faced the bar, eyes on Ymir. She looked back at them. "What? It's clear that you guys don't trust me and the feelings are mutual with me."
"Yeah, but you don't need a freakin' codename unless you have something to hide," Reiner replied.
For once, Annie agreed with her teammate.
Ymir shrugged. "Don't we all? Besides, you should come up with better lies if you want to convince me you're completely innocent yourselves."
"What do you mean?"
"When we met earlier, you told me that you two—" here she aimed her pointer finger at Reiner and dragged it through the air to Berthold "—were roommates that got kick out of your apartment for not paying your rent and you said your 'sister' was in the same situation too." Her finger then stabbed at Annie.
Annie had to bite her tongue in order to keep herself from accusing Reiner of coming up with such an idiotic excuse as to why she was homeless and needed shelter as well.
"You two obviously don't look anything alike! Look, I'll believe you when you say you and Colossal over there were kicked out of your apartment but her…" Ymir's narrowed eyes lingered on Annie. "She looks like a fucking mess."
Before the blonde could say or do anything, Ymir continued on in a mean and mocking tone. "Aren't you gonna share how you got those scars on your wrists or what the hell happened to you that made you want to run away—"
"Why don't we keep our histories to ourselves?" Annie spat, anger boiling deep within her. "We'll call you whatever you want, as long as we stay here and you don't ask me about anything. Or better yet, let's not talk at all."
Ymir grinned. "Sounds fine to me."
After that, Annie tugged on the cuffs of her white sweatshirt, spun around, and stormed over to the lonely chair in the corner of the bar.