The room was dark, like always; the cold stone floor and walls were damp and smelt of filth. A tiny figure sat curled on the ground, none moving, as if they were dead. But the child wasn't dead; no, not yet, merely on the brink of death. Rats scuttled around and over her body, nibbling at her toes. She didn't move them away though, she was too exhausted and her restraints prevented any sort of movement. Strong, thick leaver straps were wrapped around her lower arms and a chain linked them to the straps around the child's calves. All these chains met to join a chain the same width as the child's body, this was imbedded deep in the wall behind her. A metal grate covered her mouth, cutting into her lips. It had been two years, though the child didn't know it, since the men in white coats had taken her. She had been four then, now she was six.
Suddenly, bangs and cries where heard above and the girl's half closed eyes snapped open. Running footsteps and yells filled her ears and she shrunk further into the corner; what will they do to her this time?
Two floors above it was complete havoc. The main doors had been blown off their hinges from explosives and green cloaked men and women had swarmed the building. The men in white coats had scattered, desperate to escape the cloaked figures. When the smoke had cleared the battle was still raging; the white clad men were being tackled to the ground, doors being thrown open revealing tests subjects, all of which were dead and blades flashed as a titan was revealed.
"How the fuck did they get a titan into Wall Rose?"
Muttered a small figure removing his hood, this revealed chiselled features, raven black hair, and disgusted expression.
"Indeed, I'm sure we can ask the 'doctors' once we've cleared the building"
A much taller man commented, also removing his hood to show smooth blond hair, set jaw and large eyebrows. The shorter nodded and the two headed for the iron door leading straight down to the cellar.
The familiar clanking of the iron door reached the child's ears; fear began to coarse through her blood and she shook uncontrollably with fear. But the next sound was different, usually the steps were slow and precise, but this time they were hurried and messy. Her over sensitive nose could smell, two people, one of soap, the other of sweat.
The men stopped at the only door on the corridor, it was made of iron just like the last, but it looked a whole lot heavier and there was no window to look through. The shorter reached for the handle but the taller stopped him.
"Be careful Levi, we don't know what's inside this door, it may be more than we can handle."
Levi made a clicking sound with his tongue, slightly irritated,
"Yeah or it could just be another dead body, think of all the options Erwin."
Erwin sighed releasing his hand from the shorter man's shoulder,
"I was"
he muttered as the door ground open.
At first neither of them could see anything, just a small prison. But then Levi's sharp eyes noticed a figure in the corner. She was small, her body restrained by leather, her mouth covered by a metal grate; she had matted brown hair, and her hazel eyes were as wide as saucers, staring with wavering fear at him.
"Erwin, look"
Levi whispered pointing his sword at the child, who let out a strangled grunt of fear,
"in the corner, it's disgusting."
It? Did the short man mean her? Was she disgusting?
"Levi, don't insult her, who knows what this poor things been through."
The man with big eyebrows hissed stepping forwards slowly, his eyes looking gently at her. He may seem nice, but that's what the men in white coats had seemed, all nice and smiles.
"I wasn't insulting her"
the shorter man snapped.
"It's okay, we're here to help, I promise"
he said gently, taking out a small, sharp, knife. The girl let out a constricted cry trying to get away but the man's hand took a firm hold of her arm and cut through the leather straps around her limbs. As the sweaty straps were removed she went limp, falling into the man's big arms. He smelt like sweat, mixed in with ink and paper, it was nice.
"Her body temperature is surprisingly high, and she's as light as anything"
Erwin gasped picking up the small body, holding her close, and wrapping the edge of his cloak around her.
"These people are fucking disgusting, anyway let's head back up, at least we found one survivor."
The three of them ran back up to the iron door, past the steaming corpse of the titan, past the wards and down a corridor to reveal…a dead end?
"Damn this place is like a maze, I swear we only took one left to get out of here"
Levi hissed looking backwards from where they just come, and then back again at the windowless wall.
"Stop muttering Levi, she losing consciousness, we have to get her out of here."
Erwin ordered turning back down the way they had come, his eyes scanning the area.
"NO, TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY PATIENT!"
A man's voice cried; the girl suddenly tensed up, now wide awake, gripping Erwin's arms so hard it ripped through the fabric and cut the skin. Turning they saw a man, covered in dirt and blood, his face was almost impossible to see, but his glasses still flashed in the torch light. Levi drew his swords glaring at the man,
"Now why would we do that?"
His voice was overly calm, he's mad, Erwin thought, he is so mad.
"She's a monster, only I can control her, give her to me and release my team, then we shall leave you be-"
But his speech was cut short when Levi shoved him against the wall, blades to his neck,
"You're calling her a monster, you piece of shit, give me one good reason why I shouldn't just remove you head from your neck-"
"Levi that's enough, you"
Erwin turned to face the trembling man,
"show us the way out, but if you trick us I can assure you he will not regret decapitating you."
His voice was incredibly serious and steady, despite the girl's fingers digging deeper into his flesh.
Trembling the man nodded and walked back to the dead end, but this time he pulled out a brick revealing a door hand, and pulled it open.
"Tch, clever little shits aren't you?"
Levi snarled, his blade pushing against the man's back as they got outside. Immediately the man was handcuffed and shoved towards the jail cart where the other men were being lined up.
Levi turned to Erwin and saw the girls fingers,
"Hey, stop that"
he ordered and the girl jumped looking down at her hands. She let out a cry of shock and scrambled out of Erwin's arms onto the soft grass beneath.
"S-s-s"
she stammered looking up at the big man in front of her,
"s-sorry"
Her voice was strangled and gruff, she hadn't properly spoken in 2 years, only screamed.
Levi and Erwin looked at each other, if only they knew what they were getting themselves in for.
The journey back to the capitol wasn't that eventful, Erwin's arms had been bandaged and the child was put under Levi's temporary super vision. He honestly didn't look too pleased with this choice as he tensed up the moment the girl was placed on his saddle between his legs. He felt her high body temperature against his stomach and wondered how this child wasn't feverish; he also wondered when she had been given a wash.
They arrived in Wall Sina around 7 in the morning, the trial date was set for the week after, and the scouting legion headed back to base.
The news about the illegal experimentation had come to the high court through a whistle blower a week before. They said scientist had been kidnapping men women and children and running experiments on them, one of those was, apparently, being injected with titan blood.
The Survey Corps had been chosen to find and capture them, and save any survivors; though there had been only one.