Nadine was fast.
She was very, very fast for a ten year old as she ran along with the stampede of people making their way towards the back gates of Shinganshina.
'Titans' she thought as she dodged a woman hysterically screaming in fright as she pointed upwards at the gaping hole in the Wall, 'They're going to kill everyone.'
She had seen from far the massive humanoid, which would later be named the Colossus Titan, kick a giant hole in Wall Maria. Even from a distance, the titan was huge and bloody terrifying.
'My family!' was the first thing that came to Nadine's mind as the screaming began.
Loud, deafening thuds were heard and men, women and, children alike started to race past her towards the inner gate which led to the southern district within Wall Rose.
The red-haired girl turned where she stood and ran.
She thanked the three goddesses that her family waiting for her at the ferry heading into Wall Rose.
'I just need to find my family.' The little girl stumbled over the fallen fruits from the now abandoned carts as she tried to figure out which way to turn.
She knew that there were a lot of casualties already. Debris had flown over the houses situated near the outer Wall when the titan had kicked it down, crushing the buildings, its inhabitants and anyone standing nearby. She knew that the titans had now entered Shinganshina and were now devouring anyone in their path, and it petrified her.
Nadine tripped over her feet and realised that she was familiar with the road she was following, and sped up.
Her mind then drifted towards the friend she had wanted to visit, the friend she was going to see when disaster had struck, 'I hope he escapes. I hope both of them escape.'
How excited she had been to see Eren Yeager and his best friend Armin Arlert. It had been over a year since she had poked fun at the two of them, since she had moved to Trost with her family.
There were already people on the ferry by the time she arrived at the docks. A large crowd had gathered and they were now filing into one of the two large ferries present. Soldiers from the Garrison were trying to control the crowd.
"Papa!" Nadine called out, as loud as she could. Her heart beat so loud that it drowned out every other noise. She could barely hear herself, she was so scared, "Papa! Mumma! "
With every passing second, she could feel the Titans nearing.
The red-haired girl frantically looked around, screaming for her parents, pushing past people.
'It'll be alright' she thought, 'I'm far away from the titans. They won't get me or anyone around me. They can't get here so fast.'
It was as if she had jinxed herself because in the next moment, a 12 metre tall humanoid, with twisted arms and a crooked neck slowly walked into the opening. Its head suddenly tilted towards the crowd and for that second everything had gone quiet. No one said a word.
Then it started to run.
Chaos erupted. People screamed. Everyone ran helter-skelter.
Men and women shoved and pushed each other away, trying to get on the ferry. Nadine ran towards the giant boat along with them, but because of her short stature, she kept colliding with someone or the other from the crowd.
The titan was very near now. It was running over people, trampling them to death.
If it were any other time, any other place where the titan was far, far away from her, Nadine would have laughed until she had cried because of how funny the titan looked.
"Where is the Garrison?" A man screamed.
"Where's the Scouting Legion?" Another screamed as the titan got nearer.
'Where are they?' Nadine thought too.
To her and everyone else's horror, the titan had now picked up a woman and was staring intently at her. And the woman screeched so loudly that Nadine was sure that her lungs would collapse. The lady beat her fists onto the titan's hand which was tightly wrapped around her. The humanoid visibly strengthened its grip on her and the woman began to choke.
None from the crowd dared to move.
Nadine was in disbelief. She couldn't accept that this was happening.
Slowly, as if it was enjoying the onlookers' terrified faces, the titan began to squeeze the woman's head with its thumb and forefinger. The woman screamed and screamed and Nadine was sure that she'd never forget it. With a sickening crack, the woman's skull broke and blood sprayed everywhere. The titan brought the woman towards its mouth.
The red-haired girl began to feel sick, 'I can't watch this.'
Someone from the crowd yelled, "Forget her! Everyone, get on the ferry!"
'NO!' Nadine's eyes widened as everyone turned and ran, 'Somebody help her!' In that moment, she forgot that the woman was already dead.
It was after that she heard the bones of the woman break that she snapped out of her daze. In great trepidation did she realise that the woman's body was now lifeless and headless and that perhaps she was the only one staring at the blood spurting out from the corpse.
It was after the titan tore down the body in half did she understand that she had to run now too. The titan slowly scanned over the chaos. For a second, Nadine thought that she had made eye contact with the monster. And she was right.
It had slowly begun to make its way towards her, swinging its weirdly bent arms.
'I need to run.'
So she turned and ran, bumping into frantic bodies.
She was so close to the ramp now that she could feel the relief of being safe. Only, someone had shoved her aside so harshly that she felt herself falling sideways. The thumps of the titan's footsteps grew louder.
'This is it. I'm going to die. Either I'll get trampled or I'll get eaten by the titans.' She thought and screwed her eyes shut, feeling tears leak out from the corners, 'Maybe, I'll wake up and this'll all be a bad dream.'
Time slowed down and she could hear the whirring of the 3DMG gear that she had seen the Garrison soldiers use occasionally.
Someone grabbed her by the arm tightly and she gasped at the sudden pain. Her eyes flew open as she was dragged forcefully towards the boat.
'Dad!' She recognised her father's black hair and lean figure through her blurry vision.
"I've got you, Nadine." He spoke, out of breath, "Come on, love, let's get back to your mother."
Speechless, she could just nod.
They had barely managed to escape the titan, she noted. If her father had been even a second late, they both would've been squashed by the tall humanoid.
Within a few moments, she found herself tucked in her mother's arms as the older woman sobbed in relief and kissed her forehead and cheeks repeatedly. Her father pushed back his dark hair as he leaned against the railing of the ferry, catching his breath.
Nadine buried face in her mother's dark blouse, her heart hammering away, "Are we safe now?"
"I think so, my love." Her mother said, tucking a strand of dark red hair behind her ear, "The soldiers are here and they're going to save as many of us as they can. And the ferry will be moving any second now."
"Do you think Ehaan knows we're here?" Nadine looked up at her father who was watching the now decaying carcass of the titan lying on the docks.
"No." Her father replied, his light brown eyes turned to her, "Neither does my sister. She was already on an expedition when we left Trost. I did send a letter to a friend of mine in the Survey Corps. The Scouts returned today. Hopefully, they mustn't have gone far and can return to help."
The ferry was packed. More people were trying to get on but the soldiers kept them at bay. Very few had arrived safely. Most had lost their family members while traversing through the district.
Nadine looked around to see if she could spot someone familiar but Eren and Armin were nowhere in sight. Her heart clenched.
Looking at the empty faces that surrounded her and her parents, Nadine Vogel realised that this was the worst day that humanity had ever faced.
AAAH, I'M SO NERVOUS ABOUT THIS STORY!
But excited at the same time.
Thank you for reading! I recently gained the courage to start writing an AoT fic and I would really really appreciate it if you guys tell me how you like it. After much searching, I came to a conclusion that Jean needs a lot of love because he is, by far, one of the best characters in the series/manga. I love him to bits. He won't make an immediate appearence in the story and the fic will be a slowburn, but please leave reviews and tell me how I can improve or if you liked it. It encourages me alot.
Thank you for reading once again! ^-^