Chapter 1
unknown POV
The forest was silent around me, not that I was complaining. I had lived in silence for over a year, I was used to it. The titans seemed to have left this part of the forest for now. Why would they leave now? Perhaps they had found new humans to kill. Titans couldn't be satisfied with the town they had already massacred.
I shuddered as memories flashed through my mind. The blood splashed everywhere, burning the bodies so the titans wouldn't come back. I stopped myself from going further into the flashbacks. I couldn't have a panic attack in titan territory.
Who was I kidding? No matter where I went, it was titan territory. I sighed and shouldered my bow. The arrows clicked against each other with the force of the bow hitting it. I pulled the hood of my dark blue cloak up, hiding my choppy blonde hair. My 3D maneuvering device gleamed on my hips, looking odd next to my black clothing. My shirt was black as well, one of my last button up shirts. I would have to start making my clothing soon. Or scavenge from the scouts.
A scream caused me to rip my blades from their holsters. There weren't titans in the area, so why would they attract attention. I paused and listened for the footfalls. They were there, and it sounded like at least 10 titans. My steps were hesitant as I walked the opposite direction of the scream. There were no saviors in this land.
Another cry echoed through the forest, it was closer. Too close for comfort. I needed to leave now. But what about the other human? I should help him, it's what they would have wanted. Damn, why would I think about it?
I ran to a nearby tree and scaled it. I raced along the branches, my body light enough to avoid the dangers of cracking branches. I ran in the general direction of where the sound had originated, correcting my course when I heard another cry. There was nothing to do but run, I couldn't afford to waste gas. The only gas I had was what was in my home and what I could scavenge from the bodies of scouts.
Titans had surrounded a group of 16 scouts, which was weird considering that they usually traveled in groups of 6 or 7. One of the scouts, a short man with an odd hair cut, jumped to avoid a hand. He looked annoyed at the situation, trying to help a taller blonde man keep the squads calm. I hate helping people.
My cables attached themselves to a tree opposite of me. As I rocketed past, I slipped my blades along two of the titan's necks. My expression was bored and emotionless. As I landed, I shot a cable to one of the other titan's necks, a 12 meter one. My body spun to add force to the killing blow.
With 3 titans dead, the other squads sprang into action. Some went to distract the other beasts while others moved the injured to safety. The short man was the most effective, effortlessly cutting down titans. I caught myself calling him short, I wasn't taller than him, so I shouldn't be talking.
I twisted around to see a man about to be dropped down a titan throat. His comrade was gone, most likely eaten. Grabbing a thick stick, I traveled towards him at a dangerous speed. Just as the man fell into his mouth, I wedged the giant's mouth open. The scout scrambled out, and I followed before the mouth closed.
The titan fell forwards, his neck sliced open. The short man, whoever he is, flipped off him and faced me. All the other titans were dead by now, so everyone was focusing on me. The blonde stepped towards me. I became thankful for the cloak that hid my face.
"Thank you for assisting us, but I must ask, who are you?" Instead of answering, I shot cables to the nearest tree and climbed onto a branch. A scout followed and tried to reason with me. I leveled my bow at her, before shooting her sleeve.
While she was distracted, I ran through the forest. Leaping from tree to tree enabled me to conserve gas. I could hear the sound of maneuvering devices being shot off behind me. They were too far behind to catch me. Without thinking, I angled my body towards the ground and fell.
The water parted around me without a sound. I swam through a tunnel flooded with water. It opened into a small cave, which lead to a hidden clearing. The clearing was surrounded by tall cliffs, making it hard for a titan to attack me here, It had been built by my parents as a safe haven. They had known that the village walls wouldn't hold forever. Not that it mattered, my parents had died.
Just like the rest of them.
Tears threatened to spill down my face. I swiped them away and shoved my emotions to the back of my mind. I couldn't allow myself to feel anything. The 3D maneuvering device fell to the floor with a thud as I entered the house against one wall of the meadow.
The interior was simple. A small kitchen like area was against one wall of the house. A table sat in the middle of the room, looking clean but unused.. The one thing I hated was unnecessary mess. The wall that sectioned off part of the house was made out of bookcases. The bookcases were filled with scavenged books and sheets of music.
The bathroom was the only part of the interior that had real walls. It was simple yet functional. I stripped to my underclothes and stretched out on the thin mat on the floor. With a sigh, I waited for sleep to come.
3rd POV
The expedition had decided to camp together for tonight. Too many had been injured or killed during the titan ambush. It was necessary that they had the man power to defend themselves if required.
"We should turn back. We will all die if we go any farther!" A scout shouted at Commander Erwin.
"This is the farthest we have ever gotten. All of those injured will recover within a day," His eyes narrowed as the man cut him off.
"A day? We don't have a day! Between the Titans and the cannibal stalking us, we'll be dead by morning!" The man's eyes were panicked.
"If you want to go back so badly, then why don't you leave? A scumbag like you should have no problem doing that," Captain Raveille gave him a disgusted look.
"I-" the scout stuttered before assuming a respectful pose.
"You've lost your nerve now. Something like that could get you killed out here. So, shut up and get ready to go," the scout winced.
"Thank you, Levi. As for you," Commander Erwin turned his attention to the scout, "We have at least another 3 miles to travel before we stop for the night. We leave in ten!" He shouted to the rest of the scouts.
"What..." Hange's voice trailed away. For once, even she was shocked.
Before them lay the ruins of a small village. The walls that had surrounded it were in ruins, holes scattered across the wood and stone structure. Behind the walls, there were small wooden houses. They were set in a way so that the tallest structures were towards the center, creating an easy way to spot the approach of enemies. Vegetation seemed to be taking over the place, twisting through the ruins.
"Spread out, if this place has people in it, we need to know. Squad leaders, you are in charge of assignments," the commander ordered.
Levi led his squad into the southwest quadrant. The area seemed to have borne the brunt of the attack, most of the houses here seemed to have been crushed.
"How had they managed to survive?" Gunther wondered.
"It looks as if their defenses were extremely well designed. I wonder how they fell," Petra murmured.
"One part of the wall is gone. The titans must have worked on that part of the wall to enter the compound," Levi informed them. He stopped suddenly, in the center of the courtyard lay the remains of a huge fire. It looked to have been there for a long time, because most of it had blown away. The squad moved forward, hesitantly. "
Is that bone?" Petra gasped. She stared at the remains of a human skull.
"I found what appears to be a leg," Erd called.
"More bone over here. Perhaps they burned the remains?" Auruo winced.
"We have more ground to cover by nightfall," Levi passed the ashes without a second glance.
Unknown POV
I woke up in cold sweat, my arms reaching out to grab something that wasn't there. There was nothing, just like every other time this had happened. With a sigh, I picked myself up from the mat and began to prepare a meal. It was simple: deer and water. CRASH! The plate slipped from my fingers and smashed to the floor.
"Damn," I froze. I hadn't spoken in over a year. My voice was raspy and quiet. I felt twitchy and wide awake. Walking to the book case, I scanned the titles for something I hadn't read. There was nothing, I would have to get something from that damned village. Pulling on my black boots and gear took less than a minute to do. I made sure that all my arrows were in their quiver before throwing my cloak on and leaving.
I left through one of the few tunnels that entered the meadow. One of the bright sides about this base was that the entry points were hard to find, but useful when you finally found them. Bright light blinded me for a few moments while my eyes adjusted to the change. I scaled a tree and headed toward the town in the usual way: jumping from tree to tree. I arrived there in less than 20 minutes. From there, I entered through part of the wall completely overtaken by vines.
The vines concealed a hole in the wall that was small enough to keep out most savages. As I walked down the streets, I mentally acknowledged certain places. The house where I learned to read, where I shot my first arrow, and the titan footprint that marked where a villager had been crushed.
After that, I stopped walking through my memories.
The village library had been in the southwest corner. It had been considered the most important building when people had lived here. There was no use living without learning. I slipped through an alley before climbing over a low fence. The library was just ahead. I slipped in through a skylight in the library. The air was dusty and old, reeking of forgotten knowledge. I took my time browsing through the stacks, hating the way the books were starting to crumble. I couldn't bring myself to move them somewhere safe.
3rd pov
Levi's squad had covered most of the quadrant. All they found was smeared blood and footprints. The bodies must have been eaten or burned, seeing as they had found another pile of ashes near the wall.
"Levi, Petra, everyone! Look what I found!" Gunther ran up to them looking excited.
"Did you find a titan?" Levi sarcastically asked.
"Better!" Gunther led them to an old stone building near the south wall. It looked better than the others, with less titan footprints around it. Gunther opened the door and led them inside.
"A library!" Petra smiled happily, "I have never seen so many in one place."
"Whoever lived here must have loved books," Gunther grinned.
"Levi, can we explore?" Petra asked. Levi nodded, his eye twitching slightly at the dust. The squad split up to explore. Levi walked to the back of the library. He spotted the shadow of a person near the farthest stack of book. Silently creeping closer, he opened his mouth.
"Levi, have you seen Erd?" Petra asked. The figure whirled around, the hood of their cloak falling. A slim, short girl was revealed. Her hair was so pale that it looked white, despite the fact that it was blonde. The girl's eyes were hard as she aimed an arrow at them. The short girl looked painfully thin, with a scar rippling across her right cheek.
"Who are you?"Levi demanded. She said nothing as she tightened her grip on the bow. "Do not make me rip that toy from your hands, savage. Who are you?" She cocked her head.
"Why are you here? This town has fallen to the titans. You should leave now, before this place betrays you."
Unknown POV
Shit! Why didn't I hear them coming. All I could do was aim my arrow towards them in the hopes that they would leave. It wasn't working, seeing as the short one was a little asshole.
"That still does not answer my question," He took a step towards me.
"Why do I need to answer to you? Go back to living behind your walls, scout," I snarled in a raspy voice. The girl behind the asshole sighed when I insulted him.
"What happened to this village? Give me an answer, damn it!" His demeanor was threatening now.
"I don't have a name, not anymore," I struggled to keep my voice emotionless, "But if you must call me something, call me Anathema. As for what happened to the village, it doesn't matter."
"It does when we find a village that survived in titan territory, savage," He replied. "
They didn't survive!" I snapped, "Leave now, before your squads die."
"How do we know that you're not going to attack us?" The girl spoke up. Footsteps approached me from behind. I shot an arrow at the duo before climbing the bookshelf. With a graceful leap, I caught the edge of the sky light and climbed onto the roof. I jumped from roof to roof, resisting the urge to use my gear. My foot slipped on a loose piece of rock.
I fell into a roll, almost missing the edge of the roof. It gave the squad time to catch up with me. The largest gap between rooftops was approaching. I increased my speed before jumping, falling into the alley below. I flew down the road, slipping through the gap in the wall. I could disappear into the forest.
Something slammed into me, sending me to the ground. Twisting onto my back, I saw the short man rising to his feet a few feet away. Barely pausing to rest, I rose and continued running. My maneuvering gear shot cables at trees ahead, sending me through the forest at dizzying speeds. He was able to keep up until I went through a particularly dense and wild patch of trees. His curses filled the air as one of his cables got tangled. Laughing softly at his misfortune, I stopped using my gear and ran to my base.
I walked though the forest, enjoying the sunlight pouring through the trees. Today had been successful, a fat brace of rabbits hung from my belt. My brother would be impressed when I got home, considering that he had trained me. Feeling energetic, I decided to climb a tree. I somehow ended up at the top, staring towards my village. There were titans walking through a gap in the walls.
No! I used my 3D maneuvering gear to reach the village in a matter of minutes. Slicing the neck of a titan crossing the wall, I raced towards home. They had to be there! They had to be alive! If I got there, I would see them getting ready to evacuate. My home came into view, I stopped in shock.
"No! It can't be!" My house was gone, crushed and splattered with blood.
I screamed myself awake, crying out for a family that wasn't there. Gasping, I willed myself to calm down. The room seemed too small, too unrealistically calm. Curling up into a ball, I waited until my heart stopped beating dangerously fast. Slowly, I stood, trying to figure out someway to distract myself. Perhaps I could hunt.
I crouched on a tree branch, watching a deer prance into the clearing I was above. Carefully removing an arrow from my quiver, I began to aim at the animal. He was a fawn, it would be easy to get him back to my shelter. With a twang, the bow string snapped back into place, sending the arrow flying. It pierced his neck, causing the fawn to stumble forward until another arrow landed in his right eye. The fawn fell and twitched before taking its last breath.
Dropping to the ground, I reached the animal in a few steps. Contemplating how to get it back to base, I heard footsteps behind me. Afraid of being attacked, I shot an arrow at the approaching people. Too late, I noticed that it was a pair of scouts. The only thing I could do was shift my aim slightly to the left. The arrow thudded into the tree beside the tall blonde. The shorter man that had chased me earlier gave me a look of disgust. I turned to leave.
"Wait!" I froze and turned to face them. "I am Commander Erwin and this is Lance Corporal Rivaille. We are part of the scout regiment of the last human territory. I've was told that you're called Anathema." Commander Erwin greeted. I gave him a look that ordered him to tell me what he wanted.
"It has been discovered that a village survived in titan territory for at least 20 years. I'm sure you are already aware of this. Perhaps you could tell us how it survived and how it was destroyed." My anger flared up.
"No," I snarled.
"This the farthest we have ventured into titan territory. Do you honestly believe that we will go back now?" The Lance Corporal spoke up.
"You will leave. This area is dangerous; it's full of titans and savages. As for the village, you don't need to know what happened," I sneered.
"This knowledge could help the human race survive!" The Commander argued.
"It sure as hell didn't help that damn place! Why do you even bother? The titans kill everyone in the end!" I growled.
"Listen-" the corporal began. I froze and tilted my head.
"Be quiet. I can hear something," I ordered.
Hearing the familiar sound of a bowstring being released, I pushed the corporal out of the way. Pain exploded in my right shoulder as an arrow went through it. It went in through the front before going through my back and thudding into the tree behind me. Without thinking, I fired an arrow in the direction the arrow had come from. A man dressed in mismatched clothing with a feral look in his eyes fell to the ground.
And the world erupted into chaos.
Ignoring the pain searing my side, I rushed towards the savages running towards us. Scouts ran past me, they had hidden in the trees. I slashed my first attacker across the throat, before stabbing the next in the throat. Arrows rained down us, I needed to take out the archers before the scouts dies. Cables brought me up to the first savage. I blocked her bow from hitting me in the face before throwing her to the ground. She hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Glancing around, I noticed the corporal doing the same thing. Killing the last archer proved to be extremely difficult, the blood loss had weakened me.
Gasping, I leaned against the tree and tried to stay conscious. The scouts on the ground had killed the rest of the savages, leaving a bloody mess. My vision flickered as I moved, a girl grappling to my spot.
"I'm Squad Leader Hange! If you'll just let me look at your shoulder-" I didn't wait for her to finish, using my maneuvering device to move away from the scene. No one would follow me, not with injured scouts.
I stumbled down one of the tunnels leading to my base. Limping across the meadow, I opened the door to the house. Bottles smashed to the floor as I ripped open a cabinet. Groaning, I poured a bottle of alcohol on my shoulder. It took me 3 tries to thread the needle. My stitches were sloppy and bloody, courtesy of the blood loss. Eventually I finished wrapping my shoulder in a roll of clean cloth, passing out once. Half-crawling, I began to make my way to my bedroom. A scream ripped through the air, near where the savages had attacked me. Whipping around, I moaned as my shoulder blazed with pain. I fell to the ground, feeling myself falling unconscious. I gave in, more than ready to let the pain end.
So what do you think? Should I continue? The writing for the first chapter is a little rough, but I had trouble improving it. If I continue this, I will be adding in certain things. Things like:
-some titans will display small amounts of intelligence. Some will know to protect their neck or to remove any cables near them.
-I will be referring to deviant type titans as variants (Some people refer to deviant types this way, but I'm not sure if they are referred to as variants in the anime)
-Hangi's craziness will be dialed down because I find her difficult to write
-Levi will refer to Anathema as a savage, as he considers it the best insult for someone outside the walls
-I will alternate between referring to the 3dm gear as 3d Maneuvering Device, 3DM gear, and I will call the hooks used to go between trees, cables
Oh, Anathema can mean two things. It is derived from a Greek word meaning dedicated. It also has been used in the bible (Religion will not be apart of this story, but the library has many books considered lost and the bible is one of them. Anathema is not religious, she just read the bible), in the New Testament to excommunicate someone. It basically means to be cursed or damned, which is the meaning implied in the story.