The Dream
My name is Mikasa Ackerman, and I live in a beautiful yet cruel world.
Over a hundred years ago our world lived in chaos and destruction. Then people, who claimed themselves as the Capitol, rose up and built the three Walls, the outermost Wall Maria, the middle Wall Rose, and the inner Wall Sina, with the Capitol at the very center of them. These Walls were built to create order and peace. But we have been living like cattle, unable go outside of these Walls or even leave our own District, the people in my District aren't even living anymore they're just surviving.
Today it seems like a beautiful day. The sun is out and there isn't a cloud in the sky but it's not too hot because there is a steady breeze that plays with my raven colored hair. Then again, everyone who knows what today is should know that it is indeed a cruel day today.
I walk along the border of my District and I spot the person I am searching for. He's where I normally find him when he runs off, under the big oak tree that grows in the vast field right outside of our town's border. He's my dearest friend and my family. He's sleeping when I get to him so I call out his name, "Eren." He doesn't respond right away and I see his eyelashes are glistening with tears so I try again, "Eren!"
Eren gasps awake and he looks around as if he doesn't know where he is. The tears that clung to his dark lashes now run down his light brown cheeks. And he looks up at me with his teal colored eyes, "Mikasa?" he says my name uncertainly.
"Eren, why were you crying?" I ask concerned.
Eren looks even more confused and wipes his face with his sleeve, "I was having a bad dream. But I can't remember it," he says looking at his now damp sleeve, "I think it was about mom."
I reach my hand out to him and say, "Come on, the Reaping's about to begin."
Eren takes my hand and I help him up and we head back towards town.
Eren's mom is not my mom. I was adopted into the Jaeger family when I was nine after my family was killed. When Eren and I were ten, his father, who was the town's doctor, mysteriously disappeared and soon after there was a raid on our town and while we were both out someone set fire to our house and it had collapsed, killing Eren's mother. We are now orphans and Eren is the only family I have left and I made vow to protect the only family I had left no matter what the cost.
We get to the side gate entrance and are stopped by the Wall Guards. Usually people are supposed to be punished for going outside of our District but the guards have stopped caring for a long time. One of the guards, Hannes, who was a friend of Eren's mother, usually lets us out whenever we want as long as we bring him strong liquor.
Hannes is playing cards with his guard buddies when he spots us walking back in. "Ah, it's you two!" he calls and walks over to greet us. "You better hurry, the Reaping is about to start soon."
"We know," Eren tells him.
Hannes looks at us curiously. "What were you two doing out there anyways? Not sneaking off for secret kisses or anything like that, I hope?"
I feel my face start to go red and see that Eren looks mortified. "N-no!" Eren stammers, "She's like a sister to me Hannes, you know that!"
Hannes just laughs and ruffles Eren's hair, "I'm just teasing you two! Lighten up, will ya?"
"How can anyone lighten up when the Reaping's in just a couple hours?" I ask and Hannes immediately becomes somber.
Eren and I get teased a lot about our relationship. People say you will never see one of us without the other one and many people think that we're dating even after Eren insists that we're more like brother and sister. But Eren and I look nothing like a brother and sister. While Eren has naturally light brown skin and dark messy brown hair, I have pale skin and straight black hair. Eren also has wide teal-green eyes which are very different then my small dark grey ones. I can see how people who don't know us very well would mistake us for a couple.
Along the way into town we spot our friend Armin Arlert. He also lost his parents in the same raid that killed Eren's mother but he now lives with his grandfather. Even from this distance I can tell something isn't right. I am able to hear Armin's screams of pain and I see his blonde head being pushed against a wall by some older kids. Armin is small for his age which makes him an easy target for bullies. Eren ran ahead to help him and I follow shortly behind. Eren collides with the biggest guy who was the one hurting Armin and tackles him to the ground. I go after the other two bullies and throw one against the opposite wall and flip the other over my head and slam him into the ground.
"What's the big idea?!" I hear the big guy who Eren tackled say. I turn and see that he now has Eren in a headlock and is twisting his arm into a painful position.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Eren was barely able to gasp out.
The older boy laughs, "You mean someone like you?"
Leaving the two other guys, who were barely conscious, I rush to Eren's aid. "No," I call and the older boy finally notices me and hastily releases Eren and tries to make a run for it but I am too fast and I grab him by his neck and hold him up and slam him against the wall with one arm, "someone like me!" I hiss.
"M-Mikas-sa," the boy chokes, "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
I narrow my eyes and throw him to the ground. All three of them then scramble up and ran away as fast as they could. Even from a young age I have always been full aware of my incredible strength and precision. I have always been in full control of my body and if I put my mind to it there is nothing I cannot do. Now by the age of fifteen the whole town has grown to know of my skills and strength from multiple street fights I've gotten dragged into with Eren.
"Geez, Mikasa," I hear Eren mumble as I turn to see if he was injured badly. "You don't always have to save me, you know," he says looking disgruntled. He then walks over to Armin, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah," the blonde haired boy says and gets up. "I was just talking about how I wanted to see what was outside of these Walls. And they got scared and started beating me up saying 'what if the Capitol heard me' and stuff."
"Which they are right about, Armin," I say, "going outside Wall Maria is forbidden by the Capitol. And if the Capitol heard you talking about it you would be killed."
"Even so, I wish I could see what was outside of these Walls," Eren says looking towards the sky.
"I found a book of my grandpa's and it says that the world is mostly covered in water and there are places where sand goes on forever and it's extremely hot there!" Armin adds getting excited.
"Woah! No way!" Eren marvels.
"You shouldn't think about those sorts of things," I state.
Eren looks at me angrily, "I want to see and understand the world outside. I don't want to die inside these Walls without knowing what's out there!"
"The only way for people to go outside of the Wall is to be chosen for the Games. And speaking of which, we're going to be late for the Reaping, so come on," I say to them and start dragging them both by the collars of their shirts.
The Games. Almost seventy-five years ago, shortly after the Walls were built the people rose up to overthrow the Capitol in order to live outside the Walls once again. But eventually the Capitol beat down the people so as punishment and to remind them who was in charge, the Capitol would choose one boy and one girl from each District from the ages of twelve to eighteen in the yearly Reaping to participate in what they call the Games. It is located in a secluded arena outside of Wall Maria and it is a fight to the death for the chosen children. The last person to survive is named the Victor. Only the Victors get to survive. The world is merciless like that. They are rewarded with wealth for them and their District and the insurance that their name will never be put in the Reaping again. And the whole thing is broadcasted live for everyone in the Walls to see.
There are two districts located in each of the Walls. In Wall Sina, the centermost Wall, are Districts One and Two. In the middle Wall, Wall Rose, is District Three and Four, and the outermost Districts within Wall Maria are District Five and District Six. Eren and I live in District Six; it is one of the poorer Districts. We are known for the lumber we send to the Capitol since we are the outer most District and have more trees than the other more populated and crowded towns.
The three of us make our way to the town square; the people from the Capitol had already arrived and set up the big screens so they can broadcast everything that happens. When we enter the town square the Military Police for the capitol roughly shove us where we are supposed to go. We are separated by gender and age. I am pushed off to the left and Eren and Armin to the right. I am then placed in the fifteen year old girls section this year and Eren in the fifteen year old boys. Armin is a few rows ahead of him in the fourteen year old boys section.
Some of the girls in my section are crying. I see friends of the girl who was chosen last year; she was very popular and looked up to among her peers. She didn't make it very far in the Games. For District Six the Reaping has become more of a death sentence since there are hardly ever winners that come back. Everyone is silent besides a few sniffles and coughs as they wait for the inevitable. The waiting seems to go on forever.
I look through the crowd of boys to find Eren and I finally see him and he's already looking at me. Neither of us says anything and I can see he looks as worried as I am. We both know that it's a one in a hundred chance that our names will get chosen but it still doesn't calm my nerves.
Suddenly, I hear someone clear their throat and tap on the microphone from stage that had been set up in the front of the square earlier this morning. Everyone seems to hold their breath. The Reaping is about to begin.