It started out with twelve of us. We tried to lay low and stay safe when the outbreak hit, but it was no use. If you don't move, you don't survive and we learned that the hard way.

Our current place of residence was dark , cold and cramped, but we made do with what we could get. Eren said we wouldn't stay long anyway, and that was the only thing i knew to be certain. We never stayed long in one place. Not after we lost Marco. It hasn't even been a week since he died, and no one is taking it well. Marco was loved by everyone he came in contact with. He had such a sweet and selfless demeanor that practically made him incapable of being hated, and now that he was gone, I couldn't imagine things being the same... Especially not for Jean. Jean and Marco were inseparable. Marco never left Jeans side, and though Jean would never admit it, I could tell he didn't mind in the slightest. It was the middle of the night when Marco had gotten bitten by a stray biter, [That's what Ymir decided to call them. ]He had to make a midnight bathroom run, but didn't want to wake anyone to go with him, that was part of Marcos selfless personality. We did absolutely everything in our power to stop the bleeding. Armin and I had wrapped gauze tightly around the wound after Mikasa had attempted to cauterize it, [we had no clue that it would be pointless to, we were just trying to stop our friend from bleeding out.] I had no idea how Mikasa could keep such a calm expression, especially in this situation, It hurt seeing the once happy go lucky boy in so much pain. Even Ymir could barely keep up her strong , sturdy aura. After an hour or so of tiring work, his sporadic heart beat and forced breaths finally ceased all together. Marco was dead, or so we thought. Jean was so happy when he had opened his eyes once again about ten minutes later. So happy to hear a small groan of anguish escape the pale, freckled boys lips. However, it didn't take the boys best friend long to realize something wasn't right. Marco's once vibrant eyes were a dim foggy colour, and his once rosy cheeks now looked as if they had gone through the wash far too many times. I remember the fear on Jeans face as the realization hit him like a heavy stone. This was not Marco. Marco was gone and his empty shell was taken over by something that wanted nothing more than to go after any one with a beating heart and warm flesh, [which just happened to be the dual haired teen who was hovering over the dead boys corpse.] Jean couldn't put him down, though. He couldn't bring himself to put the barrel of his gun to the once full of life teens temple and destroy the creature that now inhabited it. He wanted to, but he couldn't. He struggled against the dead boys new found strength, screaming :
"Marco! please! stop! It's me, Jean!"
Then; a gunshot rang out , piercing my ears. Marcos blood was splattered every which way, covering anyone and everyone nearby. Blood mixed with tears upon Jeans face as he watched his best friend die, for a second time, in front of his eyes. As my shaking hands reached up to my face and wiped my friends blood away, I noticed Annie clean off the barrel of her 9 mm pistol that she had held against the freckled boys head, her face completely cold and lacking in emotions as she did so. She killed Marco without a second thought , splattering his blood and brain matter all over the group of traumatized teens. I couldn't speak, or think correctly as I looked at what was left of Marcos head. I didn't notice Jean, or anyone else in this moment, I just sat there and trembled like the complete coward I was. The yelling broke me from my daze. I heard Annie raise her voice over Erens, saying something along the lines of ' kill or be killed'. At the time, it seemed heartless and cold, but in this new world, It is the only rule to live by. Those were the last words I heard Annie speak. That night ,her, Berdthold and Reiner packed their bags and left camp without a second glance. Our once strong group of twelve was now dwindled to nine broken and beaten teens with no where to go except forward. Even though that was the last thing we wanted to do, we had no choice. If you don't move, you don't survive.

"Yo, Christa...you alright?" Ymir's hoarse whisper saved me from my gruesome memories. I looked up from my glove covered hands and forced the most reassuring smile I could muster.

"mm hmm. of course I am " I nodded as I warmed my hands over the fire. The winter was coming on fast and everyone could feel it. I looked over at the brunette and I could tell she wasn't buying a single word that escaped my shivering lips.

"Cut the shit Blondie. You can't lie to me. " She stated matter of factly as she poked at the dying fire with a nearby twig. She looked over at me, her freckled face illuminated by the red embers.

"Wanna talk about it?" Her question startled me. Ymir was not one to talk about how she was feeling, let alone ask others about theirs. I couldn't help but smile lightly at her. Ever since the world had fallen apart, Ymir had changed, only a little bit, but it was enough for me to notice,even if others couldnt. She had softened a bit, and although she was still there to crack ocasional jokes to attempt to break the silence and tension, she also knew when she had to be strong and comforting for us, like a rock. My rock. I shook my head lightly but shot her a genuine smile.

"No. I think i'll be alright. but thank you. " I heard her snicker.

"Good. Cuz I sure as hell didn't wanna listen to your mopey ass shit." I looked into the fire, a smile still prominent on my face. This is what I loved about Ymir. She was real, genuine, and she wasn't going to pretend to listen to something she wasn't intrested in in the slightest. I moved my much smaller, freezing body closer to her skinny frame. No longer caring about anything else around me as she threw her long muscular arm around my shoulder, I snuggled into her for warmth. My eyes feeling heavy at the comfort her presence brought me. The last thing I headrd before my mind drifted into unconciousness was her voice, whispering lightly in my ear.
"Get some sleep, short stuff. We've got a long day a head of us tomorrow."