You all had high hopes for this expedition trip- But instead of a great success, it had been the worst screw up in a long time. Everything went to shit at the very minute your squad entered to the forest of giant trees. Two other squads that were supposed to wait you there were already swiped off, leaving only a bloody, gory mess for you to find.
"What… What the…" Berchwald, your good friend and a comrade, stuttered as you two landed on a sturdy branch to estimate the situation. There was 4 members in each squad- In your squad, among you and Berchwald, there was Carleigh and Ellie, both also good friends of yours.
"Get a hold of yourself, Ber!" You stated firmly when he started to gag for the sight below you. "Don't let your guard down, the ones responsible for all of this are still down there somewhere." You tried your best to seem calm and confident for the sake of your comrades, but the truth was you were just as horrified as everyone else. You hadn't seen a single flare on your way there, so everything must have happened fast. In other words, there was something really bad in those woods. Hands shaking, you loaded a blue shell into your flare gun. You had barely time to shoot the signal flare, telling other following squads to retreat, when ground began shaking.
"South-east, behind the trees!" Ellie shouted from the branch next to you.
"Two normal types… And pretty small ones, too." You frowned as the titans wobbled towards the tree Ellie and Carleigh were taking shelter on. "But where's-"
"[f/n]! Ber!" Carleigh screamed. Her hysterical voice told you it was too late already when you turned your gaze to your comrade next to you. When your eyes locked in with Berchwald's, it felt like time had stopped. That look on his face in that fracture of a second- He looked confused, but not scared. Still unaware of the large hand that had already almost wrapped its fingers around him, about to grip him so hard it would crush every single of his bones.
"BER!" You reached over to him, but it was too late. His broad-shouldered, bear like body looked so small when that monster took a hold of him- The loud cracking sound his bones made haunted you for rest of your life.
Titan's other hand grabbed on the branch only few feets from you, making the tree shake so hard you lost your balance. The titan pulled itself up just enough to try to grab you with its teeth, snapping its jaws together only few inches away from you- If you hadn't lose your balance and fell off the branch, it would have gotten you as well.
"[f/n]!" Ellie's voice snapped you out of your paralyzation, just in time for you to straighten your fall and swing yourself back to safety. "It's an abnormal! That motherfucker jumped all the way up to you!" She continued as you landed on the branch next to her.
"Damn it… How much gas you got left?" You tried to come up with a plan. Fight or flee?
"Less than a half tank… Maybe ⅓." Ellie estimated.
"Carleigh?" You glanced at her on the other side of you. "Carleigh?"
"Ber…" She whimpered the name of your lost friend, shaking like a leaf. "We are all going to die…"
"Carleigh!" Ellie grabbed on her shoulders. "Pull yourself together! How much gas do you have?!"
"Shit…" You cursed in your mind, keeping your eyes on the abnormal. "She's in shock. We can't escape if she's in that condition... Gas wouldn't probably last either."
Carleigh screamed as the tree shaked. Bunch of lesser titans had gathered around the tree, smashing the trunk with their hands as they tried to climb up.
"Ellie. Shoot the black flare, just in case if there's still a squad close by." You doubted that anyone would come for your help, but you had to at least try. "So what do you say, can two of us we take that down?" You smirked at Ellie.
"Probably not." She chuckled tiredly and raised the flare gun, sending a black trail of smoke up in the air. "But we can try."
"But how… how about me?" Carleigh lifted her gaze, still sobbing uncontrollably. "I need to fight too!"
"Carleigh…" Ellie sighed, giving you a meaningful look. You both knew it was a suicide if she went to the battlefield in that state of mind. "Just… wait here. Alright? Keep those lesser ones here so we can concentrate on that big one."
Leaving sobbing Carleigh behind you, Ellie and you launched towards the abnormal titan. In a silent agreement, you both went straight for the legs. This abnormal one didn't stand up straight, but crawled on all fours like a weird, twisted animal. Normally you cut off the legs to have a better access to the nape of the neck, but in this case you wanted to make sure it wouldn't jump around anymore. With that ability, this titan was way too unpredictable. Getting a clean cut on the tendon turned out to be more difficult you had thought- Since the titan wasn't standing up, you needed to be extra precise. Luckily, both of you succeeded with a first try.
"I'm going for the kill!" Ellie shouted, swinging herself towards the titan's upper body.
"Yes!" You cheered in your mind as you landed to the safe distance from the titan. "There's no way she could miss… Maybe we can make it-"
It was too early to celebrate. You didn't have time to process what was happening when you saw Carleigh dash towards the titan as well.
"Carleigh?!" Ellie flustered, forgetting her target. "What the-"
"What the hell is she doing..?!" You panicked. "If she's here, where are-?" You quickly turned around to see the lesser titans rushing after Carleigh, towards the abnormal and Ellie. Carleigh was now filled with rage, seeking for the revenge for your lost comrade and unable to think straight.
"She's getting all of us killed..!" Launching yourself back to the battlefield, you began to take down the normal types as fast as you could. "Ellie! Ellie, get out of there!"
No answer. Slashing down another titan, you bought enough time to glance over to her direction. The sight made your heart sank. The abnormal titan was crushing her under its palm- It probably managed to catch her when Carleigh dashed into the scene. Carleigh was trying to cut the nape of the neck with poor results, constantly dashing back after every missed cut. She was panicking again, trying to save her comrade whose fate she had sealed with her own foolish actions.
"Ellie… Carleigh…" Tears rolling down your cheeks, you watched her useless fight. "Carleigh… Ellie is… already…" You tried to shout, but your voice was stuck in your throat. It was all over. You were doomed. With only less than ⅓ tank of gas left, you wouldn't be able to escape even if you wanted to.
You squealed when one of the lesser titans flung its hand at you- You managed to avoid the hit, but came crashing down to the ground. Struggling to get back on your feet, you saw it reach down towards you. Suddenly, with a flash of steel, the titan started to lose its balance.
"What… the…?" You whimpered in disbelief. "Someone cutted its neck?!" But, the danger wasn't over yet- Slowly, the titan began to fall towards you. You had barely time to curse in your mind when you felt an abrupt tug and you were pulled up in the air- Not by a titan, thankfully. Glancing down, you saw an arm wrapped tightly around your waist. Glancing to your right, you whimpered the name of your saviour: "Captain Levi?"