Notes: This is what I do during lunch.
Last Moments
Dying was…strange.
At first she felt immense pain wash over, a pain that would have her screaming her throat raw if her chest hadn't have been crushed. She felt every bit of it, her bones snapping as her skin tore and broke against the tree's rough bark. The metallic tinge of blood filled her mouth, accompanied by the bitter taste of defeat.
But physical feeling began to fade from comprehension. The burning, searing pain of hundred of broken bones melded into a feeling of icy chills and soon to nothing at all. It was strange - she felt nothing, as if she were floating in air. Her senses began failing her. The horrified and enraged screams of Auruo became nothing but a bull hum in the farthest reaches of her hearing and that too faded eventually.
Death did not come quickly to her. The edges of her vision tinged gray, but still she was able to keep her conscious. She stayed in the same position, her body bent awkwardly against the base of the tree as she watched the canopy above sway in the mid afternoon breeze.
A sense of peace suddenly fell over her at that moment. She'd never felt quite so tranquil, so… serene. She was perfectly content in that moment, feeling as if she had finally fulfilled her duty as a soldier of humanity - to offer up her blood, sweat, and tears in the fight against the titan threat.
Then a tinge of regret flooded through her. She wasn't ready to die, not yet. She was young and had an entire life ahead of her, why did it have to end there? Her stomach knotted as the full impact of realization dawned on her. Never again would she see the smiling faces of her team; she wouldn't have any more nights when the squad lounged in the headquarters and drank as they told stories from their childhood or their first expeditions when they joined the legion. No more yelling at Auruo, playing pranks on Erd with Gunther. There would be no more quiet nights in the dinner hall with Corporal Levi, looking over reports with a cup of tea.
Never again would she experience the things that once made her bubble with joy.
Petra Ral was another soldier among the thousands who'd lost their lives in the war against the Titans. She suddenly saw no honor in her death, after all what had they accomplished? Nothing. Her entire squad had been massacred and the female type escaped. Perhaps she was at fault for insisting that Eren had trusted them - Levi did say he wasn't wrong.
It was bitter, she thought. That in a war such as this, people must make their own decisions for themselves. Mistakes brought about horrible costs and Petra had learned that the hard way. If only she hadn't insisted… perhaps things would be different.
No. She was blaming herself for this. She wasn't the only one - the others were insisting upon it to. All of them should have listened to Levi in the first place and allowed Eren to make his decision without pressure. Prehaps with the assistance of the Titan Shifter they might have succeeded in their mission and the casualties would be lowered.
But now was not the time to think such thoughts.
A shadow fell over her and the solemn face of her Corporal filled her vision. He stared at her broken frame for a long moment, the pain evident in his eyes. She wanted so desperately to call out to him, but she couldn't. Speaking was far beyond her at this point, just as any type of movement - she could't even blink.
I'm sorry, Corproal Levi. We failed. We let you down…I'm so sorry.
Just as suddenly as he had appeared, he was gone, swinging through the trees, tailing after the female type. Her vision clouded over completely as he disappeared among the trees.
I'm sorry I failed you.
Her last breathe came in in a rasp inhale, and a slow, silent exhale, and Petra breathed no more.