Fear: Chapter Two
Ambition
Armin sighed, as he continued to stand outside in the dusk... The weather was harsh, as the temperature dropped rapidly... He was forced to sit outside until dusk, by the leading military commander; and his continuation to use Armin as a toy in front of his other cadet's.
He hadn't been able to even move for what had been hours, he just sat there; as he slowly and wearily watched the sun go down...
The other cadets would occasionally come out and snicker at the boy, his dismay pleasing their feared appetites; as for once, they could dominate someone who was weaker, rather than being dominated by the titans.
Armin honestly though, that the cadets themselves, had nearly as much of a vendetta against him, as the commander did... It made his nights even more filled with anxiety and paranoia, as he was never sure if they would for their pleasure, attack him at night...
The boy continued to stare at the ground, as the saliva had finally somewhat dried on his face... His legs were screaming for rest, but they had to maintain until he got word from the commander that it was an end, to what the commander called his, 'punishment for weakness'.
Armin looked up hesitantly, hoping nobody was there... He saw open doors, that led to the cafeteria, as he saw many cadets chewing away at their meals; and chuckling with one another at the day's events...
The boy was starving... His eyes widened in hunger, as he saw each of the cuisines, as their linger smell tickled the boys nasal sense. It had become a common punishment for weakness to have the cadets, skip meals... Yet, Armin was unable to perform many of the physical tasks. Forcing the boy to skip many, and many meals...
The boy hadn't eaten for two days now... And it felt like his body was going to break down on him at any second...
The only times where he had achieved the exercises, were when they had some type of mental challenge. As, he could easily muster a plan; and quickly pass the excercise... Yet... It seemed that nobody had noticed the boy's intellectual properties.
Suddenly, Armin noticed a blonde cadet sitting in the cafeteria; with a cold looking glare accompanying her face, looking towards him. She had caught his glare, much to his dismay.
The boy quickly looked towards the ground. He inwardly cursed himself, for even looking in the first place...
He hadn't met that certain cadet he just saw... Nor, knew her name... But, she had a reputation of being horribly strict, rugged, and incredibly powerful... He really didn't want to get on her wrong side...
He nervously began to twiddle his fingers, as his hands were still in unison behind him... He really didn't want to look up, as he was worried the girl's glare would still be irritably placed upon him.
Suddenly, out of all the noise and commotion from the cafeteria; he heard foot steps approaching him...
"O-Oh no..." He thought nervously, as he had a suspicion as to who those footsteps belonged to.
Suddenly, as he continued to look towards the floor; he saw a pair of black boots halt in front of him...
The boy gulped... As he hesitantly raised his head , when he looked up, he saw a familiar set of blonde hair. And once more a cold glare shot at him, now however, just feet away... He winced nervously under her gaze, as his eyes continued to widen in fright.
Immediately, Armin decided it was best to just apologize... Hopefully, she wouldn't be too angry... He wasn't even staring at her; he was just looking towards the food...
"M-Miss, I-I'm sorry... I-I really didn't mean to interrupt your meal... P-Please, forgive my intrusions..." Armin said shakily, as he felt his weakened state and his fear overwhelm him...
He saw the girl keep a continued cold glare, but watched her eyebrow raise... It seemed that confusion lingered in her hostile eyes...
"What, are you apologizing for?" She spat out towards the boy with no signs of emotion, as she wasn't sure of the reason of the boy's apologies; but thought of it as a sign of weakness...
The boy hesitated, as he thought of his next words carefully...
"I just... I thought, y-you were upset... B-Because... I-I d-didn't mean to look towards you..." He spoke cautiously, as he didn't want to upset the girl; and chose to be careful with each of his words.
The girl narrowed her eyes towards the boy, analyzing him... She could see his intimidation, fear, and nervousness; all affecting his features... He was just another unworthy cadet, in her mind.
"No. I just wanted to know on what manner was it, that you were standing out here." She spoke firmly, as once again; her words were traced with nothing. Blank, and uncaring.
"O-Oh, I just... I was put out here, because I wasn't... strong enough..." His words lowered in volume near the end, as signs of sorrow became evident in the boy's voice. His gaze matched his tone of voice, as it began to looks downwards with his words, towards the floor.
Annie looked towards Armin for a moment, almost scanning him... She then, after a few seconds of silence... Spoke up...
"Makes sense." She concluded coldly, as she turned away from the boy. She began to slowly walk away from the boy; when suddenly, he spoke up...
"H-Hey!" The boy spoke in panic as he looked up. He almost didn't acknowledge the words that came from his mouth, as everything still seemed to be in a malnourished haze after not eating for so long...
The girl stopped in her tracks; as she looked over her shoulder to the boy slowly, as her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What?" She spat out coldly towards the boy, as her patience was running thin...
Armin spoke without realization, as his instincts overtook his body...
"W-Would you... P-Please... I would never ask this... But..." Armin eyes widened in shock at his own words, "I haven't eaten for two days, and t-they aren't going to feed me tonight... W-Would you... please get me a piece... of b-bread...please?" Armin spoke timidly, as he felt himself begin to slowly shake...
Why, and what was that? Why did he ask her? What made him...Do it? He didn't even feel like it was him saying it... Was it... Hunger?
She stood there for a moment, as her face turned back to in front of her. As she processed the words, she continued to sit there as she looked towards the floor...
She then suddenly began to walk towards the cafeteria, as her foot steps echoed through the night... He watched her walk back into the cafeteria, as she never spoke in response to the boy...
Armin frowned in horror, as he expected that result... It was a stupid question, and he didn't even feel like he, was the one who asked it... What was coming over him?
He lowered his gaze to the ground once more, as he realized the mistake he made was a costly one... Not only did he most likely get on the bad side of the wrong person, but now he showed his weakness even more obviously...
He continued to make mistakes like these all the time... Just now... His friends weren't there to save him...
His mind wondered... Why did he do things like this...? Would he always do things like this...?
He felt so damned helpless whenever people were looking down on him... He wanted so desperately to prove them all wrong... But truthfully... never could...
Suddenly; he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination... But a pair of black boots, once more halted on the ground in front of him.
He hastily looked up towards the culprit, and once again; saw the cold looking blonde standing in front of him...
She suddenly, stretched out her arm; as a small piece of bread was held out in her hand towards the boy...
The boy's eyes widened in hope, as he stared at the girl's hand for a few seconds to make sure that this was indeed, not some imagery.
He looked up towards the girl nervously, with wide, hopeful eyes, and raised brows... Just to clarify the bread was for him... Just in case...
She raised her brow in confusion, as she narrowed her eyes towards the boy.
"Take it." She said stiffly, as her words were unfeeling; yet, they gave boy a small amount of hope, that maybe the days ahead would be brighter.
The boy gave a small thankful smile, "T-Thank you!" He cried out in glee, as his gaze dropped towards her hands, as his hands slowly made their ways to her to take the bread...
Suddenly, the girl took a step back away from the boy; while still facing him. An extremely cold and unsympathetic look on her face.
The boy looked up towards her face, as a small frown of confusion became evident upon it...
Promptly, the girl dropped the piece of bread towards the floor; and harshly stomped once upon it, crushing and dirtying the piece of bread entirely...
The boy's eyes widened in horror, as his gaze had been; and was, focused on the small piece of bread the whole time... His mouth was timidly gaped open, as he slowly looked back up towards to the girl's face in fright.
"I will not, be a charity; for the weak." She spoke aggressively, as she turned away from the shocked boy and walked back towards the cafeteria...
The boy felt his hope instantly shatter... As nearly all of his remaining courage, was abolished. As he watched the girl enter the cafeteria, he looked back down towards the destroyed nourishment, as he hunched over it woefully...
His face frowned with despair, as he felt his eyes slowly start to water with their dejection...
He truly, was... worthless...
Suddenly; he felt his body shake, as randomly, everything slowly started to fade to darkness. As his strength vanished, the feeling of his body left him...
The last thing he saw... was the decimated piece of bread...
Before everything turned to black...
To Be Continued...
Thanks for reading! :) I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully, this chapter was a bit better than the last haha. ^_^ I am still thinking of the story as I continue writing this, but I'm having fun; so I hope you all enjoy reading this! :) Thanks for reading this again! And I hope you enjoyed! :D