CHAPTER 4

Levi's POV

Walking her down the HQ corridors was like leading a celebrity. She had become quite well-known amongst the Scouts even though only four of us had ever seen her. Her eyes roved over the regiment, her mouth occasionally mumbling something incoherent, but she never once stopped walking. Until she saw Petra waving sadly in her direction.

"Petra," she whispered brokenly and then turned to me. "I need to talk to you."

"It's a little late for that," I said, but she shook her head rapidly.

"You don't understand, Corporal. Bad things are going to happen if I don't tell you some things."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise." I looked around for a door, any door, that would lead to somewhere without prying ears or eyes. I finally spied the door to a girl's dormitory and pulled her toward it.

"This way," I said lowly and opened the door. A few cadets blew wolf whistles our way, and Hanji blew kisses. I growled under my breath, but did nothing. The girl, however, whirled around to glare at the culprits.

"I will end you," she threatened with a snarl, earning several chuckles. I rolled my eyes and yanked her into the room. Once the door was locked, I glared at her.

"You better have a very good reason for-"

"Are you going after a female Titan?"

I stopped in the middle of my sentence. The other squad leaders and I had been planning this expedition for weeks in absolute secrecy - this girl had been here for less than three days and she knew!

"How did you-"

"I'll take that as a yes," she interrupted again. "I... be prepared."

"What? Is that it? 'Be prepared?'"

"Fine, asshole!" she snapped, then lowered her voice. "Be prepared to see your entire squad die at the hands of Titans and a spy!"

"What proof do you have of this?" I asked.

"None."

"Then why should I bel-"

"You used to be a thug," she said bluntly. "Some people call you 'Shorty' or 'Midget.' You have an obsession with cleanliness. Hanji has an unhealthy fixation with scientific experimentation on Titans, Jeager wears a key to his basement around his neck at all times, and Armin is a genius strategist."

What the hell is this kid?

"Who told you all of that?" I hissed. "You've only been in contact with four people in the past forty-eight hours, so if you don't tell me it won't take me long to figure it out."

"Fine. Don't believe me. See where it gets you," she started to walk to the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"From what I've been able to ascertain, to my death," she deadpanned.

"That's fine with me," I grumbled. But the moment she touched the door, she took a deep breath and wheeled around.

"Jeager is going to try to transform when you get into the forest," she told me. "Everyone is going to beg him not to do it, but you'll just give an ambiguous speech about trusting yourself versus trusting your comrades. The female Titan is going to scream and get all the other Titans to eat her so the person inside her can escape. The person inside is a spy and will lead your entire squad to their deaths. And if you, I, or both of us don't do something about it, Petra is going to die of a broken neck by getting slammed into a tree."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked after a moment. She sighed.

"I'm telling you all of this," she said slowly, "so that when you see it start to happen, you'll believe me."

"And what do I do if I start to believe you? Retreat?" She shook her head again.

"Come and find me. I can guarantee I'll still be alive."

I had pulled the bloodstained girl to Commander Erwin's horse. The Commander and I jointly lifted her atop the horse and tied her feet to the outside of the stirrups.

"Are the bindings really necessary?" she scoffed and looked down at me. Commander Erwin mounted the horse behind the girl.

"Yes," he said plainly.

"Whatever," she sighed. "Might as well take the horse down with me. Maybe I won't die alone like my enemies insist I will."

Now, two hours later, I was staring straight ahead, standing atop the head of the female Titan, trying to look disinterested.

Jeager had wanted to transform into a Titan, my entire squad had tried to convince him to trust his orders, and I had given a speech about trusting oneself versus trusting one's comrades. Just like the girl had predicted. But that stupid cadet always wanted to transform; it was pure coincidence. It had to be. Nobody could see the future because the future was always changing - we make our own destinies.

Despite all odds, the girl remained alive and completely calm. She sat in the middle of the clearing fiddling with the hem of her shirt and picking dried blood from her shoes.

"I'd call this mission a success," Commander Erwin said from his perch in a tree. The girl scoffed down below. "What are you laughing at?"

"The mission's not over yet!" she called up to him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, the female Titan let out a great yawp and fell even more still.

"That, Commander," she said, "is what I mean."

The thundering of Titan footsteps was everywhere, converging on our position. The girl jumped up and snapped the chain that connected her handcuffs before untying the cloth that bound her feet together. When that was done, only moments later, she sprinted to the nearest tree and jumped, somehow grabbing a hold of a limb and hoising herself up to it.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed at us who were frozen in shock. "Fucking retreat already!"

As I watched the Titans attack the female Titan and begin to eat her, I remembered our conversation in the dormitory.

"Commander," I said steadily, "I think a retreat would be wise."

"What?"

"If we don't want to risk any more casualties, retreat would be the best option." The Commander stared at me for a moment, but then retrieved his flare gun and shot a plume of colored smoke into the air. Soon, more flares dotted the sky.

If this girl was right about this, I couldn't risk the lives of my comrades any longer.