So I will be out of town this week and decided to go ahead and post the next chapter before I leave (it may be a bit before I get the next one up).
I already have the next few chapters written, they just need to be fleshed out and proofed. In the meantime, I'd like to know what you guys would like to see in the upcoming chapters! More flashbacks, less flashbacks, more/less of a certain character, scenes set in a certain area, less/more jumping around? Let me know!
Feedback means more motivation to type faster :)
She peered around the corner. The night sky was clear, the moon lighting a path and casting plenty of shadows for her to hide in. At night only one guard kept post at the opening to the underground. She knew this from countless experiences before. She felt relaxed in the dark now. Even the underground didn't frighten her anymore – something he warned her against.
"Don't get too comfortable here, Sal," he'd told her before. "Always be aware. Don't let anyone at your back."
The guard was leaning against the wall, fast asleep. A snore even escaped him every once in a while. She pulled the cloak tighter around her small frame and tip-toed quietly past him and down the stairs to the underground, careful not to disturb any crumbling pebbles. The stairs deposited her at the entrance to the underground, where she'd travelled to hundreds of times in the past few years. Whether she was carrying bread down with Daddy or sneaking out between those visits, she'd seen more of the underground than most of the Military police ever would.
He wasn't waiting at the entrance for her like he usually was. She began walking forward, thinking she must have been early. She had to admit, the underground at night was scarier without her escort. Her cloak clung to her as if it were trying to comfort her. Every noise sounded amplified – the laugh of a lunatic in an alleyway, a baby crying in a dumpster, the breaking of glass or an occasional gunshot, the flapping of bat wings. She felt a breeze touch her face, curious where the wind would come from down there.
Before she could react, that breeze was coming back for her, and this time she was lifted off the ground and sent sailing through the air. Strong arms circled her and she breathed in his scent, knowing she had nothing to fear. The click and swish of the maneuvering gear accompanied them as they cut through the air like the birds outside of the walls.
Her cloak blew back and her hair escaped, trailing behind them like fire. She threw her head back and laughed with glee, feeling the freedom of the flight. They flew like that for about half an hour, though it felt like the blink of an eye to Sal. Him holding her close, her laughing at the experience of flying on his wings yet again.
He stopped on the rooftop and lowered her feet to the stone roof. Her mouth was wide with a grin as she looked into his eyes. He never really smiled back, but there was a warmth in his eyes that she'd come to recognize over the last several years as the closest thing to a smile he could give. He held on to her waist a moment longer than necessary before breaking the contact and opening the roof hatch, revealing stairs.
"Should we go see what Isabel and Furlan are doing?" he asked her before gesturing for her to go inside.
Levi wrapped his hand with a cotton bandage as he stared out the window. It was nearly daybreak and he hadn't slept at all. The dark circles under his eyes really weren't that out of the ordinary, so no one would notice. Not that anyone would mention it, either way. He didn't exactly welcome small talk.
What the hell had she been planning? He did hate that he'd wasted the tea, but maybe if he pretended not to remember her, or was just unbelievably cruel, she would transfer back to the Garrison.
But really, what did she think would happen? That he would accept the girl and wrap her in his arms, carry her up to his bed and have his way with her? Damn women. Always romanticizing him. They were all the same.
Except this was Sal. He was fooling himself if he thought he could lump her in with the rest of them. Sweet Sal. With her soft, red hair and big blue eyes. She would always tug at his heart strings. He didn't want to leave the underground to join the Survey Corps when he was captured by Erwin and Mike. He ruled the underground back then – sure, he was a criminal, but whatever he wanted was his. And he was on his way to make Sal his queen when they dragged him above ground and shipped him out, no chance to even tell her goodbye. But maybe it was best that way, a clean cut to the ties.
Life had been bearable when he convinced himself she was dead. For years afterwards he would go into a rage thinking of how she must have died – she was always too careless in the underground for his comfort. Imagining what the scum of the underground would have done to her – with her pretty pink lips and milky, soft skin – was enough to drive him insane. Worst of all was the thought she would have been killed searching for him down there. He looked down at his hand and saw blood soaking the cotton, the wound splitting open because of how tightly he was clenching his fists without noticing.
He placed his hands on the window sill and dropped his head, for once not caring that he would leave a blood print. No, the only way to get rid of Sal would be to send her running back to Hermina. She was stubborn and it would be exhausting work. He would hate himself afterwards; he already did when he thought of the look on her face as he crushed that tea can. It was as if it were her heart in his hands, instead of that tea.
She knew him too well.
"Good morning," Mike greeted Sloan outside the next morning. "You're up early." He grabbed a bucket and walked toward the well.
"Didn't sleep too well actually," she replied as she brushed Apple's mane inside the horse's stall. "First time in a new place, and all." The sun was just beginning to break the horizon, but the truth was she couldn't spend another minute in the headquarters. She'd tossed and turned when she'd finally climbed into the bed. Maybe didn't even sleep a minute. Nothing was happening the way she'd planned. She knew Levi. She didn't expect a warm reunion. He was like a machine. Cold and calculated, and he would need some warming up after so much time apart. But she knew what it felt like to be in his good graces as well. He was never very inviting, but he was loyal. Protective. Possessive, even. She shivered, remembering how it felt when they used to brush together, flesh on flesh.
Why did he crush that tin? Maybe he was sending her a message. He wanted to assert his position as alpha male. The presence of another Captain had him worried. No, he wouldn't worry about that. He was confident in his abilities, always. Maybe he did remember her. Maybe there was another woman.
The thought shot through her chest like a bullet, exploding with shrapnel. Was he trying to send her a message? Get back, I'm spoken for.
"Captain Sloan?" She shook her head.
"Sorry, the lack of sleep must be getting to me."
"I said breakfast will be served in the dining hall shortly, if you're about finished. I'll show you there."
"Thanks, Mike." She placed the brush on a shelf in the horse stall and dusted her hands. "Let's go."
They grabbed bowls of porridge and sat down at a table, Mike, Ness, Hange, and Bryson, with Mike choosing a seat by Levi. He'd skipped the porridge, Sloan noticed, opting instead for a single cup of tea.
"Captain Sloan, I was thinking of showing Eren Yeager my work with Sonny and Bean this evening if you'd like to join us!" Hange said as she sat down her bowl with a thud!, almost spilling the contents. "I am always looking for new and captive audiences!"
"I would love to," Sloan replied. "I am very interested in Titan research. I actually transferred here with the hope of learning more."
"I would like to come as well, Squad Leader," Bryson chimed in.
"EEEEEH!" she squealed. "It's so hard to find interested people these days!" She went on to talk about the differences she'd seen in Sonny and Bean and the headway she was making in testing pain theories. Sal smiled at her as she blabbered on and on, taking in the look of Hange's mad scientist glasses and her oily, unkempt hair and thought that she liked her. She was strange, but passionate, and likeable.
"After breakfast we were planning to take all the new recruits out and see their stuff – you know, see where some may need extra help or where others may excel," Mike said.
"Sounds good! Before yesterday I hadn't really flown with the 3D gear like that in… must've been in training," Sal trailed off. "Well, not legally, at least." She laughed. "And the blades – we usually carried guns in the districts. More worried about other humans than Titans, I guess."
"Understandable," Ness said.
"Killing a Titan is nothing after you've had to put down one of your own kind," Levi said from behind his teacup, eyes dark as ever as they peered at her. Everyone sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment as Sal pondered the fact that those where the first words she'd heard from him in nearly two decades.
"Captain Levi has a point," Hange said. "For most people at least."
"Cadet Sloan!" the instructor called out as Sloan palmed the disposable blades, feeling them and letting the memories flow. "You're holding those blades wrong. This is correct." He showed her the way he held his, so the blades lead forward, opposite of how Sloan had hers, with the blades going back. "The correct way will allow for faster speed and depth."
"Would it be alright for me to try both ways?" She asked.
"In your case I will make that exception. You have your own way to do everything, it seems. Hasn't failed yet, I suppose. But CORRECT way first."
She switched the handles and felt how foreign it was. She took a breath before leaping and letting her 3D gear take her flying toward the Titan dummy she would be attacking. She sliced into the back of the neck.
"Damn! Not deep enough!" She called. "I'm trying the other way this time, if that's alright."
The instructor gave a curt nod in her direction. She changed the positioning now, the blades back and more underhanded, but much more comfortable. The way she'd been taught.
She lunged this time, same as before, but drew the blades behind her before slicing across her body and completely through the neck of the dummy. It teetered, hanging on by a thin piece of wood before falling off completely.
Everyone looked at her with their mouths open.
Much in the same way they were now. The dummy crashed to the ground as Bryson clumsily flew over to her on his 3D gear, followed by Ness and Mike.
"Great work, Captain!" Bryson said as he landed. "I think I'll need some extra training. Your way is different than I've seen, but it seems effective. Maybe I should try that instead."
"Where'd you learn to cut that way, Sloan?" Mike asked.
"It's just the way I was taught," she said with a shrug. "I've been told it's incorrect, but the right way has never worked for me. Old habits die hard, I guess."
"It's almost exactly the way Captain does it," Ness added. She felt a blush cross her features and hoped the shade from the trees hid it.
"Maybe we learned from the same person," she responded and looked across the clearing at a branch where he and Commander Erwin were watching.
Commander Erwin gave a snort, only loud enough for him and Levi to hear. "I have no idea what's going on here, but I don't guess it really matters. She is highly skilled and will make an excellent Squad Leader. We'll wait until after the 57th expedition before she's promoted." Levi gave no response. Erwin looked over at him, trying to read his expression. "Where would you suggest I put her in the formation for the expedition?"
"I haven't seen enough of her to really decide."
"With her advanced skills she may be best on the outside of the formation to help quickly extinguish any abnormals that may turn up."
Levi felt his pulse quicken, but didn't respond. On the outside, she'd be the first to encounter the Titans, leaving her vulnerable.
"On the other hand, it would be a shame for her to be eaten on her first expedition. There would hardly be time to utilize her skills. I hear she's an excellent negotiator. Dot Pixis certainly thinks highly of her."
"Maybe she would do best in a new role. We could use someone with communication skills. Maybe some sort of ambassador to the other military branches." Out of the line of fire, he didn't add.
"You're right. You certainly don't give any to that cause. She seems to be confident, honest, and concise. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she's pretty. Pixis said there were a number of bachelors that were sad to hear about her leaving Hermina."
The cotton on Levi's hand tightened as his fists clenched involuntarily.
"Put her wherever you think you need her the most. If she's good enough, she won't be Titan food. If not… I guess she just wasn't cut out for the Survey Corps." As the words left Levi's mouth, he felt a sinking in his stomach.
Erwin and Levi watched as the Squad Leaders, Sloan, and Bryson laughed and engaged their gear, flying out of the clearing and back toward headquarters.
"IS SQUAD LEADER HANGE HERE?"
The voice cut through the room accompanied by a loud bang. Sloan jumped in her seat and nearly yelped. She looked at the back of her hand, red where her cheek had been resting on it and wiped at something wet on her face. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleep for, but judging by the exhausted look on Eren's face she hadn't missed much. His young face looked as though it may have been glazed over for at least a good 15 minutes. When she'd agreed to accompany Hange to talk with Eren Yeager about her experiments with the Titans Sonny and Bean, she never expected it would take longer than an hour. Sitting in the dim candlelight with them, coupled with the fact she'd hardly had any sleep lately, she felt herself being soothed to sleep by Hange's stories.
The young man who had burst in looked at them with large, round eyes.
"The subjects – BOTH TITANS HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Hange let out an anguished scream before dashing out of the room. Eren and Sloan looked at each other in confusion before running after her and into the courtyard.
Eren Yeager was a sweet boy, Sloan had discovered. He was full of youthful energy and had quite the passionate urge to kill Titans. Hange had gone on and on about her own Titans, so Sloan hadn't been able to speak with him much about his own Titan. How did he transform? How did he know he could transform? She was way more interested in Eren than Hange's two Titans, but she guessed it would have to wait until another day.
"SONNY! BEAN!" Hange screamed again as they approached the large pile of steaming Titan carcasses. The sun had just barely risen over the horizon. Mike Zacharias went to her side as she wailed again. A crowd of Scout Regiment soldiers was beginning to form, curious about all the ruckus at such an early hour. Eren and Sloan stared on in curious horror, side by side.
"Look at Hange. She's finally gone off the deep end." Eren and Sloan turned to face Levi and Commander Erwin, already in full gear. "Eren, let's go. The rest is up to the Military Police Brigade."
"Yes, sir," Eren responded and began to turn.
"Wait, Eren, and you too, Captain Sloan," Commander Erwin motioned for them to come closer. "What do you see here?"
"Sir?" Eren asked as Sloan surveyed the scene. Eren seemed confused by the question, but Sloan had already taken down a complete report in her mind, a product of years working crime scenes as a part of the Garrison.
"Well," Sloan began as she took in the carnage. "It was done by someone with access to the vertical gear and blades, obviously. This was a quick job, so that's the only explanation. Judging by what I've learned about Titans and their decomposition, with all this steam they must have been killed at nearly the same moment. Must have been premeditated by someone who had inside information that Hange was experimenting on Titans here."
"So we're looking for two suspects then? If they were killed at the same moment…" Eren suggested.
"Possibly only one," Sloan replied.
"I thought you estimated they were killed at the same time," Levi said.
"One person could have done it. They would have had to be very quick and skilled, however," she responded. "Surely you have killed more than one Titan within milliseconds, Captain Levi?"
"Are you accusing me, Captain Sloan?" His eyes were dark and dangerous.
"W-well, no, simply stating an example. It is a possibility someone could work alone."
"I like the way you think, Captain Sloan. Working with the Garrison you must have seen many crime scenes." Commander Erwin looked her up and down. She smoothed her hair imagining she must look like a crime scene. Her auburn waves were probably reduced to frizz at this point from sitting with Hange and Eren in front of the fire all night. She hoped she didn't have a huge red circle on her cheek from where she'd fallen asleep.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how well your skills play out in the field on the expedition." Erwin clapped Eren on the shoulder before turning and leaving the courtyard with Levi.
