A/N: Melissa! Thank you so much for reviewing! Your feedback spurred me on to get this chapter done and out the way.
Now I can look forward to the fun bits. This really is just an explanation/filler chapter.
Thank you to those who have liked and favourited my story. 3
~ReaderAloud
Chapter 9:
"ALL RIGHT MAGGOTS IT'S TIME TO MEET YOUR MAKER! THESE THREE YEARS YOU'VE SNIVELLED AND GROVELLED HAS LED UP TO THIS LAST WEEK YOU WILL BE TESTED ON!"
There was an unshakeable silence as Shadis walked down the platform to hurl abuse at us. It was a painfully hot day. Scorching beyond belief, straight ahead of us were heat waves. I could smell the sweat of the people all around me. It was beyond disgusting. There was hardly any wind to relieve the blaring sun, no clouds either. It was a serious detriment to our abilities as I had told the gang. My surname starting with an A meant I was in the front row. All I could do was stare right in front of me with nothing to look at apart from the cracked, dry, ground, and unfortunately, Shadis was just coming into view.
"BEFORE I BEGIN EXPLAINING THE RANKING SYSTEM TO YOU…SALUTE TO YOUR HIGHER UPS AND FUTURE COMMANDERS! COMMANDER DOT PIXIS OF THE GARRISON REGIMENT! COMMANDER ERWIN SMITH OF THE SURVEY CORPS! AND COMMANDER NILE DOK OF THE MILITARY POLICE!"
A mechanical noise came from all around me, salutes. My own hand was part of the chorus as the three men descended the stairs to stand next to Shadis. Erwin looked ageless, as composed as ever. There was some swell of relief inside me to see him, seeing that my ticket out of all charges was twenty feet away, seeing my new life…and then it shrank away. I could feel now instead of relief I could feel fear and it hit me hard in the gut. Or maybe it was the heat. Regardless, Nile Dok seemed to initiate that feeling of dread. I had met him a few times before; none of them were pleasant memories. Despite having the easier job compared to Erwin, and having better living standards, he seemed more dishevelled. I thought it was funny almost; people who live in luxury seem to give themselves more trouble than they can cope with. I almost snorted, but held it back when seeing the final Commander. Pixis seemed to the opposite of both men. He was considerably older but had a pink hue to his skin; I looked quickly to find a decanter of what could only be alcoholic substances hanging from his waist. As quickly as I looked at them I looked away and back at the heatwave rippling over the earth. Shadis began,
"OVER THE NEXT WEEK YOU WILL BE EVALUATED AND MARKED IN NINE DIFFERENT AREAS, THESE ARE: ODM GEAR, COMBAT, STRENGTH, SPEED, AGILITY, ENDURANCE, THEORY, STRATEGY AND IN FIELD TRAINING! IN EACH AREA, YOU ARE ABLE TO GAIN THIRTY MARKS! TEN OF THOSE MARKS ARE EXECUTION ANOTHER TEN FOR PEROMANCE AND FINALLY TEN FOR THE EFFORT YOU PUT INTO IT! THESE MARKS ARE RAW, WE TRIPPLE THEM TO GIVE YOU A FINAL SCORE! THERE IS A WAY HOWEVER TO GAIN ADDITIONAL MARKS! BONUS POINTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMING IN THE TOP IN ANY AREA, TEN MARKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO COME FIRST, AND THEN AS THE RANKING GOES DOWN SO DOES THE MARK. YOU CAN ALSO GAIN MARKS FOR OTHER ABILITIES THAT WE WILL TEST YOU ON OUT OF TEN, BUT ARE NOT CRUCIALLY ON THE CRITERIA. NOW, DO ANY OF YOU MUGS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU?" There was silence again. "GOOD! NOW DISPERSE AND WE WILL CALL YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO BE. TODAY WE WILL BE TESTING YOU ON SPEED AND STRENGTH." I groaned the moment he turned his back and I could hear audible mumbling. It didn't take long for Nova, Margot and Oslo to find me.
"Man, I won't be sorry to say goodbye to his shouting" Oslo teased,
"Me neither!" Margot chimed in she turned to me with an expression of worry, "Harva are you okay?"
"No. I am hot and bothered and it is horrible day and I don't want to start the week off with my worst area. I suck at strength." Nova looked at me,
"But you are fast too. Think of them as a counterbalance to one another. And besides, even if you don't rank in the top ten for Strength but put loads of effort into it then I am sure you'll still do well." I grumbled an agreement and kicked the dirt underneath my sweaty boot. Despite Nova's fiery attitude the majority of the time, meaning a lot of advice she threw out was usually along the lines of 'go do one or get lost' she did offer occasional meaningful bits. I looked up at the three of them; there was something in their eyes. Grit. A determination. I couldn't help but feel a bit of that myself. Smirking at them I walked off, in some vain attempt to find some shade somewhere.
"Come on. It's starting to smell of sweat." I declared.
"And just where do you think you're going my pretty?" Who the hell would say something so chilling. I turned around just in time to see some shape come hurling towards me. Instinct took in, my hand reached out to grab what I assumed was a collar. Carrying my weight and the shape, It began falling to the ground. It was a loud thud and it sounded like the air was knocked right out of them. A dry cloud of dust covered the unknown person to me.
"If you wanna keep your head, I suggest that you stay down and your mouth shut." A strained giggle came from the pile of the person.
"Oh wow! He was right! You're so quick! You're reactions are so acute!"
"Who the hell said that?" Was all I could manage before the dust settled, the first thing I noticed was a hopeful looking badge on the jacket. A scout emblem. Next, was a shine of glasses, blinding me for a fraction of a second before I could see a pair of wild eyes. They looked hungry almost, just as insane as the mop of dark brown hair on their head.
"Hanji, I told you that so you wouldn't freak her out." That voice, I looked over to see the giant that was Mike standing next to the twins and Nova. The three of them were saluting as if their lives depended on it. There were two other men, one that I immediately recognised, Erwin was standing on the left. In the centre, there was a man barely any taller than I was, his eyes were a metallic grey, dark and brooding. Something he and I shared was dark circles under our eyes. When I looked into his, I felt like I couldn't do anything, he had a fierce and powerful demeanour. I had forgotten about the person, Hanji, underneath me until their finger gently prodded my hand.
"Sorry to scare you my dear…but would you mind letting go? I'd like to get out of the dirt." I let go immediately and backed away. The shorter male snorted and flicked his hair out the way. It was jet black, and seemed to be an undercut. He bullied Hanji,
"Doesn't sound like you at all, normally you're rolling around in your own filth."
"That's enough." The authority in Erwin's voice was chilling. As if I was under a trance by the last few seconds of what has happened, I snapped out of it. I saluted, firmed my stance and blandly stated,
"My apologies." I looked back up to Erwin. Though initially, the thought of seeing Erwin meant I was one step closer to freedom, I hadn't added up all the pieces until just then. And now my head swirled with what they'd want to do. They were all here to witness, testify, that I was a safe guinea pig. Erwin's job depended on it and they were here to make sure I excelled. A sickness in my stomach began to arise. I attempted to swallow it, but my throat was so dry it was a sad failure.
His face looked calm. This made me think that he was thinking about something pretty difficult. He closed his eyes, and reopened them, walking over to me. Giving a brief look at my friends,
"At ease, all of you." They all looked pitifully uncomfortable as they slackened. Nova looked like she was balancing on a sharp blade. He stopped in front of me to look me over, once and again, from head to toe. Then he smiled warmly, and offered his hand,
"It's good to see you again" I would say I took his hand, but in reality it engulfed my own as we shook hands.
"And you, Commander."
~O~
"I've worked out why all of you are here Erwin, but you have that look in your eye that tells me there is something else." I and the four Scout members were in Shadis's office. Thankfully, it was cooler than outside, but the small area meant it was tight quarters for the five of us. The last time I had been this close to Mike he smacked me in the head and left me unconscious. He was staring very intently at me, actually they all were. Hanji, I had learnt was actually Erwin's second in command looked rabid, watching my every move, seeing how I absorb things, it was pretty intense. It wasn't however, as intense as the darker haired mans, Levi's. His face was a mask, I couldn't tell what he wanted or was looking for in me, and that put me on edge. I turned to look at Erwin, waiting for an answer. He made me wait for quite a while before speaking,
"It's nothing you should be concerned with. For now, focus on the week ahead." Looking at my boots with annoyance for a few seconds I nodded stiffly in agreement.
"Whatever you say, Erwin." I looked up to see him smiling warmly towards me.
Hanji, who had been relatively quiet since we entered, spoke, directed to me personally.
"So, how are you feeling about this week?" I looked at her, then back to Erwin who nodded.
"In all honesty, I'm a bit nervous. While this window has offered an extension on my life, it has come to my attention that I don't know how long for. If I am recruited into the Survey Corps, I have survived until I go out past the walls then it could all go to crap." Levi, who seemed like he wasn't listening, had raised his head to turn to stare at me,
"Well, are you going to answer the idiot's question, brat?" I felt my skin prick at the word brat, narrowing my eyes I replied steely,
"Like I said, I'm nervous, but I was going on to say that that isn't anything new to me. My life has hinged on being nervous." He scoffed slightly, and I felt myself want to shrivel back into myself. Erwin interjected,
"I just wanted to see you privately before you go off to start this week. Know this, we are all behind you." I looked over to Mike,
"Even you, tall-ass?" He looked a bit shocked, but smiled and answered,
"even me, shorty." I smirked at the retort I had thought of,
"That's good to hear. By the way, I'm sorry for that slice I gave you, how is it by the way?" He smirked too, trailing a thumb over the scar it had left on his collarbone.
"still shocks me how a shorty like you can do so much damage."
"Get used to it" Levi mumbled.
I am sorry this is so short, I am sure there is many spelling/grammatical errors. Please forgive me, I have been stuck on this chapter for so long. I am sooo done with it. Please leave a review/idea of what you'd like to happen.