"We must learn to regard people
less in the light of what they do or omit to do,
and more in the light of what they suffer."
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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In an attempt to ensure that she and Ilse would not meet an early demise as the result of a car crash, Sasha tried with difficulty to hold in the laughter that had been pouring from her since they left Armin's house. As she snickered almost hysterically into the elbow of her light hoodie. Looking over and almost as giddy as Sasha was, Ilse waited a moment before shooting a hand over and tickling madly wherever she could reach. Shrieking for a moment, the brunette rolled in her seat gasping for breath while Ilse cackled flicking her eyes between her friend and the road.
Now, they were both soaked, but Sasha was over the top; especially after Krista's disclosure, she had taken to happily consuming a good deal of canned alcohol, and was now in a ridiculously fine mood. And without anywhere to necessarily be tomorrow, the pair of them had hit the road, heading the long way towards town, along a stretching, unlit, two-way road, that lent itself to their brand of drunkenness. Still, Ilse was doing well, swerving very minimally and far between.
"Ilse… Ilse… get… the fuck… the fuck OFF."
The girl in question pulled back and returned her eyes to the road, red in the face and breathing heavily. Sasha at her, inhaling just as strongly and feeling some of her giddiness transform into an itch of desire; in a flash of lust, she slid sideways and drove her hand over Ilse's sex. Her friend looked back and after making eye contact, she slipped placed her own hand over Sasha's and started massaging gently, causing the brunette to roll her head back in excitement, a massively juvenile and hungry grin spreading across her face. And for a moment, it seemed that the car was about to be filled with fire.
Then, just as suddenly, police lights flashed behind them.
Sasha cursed violently and retreated to an upright position while Ilse cast an annoyed look into the rear-view mirror,
"Asshole… the fuck you doing out this way? Aren't there college kids in town you could be picking up?"
Regardless, she pulled off to the shoulder and parked it, rolling her eyes and throwing a pissed glance back as the cop rolled up behind them.
"Think he saw you swerving?"
"I wasn't swerving."
"You were swerving a little."
"Ah fuck that."
"Seriously, what if he breathes you?"
"I can fool a breathalyzer easy."
Sasha snorted,
"We'll see."
Ilse rolled down her window and stuck her arm out, waving it dully in the night air. The pair of them sat still for several seconds before she leaned back and looked out the back window. The cop car had not done more then stop behind them, with its lights flashing.
"What the hell is he waiting for?"
As if on cue, the police car's loudspeaker blasted,
"All occupants please step free of the vehicle."
Sasha furrowed her brow in surprise,
"The fuck?"
She then laughed,
"Maybe he wants to see how many people are in here so he can decide if he wants to rape you."
Ilse blew out a noise of disbelief and tapped her side, where Sasha knew a concealed firearm rested,
"Good luck to him."
"Now, assholes."
Sasha raised her eyebrows and felt the corner of her mouth curl up in a smile,
"He's persistent. And pretty sure that there's not just a driver in here."
Shrugging, Ilse unbuckled,
"Well, let's go and appease. I'll just tell him I picked up a prostitute and need to be going before my hour and a half is up."
For that, she received a slug in the shoulder, though Sasha was still smiling as she opened her door,
"If that's the story we're going to go with, we should travel with that lingerie we picked up the other day. Would make this more believable."
"And have him try to jack off while trying to give me a ticket? I think not."
Sasha giggled and the both of them stepped out into the warm, black, summer evening. The lights cast everything in a constantly shifting red and blue glare and Sasha squinted for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the terribly bright lights. They walked around the back and stood side by side and still, no one exited the police car.
"Raise your hands."
Sighing, Sasha followed the order and saw Ilse do the same in her peripheral. This was a bizarre situation to say the least, regardless of the reason he had pulled them over. Finally, the door opened and a man stepped out; he wore a police uniform and looked like every sort of sporty, good-looking college student that Sasha would spend a few seconds eyeing before he would open his mouth and reveal his true ineptitude. He wore an almost smug expression as he sauntered their way. Ilse chose that moment to ask,
"Pardon my asking, but why… "
He pulled free his sidearm and raised it at her in an instant. Instinctually, Sasha stepped in front of her, raising her voice as she did so,
"WHOA, whoa, whoa, what the fuck is this?"
He replied calmly, though there was an undercurrent of excitement,
"Please get out of the way. Only she needs to die tonight."
Mind racing, Sasha began putting together the pieces. This was somewhat difficult as her tipsy state drove the seriousness of the situation against the bouncy surface of the drunken haze; she fought desperately to find a solution to their suddenly deadly situation. Not only were they caught with their hands up, at gunpoint, but they had walked right into it.
How the fuck did this happen? Who is this guy, does Ilse know him? Is he even a cop?
She could tell that he wasn't going to be the most patient of sorts; she felt fear rushing through her gut to her veins, her hands were starting to sweat as she stared him down. She swallowed as her brain ran through absolutely every corner to find a way out. It found none.
He pulled back the hammer.
"I'm not going to ask again."
Ilse put a hand on her shoulder, and Sasha's mind clicked; she knew she had one shot. Putting her hands out at her side, she stepped sideways.
"Okay, okay, Jesus."
She saw the triumph on his face as he repositioned himself in a widespread position. Flicking her gaze, she saw Ilse's mind was working hard as well; the situation had gone from annoying to lethal in a matter of seconds, and there was very little time to change its course. Sasha knew that whatever she was going to do, had to be done now, or her friend was dead.
"Thank you. This is for your own betterment as well as everyone else's… "
While she wanted to ponder his words, Sasha knew there was no time as she saw the sick resolve in his eyes move his finger to the trigger. In a flash, she shoved Ilse hard to the right, while she threw herself left, digging for her sidearm. She heard the officer's gun roar once as her shoulder drove into the pavement sending a wave of pain coursing through her upper body. Ignoring it, she brought her own firearm up as she lay on the ground; she pulled the trigger, praying her sight and accuracy wouldn't fail her and knowing that, if they did, they were both dead.
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The car hit another turn at breakneck speed and Joe tightened his grip on the door handle to keep from slamming his head into the window. He looked over and saw Annie's steeled resolve and knew that they weren't slowing until they reached their destination. By now, he knew better than to ask what was going on, and much better than to ask her to slow down.
Despite his complete lack of knowledge on what was happening, it didn't take a genius to figure that something was deadly wrong. They had driven only a few minutes, but he knew they must have traveled a good twenty miles with how fast they had been cooking along longer stretches. It was all he could do to hold on, and do his best to stay calm.
It wasn't working.
Finally, they rounded a bend, and Annie smashed the brakes, throwing Joe's head into the dash. They had been driving so fast, that the car took several seconds to stop completely and he half expected the car to flip forwards.
When it did stop and his head came up, he was able to look out at the supposed reason they were stopped. Fifty feet ahead sat Mikasa's car, silent and still.
What…
In a flash of instinct and concern, he made to exit the car, but was restrained forcefully by Annie, who shoved him down hard in his seat.
"You stay put. Don't get out unless I give you the okay."
He sputtered, trying to form words to relate his indignation, but she gave him a look so icy, that he couldn't even imagine disobeying.
"Yeah, sure."
"Gun out."
He looked back at her with confusion, but slowly drew his 1911 and rested it on his thigh, toying nervously with the safety. By no means was he any less confused, but if she had reason to believe they needed guns, then he knew it would be stupid not to oblige.
"Window down."
Annie gave him the final order as she opened her door and stepped out into the dark, throwing her hair back and raising her own pistol to a ready height. He complied and watched tensely as she moved in front of their vehicle, letting its headlights cascade the area around her. Joe looked back the way they had come; it was late, but by no means did they need anyone stumbling upon them… whatever this was. The road remained desolate, trailing off into an ominous blackness. He turned back forward to see Annie moving around the side of Mikasa's car. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as she reached cautiously for the door and opened it, stepping back, gun raised.
The look she immediately adopted was one of fearful confusion, a look he had never seen her wear. She bent forward, saying something beyond his view and then stood up, stock straight after taking her hands away from something inside. Even at that distance, Joe watched her swallow, her jaw working furiously; she leaned in again, but not before waving him over violently.
He practically kicked the door open and ran over in a haste without closing it; as he neared the car, a voice in the back of his mind warned him that, whatever he was about to see would not be to his liking.
What in the hell is…
As he stepped into view, the voice in his head was proven right; his knees wobbled precariously, and not due to the alcohol he knew was still in his system.
Mikasa was sitting, head forward on the dash of her car, completely naked. Her breath came in sharply and with a shallow feel, her right hand seemed to be shaking uncontrollably on her lap. But all of those oddities came nowhere near to driving the stake of freezing terror into his heart as did the sight of her back. He wished he had the strength to tear out his eyes, but he knew that, even blind, he would see this forever.
It looked as though her back had been carved up with a thick, old knife; from her shoulders to her rear, the skin lay in tatters, the muscle showing beneath, and Joe, though he wished not to believe so, thought he could see the whiteness of bone near where her shoulder blades, ribs, and spine were positioned. The blood was everywhere, up and down her back, on the seat, some down her front and legs. It very well may have been the most disturbing thing he had been privy to witness in his short, fucked-up life.
A hard yank of his lower arm jolted him free of his stupor,
"Let's GO, get low down like this… I'm going to pull her out, slowly, then… "
As he watched Annie, he could have sworn her heard her voice tremble ever so slightly. Regardless, she recovered quickly,
"Then you hold her up by her arm, do NOT touch her back, and we're going to move her to the backseat of the car. Ready? JOSEPH!"
He jumped; his mind was buzzing erratically again,
"Yeah, yeah, ready!"
"On three… "
On her count, they lifted Mikasa between them who gave a half-snarl, half-whimper as her body was stretched. As quickly as they could while maintaining a gentle hold, they guided her to the backseat of the car, where Annie took control of her friend and practically shoved Joe in the car.
"I'm going to lower her onto you now, and you're going to hold her while we drive."
He barely had time to even question in his head where they could be going before the dark-haired girl was eased onto his lap, positioned so that her legs could be lain comfortably on one end and her chest could rest on him, leaving her back untouched. It was almost impossible not to feel nausea for her situation.
Who… who the fuck…
In a near blink, Annie had sprinted back to her friend's car, driven it off-road into the woods, killed the engine and sprinted back. She slid into the driver's seat and gestured at him, not bothering to buckle,
"Arms, hold her arms."
Joe did so, his ears now ringing for some unknown reason. Annie didn't waste any time whatsoever; she tore off back the way they had come and as Mikasa groaned weakly in his lap, Joe finally found the voice to croak out,
"Where… are we going?"
Annie threw a wildly protective look back at her friend before turning back to the black night,
"Only place I can be sure of."
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Stretching back on the bed, Ymir popped her toes sharply, causing Krista to jump as she changed clothes. Wriggling into her night shirt, she gave her girlfriend a stink eye and Ymir closed her own, laughing.
"Are you ever going to get used to me doing that?"
"Well, maybe if you announced it before you made that wretched noise… "
"Maybe if you weren't such a wimp… "
Krista huffed and walked towards the bathroom; Ymir noticed with a rush in her gut that the blonde had only changed into a night shirt, nothing lay underneath.
In for some fun tonight perhaps?
She tried unsuccessfully not to get her hopes up as she heard Krista start to brush her teeth. After a moment, she called back,
"Ooo yuu nou ith djophis gowd uh ribe ome?"
Ymir had to wait to stop laughing before responding,
"Once more, with a little less dick in the mouth."
She heard a spit and was once again greeted by a pair of annoyed eyes,
"I asked if you knew whether or not Joseph got a ride home."
Leaning back, she waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh yeah, he got a ride with Annie."
Krista leaned in the doorframe a moment, furrowing her brow while a smile spread across her face; Ymir couldn't help tracing the curves of her bare legs up to her waist, past her slender stomach to the arcs her delicate breasts made against her shirt.
"That's an interesting pair. Think they engaged in any after-party coitus?"
She turned back into the bathroom, swinging her hips in an oh-so appeasing way. Ymir had to mentally shake herself before responding to the humorous question she had just been posed,
"I rather doubt it. Though the thought of that is certainly a fascinating one."
Around the doorframe, she could see Krista leaning in front of the mirror, examining something she thought was amiss,
"Girl, when are you going to listen when I say that at no point do you ever need to look in a mirror? There are no imperfections to be found on you."
Krista exited the bathroom, killing the light and allowing only the dim orange glow of their lamp to coat the room in a comforting glow. She gave an affectionate smile as she closed the distance between them,
"That's sweet. But you're supposed to say that… "
"Does that make it any less true?"
The blonde tilted her head in thought,
"I'm not sure… but how about the belly I'm going to be getting?"
"Well that… "
Ymir grunted as she rolled over and gave Krista's stomach a rub before placing her ear against it,
"Is something entirely beautiful in and of itself."
She remained there for a moment, closing her eyes as Krista moved her hands to cradle her head.
"How long until I can hear a heartbeat?"
"Six to eight weeks I think."
Ymir let another smile spread across her face,
"Not long then."
She gently but firmly pulled Krista over her and onto the bed where, for a moment, they just held each other. Then Krista posed a question that had been gnawing at the back of Ymir's mind for hours,
"Where do you suppose Mika ran off to?"
Ymir pursed her lips before responding slowly, deliberately annunciating each word,
"Not. The slightest. Idea."
That wasn't to say she hadn't been thinking about it almost constantly. This combined with the almost obsessive tracking of their leader's whereabouts after work was certainly something that was doing cartwheels in her mind. She had been known to take off randomly after work without an explanation, but now, during a party? It was dead odd, and Ymir had already decided that she would get to the bottom of this one, no matter what. She knew it was none of her business, but, in a way, she felt it was. It hurt to be so intrusive, but something about it all simply felt very wrong.
A savage knock sounded at the door suddenly causing them both to jump free of their solace.
"Jesus… that was frightening."
"Who do you think… ?"
"Probably we forgot something and someone brought it over. That or Sasha and Ilse want to have some last minute drinks and talks."
She knew the unlikeliness of the two statements even as she said them, but she wasn't sure what else would bring someone to their door at that time. Eyebrows furrowed, Krista swung herself out of bed and to the front door; Ymir leaned back sighing deeply and wondering what in the world her friends would be doing there so late on this dark, dark night.