It started with sparse droplets.

"Get your legs out of here!" Evelyn shouted up to Hange. "I don't need anything ruined."

"Where am I supposed to go? The front?" Hange replied.

"The hood?! No! It'll probably dent." Evelyn cried in frustration.

"Then you'll have to deal with the rain." Hange yelled over howling winds.

The formation surrounding the car drew in closer as visibility diminished and the rain fell faster.


"There's a town coming up ahead sir," Petra yelled forward. "I remember those trees near the river."

"With this rain, there'd be no way to spot hiding titans," Gunther called out.

"There's a hill on the left side, we can't see shit but it's better than being cornered." Ouro yelled.

"We'll take the safer route. Eld, fall back and inform Hange of the change in course." Levi called over his shoulder.

"Yessir!"


"Squad Leader Hange!" Eld called out, riding next to the car. "We're changing direction to avoid a town up ahead. Head to the left and we'll go over a nearby hill."

"Right!" Hange yelled back. "Inform the other groups will you?" With a nod of his head Eld rode off.

As Hange signaled the horses to turn, Evelyn was lightly thrown off balance. Searching for items to cover the pleather upholstery and dashboard in the car, she hadn't fully registered the conversation between the soldiers.

"Ow," Evelyn said rubbing her elbow absent mindedly. She positioned her face in front of Hange's legs and looked up. "What's this about?"

"We had a change of plans, we're going over that hill up there." Hange smiled back.

"Hill?" Evelyn asked confused and looked out the windshield. That sounded a bit of an understatement as she saw they were approaching a large, steep mound of dirt covered in patchy grass. "Hange, wait." Evelyn said as a suspicion quickly grew in her mind.

Levi squad had already ridden over the top and they were close behind, approaching the hill at a rapid pace.

"Hange STOP!" Evelyn cried out desperately.

Hange pulled hard on the patched together reigns and Evelyn reactively hit the brake petal. A loud crack, slightly muted by the growing storm, sounded as the horses and car came to a halt with more room between them than before. The reigns still in her grasp pulled Hange forward, a single foot wedged between her and the open sunroof stopped her from being thrown to the ground, before they were ripped from her hands. The squads on either side of the car came to a halt and looked at the scene unfolding before them in confusion.

"My wagon!" Hange cried out in surprise with her hands on her head. Repositioning herself she called out in concerned frustration, "Why did you yell 'stop'?"

"We'd get caught in the mud and possibly hurt the horses; if they could even pull the car over that thing!" Evelyn replied.

"They were doing just fine until we stopped suddenly!" Hange argued.

"You saw the aftermath of us trying to stop suddenly, if the horses could have pulled against the mud, the wooden frame wouldn't have held out going over the hill." Evelyn retorted. "Trust me, this car isn't equipped for off-roading. It's a wonder it got this far!"

"I'm going to check on the damage." Hange frowned. She flung her legs out of the sun roof and jumped off the car to inspect her broken creation. Evelyn sat back, turned the car's power on briefly to close the sun roof, and let out a sigh before braving the rain herself.

"What's going on here?" a hooded Levi rode up to the pair.

"The wooden frame cracked." Hange replied.

"Squad commander," a member of Hange's squad rode up to her. "Why did you stop so suddenly?"

"You stopped? Why?" Levi interrupted looking between Evelyn and Hange.

Swallowing anxiously Evelyn looked toward him and began to explain their situation. About half way through, a scream cut through the air behind her. She saw Levi's expression turn to brief shock before turning sour. Before she could look herself, Levi charged towards her, hoisted her up by her jacket, and threw her unceremoniously on her stomach in front of him before turning to ride toward his squad. With each gallop Evelyn fought to keep stable and breathe until they came to a stop.

"Petra, protect her." Levi commanded as he helped move a stunned and winded Evelyn to sit behind the woman. "Gunther, Eld, Ouro, with me." With that, they rode off, more commands fading away in the distance. Cradling her torso, Evelyn turned her gaze behind her. Visually, she couldn't make out a thing. But, the sounds were unmistakable; metal whirling and loud, deep inhuman grunts and cries.

"Titans," Petra yelled. "Keep your eyes and ears open, we have to find a safe place while the others take care of them. I don't like it, but the town may be our best bet."

Wanting to be out of this situation Evelyn fought the urge to yell at the woman to bring her back to her car, her only safe space in this world. But what good would it do? If it wasn't already caught in the mud, surely driving it in the rain without being able to see very far ahead would cause the same outcome and trap her in the open with no escape.

They rode into the town on the main road. Thunder and the distant sounds of battle could barely be heard over the wind when a hand, larger than the horse, appeared out of an alley to their left. It balled into a fist behind them, catching the breeze, as their horse rode on. A large face with a permanent unnerving smile looked into the road after them. Evelyn froze in terror and felt her grip on Petra stiffen. The titan charged after them. Petra snapped the reigns, egging her horse to go faster as a crack of lightning brightened the sky.

"Do you see the windmill up ahead?" Petra called back.

Confused, Evelyn strained her eyes against the rain. "No."

"Here, grab these," Petra moved the horses reigns to her left. "Keep riding straight ahead, do you understand?"

"What?" Panicking, Evelyn held onto the reigns with one hand and grasped the back of the saddle with the other as Petra swung her left foot towards her right.

"Ride straight forward!" Petra called out before shooting wires from her 3DM gear, pushing herself off the horse, and flying off somewhere.

Thudding behind Evelyn caught her attention. The titan was closing in. She pulled herself forward and, with all the grace of a novice rider, tried urging the horse to run faster while holding on for dear life. A second strike of lightning illuminated the sky. Evelyn could see the windmill, barely. Focusing on not falling off the horse, she tried to ignore the monster behind her.

200 feet.

Mixed sounds of thudding and thunder.

150 feet.

Wordless cries of excitement and fear.

100 feet.

Another lightning strike.

50 feet.

Another face shot out behind a house biting its way forward. The horse reared up in surprise. Evelyn clung to the reigns but felt them slip away. Searing pain spread through her right arm as she crashed to the ground and instinctively curled up. She heard the sounds of metal coiling against metal behind her before an arm grabbed under her right shoulder. She shrieked as her weight was flung through the air before a rough landing knocked the rest of the wind out of her.

"I'm so sorry!" Petra cried back. "Hold on for one more minute. I'll kill the other one and come back for you!"

Tears mixed with rain as Evelyn cradled her right elbow in her lap and rocked softly back and forth; muttering to herself, "this isn't real. This can't be real. I'm drugged, I have to be. Damn it!"

"They're gone, we're safe for now." Petra said softly. "Can I see your arm?" Continuing to rock and stare towards the ground before her, Evelyn shook her head.

"I can't help if I can't see what's wrong." Petra placed a hand on Evelyn's back and rubbed it gently. Evelyn slowly stopped the rocking motion and locked eyes with Petra. Carefully, she lowered her legs and exposed her arm. Petra gently supported Evelyn's arm with her hands. "Where does it hurt?"

"El-bow" Evelyn gasped. As Petra prodded the area, Evelyn bit back a curse and scrunched her face up in pain.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts. It doesn't feel like anything is broken though." Petra carefully released her grip and moved toward the end of the roof they were on.

"I can't see any signs of the others. Can you move?" Petra asked.

"I don't want to." Evelyn replied.

"You should be safe up here, I can go get help if you'd like. Otherwise they might not know where we ran off to." Petra suggested.

"I don't want to be alone here. Not like this." Evelyn said.

"We need the others to know where to find us." Petra said sympathetically.

"Ok," Evelyn pushed against the ground and with Petra's help, stood up. She stared into the woman's eyes, "but, don't you even think of bailing on me again." Petra nodded before helping Evelyn to the edge of the roof. They scanned their surroundings and Petra kept whistling into the air.

"I can't find my horse. Do you see anything?" Petra asked. The rain made it difficult to hear anything but Evelyn could barely make out the faint sounds of galloping in the distance.

"I don't see it either but I think I hear some." Evelyn pointed in the direction they had entered the town. Shortly after, three hooded soldiers galloped up the road. The pair just barely got their attention before they sped past the house.

"Hold onto me with your good arm and warp your legs just under my gear here, ok?" Petra turned and pointed to a spool on her back. "Don't worry about the blades; they won't cut from inside the sheath." Awkwardly, Evelyn wrapped her good arm around the back of Petra's neck and Petra helped to position her more to Petra's left side. With Evelyn nearly sitting on the woman's left blade sheath, Petra shot her right wire to a taller building nearby.

"Hold on, there will be a bit of an impact." Petra said before jumping off the roof. Evelyn's grip tightened instinctively as her stomach dropped. Petra gripped Evelyn's waist and held her feet out to collide against the stone wall before lowering them slowly to the ground.

"Petra, are you two ok?" Gunther asked approaching the pair.

"I'm fine, Evelyn's arm is injured. My horse ran off and I can't call it. Where's the captain?" Petra helped Evelyn unwrap herself from around Petra's gear.

"He's finishing cleaning up; sent us to come rescue you two from yourselves." Ouro sneered.

"Get her some help, I'll go find my horse." Petra said ignoring the snide remark and motioning to help Evelyn mount up behind Gunther. Evelyn looked at her in a stunned silence but began to take Gunther's outstretched hand once she saw the trust between the two. Once she was stable, Petra disappeared and Gunther began to head back out the town.


"Did you see me out there Levi?" Hange squealed in delight. "That was so thrilling! Who would have thought six horses tied to a frame would make such a good mobile launching and landing point. I'll have to discuss this with Erwin later."

"It made you an easier target." Levi said washing the blood from his blades. Three horses rode up to them.

"Captain! Petra had to recover her horse but she'll be here shortly with the others." Gunther said to Levi.

"Evelyn! There you are! Wait until I tell you…" Hange began before examining Evelyn's expression closer. " Are you ok? What's wrong?" Hange asked as she witnessed Gunther carefully helping Evelyn off the horse while she held her elbow grimacing in pain. Levi looked up from his blades, sheathed them, dismounted, and walked toward Gunther.

"I'll be fine, it's probably just a sprain. What happens now?" Evelyn asked.

"We lost the lead we had over the main battalion. I doubt we can regain it." Hange said. "Do you think we can get the car to the town; hide it there while we wait for the commander?"

"Let me see." Evelyn said walking towards her vehicle.

"Can you operate it in your state?" Hange asked concerned.

"I'll be slower than usual but I'll be fine." Evelyn replied while examining the exterior of the car; the wheels were sunken into the ground.

"It looks like I'll need some help getting out of this. Can you get a couple strong helpers to push?" Evelyn asked Hange. Hange nodded in reply and left. Getting into the car, Evelyn turned the key and shifted the car in reverse, wincing through the pain. The wheels spun as she played with the clutch and gas petal, but the car wouldn't budge.

"What're those?!" Hange asked ecstatic with four men behind her eyeing the car in apprehension. "Are those the rain wipers?!"

Confused, Evelyn looked forward. The sensors had turned on the windshield wipers and the car's lights illuminated the hill ahead.

"We'll talk about it later," Evelyn called back, "help me get it moving." She turned off the wipers and the lights to try and lessen the effect on the other soldiers.

The men, urged on by Hange, took positions in front of the car and pushed while Evelyn did what she could. In any other context the looks of worry on the men's faces may have been comical. After a couple of failed attempts, they managed to get the car on more solid ground.

"Where do I park?" Evelyn called out.

"Somewhere in the town." Hange replied. "Look for something that can hide it."

"Squad leader." Moblit said. "I saw another barn while riding through town, we can hide it there." Hange nodded toward him before looking back to Evelyn.

"Move it there, I'll follow and we'll wait for the commander." Hange said. "Moblit, lead the way."


Hey everyone, sorry for the long period of radio silence. That may happen here and there, but it doesn't mean that I abandoned the story. I just have a lot going on.

I also realize how slow paced the story is and want to thank you for sticking with me. They'll reach the walls soon, I promise. Not in the next chapter, but the one after that. I planned on releasing two chapters for the long wait, but, it's taking me a bit longer than I thought to finish the other one so here's your fix in the meantime.