Chapter 7: Survival Training
"It was supposed to be a simple exercise."
Dillon lost track of how many times he wiped the sweat off his forehead. The merciless sun was bearing down on him and the other cadets as they traveled through the desert on horseback. He hoped the speed from the horses would've cooled them down, but his hopes were dashed. Still, it was better than traveling on foot.
The purpose of this exercise was to establish how well the cadets could sustain themselves during a time without a crisis. They were split into two groups, traveling two different paths that led to the same destination. From there, they would exchange reports on how well the cadets did written by a cadet on each team that would observe them and journey back. The good news was they had plenty of rations and water to last them the journey to and from their destination: a forest, which had plenty of freshwater lakes inside. The test was a birthday gift and the cadets would reap its spoils. Heck, even Shadis pointed out how easy it this would be when he gave them the assignment, though he reminded them that whether in the battlefield or not, a soldier is always a soldier.
Team A consisted of Eren, Marco, Dillon, Armin (chronicler), Jean, Mina, Connie, Sasha, and Krista.
Team B consisted of Thomas, Mikasa (chronicler), Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Samuel, Franz, and Hannah. Ymir would've been on Team B if she hadn't broken her leg a week prior.
However, there was one thing that concerned Dillon: Marco Bodt being the team leader. He didn't think badly of Marco. The guy had optimism that was seriously needed in these dark times, and he was friendly enough to get along with the other recruits. It's just that he couldn't see him as a person who could lead others. It was possible Marco could prove him wrong and prove his worth as a leader. Deep inside, though, Dillon knew he was a little sore about not being picked to lead the squad, but Shadis probably knew what he was doing. After all, a person can't grow without giving them the chance to grow.
"So, we're not allowed to go faster?" Marco asked Armin.
"Uh, yeah," the assigned chronicler answered.
"It'd be stupid if we did," Jean pointed out, sounding slightly more relaxed than the rest of the team. "For once, we can just take our time."
"Of course, you would say that," Eren sneered. "If you're gonna fall behind, I'm moving ahead."
And here we go again. Dillon thought to himself with a roll of his eyes.
"Eren, wait," Armin exclaimed as the green-eyed boy moved up ahead.
Fortunately, Marco stopped Eren albeit meekly. "Eren, we need to keep the formation. Jean, what should we do?"
"I don't care," Jean stated, annoyed. "Besides, you're the leader, Marco. You make the call."
Marco heaved a sigh, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Let's just continue this exercise."
So much for that upbeat attitude. Dillon thought with a frown. Must be the heat.
"Will you get a move on?" Eren demanded to Jean. "Don't you have any endurance for this?"
"Do you ever shut up?" he shot back, irritated.
Connie groaned. "And there they go again."
"We have a long road ahead of us," Sasha said. "I'm not sure I can last the trip if the two keep bickering like this."
"You're not the only ones," Dillon added in a low voice only they could hear. The temptation to start punching them was rising.
To their credit, Eren and Jean quit going at each other's throats… for the next fifteen seconds.
Jean noticed to their right a giant, gray lizard walking with them. "Check it out. Seems like that lizard is heading our way."
"It's rare to see lizards around here," Marco noted.
"They're delicious, you know," Sasha mentioned. When a couple of cadets looked at her strangely, she elaborated. "Seriously, they are. My family and I used to eat them. They taste like chicken."
"I don't think I've had a lizard before," Dillon said. "Then again, I doubt lizards are commonplace in Yarckel." His mouth watered a little. It had been over a year since he had meat.
"You can cook?" Jean asked.
'"Can I cook?' he says," Sasha replied with a huge grin. "Easily."
"Well, in that case…"
Jean hit the horse with his foot, causing it to speed up to a gallop. He was going to hunt down that reptile.
"Hey, wait!" Marco protested.
"Sasha, get your cooking skills ready," Jean exclaimed excitedly. "I'm gonna get that lizard!"
"No, don't," Krista protested.
"I'll go after him," Eren sighed, giving chase.
"This won't end well," Dillon mumbled, riding up closer to Marco. "I'm going after them before they get into another lover's spat."
Reluctantly, the squad leader nodded. "Hurry."
The lizard, realizing that it was being chased, made a run for it, but the small reptile was no match for the speed of a horse. When he was upon the lizard, Jean raised his sword to impale it, but instead of cutting through its flesh, it was blocked by another sword. Eren had caught up with him after all. Seizing the opportunity, the lizard fled.
"Are you serious, Eren?" Jean demanded furiously.
"At least I'm taking this seriously," he shot back.
"Can we just have one day with you two not trying to out-dick each other?" Dillon asked once he caught up to him.
"I wasn't the one who decided to go off track to chase a lizard," Eren muttered.
"It's called taking an initiative, dumbass," Jean shot back.
Dillon's face met his hands in frustration. It was like talking to brick walls. Loud and obnoxious brick walls.
Finally, Marco, once the rest of the group made it to their position, intervened. "Enough! You're acting like a bunch of children."
"Back off, Marco," Jean demanded.
Marco stood his ground. "Get a hold of yourselves, all of you! If we delay, this incident will be reported." Quickly, he turned to Armin. "Armin, don't write this down yet."
"O-Okay," he stuttered.
Annoyed, Jean spoke his mind. "Write down, 'Jean Kirstein tries to find food during the exercise, but an annoying little shit prevents him."'
"Say that again," Eren dared, looking like he was ready to draw his sword.
"You let him get away!"
All eyes, which were filled with surprise, were now on Sasha, who was giving her version of a glare to Eren and Jean. She really wanted to eat that lizard. Dillon resisted laughing at how adorable she looked when she was upset by disguising it as a cough.
Sighing, Marco said, "Let's go. We're wasting time."
"Fine," Jean conceded, continuing the long march to the forest.
Before he went back to his own spot, Dillon turned to Eren. "Look, I know you two have a lot of issues with each other, but you're not helping anyone."
"How are you even friends with the guy?" Eren wondered.
"He may be self-centered half the time, but he can be a nice guy when he wants to be," he explained. "Kind of reminds me of you at times."
"Hey, don't start comparing me to that horse-face."
Dillon chuckled as he made his way back into position. Riling people up was fun.
That night, the squad made camp in the forest. With the lack of any meat, they were forced to eat the food rations that were given to them. Considering the type of food Dillon was accustomed to in Yarckel, this slop they called stew was one of the worst things he had ever tasted. He wasn't the only one with those thoughts.
"So, this is what food rations taste like," Connie muttered in disgust.
"If we caught that lizard, we could be eating real food," Sasha pointed out.
"Maybe we'll see him again on the return trip," Dillon said, trying not to vomit out the contents. He would have to get used to this stuff fast.
"If I hear the word 'lizard' again, it'll be too soon," Jean grumbled.
"Funny," Eren snorted. "You were desperate to catch it earlier."
Jean sighed. "If it makes any difference, I was pretending I was hunting down a Titan."
The green-eyed boy didn't buy it for a second, getting angry once again. "Oh, please. You don't give a damn about the Titans."
The group had the same thought: Not this shit again.
He stood up aggressively, causing everyone to back up a little. "Why don't you tell them all the reason you joined the Training Corps? That you're nothing but a coward who'd rather hide than fight."
"Will you give it a rest already?" Dillon asked, tempted to bust a few capillaries if it meant shutting them up.
"I can handle this, Dillon." Aggravated, Jean got to his feet, looming over him. "Unlike you, I actually want to live to see another day."
"There won't be another day if we don't—"
"Defeat the Titans," Jean interrupted, waving him off. "We know. Guess what? I don't care anymore. If you keep that attitude up, you're gonna be Titan chow like your mother."
With a scream, Eren tackled Jean to the ground, punching his face as hard as he could. "You son of a bitch!"
Quickly, Marco and Connie pulled the teen off Jean, holding him tightly so he couldn't go at him again. For once, Dillon gave Jean an unsympathetic look as he clutched his bloody nose. He had that coming for that low blow.
"I'll kill him!" Eren raged, struggling to escape. "Let me go!"
"Not on my watch," Marco said, giving the two a stern and disappointed look. "You two are going to be sleeping far away from each other as you can. If I hear one more argument between the two of you, I will make sure Shadis hears about this. In fact, don't speak to each other for the remainder of the exercise."
Nice job, Marco. Dillon complemented inwardly.
"Works for me," Jean replied with a scowl, looking through the supplies for a first-aid kit.
Eren stopped thrashing like a wild animal, conceding to the terms. "Fine." Once he was released, he grabbed his sleeping bag and moved it to the far side of the camp.
"That was a close one," Mina commented, unsettled by that scene.
"Hopefully, they won't try to kill each other while they're sleeping," Connie added.
"Let's not give them any ideas," Dillon suggested, knowing the subjects of their conversation could hear them. He was about to start turning in for the night when he noticed Krista looking worried. "What's wrong, Krista?"
"I think I saw someone watching us," she answered nervously.
Instantly, a shiver went down Dillon's spine, but he retained his cool. He spoke in a whisper. "Don't point. Where did you see this person?"
Krista barely gestured to the left of her.
"Go tell Marco and the others, but keep it quiet and natural," he instructed. "If we're being watched, we need to take them by surprise."
Nodding, the blond-haired girl stretched a bit before heading over to other cadets. Dillon, meanwhile, slowly walked into the forest to look around. Without a torch, he couldn't see very well, so he decided to use his ears to pick up any leaves rustling or twigs snapping. He pulled out one of his boot knifes just to be safe.
Come out wherever you are. Dillon thought as he scanned his surroundings of anything out of place.
After five minutes of looking around, he returned to the camp where everyone seemed a little on edge for obvious reasons.
"Anything?" Marco asked concerned.
Dillon shook his head. "Sorry, Krista. I didn't see anyone."
Several of the cadets breathed a sigh of relief.
"It was probably my imagination," Krista said, reassured that there was nothing out there.
"Say, did you by chance see any lizards while you were—"
"Enough with the lizards, Sasha," was the chorused response.
Dejected, the meat-obsessed girl sank into her sleeping bag.
As Dillon set up his own bed, he couldn't get the feeling of being watched out of his mind. Still, he decided to shrug it off as paranoia and decided not to dwell on it. He should have, for if he investigated the ground, he would've noticed a footprint embedded in it.
(Later that night)
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Dillon's eyes shot open immediately, his heart nearly stopping from that scream. "Krista!"
He scrambled out of his sleeping bag only to find himself face to face with the barrel of a rifle. He slowly looked up at the owner, who was garbed in dark green clothes and a sack over his head.
"Don't move," he warned.
Dillon gulped. Last time he had a gun in his face was when he was twelve and the forge was being robbed. Unlike last time, his dad wasn't around to save him. He slowly moved his head and analyzed the situation. There were four other armed men, aiming their guns at the cadets. They were surrounded. The way they stood and the way they carried their guns revealed they were professionals. One false move and someone would die.
"Get their ODM gear." one of the men ordered.
"What are you gonna do with them?" Eren demanded.
Shut up, Eren. Dillon silently pleaded.
"Let's just say you rookies just made us rich men," the man standing over Eren answered. "There's not a chance we can beat the Titans, so we might as well get rich while we still can."
Angered, Eren grabbed the gun and shoved it upwards to keep himself from getting shot. He began to wrestle for the gun and shouted, "Now, everyone!"
Dillon resisted the urge to facepalm. The rest of the men had them completely covered. There was too high a chance of someone getting shot. He was also unsure if he could attack all five of them mentally at the same time. Unlike Eren, he wasn't about to gamble with everyone's lives.
"Eren, don't!" Armin yelled as the man behind him shoved the gun deeper into his back.
Panic overtaking him, Jean attempted to make a run for it. Seeing this, one of the men fired a warning shot and the bullet grazed his cheek, leaving a scratch on it. Jean stopped dead in his tracks, shaking with fear. Eren, distracted by the sound of a gun going off, was hit in the head by the butt of the rifle. As expected, nothing had changed except for the injuries Eren and Jean sported and the tension rising higher.
"Don't be an idiot next time," the man Eren wrestled with advised. "Unless you want a bullet in the head, I suggest you stay down."
Eren growled angrily but complied with the order. There was no sense in getting shot.
"What did you do to Krista?" Dillon asked as some of the men began taking the ODM gear.
"We'll be taking her off your hands," the green man chuckled. "She'll have a lot of buyers lined up for her. Such a pretty thing, she is."
The blacksmith clenched his fist, doing everything he could to resist attacking them. It was one thing to take their gear. It was another to engage in human trafficking. "You scumbags are going to regret this."
"You hear that?" Green Man asked in a mocking tone. "This little shit says he's gonna make us regret our crimes. Ooh, I'm scared now."
The others laughed at Dillon's empty threat just as Green Man hit him in the stomach with the butt of his gun. He fell to his knees, groaning in pain. In hindsight, he probably should have seen that coming.
"Anyone else want to say something?" Green Man questioned to the other cadets. When no one responded, he said, "That's what I thought."
Once the men gathered the equipment, horses with carriages arrived on the scene. Seemed like they were part of some sort of gang or something like that. While they loaded up the ODM Gear, another man walked out of the forest carrying Krista, who was looking completely terrified. The instinct to go save her was high, but the idea of getting shot in the process was higher. To make matters worse, they scared off the horses the cadets were using a long time ago, removing an advantage they had.
"Today, we have decided to spare your lives," a man in red, clearly the leader, announced after they tossed Krista in the back of one of the carriages. "There's no point in wasting our ammunition on you. But if you follow us, we will kill you."
Quickly, the men entered the carriages and rode off down the road, leaving behind the traumatized cadets. This was the first time something like this had happened to most of them. Dillon was accustomed to scumbags like that back in Yarckel. Eren, however, seemed more angry than traumatized.
"You cowards," he snarled, his rage letting loose. "If we all attacked them, we could have prevented this."
Reaching the end of his rope, Dillon grabbed Eren and slammed him against the trunk of a tree. His eyes were blazing with fury, but his voice was low. Good thing Mikasa wasn't here. "That stunt you pulled almost got us killed. If you do something like that again, you'll have me to deal with. Got it?"
Eren glowered at him, but he slowly nodded.
"Let him go, Dillon," Marco commanded, his voice weary. "This exercise is over."
Releasing Eren, Dillon asked, "So, how are we going to rescue Krista?"
"I… I don't think we can," the squad leader admitted. "If we hurry back to Shadis, maybe we can—"
"By then it'll be too late!" Eren interrupted, stalking up to Marco. "I'm not gonna let them take her. If I have to, I'll get her back myself."
"Not alone, you aren't," Dillon stated. "I'm going with you, but we need to come up with a plan first. We can't rescue Krista if we're dead."
Eren shouldn't have been surprised Dillon would be the first to volunteer.
"I owe them for this scratch," Jean added, his fingers lightly brushing the wound. "Count me in."
Soon, the rest of the squad voiced in their agreement. They were all going to save Krista.
"How do we catch up with them?" Connie asked.
"I don't think we can find them even if we split up," Mina pointed out.
Sasha snapped her fingers, getting an idea. "That's it. Let's get to a high point. 'When you get lost in the mountains, get to the top. If you get lost in the forest, climb a high tree.' That's what my father taught me."
Marco smiled at her idea. "Good idea, Sasha. Let's move."
The cadets gathered what supplies they needed and stashed them in sacks. They would have to carry them for the rest of their journey. The map indicated a rocky path they would have to scale in order to reach the top. Without wasting any time, they hiked all the way to the top, though that was exhausting. Traveling uphill was always a challenge.
Once they reached the top of the slope, Jean was able to spot smoke in the distance. It seemed the kidnappers were at a rendezvous point of some kind. With no time to lose, the cadets slid down the slope, Sasha treating it like some sort of fun slide, and ran towards the campsite. When they got close enough, they wisely used a vantage point to spy on the kidnappers. Dillon pulled out a spyglass from his share of the supplies and looked at the site below him.
"I count eight men," Dillon announced softly, handing over the spyglass to Eren. "All armed. They're gonna travel with ODM gear in one carriage and Krista in the other."
"Once we load everything, we leave," the leader announced suddenly. "Hurry."
"Now what?" Eren asked, passing the spyglass to Jean.
"We'll be too late at this rate," Jean added.
"If we go in now, we'll get shot," Marco pointed out.
"I have an idea," Armin said, examining a map. The guys observing the thieves slid down the slope to listen to his plan. "Since they're going to sell the stolen goods, they'll probably take the wide exit here." He pointed at a crossroads where two roads diverged. "We need to ambush them before they get there."
Connie examined the map, pointing out the flaw in the plan. "Without our horses, we won't be able to catch up with them."
"The fastest way to a destination is a straight line," Dillon stated. "They'll be traveling on the road while we cut through the forest."
Armin nodded in agreement. "We're going to have to run to make it there in time. If they take the wide road, we won't be able to ambush them. That being said, we need to find a way to get them on the narrow path."
"Do we have any rope?" Mina asked.
Eren pulled it out of his bag and handed it to her. "Here."
She smirked, coming up with a plan. "If we tie this around a tree and pull it down to the road, that should keep the kidnappers from going in that direction. This will require at least three people. A spotter, someone to pull the tree down, and someone else to back us up."
Connie grinned at Sasha. "What do you think, Sasha? Shall we join Mina on this excursion?"
"You can count on us," she exclaimed happily.
One problem down.
"And if things go according to plan?" Jean questioned.
"We need to attack them from the trees," Eren said. "It's the only way to take them by surprise."
"Risky, but possible," Dillon pointed out, figuring out Eren, Jean, and himself would be doing the ambushing. "If we don't time our jumps just right, we'll end up with broken legs."
"Armin and I can signal you guys," Marco suggested. "We still have those empty cans from our dinner."
Jean grimaced as another thought occurred to him. "Wait, if the three of us are gonna attack both carriages, someone is going to have to fight alone."
"I'll do it," Dillon volunteered, turning to face them, "but on one condition: can we count on you two to put your differences aside long enough to get the job done?"
Eren and Jean stared at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. Krista's life was far more important to let their personal feelings get in the way.
"Failure is not an option," Marco stated firmly. "Let's get Krista back!"
Don't look down! Don't look down! Dillon coached himself as he stood in the trees, waiting like Jean and Eren. Heights were something he found uncomfortable to say the least, but he had to push the fear aside. In fact, he could channel that into energy he would use against the kidnappers. There weren't any wheel tracks on the road meaning they beat them to their destination, giving Marco and Armin enough time to set up the cans for the signal and for the three ambushers to take a few minutes to catch their breath. The constant running was exhausting, but they kept Krista in their thoughts to keep them going. Right now, all they had to do was trust that Mina, Connie, and Sasha could do their part.
He was relieved when the sounds of horses clopping down the road broke the silence. The trio came through. Now came the hard part: waiting for the signal. He spared a glance at Jean and Eren, who were both prepared to leap off the trees at a moment's notice. There were two carriages, one for Krista, and another for the ODM gear. They had no idea which cart held which, but that didn't matter. It was almost time.
Come on, Marco. Dillon pleaded inwardly while taking several deep breaths to calm his nerves. Don't be late.
The vehicles were directly below them when Marco activated the signal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
On cue, the three cadets leapt from the trees into the carriages. Once Jean and Eren were inside, they noticed four guys. One was driving the carriage, and the others were unarmed save for the stupid expressions on their faces. Krista was nowhere to be seen, meaning this was the ODM cart.
"What the hell?" one of the men yelled, charging at Jean.
Jean brought his elbow up sharply, smashing into his chin. He didn't give him a chance to recover, so he shot out his foot, kicking him out of the carriage.
Looks like those lessons paid off, He thought to himself.
Enraged, the two other men attacked the teens with the intent to kill. Sadly, for them, these teens were soldiers. With great speed, Eren grabbed one man's arm with one hand, grabbed his collar with the other, and tossed him to the ground as if he was nothing, heading towards the carriage driver. Jean's next opponent found himself on the receiving end of several punches to the face. To finish them off, he grabbed Eren's fallen opponent and tossed him right into the other guy, sending them careening out of the carriage.
As Eren got the driver into a headlock, the carriage shook violently as it ran over something large. Judging by the sick crunch, it was a human. Jean looked to the other carriage and dropped his jaw at the madness that was going on.
(One minute earlier)
Dillon tore through the roof and landed with bent knees to avoid breaking his bones. There were four men in this carriage. The leader was driving the carriage, another had a weird hat on, but was armed, Green Guy was there too, and some guy wearing brown. All of them had one thing in common: he took them all by surprise. Gasping in shock behind him was Krista, her bound arms attached to a hook on a pole. At least he didn't land on her.
"Remember me?" he asked with narrowed eyes, getting into a fighting stance.
Imminent danger first. Dillon kicked the Hat Guy back, loosening his grip on the rifle, before engaging the other two. Two-on-one fights were difficult for obvious reasons, but as long as he stunned one of them, it wouldn't be that much of a problem. He elbowed Green Guy in the chest and delivered a hard punch to the nose on Brown Guy solved, making it bleed. Unfortunately, Green Guy wrapped his arm around his neck, constricting his breathing.
"I've had enough of you damn brats," he snarled.
Bam! A foot smashed into the guy's head, sending him off of Dillon and to the ground. The teen gave a grateful look to Krista before leaping back into a fray, boot knife at the ready this time. Ironically, the spot where she was held captive was safest spot for her. All that changed, however, when the wheels ran over a rock. It shook the entire carriage enough to toss Krista off the hook and into Brown Guy.
"Get off," the smuggler ordered, tossing the still-bound blonde off him.
Dillon stumbled right into Hat Guy, who was attempting to shoot him point blank. Fortunately, Dillon jammed his knife directly in his shoulder to prevent that. A quick kick to the groin kept him down while he cried in pain. Now armed, Dillon took aim at the remaining two goons, but Green Guy had Krista in a headlock and Brown Guy was standing next to him.
"Put the gun down, or I snap her neck," Green Guy threatened.
Dillon had an unsettling smirk on his face. "I told you I'd make you pay, didn't I?"
His eyes began to glow, and the two men started to cry out in pain. It felt like someone lit their minds on fire. Blood poured from their ears and noses, causing them to collapse to their knees and release Krista, who was completely confused as to what was happening. Dillon charged forward and slammed the butt of the gun right into Green Guy's head, which shattered on impact. From that day forwards, Dillon didn't know what killed him: the blow to the head or getting run over by the other carriage when he fell out.
"You all right?" he asked her.
Krista stared at him with wide eyes. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," he lied. "I got lucky."
After Dillon cut the rope tying her hands together, he gave a swift kick to Brown Guy's face, knocking him out. With those guys out of the way, and Hat Guy having to deal with his injuries, the blacksmith approached the Leader, pointing the knife at the back of his neck.
"Stop the carriage," he ordered.
"No," was the only response he got.
Suddenly, he felt his legs get kicked out from under him, losing his grip on the knife. Hat Guy wasn't down for the count after all. The wounded man, with his good arm, attempted to stab his head with the knife, but Dillon quickly exploited his weakness. With one hand, he held the knife arm back. With the other, he started punching his wounded shoulder several times. Unable to take the pain any longer, Hat Man stumbled back, giving Dillon enough room to kick him against the side of the carriage.
"And stay down," he demanded, tossing the Leader away from reins.
"No!" the man cried, attempting to get pass Dillon, but Krista came up behind him and slammed what was left of the rifle in the back of the head.
"Nice one," Dillon complemented.
Krista's eyes widened when she realized why the Leader wanted to get back to the reins. "We're gonna crash."
Sure enough, the horses were heading straight towards a sheer drop with no sign of turning.
"Whoops!" Dillon exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Krista just as the carriage went over the edge.
The vehicle was a crappy one because it detached itself from the horses on landing. Also, the fall shattered the wheel on impact. Without the wheel, the balance of the carriage was dislodged and it fell to its side along with the passengers inside. It slid across the ground until it came to a stop at the base of a rocky slope, never to be used again.
Slowly, Dillon opened his eyes, his back feeling incredibly sore. He couldn't believe that he was still conscious after all that. A quick look to his left and his right showed the Leader groaning in pain and Hat Guy out cold. Brown Guy was nowhere to be seen.
He must've fallen out during the crash. The teen theorized before turning his attention the blonde in his arms. "Krista, you okay?"
"I'm fine," she answered. "Just a few scratches."
"You know, if Ymir saw us in this position, she would probably try to kill me," Dillon assumed.
Krista chuckled. "Yeah, she probably would."
Releasing his grip on her, the two cadets got on their feet, relieved that they survived all of this.
"You go out front," Dillon said. "I'll go out back."
Nodding, she carefully stepped outside, checking to make sure she wasn't gonna get ambushed. As Dillon headed to the rear, he kicked the Leader several times in the head before he was unconscious. He did not want to get dropped on again.
So, naturally, the moment he was outside the broken carriage, someone tackled him to the ground. The back of his head hit the rocky surface hard enough to daze him. The punches hitting his face weren't helping, either. Seemed like Brown Guy had a personal vendetta against him, though how he regained consciousness so quickly was beyond him. The world was spinning and turning blurry.
"I'm going to kill you!" Brown Guy shouted, though his voice sounded far away.
I never would have guessed. Dillon thought sarcastically.
He picked up something, probably a rock, and it raised high to beat him to death with it.
Brown Guy suddenly recoiled at the same steel meeting flesh sounded. A familiar boot knife pierced his head, killing him instantly.
"Dillon," a voice called out as the body fell backwards.
The last thing Dillon saw before he passed out was a blonde-haired cadet rushing over to him.
"Hey, I think he's waking up."
"Shh! Not so loud, Jean. He's still hurt."
"Sorry."
Groaning in pain, Dillon slowly opened his eyes. His body felt sore and his head felt like something was pounding against it. Judging by the nice bed he was laying on and the bandages around his head, he correctly guessed that he was in the infirmary. Standing over the bed was Jean, Krista, Eren, Mikasa, and, surprisingly, Ymir. Seemed like she was finally off her crutches.
"Hey, guys," Dillon greeted weakly.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Dillon," Jean replied with a grin.
"How are you feeling?" Krista asked.
"Like someone hit me in the head with a hammer," he answered. "What happened? Last thing I remember was getting attacked."
"Annie saved your life," Eren explained. "She threw a knife right into the guy's head."
It was slowly coming back to him. He remembered a knife lodged in the scumbag's skull, and someone with blonde hair shouting his name. He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wait, how did Annie even get there if she wasn't on our team?"
"Armin shot a flare after Eren and I retrieved the ODM Gear," he replied. "It didn't take long for the other team to meet up with us."
"And the other kidnappers?"
"They were arrested by the Military Police," Krista answered. "They're not going anywhere anytime soon."
"I gotta say, Dillon," Ymir said, smirking. "Taking on four kidnappers alone to save Krista was pretty badass." She wrapped her arm around Krista protectively. "Just keep in mind that she's taken."
Dillon rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Understood, Ymir."
"You could've gotten yourself killed," Mikasa admonished finally, seeing that no one else was addressing that fact.
"It wasn't the ideal situation, but there was only three of us. Someone had to make that sacrifice."
"Don't worry, Mikasa," Eren added. "He held his own. He knew what he was doing."
"Besides, would it have been better if Eren was alone or Jean was alone?" Dillon pressed.
She let out a sigh. "Fair enough, I guess. I just… I don't want you to get hurt, Dillon."
Ymir raised an eyebrow at that statement. Usually, Mikasa was fussing over Eren and Armin. Now, Dillon was added to the mix. Interesting.
Krista gave Dillon an apologetic look before asking, "Can you all give us a minute please?"
Jean nodded. "Shadis is waiting on my report on what happened out there anyways. See you later, Dillon."
"See you, Jean," Dillon said.
"Thanks for what you did," Eren added as he and Mikasa left.
When they exited the room, Ymir did something no one expected. She limped over to Dillon's side and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Dillon stared at her in shock, his face turning red. Did that just happen? "Uh… anytime?"
Continue to smirk, Ymir left the room as well, putting a finger to her lips. Clearly, she didn't want anyone to know she was capable of being nice to people outside of Krista. Whatever.
With everyone else gone, Krista sat at the end of his bed. "So, care to tell me what you did to those men?"
Dillon knew this was coming, and he still tried to deny it. "Krista, I have no idea—"
"Please don't lie to me," she requested. "I understand if you're scared I'm going to tell someone, but I promise you that I won't."
The blacksmith gestured for her to come closer. Slightly confused, she walked over to his side as he grasped her hand tightly. He wanted to make sure she understood the severity of the situation. "Krista, I want you to swear to me right now that what I'm about to reveal to you will never be spoken to anyone unless I say so. Do you swear it?"
Slowly, she nodded her head. "I swear not to tell anyone, Dillon."
Satisfied, Dillon said, "What you saw in the carriage was real, Krista. I attacked their minds with my powers to distract them long enough to win."
Krista's eyes widened in astonishment. "How is that possible?"
"I have no idea," he confessed. "My dad has the same abilities, but he doesn't know where they came from either. I can remember anything I've ever seen or heard if I can concentrate, I can read minds, and I can attack them. There's probably more, but I haven't figured it all out yet."
Slowly, she processed the information, but then an unfortunate implication came to mind. "Dillon, have you been using your powers on any of us?"
His eyes widened in horror. "What? No! I would never do anything so stupid." He stared at her with hurt in his eyes. "Is that what you think I've been doing to everyone? Subtly controlling their minds so that would like me?"
Krista's eyes widened at what she practically accused him of. "Dillon, no. I mean…"
"Controlling people to do what I want, bend them to my will. Do you have any idea how much the idea scares me, Krista?" He stared at his hand. "If I did that, then I'd be no better than those monsters that tried to kidnap you." A sigh left his mouth. "I shouldn't bash you too much for wondering that, though. I'd be scared, too."
Now she really felt bad and sat next to him on the bed. "Dillon, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's alright," he assured. "It's just an accusation I need to get used to. Never had friends growing up, so this is my first time confessing to one."
"You never had friends?" she asked, surprised. "But you're so… social."
Dillon chuckled. "Try having a defense attorney as a mother and a man who makes and sells weapons to customers as a father. You tend to pick up on a lot of things that prepare you. Also, the whole 'Amsdale Family hated by MPs' thing probably keeps them away." A sad look appeared on his face. "It would've been nice, though."
"Well, you have friends not." Krista gave him a reassuring smile as she placed her hand on his. "Don't worry, Dillon. Your secret's safe with me." Then, she kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you for saving my life."
On the outside, aside from the intense blushing, Dillon kept his cool. "No problem, Krista." On the inside, Oh, my gosh! I got kissed by two girls today! This is amazing! There's hope for me after all!
"I'll go let Annie know you're awake," she promised. "Just to let you know, she stood by your side until we got you into the infirmary."
She winked at him before leaving.
Why did she wink at me? He wondered. Oh, well. At least I can thank Annie for saving my life soon.
"Well, look who's back?"
Dillon's eyes widened in horror, recognizing his voice. "Oh, crap. It's you."
The doctor walked inside with a grin on his face. "I was unavailable the last time you were here, so I think it's time we made up for lost time."
"I want a new doctor!" Dillon shouted.
(One week later)
Whoever came up with the definition of boredom was probably in this exact situation. Dillon inferred, glaring up at the ceiling in annoyance.
Over the past one week, he had spent his time staying in this exact room, sleeping in this exact bed, and staring at the exact same four walls. Granted, moments where he had to relieve himself were always welcome, but those moments were few each day. He kept having to take things slow and steady. However, all that was changing when the doctors announced that if he passed one of their examinations, he would be discharged and be able to return to his fellow comrades. Then, he could finally get away from that doctor. Making jokes at the blacksmith's expense about how things could've been worse, explaining said outcomes graphically, really got under his skin. He did not need to know what happened when a human's head was run over by a carriage.
However, what was bothering him the most was that Annie hadn't come to visit in all this time. He received several visitors from his class, all wishing him a speedy recovery, but Annie was nowhere to be found. If she saved his life and stayed with him until he reached the infirmary, why was she avoiding him now? Did he do something wrong?
"Dillon, you have a visitor," Dr. Get-Out-Of-My-Life-Already announced. "Annie Leonhart?"
Finally! "Thanks, Doctor. You can send her in."
A couple of seconds later, his five-foot savior walked through the door. For some reason, it didn't matter why she didn't come sooner. She was here now, and that was all that mattered.
"There she is," Dillon greeted with a wave and a grin. "How are you, Annie?"
"I'm fine," she answered, approaching his bedside. "How long until you get discharged?"
"Hopefully soon," he guessed, unsure. "I'm getting sick of lying in bed doing nothing."
"Could've been worse," Annie pointed out, her hands by her side. "They could've been preparing your body for funeral arrangements."
"And I have you to thank for that," Dillon said sincerely.
He didn't see it coming. Annie's fist launched right into his cheek, leaving behind a nasty bruise. Despite the pain, Dillon let out a low, "Ow!" to keep the doctors from rushing in.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, sheltering his injury with his hand in case there was another punch in store for him.
Annie, yet again, was glaring at him, though he was spared the evil eye this time. "That was for being a complete dumbass. What the hell were you thinking going after those criminals alone?"
"I made a calculated risk," he explained, still shocked by her actions. "It paid off, didn't it?"
"You dependedon dumb luck to get you through," Annie shot back, annoyed that he wasn't getting it. "It doesn't matter that it paid off. You can't accomplish missions hoping that something will save you at the last minute! If I had been a second slower, you would've been dead, too. So, let me ask you again: what were you thinking?"
Dillon contemplated his actions that night. He was tempted to let her in on his secret and explain that he was capable of taking on those monsters. He could've chosen to explain how, logically, he was the best choice of the bunch to pull something off like that. Instead, he took out the logic and went with the emotional appeal. "I just wanted to make sure that the only person at risk of injury or death was me."
Wrong answer.
Annie grabbed him by the collar and jerked him up close to her face. Her low voice indicated he was in serious trouble. "You listen to me and listen carefully. I can't believe you have the audacity to be so selfish."
"Annie, what—"
"Don't interrupt me," she ordered, scaring him into submission. "There are people in your life that depend on you, that care about you. Jean, Connie, Sasha, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Krista are the ones I can think of at the top of my head. What about your parents? Did you think about how they would feel if they found out their son perished trying to take on armed goons alone? No, you didn't. The only one you thought about was yourself!"
Dillon lowered his head as the words sunk in. The excitement of being able to save Krista and live to tell about it changed to the cold, harsh truth. Looking back, he realized how careless and foolish he was. The disappointment on her face made it worse for him.
"Look at me, Dillon," Annie said, albeit with less of a commanding tone. Once his eyes were back on hers, she decided to wrap things up. "Next time, I might not be there to save you. Don't pull a stunt like that again."
Finally, she released her grip on Dillon before heading towards the door.
"Annie!" he called before it was too late.
She stopped and looked back. "What?"
"You're right," he admitted sadly. "I was reckless... and stupid. The only reason I'm alive is because of you. I'm sorry."
The blond-haired girl sighed, walking back to him. "Dillon, just keep in mind that your life is valuable to a lot of people. Next time, use your head and think things through." She frowned when she noticed the purple blotch she left him. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Dillon responded, feeling the sting. "Damn, that hurt. What are you, made of steel or something?"
She shrugged. "Something."
"Still, it takes a good friend to point out when I screwed up badly, so thank you for that."
Annie's eyebrow raised in confusion. "Friend?"
Dillon nodded slowly. "Yes, friend. A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection—"
"I know what a friend is, smartass," she interjected, annoyed yet again. "I just… really?"
"Well, why not?" he asked. "I mean, we respect each other, we talk to each other in a pleasant way… occasionally, and you saved my life. I'd say that qualifies for us to be friends."
"Do you really want someone like me to be your friend, Dillon?" she questioned.
"I think you'd be a very good one," Dillon answered honestly.
Annie thought about it for a moment, wondering how she got to this point. She could just say no and walk away, and yet, she felt something inside telling her to go for it. After all, she could have worse friends. "Don't expect any "Get Well Soon" notes from me."
He chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it, Annie."
Annie walked back to the door, but ended the conversation with, "See you soon, Dillon," before leaving. Once she was away from the eyes and ears of the infirmary, she facepalmed repeatedly.
"You idiot!" she exclaimed to herself. "What is wrong with you? Why did you agree to be his friend? It's not like you—" Her eyes widened in horror as the reality of the situation hit her. "I care about him."
Not. Good.
Remastered Edits: Eren and Mikasa have been updated to reflect their amicability towards Dillon now. I know I might get some comments how Mikasa has seemingly brought Dillon into her circle of "people she doesn't want to get hurt at all" friends. Considering everything Dillon has done for her and Eren, despite him not knowing just how much of an impact he made, I figured it'd be the most logical step she would take. After all, she believes she owes him. Don't worry, though. Eren is still king over Mikasa overprotecting him.
Also, the conversation between Dillon and Krista went a little differently. I hoped it shed more light on who Dillon is as a person.
Anyways, I look forward to your comments and I shall see you all in the next chapter.
