Chapter 13: The Second Scout

Jamie's safe. That's all that matters.

The titan continued running, its arms flailing at its side. Its hair flew, catching the wind, and it really looked like a huge child, like the ones walking to school just that morning. She hoped they were all safe, that they hadn't been wandering in the field, safe in freedom. But whether or not they were caught by this monster, they were already dead, and out of pain. Only a monster could let children be eaten. Not that rules stopped warmongers before.

"It's all the same to you, isn't it?" She shouted at the wind. "You don't mind how many people are sacrificed, even peaceful ones. Take a survey and see who's really evil, then we'll talk."

She snuck another glance at the titan. She'd never seen one up close for this long, not slain speedily. Its muscles and skin moved just like a human's, tensed with movement. Perhaps it grew tired, like a person. Perhaps it could hear; perhaps it remembered. Its eyes looked kind, like a person. It certainly saw what it was doing, and as she'd heard someone say, the eyes were the window to the soul. Or were the soul. Neither mattered to a dead man.

"I don't think you killed any children," she called to the titan. "You've got kind eyes. And I don't blame you for trying to kill me. It's just your nature."

Jamie would surely join the Survey Corps immediately, with full intention to kill all the titans. She knew he would. He might forsake his vow to tell his parents, inform them of his decision. He might change into that unrecognizable person, the one so in tune with the wrong emotions.

"No, Jamie's got his parents. Larmie and Hajule won't let him go. They'd rather hunt him at the cadets than leave him in despair. Besides, at the end of the day, we've known each other a little more than a year." She turned and stared at the titan. "That's an unfortunate thing about you titans. You don't have any families for the vengeful to hunt. You're on your own."

Another hundred years might've passed, and Edie wouldn't have been the wiser. The sun seemed to freeze, the colors stiff in orange, yellow, and cream. There were no purples or reds, signaling the end of the day. The heavens themselves seemed determined to see her slain.

"It'd be alright to end like this," she told them. "Jamie's safe. Mr. Solway's safe, and Larmie and Hajule. It's alright."

And there was peace. But as Dia grew tired, the titan did, too. Even though it grew closer, their paces evened out. An hour, at most, before both slowed enough to close the gap. That was plenty of time to get her affairs in order, except the titan had more affairs to settle than she did.

"I suppose you're one of the few who understands," she called back to it. "You're probably more of an amnesiac than me. At least you've got an excuse for it. You've got more body than brains, and I'm the opposite. Maybe you can lend some of your height, and I'll give you some consciousness. I'll tell you now, though, conscience is a bitch." She laughed. "You'll get it. You'll get it one of these days."

Dia slowed a little more, panting and throwing her head back. Edie smoothed her air, whispering thanks in her ear. "It'll be over soon, I promise. Just half an hour more, and you can rest, either way. Keep going for now." She turned over her shoulder again. "You and Dia would be good friends. She hasn't heard about Charter 6 yet. Our other poor horses haven't had a full dinner in many, many months. She's quite greedy."

The titan let out a little squeal and tripped, giving a little more space between them. Edie smiled and turned back around.

I hope you can hear, and Jamie's safe. He's safe.

"Maybe we'll all have that in common, being eaten by titans. Maybe there's a special place in heaven, or hell, for all of us. A little corner for cannibals and the eaten, where we can finally talk about how awful all of it is. Maybe if you're terrible enough to get eaten by a titan, you're already doomed to hell. Maybe that's what it is."

Edie pressed a hand on her stomach. It wasn't fear—she'd know that sickness. It was just dread, and the dread was making her talk.

"We'll see each other again," she whispered. "One way or another."

The next nearest village came into view, just a little dot on the horizon, so Edie veered left. The titan followed. Dia whinnied, startled by the rocky fields, and she faltered. The titan kept running, unbothered. The gap lessened.

This is it. This is really it.

Edie bit on her tongue till it bled. "I won't give children reason to have more nightmares. I'll take it, quietly. I promised myself I would." She forced herself to loosen her grip on the reins, breathe in through her nose, out through her mouth. "There's no reason to be upset. You knew something like this would happen. Better for it to be now, then…it's better this way. At least people are safe. They're safe."

She gritted her teeth to keep from talking more. The titan grew closer.

A few trees dotted the area. A sharp branch wouldn't kill it, and she'd already accepted her death, but perhaps blinding it or stabbing its ankle would save lives. Surely the authorities were close, alerted by the evacuees. Surely someone was on their way.

She steered Dia toward one of the trees and stood on her back, feet firm, though the horse's back jostled. She spotted a loose branch sticking out among the leaves and prayed it wasn't firm enough to knock her off Dia's back. Luckily, her grip stayed firm, and she dropped back into riding position with a stick only a foot shorter than her.

Dia wasn't thrilled with that maneuver. Edie sped her up again, but the titan was only fifteen feet away now. The wrinkles on its face tightened as its jaw swung open, hands reached out. Edie held the stick in hand, the pointier end facing forward. What sane person jousts with titans?

"HEY! YOU!"

Edie whipped around, urging Dia on as she did. There they were – two horses speeding from the parallel road. One was much closer, on a quicker horse, and gained on her and the titan. She turned Dia, to meet with the soldiers. Her grips tightened again.

"THAT'S IT! DON'T STOP! WE'RE HERE TO HELP!"

As the two neared, she recognized their green coats and winged badge. "Scouts," Edie breathed, worn from the ride. "Jamie's going to be jealous, somehow. Once he comes to his senses." It was just the two of them, not a full squad. From the looks of their mismatched outfits, she assumed they were off duty. Regardless, they were here.

Just a few more seconds. Just a few more…

She crossed paths with the first scout, and the two ran side by side.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He shouted at her. "ARE YOU INSANE?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked back, rubbing an ear with her free hand. "Should I have stopped?"

"YOU SHOULD BE IN HIDING, OR WITH THE OTHER EVACUEES! NOT OUT HERE!"

"Is now really the time?" She called back.

"YOU'RE A CITIZEN! YOU NEED TO BE PROTECTED!"

"Yes, that's why you're here, isn't it?" This was a very confusing man. Suddenly, Dia threw back her head, and Edie stroked her neck. "My horse has been running for nearly an hour, but I'm not sure the titan will follow you. Any way we could—"

"I'M ON IT, MISS! WATCH A SCOUT AT WORK."

With that, the scout jumped off his horse and shot his grapples at the titan. Edie grabbed his horse's reins and slowed them both as the titan reached its hand up to the flying man.

"YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU SON OF A—"

"Watch out!" Edie called.

The titan swept its hand in a circle, knocking the cables loose. The scout lots his swing and tumbled to the ground, smashing his gas open on a rock. Steam filled the air as a foul odor rose, along with a guttural scream.

"You've got to be joking! This is the regiment Jamie wants to join?" But Edie let the horse's reins go and swung Dia around. "Sorry, girl, we'll rest soon. But this idiot needs some assistance."

"NO! DON'T KILL ME!" The scout screamed. He tried to grapple with one cable but flung himself to the other side of the titan.

The beast turned around and reached its hand forth, just as Edie sped by on Dia. She stood on the saddle and jumped toward its hand. She reared back and thrust her stick through its palm and into the ground, months of manual labor and the moment's adrenaline accomplishing the task. She circled on the ground, grabbing the scout by his cape. He barely moved, the heavy fool.

"Do you want to die? Stand up!" She stuck two fingers in her mouth, whistled, and reached out for Dia's saddle. Edie flew up easily, but the scout barely got his leg over the side, and the weight was nearly too much for Dia to bear. She neighed loud enough for the countryside to hear, then bolted forward.

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, the second scout barreled past them. He was already stood on his saddle, but crouched down, enough for him and Edie's heads to be at the same level. They locked eyes for a trillionth of a second, and it was at that moment that the sky turned all those shades of lilac, crimson, and pink. The second ended, and the second scout was gone, flying through the air. His horse veered right, on instinct.

Edie pulled on Dia's reins and turned.

The scout at her back screamed in her ear. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? KEEP GOING!"

"Quiet!" She snapped. "Don't you have any faith in your comrades?"

"WE'RE GOING TO—"

She ripped a section off her shirt's hem and stuffed it in his mouth. "Breathe through your nose, and stop crying." She turned her attention toward the titan.

The second scout had already brought it to its knees, and cut through the nape within seconds. Steam poured from the wound, and he stood on its back, sheathing his swords. Edie exhaled, patted Dia's neck, and addressed the heavens. "You'll have to take me another day."

"Oh, God—" The scout managed through the cloth. He tumbled on the ground, hands and knees on the ground. "There's not supposed to be actual titans here. We nearly got eaten!"

"Shut it. You'll disgrace the whole regiment." But the second scout handed him a water flask and forced him to drink. "This isn't near the worst of it."

The scout looked up, his quavering eyes resting on Edie. "You—you saved my life." He reached out and clutched her skirt, snotting on the wool. "You're an angel! Thank you, thank you! God, I'll do anything for you!"

"Then stop messing up my clothes."

"Yes, sweet angel!"

"Stop slobbering and get your horse, Maverick," the second scout told him, and Maverick wobbled to his feet, barely whistling through his fingers. The horse was on the other side of the field, grazing peacefully, hardly inclined to return to its crying owner. Edie laughed at the spectacle and turned Dia toward home.

"Hang on." The second scout put a hand on her reins. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"Care to explain why a titan was chasing you across a field?"

Edie shrugged. "It has a tendency to eat people, and I'm a person. Care to explain how a titan was within the walls?"

"We'll find that out. But you should've stayed with the evacuees. It's better to save the many then risk the safety of the few."

"Someone had to help. My family was in danger."

"You stabbed its hand. That's not something citizens are typically capable of."

Edie's hair picked up in the wind. "Yeah, well, I work on a farm from five in the morning till six at night, and if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be in bed before sundown."

"We're not done here." He tightened his grip.

"I'm not going to go and call the scouts cowards, if that's what you're afraid of. Titans are terrifying, and he's no less a soldier for crying. Just not a reliable one."

Edie looked him in the eye, expecting a fire to be burning just behind them, as there was when they passed earlier. But there was a kindness there, behind the furrowed eyebrows and steaming blood. He was older than the other, albeit shorter, clearly more experienced. He'd destroyed the titan in mere seconds. Perhaps Jamie would be alright, if there were scouts like this in the ranks.

She snapped back to the twilight field. Jamie was somewhere, crouched in a shed, shivering and waiting to be let out. Maybe thinking she was dead. She put her hand on the scout's and eased his fingers off the reins.

"Thank you for your service," she said softly, "but I've got to get home now."

"You hardly needed it," he said, letting his grip go. "With ODM gear, you probably would've killed it yourself."

"Guess we'll never know." She turned Dia and trotted away.

"Wait!" He shouted. "What's your name?"

She slowed Dia to a walk and turned over her shoulder. "Edie Cartwell. You?"

His cape blew in the wind.

"Captain Levi!"

"Pleasure to meet you, captain!" She waved once more. "Thank you, once again!"