The tears dried off eventually and Petra sagged against the back of the tree, scrubbing at her face. How much time had passed, she didn't know but it was thankfully still dark and the aches that had plagued her body were lessening a little. She gazed outside at the treetops bathed in moonlight. The silence of the forest was both tranquil and terrifying. Like the first time you jump off a roof in odm gear before the gas propels you away from the death drop.
Crying wasn't going to solve anything, she resolved harshly. You've spent your tears. Now it's time to do something about this. You're a goddamn Scout, for the love of the Walls! You survived training. A titan hasn't eaten you yet. You can get out of this mess. Just gotta figure out what this mess is, exactly. She could practically hear her training instructor (and then later Miche and Levi) all lecturing the recruits stiff on finding out as much as possible about a situation first.
Carefully, Petra crawled over towards the hole, peering downwards, towards the forest floor. Through the darkness, she glimpsed the shapes of many giant figures as well as the pale skin of those who caught an edge of moonlight. Petra silently thanked Hange's revelation about titans being rendered immobile at night for the lack of panic in her chest. The darkness cradled them just as it wrapped around Petra.
Angling herself so she was sat securely within her new hiding space but close enough to keep leaning out, Petra began to run her head through the possibilities available to her. The Scouts, had many of them survived, would have tried to take as much away with them as they could (unless that came at the cost of more lives) but there still might be some runaway horses out there, or at least some fallen supplies. If she could find a horse then that would solve her situation directly. She'd have a major head start on any titans, maybe even getting back to Karanes before they woke up.
There was too much she didn't know right now and she needed to rectify that.
If she couldn't find a horse then she had to find supplies - primarily food, water and gas. While the titans below hadn't managed to climb up to her, it would still be better for her to kill those that came too close. Looking down at them now, Petra saw that some of the titans were slumped against the trees, covering their napes. It would be harder to kill them but not impossible when they were like this. Another point Hange had made about titans was how light they were. She could maybe kick the awkwardly positioned ones into a better position for killing them. She stood a real chance of being able to takes all of these out under the cover of darkness but then there was the matter of gas. She couldn't afford to waste it.
It might be better to kill them on a needs-must basis especially as she would need to be able to protect herself in case any of them tried to climb. It wasn't out of the realms of possibility, after all. Scouts encountered abnormal titans quite often. What was to prevent her waking up to the face of one who actually managed to climb as high as this? Petra shuddered with gritted teeth. If she could find any blades, she would take them as well.
Okay. First thing's first, let's take a look around. This could be over by tomorrow night.
Petra removed her gear and used the moonlight to check over her equipment. It had taken some hits but the damage was superficial mostly. It would need maintenance if she got back to HQ. No, when she got back to HQ. Dying out here, living around titans, was not an option. She reattached her gear and scooted to the edge of the tree again, ignoring the aches in her back and side.
With a readying breath, she dropped of the tree and onto the nearest branch beneath her. Even with bended knees, the impact shot through her like a cramp.
Should be fairly easy enough to find my way back, she noted, eyeing the titans sprawled around. Nevertheless, she drew out one of her blades and carved three horizontal lines into the trunk.
—
Petra had to alternate between running and walking as she weaved through the trees. It felt like the air was being punched out of her, knocking all of her aches back into prominence. Sweat soon began to drip down her face and arms. Her eyes and forehead stung from squinting around at the intense darkness around her. The patches of moonlight through the canopy of treetops only went so far as giving everything shape within the blackness.
There was a lot of stumbling over roots and rocks, her pants sliced open whenever she moved too close to brambles. The burning ache in her legs reminded her of endurance runs back at the training corps. Which she'd absolutely sucked at until Eld taught her how to pace herself properly. He was always a more effective teacher than their instructor at times. Far more patient. That was why he'd been so good with Eren.
Thinking about Eld brought a tight feeling to her throat so she returned her focus to trying not to trip over every blasted root and forest in this damn place. If she gave into thinking about him, she'd end up thinking about Gunther and whether Oluo was alive. And him.
She had to be somewhat mindful of the time. Dawn could be approaching and she needed time to get back to her hiding place if she needed to. Most of the titans she'd encountered had gathered around there so finding it again shouldn't be an issue. It also meant that she could put some of her nerves to better us - propelling her forward.
She chased any sight of weaker darkness and pursued it. In one hand she wielded a blade, conscious that, while titans may be immobile now, animals like wolves were not. Remembering those predators caused her hopes of finding a horse to sink somewhat.
Even so, she let out a whistle now and then, along with listening for any sounds of hooves rumbling towards her. But so far no animals had presented themselves. The rustle of her own movements didn't help the possibility of any dangerous animals being attracted to her presence but these were hardly avoidable.
Every dozen or so times she turned, she wondered if she was just running in circles and making herself lost. Wasting energy. Intrusive thoughts of wolves catching up to her or taking a bad fall and knocking herself out, becoming prey for titans, entered her head and she growled as she endeavoured to shove them away. The more she ran, the more that fear pounded at her chest, filling her with even unpleasant thoughts. What if there are no horses and you're stuck here? What if there are now supplies? What if you lose that tree before dawn? What if you're too tired to escape?
Those thoughts huddled around her at once, threatening to overwhelm her.
No. I'm not dying here. She told herself with anger pricking at her insides. I'm a Scout. I'm a member of Levi Squad. I'll find some way out of this. I can't just stop and wait for the end. I have too many people waiting for me back home.
—
After a couple of hours, she swung herself up onto a branch to catch her breath. She was going to pass out if she didn't. Pre-dawn light was already entering the forest and that gave her a very limited window to actually see where she was going and look for anything that she could use. Her whistles became more frequent as she rested but each one was met with silence and Petra's gut throbbed with dread.
If everyone else made it back, they'll be waking up soon. Gunther, Eld and Oluo's parents will be waking up to a world without their children. How many other parents are facing that same fate? Petra stifled a cry as he thoughts turned to her own parents. If they haven't been told already, they'll be told today. She blinked rapidly to stem the tears pricking at her eyes. No. Not here. You can't break here.
So she forced those thoughts away from her. Weariness and the aches in her muscles tugged her towards drowsiness but she pulled away from it. The effort of doing so wore away at her but the insecurity of her surroundings kept her nerves on edge enough to act as a barrier to sleep.
After about twenty minutes or so, she descended and began her search again.
—
Not far from the edge of the forest, there was a fallen wagon. Petra's stomach clenched as she approached it. She took quiet, careful steps and, raising her blade, she used the tip to push aside the flap of the covering. However she was met only with the sight of damaged equipment.
"Damn," she grumbled, sheathing her blade for now. She clambered inside and began to rummage around in the wreckage
She vaguely recognized the equipment as that used for capturing a titan. She remembered the roar of the equipment in action - a deafening, overwhelming blast of noise like cannon fire. It might have been useful to help her fight these titans off if she'd had the knowledge to use them, and if they weren't broken.
Running her hands across the broken pieces, she thought of how easily they had broken. The muscles in her forearms tensed when she contemplated how much effort had gone into today and how quickly it had all gone to shit. Hatred blazed through her. Why do these creatures have to exist? What has humanity done to deserve this horrible price that we've paid?
The strange roar the Female Titan had unleashed had spurred other titans sprung to mind as Petra examined the damage some more. The Female Titan had been restrained very well before she released that sound. Even without seeing the stampede of titans, Petra had recognized the rumbling of many feet all too well. There had been too much going on to pay it too much attention. They'd had a job to do; get Eren to safety and by the Walls, she hoped that impulsive, feisty boy had listened. Because if the loss of Eld, Gunther and possibly Oruo was all for nothing, she wasn't sure she wanted to know for sure. At this point hope was better.
She nudged aside another piece of broken equipment. Beneath it, the edge of brown material poked out at her. She gave it a jerk and a sack tumbled towards her. Her hands scrambled to open it, running over the shapes of gas cannisters. Finally, that's something. Examining the cannisters, she soon detected the damage on two of them, the gas long since gone. Choosing not to dwell on that for now, she ran her hand through some more of the sack. A couple of water cannisters, both of them unharmed and full, met her fingers next along with three packets of multiple rations. Petra felt her shoulders sag as a couple more concerns dropped away from her.
The sack yielded nothing else and a search of the rest of the wagon provided her with more wreckage, another intact gas cannister and pack of rations. There were several boxes of blades but she wouldn't be able to carry them all at once. Meanwhile everything else had been crushed.
The rise of golden light around her snapped her back into focus. Soon those titans would be awake. Damn she'd wanted to take a few of them out before dawn but now it was likely going to be too risky. Her main hope was that none of them attempted the climb to her new accommodation.
With ODM gear, she returned to her tree fairly speedily. The titans around the area were still slumped, blinking around in growing wakefulness as Petra swung herself into her sanctuary. After landing and depositing her new supplies, Petra slumped against the back of the tree, her body sore and craving sleep again.