When Ducky stepped out of the kitchen, there was still chaos in the main room, Erwin just shaking his head as he watched.
"My team has left already," Erwin as he headed to the door, Ducky following him. "I spoke with Commander Johnson. He was not happy, so be ready for tomorrow to be brutal. However, he agreed that we approached it the right way. In fact, he was watching to see who would step forward."
"That's good on your part," Ducky smiled. "I'm not much of a leader, but I'm okay with ideas."
"I brought that up with the Commander, and he appreciated your idea. He said we would make a decent team and to keep up the good work." He placed his large hand on top of her head, "Keep up the good work. Oh, and you should go take a shower before anyone else gets in there."
She nodded, bolting off to the barracks and grabbing her things to change into before bed. Her shower was very short since she could hear the guys getting closer. She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, towel on her head as she walked out of the bathroom. There was a fight about to break out just outside. She headed back in, brushing her teeth and walking out to see the argument still going on.
"What's going on?" She asked Stanley, a teen that had picked the bunk next to her.
He shrugged, "Liam just suddenly started yelling at Farley. I think it's about a girl from their hometown."
"A girl, huh? Whatever."
"You don't have anyone that will miss you, or someone you miss?"
"Of course I miss my family. They died though. Everyone where I'm from just called me a freeloader, so I decided to join the Scouts."
"That's a terrible reason to join," Stanley rolled his eyes.
"Well, it's either that or starve to death," she replied. "The Garrison doesn't do much, and I don't like the Military Police. Why not try to fight back?"
He shook his head, "Whatever."
Something slammed into Ducky's head causing her to stumble back until she fell on her butt. She frowned as her eyes started to water due to the force that slammed into her nose. Erwin practically teleported to her side, gently pulling her hands from her face. She stared at the blood in her hands, then wiped the tears from her face.
"Are you alright?" Erwin panicked.
"Yeah," she replied as she got back to her feet and popped her fingers.
"Don't baby him, Erwin," Liam scolded. "The Titans definitely won't."
It didn't go past her attention that he was rubbing his steadily swelling hand. He had been the one that punched her and probably broke a couple of knuckles to knock her down like that.
She simply smiled and wiped the blood from her nose once more, "I'll let this slide, Liam. Next time, I'll fight back."
The man sneered down at her, "You wouldn't be able to survive another punch from me." He suddenly chuckled to lighten the mood, "I don't want to have to deal with accidentally killing a child when the Titans will do it anyway."
She rolled her eyes as she picked up her towel from the ground and dusted it off before rubbing her hair dry once more. "You might want to get your hand looked at. It would be a shame for a broken hand to be the reason you couldn't stay."
He growled slightly but listened to her advice to get it examined. She headed back to her bed, draping her towel over the edge so it could dry. Folded at the end of her bed was the uniform. Everyone had been given the uniform then sized accordingly so it would fit. The next day, they were going to learn how to properly tie all the straps down.
Stanley sighed as he sat down on the bunk across from he, steam floating around him from the hot shower. "Man, it's either boiling water or freshly melted snow."
She smiled slightly at the description. She didn't get the chance for the hot shower, enduring the freezing water for the few minutes to get clean.
"At least there's an option," she replied as she fell back on her bed, not really tired. "I'm sure we'll be begging for the cold shower after tomorrow."
"You're probably right," he grumbled. "Can't believe Liam got us in trouble."
"You're such a pessimist," Ducky said as she looked over at him. "I know we don't have the same goals, but what if you change your mind along the way and end up in the Scouts? You'll be that much stronger."
He scoffed, "I'm not changing my mind, but that is a good point. If you're just going to join the Scouts, why are you trying to get in the top ten?"
She yawned, "I just want to prove it to myself that I'm able to do it. I want to prove my worth."
Stanley was quiet as she turned her attention to the bunk above her. Erwin hadn't returned since his small panic when she got punched. Hopefully he wasn't fighting Liam. She was pulled from her thoughts when something landed on her stomach.
"We'll start with this book," Erwin said. "I don't know why it's here, but it's fairytales. Easy words and simple stories."
She picked up the book and stared at the title. "What's it called?"
"Life in Reverse."
"I've never heard of it," she replied as she put the book to the side.
"It's very dark," Stanley said, breaking into the conversation. "It's about a village that has titan children trying to become human. In the end, the titan children eat everyone."
Sounds familiar, Ducky mused as she sighed. "Sounds fun."
"So, you can't read?" Stanley asked quietly. "A lot of poorer families don't know how, so there's no reason to be ashamed."
She smiled at him, grateful for his encouragement. With a long stretch, she climbed out of bed and got under the sheets. With a final yawn, she turned over and snuggled into her pillow. It would be the last time she would ever get a break.
She woke up early to a bell going off. Stumbling out of bed, she stood at attention just like Erwin. Commander Johnson yelled something that Ducky's groggy mind couldn't comprehend, but she stayed still, waiting for anyone else to move.
"Alright, time to get dressed," she heard Erwin say.
Ducky stopped moving as she looked at him, "What?"
"Just keep your back to everyone," he directed.
She nodded, turning her back to everyone, much like Erwin and pulled her shirt off, revealing a vest like bandage wrapping around her chest and torso.
Erwin raised an eyebrow, "A bit much, don't you think?"
"Nope," she replied as she finished buttoning up her white shirt.
After pulling her pants on, she put on the small leather skirt around her waist, following her first attempt at putting the straps on. Slowly, she managed to put it on correctly, clipping everything where it needed to go and sliding her boots on to start connecting her straps to her boots. Finally ready, she jogged out of the cabin, joining the others at attention, waiting for the day's orders.
When Commander Johnson appeared, he had a new face of rage while glaring at them, "I hope you didn't unpack! We're going to be getting in the maneuvering gear today, and if you can't hold yourself up, you can't stay!"
They got a very short breakfast before walking half a mile to an empty place where five stations were set up, each holding this almost swing like contraption. Though almost all the cadets had their straps on, they were instructed to take them off and step by step told how to put the straps on. Turns out, if Ducky had kept her straps in that position, she would have ripped her legs off with the force of the gear.
It was a slow process, Commander Johnson and a few others watching the cadets as they balanced or fell over in their swings.
"Alright, freak! Let's see what you can do!"
Due to the nickname alone, a lot of people went quiet as they watched her. As she climbed into the gear, clicking everything into place, she noticed Erwin giving her an encouraging smile while the Commander had a very expecting gaze on his face. Had she made such an impression even the Commander wanted her in the military?
As the lift started to raise her, it didn't take long until her feet were off the ground and she was just hanging there, frowning at how easy it had been. She had seen a lot of people fall, and that made her extremely nervous, but it was so simple. Perhaps some were just more centered than others.
Erwin smiled when she got down, ruffling her hair, "Good job, Duck. When I get finished, we'll start on your lessons."
She grinned, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited.
"Lessons?"
She turned to see a younger man, but definitely a soldier standing in as a teacher smiling. She immediately saluted the greying man who raised his hand, "There's no need for that. Please, tell me about these lessons."
"Oh, I can't read or write, sir," she explained.
His light eyes narrowed briefly before he smiled, "I see. Very well, allow me to teach you."
"S-sir?" She stuttered.
"You heard me," he smiled. "I would be more than happy to help. After all, I will be your teacher on titans."
Her eyes moved to Erwin, but snapped back to the teacher when he touched her face, "Mr. Smith can retrieve you from me when he's done here."
"B-but, I wanted to be there for him. He was there for me," she tried to argue, but only got an impatient look from her teacher.
With a thick swallow, she glanced back at Erwin who had been watching the exchange. He had that same fake smile he wore when he first met her and nodded.
As she left with her teacher, he introduced himself as Captain James Newson. He was from the Military Police and had never seen a Titan.
"Sir, no offense, but shouldn't someone from the Scouts teach us about Titans?" She asked as he closed the door behind him when they got to his office.
Only then did she understand his true motives. He had that same smile all the other men had. Did he know or was he into boys? She didn't stick around to find out. Rather than trying to escape his office through the only door he was walking from, she ran out the nearest window and continued, her blood trailing behind.
When she found Erwin, he looked mortified, looking over her injured arm, "Ducky, what happened?"
Before she could answer, Captain Newson caught up to her, grabbing her by her uninjured arm. "How careless of you to run away like that. You could have gotten seriously injured. Let's get you cleaned up."
She sent a pleading glance to Erwin before the Captain could pull her away. Erwin gave the Captain a kind smile, "Don't worry about it," he said warmly. "I'll take her."
The Captain simply denied Erwin's request, taking her to the medical building to get stitched up. His half-truth of her falling out a window due to leaning against the glass worked as the man stitched her arm up.
Again, she was taken back to his office. Instead of bolting, she stood still, watching him go to his desk and pull out some paper and a pencil. That nightmarish, hungry gaze was back, but he seemed more focused on the paper in his hand. He easily dropped it on the desk before approaching her, turning her to the wall and pinning her against it.
His hot breath against her ear made her skin crawl. She knew she was stronger than this man, but what could she do to stop this from happening? Her heart raced as he whispered what he would do to her for the next three years. He vowed to enter every crevice of her body, even hinting he knew she was a girl. He threatened her, warning if she told anyone, he would reveal her secret.
Her head was starting to ache from the pressure of her blood racing throughout her body. His hands were allowed to freely roam her body, allowing him to do as he pleased while she stayed against the wall.
It reminded her of home. The men at her village were the same, doing as they pleased to any girl at any age. Commitment did not exist in that place. Every man got whatever girl he wanted, and if two men wanted one girl, they could share and the elders would do nothing to stop it.
"How naughty," she heard him whisper, his voice husky. "Not a virgin at such a young age. What a sad think to know. It does keep your uniform clean though, doesn't it?"
She took his chuckle to mean she could leave, so she did, but not before he stopped her, "Why don't you come back tonight? We'll have some more fun."
When she didn't reply, he laughed and let her go. She needed to find a way out of this. She would need Erwin's help, but there was no way to tell him. Not without the others getting suspicious. When she stepped out of the building, she was shocked to see a furious Commander Johnson standing with other furious teachers and silent students.
Erwin grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the door and out of the crowd while the Commander stormed in the building.
"You need to tell me everything," Erwin said as he reaached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "After you left, I found this in my pocket."
She unfolded it and stared at the words, unable to read it. "Erwin, I can't read."
"It says 'Help, he's going to hurt me." Erwin read. "I don't know how this got in my pocket, Ducky, but you put it there. If we're going to keep this under wraps, you need to tell me everything."
The two walked back to the barracks, sitting on her bed so she wouldn't have to climb. "I come from a village called Golden Rod. It's just outside Sina and most of the Military Police come from there. Scientists began injecting women with titan DNA to try to create the perfect soldier, and they put those men in the Military Police rather than in the Scouts. Women are only necessary for play things and babies. The only way to keep up with who's related to who is by last name. I have at least twenty brothers and sisters, all by different men and women, but only Killian and Peter are my actual brothers. However, my generation almost didn't make it. Over a hundred women were pregnant at the same time as my mother, all injected with abnormal titan DNA. Almost all the women and babies died. The babies grew much too large for the women to hold and the women died a slow death, slowly getting crushed by their growing child. My mother did die in the end, but we made it. There's something different about the three of us. I don't exactly remember what my brothers are capable of doing, but I can move things with my mind...and apparently write and put things in people's pockets."
"You didn't know you did this?" Erwin asked.
She shook her head, "I consciously don't know how to read or write. Erwin, you have to teach me."
A loud bang followed by a scream caught their attention. Rushing to the small school where she had been, they found Commander Johnson standing over Captain Newson, his pistol smoking while the Captain held onto his thigh.
"You better be glad it's in your leg and not your head," the Commander spat. "You will be reported to you commanding officer and hopefully taken to court for execution. If I could choose your punishment, I would dangle you off the wall where the titans could kill you slowly." He looked at a nearby officer, "Tie him up and leave him in medical." When the commander saw her, he approached as she and Erwin saluted. I want you to take the rest of the day off," he told her gently. "Smith, if you want to look after him, you can."
"Thank you, sir," the two cadets replied.
