A Night In Hell

Uma's POV

We shot through the ruins of the city so fast it was reckless. Still, we couldn't stop. There was no time left and we had to keep moving. So far, the members of Darren's squad were keeping up with us without trouble. It seemed, for a moment, that we actually had a chance of reaching the gate in time.

That was when I heard the words that dashed that hopeful thought to bits.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Thomas cried out.

"He's seen us! He'll follow us! We have to kill him!" Daren yelled in a panic, certain a Titan a street over had spotted us. When I glanced over my shoulder, I could see him veering off course, towards the monster.

"That bastard didn't see shit!" Franc barked after Daren. "Get back here you idiot!"

"Daren, please!" Jun yelled, desperate to call him back to the group. Daren, however, was no about to listen. The look in his eye said it all. He was fixated on killing this bastard Titan of his.

"Shit! Catch him before he gets to the Titan!" I ordered.

It was too late though, we had made too much noise, and Daren had gotten too close. The Titan he was so fixated on had spotted us at last. The worst part was he wasn't alone.

"Oh shit…" I breathed entering the street. Three Titans had their eyes locked on Daren. The idiot froze at the sight of them. He had not been expecting this. The moment those Titans came into view, I saw our chances of escaping this nightmare shrivel to nothing.

"We have no choice, we have to fight them!" I said.

Oulo grit his teeth, his amber eyes staring down the monsters as he nodded in agreement. I knew he wasn't going to stop for anything.

Franc on the other hand was pissed as pissed could be. "Get the fuck up there and kill those bastards!" He yelled, slapping Daren hard on the back as he maneuvered passed him.

"Jazi…"

"I know, Jun. Just stick close to me," said Jazi, charging into the fray.

One by one we attacked the Titans and one by one they fell. We skittered across their bodies like cockroaches, and they swatted at us dumbly like we were nothing. We were so desperate to live- to survive another day. If we knew the futility of our actions, we didn't show it. We- the whole human race- can't grasp the idea of our immanent extinction. Our natural instinct to survive ensures our prolonged, torturous death. This is why we weren't going to give up fighting. That and so much more, like family, friends, debts, promises, homes, lovers, and everything else that keeps us hanging on. We simply could not give up.

"No, no, no!" Darren screeched, finding himself flying towards the outstretched hand of the last Titan. It must have spotted him as the foolish idiot tried taking it down alone. I watched as Thomas, the other young man from the survivors group, flew in and pushed Darren from the path of the Titan's hand. My heart stopped then, words seizing in my throat as those gigantic fingers wrapped around Thomas' leg. He wasn't fast enough, neither were any of us who tried to get to him before the Titan crushed him in its jaws.

I was already jumping across to the Titan as Thomas' last scream hit the air. I found myself looking into the side of its gaping mouth where bits of flesh and gore hung. There, trapped in its flat teeth, was what a shred of Thomas' uniform jacket, an arm still hanging from the sleeve. I hated these bastards. But right now it wasn't them I was angry at.

As I shot beneath the Titans chin, dragging my sword along its neck to guide me around to the nape, all I could think about was digging my blades into Darren. He was the biggest danger out here, not the Titans. And now that I saw his soldiering in action, I knew why their team member Merrick was dead. Reaching the nape of the Titans neck, I thrust my swords in deep, allowing them to drag me to a stop as they hit home. The second the Titan fell, I jumped off and charged Darren.

"You bastard!" I yelled, catching him around the waist and slamming him to the ground. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I had to! I was saving us!" He all but screeched.

"Bullshit!" I spat. "You saw that Titian and you panicked. Now Thomas is dead. That's exactly what happened to Merrick isn't it? You got him killed, didn't you?"

"Uma, we don't have time for this." Oulo reasoned, gripping me beneath my shoulders and pulling me off the idiot.

Another set of flares shot up in the sky, arching over the wall. Shit. The mission was over. The gate was closed. And we were trapped behind the Wall.

"Oh no. Oh, please, no! They can't!" Jun panicked, looking around all wild-eyed.

"Son of a bitch!" Franc burst out, the words having been on his tongue this whole time. "You had to save these people didn't you? They can't be trusted to do anything right! Now we're fucked."

"Wait just a damn minute!" Jazi snapped to their defense, only to be cut off by myself.

"This isn't the end," I told the group, trying to hold onto some semblance of cool. "I've made it over the Wall before. We still have a chance. Everyone just needs to calm down." I said, my eyes landing on Franc's. If only he knew how I regretted getting him mixed up in this.

"Fine. But from here on out, Oulo and I are the only ones you treat as soldiers and the rest are just passengers along for the ride."

"Hey!" Jazi snapped only to be cut off by Oulo this time.

"Franc is right, Uma," he said, arms crossed, looking at the ragtag group before us. "You can't expect very much of them. Especially not with Captain Idiot leading them."

Trust in your team, and only your team. What a shitty reality to have to face. Still, they were right.

"Everybody fall in!" I called. "We keep plugging ahead to a safe area till sundown when the Titan's lose their energy. Fanc and Oulo will shore up the back of the V formation and I will lead it. If anyone has a problem with taking orders from me, leave now. Your insubordination will not be tolerated."

Jazi stepped forwards, her gaze harsh. "Why should we take orders from someone who can barely stand?"

"Because regardless of that fact, I still saved your ass. If you're looking for credentials, I don't have them. All I have is experience. Besides, we're your best bet on making it out of here alive. So are you in or not?"

"Fine, I'm in. Jun too." Jazi replied. June just hung behind her like a child clinging to its mother's leg. There was a long pause before Darren reluctantly agreed.

"Okay. So where can we hold up till the evening?" He asked.

"I spotted a Wallist church down the other street. It looks like they had a bell tower." I said, pointing in the direction where I saw it. "We can't draw attention to ourselves while getting over there or else the Titans will swarm the building. That means from here on out no 3DMG, no talking, and no Titian killing."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Signaling them into a V formation around me, I motioned them forwards. We advanced on foot slowly and quietly, sweeping each street until we reached the Wallist Church.

It stood proudly in its own block, unencumbered by buildings on either side. One of the wooden double doors stood open at the front, as if it were ready to receive parishioners.

I had been right about the bell tower. It was the perfect height for us to hold up in and better yet, the arched windows were covered with louvers.

We all felt rhythmic shake of footsteps halting as a Titan passed through the street in front of us. I held up my fist, signaling for everyone to remain motionless in our little side street. We hugged the wall tightly, as the Titian passed by. Looking to my left I could see Darren holding his breath, and Jun squeezing her eyes shut. The rest stood like statues, cold and alert.

After the Titian disappeared from sight, I waited a minute longer before having us jog across the street and inside the church.

Part of the vaulted roof had caved in- blown away by our artillery. The place smelled like wood rot and dust. Heading up through the molded pews we went left of the dais to a set of stairs that lead to the belfry. The only sounds we made were the muffled scraping of gravel beneath our boots. All else was silent.

We headed up the spiral stairs single file. In the narrow space I could sense the tension in everyone- hear their soft, frightened breathing as they climbed the stone steps. At the top of the stairs was a wooden hatch. Grabbing the latch I pushed it open revealing a small room with large arched openings that were covered by metal louvers. In the middle hung a large bronze bell. There wasn't much room, but it would do fine.

"Any of you knock into that fucking bell and I'll kill you myself." Franc grumbled, squeezing in the small space with everyone else. Oulo only scoffed as he took his seat.

All that was left to do was wait till nightfall. With any luck, the Titians wouldn't find us and we could sneak back over the Wall in the middle of the night.

A couple hours passed and the screaming outside lulled to a stop. However, the stomping of Titian feet continued on strongly. The sunlight crept up the walls of the tower as the day neared to a close. It was agonizingly slow.

"I'm scared," Jun cried, burying her head in her hands, not knowing what else to do but hide from the world. I've seen many, many people do this but the Titans still come for them anyway. We couldn't have Jun breaking down like this. She'd only slow us down or get us killed.

"Whenever you're afraid, think of something you fear more." I told her.

Daren looked at me then as if I was insane. "What do you fear more than being killed by a Titan?" He snapped, not helping the situation in the least.

"Being killed by a human." Came my immediate reply. It was probably the easiest question for me to answer. No one said anything for a moment. I've always had a way with people.

I saw Franc proudly smirking at me out of the corner of my eye. He may still have been pissed at me, but at least he was on my side. I swore to myself that I'd make it up to him if we got out of this mess alive. I felt guilty knowing that the only reason he was there was because of me.

I needed his help on this, even with Oulo. Still, Franc had a family to think of. I knew that was why he hesitated earlier. He wasn't a coward by any means. Hell, choosing to go with me over the near certainty of making it back to the Wall proved that ten times over. But I'm sure he was also painfully aware what his death would mean for his family. It would ruin them.

He had a wife and three children. Families were expensive, especially if there was more than one child to care for. Without Franc's soldier's pay to keep them afloat, they would lose everything.

It wasn't worth thinking about, though. He was here with me now, and I'd just have to avoid screwing things up.

A cricket's song began to kick up from below, causing some of the members of our pathetic little band to squirm in their cramped seats. It seemed that the stone floor was getting to their backs. I had to admit, I was aching too, but I didn't dare complain about it. The light from outside had now turned pink.

"I fear that my daughters might see one of those giant bastards one day," Jazi muttered. Another parent… fuck. I couldn't help but debate whether or not I'd be responsible if she died as well.

"That's why we're out here isn't it? To protect the people we love?" Darren murmured, sounding like he didn't even believe his own words.

Oulo snorted derisively at the man. Despite his usual lazy-gaze demeanor, he didn't look a damn bit tired.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" The younger soldier snapped. Oulo, was completely unfazed.

It mean's he thinks you're full of shit, I thought, turning around and drawing my gaze out one of the slits between the louvers to the horizon. I watched the sun set. Soon the sky navy blue.

The moon had lit up the night quite well, allowing good visibility to spot incoming Titans. At the moment, we were okay, but that was an entirely different story once dawn came. Even now we weren't entirely safe. Some Titans, though slowed without sunlight, still roamed around at night.

Our perch in the bell tower was as safe as we were going to get, but nothing was a guarantee. I looked around me at everyone, cramped in this tiny space and wondered how I was going to keep them alive. How arrogant of me to even think that I could… I suppose there are just some lessons I will never learn. My gaze wandered over my comrade's heads to the Wall behind them. It seemed so close. I could barely see the top of it from under the roof of the tower. But that was deceptive. In reality, it was pretty far off.

What the hell was I thinking? Hoping was a mistake- playing hero was a mistake. It was one that I made constantly. Now I had dragged Franc and Oulo into my mess.

AN: REVIEW_FAVOR_FOLLOW! I know I've been away for a long time, I've been trying to start up my own business and it's super hard being your own boss. Enough of that, though. After reading a bit of the Annie/Mikasa spin off Lost Girls I was inspired to write more about my own AoT lost girl, Uma. Hopefully you find the action sequences and pacing in this chapter to your liking. This is a major make it or break it moment in Uma's career as a soldier, so hopefully things pan out for her.