I'm back! I'm really sorry for the long hiatus, but I was extremely busy and simply didn't have time to write. Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites, your kindness and support really kept me going. I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 9

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Amy slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't have been asleep for a long time; the light beam through the hole pointed at the same spot where she last saw it. The Sun must have stayed the same place as well.

Garrison's snoring, spiced up with occasional snorts was still loud enough to hear, even through the multiple layer of blankets between the front and the cargo. It may not have been thick enough to stop sounds, but it surely trapped the stench in. Sweat and urine.

Lovely.

After all, why would they stop the carriage if someone had to answer the nature's call? Let's just give them a bucket to piss in. It will probably wobble and get everywhere, but oh well.

It wobbled alright. Went everywhere too. Stank like hell after a few hours. Thankfully no one used the bucket for other needs. She barely managed without throwing up anyway.

She silently hoped for another broken wheel. Maybe they would stay on fresh air for another hour or so. Maybe even more.

Amy yawned, but immediately regretted it. Breathing in the stench only made her lightheaded and the urge to empty her stomach grew even stronger. She held her hand in front of her mouth, eying the bucket, wondering whether she would need it or not.

"You 'kay?" said someone.

Amy shook her head and without further words Tommy handed her the gross bucket. Seeing its content up close was the last straw and Amy gave up.

It was terrible. It burned her dry throat, leaving a fool taste in her mouth with nothing to wash it down. Between coughs and heaves she put the bucket down the ground and pushed it away with her leg as far as possible.

"Gross" she croaked wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Her clothes were drenched in sweat anyway. It's not like she could look so much worse. "Thanks" she added and Tommy nodded.

She had about a minute for self-pity, before the carriage slowly stopped again. Amy furrowed her brows. She didn't hear any breaking noise and the wheels seemed intact.

But most importantly Garrison was still snoring.

She shared a look with Tommy, but the boy just shrugged. After all they just stopped. It could be anything basically.

But something was not right.

Seeing that Tommy didn't care enough to move, Amy stumbled up from her position and crawled towards the front. A lonesome, badly beaten nail managed to scrape her knees, but it didn't even deserve her attention. She was covered in sweat, vomit and now, after moving on the floor, probably some splashed out urine too. She didn't care. Her dignity left her long ago.

It wasn't hard to find the edge of the layer, but the lashing certainly made getting through difficult. Not really feeling like untying the whole thing, she climbed out the back, earning some dissatisfied grunts from the owners of the legs she stepped on.

The muggy hot air was a hard slap to the face. There was no soothing breeze, but at least she could breathe in something fresh. The air was also fresh enough for her to realize that how malodorous she became under a mere hour.

Walking around the carriage with the recent memory of vomit she bit back the yawn. Under the direct Sun her throat felt even drier and Garrison's flask suddenly seemed very alluring. Maybe she will be a polite little girl and ask, but it would be a great surprise if the smell of brandy managed to get through her current fragrance.

She didn't know why she didn't notice earlier. Maybe she was too busy being thirsty, or the Sun shined too brightly. But when she saw it, the sight stopped her dead in her tacks.

The warm sunlight was reflected by horrifying naked flesh. It had a poor posture, but a kind smile. It looked like a seven-meter high stout person.

But Amy knew very well that it wasn't that.

It stood on the road a bit farther from them, with lips pulled into a relaxed smile. Garrison's snort was enough distraction for her to snap back into reality. The training flashed before her eyes, looking for a solution, but the pictures turned into naked flesh. She couldn't think clear. But one thing was sure.

Garrison needed to fucking wake up.

She wasn't sure how to do it. If she made a sudden move, maybe it would start advancing on them. If she shouted they would grab its attention even faster. She hesitated too long; perhaps she should have called the moment she saw it, but it was too late now. The ground shook under her feet.

Thump.

"O-oy!" she stuttered. "Wake up! Garrison! There's..."

Thump.

"...a titan" she finished mumbling.

The distance rapidly shortened. Garrison's eyes slowly opened, but she saw when the situation dawned on him. The rosy cheeks paled, his eyes rounded. With clumsy hands he fumbled with the gear's straps, but threw it on the ground moments later.

Amy ran to the fallen bundle of equipment, knowing that they didn't have much time. It was getting closer.

"Here!" she said quickly pushing the gear in Garrison's direction in a great haste. They can make it... he must know what to do...

The straps fell from her hands, when he pushed her away.

"Get the fuck out of the way, brat!"

With a baffled expression she watched as he reached for his sword. Was he planning on fighting without the maneuvering gear...?

"What are you doing...?"

"Shut up!"

The sword traveled through air in the blink of an eye and landed between the horses. The left mare jumped in fright, letting out a loud neigh. Everything was happening so fast. Before she could react the last harness was cut in half too.

He can't be...

"What are you doing!? You can't leave us!"

"I'm not dying for you brats!"

Thump.

Garrison threw the sword, having no place to put it and jumped on the horse.

"You fucking fat-headed coward!" she shouted. "You are a soldier!"

"I'm sorry."

With a kick, the horse galloped ahead. Bewilderment sat on her face as he left.

But it was too late.

Breaking the high speed the horse bolted, kicking into the air and Garrison fell to the ground. The mare ran away in panic, leaving behind the rider.

Garrison sat in the shadow and slowly looked up. Large calves met his stare.

Amy slowly started to back away, gripping the carriage's side to balance on her unsure legs. The man screeched and crawled away, stumbling as he stood up. The titan watched as he ran, before chasing after him.

Thump thump thump thump...

Sudden wind ruffled the hair on her head, as it ran past her, shaking the ground like an earthquake. She felt the heat of the burning hot flesh on her glistening skin. It reached Garrison faster than she thought. Garrison wasn't even slow, despite his size. The man fell to the ground when it stepped in front of him. He didn't even have time to scream. The palm snatched him up like a rag-doll, and with a horrific crack broke his spine in half.

She couldn't move. She just stared. Stared as it bit and stared as it swallowed him.

Stared as it stared back at her.

She was next.

She couldn't run. She couldn't hide.

So she did the only thing left.

She jumped back to the cargo and moved to the very back.

The others were awake, and stared out the large gap, shocked.

"The garrison is dead" Amy croaked, finding her voice.

The shock was quickly replaced by screaming. The ones who sat near the exit jumped right out and started running.

"Don't!" she shouted after them, but they didn't listen. "Stay here" she told the rest. "It will catch you outside..."

Soon enough the footsteps grew louder and a girl screamed.

Scream.

Crunch.

Silence.

"It will catch us here!" screamed one of the boy, trying to crawl out the exit. "I don't want to die!"

Amy stumbled ahead, slapping her hand over the boy's mouth, but he kept screaming.

"Shut up! It will hear you!"

"LET GO OF ME!"

He bit down on her hand, with full force and she felt her palm burn. The boy spat out the small piece of meat as she cried out of pain, staring at the missing part of skin where the blood already started oozing out.

The screaming boy climbed out the exit and Amy fell on her knees, her blood throbbing in her palm.

Thump thump thump thump

How could something bleed so much?

"Grab something!" she heard someone shout, but her instincts blunted. Her left hand was bleeding and the right wasn't fast enough.

The carriage moved to the air, the kick in its side breaking the wooden boards to pieces. Her body had no weight as they flew, but a moment later it started to descend.

And they crashed.

She didn't faint.

But she wished she did.

Amy slowly blinked. The movement around her happened in a blurry haze. She felt the pain of her broken rib, the warmth of the blood running down her cheek and the throbbing of the fresh wound on her temple and palm. As the smell of iron hit her nose it's as though the world was finally lucid and the haze has lifted. She slowly pushed herself up into a clumsy sitting position, crying out when her ribs protested against the movement.

"Ah…"

It was a faint groan, but the voice made her momentarily forget the pain. She turned towards the source of the noise, the fastest she could manage.

What she saw made her want to vomit again.

The carriage was broken in half and painted in scarlet red. Several bodies laid under the wreckage in awkward positions. Feeling the panic rising in her, she frantically backed away, the sudden rush of adrenaline, making the pain in her chest fade away.

She needed to escape, to get away from the sight, from the immobile corpses. All too sudden, the grass under her fingers was gone and she was touching something soft.

A hand.

Delirium taking control, Amy started sobbing. Her throat was dry and what left her lips was no more than deplorable whines. Her own fingers tangling in her hair, grasped the locks in a dead grip, the skin on her hand white as a sheet as she pulled.

A hard slap landed on her cheek, forcing her head twist sideways. The hand-print burnt, like the rest of her body.

"Amy!"

Another slap followed the previous, but it was stronger this time. It hurt and Amy gasped at the stinging pain.

"Snap out of it!"

Her grip loosened and the greasy locks flew through her fingers. With uneven small breaths she tried to shake off the clutches of madness. When her mind reached a moment of clarity she finally recognized the person before her.

"We need to move" he whispered post-haste with a hoarse voice. "Can you keep quiet?"

Amy was still shaking but nodded.

"We are near the edge of a forest… we need to reach the woods before it gets here."

Tommy helped her up, quieting her, when her ribs moved. She stood up, legs wobbly and the fog in her mind started to dissolve. The screaming got louder. The stench was fouler.

And everything was red.

Her eyes focused on the titan, which was a bit farther from them. The forest was left to them, closer, but with the titan's legs it would have had no problem catching up. It was a gamble.

There were seven of them left. Tommy stayed back for her. The four others were running towards the forest, and the unlucky one was in the titan's hand.

"Run, Amy" he whispered and gave her a push, when she didn't move. "I said, run!"

Tommy started running, but looked back once more. She took a small step, then another one.

Another one.

Once more.

Instinct took control over her body, leaving her mind blank, unable to process the shock. The dirt crumbled under her shoes as she ran, soon leaving behind the heaving Tommy. Too slow. Her body took a sharp turn and staggered in a different direction. Don't run in the same direction, she remembered Shadis' words. Running in the same direction only made them a bigger target. She should have told them, she should have told Tommy. But she couldn't speak. Her lips were dry, her rib was probably broken and she was bleeding from wounds she couldn't have a proper look at yet. She felt the red warmth oozing through her already sweaty shirt. It stuck to her skin like some wet blanket, but uncomfortableness sat in a far corner of her mind. She couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about anything, but running and concentrating on putting one feet after another. If she turned around or stopped, she knew she couldn't move again.

She was lucky. As predicted, the thing went after the flock instead of her. The screams were loud, but she didn't look back, only straight ahead.

The woods weren't far away. Maybe another half minute. If she reached that in time...

The body shoving into her made her lose her balance and the ground welcomed her with a thud. The rocky surface cracked the skin open on her knees, but the hit on her chest was the one that made her cry out. Lifting her head she saw a scrawny figure hastily entering the woods.

She didn't have time to curse him. With a painful grunt she was back on her feet, but her only weapon, the momentum was lost. Stumbling towards the woods she realized that the screaming died down and for the first time she looked back.

She shouldn't have.

The girl between the titan's teeth wasn't screaming anymore. After the numerous bite wounds, the darkest, red-colored blood came sputtering out of her like a waterfall. The last one of the group stood there frozen, watching it oozing slowly out of the body, and the boy let out a blood-curdling scream.

The boy was Tommy.

Turning around she reached the woods with wobbly legs. The trees were large; too large, she realized in panic. The lowest branch was at least five meters high and the crust was too flat for her hands to find a grip.

"It's no use. Too high without a gear."

Amy heart jumped at the sudden voice. A scrawny boy stood there with a grim expression and a bleeding arm.

"You fucker" she hissed, realizing who he was. "What do you think I am, a fucking bait for you to escape?"

"Don't lecture me, you self-righteous bitch. You let the others to die too."

"It's not my fault it ran after them!"

"Oh, but you knew that it was bad tactic, didn't you?" he hissed back. "I don't remember you telling them that. But I can't blame you, I didn't tell them either. Maybe I wasn't fit enough for the army, but I'm not an idiot. Not that it wasn't convenient. If it's too busy with them we have the time to save our own skin."

Amy felt her stomach turn at his disgusting words, but... he was right. It was shameful, but eating them meant it wasn't eating her. If they stayed back they would be dead.

"Are we... the only one left?" she asked finally.

"I don't know. I saw three bodies under the carriage."

"One of them was me" she said quietly, shuddering at the memory of the metallic smell.

"I think that boy is the last."

She didn't need to ask which boy. Soon enough they heard the lone scream.

Silence.

I'm sorry.

"It's just us now" the scrawny boy said, but Amy barely heard him. The scream was still echoing in her head.

"But we still have some time. Look" he said and pointed through the trees. "It's heading to the carriage."

She slowly looked up and followed his finger. The titan, which seemed smaller from this distance walked away from the bloody scene. The whole ground shook as the steps led him to the wreckage.

"Time for what?" she asked with a grim smile. "To wait for our turn?"

"You can do that, but I'm getting out of here."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. But the forest isn't an option. It will come after us. It can smell us. We can't outrun it on foot."

"Horse" she remembered.

"It flew with the wreckage. I saw its body."

"No" she said. "A horse broke away. It ran that direction."

She nodded her head towards East, not taking her eyes from the titan. It picked up what was left of the carriage, revealing the bodies underneath.

She shuddered.

"It's there." He said a few moments later, pointing at the mare, partly hidden by a tree. "Good thing it didn't run back home."

"Maybe help would be already on the way... they don't even know what happened."

"Let's go" he dismissed and started walking the horse's direction.

She followed silently. They reached it quickly. It wasn't even a minute. But the titan already swallowed the second boy.

"It's and old horse" the boy whispered, cautiously getting a hold of the reins. Thankfully the horse let him.

"Yes."

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Yes..." she answered. Not really knowing which to mention she went with the most painful. "I think my ribs might be broken."

"I see... this horse is a very old one... I don't think it would be fast enough with two people... I'm actually having doubts about it being fast enough with one."

The titan swallowed the last boy.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry."

The fist reached her chest too fast. She couldn't keep in the cry. The broken rib moved and she fell back to the ground.

The boy hopped on the horse.

"Sorry."

Don't you fucking say sorry.

"Good luck."

"Go to hell" she whimpered.

And with that, he rode away.

The titan followed him instantly, but the horse was fast enough and he was a good rider. He was going to get away and the titan won't follow him forever.

It will come back.

She needed something.

Anything.

The horse was dead. The boy was right, there was no way she would get away on foot. If only the horse was alive. If Garrison only killed it maybe...

Her mind took a stop.

Garrison.

He could have killed it.

If he wore the gear.

She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Garrison threw the whole thing on the ground. The straps... the gear! The blades!

The road seemed far away from the forest but she needed to reach it before it came back.

Not far...

She felt the ground slightly shake again. It was coming back.

Reaching the road she fell to her knees. The straps were a tangled mess.

Thump.

She would deal with that later. The blades laid a bit farther with the gears. She stumbled towards it, hissing. She could almost reach it...

Thump.

She had the blades and the gear had gas. She shook the straps hoping it would untangle themselves. They didn't.

Thump.

She found some flares. She couldn't remember which colour resembled what. She aimed it all at the titan. They all missed.

Thump.

Garrison's horn was cracked but it still rang loud. Her hand was shaking too hard.

Thump.

The straps were untangled but too big.

Thump.

She stepped into them, but it didn't fit. But she didn't have time to adjust it. The only thing she could do was survive.

Aaand we are at the point, where Jean's last chapter ended!

Thanks for reading!

I've waited for this chapter since like chapter two, but I didn't realize back then how hard this will be. Jeez. I know I say this every chapter, but this seriously was the hardest, I sat on it for months and I'm still not completely happy with it, but now I just wanted it out-of-the-way, lol.

I hope it wasn't too dramatic, too gory or too anything. Too bad, maybe. I've never written an actions scene before, so if you have any advice or criticism please, share it with me! (I just thought that after titans killed soldiers without a problem, a bunch of unarmed kid would be a piece of cake as horrible as it sounds.)

Also I thought about putting a gore warning at the top, but decided against it, since it would have been a bit of a spoiler. But tell me if you would like some warning before the ugly stuff happens,.

I will try to update sooner, but after this large gap, I feel that this "I'll try to update soon" is a jinx of mine.

Also, I'm really grateful for your support and kindness, you guys are wonderful. I'm truly sorry for the lack of updates, please understand that I'm very busy at the moment, but it's summer soon and I will have a lot more time then.

English is not my native language, so feel free to point out my grammar!

Thank you again!