Longest chapter I have ever written for any story to date! Wow! Anyway, welcome back. I know it's been a while, but for the longest time I got discouraged on where I wanted to take this story. After getting a pep-talk from myself in current weeks, I decided to get back to it. So, here it is!
Onto the Story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. That would be so awesome, though.
FLASHBACK TO THE LAST CHAPTER
"Goodbye, Uncle Jorran," I called softly, my eyes following him until he turned around a bend in the slim path.
"I love you, too."
He didn't hear me.
"Remember your promise," I whispered, falling to the ground as I thought about everything I had just lost.
-Year 845-
It was light out. The sun must have risen hours ago. Why was I awake?
I yawned, stretching my arms out until my back gave a satisfying pop. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked around, frowning as it got brighter and brighter out. A brave little sparrow came up towards the branch I was sitting on, stopping to rest beside me with a small chirp.
"Hello, little birdie," I said, putting up a hand to cover another yawn. "What are you doing over here?"
The brown bird just looked up at me, giving me another chirp as it hopped closer. I smiled kindly, my heart getting all fuzzy feeling. It wasn't scared of me. I held my arm out so it could fly up on it, crossing my toes hoping that it would.
Its beady, black eyes turned toward my arm, its head cocking to the side as it hopped a step back. My smile slowly fell, a cold feeling settling in my tummy. I was so silly. Of course the birdie was scared of me. Everything was. Even Daddy. A frown formed on my face as I looked at my lap, putting my arm down as I tried not to cry. Why did I even bother anymore.
Chirp.
I looked up, staring at the sparrow as it flew up onto my hand. Its little claws scratched at the skin on my palm, but I didn't notice. My heart soared, the tears I had been trying to hold back falling as I grinned. The birdie ruffled its feathers as it watched me watch it, probably having no idea what I was doing.
"Thank you, Birdie," I whispered, sniffling softly so I didn't snot up my shirt again.
A shrill, spine-chilling, skin-prickling scream echoed around us, scaring me and causing my tree to shake from the vibrations it caused. Birdie got scared too and flew away, disappearing into the forest before I could even say goodbye. My lower lip quivered and I hugged my knees to my chest as another shriek ripped through the air. This was why I wanted to sleep during the day. I didn't want to hear them roar and cry and growl. I didn't want to hear them scream. But, most of all, I didn't want to see them.
I had lost track of how long it had been since Uncle Jorran left me out here. He never came back like he promised he would. Grown-ups never keep their promises. The trees were my shelter during the day, just in case one of them found me and tried to get me. They never did, though. But, they did scream. Most of the time I could sleep through it. Macy always used to tell me trying to wake me up was like trying to wake the dead.
"I wish I was back home," I sighed, pulling on my backpack. It was filled all the way up with stuff from the house Uncle Jorran tried to tell me about before he left, but it didn't weigh me down any. Nothing seemed to be too much for me to handle.
The bark was rough against my little fingers as I climbed my way down, eyes wide as I watched for any movement below. I hadn't been down there during the day since I last saw Uncle Jorran. Leaning out a little, I craned my neck to look around trees, making sure nothing was hiding from me. Another scream shook the ground, and I just couldn't keep my grip. My fingers slipped, and it was like I was as light as Birdie was as I fell.
My legs flailed and my arms reached for something, anything, to grab and stop me from falling all the way to the ground. I opened my mouth, wanting to scream, but knowing there was no one to rescue me. Daddy wouldn't be there to catch me. Mama wouldn't be there to help make me feel better. Macy wouldn't be there to dry my tears. I had no one. They didn't want me. I was a little monster.
Maybe I deserved this. Maybe Daddy would love me again if I just let this happen. I was a monster, wasn't I? I would only scare my little brother or sister, wouldn't I? I didn't want that. I didn't want any of this.
A giant warmth wrapped around me, jerking me to a stop and rattling my brain. I curled my fingers into the warmth, my heart going crazy in my chest as I struggled to see. I wasn't dead. I didn't hit the ground. But, what saved me?
Heavy breathing. It was loud, with big puffs of air blowing my red hair around my face. It sounded like the cows used to the neighbor lady had when they were having babies, like it hurt just to breathe. I pushed the tangled knots of hair out of my face and turned, eyes widening as I saw it for the first time.
Matted, black hair covered its head, chunks of it coming out like it had been pulling on them. Its big mouth hung open, with hot, horrible smelling air blowing towards me every time it took a breath. My nose wrinkled when its tongue lolled out of the side of its cheek, wiggling around the hole like a maggot. Its buggy eyes looked about ready to pop out of its head, their milky blue colors reminding me of Macy's old baby blanket, only nowhere nearly as cuddly.
Its sickly thin body was covered in cuts, like it had run through a rose bush or something. I looked at one cut in particular on its arm, watching as a soft puff of steam trailed out of it before gasping. Images of splinters and scraped knees disappearing in a little thing of smoke filled my head. Was I…Was I like this thing? This…This monster?
Its crooked jaw opened a little bit wider, making me look at it in curiosity before it let out a hair-splitting screech. I covered my ears immediately, terrified of the sound. It was so loud, so high-pitched my ears rang until I couldn't hear anything else. It felt like it lasted forever, one thought bouncing around in my head as I squeezed my eyes shut.
A titan.
It was a titan.
It was what Uncle Jorran went out and protected the walls from. It was one of the beasts Macy would tell me stories about. What Sharrol talked about fighting when she got older whenever her mommy wasn't listening.
I opened my mouth to scream, but only air came out. It was horrifying, just as Macy had described to me. It was a real-life monster, not just one from those stories he told me to try and scare me. Its thick fingers were wrapped around my small body, making it hard to breathe. Its milky blue eyes stared right into my wide ones. A living, breathing, titan.
The titan cocked its head to the side, its crooked mouth wobbling like a loose tooth. Its yellow, rotted teeth were barely staying in the black gums. My nose curled and I sneezed, the smell making me wanna throw up. It tried to move its broken jaw, but it only made the smell worse.
"Ellllllree." It groaned. Its stinky mouth tried its hardest to move, but it just couldn't. Those big, bugged eyes never stopped watching me, looking both crazy and begging at the same time.
Macy never told me about that. He told me they only ated people, not that they could talk or look at me like that. My fingers dug into its skin, but I couldn't hurt it. I was too little. It was gonna eat me, just like they ate Aunt Maren. My lip quivered and the tears came again. I didn't wanna die. Not like this. I didn't want to be eated.
Looking down, I suddenly realized that it didn't have any legs. There were only ripped nubs from the knee down, steam curling into the air as they tried to grow back. Macy told me they would always grow their bodies back, no matter how bad they looked. It cried out again, forcing me to look into its terrifying gaze.
I almost peed myself.
"Hhhelllllleee!"
"No!" I yelped, too scared to think right. I gripped the huge fingers that held me tight, pushing with all my might to get them off of me.
Everything was hot, too hot, and steam was everywhere. I couldn't see. It was so thick, I couldn't see anything. The tears came immediately, and I sobbed, just wanting to get away, to go back to Macy and Mama and Sharrol. I wanted to go home.
The titan shrieked, but I wouldn't let go of its fingers. It felt like my hands were sliding around on its skin, probably because of how sweaty I was. I panicked, thinking I was gonna lose my grip and never get away.
"Put me down put medownputmedownputmedown!" I cried, pounding my fists into its hand. The monster grunted, sounding a lot like a kicked dog as it screamed for the final time.
Just like that, all the heat, the tears, and the fingers, were gone.
And I was falling.
The ground wasn't as hard as I thought it was. It was so cool on my hot body, the loose dirt comforting. Only my hands were hurting, but that was probably because I tried to beat up a titan.
The titan.
I scrambled to my feet, tugging my backpack up and on. Taking a deep breath, I took off running, making my short legs work as fast as they could to get out of there. I looked over my shoulder once, but quickly turned back around, squeezing my eyes closed for a second. I just had to keep running. Maybe if I ran fast enough, I would forget what I saw. Yeah, that would work. Just keep running.
When I stopped, I had no idea where I was. This part of the forest was different than the rest, the trees were smaller, lighter, newer. The ground was smoother, and soon enough I found a path that got bigger and bigger until it looked more like a road. My heart fluttered in my chest as a feeling of hope made me catch my breath. Roads meant carts. Carts meant people.
"People," I said, cupping a hand over my mouth to try and stop myself. Whoops.
Maybe I could finally go home.
I followed the road for hours, watching as the trees got thinner and thinner. That meant I was coming to an edge, didn't it? And then I was out of there.
My stomach growled loudly, the sound making me jump after everything being so quiet for so long. I was hungry already? Weird. I plopped down on the ground anyway, digging through my backpack to find something to eat.
"Peaches? Yes!" I laughed, pulling out a jar of peaches and opening it easily. We hardly ever had peaches back home. They were too expensive. But here they were, just sitting in an old house no one even lived in anymore.
I dug out the slices with my hands, slurping them up as quickly as I could. My hands were getting all gunked up, but that was okay. They were so good I couldn't stop until they were all gone, leaving just an empty jar and sticky fingers. I missed them already. They reminded me of Mama, and of the farm.
Don't worry, Mama. I'll be home soon.
I washed my hands with water from a waterskin, or whatever Macy used to call them. I washed the jar out too before I put it back in my bag. Never knew when I would need it again.
My belly made little swishy sounds as I walked, making me giggle and spin around in circles until I felt like the peaches were gonna come back up. I started humming to distract myself, trying my hardest to remember how the song went. Mama used to sing it to me every night, but now I was starting to forget it. Soon I'd forget what my own name was!
I stopped.
I panicked.
What was my name?
My chest hurt. My head hurt. What was it?
Macy had a rhyme for it. Sometimes, when I went to bed and laid down funny, I snored. He always made fun of me for it. Snore. Snor-y.
"Snor-y Ori," I murmured, holding onto my backpack strap. "My name is Ori."
I didn't know I would ever forget myself. It was scary. Really scary. I'd never forgotten my name before.
I needed Mama. I needed Macy.
The sun glared down at me, hurting my eyes. I threw my hands up to cover them, just then realizing that I was out of the forest. My skin tingled in the heat, and I suddenly felt a lot cleaner, like I had just had a bath. I took a deep breath, the air feeling like it was filling me up, making me lighter. My eyes widened as a whole new possibility opened up.
Maybe I could fly!
A skinned knee and a dirt sandwich later I sat on the ground, knowing the answer to my thought immediately.
"At least, I can't yet," I sighed, scraping some soil from my knee before it could be trapped inside. The steam was faster than normal, but it did the same thing it always did. I brushed some more dirt off my scummy clothes before picking my backpack back up. Time to keep moving.
The green hills looked soft and friendly in the distance, but they took forever to climb just walking. All of the light feeling from earlier was going away. My arms and legs felt heavy, like if I didn't move faster I would fall over and stay there. I puffed out a few breaths and pushed myself to speed up, feeling my skin start to tingle again as I blew off more energy. It felt good.
Soon enough I was laughing as I reached the top of the hill, launching myself at the ground to sit under the lone tree on top of it. The shade was nice, giving me a break and a place to drink some water. How far away was home, anyway?
The waterskin-thing was running low, but I decided not to worry about it. I would get more when I got home. So, I got back up and took off again, chasing bunnies and birdies when I scared them. The bunnies were easy to outrun, but the birdies were fast little fliers. I had to really push myself to get ahead of them, but I did it! Mama always told me if I took my medicine I would grow up big and strong! Maybe she just forgot to tell me that I would be fast, too? She was forgetful sometimes.
I came up to the top of another hill and looked out around me, spinning in a small circle to take in it all. My spin stopped half-way when my eyes landed on something in the distance. I cocked my head to the side, squinting to try and make out what it was. A tall rock? A row of tall rocks? There were patches of trees scattered near it, and if I narrowed my eyes enough, I could see little houses spread out near them, too. No, wait, those were rocks, not houses. Big rocks. Not as big as the other ones.
And then it clicked.
"Home."
At that point it didn't matter that I felt cold and empty, or that the birdies and bunnies were scattering to get away from me. It was there, I had made it.
I was almost home.
I cried. The tears felt good against my face and the sun was filling me up again as I ran. Home. I would see Macy again. And Uncle Jorran. And Mama. And the baby. My little brother or sister. How old would they be? One? Had it been that long? I hoped they looked like Mama.
I slowed down, coming to a stop in front of the fifty-meter walls of rock. My fingers brushed against the rough surface and I leaned my forehead against it, sobbing as my fingers curled into fists. My legs gave out underneath me and I fell to my knees, a feeling in my chest suddenly hurting me. It felt like there was a little animal inside of there, and they wanted to get out. My hands dropped from the wall as I leaned my head back the feeling disappearing again as I took in the beautiful warmth of the sun. It was so nice. So nice.
Grass rustled to my right, freezing me in place. I cracked open my eyes, looking out of the corner of my eye for the reason.
A young boy stood a long ways away, pacing back and forth through the grass near the wall. He ran his hands through his dark hair a few times and took a few deep breaths before turning to the walls. I sat up, watching him in curiosity as he took a few steps back from them. He was skinny, kinda like me, with a light blue jacket on and a backpack. He stayed standing there like that for a long time, making me wonder what he was thinking about.
He slowly pulled something shiny out of his boot, and when I squinted hard enough, I saw that it was a knife. I gasped when he cut his palm, the red of his blood so bright I could see it from where I was. I jumped up, about to rush over to fix him when a bright flash of lightning struck down, hitting him. Steam exploded from where he stood and I was knocked onto my back, a sharp, crackling sound reaching my ears as the jar in my backpack shattered. But I didn't focus on that. I couldn't. Not with what I was seeing.
It was big. Bigger than the wall. And red. Like blood. My tummy rolled at the sight of it. I looked around for the boy, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. That meant…The boy…
A titan. He was a titan.
Everything the giant did was so slow, but so strong. It reached up and grabbed the top of the walls, making the rock crumble immediately. I scrambled to my feet, backing away slowly as the big, red monster lifted one of his legs. He was going to kick it.
I turned to look for somewhere to hide, but there was nowhere to run.
They were everywhere. Some running. Some shuffling. One crawling. They were all coming towards the wall, towards the giant titan.
Time slowed down. The red titan's leg was flying towards the wall, about to go right through the door and cause everything to crumple. I ran to my section of wall, pressing up against a pillar to brace myself.
The impact was jarring. Parts of the wall broke off and went flying. A titan shrieked somewhere nearby. And then I heard it. The horror those inside the wall felt being expressed by screams of pain, of hurt. I stumbled away from the wall and looked at the red monster, blinking when it erupted in a cloud of steam and mist, quickly losing its size as it returned to being a young boy. He lost his balance, falling to a knee as he caught his breath. I took a few steps closer, reaching a hand out to him because I had no idea what else to do.
The titans were closing in fast on the new hole in the wall, and I knew it was my only chance to see my family again. I watched the dark-haired boy as he turned to look back at them as well. He seemed to have the same idea I had because he got to his feet again pretty fast. He ran through the new hole before the smoke even had time to clear from it. One last scream from one of the approaching titans was all I needed to hustle on over and pick my way through the hole.
The city was a wreck. People were trapped under chunks of wall, others already dead. A woman clutched a red splattered bundle to her bosom, sobbing hysterically. Some men were working together to try and get a boulder off of a child's leg, but they weren't getting anywhere. It was horrible. It was madness.
I took off running again, my mind racing as I tried to remember the streets. My heart sunk when I saw the ruins of the Candy Shoppe near the town square, a huge piece of the wall having landed right in the middle of it, but I kept moving. I had to. Otherwise, I would realize what was happening. And I wouldn't be able to move anymore.
When a whole new round of screams started, I knew that the titans had come. And that meant I had to go faster. No matter what, I couldn't look back. So I tore through the streets, looking up and down every alley to remember where I was. Why had I fallen asleep the last time I was here? That was the only thought bouncing around my head as I paused to really look around.
I don't know why I stopped where I did that day, but looking back, I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found them.
"Ori?"
I whipped my head to the side, my eyes widening as I took in her straight, brown hair and her shiny brown eyes.
"Sharrol?"
She shakily got to her feet, taking a few steps closer to me as if she couldn't believe I was there.
"I thought you died," she whispered, looking me up and down and taking in my messy clothes. "That's what your father told everyone."
"Oh, Sharrol, I missed you so much," I cried, bringing her into a hug. She hugged me back, holding onto me tightly as she cried into my shoulder.
A piercing shriek sliced through the air, bringing me back to reality. I let go of Sharrol, looking back over my shoulder to see how close they had gotten.
"Sharrol, we have to go," I whispered, tugging her arm to bring her with me. She yanked her arm back, shaking her head as tears welt up in her eyes.
"I can't leave her," she said, stepping aside for me to see what she had been holding when she first called me.
"What happened to her?" I murmured, taking in the sight of the tiny girl with blood on her head.
"T-This rock came f-flying and I didn't know and i-it h-hit her and I-I-" Sharrol bawled, covering her mouth when it became too much. "A-And I can't carry her-"
"I'll carry her. Just tell me how to get to the inner door from here," I said, walking forward and gently scooping up the small frame of Little Lucie. Sharrol nodded, leading the way as another scream echoed around the buildings.
I cradled the little one's head as we dashed through the destruction of the town, only once coming close to one of the rotten smelling monsters before Sharrol took us down another alley. She kept glancing back to make sure I was keeping up, not knowing I could easily outrun her if I wanted. But I would never leave her behind. I would rather die.
We turned down one more street, and there it was. The door was right there with people arguing whether to keep it open or let it shut. I shifted Lucie so that I could grab onto Sharrol's hand, practically dragging her as I ran full-speed toward the door.
My mind couldn't process what was happening fast enough. I was too young, too out of my element. So I only saw the titan at the last second, when it was just about to snatch Sharrol off the ground and take her away. Just like Aunt Maren. And Cousin Lucas. No. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't.
I pivoted on my foot, shoving Lucie into Sharrol's arms before pushing both of them toward the opening.
"GO!" I screamed, feeling the air leave my lungs when it snatched me up.
Sharrol took off, nearly tripping on every step because she really couldn't carry her sister. She always did follow directions well.
The titan's breath blew my hair everywhere, but it didn't smell as bad as the mangled one in the forest had, which was odd. Its blond hair was stringy with small clots of what looked like blood tangled in it. But the most horrible part of it all, was its smile. It stretched from one ear to the other, so many teeth that I knew were not supposed to be there adding to it. I could feel my body heating up as my fear got bigger. I was gonna die. I hadn't even seen my home yet, and I knew I was gonna die. I closed my eyes. At least Sharrol will make it out.
A high-pitched whistle from the left hurt my ears, and I reached to cover them just as a cannonball ripped through the monster's body. It howled, but didn't let go of me. It focused its dull eyes on me, and all I could see was the faint blue gaze of the Forest Titan as it opened its mouth.
"Hellllleee," it screamed. It was earsplitting just like the other titan's shout had been. Its thin lips struggled to get past its teeth as it spoke, like it was trying to make an "m" or "b," but it couldn't do it.
Another cannonball soared towards us, this time ripping through the arm that held me. It threw its head back and let out a sound that would have shattered my ears if I hadn't still been holding them closed. And then, it dropped me.
I watched the three-story houses beside me as I fell, counting the floors almost on reflex before I crashed into the ground. This time, I knew everything in my backpack was broken and probably not worth lugging around.
I blinked blearily up at the pretty sky, barely noticing the small hole my body had made in the ground. The titan had turned its attention to the ones firing at it, the arm that had been shot at knitting itself back together, albeit really slowly. Soft steam clouds curled around the Smiling Titan, disappearing into the sky like forgotten clouds.
"Ori!" Someone shouted, causing me to push myself up to see who it was. Sharrol. She stood at the entrance of the wall behind a group of Garrison soldiers, struggling against one of them as she stared back at me. Her struggles became faster when she saw me get up.
The soldiers fired a third cannonball at the Smiling Titan, tearing through one of its thighs and bringing it to a knee. I watched it all with a cloudy eye, standing up and feeling like everything was light, like I would float away at any second and become a forgotten cloud, too. I'd felt like this only once before. And the next day Uncle Jorran was taking me outside the Walls.
My legs moved all by themselves, making me go to the brown-haired girl and the group of young men despite it all. I missed getting grabbed by the Smiling Titan by a frog's hair, but I didn't care. I needed to stay focused on her and Lucie, otherwise she'd know. She'd think I was a monster just like Daddy did.
A soldier ran forward and ushered me behind him, calling to his brethren to fire again. He looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I knew him from. His brown hair was sticking out everywhere, a slight bit of freckles on his cheeks.
"Come on, go to your friend and get out of here. Get on the boat everyone's loading up on," he told me, calling out another order as he nudged me towards my friend. I grabbed his hand, pulling him down to my level and looking him dead in the eye. I swore I knew him from somewhere.
"Don't die, okay?" I whispered, brushing a kiss against his cheek like I used to see Mama do to Daddy before turning and going to Sharrol.
"Let's get out of here," I said, taking Lucie from her arms again. She nodded, a little bit of snot running from her nose as she wiped some tears from her eyes.
"Okay."
A few more soldiers were directing everyone on where to go, a few glancing at the little girl in my arms. I could see the look in their eyes, could feel the pity they felt. My breath came in soft pants, and as soon as we were in line for the boat I sat down, my vision getting all blurry again.
"Ori, everything's alright. We'll make it through, I swear it," Sharrol said, a determination in her voice that might have scared me a year ago if I hadn't left.
"Okay, Sharie," I breathed, looking down at the cold girl in my arms. I brushed back her stick-straight hair, the sticky blood turning my fingers red. I brought her face closer to mine, whispering to her how sorry I was that this had happened. I had put two-and-two together about everything, and now I realized that I could have stopped this all from happening if only I had called out to that boy. If I had been older, if I had been stronger. If if if.
"I'm so sorry, Lucie," I said quietly, my hands feeling warmer than usual as I cupped her little cheeks. She hasn't grown much in the past year, I thought with a wry smile. I pressed my forehead against hers, my heartbeat slowing as my vision faded to black.
I'm so sorry.
Lucie, wake up.
So sorry.
Forgive me.
Please.
Lucie.
I'm sorry.
Wake up.
My spine sent a jolt of electricity through me and I shot up, my lungs burning as I struggled to take in air. Sharrol was crouched beside me, terror in her brown eyes as she clutched my arm. I looked between her eyes in panic, feeling so, so cold. Everything was cold.
"Ori, what's wrong? What did you do?" She cried, looking at my fingers and noticing how blue they looked. Her eyes shot back up to mine.
"What did you do?"
A little cough. It almost got lost in the sound of the crowd around us, but the fact that it came from my lap was enough to get my attention. Sharrol followed my gaze down to her sister, her hands flying to her mouth as she choked on a sob.
"Sharie?" Her breathy voice asked, her blue eyes widening as she glanced around. "Where are we?"
Sharrol wrapped her thin arms around the girl, bringing her to her chest as she cried into her shoulder. Lucie hugged her back, her bones creaking as she moved. Snuffling hard, Sharrol pulled back, looking through Lucie's hair for the injury that had killed her. She looked back up at me, pressing her sister's face to her as she stared.
I didn't know what to say. My mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. What had I done? Lucie was…She'd been dead. I felt it. Sharrol knew as soon as she was hit by that rock. And yet she was breathing, curling her tiny fingers into her sister's jacket as they hugged. What had I done?
"Hey, you kids need to get up. Come on, get moving!" An older man yelled, nudging me none-too-gently. I scrambled to my feet, Sharrol following suit as she helped the little one up. Lucie looked at all the panicked faces around her, frowning and turning to us, her eyes full of questions.
"Sharie, what happened? I thought we were going to the Candy Shoppe," she whined, staying close to her sister's side. Sharrol hushed her, ushering her to move with us as we were moved closer to the boat.
"I'll tell you later, Lu-Lu," Sharrol said, brushing the little one's hair back and ignoring when her hand got stuck on blood. I could see the silent But- wanting to come out of Lucie's mouth, but she held it in. She knew when to listen to her sister and when to argue.
A soldier finally helped us onboard, gesturing for us to go sit near the middle. I shrugged my backpack off, barely paying mind to the shard of glass poking through the side as I walked to the side of the boat and dropped it. The soldier nodded to me in gratitude before I walked back to my spot. More and more people filed on the boat, most looking scared or really sad. I saw a few of the men who had been trying to help that little boy, but no little boy. The children usually came and sat near us, a few of them clutching toys, most shaking and crying. Sharrol had started telling Lucie a story to distract her, unknowingly catching a few of the younger ones' attention as well. And then I saw them.
He had gotten a little taller and his hair was still on the shaggy side. His eyes were wide, but dull, like he couldn't see anything, not really. Empty. His friend silently watched after him, her fingers playing with the red scarf still tucked around her neck. They sat down a few kids away, avoiding looking anyone in the eye.
They pulled the boards away from the dock, but there were still over a hundred people crowding around the sides. A soldier told the people to calm down, that they couldn't fit any more people on, that they were sorry. Women begged for their children to be taken. Babies cried. The soldier just shook his head and shouted for the captain to take off. People flung themselves at the boat, a few catching the side while others just landed in the water. Sharrol held Lucie closer, her story of an ugly duck baby never pausing. I closed my eyes and held onto my legs, just then realizing how bad I probably smelled.
The boat vibrated, causing my eyes to pop back open. I looked at Sharrol, watching as the ground ahead of us shook with the heavy step of something big. Men's shouts filled the air as soldiers raced away from the gate, the door falling too slow for the pace of the footsteps. I spotted the young soldier that I had talked to earlier take off suddenly on his Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear, grabbing the roof of a house and flying towards it faster than those who had not thought to use it.
"The titans are coming! Close the gates!" One member of the Garrison called out, but it did nothing.
The boat rocked again. The vibrations were getting stronger and stronger. I caught a glimpse of a giant foot before the wall exploded, a cloud of smoke and bits of rock going all over the place. Garrison soldiers went flying, some landing on the ground, others hitting buildings. Children and parents alike screamed on the boat, taking me back and reminding me of the Smiling Titan and the Forest Titan. My head hurt, but I knew I had to keep watching.
The titan responsible opened its mouth, sending out a burst of fire that startled the child in front of me. Slowly, it stood up, turning its head to look at our boat. A few of the kids gasped, but I just sat there, staring right back at the beast. Its mouth closed and everyone held their breath, waiting to see what it would do.
Just as quick as it had come, the titan turned and went back through the hole it made, stepping on the bodies left behind like they weren't even there. I held my knees tighter to my chest, closing my eyes as I thought about my home. About Mama. About Macy. Did they make it to a boat earlier? Were they okay? I refused to believe otherwise. Macy wouldn't let Mama die.
Sharrol whispered to me to ask if I wanted to hold Lucie for a while, to which I told her yes, bringing the sleeping girl to my side as I thought about my family. I had worked so hard to get back here, back to them, and then this happens. I closed my eyes, letting a few tears fall at the awfulness of it all.
Why couldn't I have just gone home?
A/N: Sorry in advance for any mistakes. If you catch any, PM me and I'll change them right away. This is what I get for thinking I could be my own Beta, haha.
Anyways! Back from a longgggg break, eh? I know, I know, it's crazy. At least I didn't take two years. That's when you know there's no hope.
Well, only a smidge less of hope.
I'd hope, if I liked it enough. But that's just how I roll. With butter.
I'll be seeing myself out now.
Don't forget to review! Lemme know what you think is going to happen next! Or, perhaps you wish to discuss just what exactly is up with Miss Orianna? Either way, talk about it in a review!
Okay!
Bye.