And here is Chapter 3 after so long of an absence! Thanks for not giving up on me, all of you lovely people still reading this!
Now, without further adieu...
ONTO THE STORY!
Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan, just my OC's :)
FLASHBACK TO THE LAST CHAPTER
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?
The bells tolled lowly, echoing around the area and waking me. I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I looked around, watching as birds flitted about the roofs above us, tweeting sweetly to each other. Sharrol moved to sit up as well, yawning loudly and smacking her lips when she stretched.
"It's time to get rations," I whispered, standing up and brushing the dirt off my back.
Sharrol nodded and woke up Lucie, the three of us sore from sleeping in an alley for the night. I had yet to find any of my family, but until I could I was sticking with my friends. Lucie smiled dreamily up at me as I took her hand, Sharrol falling to her other side to take the other one. A friend of Sharrol's mom had told her that her parents had been crushed when a huge chunk of the wall had fallen on their house, killing them both while they were in the kitchen. Lucie didn't know yet.
The open square that had once been the food reserves bustled with people and Garrison, loosely formed lines awaiting to be given their daily portion of food. A fight broke out between two men, one of them looking like the butcher we used to bring our cows to. The fight ended when the other man knocked the butcher out, the Garrison standing idly by as the man rummaged through the butcher's clothes and ran off.
"People make me sick," Sharrol said, her lip curling up as she watched the man go, pressing Lucie closer to her side.
"There just isn't enough food for everyone anymore," I said, touching a warm hand to the butcher's head as we skirted around him.
We walked up to one of the lines and glanced ahead, a feeling of uneasiness fill me at how far away from the stand we were. What if we didn't get anything? I glanced down at the shorter brunette between us, wishing that we could at least find something for her.
"Why do we have to give our food to outsiders?" A Garrison soldier said, causing me to whip around at look at him. "I mean, the Titans broke through the wall anyway. They should've eaten more of them."
Sharrol gasped beside me, hearing his words and covering Lucie's ears. My teeth clenched and I glared at the man's back, my fingers curling into the palm of my free hand.
"This will just make the food shortage worse," the soldier said, his eyes flying open when someone kicked him in the shin. My eyes widened and I took a step closer, recognizing the boy in the dark red jacket.
"What the hell are you doing, you brat?!" He yelled, punching Eren in the face before the other soldier kicked the boy to the ground.
"You don't know what you're talking about! You've never seen it happen with your own eyes!" Eren bit back, his fists clenched as the two stared down at him. "How the Titans eat people..."
All the air left my lungs as the images came flooding back, all the blood and crying and running and the screams-
"Shut up!" The soldier snarled, stopping when Eren's friend stepped in between them, a blonde boy that was smarter than any of my other classmates.
"We're sorry! He's just ticked off because he's hungry. That's why he's acting like a brat," the blonde boy said as the girl with the red scarf went to Eren. "We're really sorry!"
The crowd had gone silent during their conversation, all eyes turning to the supposed protector of the refugees. The Garrison soldier looked between all of us, his jaw setting in resentment.
"Whatever," he said with a glare, "You would've been dead without us. You kids should learn to be more grateful."
The angry soldier pushed through the crowd, his fellow soldier following him as he stalked away.
"Yes!" The blonde called back, causing me to look at him in confusion. He was like one of our herding dogs when they did something bad and made Daddy mad.
I turned away from the scene, just then noticing the slight gap between the people ahead of us and us. I pulled the other two along and stared at my feet, noting the dirt coating my skin but not really caring. How could someone be so careless of other people's feelings like that? Especially someone who didn't even know what we had seen back there, all the death and destruction...
"When I become a soldier, I'm gonna be a much better one than that man," Sharrol said softly, looking straight ahead as the line moved again. Her brown eyes shined with determination, and I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be a soldier, too.
"Yes you will, because you are the best sister ever, Sharrie!" Lucie giggled, smiling at the both of us and hopping slightly in place. My skin felt cold as I turned away, wondering where my family was and if they had even made it out alive.
I jerked my head up when I heard Sharrol talk again, but this time it was to the Garrison soldier handing her a tiny loaf of bread. I looked up at the woman as she handed Lucie the next one, watching for any signs of disgust. She turned to me, her short hair swishing slightly as she met my eyes. She smiled slightly and handed me my own loaf, her hand warm against my cold one.
"Thank you," I murmured, holding the cold bread to my chest. The soldier nodded, already turning her sights to the next person.
Sharrol led us back to the alley and we set down and ate, Lucie's portion the first to be gone. Sharrol finished hers next, licking the crumbs off of her fingers like she was starving. I looked down to my own untouched loaf, breaking it in half in one motion. Lucie glanced over at me, a hopeful look on her face.
"Can I have half?" She asked, only to be shushed by Sharrol.
"You ate your ration, that's all you get," she scolded, her own stomach growling faintly.
I looked down at the halves again, weighing my own hunger to what they were probably feeling. Silently, I handed them each a half of my loaf. Lucie nodded in thanks and started eating before Sharrol could protest, her eyes searching my face questioningly when I refused to take it back.
"You'll need it more than I will," was all I said, leaning back against the cold brick wall and shutting my eyes.
After that, all the people rescued from Shiganshina were sent to work fields, to try and get more food to feed all of us. But it didn't work. There was still a severe food shortage, and Sharrol and Lucie were still getting skinnier despite me splitting my rations with them.
I met another blonde boy when working the fields, but Sharrol didn't like him. She said he was too arrogant for his own good, which was probably true. However, I couldn't help but like his jokes about what was happening and how he would handle things if he was in charge. It made me smile when happiness was a fleeting thought that hardly anyone had anymore. He told me his name was Reiner Braun. He said he had a friend named Bertolt he wanted me to meet, but there was never time. We all had our specific spots to work, and his friend was somewhere far behind us in a different field. I liked Mr. Braun.
-Year 846-
The people in charge in the Central Government came up with an idea to take back Wall Maria. They decided to use us refugees, leaving behind only children and those incapable of combat.
They rounded up 250,000 men and women to go fight.
Only one-hundred of them came back.
The food shortage wasn't as bad after that.
Lucie turned five a few days before, but I don't think she noticed. Sharrol and I were planning how we could get her something special for it, but we didn't have anything to offer. Reiner offered to find me something for her, but I couldn't ask him to do that. Besides, I was pretty sure if Sharrol found out she would destroy whatever he got.
The alley had become our home of sorts, seeing as no one wanted to take in three orphans when there were still so many other children roaming the streets. I had managed to "borrow" some coats and other clothes from people around the village to use as blankets, which would have made Sharrol mad if it didn't stop Lucie from shivering so much at night.
Settling into my spot by the wall, I looked out at the people walking home after a long day at work. Refugee children were intermingled with them, a few begging while others held onto their new family member's hand.
Sharrol was sitting across from me, gently stroking Lucie's hair in the lamplight as the little girl slept. I yawned, my body working slower now that the sun was gone. All I wanted to do was sleep.
"I'm going to sign up for military training next year," Sharrol said, her voice so soft I wasn't sure she said anything at first.
We shared a moment of silence as I watched her, eyes narrowing as I analyzed her expression.
"Then I will, too."
Her head snapped up, meeting my gaze for the first time that night.
"Are you serious?" She whispered, looking between my eyes as if one of them held the answer the other hid. I nodded, playing with the frayed end of my sleeve.
"What're we going to do about Lucie, though?" I asked, causing Sharrol's face to fall. She pursed her lips, my words staying her hand. The little girl in question sighed, yawning slightly before shifting to her other side.
"Do you think anyone would...take her in?" Sharrol asked in return, her voice catching as tears welt up. I turned back to the streets, at all the other children being ignored in favor of younger and cuter ones. I bit my lip, the slight pain causing something to twinge a little in my chest.
"I suppose there is a chance...but she wouldn't go."
Sharrol sighed. "I was afraid of that."
"Is there anyone you or your family knew that is, um, still here?"
Sharrol knit her brows and thought about it, her hand moving through Lucie's hair again.
"I suppose my mom's friend is still somewhere around here. She has a bum leg from some sickness she had as a child, so she couldn't go to...to fight," she finally said, swallowing hard. I stood up, brushing myself off as I stepped over to her.
"Then let's go find her and see," I said, scooping up Lucie and holding her to my chest so she could wrap her arms around my neck. Sharrol cleared her throat and nodded, taking my hand as I helped her to stand.
We didn't find the woman, Natalia, that night. Or the night after. Or the week after. And just when we were going to give up the whole thing, we bumped into the dark-skinned widow at the ration stand. She was so glad to see the sisters in one piece after it being so long since they last spoke that she burst into tears and hugged them tight to her withered body.
I turned away to give them a little privacy, trying to stop my lip from quivering.
Natalia promised to take good care of Lucie despite disapproving of Sharrol's choice. She even offered to let us hole up with her until we left, but Sharrol declined. I think it was more for my comfort than hers, especially since the woman wouldn't even acknowledge that I was with them.
Once we got our rations for the day, we headed straight to the sign-up office, applying through mouthfuls of bread until we were officially registered to join to 104th Trainee Squad.
I laid on my back and stared at the stars that night, listening to the quiet breathing of the Young sisters. I flexed my fingers in the lamplight, watching them move as I thought about the future. Was I doing the right thing? What would Macy think, or Mama for that matter?
My eyelids fluttered to a close, my hand falling to my side. It was too much to think about at the moment. All I wanted to do for now, was sleep. So I did.
A/N: And so ends that! Sorry if it felt more like a filler than anything, but I swear the good stuff is coming up next chapter. Reunions, tears, and some blood are sure to be coming to a computer near you soon! So, stay tuned!
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Thanks to everyone who has reviewed in the past and everyone that has favorited and followed this since I last updated! Welcome, all you Silent Watchers and Speakers alike!
Okay, I suppose that'll do for now.
Bye!