CHAPTER 6
Kaze pranced skittishly as Commander Erwin rode closer, the rest of the Survey Corps following close behind him. A weird feeling, like a mass of wriggling snakes, settled in my belly. Was I ill? Surely that was impossible.
"Listen up, you," I whispered to myself, "Now is not the time to be getting sick."
The wriggly feeling got more intense as the Corps approached, and then stopped all at once. I flicked my eyes over the whole group, and, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Levi, looked straight at Armin. We shared a timid smile.
"Axis," Erwin began, "Are you ready?"
"Sir!" I gave him a crisp salute, "Yes, sir!"
"Very well," he said briskly, "Then this is where we part ways. Bring back that research, if you can. If you can't, at least bring back yourself."
"Aye, sir!" I saluted again, and an odd, prickly feeling crawled up the back of my neck. Something about that phrase seemed wrong coming out of my mouth, like I was intruding on someone else's private sentence.
I shook the feeling, and, after waving goodbye to Armin, kicked off in the opposite direction towards the plains. I made sure not to ride too hard, in fear of splitting open my wound. Hanji had made sure to tell me-in great detail-that if I was too vigorous in my movements I would cause more damage than Levi had in the first place and death by infection would be almost inevitable.
Kaze kept up a swift trot as we entered the plains. He was a good horse, specifically bred to withstand extreme temperatures, endure long running distances, and to stay hydrated longer. Sturdy, strong, and stubborn, Kaze matched me well.
We'd been riding for a while when I began to get drowsy. There wasn't really any variation in the terrain at all, and the most exciting thing out I saw was probably a bush that was a good 60 centimetres larger than the other ones I'd seen. I couldn't think of anything to I could do to stave off the boredom and my eyes were just getting heavier and heavier...
No! I had to stay awake. Everyone was counting on me. Levi had said that the whole thing revolved around me making it to the site and bringing back the data. So much depended on that.
You are the axis of this entire operation.
The phrase sparked in my head and I almost fell off of Kaze. Axis...the name I had chosen for myself.
...the axis of this entire operation...
Broken images flooded my mind. An eye with strange red markings below and above it; a swish of a red coat; an intense blue light...
I clutched my head, gasping, and pulled Kaze to a halt. What was that? I had never seen anything like that since I woke up. Could it be a memory of before?
I felt my heart skip a beat and a thrill of excitement ran through me. A memory! But what could it mean? The flashes were so random. I couldn't recall seeing any sort of light either here or back in Wall Rose that was that bright or that blue, and the coat I saw didn't match any sort of fashion I had ever come across, even in the higher class. As for the eye with the markings: could I have been in some sort of cult?
"If that's the case, not much has changed," I noted to myself, chuckling. Kaze nickered impatiently, and I stroked his neck.
"Hold on, boy," I murmured, "Let me write this down really quick, and then we'll be off."
I pulled a notebook out of my pack. I had taken Armin's advice and had begun writing in it day-by-day. I had decorated the cover of it with green fabric and an embroidering of the Wings of Freedom in hopes that if I lost my memory again I'd be able to recognize it easily.
I scribbled down the experience quickly and tucked it away, almost quivering with the exhilaration. I couldn't wait to tell Armin and see what he made of it.
Unfortunately, I would have to. I had an important quest to fulfill, and everyone was counting on me.
"I am the Axis of this operation," I whispered, smiling, "This whole thing revolves around me..."
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I leaned against the rock and took a long drink of water. Beside me, Kaze followed suit, his huge, majestic head dripping with sweat. We hadn't ridden very hard, but we had traveled for many kilometres and he had become fairly tired. Even though I hadn't been the one running, I too could feel the distance taking toll on my muscles.
I reached down to my side and very tenderly prodded it, wincing as it smarted. I lifted my shirt to check on it. None of the sutures had come out, to my utter relief, though it did look a little too red. Fearing infection, I hesitantly poured some of my limited water on it. The cold water against the inflamed flesh felt incredibly soothing.
I glanced up at the darkening sky. The first stars were beginning to glitter through the atmosphere, little sparks of light that barely broke through the blackness. There was a new moon tonight, so the darkness would be almost complete.
I fingered the handle of my dagger. Though I apparently didn't have a scent to the titans, I couldn't guarantee my safety when it came to wild animals. I would need to be alert. Thankfully, I was a light sleeper, as was Kaze. If anything came too close, we'd know pretty quickly.
All the same, I positioned myself on my side with my back to the rock, dagger in hand. Sleeping like that would keep my back relatively safe, with easy defense to my front. It was the sleep of someone trained to be paranoid.
I felt my eyes begin to droop. I had noticed that ever since I had joined the Survey Corps my sleeping pattern had conformed to what one would consider "normal". Late nights were happening less and less, and I was getting up earlier. So much many of my little quirks I had developed during my training with The Thorn of the Rose had vanished because of my training with the Scouts. Funny how things like that worked.
I yawned, and closed my eyes, letting sleep wash over me.
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Flames licked the black sky, giving everything a harsh orange glow, and thick, black smoke filled the air. The sound of violent coughing surrounded me, though I couldn't see anyone nearby, and I wrinkled my nose as the stench of charred flesh hit me.
A cold, harsh laugh sounded next to me, and I turned to face the source, but I couldn't see through the smoke. A blur of white flashed out of the corner of my eye. I spun, but there was nothing there. My lungs began to burn from the ashes, and there was a sharp. shooting pain...
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
I jolted awake, dagger at the ready. Something had startled me, and I could see that Kaze was spooked as well. Slowly, I got to my feet and assumed a protective stance. The grass rustled to my left, and a jackal appeared, yellow eyes glowing in the dark. It stared at me unblinking, and then calmly turned around and left. I let out the air I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
"That was a close one, eh, Kaze?" I joked, my voice sounding thunderous in the still of the night. Kaze nickered in response, and I patted his neck reassuringly. Over on the horizon, a sliver of pinkish light appeared.
"Too late to go back to sleep now," I noted. I began to dig around in my pack until I had produced a small loaf of bread. I bit into it hungrily, enjoying the taste of the herbs that had been baked onto the crust. Then, pulling out oats for Kaze, I sat back and watched the sunrise. There was something almost magical about witnessing a single stroke of sunlight grow broader and broader until it lit the entire sky.
After Kaze was done eating, we rode off towards the sun. The night of rest had done me a world of good, and since I had woken up with adrenaline in my veins, I was wide awake. My senses were alert as I scanned the plains for any sign of a camp.
I found it sooner than I had expected. The stench of blood washed over me, making my nose burn. As I got closer, I could see half of a rotting corpse lying on the ground near the remains of a campfire at an awkward angle. The flesh was so corrupted that I couldn't even make out the gender, much less any recognizable details that would help identify who it could've been.
I rode past, scratching Kaze's mane when he began to get nervous from the smell of death. We walked around an estimated perimeter of the camp, my eyes raking the scene for anything that looked important.
There!
I dismounted and ran over to a little grey book that was wedged spine-up between the crack in the rock. Whoever had shoved it there must've done it on purpose, because the cover of the book was almost exactly the same shade as the stone. If I hadn't been looking for it, it might've escaped my notice altogether.
I carefully pulled it out, cringing as the rough surface of the rock scraped harshly against the book. Just inside, on the back of the cover, it read: These are the findings of Ada Fischer and Keifer Schmidt. We know neither of us will make it back alive to relay these ourselves, so we ask that whomever finds this book take it to Commander Erwin of the Scout Regiment. Our thanks go with you.
I tucked the book into my bag and scanned the area for anything else. Nothing caught my eye. I turned around and called to Kaze.
"Let's go," I cried, kicking him into a light run. We rode like that for several hours, and I began to get anxious. If I could just go faster...
That's when I saw it: off in the distance, coming towards me, was a huge 15 metre titan. Unlike the usual awkward movements of most titans, this one ran a lot like a human, leaning forward at the torso with its arms pumping.
As the creature drew closer, I noticed something else odd about it. While titans didn't appear to have genders, they mostly resembled human males. This one, however, was quite clearly female. She had long, blonde hair as well; every other titan had brown hair.
As I was observing her, she looked directly at me, sending shivers down my spine. Levi said I would have no interest to the titans because they couldn't smell me. Surely this was a coincidence?
The female titan raised her foot and brought it crashing down over me. I yanked on Kaze's reins and we veered off just enough to avoid getting stuck to the bottom of her foot. She stomped toward me again and again, and each time I noticed that I got a little bit farther off of my course. In fact, she didn't seem terribly interested in actually killing me, just getting me to stray.
I tried to tug Kaze back to where we should've been going, but the titan stepped in our way. Again and again, we tried to fix our route, and again and again we were blocked from our path by her gigantic foot.
Yelling in frustration, I spurred Kaze to go faster. The big horse pushed and we pulled in front of the titan anomaly, but he was exhausted and she caught up to us. I prepared to dodge another stomp, but instead her foot came at us from the side and she caught Kaze in the ribs, kicking us away from her.
We soared through the air, and as we began to descend I felt the terror of the fall grip me in its icy fingers. Blind with panic, I couldn't see properly when we landed, and I rolled across the dry ground for a while before I came to a stop.
I got up on my hands and knees, dizzy. I couldn't see Kaze or the female titan anywhere. Where was I? What direction was the fortress in? Everywhere looked the same. Grass here, grass there, and sky above. In The Thorn of the Rose I had been taught astrology and how to navigate using the stars, but I hadn't thought it much use so I had never paid attention.
What will I do?
A wave of nausea came over me, and I puked, stomach clenching. Sweat beaded my brow and began to drip down my back as I vomited a few more times, ridding myself of the contents of my belly. Bile was all that came up the last time.
Heaving with fatigue I collapsed onto my side. I managed the strength to roll a few paces away from the sick so I could avoid the vile smell and catch my breath.
What do I do, what do I do?
"Okay," I gasped out loud, "Let's think through this. Judging from the ride there, I'm about a day's ride back to the fortress. That would probably be double on foot, so two days. And once I'm in the general area, I can go in a more lateral direction and hopefully find our headquarters that way. Or," I chewed on my lip for a moment, "I could begin traveling diagonally towards the sunset. That would probably be faster, even if just a little. Of course, If I can find Kaze, that's be even better."
I pursed my lips blew out, creating a shrieking, high-pitched whistle that fell flat upon the open area. I waited, hoping to hear the pounding of hooves against the earth. But nothing came. I whistled three more times, and each one was met with silence.
No...
I took a shuddering breath, blinking back tears. Kaze had been a good companion, but I couldn't expect him to have survived a blow to the ribs like that, not to mention the landing. My smaller body made it so I would escape with bad bruising at the most, but Kaze was a lot heavier, and that would've been his downfall.
I curled up into a ball. I couldn't go on, not right now. I was in serious need of rest, both mentally and physically, and I was pretty sure that if I didn't get some sleep, shock would settle in. I couldn't afford that.
So, dagger in hand and my body curled as tightly as I could, I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.