Chapter 13!
Finally! Maybe one of my favorite ones yet! Hopefully yall like it too.
Please leave a review if you like it or if you absolutely hate it, that would mean a lot to me.
Please,
Enjoy!
The past night had been chaos. With just enough time she had met the newly minted Scouts at the gate leading into Wall Maria. Starting her new life late would have been a bad idea. When the large group finally made it to the Scout's HQ, it was a mess. Parts of the building had been torn off by Titans, rubble was all over the ground. Windows were shattered, and glass was strewn everywhere. Maria thought about the two dead Scouts floors above her, laying there dead with self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Who was going to clean up the destruction?
The new Scouts were. They had been told that for the next few weeks, everyone would be all hands on deck cleaning up the city and HQ. They were expected to do self-lead training during this time as well. She figured this wasn't the norm for recruits, but the entire situation wasn't normal. After explaining the details for the next few weeks, they instructed everyone to pick up new uniforms at the respective tables. At the tables, they were also given room numbers. Maria hoped she would be rooming with someone she was familiar with.
Luck seemed to be on her side, she was owed at least a little bit at this point. Sasha, Mikisa, and Maria were all to be in a room together.
'Probably not luck,' she thought to herself. 'I bet Commander Erwin wants to keep us all together..'
A sharp pain came from her ribs, and she looked wildly to her side. Sasha had elbowed her.
"Hey, pay attention. We are about to get directions." Sasha whispered.
Maria's attention turned to the small platform in front of them. They stood in a large courtyard outside of HQ. Rubble was strewn all around them, a sick reminder of what had happened the past week. The wind picked up, and with it, something foul floated along the wind. Sasha and Maria blanched at the smell, faces crunching up. The scouts around her began to murmur.
"Attention, brats!"
Without thought the new Scouts slammed into a salute. Maria wasn't pleased, though.
'Brats?' she thought.
Standing on the temporary platform was none other than Captain Levi himself. The urge to roll her eyes was irresistible, but she withstood the temptation. 'Something something best behavior to get to the top' she reminded herself.
Captain Levi's eyes scanned the crowd. Everyone held their silence. Seemingly satisfied he started giving orders.
"Today starts the official clean up inside Wall Maria. It will take us a while to clean up our lives within these walls." a quick pause. "We will have multiple different clean-up crews. Three crews of 10 will be cleaning up HQ. Five crews of 20 will be cleaning up rubble, glass, and hazardous material all around the city. Lastly, there will be 5 crews of 15 cleaning up the fallen citizens and comrades within our walls." the crowd couldn't help but look around, wondering what group they were going to be in and who they would work with. The Captian's face betrayed his annoyance.
"Are you done?" he spoke tightly.
Maria wanted to groan loudly. Captain Levi may be Humanity's Greatest Soldier, but to her, he seemed like a prick. He always looked irritated where ever he was, and his eyes held a coldness that chilled her to the bone. She was starting to not like him.
"As I was saying. There will be many different groups, everyone has an equal role to play to bring Wall Maria back to her former glory. We do this for the people we protect, for Humanity. Don't complain." he went quiet, testing if anyone would interrupt him again. There was only silence.
He nodded, pleased. "Behind us are multiple tables. Each table has the PPE required. They will give you a group number on a random piece of paper. Tell them what your number is and they will further direct you to where you need to be." he stood silent for a few seconds.
She noticed a sigh escape him while silently saying something, but Maria was terrible at reading lips.
"Do you understand me, Scouts?" his voice was loud as ever.
In harmony, the large group saluted the Captian and gave a hearty "Yes, sir!"
"Dismissed." Captain Levi seemed satisfied and left the small platform, walking over to speak to a group of Officers.
Finally, a groan did escape her. Maria rubbed her temples with her fingers, willing away her stress headache. Next to her Sasha giggled.
"Man, he kinda is a hard ass." she spoke.
"Shhhh," Maria said, side-eyeing where the Captian stood.
Sasha let out a barking laugh, "What?! He can't hear me from all the way over there, stupid."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Let's go before you find out if your right or not." she grabbed Sasha's arm and pulled her towards a booth. They waved goodbye to the rest of their friends.
"Names?" a soldier sitting at the booth asked them.
"Strause, Maria." the man pointed his pen at her friend. "Blouse, Sasha."
"Pick a number from the table while I look for your names, please." the man scanned through the paperwork in front of him.
There was a massive bowl on the table, filled with small strips of paper. Maria stuck her hand inside it and mixed the paper about, finally taking a piece. Sasha did the same thing.
"Found you both!" the man exclaimed, making a tick next to their names. "What numbers are you?"
Sasha spoke first. "Im 1C."
"Perfect. You'll be assisting in cleaning up HQ. Please grab a mask and gloves from the table next to me before you leave. You will be meeting your group at the front door of HQ where you will receive further instruction." the man wrote down 1C next to Sasha's name.
"And your number?"
"Oh," Maria hadn't even looked at it. "Um... it's 3F."
"Thank you. You will be assisting with the body cleanup. Please grab a mask, gloves, and one of the folded bundles of white sheets you see over there on that table. You will be meeting in the Trost District, right where the old gate is currently rocked up. You will receive further instruction when you arrive at your location." the man scribbled down 3F next to her name.
Her gut twisted. "Thank you." she nearly whispered. She and Sasha walked away and towards the other table to grab their PPE.
Sasha gave her a look.
"No no no. Don't look at me like that, Sasha." Maria groaned.
"Like what?!" her friend spoke with fake offense.
A finger went to Maria's temple. "You know what the fuck I mean... please."
Sasha rested a hand on Maria's arm. "It's OK, you know. To feel grief."
"I know. Thanks." Maria shook Sasha's hand from her arm.
Sasha gave her a gentle smile in return. "Sorry we couldn't be in the same group this time. I'll see you at the Mess Hall for dinner?"
"Yeah, ill see you there." She tried to smile back at her friend but was sure she looked pitiful.
Maria grabbed her mask and gloves. Using the string keeping the bundle of sheets together she wove it into her ODM harness, so she wouldn't have to carry it. Letting out a sigh she headed for the demolished gate.
The foul stench had seemed to follow her to the gate. Only when she got there did she put it together that what she was smelling was the rot of her fallen comrades. Hastily she put her mask on. It was a white sheet that she had to fold together into a triangle and tie into a knot behind her head. It rested on the bridge of her nose, minimally helping to keep the smell out. It was better than nothing.
There were already a few Scouts waiting at the gate when she arrived. It only took around 10 more minutes for the rest of the clean-up crew members to show up. There were around 70 of them all together waiting for the squad leader to show up. Not a single one of her friends was in this group. As they waited she gazed at the massive boulder now blocking the gate entrance. Erens Titan was more powerful than she could comprehend.
"Alright, Brats. Listen up." came the too-familiar voice.
Her neck prickled at the insult. Did he have to call them brats when he didn't even know them? It was incredibly unprofessional. She did her best to keep a straight face.
"I'm in charge of you lot, so don't do anything stupid." he looked around at the faces in the crowd. "We will be cleaning up civilian and soldier casualties. It won't be pretty. It won't smell good. It might even give you nightmares."
Maria quietly scoffed. 'As if I don't have those every night anyways.' she thought to herself.
Captain Levi's eyes snapped to hers. 'Shit shit shit' Maria sang in her brain. She knew he could hear everything.
His eyes stayed on her. "We will have two breaks and one lunch. 10' hundred is the first break, noon is lunch, and 14' hundred is the second break. If your uniform becomes too soiled from fluids there are backups to change into, but try your best to stay clean." Maria felt heat in her chest from his stare and looked away from him to break eye contact.
He didn't stop talking. "I need you all to come up to me individually to receive a clipboard. There will be multiple pieces of paper on it. These hold the names of people who are currently missing. As we triage the dead you need to attempt identification and mark down who they are. Before lunch, we will collect your papers to cross-reference the findings. Rinse, wash, repeat."
The soldiers around her shifted on their feet. No one wanted to do this job, but it had to be done.
"Understood?"
Mass salute. "Yes, sir."
Everyone got into a line. Quickly enough it moved forward, and Maria was in front of Captain Levi.
He held a clipboard out to her. "This is your paperwork. Do not get fluids on it, and be sure to turn it into me before lunch."
Her heart clenched seeing the paper. It held name after name, with their ages beside it. She noticed that most of the names on her sheet belonged to children under 10. The grief inside was threatening to swallow her whole.
She looked at him. "Yes sir."
His eyes held their usual coldness. There was no comfort to be found within them. He nodded, she took his signal and left to begin her duty.
Body by body she went. She didn't know a lot of the towns folk, so there were a lot of faces she couldn't put a name to. And that was for the bodies that still had faces. Most were mangled beyond recognition. Sometimes it was just the bottom torso and legs that were left. Sometimes just the torso and arms. Individual limbs were strewn about the streets. Dried puddles of blood sat in the same areas water would collect on a rainy day.
It was the flies that were driving her insane. The bodies had sat outside in the elements for a few days, decomposition already starting to take hold. The buzzing was reaching crescendo, it was all she could hear.
Maria turned a corner to peer into another alleyway. She saw a body lying against a wall. It had all of its body parts. Maybe she would be able to ID this one.
A gasp ripped through her chest when she got closer.
"Mar.. Marco?" the buzzing stopped.
"FUCK!" she yelled out. All of her efforts went to staying upright. Why was Marco here? She thought he had made it. She began thinking back to the last time she saw him.
A voice yelled from the corner she had come from. "What's going on?"
She absolutely didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Maria was too close to losing her shit. But yet, no words left her mouth.
"I asked a question, Soldier.' a dark voice spoke from her shoulder.
She couldn't tear her eyes away from her dead friend. "He's dead," she said, voice slightly trembling. The voice behind her was familiar, and at that moment she didn't care.
"Yes, I see that." A long pause. "You knew him?"
Marco's face was stuck in perpetual confusion. The way his face was contorted sent shivers up Maria's spine.
"He was going to join the Scouts too. He wanted to help save Humanity. He was in the top 10, how did he die already?!" Maria was trying hard to not panic.
"Is his name Marco?" the voice asked.
"Yes." she began to turn around to see who she was talking to. "Did you kno- OH."
Fuck. Maria had been speaking to Captain Levi. She knew he had been wandering around the streets with them, lending assistance to soldiers when they needed a hand. It was no surprise he would come to check out someone yelling.
She snapped into a salute. "Sir."
His face didn't move. He was also looking at Marco's body as if inspecting it.
"I knew of him. Commander Erwin and I were notified of the top 10, as were the leaders of the other regiments." one of his eyebrows lifted.
"What do you think happened to Marco?" he asked her.
Maria turned back to Marco's body. "A Titan killed him."
'Hold on' she thought to herself. 'His limbs...'
She kept going. "But... his limbs. He has all of his extremities."
Captain Levi nodded ever so slightly.
She looked closer. "His chest. That's where his wounds are. Maybe he was impaled on something as a result of an ODM accident?" she glanced at the Captian.
His gaze had narrowed in on Marco's chest. "Possibly. Put a sheet on him and write his name on your paperwork. Don't forget to turn it in before lunch." He shifted his attention to her.
Without pause, she gave him another salute. "Understood, sir."
Captain Levi nodded at her and promptly left.
Maria let out a large breath she didn't know she had been holding. Captain Levi was the most intimidating person she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. She hoped he wasn't going to be her Scout lead in the future. How could she ever surpass someone like him?
After finding Marco's body, Maria's brain checked out for the rest of the day. She went through the motions. Turn in paperwork. Attempt to eat while surrounded by the foul odor of decomposing flesh. Find body. Attempt to ID. Cover with a sheet. Again and again and again.
She was elated when it was finally time to leave. The Captian had everyone gathered one last time. She and her comrades couldn't wait to get back to the bunks and get rid of the smell encasing them.
"Thank you all. I know this work is not glamorous. This is what we have to do when a wall is breached. Every. Time." Captain Levi motioned his hands to the Wall behind him. "That's why we can't let this happen again. I am told to pass on a note to you all from Commander Erwin."
Whispers went through the crowd, but this time the Captian didn't seem to care. He read from a note in his hand.
"Scouts, thank you for taking this Oath with me. As your Commander, I will do everything in my power to save Humanity, and to protect my soldiers. Our next mission will be in one month. I hope everyone continues their training. For Humanity!" the Captian's voice faded with the ending of the letter.
"Im sure you brats are tired. Dismissed!" he finished with.
The crowd let out a sigh and saluted. "Yes, sir!"
As soon as they were dismissed fatigue hit her. Her shoulders slumped and the headache she had been fighting all day had come back with a vengeance. It was only 16' hundred, and Mess Hall wouldn't be ready till 18' hundred. Maybe she would hang out at the top of the Wall for a bit? She had time.
"Scout Strause!" a voice yelled for her. It was Captain Levi.
Maria stopped walking and turned around. She didn't even bother letting out a sigh. He would hear it and take it as a slight, no doubt. 'Whose hearing is even that good?' Maria wondered.
She saluted. "Captian Levi." What did he want?
"I need to talk to you. It's about Marco." he pressed.
Her ears perked up. "What about Marco, sir?"
"I'd like for you to recall the paperwork Commander Erwin and I had you and your comrades sign. You remember?" he spoke to her quietly.
Bugs began to crawl under her skin. "Yes, sir."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Good. I need-" he cleared his throat. "You need to stay quiet about the state Marco was found in today. This information is need to know only." his eyes bore into hers.
"What? Are you saying that something else happened to Marco? That a Titan wasn't what killed him? Was I right?" She didn't understand what he was trying to tell her.
"I can't confirm that." He sighed. "But I also can't deny it."
Maria stood looking at him in silence. She fucking hated what he was asking of her.
"So I need to lie to my comrades again, Captain Levi?" she asked, voice as tight as her muscles.
She watched his jaw clench. "Maria Strause. I do not like subordinates who talk back to me. This is an order not only from me, your Captian but also your Commander. It would serve you well to not ask too many questions."
The bugs under her skin were on fire. Her teeth begged to grind together, but she forced herself to remain calm. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again."
Captain Levi's shoulders slightly dropped. "And about staying quiet for now?"
Maria nodded. "I understand, sir."
The Captian waved a hand at her. "Dismissed."
Maria bit her tongue as she gave him a salute. The Captian walked away and engaged his ODM gear, flying to the rooftops. She turned on her heels and left for the showers. She needed to scrub the day off of her.
Hot water rained down on her, threatening to split her open. She sat on the floor of the shower, staring at the tiled walls. Tears slid down her face. It didn't matter how hard she scrubbed her skin. The smell of her rotting comrades was still inside of her. Their blood was stained on her hands.
She shook as she tried to prevent a violent sob from escaping her. Other people were showering in the shared bath house. She couldn't show any weakness. But she felt like she was falling apart.
Everything around her was death. It was a close family member at this point. When would it finally change? Something had to give, or it might be Maria who would.
ooohohohohooo how fun!
I'm really enjoying building interaction between Maria and Levi! I have to keep reminding myself it's a slow burn because I'm just so excited to watch their relationship bloom!
A secret is I have no idea where I'm taking the plot from here, but it will be deviating from cannon at this point.
Thanks for reading!
~Fawn
