Petra cleaned the dried blood off her shoulder.It was the third day of training and she was already overwhelmed. Not because of the relentless training but due to the realisation that had just hit her. All these people she was surrounded by, all these people she had begun to know, would soon perish before her.

"Are you ok?" olou asked intercepting her thoughts.

Petra put on a smile and gave him a thumbs up.

"You don't have to worry, you know. It will get easier."

She was sure it would, joining the survey corps had been her dream since she was young. Despite her father's disapproval, she had worked her ass off to get here and she wouldn't just give up on the third day.

"Thanks for saying that" she replied trying to keep him optimistic as well "i'll be out in a minute"

With that she bandaged the hand that had been cut from sparring and returned to training.

………………………………………….

Three months later

Petra and nifa were out sitting by the barracks after using the odm gear for the first time. The biggest problem the corps had to deal with was how little gas they could use. Petra imagined it would be even harder when they went on expeditions and we're facing real titans. She had yet to see one in real life.

"Do you think the stories are true? "

Nifa interrupted her thoughts

"What stories?"

"About the scouts who pissed their pants on their first expedition? "

Petra wouldn't blame them if they did. First times are rough.

"We haven't been out there yet, you might do the same. "

"Yeah I guess everyone freaks out in some way when faced with giant human eating titans. "

I bet captain levi doesn't. Petra thought to herself. She had only seen humanities strongest once or twice from afar. But people made him sound like a Godsent. Everyone in her town was sure they were doomed without him. For someone so popular he sure was closed off. Didn't talk to many people despite Commander Erwin or hange. He was one of the reasons she had joined the corps and she had yet to meet him

One day. She thought

"Hey ladies" Olou had caught up to them. "Nice view we got here huh" he said looking at petra. She turned shyly at that compliment and got up

"let's go eat, I'm starved" she stated

"After you" Olou gestured, leading them back inside.

……………………………………..

It was five months since she had joined the corps and today she was going on her first expedition. She look in the mirror and splashed cold water into her face

Everyone gets nerves, it's normal

She looked up again putting on a practised smile and when she was prepared she stepped out to get on her horse. She was so caught up in her thoughts she barely noticed when she bumped into someone ahead of her.

"Oi watch it"

"I'm so sorry-

She looked up and recognised that face. She didn't bump into anybody she bumped into the captain.

Oh fuck she thought, great first impression

"Aren't you going to get up" he looked bored and certainly not like someone who's going out to face man eating titans

Petra clumsily got up and began to formulate an apology but the captain simply left before hearing anything she had to say. She had never been that frozen up before. Levi just made her really really nervous. She hoped he wouldn't affect her this much in the expedition, when she was fighting for her life.

………………………

The formation had been pitched to them earlier by the squad leader. Petra decided to keep on hand on the flare gun at all times so she could do her best to warn everyone else. Levi and a few other scouts were in the middle while Petra and her squad were going to go around the forest to reach the supposed hideout where they'd be safe. Although petra doubted their safety was guaranteed anywhere outside the walls or inside for that matter.

"No sign of titans so far" Eld proclaimed.

Maybe we won't have to encounter a titan at all, maybe this whole trip can go smoothly with no casualt-

She saw a red flare go up from the right side of the forest

Oh

She looked to her side to see Eld just as vigilant as she was. Her heartbeat felt more like a ticking clock. She was sure the titan would reach here soon but it was nowhere in sight. Just when she started to relax a bit, the trees nearby started shuffling. It was an abnormal, she realised. When they were studying titan behaviour they had been told that normal titans had a predictable behaviour and their main goal was to eat humans. This one however had left the scouts in the forest and was coming directly for them at an increasing spread. The woman beside her flashed her a look and left her horse. Just as petra was about to tell her to stop, she lept into the air with her odm gear and went behind the titan trying to go for it's nape. She almost made a cut-

but then the titan brought it's hand back and squashed her. That girl was so confident

So brave

And she had been squashed like a bug by this creature

With no remorse

This would be her soon. She pushed those thoughts aside and tried to get the rest of her squad to change route to avoid the titan, however they were admanent on staying the course. Petra looked behind and saw another scout squashed beneath the titans feet. She gulped, thought of her father, thought of the life she had left behind.

She was going to survive today

Not the first expedition, she can't die just like that. An involuntary tear trickled down her cheek. She followed eld as they both changed track and tried to hide in the forest shade but the titan was still after them.

Fuck fuck fuck

She thought if she was going to die it had to mean something, even if she could save one person it would be enough. She gripped her odm gear just as eld shot her a look

"Live" she told him and leaped up to a tree.

The titan reached a hand out but she dodged it. High on adrenaline she went for its ankle and actually did some damage. However in a flick of a second the titan caught her in its hand and started squeezing. Just as she was letting the darkness take over she heard a knife slicing through the hand and then the sound went further up. Soon enough the titan fell to it's feet. And petra fell unconscious.

……………………….

Note will update weekly if I don't die or something