"Fuck!"

Celine ducked as a giant hand narrowly missed plucking her from the ground and instead closed around a rack of leather straps. The straps and their corresponding belts wrapped around the Titan's fingers, the clattering sound growing increasingly louder at Celine's back to let her know how close it was to reaching her.

The basement stairs passed by in a blur in Celine's scramble to escape. She dived through the doorway at the top of the stairs, sliding across the white tile with a sigh in relief. The sigh turned into a shout as Celine was dragged back.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

The Titan was too large to entirely fit through the doorway, but its arm had enough room to reach into the hallway and lift Celine up by the foot. The sound as Celine thrashed among the belts was like a wind chime in a rainstorm. Her struggle grew more frantic as the Titan opened its mouth and she caught a glimpse of shining white teeth.

Celine finally managed to reach up and give the leather straps around her foot a hard tug. They slipped between the Titan's fingers, Celine's boot going along with them. She tumbled to the floor in a clatter. Belts were flung away as Celine rushed to her feet and broke into a sprint. The sounds of metal scraping over tile and screaming from the warehouse followed her down the hall.

Less than an hour prior, Ray and Emma had gone upstairs to gather the remaining soldiers in the building while Celine and Leslie had worked to pack gas tanks into messenger bags for quick distribution. Leslie had been unlucky enough to be standing near the wide cargo doors when they busted open in a shower of splinters. Celine had a hunch the only reason the invading Titans had zeroed-in on the spot at all was because a certain Captain and his squad had retreated from the adjacent courtyard and drawn attention.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

A large, tan blob moved outside the windows to her left. Celine didn't take her eyes away from the spot down the hall which led to the stairs. She yelped at the sound of shattering glass and crumbling stone. Her shoulder hit the wall of the stairwell with a hard thump as she pivoted, leaping up the stairs before the Titan could reach her.

My office.

Celine pounded up the steps, skipping the second, third, and fourth floor.

I need to get to my office. I might be able to live to see twenty-six if I make it to my office.

The landing on the fifth floor appeared still. Celine crested the top of the stairs, searching for any signs of broken windows. She could hear distant rummaging which she assumed was the Titan from the first floor searching for her among the broken glass and furniture. She prayed it would stay distracted long enough not to go looking for her up here.

Alright. Let's walk forward as quietly as possible. If I don't, I'm dead. I'll be killed by a Titan. I've … I've finally seen a Titan. I got a good look at the one that picked up Leslie and bit his arm off.

Celine's head tipped to the side, tempting her to lose consciousness and mentally exit the situation she was in entirely.

NO, DAMMIT!

Celine slapped her cheek. She pursed her lips and started to tiptoe forward. She nearly had a heart attack a few feet later when she heard an unexpected noise.

That noise was voices.

The voices were coming from the records room a few doors down. Celine crept forward and put her ear to the door for a moment to confirm. There were more whispers.

The sweat on Celine's palm made gripping the door handle a challenge. An increase to her grip rectified the problem and Celine pulled the door outward, hoping the last time she'd been assigned to grease the door hinge was still enough to keep it silent. It wasn't; heads turned in her direction as the door creaked. Celine winced, remaining still as stone until it was clear the only ones to take note of the noise were of the human variety.

"Celine?" one member of the group whispered.

Four people were huddled inside a crude square barrier fashioned from tables which'd been flipped on their sides. The cadets Ray and Emma had been successful in finding other soldiers, but unsuccessful in rallying them to create any form of force. Their companions were two members of the Engineering Corps; Unit Captain Norman, and a woman with dark hair Celine only vaguely recognized. Norman had only glanced up for a moment before going back to fiddling with the rifle in his lap.

"Celine," Ray whispered again. "Hurry – close the door and come here."

Celine did as she was told. She skirted the other desks in a crouch as she crossed the room. A quick hop landed her in the middle of the barrier. Ray and the unnamed woman at his side pulled her to the floor.

"What's going on out there?" Ray asked. From afar, the young man appeared perfectly composed. Up-close, Celine was able to read the panic in his features and feel the tremor to the hand he still had around her wrist. The woman didn't appear much better. Tears were falling down her cheeks in a steady stream.

Celine looked over her shoulder to lock eyes with Emma. The girl watched her; large, gray eyes holding more hope than Celine had to offer.

When Celine's attention turned to Norman, she continued to be ignored over whatever maintenance he was conducting on the gun.

"Well," Celine said, the word slow as if stuck to her tongue. "I think Woermann running away like a coward attracted attention; Titans got into the warehouse. That kid Leslie … didn't make it."

Ray silently cursed as the dark-haired woman covered her mouth.

"Have you seen anyone else other than us?" Ray asked. He cursed again when Celine shook her head.

"When Captain Woermann left …" said the dark-haired woman, "... did he say anything about coming back? With others?"

Celine dropped her gaze. "Eh … probably not him specifically, but maybe others. They should come back for us if the rear guard doesn't get wiped out."

"Wait," the dark-haired woman said, drawing her hands away from her mouth. "The other guards are gone?"

A sound like a conjunction of rolling thunder and a scream shook the room. Everyone slapped their hands over their ears and ducked their heads. Celine was certainly aware Titans could scream – she'd listened to no less than 40 hours of lecture on the subject. She wished she could forget the main theory behind it being a tactic to weed out humans in hiding.

Celine looked up to see a giant eye pressed against the glass. With the lights out and the desks upturned, the Titan must not have been able to get a good look inside. The eye grew out of focus as it backed away from the hazy glass, but the blurry figure still visible meant the Titan had enough wherewithal somehow to suspect people may still be in the area.

"We're doomed," the dark-haired woman whispered.

"Come on," Ray said as he took her hand. "It'll be alright. The others will come back for us soon. They have to – it's been long enough for many of them to be running low on gas. They'll have no choice but to rescue us if they want to make it back to the wall."

"Unless they all already left … or died," Emma said, hugging her knees. "Maybe they're gone, and Wall Rose has already been breached. No one will come back for us. It's not like those fairy tales about Maria's Knight are real or anything."

Emma failed to notice the sudden clench to Celine's jaw.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Everyone turned to regard Norman. He pulled a tube out of the rifle muzzle with a satisfied expression.

"What good will that thing even do?" Emma asked.

Norman's answer was to stick the muzzle of the gun into his mouth. He lifted his eyes and pulled the trigger.

The room was filled with screams and the sound of a gunshot as Norman's blood splashed over a row of books along the wall. The only member of the group who kept silent was Celine. She regarded Norman with narrowed eyes as he cried out and clutched the side of his head where his ear had been blown off.

Celine had one hand on the barrel of the gun. She'd been successful in pushing the gun out of his mouth, but failed to push it to the side far enough for the bullet to miss Norman entirely. She tossed the weapon aside with a clatter.

Another rolling scream cut through the air and rattled the windows.

Celine grasped Norman by the lapels of his jacket and shoved him to the floorboards.

"You selfish piece of shit!" she hissed, making sure to lean into the side of his head that still had an ear. "You were just going to take the quick way out and leave us all to fend for ourselves! You're our fucking captain! Why the hell are all our captains worthless at times like this?!"

Tears welled in Norman's eyes, dribbling over his hands and mixing with the growing pool of blood. "If I'm worthless … why not let me die?"

The shift to Norman's features made it clear Celine's disgust was nearly tangible.

"Your life may be worthless …" Celine said, voice steady. "... but mine isn't. You being alive could be the difference between us figuring out a way around these Titans or not. I'm just increasing my chance of survival."

"Cel-"

The word on Ray's lips came to a halt when the lighting washing over the group shifted. Everyone remained still as stone; the Titan outside the window had once again pressed its eye to the glass. The sound of the rifle shot must've been hard for the Titan to pinpoint, the tan blob outside the window soon disappearing entirely alongside heavy footfalls heading to the west side of the building.

Celine shot Norman a final look of disgust before retreating to the corner and sitting back with a sigh. Nervous glances danced over her and Norman before Ray removed his jacket. He released a pocket knife from a clip on his belt and tore through the seam of his left sleeve. He yanked the sleeve away from the rest of his shirt, crawling to Norman and urging the captain to move his hands so the cloth could be wrapped around his head.

"Thank you, Celine," Ray said as he worked. "I hope your effort wasn't for nothing."

"Same here," Celine said. She leaned her head into her hand. "I know it was attempted suicide, but I'm technically eligible for a blue patch indicating I saved a superior officer's life."

It came as a surprise when Ray chuckled. "You're a piece of shit, you know that?"

"Of course, I do," Celine said. "I'm not stupid. And watch your tone – I still outrank you, even if I am at the bottom of the ladder." Celine tilted her head up to the ceiling. "I already know the names of the cadets and One-Ear. How about you introduce yourself, soldier?"

The dark-haired woman flinched when Celine's eyes slid to her. "I-Isabell," she said. "Um … Private Isabell Linemore. What are your …?"

"Ray – 104th Cadets," Ray said, tightening the cloth around Norman's head.

Wide eyes moved away from the puddle of blood on the floor as the girl sitting next to Norman looked up. "E-Emma," she said. "Same as … same class as Ray."

"Celine," Celine said, returning her gaze to the ceiling. "Let's get down to business – I have a functioning ODM gear in my office down the hall. I would assume all of you couldn't get to your gear for one reason or another, and that's why you're all still here."

Isabell lowered her eyes while Emma nodded.

"We weren't planning on abandoning you and Leslie," Ray said. He sat back, wiping the blood on his hands along the front of his pants.

"I already told you before I'm not stupid, so don't try to pass off that pitiful display of righteousness," Celine said. "I don't blame you for wanting to run; I left Leslie for dead because I'm a coward, and I would've done the same to all of you if I had the chance to escape."

Ray winced. "So Leslie … could still be alive?"

"Are you willing to go down and check?" Celine asked. She watched Ray with a level expression until the young man dropped his head in shame.

"The one thing we need is gas," Celine said. "The warehouse has been overrun, so getting any from there is out. Does anyone know where we might find some canisters?"

Silence. Celine closed her eyes in a disappointed sigh.

"The workshop."

Celine cracked an eyelid open to regard Norman. He was pale as death, blue eyes locked onto her with a fervent expression.

"There are five canisters in the workshop," Norman said. He was shaking like a leaf, but the adrenaline in his system allowed him to sit up with a grunt. "The stoppers were defective … I was going to send them downstairs to have the gas released for repair. The defective stoppers mean they won't be full … trying to fix them with gas still inside could cause the casing to rupture. But if someone can do it … if they can do it … they'll be functional."

Norman let out a hiss as he tapped the makeshift bandage near where the blood was slowly soaking through. The wound must've been more superficial than they thought considering the bleeding was already slowing down.

"I can do it," Isabell said, a firmness to her voice. "I've fixed hundreds of stoppers. I think I can repair them without the canisters rupturing."

"But then what?" Emma said. "Only one of us would be able to leave. And with all the Titans outside … What would they even do?"

Celine hummed. She rocked forward and put her chin in her hand. "Ray said earlier if there were any soldiers still left behind, they're probably stuck in Trost because they also need gas."

"If there are any soldiers left," Emma said.

Celine pictured a boy with dark hair and freckles. He'd finished seventh in his class and had the tendency to babble on about being brave.

"I can assure you there are people out there dumb enough to still be here," Celine said. "And if the ones out there fighting run out of gas, all of us are dead. I think the solution is to get them what we can."

Emma's nose wrinkled. "Huh? How in Sina's name would we do that?"

The confusion etched over Emma's face intensified as Celine smiled.

"I'm really pissed off, you know," Celine said. "All these Titans coming through our walls … it makes it look like the cannon modifications did jack shit. And I know that can't be true; those bastards framed it to look like all of my work was for nothing."

Celine's eyes narrowed.

"I won't let them make a fool out of me."