Chapter 7
Sunrise blinds Jean as he peaks down an alleyway. Two-story buildings line the alley. Snow lies in piles and glitters in the rays of morning light. Flies buzz around a horse that had clearly been stomped by a titan. But there's no sign of recent titan activity, so Jean sneaks further into the alleyway. Snow crunches behind him as Marian follows.
She'd slipped down the stairs with a bag thrown over her shoulder and proceeded to act like nothing had happened the night before, so Jean followed suit.
And nothing had happened. Not really.
Besides, it'd been nice to have some time to himself. No nagging, no sass, no one to laugh when he'd tossed the still broken ODM gear on the floor.
(No one to encourage him to try again or distract him when he woke from a blood-soaked dream.)
Which was fine. He likes spending time alone. It's a rare commodity for soldiers.
"What's that?" Marian's voice is quiet. Jean follows her gaze to a ruby clump at the alley's exit. Puddle-like shapes are frozen around it, all the same red color. Jean steps closer, and he sees chunks of flesh tone hiding behind the fresh snow. There's a palm sized ball of it with three tiny metal spokes sticking out of the edge.
Marian figures it out first. That curved shape is an ear with three stud earrings.
Which means the ruby clump was a person and the puddles are blood.
It's a corpse that, just like the horse, had been stepped on and squished.
"Oh shit," Marian says, coughs, then vomits. Jean winces but kneels beside it. It's not Connie or Sasha—neither had pierced ears—and it's too fresh to be one of Rossen's original citizens.
He's about to give his condolences because the corpse is surely all that remains of one of the Klien farmhands when he sees the coiled cord. He wipes the snow away to reveal shiny silver. Jean follows the cord back to the corpse. It leads to a small metal blob that's attached to a long, angular crushed piece of metal.
It's a sword attached to a hilt. It's a wire attached to grapple hooks on one end and a motor on the other.
It's ODM gear.
Jean's gut squeezes. He, Sasha, and Connie were the only ones that'd had ODM gear. He takes out his sword and pushes where the corpse's clothes should be. He needs to be sure. Maybe Sasha or Connie had gotten piercings, and Jean hadn't noticed. The remains creak as he moves them around, breaking the layer of ice coating them.
There's no trace of the Scout symbol anywhere on the corpse.
Which didn't make sense. There's solid bits of flesh, pearly white bone, and pools of frozen blood—all indicators that whoever this was, hadn't been dead long enough to start decomposing. The corpse is too fresh to be from any past journeys through Rossen.
"Who is it?" Marian asks.
"I don't know. Not one of ours."
"A Scout?"
"They don't have our mark."
"Who else could it be? None of the farmhands have three ear piercings."
Jean tears his eyes away from the remains to meet her gaze.
"I don't know."
And then Marian's eyes drift away from his. They widen until the whites of her eyes are visible. Her skin pales.
Icy fear drips down Jean's spine as he follows her gaze over his shoulder and straight to the giant blue eyes watching them from over a rooftop.
A titan had found them.
Slowly, Jean rises from his crouch. He reaches behind him blindly until Marian clenches his hand so tightly it hurts. Neither of them move. Maybe the titan doesn't see them. Maybe it will move on and leave them alone.
That hope is dashed when the titan lunges forward.
Jean turns, and the two of them dart out of the alley. His left foot, which had been aching all morning, screams at the sudden, aggressive movement. There's a crash as pieces of house fall behind them. Marian looks long enough to see the blue-eyed titan stomp through the corner of a house before Jean yanks her down another path. There's a small house with a patio ahead of them. They run towards it until a blonde titan head peaks out from behind it.
They skid atop the ice in their haste to redirect. Jean's ankle crumbles, and he falls with a yelp. The blonde titan jerks its head towards them and takes the first dreadful step. The ground vibrates as the two giants approach them from opposite sides.
Jean tries to stand but stumbles. Marian frantically grabs at his shoulders, then pulls him down the next alley. Abandoned houses tower above them. Bricks and snow fall as the titans move chase their prey.
"Sneak through the houses!" Jean shouts with a gesture towards an open window to their left. He's red-faced and gasping with each step. He's struggling to keep up. Marian shoves herself under his arm and runs towards the window. She pushes Jean towards it, then shoves at him, trying to help him crawl through it faster.
The blonde titan is trying to squeeze into their tiny alley. She can't see the blue-eyed one, but the ground shakes so hard, there's no doubt it's approaching. Jean finally tumbles through the window, and Marian climbs through so quickly, she falls on top of him. He groans as her weight jostles the broken bones in his ankle.
"Sorry!" She says just as a black-veined titan hand crashes through the window. The two of them scream. Marian flattens herself against Jean to avoid giant grasping fingers. They remember what it's like to be grabbed and squeezed so hard their bones creaked. Both of their feet scramble against the floor as they try to scoot out of the titan's reach.
"East," Jean gasps as they scoot out of its reach. "If we keep going east, we'll hit the forest!"
Marian searches for a window or door and finds one where the rising sun still shines through. As soon as they're out of the titan's reach, they clamber to their feet and climb through the window. They're in an overgrown backyard with a fence taller than Jean around it. Some of the planks are broken, and they hobble towards the biggest gap. It's not wide enough for Marian to squeeze through, so she starts kicking at the boards next to it.
Crashes crescendo around them as houses fall. Jean can't see either of the titans, but he knows they aren't gone. He knows they haven't given up.
The plank cracks beneath Marian's next kick, but it's not enough. She stomps on it again, and it splinters. She yanks the broken pieces away, then shoves herself through the gap. The planks scrape against her flesh. Panic flits in her gut—what if she can't fit—but then she sucks in and tumbles through to the other side.
Marian reaches back to help Jean just as the blonde titan crawls through the tumbling house.
"Hurry!" She shouts as its head turns towards them.
Jean grunts as his body meets unmoving wood. He tries to shoulder his way past but can't wedge his shoulder through the gap. The planks bend, but don't break. Splinters dig into Jean's gut and shoulder blades, but it's no use.
He's too big. He's too big, and he's not going to fit.
For just a breath, Marian considers running. She could make it, if she abandoned Jean. She could avoid grasping hands and gnashing teeth. She'd have even more time to escape, if the titan caught and ate him.
But then she remembers how her heart had flown when Jean flew over her head and grabbed her hands, how he'd pulled her out from under those horses even though titans were approaching and he could escape, he could live, if he just left her.
But he hadn't.
What kind of person would Marian be if she didn't at least return the favor?
She grabs his hand, digs in her heels, and pulls with all her weight. Jean and the wooden fence groan.
The blonde titan inches forward, the heaviness of the house slowing it down.
Marian pulls again. Sweat leaves icy trails down her face. Jean's shoulder pops through, and then his head. The titan's fingers brush against his side, yanking at the bag of food on Jean's back. The bag's strap breaks, and Jean falls through the fence.
Marian doesn't give Jean enough time to right himself before she's tugging him across the road into the next yard. They charge through the open door, stumble across the abandoned living room, and yank at the closest east-facing window.
Marian panics when it doesn't open. She tries to jerk it open multiple times until Jean reaches above her and flips the lock. They climb through, looking for the next path east, with the crescendo of titan steps in their wake.
Then they go through a door, then a short fence, and a broken window, and a door hanging on its hinges. They slip through a narrow gap between two buildings, then duck behind a stack of crates as the blue-eyed titan stumbles by.
Jean's hand covers Marian's mouth as they watch the titan amble around. Its eyes drift to and fro, obviously looking for them. It takes a step towards them, and Marian shrinks back against Jean's sturdy chest.
It can't see us. It can't see us. It can't see us, she thinks. Her breath shoots through Jean's fingers, but she can't slow it down, can't fight the bubbling panic in her gut. Jean's grip changes, and Marian forces herself to focus on his warm, calloused hands he guides both of them into a crouch. They huddle in the corner between the crates and wall. Pressed flat and low against the cold bricks, each of them can feel the others' rapid breaths. Marian swears she can feel his heart beating against her back.
They don't move for a long time. They kneel beside each other, listening as the ground quakes beneath the titan's weight. There's a tinkling sound as icicles fall to the ground. Both of them flinch.
Like leaves floating down a stream, the footsteps slowly get farther and farther away. Jean risks a glance over the crates. There is no titan. He glances behind them and up to the sky but sees nothing out of the ordinary.
"We need to be quick and quiet," he whispers in Marian's ear. She jerks her head in agreement, and carefully rises with him. He takes a step forward, like he's going to lead, like his ankle isn't a throbbing chunk of flesh connecting his foot and leg. Marian tugs his arm over her shoulders and tries to position herself so she's carrying as much of his weight as possible.
He opens his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Marian stops him by taking the first step forward.
"We need to keep you on your feet, Jean. Whatever it takes. I can't carry you."
He forces the image of him sprawled against the ground, clutching at his foot, unable to move, as chin-high Marian tries to drag him away from crushing titan teeth.
She was right. He had to stay mobile, pride be damned.
Jean nods. They double check their surroundings, then jog across the open road as quickly and quietly as possible. They continue east, towards the forest, gently prying open doors, going through windows, and jumping over or through fences. They hide inside houses and alleys and once, behind a pile of dead horses whenever they hear the tell-tale titan rumble. They don't move again until all is quiet.
The going is slow, but they reach the outskirts of town by the time the sun hangs halfway through the sky. The trees creak beneath the weight of snow. The sound rings like a victory bell as Jean and Marian take their first shaky steps into the forest.
