Chapter Five
Wings of Freedom
My heart stopped. Black smoke from our flare guns flew across the sky. All time seemed to stand still. "Four o'clock! We have more Titans closing in!" Even though I was out in the open, I felt claustrophobic. Like I was at the bottom of a deep, dark well, chained to the bottom while it was slowly starting to feel with murky water. And I was going to eventually drown and there was nothing I could do to stop my impending doom. I felt choked up, cut off. My breath was caught in my throat. My whole body seemed to feel tight.
Several Titans came up from our right flank. Our spotters were on point, right there to take care of the Titans, including the Abnormal. I frantically searched for Jacob and his brothers with little success. They were too far away to have any identifiable features. Captain Levi and his squad also joined in on the fight, probably to ensure the Abnormal one wouldn't cause a mess. Eyes forward, you're not a fighter. Not this time. You're the supply wagon. That's it. Stay in your lane...
"Hya!" I kicked the sides of Dakota's belly, reminding her to keep up with the others in formation. We had to stay with the formation. We couldn't lag behind. It was important we stayed in-line with Commander Erwin's long-range formation. We held the supplies. We were a crucial role when it came to a matter of life or death. I may not have had an important role when it came to the defense or even offense of the Scouts, but I helped in other ways. And I had to take pride in that. This was my first time outside the walls, and I was honored to have at least accomplished that feat. I still earned my Wings, regardless of what anyone said.
I heard the screams of Scouts, but they weren't ones of victory. I looked to see a sight of gore and macabre. Some of the spotters who had joined in to dispose of the Titans had been unsuccessful and were caught in the clutches of jaws. More Titans had shown up. And the Special Operations Team was being overwhelmed, despite their efforts. "Hilton!" I called in alarm, bringing attention to the ongoing crisis. "Shit!" he yelled, realizing the implications. "If the spotters and Captain Levi's squad are having issues, we're screwed!" This isn't good. They need help! Why isn't anyone helping them?!
I turned from Hilton back to the Titan rampage. I continued to hear pleas for help. They needed assistance. Jacob and his brothers are in there! I then turned back to Hilton. He knew what I was silently asking. "Don't you do it, Lewis! You'll die! Stay with the wagons! You know your job!" Hilton ordered. My look didn't change. "That's a direct order, Abby!" I turned back to the spotters. Dammit... I sighed and closed my eyes. Time to be stupid... I grabbed the reins and veered off course, racing towards the group. "Dammit, Lewis! Get back here now!" I heard Hilton call from behind. Dodging other Scouts and supply wagons, I rushed towards danger. Arming my ODM gear with blades, I quickly cut the wagon straps from Dakota, releasing the wagon from her body and allowing her to run freely.
What the hell am I doing?! "Hya!" I yelled, hitting the sides of Dakota's stomach once more, signaling for her to run even faster towards the battle. Once in close range, I steadily stood on top of Dakota's back, balancing on top of her saddle. I need to time this right... Watching the eleven or so Titans that remained, and the twenty soldiers that were trying their best to take them down, I knew what my best course of action was. I need to take down the Abnormal...The other Titans will only get in the way. A few of them need to be eliminated first... I locked eyes with one of the Titan's legs to my right and shot off my grappling hooks, sling-shotting me through an array of Titan appendages. "Go!"
I ran my blades across Titans' ankles, temporarily immobilizing the giants and bringing them down. Once I got to my intended target, I aimed my hooks to another Titan with my eyes on the nape of the neck. Going in with precision and delicacy, it was an easy takedown. Next target. Then the next, and then another. I smirked. Two...three...four... I then found myself wanting to experiment with the gear and live Titans. That move that Levi did. Seemed easy enough. We're both small and I think I have the speed. Let's give it a-go...
I turned one of my parring blades backwards in my hands. I locked on a target. With the assistance of my ODM gear, I propelled myself towards the Titan, trying my best to replicate Levi's impressive move. Unfortunately, all I got in return was being caught by one of my grappling wires. And who other than the stupid Abnormal to have the wire between its fingers like a puppeteer? Oh fuck...And here I thought I was doing great. That's what I get for getting ahead of myself...
Levi's Point of View
"Dumbass." I muttered as I perched on top of a Titan carcass. "Sir! Want me to intervene?!" Gunther asked as he landed next to me. Lewis was dangling from her ODM wire, unsurprisingly caught by the Abnormal. "No, I'm gonna go. I'm not gonna risk our squad's safety. Stupid girl has done enough. I want you and the others to cover me while I go for the nape. I'll get to her when I get to her." I instructed.
The group nodded and dispatched, surrounding the Abnormal and working together to hit the napes of the remaining Titans. This spoiled, little brat is getting on my nerves... "Tch." I wiped my brow of sweat. I knew she was gonna cause issues. "Hang on, Abby! I'm coming!" a Scout yelled as he tried to make his way closer. Oh look, what do you know. Just as I thought. A soldier willing to ignore his own safety for her. She's a risk. All because she got cocky. "You're gonna have to work for your meal!" "What the-" I saw Lewis raise her free blade and cut the line, severing her connection with the Abnormal and causing her to freefall. With her remaining functioning grappling hook, Lewis latched onto another Titan. Is she seriously going to continue to fight?! With one working hook?! Is she insane?!
Abigail Lewis' Point of View
I stared up at the monstrous mouth of the Abnormal. What the hell did I get myself into?! As I dangled by a literal wired thread, I felt myself become weightless. I knew at this point, I was a goner. I couldn't reach up and cut the hand of the Titan, as I was too far down to reach. I couldn't stab at the mouth or face of the Titan since I knew it wouldn't do much but piss it off. Not to mention, all it had to do was toss me in to its rot-smelling mouth and chop down. And that would be the end of me. I would probably see a few familiar faces caught in its teeth or in the back of its throat, and that's something I really didn't want to partake in. Taking out its eyes would also be useless, considering that Titans heal at extremely fast rates, so not only would I be wasting energy, but I would also be angering the stupid thing. And I probably couldn't reach its eyes anyway.
The Titan stared down at me as it continued to slowly raise me upward towards its mouth. "Hang on, Abby! I'm coming!" "Jacob?" I looked down to see Jacob zooming around on his ODM gear. Oh, thank god. I looked back up at the Titan. I looked around in hopes of seeing Jacob close to the Titan's nape. Any time now would be great, Jacob. Any time now... As the milliseconds ticked by and no sign of a savior was coming to rescue me, I knew that I had to rescue myself. But "how?" was the question. I looked down at my blades. Those were my lifeline. I looked back up at the hand that held me to the Titan. I then stared back at the Abnormal. "You're gonna have to work for your meal!" I yelled before quickly raising my blade and slicing through the wire.
I was then suspended into a freefall. Using the one grappling hook that was still operational, I shot off and secured myself onto one of the few remaining Titans close by, quickly regaining my composure. I propelled towards the nape of the Titan and removed the flesh, taking out the giant before heading towards the Abnormal. I secured my hook on the back of its head and shot towards it. With one last cry, I took out the piece of meat from the Titan's neck, killing the Titan. We both descended to the ground. That was it for the onslaught of Titans. "Holy shit..."
I panted in exhaustion, sweat dripped from my brow. I actually did it. "Holy shit, Abby!" Jacob cheered as he ran up the shoulder of the Titan and shook me by the shoulders. "By my count, you have six solo Titan kills, one being an Abnormal! You're a natural at this!" he cried. "Scout!" I looked down to see Captain Levi and his squad already on horses, riding up to the scene. I sighed and sheathed my ODM blades. "Is that 'acting like a Scout', sir? Or do you need another demonstration?" I asked coolly. Levi glared but said nothing in return. "Get on your horse. It's dangerous to be on foot. You still need to repair what you did to the wagon straps. Get to it. The operation is still ongoing." Levi ordered as him and the squad sharply turned and rode away.
"Ignore him, Abby. You did amazing!" Jacob encouraged. "Yeah. Let's go. He's right. It's not safe to be on foot out here." I replied. He nodded and called to the other Scouts. I got off the disintegrating Titan and began walking towards my waiting horse. A few dismembered Scouts littered the green grass below me, coloring the ground in an awful shade of red. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer on their behalf. I made my decision too late...Why did I hesitate? I shouldn't have hesitated... I knew it wasn't a time to mourn as I would have plenty of time to do it later, but my stomach had funny timing and it was already doing flips and making me nauseous.
Jacob and the other Spotters returned to their spots in the formation. I rode back to my abandoned wagon to see Hilton and a few other supply soldiers, guarding the supplies and waiting to curse me out, of course. "You need to learn how to follow orders." were his first words when I approached. "I did what was necessary." I replied as I dismounted. I backed up Dakota between the wagon tongues and rigged the straps as best as I could, hoping that it would hold until I had time to fully adjust the straps. "Disobeying orders out here will get you killed." Hilton argued. "And how many lives did I just save out there?!" I replied, pointing to the area of dissolving Titan carcasses. Hilton remained silent; his face red with anger.
"Maybe instead of staying back in formation like a coward, you should have gone and did something. I did what any Scout should have done. I did my job. Now get off my ass and get back in formation, sir! We have a job to do!" I bit back before redirecting Dakota and rejoining the last bit of formation that was lagging behind. Remembering the formation plans, I fell back in line and watched for smoke signals. It wasn't long before Commander Erwin called for a full expedition halt to account for the dead and refuel on supplies. While I fiddled with the wagon's straps, a Scout was sent from the front of the formation by the Commander. One, to ensure I was alright. And two, he needed me back in the front as soon as possible. Without hesitation or pause, I returned to my original spot to be greeted not only by the Commander, but by a very upset Captain Levi. And here...we...go...