She didn't know how long it had been, but when V finally opened her eyes again, hear head was throbbing and she was in hell.

Pain traveled up her back into her shoulder, from where she had been slammed into a wall. Something obscured vision in her left eye, making everything a dull, hazy red. As she lifted her hand to her face, she discovered that a large gash had opened up above her eyebrow, weeping blood down her cheek.

Something... must have hit me...

She shakily climbed to her feet, using a large boulder that had landed precariously close to her for balance, and fully assessed her surroundings.

Smoking piles of rubble and debris lay strewn around her. The man who had sacrificed himself to save her was now a bloody stain on the street.

The only thing to truly save her was the concrete pillar that was holding the archway above her head stable. It had mostly been blasted away by flying detritus but was somehow still standing. The whole building creaked and moaned with its lost support.

The most horrifying part about it all, though, was the bodies. Men, women, and children lay crushed and trapped all around her. Blood oozed from piles of debris. The screams of pain mixed with screams of terror as Titans began to enter through the rubble.

"A Titan destroyed the gate! It's too late, the Titans are inside!"

Victoria looked south, towards what remained of the one thing that had protected them all this time. The colossal titan was gone, a massive hole where the gate should be. In its place were smaller Titan variants, their unnatural grins sending shivers of fear through the young girl. She needed to move, she needed to run. But Victoria remained frozen in place.

What was that Titan? Did it break the gate as easily as kicking a ball? It's over. Humanity is finished. We're all going die. Oh my god, we're all going to DIE!

The rising panic was, without warning, knocked out of her as Victoria was abruptly pushed out of the way by a woman carrying a small boy. She was crying uncontrollably as she clung to her son for dear life. The boy was bleeding heavily from where his right eye should have been. The woman almost tripped, but kept going, trying to head north towards the other gate.

MOM! DAD! LASZLO!

Her family. She had to find her family. But where was she?

In her anger, she had run away from them without care and now, in all this chaos and destruction, she couldn't tell how far she had gone. Landmarks had been turned to rubble. But she knew which way north was from the large stone keep that sat in the center of Shiganshina. And if she can find the marketplace plaza, she can find home.

She took off, racing past the woman and child who had shoved her not a moment before. Victoria tried not to think about the crunching and squelching noises beneath her feet as she ran. With her youthful vigor, she quickly overcame the pair and continued past them.

Eren suddenly ran past her in the opposite direction, with Mikasa following closely behind. "Please still be standing," he was muttering to himself. They didn't take notice of Victoria. He must be talking about his house, she thought, but didn't have time to worry about them.

Screams continued around her. "The north gate! We have to run! RUN!"

Adrenaline was pulsing through her now, carrying her faster north. She stumbled into the marketplace that had been brimming with life a few hours ago. Now, it was in ruins. Stalls had been ripped apart, either by flying debris, their owners, or thieves. All three from what Victoria could tell.

People ran in all directions, motivated by all manner of things, and one thing all at once. Survival. The smell of spices was gone, replaced by the acrid smell of smoke and burnt flesh which burned her nose. The symphony of joy was replaced with a cacophony of fear and pain.

Her hand shot up to her face, covering her mouth and nose, trying to make sense of direction. The smoke and screams were disorienting. It took her a moment, with her impaired vision, but once she got her bearings, she took off again. Leaping over fallen crates and tattered fabrics, her youth came in handy yet again.

After a few more blocks of ruin and death, she came to the bridge where she had smacked her brother. But it was gone. Destroyed and partially collapsed into the river below. The culprit: a massive piece of the image of Wall Maria that lay half submerged in the riverbed.

"No..." she whimpered. She needed to get across to get home.

"What are you doing?!"

The Garrison officer came out of nowhere, grabbing Victoria and lifting her over his shoulder. She didn't know his face, and it didn't matter. She was finding her family and no one was stopping her. Victoria screamed and kicked, but the officer wouldn't release her. As he followed the channel north he just kept mumbling, "We have to get to the inner gate, we have to get to the inner gate." Like the mantra would somehow keep him alive.

"Let me go!" Victoria screeched, plunging her small fists into where his kidney should be. The man grunted but didn't relent. She tried again, swinging her feet as much as she could until, finally, she landed a hard kick to his groin.

The man dropped her, falling to his knees for a moment before swinging to face Victoria who had the wind knocked out of her again.

"YOU BITCH!" He screamed, as one hand held his groin and the other tried to take a swipe at her. He missed and fell back, holding his groin with both hands now, moaning in pain. As he lay there on the ground, Victoria managed to get to her feet. The fall had scrapped her hands, and they stung. She tried to wipe them on her shirt but it only made it worse.

"Come here, you little cunt," the Garrison officer had gotten to his feet and started stumbling towards her. The hatred in his voice caused Victoria to scream at him and brace for a fight but before anything else could happen, a Titan flung itself around the corner.

An ugly humanoid thing, it stood as tall as a two-story building, with an unnatural smile and comically large, blue eyes. Locking its gaze on the man, it started running at them in a full sprint, almost tripping over its own feet, its arms flailing behind it. It seemed to be drawn to them by the noise.

Victoria began to yell to warn him, but it was too late. The man was scooped up by the Titan like it was a child grabbing a piece of candy. With one hand covering his face and head, the Titan's other hand grabbed the man's feet and began to pull. The man's muffled screams echoed in her ears and would forever haunt her nightmares.

Victoria screamed, blood and viscera flying into her mouth as the man was torn in half before her very eyes.

MOVE! A voice in her head screamed, and instinct finally kicked in.

Her body moved independently as she scrambled back into the channel. Cold water rushed up to meet her, blinding her briefly before she breached the surface. She had jumped pretty far out into the water, but that wasn't enough and she knew it. She had to keep moving. The current wasn't that powerful, but it was strong enough to give her a boost as she began swimming north towards their house. There was a dock and a staircase leading up to the road a block down, she would be able to get out there.

The Titan, thankfully, was too busy with its meal to notice her fleeing.

Tears mixed with the water on her face as she began to shiver. From the cold water, or fear, or adrenaline, she didn't know. She only knew she had to keep moving.

She quickly pulled herself up and out onto the concrete dock, bounding up the stairs two at a time. One more block, and she was home. She understood now what Eren's panic felt like.

Please still be standing, she begged to herself as she passed a collapsed house. Please be alive.

Rounding the final corner, there it was. The Freidrich resident. A two-story house, located right on the channel. It was well maintained and you could even see the loading docks and boats from here. The second wind kicked in as Victoria made the last bit of distance in record time.

Bursting into her home, a familiar sight awaited her. Soft blue rugs draped across the floor, and her brother's shoes scattered by the door. The stove was lit, a small fire burning inside, with an abandoned tea kettle on the top. It was screeching out steam. Victoria moved across the room, taking the kettle off the heat. It was Mom's favorite, lavender. Dad must have started a pot for her.

"Mom! Dad!"

Victoria's voice rang out through their home. The silence was the home's response. She was in denial as she ran through every room, even throwing open the family closets and storage rooms.

"Mom, Dad, please. Someone."

She finally stopped in her own room. No one was there. She tried to calm her breathing as her heart raced. Mom and Laszlo had plenty of time to make it back to the house before the Titan appeared. Where were they? What should she do?

Should she wait here?

Screams from across the street shook V from her train of thought. Looking out her window, she watched as a woman was pulled out of her home by a Titan. Its fist made short work of the window it pulled her through.

No, it's not safe, she thought, making her way back downstairs as quietly as she could. I need to get to the docks. There's a military post there. That had to be where Dad took everyone.

Quickly and quietly making her way out the back door of the kitchen, Victoria made her way through the back alleys of her home. She didn't see any more Titans, and it sounded like someone was trying to fight them off. She could hear the sounds of ODM gear and someone shouting commands off in the distance.

As she got closer to the docks, the streets became more crowded. Other people had the same idea as she did. She even saw Unit Captain Hannes carrying Eren and Mikasa. Eren was screaming and kicking on his shoulder, and Mikasa was crying at his side.

Thank god they were safe. As quickly as she saw them though, they just as quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Pushing her way through the droves of people, V finally made it to the command post. Officers from all regimes were running around breathless, shouting orders and desperately trying to get people aboard the two ferries in an orderly fashion.

One such Officer was standing by the inquiry window as Victoria made her way over to him. Grabbing the sleeve of his coat, she pleaded, "Sergeant Freidrich and his family, please have you seen them?"

The officer is stunned. "Wha- who? No, I haven't. You need to get on that boat, NOW." Then without another word, Victoria was in another officer's arms. She thrashed as he carried her up the boat's ramp and threw her down into a seat. "Stay here." He says sternly, before turning and rushing off to get more people on board. But Victoria could hear the fear in his voice.

It was in everyone's voices.

Now aboard, and in a seat, her body began to crash. Adrenaline slowly came to a stop, leaving her dizzy and tired. She had made it though. Hopefully, her family did too. Relief began to wash over her, and she curled her legs up to her chest.

She was alive. She was soaked, and still bleeding from her forehead, but alive.

After a few moments, the boats were off. She was heading north through the Wall. She settled into her chair, praying to whoever was listening that her family was still alive.

The relief of survival didn't last very long.

Shortly after making it past the wall and moving north through the surrounding city, Victoria froze. Another flash of golden lightning and a column of steam. The sounds of cannon fire began to echo near the gate. Victoria could hear men screaming, and heavy footsteps that only got faster. The boats were then rocked by yet another explosion.

Fear began to take hold as another Titan, standing tall at maybe 15 meters, smashed through the northern gate. It was large but not as massive as the first one, covered in what looks like armor plating with a head of spiky white hair. Its eyes glowed a fierce pale yellow as it exhaled a sigh, steam escaping its mouth like a machine. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone, hot steam venting from its skin as well, obscuring it from V's vision.

All hell broke loose on Victoria's boat as a large metal cog slams into the vessel, gouging a massive hole into its side, narrowly missing the first ferry. The ship quickly began to take on water as people started to trip over themselves in a panic. All were attempting to flee the sinking ship.

She's not sure how, but Victoria ended up being thrown in the water. Swimming for her life toward the shore, the boat wasn't huge and the channel wasn't very deep but the pressure of a sinking vessel was pulling on her legs all the same as she swam.

All around her people scrambled onto the embankment, running for their lives. Some remained in the water, unable to swim and desperately screaming for help as they drowned.

Victoria fell on her stomach as soon as she reached solid ground. Laying there for a moment, she watched the steam from where the second abnormal Titan broke through the second gate rise into the sky.

Life as she knew it was over. Her family was missing. Her brother was gone. And the last thing she did to him was smack him.

Sobs wracked her body, shivers from her cold, wet clothes intensifying the grief.

I'm sorry Laszlo. I'm so sorry.

Her crying was cut short by a woman's shrill shriek in the distance. Victoria could hear the woman desperately begging for her life. The Titans must have gotten through the north gate. It's over. This whole territory is lost.

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck, V slammed her fists into her forehead. What now? Her eyes shot open, drifting to the northwest. The military stables.

The military kept a large stable of horses northwest of the gate. It was well-manned and had multiple horses that were kept fed and healthy. The Scouts kept some of their own horses stored there when they came back into the city. If she could make it there, maybe she could make it to Trost.

Maybe.

With no more time to think about it, Victoria forced herself to stand. The wet clothes dragged her down, as did fatigue, but she had to keep going.

Keep moving forward!

The words motivated her to push onward through the fresh, smoldering rubble. Some of the rocks were still warm to the touch, stinging her scraped palms. The wound on her forehead had reopened as well, spilling blood down her face, blurring her vision yet again. Damnit, she hissed, reaching up to wipe the blood away.

Victoria hurtled over a fallen cart, out into the main road. Looking back south, she could barely make out the smoldering remains of the gate, blocked by the steam of the massive armored Titan, who hadn't seemed to move since bursting through it. It just sat there now, slumped over and surrounded by burning corpses and debris. The massive thing was slowly turning to ash.

The image made Victoria throw up in her mouth a little. More when the stench hit her nose. She had to take a moment to spit out what came up, wiping her mouth with her sleeve as she pushed forward in the next street.

She was almost there. A few more blocks, and she'd find a horse.

BAM!

The impact of running into another person at full speed knocked Victoria off her feet. Her already exhausted body had the wind knocked out of her for a third time today and, at this point, catching her breath again proved a bit difficult.

"Reiner!"

Victoria managed to open an eye as she tried to breathe and was surprised to find that the brick wall she had run into was a young, pale, blond boy. His hair was dusty and windblown, with honey colored eyes staring at her in dismay through the dirt on his face. He looked to be about her age, and it looked like the impact had also knocked him off his feet. His two friends had rushed to his side.

Another boy, slighter taller than Victoria, with thin wispy brown hair and large, steel blue eyes that were so light they almost looked gray and a narrow face looped his arm under the blond's, Reiner, lifting him to his feet. The two boys stood around the same height.

The third, a thin girl with a hawkish nose and long blond hair just stared at Victoria. She almost looked ready for a fight, shoulders tensed as her small hands made fists. Her intense, blue eyes kept darting around, from Victoria to the two boys to their surroundings. She was leaning against the wall the brunette had left her on, shaking from exhaustion. She reminded Victoria of a cornered animal.

Small and dangerous.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been looking where I was going." Victoria looked back to the boys. The blond one was fully on his feet and had come over to offer a hand. The other two kids looked at him like he was insane.

Victoria looked between his hand, then his face. He's kinda cute, she thought, even if all three kids looked like they had been camping out in the woods for weeks. Honey-colored eyes glowed in the setting sun as he looked down at her. A genuine smile was on his lips, like he was wholly unaware of the danger they faced.

She took his hand.

Getting pulled to her feet made her dizzy, and she almost fell right back down. The boy was strong and wasn't exactly gentle when he lifted her up. How much blood had she lost? Or was this just an adrenaline crash again?

The boy placed his hands on her shoulders, attempting to steady her. His palms were warm, and that warmth began to spread through Victoria. She sort of felt safe again. Even though she, and these kids, very much were not.

He flinched when he noticed her forehead. "Oh, did I do that...?" he trailed off, eyes shimmering with faint tears and an emotion Victoria couldn't recognize. She shook her head, "No, you didn't. I got it during the first attack. Some flying rock hit me, I think." She reached up and wiped more blood out of her eye.

His golden eyes remained unreadable.

"Reiner, we need to move," the brunette boy spoke quietly, looking back toward the gate where some Titans had begun to move their way around the immobile one. "More are coming."

Reiner seemed to snap to attention, "Right!" His grip on Victoria's shoulders tightened, "Do you know how to get out of here? We-We're not from here." His golden eyes shone intensely as he examined Victoria's face. What was he looking for in her expression?

She slowly nods, "Yeah... Yeah!" She snapped to attention herself, practically yanking her body out of this strange boy's grasp. She might have imagined it, and looking back on it, memories of the moment are blurry. But she swore, he looked sad.

"There are some stables a few blocks from here, the military keeps a lot of their horses there. There should be officers there who can help us! We need to get to Wall Rose," Victoria looked back towards Wall Maria. "This entire district is going to be swarming with Titans in a matter of hours, it's the only place that's still safe."

"Follow me," Victoria took off in a jog, she didn't want to move too quickly and let this group of kids get lost. She blamed herself for her family's death and refused to have more blood on her hands.

"I'm Victoria, by the way," she called back.

"Reiner," the blond boy replied.

"I gathered," Victoria flashed him a quick smile, and she swore she saw this kid blush. "What about you?" she asked the blond girl.

"Maybe survive first, then you can learn my name," the girl's harsh tone sliced through V. She understood, she really did. The girl was mean, but at this moment any one of them could still die.

"Annie," Reiner scoffed, shooting the girl a glare, "Her name is Annie. And that's Bertholdt," He pointed to the skinny brunette, who was giving Reiner a confused look.

"Nice to meet you," she gave Reiner an appreciative smile, and he smiled back. Victoria was happy these kids weren't hurt. She was glad to see that tragedy didn't strike everyone. She didn't realize she had just been staring at Reiner as they entered the next street. His eyes widened and he reached forward to grab her hand.

Pulling her out of the way of a stampede of cattle just in time. It was the cattle from the market. How did they make it this far out?

Strong arms remained wrapped around her for a moment. Reiner's chest was firm and warm, and he held her so close she could feel his hot breath on her forehead. Before she had time to get lost in how wonderful he smelled, he pushed her out of his arms.

"S-sorry," He mumbled awkwardly, shifting on his feet.

Victoria stared at him in shock. "Sorry? For what? You just saved my life."

Reiner flinched, unable to meet her gaze. More confusion washed over her at his response.Why was everyone being so weird today?she thought to herself. "Come on," she finally said with a sigh. "One more block."

Rounding the corner, the group made it to the stables. It was overrun by civilians and officers alike, desperately trying to make good of a bad situation. In the mess of it all, Victoria recognized a familiar face.

"Lieutenant Chisaki!"

Chisaki Hano was a relatively chubby short man, with a receding hairline of salt and pepper. Thick glasses sat on his bulbous nose, and his bright green eyes shone like a spring day. The man was her father's commanding Officer. He shifted on his feet, uniform haphazardly thrown on in a panic. But he was issuing commands all the same, and everything flowed smoothly around him.

His eyes widened when he saw Victoria, as if her lone presence was answer enough concerning the fate of her family. His demeanor shifted, a hand reaching up to brush away a tear before ushering her and the other kids over.

"Victoria, there's no time to talk," He sputtered, looping his arms under hers and lifting her up into the wagon beside him with ease.

"But my father! Please, tell me you've seen him," her hands gripped the wood tightly, scraps stinging once again. "Please," she begged, nails digging into her own skin.

Chisaki's eyes darkened behind his glasses, and he turned away to start lifting Reiner into the wagon next. He was silent as he loaded them. Annie next, then Bertholdt. Clearly, uncomfortable with the touch but unable to do anything else, they relented, shifting themselves into seats beside Victoria.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, "This one is full, depart for Trost!" Chisaki shouted at the man sitting with the reins.

"NOooo!" Victoria screamed, but a female officer beside her grabbed her as she tried to scramble out of the cart. She fought only for a moment, before breaking down into sobs, allowing the officer to rock Victoria in her arms.

Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt could only stare at their hands in silence.