Chapter 12: Some Call It Courage
Edie stayed frozen for a while, eyes trained on the beast. It seemed no taller than a two story house, and they might be able to evade it in the trees. Even if it climbed, the two of them were quick and small. They could jump from branch to branch until help came. Not to mention, the forest was harder to maneuver in. But as minutes ticked by, no cries of alarm were raised. Either everyone was inside eating supper, or they'd been eaten already. Who in Wall Rose would be on the lookout for a titan, anyway? The walls were sealed. Yet here it was.
Soon, it began walking slowly around the forest, avoiding the treeline. Edie felt Jamie's shoulder shaking as shuddered breaths released, as if the titan could hear them from that distance. That snapped her back, and she flew across the branches, through the window, and down the ladder. Jamie followed after, and she whirled around before mounting Dia.
"Stay here."
"Absolutely not!"
"You'll be as safe as you can in the trees. I'll come back for you when the titan's gone."
"Gone? You mean dead? What are you planning to do?"
"It's heading straight for the village, Jamie. If it reaches, everyone will die. They're not prepared for an evacuation. Horses aren't prepared, and people are in closed quarters. Not to mention, if people start screaming, their natural inclination isn't to start running. I've got to warn them."
"We've. After all you blabbered about teamwork?"
"This isn't a team job. It's a warning cry. I'll be leaving with everyone else."
"We'll be leaving with everyone else. You'll have a lot of ground to cover, and I can get another horse as soon as we're in the area. I'll grab Mr. Solway's and ride with him. But you can't save everyone just by yourself, not to mention they might not believe an amnesiac."
Edie frowned. He made a point. "Fine. Hurry." She held out her hand, swung him over, and kicked Dia into a gallop.
When they broke the forest, Edie carefully crossed the field, both keeping their eyes turned left. Dia could jump the ditch, no problem, and there were houses along the way. Jamie tugged at her shirt on the way, and she slowed the pace. He slid off at the first house and waved her along. "I'll take their horse and start telling the outliers! You keep riding until you're in town, okay?"
"You bolt if it goes south, even if they refuse to come, okay?"
"I will." He buried his face in her side for a moment, then ran into their stables. Edie kept going.
The titan turned round the forest just as Edie galloped into the village, startling a few elderly couples on their porches. She yelled what she could on the way, urging them to their horses, but kept going until she reached Mr. Solway's.
The poor man was in the middle of a winning poker tournament.
"Edie!" He jumped up and met her at the door to the store, cards still in hand. "What a sur—"
"There's a titan coming here!" She commanded. "You all need to mount your horses and evacuate the town. It'll be upon us in three minutes, at most."
One of the men at the table scoffed. "That's absurd!"
"Then look our your window. We've got to hurry, or lives will be lost."
Mr. Solway stepped onto the porch and climbed on the roof. Edie followed, and his companions watched from the ground. Others paused their evening work, and she saw their eyes on them. Mr. Solway stood on the edge of his shingles and gasped. "We're all going to die."
"Not today, we aren't."
"We can't outrun a—"
"Yes, we can, or at least, some of us can. But we need to act quickly."
Mr. Solway stared at her for just a second. He read the intensity in her eyes, her tense muscles, and ready hands. He jerked his chin to the side and bellowed at his friends. "Find your families! Find your friends! Get them out of here now. There's a titan coming straight toward us, and not a military man in sight. Mount your horses, and take nothing with you!"
"But, Gingham—"
"HE SAID MOVE!" Edie thundered.
The three men scattered, shouting as they went. Mr. Solway took a moment, turned, and put a hand on Edie's shoulder. "Thank you."
"Stubborn men just need stubbornness," she responded, sliding to the gutter. "Jamie's warning the outer houses. If you see him, grab him, whether he's willing or not."
Mr. Solway's eyes widened. "Jamie's here?"
Edie jumped down. "We can't think about the alternatives right now. Just do what you can now. We're going to live."
He jumped down after her, losing his footing for a moment. The two split, Edie jumping back on Dia and retracing her path. "There's a titan coming!" She shouted from door to door. She jumped off Dia and threw open doors, not waiting for an answer. "Leave everything behind! You have to move, now!"
Surprisingly, no one resisted. She supposed even a fake alarm was worth listening to, in case the Military Police decided to discipline communities who weren't ready. Perhaps there was some benefit to dictatorships. Back on Dia, then to the next house. She tried to count in her head, but lost track of the seconds as some people tried to take their things. Some jumped on horses and bolted; others urged their wives and children forward while helping with the evacuation themselves.
"Edie!" Jamie shouted from the end of the road. She finished with her house and rode toward him. "Most of the outer houses are gone. They said they'd take care of the ones on the opposite side of the road." He gazed at the frantic, departing people. "Are they all out? Are we safe?"
Suddenly, screams rose from the edge of the village, and the people urged their horses away. The titan's head rose above the house, fishing its hand through a roof. It was still three houses away, but close enough to disgust. It had brown hair, cut off below the ears, and big, brown eyes. Its teeth were bigger than a person's head. Its swollen belly and thick legs looked like it had already eaten an entire village.
Edie gripped the reins. "This will have to do! Come on, let's ride."
But Jamie's hands let go of the rope, and his eyes fixed on the titan. "It's…impossible. They're going to die."
"You can't save everyone, but we've helped a lot of people here. We need to move."
"It's hopeless. We're all…going to die."
"JAMIE!"
The titan turned its head at the sound and fixed its eyes on the two figures. With one foot in front of another, it lumbered around the tightly knit houses and toward them. Edie grabbed Jamie's collar and pulled him off his horse, in front of her, and sped through the homes. But the titan was far too close, and the homes too dense. At least the screaming on the rim had stopped.
"We're going to die," he whimpered. "We're going to die."
"WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE," Edie told him. She snuck a glance behind and around. Mr. Solway and the others had made it away, but Jamie's hesitation put them in the line of fire. She steered obedient Dia to the left, away from the evacuees to the wall, and sped through an alleyway. The titan had seen, but had a harder time maneuvering. Edie jumped off Dia and hurried into a stable, setting Jamie inside a smaller shed.
He sat up, blinking. "What's going on? Is this a coffin?"
"Stay here," she told him. "No option." Edie kissed the top of his head and ran back outside. She mounted and galloped in the same direction.
The titan was only thirty feet away now. No ODM gear, no swords, just a horse and a voice.
"COME AND GET ME!" She bellowed. She peeled off her jacket and waved it like a flag. "LOOKING FOR A MEAL? HERE IT IS! NICE AND BONY!"
Thankfully, titans didn't understand speech. They'd eat her for lying. This one changed its course and sped up as it reached the main pathway. They were almost in the field again. Edie crossed her fingers and urged Dia harder, cussing and praying under her breath.
But by the time they left the village, the titan hadn't stopped chasing her, nor had the distance between them shortened. To the right, villagers sped away on horseback, so she veered left, leading the titan back into open field.
For all that's holy, Dia, don't stop running
