Chagara - Chaos in the Darkness (Levi x OC Fanfic / AttackOnTitan)

57. "We only have six."

"I failed. It's my fault," Reiner whispered, hiding his face behind his praying hands.

"No, it's not," Pieck tried to reassure him. Those who had to hold out in enemy territory were supposed to be in church at a certain time on certain days. This was to make it easier to make contact. Since Reiner, Berthold and Annie were living in the refugee shelter surrounded by enemies, one of them sat in church every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at twelve o'clock. This time, when Reiner opened his eyes after praying for his deceased comrade, Pieck was sitting next to him. But he had not been surprised. He had expected it. And, he was relieved that it was her.

As she tried to stroke his upper arm, she knocked over one of her crutches. Before it hit the stone floor with a clatter, Reiner had grabbed the crutch.

"This Titan was lying in the ground. As if it had buried itself. Perhaps they can think after all." Helplessly, he looked at his comrade. "I wasn't paying attention. And then this monster tried to eat me. And suddenly Marcel intervened. Just because I was scared. Just because I didn't do anything." Reiner looked at the altar. "I am to blame for his death. Because of me we lost an excellent comrade. And the Jaw Titan."

Pieck eyed the soldier from the side. "Is he too young for the operation? Mentally not strong enough? Or does everyone get like that?" With difficulty she stood up from the kneeling board and sat down on the bench. She nudged Reiner with her crutch and gestured him to sit beside her.

"You have successfully invaded their territory. They have lost a large area of their territory. It is only a matter of time before you have the Founding Titan and then this is all over," Pieck spoke softly. "And they don't know that we are here. Or exist."

Reiner stiffened. "Do they really not know?"

Pieck's heartbeat quickened. "What?," she asked, confused. "That was never an option in the trainings."

"We don't know who has now the power of the Jaw Titan," Reiner explained. "And ..."

"And?," repeated Pieck anxiously.

"We seem to be running into a few obstacles."

"A few obstacles?," repeated his comrade barely audibly.

"Within the military there is a unit called the Scout Regiment. They go outside the walls and are skilled in fighting Titans. Our luck was that these soldiers were not on the scene when we broke through the gate of the outer wall. One soldier seems to be dangerous for us. His name is Levi. He is called the hope of humanity," Reiner whispered.

"What does he look like?," his comrade wanted to know.

Reiner shrugged his shoulders slightly. "No idea."

"So what," Pieck began. "What is one human supposed to do against six Titan shifters? The War Chief's strength and abilities alone ..." The girl shook her head. "Ridiculous."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed three small figures. Two boys and a girl were walking down the central aisle. "Refugees?" She watched as the blond boy sat down next to an older man and prayed. "Relatives? His grandfather?" The brown-haired boy with the angry eyes, on the other hand, walked - followed by the girl - to the candles.

"Exactly," Reiner spoke after a while. "We only have six."

Pieck frowned. "What?"

"Would you survive as a normal human being here on the island among Titans?," asked Reiner.

"What?" Puzzled, Pieck looked at him. "No."

"Exactly." Reiner nodded. "There's a story that didn't let me sleep. So I did some research." The soldier looked around. The two were still alone in their corner. He moved closer to his comrade. "Over ten years ago, a man was found outside the walls. Unharmed, but it is said that he had lost his memories. He could not explain why he had been outside the walls. He then went on to live as a doctor, got married and had children," the blond teenager told his comrade.