Framed By Silence || AOT

VII

So how did I get into this situation?

Strapped tightly down to a wooden table, leather straps holding down my wrists and ankles.

"Is it really necessary i'm in this position?" I asked, tilting my head upwards with the little strength I had to see my body pressed down against the table.

The reply I received was a loud laugh, almost maniacally. I felt very concerned, yet I was fully at their power.

When I had encountered this person, her enthusiasm and wide outlook took me by surprise, yet hooked me in.

As soon as my memory was mentioned, I wanted every part of it.

'Experiments' is what had roped me. It was a glance at what could fix me, is how she put
it. So I followed her, with hope, and now i'm here, legs and arms splayed out across a table.

"Surely memory is to do with the brain..." I continued, a nervous smile crawling onto my face.

"Have a wider perspective!" She replied, glasses glistening as their eyes lit up with opportunity.

I sighed and felt too exhausted to react, letting my body slump against the cold surface.

"Have you eaten anything?" She asked, their hair blowing slowly in their face.

"Well, I went into the Mess Hall, but I walked out before I could eat anything..." I said, eyes fixed on the heavy light that hung a few inches above my forehead.

I didn't get a response, once again.

I inhaled and watched my chest rise and fall, syncing with my steady breathing.

"Hange-" I opened my mouth to speak and felt a tough surface against my lips, entering my mouth as it was softer towards the middle. "Mhh-!" I attempted to shout, slipping my hand out of the leather strap to stop myself from choking.

A small slice of bread had been shoved into my mouth by Hange. I looked over to her, annoyed, and their back was all I saw. They were already off doing something else with a microscope.

I chewed slowly on the bread, admitting I was rather hungry.

I had eaten the whole piece within a few seconds, tearing desperately with my teeth as I swallowed the bread. Once I had finished, I wiped the crumbs with my sleeve and planted my palm against the surface, have been sitting up since I had slipped it out from the strap.

"Right!" Hange said, approaching me and laying her hands on either of my shoulders, and then my back fell back onto the wooden table.

I took it into my own to slide my hand back into the leather material.

She came close to my face, a lot closer than I had anticipated.

Hange looked very focused, feeling her warm breath against my skin.

My eyes were fixed on her, fascinated by how their mind ran. By a mile, they were different to all the other people I had encountered.

Fingers laid above and below my eye, extending and stretching out so my eye became large.

I felt my pupils shrink as she moved away, her figure no longer blocking the harsh light that hit my eyes.

Hange thought for a second, displaying this with her actions.

"So?" I asked, almost hopeful.

She moved around to the other side of the table, and I felt my top lift up.

"Hey!" I said and she chuckled once again.

"My bad!" Hange replied. After a pause, she placed her hand on my forehead and I winced.

The tight material around my head began loosening, and the bandage that was white the last time I perceived it, was now infected dark with red and brown.

It was soon tossed to the side as Hange took a prepared wet cloth. She lay it gently on my forehead wound and then returned to the counter at the side.

As a long, sharp syringe was pulled, I shut my eyes.

Not much feeling was detected after a few seconds, the syringe doing its duty under the wet cloth, Hange walking back over to her workplace.

I sighed and stared into the light, challenging my eyes to adjust.

The familiar sound of a door creaking open caught my attention, but my sight was halted by my position, unable to discern who had entered.

"What the-" Their voice hung in the air, but not for long.

"Ahh! Captain! This isn't what it looks like, just running some tests." She giggled fanatically once again, her glasses lighting up.

I slipped my hands out of the straps and sat up, rubbing my eyes from the bright light I had been mesmerised by.

What I saw before me, was the last thing I would've expected in a situation like this.

My lips parted in disbelief, and my eyes shivered.

Short, straight black hair styled in an undercut curtain, as well as narrow, intimidating dull grey eyes with dark circles under them and a deceptively youthful face. He was quite short, but his physique was well-developed in musculature. When looking upon his face, he seemed to only bare an expressionless emotion yet conveyed an extremely calm demeanour.

I lifted myself from the wooden table, yanking my ankles from the straps and jumping off the surface.

"I'll come back later." He said sternly, turning away and leaving the room.

Hange waved and then turned to me, but I had already followed after him.

When I stepped outside, my head turned furiously as my eyes searched my surroundings. My eagerness to speak to him was wild. I was so consumed by the thought of returning my memory that I stepped out willingly into the dark area around me. The time had passed significantly since I had last been on a horse, and the night sky had ingested the cerulean bright sky. Unfortunately I hadn't come across a single sight of him, and determined that he had left.

A sigh left my mouth as I bowed my head, my hair overhanging my face and shortening my sightline. It was a regrettable decision as I was soon knocked aback by a large vehicle that passed me- wheels upturning the mud it ran over and inflicting murky water over me. Undeniably, it was my fault for not paying attention, but the coldness that washed over my body from the large splash had annoyed me.

The cart continued past me, horses hooves hitting the floor.

An anger began to rise in me, feeling discontent once again with my frail body that didn't even belong to me.