He Told Me to Live

13 | The Female Titan

"Y/N." Erwin's eyes flickered to me. "Counter."

Whatever emotion in my eyes faded as I pushed off the tree and set my eyes on approaching Titans. With one last jump off the Female Titan's head, my ODM gear guided me through the forest as my blade tore through skin and all.

But they weren't after me.

"The Female Titan..." I saw one bite into her ankle, then another into her calves, then another at her arm. They were trying to devour her.

"Men, protect the Female Titan!"

I drew my blades as before and joined in the bloodshed against hundreds of Titans as they began to devour the entire reason we came out in this expedition.

So many of my subordinates, sacrificed. But as I watched more and more Titans emerge from the darkness of the forest and hearing many more on the way, I knew we wouldn't be able to. It seemed like Erwin knew as well.

"Men, withdraw temporarily!"

Levi and I both landed near Erwin. Levi clung to the trunk of the tree Erwin stood while I landed right beside Erwin.

"Hey Erwin, that's quite an ugly mug you're showing."

I nodded, agreeing with Levi. His face looked so hopeless.

"The enemy was prepared to abandon literally everything. I never would have thought... that she would have Titans devour her all for the sake of hiding away that information we seek to obtain."

Erwin gave me a nod and I sighed, letting out three short whistles. Gallops were heard and a crowd of horses appeared at the tree's roots.

"Men! Retreat! While Titan's are busy devouring the Female Titan, get on your horse! We're leaving all the carts here! Head west and you're out of the forest, deploy the formation! We're returning to Karanese District!"

You covered my ears, trying to drown out the echoes of my already perished subordinates. But it was useless. It wasn't a noise, but a memory. I had never seen such losses before.

Well, not since...

I shut my eyes, trying not to think about it. Then I felt a gentle slap on my back. "Y/N." Levi put his hand on my shoulder. "Let's get to the horses."

But I heard ODM gear activate, with gas. The horses were right beneath us, so none of the soldiers would need gas anymore. They simply needed to cling to a branch or a trunk and lower.

I gave Erwin a silent signal, glancing at him, and he nodded, acknowledging. Although, I'm sure he already knew, as Levi went to fill his gas tank.

While riding on Cinder, I listened carefully to the sounds of the forest, ever so often having him slow down so I could feel the vibrations in the trees.

"Y/N, is something bothering you?" Hange asked.

I nodded slowly. "Where's Levi's squad?"

Hange paused, turning her head from side to side to search the area. "I'm not sure..."

"Y/N, Levi, go check back. You have more gas than most of us, don't you?" Erwin cleared his throat.

I nodded and let go of Cinder's reins, standing on his saddle and letting my ODM gear shoot me up. The sounds of galloping faded away until I got deep enough into the forest.

I landed on a branch, pressing my ear against the tree's trunk. The sounds of thumping feet had ceased, so I knew that the Female Titan was likely devoured by now. Well, the body anyways.

"Hey." Levi put his hand on my back. "Hear anything?"

I shook my head and stood up. "Nothing of note. But the trees make it difficult to pinpoint any noise at all. It just echoes. The sounds I hear might just be distant noises from outside the forest. I'm sorry."