Attack on Titan Short Stories

Fireworks on the 2nd of July

TW: graphic mentions of war, mental illness, PTSD, war in Iraq, amputations

PSA if you celebrate 4th of July please be mindful
of veterans and animals when shooting off fireworks ❤️

Also huge thank you to the men and women who serve around the world.

July 1st 2016

As Reiner was having his morning coffee on Thursday, he glanced at his calendar. The beautiful Sailor Venus was striking her signature pose, ushering in the next few days that Reiner hated the most.

4th of July weekend.

Reiner use to love 4th of July, going to the lake with the Hoover and Galliard families, shooting fire works, jet skis, hot dogs, him Bertholdt, Marcel and Porco goofing off with firecrackers.

But that all changed when after high school Reiner had enlisted in the Marines. Following in Marcels footsteps. Reiner had been talked into it by a recruiter, who made a lot of lofty promises. Plus he knew if he would be able to go to college when he got out and not out such and financial strain on his single mom. Of course his mom was against it, but when Reiner turned 18 the child support checks stopped from his absent father.

His mom cried when she dropped him off at Paris Island, and cried when he hugged her at his graduation. Marcel had been on leave and was there to see Reiner now as a brother in arms.

The war in Iraq was still raging on. It was 2012 when Reiner was deployed to a combat zone. Marcel had already gone back to Iraq a few months earlier.

Their 2 units had meet briefly at a base in somewhere Reiner couldn't quite remember. They chatted about their tour, the friends and family, how much time they had left in their tours, and what they planned on doing when they got back home. Reiner had expressed how hard it had been after 2 of his buddies had tragically passed away. Marcel gave him a warm hug, and told him that until he got home he had to keep moving forward.

A week later Reiner's Hum-V was hit by an IUD. Reiner remembered the smell of gasoline, smoke, and burning hair, he heard screaming before he blacked out . He woke up in a base hospital, and knew something wasn't right.
It was then a doctor and a nurse appeared, with needle in hand. The doctors face was stoic.

Reiner learned that everyone in the Hum-V had died. He also learned that he had lost his right leg at the knee. The surgeon telling him he did everything he could to save the leg. I guess others had freaked out before at losing limbs, which explained the needle the nurse had, which was a reasonable reaction. Reiner just stared at a spot on the white while in front of him.

The next day his commanding officer had come in and explained the process of an honorable medical discharge. Reiner was only half listening. He was thinking back to the soldiers  he was with. Thomas Wagner the kind and optimistic guy who always had a motivational quote at the ready. Daz who was there for the same reason Reiner was. He told Reiner that "his recruiter had promised him the moon", Yelena who was a skilled gunner, and had always had a witty comeback at the ready, Zeke who always complained about his step brother who was about Reiner's age, and Isle who dreamed of being a writer one day. They were all gone, in the blink of an eye. He wondered who's scream he had heard before blacking out.

That question haunted him all the way back to the states. It was on the flight home he learned that Marcel was coming home too, but in a casket. He wasn't told the details of his death, but Reiner was shocked into a numbness that stayed with him.

5 years later Reiner was working for a book publishing company. Not something he expected but the owner was a veteran, and was very accommodating to Reiner. Reiner was amazed with how much well the prosthetic fit, it took some time getting use to, and his still had phantom pains.