Hesitation 18+🔞

Chapter 14: The 57th expedition

Sasha let out a muffled shriek
"You mean, you haven't encountered a single Titan?"

"No."

"Mikasa? Have you?"

"No."

About 15 minutes go by as you're perched upon the branches, collecting titans gnawing at the trunks below you. Sasha recalled her encounter with the creepy crawling Titan dawdling beneath you. You've never really had the chance to stare at them for prolonged periods of time, some of them are actually kinda cute, but most of them are really ugly. They have a strange scent to them, it's almost human. A series of bangs rumble in the distance

"You think that's cannon fire or what? I mean nothing else makes that kind of racket, right?" Sasha asked.

"So that's what they're trying to do?"
You reply. Both girls look at you, trying to follow your point. "We're luring something here, trapping it in the woods. I just wonder what it is."

"Do you really? (Y/N)?" Mikasa plainly asked.

"Do you know something mikasa?"

"I ran into armin on my way here... the entire right flank has been wiped out by an intelligent Titan, similiar to the armored and colossal."

"There's another Titan we should worry about now?" Sasha whined

"Wait.. another intelligent Titan? Are you serious?" You asked.

"That's what he said." Mikasa looked down

So.. Erwin knew about this. Is this what they've had Eren training for? Is this what Eld and the others were keeping from me?
You try making sense of the news, but you cannot fathom why something so serious would be kept from you. Erwin has a good reason, you're sure of it, even if you can't possibly think of a reason for his actions, you already decided to trust him.
By giving Erwin your trust, you have taken it back from Noah. That wasn't easy, but deep inside you know that it was the right choice. Sometimes the right choice is the harder decision.
Suddenly, a horrifying roar sends the titans below to start running into the forest. 

"I'm going in." Mikasa says

"Right behind ya." You add

"WAIT! Please! I know that sound. It used to haunt my sleep. I'd hear it from the forest in the dead of night. Believe me, nothing in the world screams like that except a dying animal. It's the sound of a creature who knows it has absolutely nothing to lose."

"I'm fine, I know what I'm doing." Mikasa replied

"We'll be careful, Sash."

"That is not the right attitude to have. You can't just be careful you have to be terrified!!"

Mikasa turned to face Sasha
"Have you ever seen me terrified of anything?"
Before shooting her gears off, you salute Sasha as you follow her lead.
You know that when it comes to Eren, Mikasa is never going to play around. She races through the trees and you have no trouble keeping up with her, following the titans running towards the center as they knock down trees in their path. You've never heard of titans behaving this way and you begin to worry as the falling branches slow you down. Your determination keeps you focused and out of harms way when using the 3d gear, confidently zipping through the trees in pursuit of battle. The sky turns dark and a massive strike of lightening in the distance overtakes the sky, accompanied by another blood curdling roar. It's Eren, this can't be good.
You pick up the speed, moving through the forest at, quite possibly, the fastest you've ever gone when a figure far away captures your attention, it looks like something suspended from the trees. Was Eren here? We're any other titans here too?
Shooting your gear into the nearest branch to get a closer look, you realize that it's a solider hanging upside down in an eery and unnatural position. Your hearts sinks when discovering that the fallen soldier is Gunther.
No. This can't be happening. The sounds of trees breaking and titans stomping in the distance leads you in their direction. You pull yourself together and zoom  through the trees in search of your Squad, finding the lower half of a body on the ground. Where's the rest of them? Your heart races while scanning the forest floor until you can find the upper half of the corpse. Nausea forms a sharp pit in your stomach, you know you should be following the sounds of battle but you cannot pull yourself away from figuring out who this is. You spot the other half of the solider, discovering Eld's mangled body. The world comes to halt as your heart shatters, it feels as if air doesn't belong in your chest. You drop down to the ground where he lays, wanting to scream but can't manage a sound. No, not him. His chest lays still as you stare into his lifeless eyes.