Our Last Hope [RIREN]

Chapter 2

Eren sat in the back of a old truck along with two other alpha guys while Marco drove and Jean took the passenger seat. He was cramped in between a freakishly tall dark-haired male who he has come to know as Bertholdt, and Reiner, a tall and very built blonde man. He practically had to sit on both their thighs in order not to be squished. Eren was at least grateful Marco had rolled down the windows, otherwise they'd all be suffocating from the heat by now.

Reiner glanced at Eren from the corner of his eye and grinned. "So how was Jean? He didn't give you any trouble while you were saving his ass, right?"

From the front, Jean glared at Reiner over his shoulder. "Hah?! What the hell do you--"

"No." Eren said indifferently and cutting Jean off.

Reiner scoffed and rolled his eyes, smirking. "Either he really likes you, or you put some kind of magic trick on him." Then his smirk faded, brows furrowing. "What're you doing out by yourself anyway? It's dangerous y'know, will all the looters and titans."

Looters were a group of people who had long gone lost it. They stealed, raped, killed and sometimes even kidnapped from unlucky settlements. They loved to torture their victims for pleasure before killing them off. Sometimes they even ate them. They were extremely dangerous and were scattered all over the place in large groups so it was better to travel with someone than by yourself.

"I can take care of myself." Eren said.

Reiner nodded. "Yeah, I can see that." Then he perked up. "Well, it'll be great having a new face around! You'll love 104th. Our camp has access to fresh water."

Eren turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't that make you guys a target?"

Reiner merely shrugged and looked out the window. "We can handle ourselves. We can fight off anyone as long as we have eachother, y'know?"

"Yeah. . ." Eren murmured before turning his attention back to the front window.

For the rest of the car ride, everyone was silent. They drove by abandoned old buildings, and broken down houses that once had families living in it 40 years ago. Titans wandered about on the deserted, cracked roads as the sun went down. Every once in a while Eren would catch a glimpse of dark figures moving inside the buildings they passed. His eyes narrowed into slits.

He would need to be careful if he ever took this road.

Finally, further away from the wreck of a ghost town, they came to a stop outside a six story building with brick walls surrounding the entire perimeter. Two rusty, giant metal doors loudly creaked, the sound echoing through the air as they were opened inward, letting Marco drive the truck in. Afterwards the two heavy doors slowly closed shut with a loud clang that rang loudly.

After Marco parked the truck, where several more cars were parked as well, just a few yards away from the gate, everyone began to exit the truck. As Eren's feet hit the rocky ground, and when he looked up, he was caught by surprise at the sight before him.

He did not expect a place like this.

The six story building had electricity, which was rare and had long lights of green, blue, purple, and red curtaining the whole building like a Christmas tree with several neon signs, here and there. There were a few people with guns standing on the 15 ft high brick walls that guarded the entire building from the outside world. The settlements Eren had been to before had wooden walls to keep them safe. Even they didn't have a six story building or working electricity.  Eren was cut off from his amazement when Reiner's voice reached him.

"Welcome to 104th, Eren."

                             ~◈~

Entering the building, Eren wasn't surprised. Everything was neat and tidy, the walls had several cracks here and there but other than that it was a good place. Old faded picture frames hung on the walls, along with some nailed in blankets of all colors. It was as if they were trying to get rid of the plainness from the ancient place. Add a bit of color. They even had a worn out large red carpet with gold linings. There was a front desk straight ahead from the entrance with two stairs leading up to the second floor. The inside was just as kept as the outside.