To Love a Criminal ((MIKE ZACHARIAS X OC))

Chapter 20

Silica and the rest of the Survey Corps were ready and in Shinganshina within an hour.

She sat atop Toffee's back along with the rest of Elite Advancement; stationed in the middle of the formation with Avery at the front, Brutus to her left, and Garrett at her right. Her hands gripped the reign gently, and she was relatively calm despite being minutes away from venturing into Titan territory for the first time.

Her eyes wandered as she waited, and as she turned to the left, a boy with chocolate brown hair and sea green eyes looked back at her — a wide, excited look on his face. A black haired girl was at his side, looking on just as he was, only she looked more worried than excited.

She felt her eyes widen for a fraction of a second as the boy waved at her, and as she registered what he was doing, Silica allowed a small smile to grace her features as she waved back at him.

"That kid is here to see us off on every Expedition," Brutus told her once he noticed the interaction. "He really helps settle my nerves, you know?"

"He makes it seem silly to be scared."

"Are you scared?" Garrett asked, leaning forward to get a look at Silica.

She paused. "No."

Brutus and Garrett let out loose laughs, prompting Silica to frown as she faced forward again. The time it was taking for the gate to open made her fingertips tingle, and she was concerned that the waiting portion of the Expedition would be the thing that sent her over the edge.

Silica would never admit that she was afraid of anything, yet not being scared of the prospect of being eaten alive was foolish.

Her grip tightened around the reigns as she began to look around again, yet this time her eyes locked with those of Mike, who was stationed a few feet away at the head of his squad.

Silica's brow narrowed upon eye contact, and a sad twinge of light erupted in his iris as he turned away from her.

The last thing she needed was a distraction, and that's all Mike would be for her.

"Soldiers," Commander Shadis' voice boomed from the front of the pack, tone firm and unwavering as the gate started to open. "It is time! Today, we take another step forward for humanity. Let's show the Titans what we've got!"

With Shadis' words came a roar from the soldiers behind him. Brutus, Garrett, and Avery thrust their fists into the air as they participated in the battle cry, and all Silica could do was look on in awe.

Surely these people knew that the majority of those leaving today would not make it back alive. Surely some knew that they would be the ones not to come home; so why were they celebrating?

"Let's go, team!" Avery yelled over her shoulder as the squad separating them from Shadis began to move forward. "To the front of the formation!"

At Avery's orders, Silica and the boys rode off behind her. She led them passed Special Operations, and clear passed Shadis. Silica looked over her shoulder as they galloped off, and saw Levi offer her a curt nod of reassurance.

Her eyes narrowed as she forced herself to look forward, and was surprised to see zero Titans in the area. The rest of the team, however, didn't seem phased by the sight, and continued on riding like it was normal.

Silica's ears perked and twitched in anticipation as they grew further and further away from the rest of the Corp, and eventually the pounding of the group of the other soldier's horse's evaded entirely.

"Keep your eyes peeled, Silica," Avery ordered, sounding a lot more serious than she did on a daily basis. "This is around where the Titans start showing up."