The Inheritance of Jaws - ON HOLD

The Inheritance of Jaws: Chapter 1

Marley, Liberio, 845


"Bertolt Hoover, you pass! " The head instructors' voice rings out around the courtyard, making heads turn to the source of the loud, imposing noise. 

Bertolt himself flushes, and looks down, before nodding curtly in the direction of the Instructor. 

Sophia exhales, leaning her forearms on her knees. Only two spots left. This was it, all or nothing for her now. Raising her head, she quickly assesses her fellow trainees. 

Only Reiner and a few others she didn't know very well were left. This really was it, only two more trials remaining to prove that she was the one to inherit one of the Nine Titans.

 "ALL RIGHT YOU LOT, TIME TO GO BACK!" The Instructor yells in his baritone voice. 

At that queue, the Zone guards close in, and escort all the trainees back to the internment zone of Liberio, where they live. Sophia shuffles her feet along with the others, her head down and shoulders stooped. Turning her head cautiously, she sees poor Reiner still splayed out on the ground, dust covering his face and his now splotchy white uniform. 

Sophia ambles over to the boy and offers a pale hand to him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Come on Reiner. We still have a chance! Let's go home." She says softly. 

Reiner takes Sophia's hand and gives her a wry smile. 

"You're right, Sophia... thank you... " He says. 

"HURRY UP!" A guard yells, turning back to the two and pointing his gun in their general direction.  

Not letting go of Reiner's hand, Sophia dashes towards the gate, muttering apologies directed at the guard, her yellow Eldian armband threatening to get ripped off by the speed of her travel. 

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"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP YOU USELESS MAGGOTS! THE GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING LOTS OF MONEY TRAINING YOU LOT, SO I HOPE THERE ARE SOME DECENT CANDIDATES LEFT AMONG YOU! THIS IS THE SECOND LAST CHALLENGE TO PROVE YOU ARE WORTHY OF INHERITING ONE OF THE NINE TITANS!"
The head instructor pauses to catch his breath.

"YOU WILL ATTEMPT TO RUN TEN KILOMETRES WITH THIS BAG ON YOUR BACK." He screams, holding up a large and very heavy-looking pack.

"WHILE ALSO CARRYING THIS RIFLE."
He holds the long weapon up with his other hand.
"PICK UP THESE ITEMS AND PROCEED TO THE STARTING LINE. WE WILL BEGIN IN TEN MINUTES!" 

And with that, he strolls over to the other Marleyan Assessors and starts to talk in low whispers, drastically different from the loud tones he used to address the Eldians Trainees.

Sophia and Reiner walk over to the baggage and firearms and pick up one of each. Setting down her rifle and pack, Sophia places a hand on each of Reiner's broad shoulders. 

"You can do this Reiner! I've seen what you can do in the field, and I'm certain you can become a Marleyan! " Sophia says confidently.

 Reiner gives a small smile. "Thanks for supporting me, Sophia." 

Said girl cracks a grin, her amber eyes sparkling. "You'd only do the same for me."

Pulling on her hood, Sophie slings her bag over her shoulders and picks up her rifle. Reiner does the same.
 As the hooded figures approach the starting line, the tension in the air rises. Electricity crackles in the atmosphere, and as the start pistol is fired, the heavens open. The ground immediately becomes treacherous, and several of the competitors' slip and fall, falling instantly. Reiner is struggling near the back, his rifle clutched in dripping hands, and his bag threatening to slip off his rain-sodden shoulders. 
Just behind him is the Head Instructor, riding a snorting beige horse.  

"WHAT'S WRONG? DON'T YOU WANT TO BECOME A WARRIOR?!" He yells over the periodic cracks of thunder.

And so Reiner treks on, desperate to become a Marleyan for his mother... And for Sophia, the only person other than his mother who has believed in him. Time progresses slowly, every second like a minute, every minute like an hour, till a call pierces the intermittent cracks of the thunder. 

"SOPHIA ZEIMER, YOU PASS!" 





{edited on the 30/04/20}
{edited on the 14/06/20}