Hellfire • L.A.

I'm With You

A dark blanket has finally settled over the landscape. Deep within my chest a sigh rumbles it's way out. After two full days of riding on horseback, not hardly taking any breaks, I have no sign of Levi or the scouts. An unsettling feeling makes a home in the pit of my stomach as I start to expect the worst.

Nonsense, Lux. Hanje and Levi are smart. Trust them.

Just as if someone had been listening to my thoughts, a blurry architectural figure in the twilight comes into view. It's obviously a military outpost since the next Billings isn't for another twenty miles or so. I bring my horse to a stop in front of the gate that's been destroyed. The wooden posts that would have held the reigns of a few horses have been knocked to the ground, and there are a few men lying on the ground no doubt dead. It must have been a raid of some kind. There are no signs of titans and no signs of any kind of coupe or mutiny.

In just a a matter seconds it's completely dark out. There are no last rays of sunlight to help me find my way back to the road if I enter the outpost. At least if I don't find anyone around to help me out I can stay in one of the cabins. Maybe there will be some bread left over in a storage room that I can munch on.

With the absence of the sun it starts to get chilly, and a shiver runs down my spine, so I pull the cloak closer to my body. I gently whip the reigns of my horse and he nods forward, slowly but surely. The same eery feeling that's settled over my own bones must be sleeping into his as well.

The further in that I get the more creeped out I get. It's like the whole place was abandoned in a hurry. No signs of life, no lasting imprints, just broken glass and wood, and some abandoned weapons. I stop the horse and decide it's time to walk on foot. My horse has to be tired from carrying me all this way without resting hardly, so I stop the poor thing next to an abandoned cabin and slip off with ease. Next to my foot is a gun, leading me to the conclusion that this was a military police outpost. If it's been raided or abandoned in this state then that must mean Erwin was successful.

As I bend down to pick the gun up I hear the snapping and crunching of gravel behind me.  Somebody else is here. I'm not the only one at this outpost.

Quickly I grab the gun and turn around, only to be met with the pitch black of the night and the woods. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as the feeling of being watched overwhelms my senses. As if it's second nature to me, I begin to prep the gun to make a shot. Another rustling noise to my right causes me to quicken my pace, and quickly I turn to my right.

Much to my surprise, the barrel of my gun is pointed directly into the face of a familiar cadet, who quite honestly looks scared out of his wits.

"Commander Lux?" Jean asks with a shaky exhale.

"Jean!" I drop the gun quickly and grab his shoulders. "Where is everyone? What happened here?"

"We- we thought you were a goner for sure. After we all split up that morning we thought-"

"I'm fine, Jean. But I need you to take me to everyone. Please."

Take me to Levi, that's what I really want to say. But instead I bite my tongue, refraining from making things more complicated than they need to be.

Jean nods eagerly. His eyes flicker up to the horse. "Where'd that come from?"

"The capital."

Jean looks away, seemingly shy. "Not sure the captain would want a horse hanging around since we are undercover at the moment." He scratches the back of his neck and glances at me nervously.

Turning to the horse, I unbuckle the saddle attached to its back and let it fall to the ground with a thud. Then, I carefully come to its front and unlock the bit carefully. The horse whinnies as I slide it off and toss it to the ground. The horse stares at me for a second. It's large eyes blink slowly, and it exhales heavily.