"We'll escape together when the time's right." Viktor's promise and strength inspire hope within me. If luck's on our side, we can outrun the surrounding Military Police officers and Marcel who is next to Freya. She is still mourning for her older sister's departure from this life and my heart also aches for Zaiya now that she is lying in her own blood. Of course, Viktor is masking his devastation. Perhaps, he will mourn for his lover after this catastrophe.
More Military Police officers rush to the hallway to surround us. They came on foot, carrying their guns and we remained still.
"I'm kind of flattered you sent this many officers..." Viktor now turns to Marcel with a slight smirk. "I'm starting to lose my edge here..."
"Then I'm afraid things might get... unpleasant," Marcel says when Viktor resists giving me up by lifting his swords, ready to fight anybody that approaches us.
When the officers pointed their rifles at us, I let out a gasp when Viktor wrapped his strong arm around my waist and grappled us to the ceiling, dodging the flying bullets across the hall. Now that the officers are aiming up, Viktor and I panic until he spots a wide window. "Watch your head!" He shouts at me when firing his grappling hooks to each side of the window and leading us towards it using enough gas power. As I cling onto his body, we tilt our head downward and crash through the window, shattering the glass and I wince at the small cuts around my body.
Now, in midair, I hear bullets zipping through the window and gaze up to find Viktor bleeding from his injured forehead. My body begins to shiver at the cold wind and Viktor holds me close as we zip away from the Military Police, making an effort to escape. At full speed, Viktor skillfully dodges every bullet, and my heart is gradually racing as we are about to reach the gate.
When Viktor disconnects his hooks to aim at the gate, a bullet cuts through his left thigh from behind and my eyes widen in shock when he screams at the excruciating pain. "Fuck!"
Not only that, our luck meets its end the moment his gas cylinder starts hissing, and we start to fall from the air. Despite the pain, Viktor reacts quickly by turning his body upward and holding me tightly to his chest until we crash-land into a wide bush. Since he landed on his back, my body comes to a panic now that he is biting down on his bottom lip and blood continues to gush out of his left leg. "Viktor!"
"I-It's just a flesh wound. I'm fine..." Viktor lies, not wanting me to worry about his injuries. "I shouldn't let myself be a burden to you."
Then, we hear the Military Police officers catching up from behind and I hurriedly pull ourselves out of the bush, slinging his arm around my shoulders to lift him. "We're almost out. Let's go—"
"Sina..." His face is now pale, almost like Zaiya's before her demise and his deep exhale becomes visible in the cold air. "I'm not sure if I can make it back with you... go on without me."
"No! I'm not leaving you here!" I am on the verge of crying again, refusing to give him up now that we are so close to escaping this government. "And Abel... he is waiting for you to come back!"
Viktor is limping against me, dragging his wounded leg as we inch our way to the closed gate and his body gives up, so I fall with him. Escaping from his arm, I sit up to put my hands on his weak body facing down. "Viktor! Please, stay with me!"
"I'm sorry, Abel... But I have to break that promise..." He whispers to himself with hurt in his eyes. My heart jumps when he grabs my wrist and puts something into my hand, glancing down to find a small bronze instrument with a pointer. "This compass... Give it to Abel once you get the hell out of here..." he coughs harshly, and then we hear footsteps coming from the gate that is now opening. "And if you don't, Abel has already informed the Survey Corp to come get you..."
"Don't give up now!" I cry, holding the compass against my chest. Now our chance of escaping has come down to zero. My knees buckled when I heard the guns flip up and the tension started to grow without me seeing it when a group of officers stood between us and the open gate.
"Lady Sina, hand over the man if you want him to live! Marcel's order!" One of them shouted at me, and of course, I stood my ground to protect him with my own body. Viktor is about to pass out from the bleeding and now I have to act on my own.
"You will have to get through me!" I resist as they approach us, but little do they know I am armed with the pocket knives I secretly collected from Zaiya's body. Once they were close enough, I flipped out a knife to slice across, slashing their arms without hesitation, and blood splattered on my face. They drop their rifles after receiving a deep cut and the spirit of a relentless soldier awakens within me once more. From there, I kick the rifles to the side before one of them could reach for it and I land a punch to an officer's face. I did not react fast enough when two officers grappled my body from behind, one of them bending my wrist back to force the knife out of my grasp and I screamed at the pain, causing Viktor to lift himself with all his might.
Now that they got ahold of me, I gasped loudly when the Military Police officers rushed over to Viktor from all sides, knocking him down, kicking him, pulling his hair, and pummeling him until he could barely breathe. Viktor is just lying there, injured from head to toe, and I can no longer watch this horror. I attempt to escape from the officers, but they remain aggressive to keep me in their physical restraint. "STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" I sob, wanting to reach Viktor until Marcel steps into the scene with a despicable look on his face.
"You heard her," Marcel warns the Military Police to stop their violence toward Viktor. "This scout has committed a criminal activity, so we shall seize him without question."
And from there, our hope and effort shatter in front of our eyes.
⚔︎
The Next Day...
The news of two scouts invading the capital whirls around Wall Sina, and eventually, it will spread throughout the rest of the walls. From that dreadful night, I have lost contact with Viktor after being sealed away from the world in my room, and now I am heavily guarded by the Military Police ordered by my own father. The chance of being saved is long gone.
Freya hasn't been around due to the guilt damning her mind, and I have no idea what they did to Zaiya's body.
As for Viktor, there are talks of condemning him to death; there will be a hanging to witness. When I learn about this news, I nearly fall back into my bed. My hands were painted in dried blood from that fight, silently revealing the cruelest truth. What is this sudden burst of emotion I'm feeling? Why am I so distraught at the idea of losing Viktor?
Regardless, the day comes and the public is looking forward to this public execution. This is the first in several years from my knowledge, and Viktor is going to be the one to execute it. Marcel was dressed rather formally for this execution day, revealing a nasty, resentful face plagued with wrinkles. I can sense Marcel watching over me from the gallows as I stand with the townspeople of Wall Sina, but I am still guarded by the Military Police.
"It is time!" I hear Marcel's dark, husky voice shaking the ground below me. "Start the preparations!"
My heart drops when an officer motions Viktor who looks awfully pale and bruised all over while a rope is tied around his wrists behind his back, and his wounded leg is patched with gauze. They shove him forward and he stumbles to the center of the gallows where the noose awaits for his neck. When the guards unseized him, he is now facing the townspeople and I forcefully squeeze through the crowd.
"VIKTOR!" I call out his name, now his eyes are searching for me since he recognizes my voice. Viktor is already in position when he finds me fighting my way out to reach him, but failed when the officers grab me by the arms.
"When a man is so savage, the only way to deal with him is to present savagery back." Marcel stands next to Viktor and points. "Viktor Kraus is one such man. He has invaded the capital and slaughtered our men like animals to kidnap the future queen! And today, justice catches up to him!" If this is justice, then I do not want to live.
"I may be a bad guy, but I did nothing wrong..." Viktor lowly growls. "You people are more concerned about me than the titans invading Wall Maria. They will likely breach this shitty government."
An officer behind Viktor points a rifle against his back, tempted to shoot. "Silence! This is not a court where you shall be tried!"
"Keep those fingers off the trigger for now. We need a cool head to see this done." Marcel says calmly, lowering the rifle with his finger on the barrel.
The crowd cheers, which makes my stomach turn at their excitement. This is how sick humanity is. "I want to see that bastard swing!" A man waves a fist in the air, and the crowd continues to roar.
I can no longer stand here and watch, so with all my strength, I rip myself out from the officers and climb up the steps to reach Viktor. He is surprised when I wrap my arms around his torso, pleading for this execution to stop and the crowd gasps at my boldness.
"Please, don't kill him!" I beg, especially to Marcel since he is leading this execution.
"I am here on the order of the King. I do not take orders from the likes of you." Marcel distastefully replies.
It is becoming impossible for Viktor to resist, so he lets out a sigh of defeat. He stares down to see me break down uncontrollably on his chest and he lowers his bangs, covering his eyes to hide his tears. "I'm sorry, Sina..."
His cracked voice shatters my heart and I shake my head. "This isn't fair! You did nothing wrong!"
"The time for execution has passed!" Marcel shouts, acting all superior. "Put the rope around his neck!"
An officer ties a thick cloth over Viktor's mouth, silencing him and I glance up to find his swollen eyes staring down at my wet face. I sob even harder when they place the noose around his neck and Viktor is painfully smiling behind the cloth, indirectly telling me that everything will be alright. He's a horrible liar. Marcel, a freak getting some kind of twisted enjoyment from Viktor's suffering.
"Please..." I squeeze him tighter, burying my face into his chest and I feel his heart beating rapidly. He is pretending to be brave, but deep down, he is not ready to face death. Marcel has no patience to listen to any of my useless pleadings, so he turns to the officer with the lever.
"Gentlemen, are we ready?" Marcel then nods and steals a glance at Viktor one last time. "Viktor Kraus, may the walls have mercy upon your soul."
I come to a panic when the lever creaks in the midst of calamity. The platform below Viktor disappears, causing him to drop in an instant and tighten the noose around his neck.
I refuse to let him die, so with my body, I try to lift him but gravity overpowers me. My body is no longer as strong as the last time I sparred with Viktor back in our trainee days. Viktor is no longer struggling and he slides down in my arms, only for me to realize he is already dead.
Now, I know how it truly feels to watch somebody that you love die. I silently fall on my knees with my head raised, watching his lifeless body swing.
⚔︎
My friends, Viktor and Zaiya, were killed while protecting me, and we struggled to gain control of the situation. From that, I've become more vigilant ever since, staying alert even while I sleep.
Marcel has locked me away in my bedroom with the Military Police guarding the outside, making sure I do not escape this time. Not only that, Marcel announced that the wedding will be in two days from now, and I am slowly giving up.
Freya, who is standing before me, feels pitiful. "Judging from the look in your eyes, you don't seem to trust me."
I did not say a word to anyone, not even to her after Viktor was killed by the government. Too exhausted to cry even. I will fight to see what is at the end of this wretched capital. I will destroy it myself one day. Once that day comes, I will sweep away any other hidden dangers.
Staring down at my lap, I fidget with the bronze compass from Viktor and the needle is currently pointing West. I wrap my fingers around the compass and hold it against my heart, keeping Viktor's promise. Not knowing why he wants Abel to have it, I will make sure to hand it over safely to him... that's if we ever do meet again.