HANGE! IT'S THE COMMANDER AND SQUAD LEADER ERWIN". Henry yelled.
Up ahead Shadis and Erwin we're riding their horses towards them. Shadis had noticeably less people with him and Erwin on the other hand seemed to have the same amount of people with him. Regardless these scouts were really good. And it only took a few to kill the last remaining titans.
Hange and Rico explained what happen to the commander and Erwin. Bodies were being counted and put away to carry, soldiers calling for their horses and people looking far out for more Titan that would show up any second. Mike was off to the side breathing heavily barely able to stand being comforted by Nanaba with her hand on his back.
When Erwin asked why they didn't fire sooner Hange explained her thought process and theory. She also praised Mike and how his skills really came in clutch. Erwin eyebrows raised up and looked in Mike direction and back at Hange. He thought to himself .
"Did he actually manage to take down over 17 titans on his first expedition?"
"And Hange... has actually proven that titans mostly rely on their noses like other animals.
"And the others... we're able to keep up with Mike and save other people...
" Despite what could've happened they pulled it off."
"They took a gamble...."and it paid off".
"This version of the scouts might actually help us complete our ultimate/ original goal".
A good 15 minutes had passed and the scout were already ready to go back inside the walls. Like many times before the scouts had lost to many people to continue and were soundly defeated. With binoculars a scout could see a fairly size group of titans making their way towards them. Even though they had killed the titans near them, other titans could still smell them...(They are now even a larger group of people) just as Hange predicted.
"WE ARE LEAVING NOW". Shadis yelled.
"LETS GO". Erwin yelled.
Everyone was doing as told but Henry who was off to the side with a soldier.
He was still in a state of shock and was crying a shaking while saying,
"Get away from me"
"No... how dare you eat my friends".
Henry made a sad expression.
"He must still think we're fighting" he thought to himself.
"Hey it's all over long as you stand up and follow us quickly". Henry said this while gently touching his shoulder.
The male scout didn't react.
"HEY! Let's get out of here before actual titans come over here".
No reaction.
Henry wasn't going to wait for him to snap back into reality, He used both of his hands and all of his body strength to try and drag this scout to his feet.
Felix wasn't as close as he wanted to be. Him Mike, Nanaba, Rico and Hange were getting compliments from all scouts for their performance/Gamble. Even the commander was giving them a good talk about their bravery and courage and how only special people can pull that off. He was constantly looking to make sure Henry was close but there was just to many people, he couldn't get a good look.
Henry was dragging the scout while scolding him for his lack of motivation. A second later a median sized Titan came out of nowhere next to the tree closest to the soldier and Henry. With all of these people here how was it possible that someone missed a titan?
Regardless Henry was extremely unlucky.
As if in slow motion the Titan and Henry made eye contact and Henry knew he only had a second. With new determination Henry was able to pick up the scout and run 4 feet away from the Titan and push the scout farther causing him to roll and immediately scream while grabbing his ears in a fetus position. The Titan had grabbed Henry by the waist. Felix was mortified by what he had saw and push people out of the way (Even Hange who was pushed to the ground) locking his ODM gear to a tree to get to the Titan in time. While Hange was getting up she thought about. As long as she could remember Felix had alway wanted to be at Henry side. He always cared what he thought, always asking if he was hurt or had a cold. Henry was the only person who was granted to make Felix smile. Hange had a equal amount of care and cherished all of her friends and comrades. But with Felix it was not the same. It had been more clear than ever that Felix was in love with Henry. Henry was his most beloved.
They both made eye contact, Henry didn't scream he then looked at the Titan and the titans mouth as he got closer. He wasn't scared or shocked like Corrine, He was looking as if he had seen any angel and had accepted his fate. The creature he had been fantasizing about all his life, was the last thing he was about to see.
The Titan chopped down but instead of eating Henry from the front it ate him from the side slowly. Henry's arm and some of his shoulder was taken. Henry didn't want to but he screamed loud. A moment to late Felix was able to kill the titan and it dropped Henry to the ground hard. Felix wasn't thinking rationally and didn't intend for the corpse to fall on Henry legs. Felix fell to his knees. He couldn't protect Henry. All of the people who personally knew Henry ran to his side. ( Nanaba, Hange, Rico). Hange was crying and the other girls were trying to move the titan corpse off of him. Mike took his time to get to them still breathing heavily with hands on his knees.
"Felix...are you just going to lay there? Come give us a hand". Mike then went to go try and lift up the Titan with Rico and Nanaba.
Hange and Felix looked at each other tears running down their faces, they went to go help lift the titan.
Commander Shadis was on his horse looking at what these young recruits were trying to do. He truly felt bad, But he wasn't trying to lose anyone else.
"TITANS ARE COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION!"
"GET ON YOUR HOUSE OR WAGONS AS YOU WERE TOLD"!
They all gasped.
Was the commander telling them to abandon their friend?
"Hange... you *cough*...you got to get out of here. No since in you dying in a way like this too... At least I can say I had no regrets about going outside the walls..... Not everybody can say that they were crush by a titan... {author note: I ate that up}
"Stop talking like that your not dying here who cares what the commander says", Said by Felix.
Everybody was able to get the titans corpse off of him but the damage had already been done. One of his arms was completely gone, The titans hand had squeezed/ Had a tight grip on him and was in a lot of pain. And Henry falling to the ground hard took the last bit of breath out of him. Hange couldn't see how he managed to say those words. There was so much blood. The girls continued crying, Mike looked off to the side, The commander was right Titans from every angle and direction were make there way closer. If they stayed a moment longer than would have a change of outrunning/ surviving them all. Mike brought Nanaba to her feet walking to the cart. He called to Rico sadly,
"We got to go, come on".
She got up and started walking towards them.
" Henry I know a thing or two about medicine just let me-
"It's no use". Hange said shocked with herself.
" He's going to die let's a least carry him back home".
" ARE YOU INSANE ? We can't waste time go get me bandages-
Hange tried lifting him to put him in the cart but
Felix stoped her and scolded her about putting Henry in more pain. At this point the titans were moments away from them and the scouts who still had there horse ran away.
"Henry told us to run away he's not stupid! Respect his last word and come with us. Please I can't watch you die too-
"He's not dead! How dare you".
He turned towards him and started giving him chest compressions.
"Felix-"
Mike had grabbed her from behind, dragging her toward the cart with the others that had already started moving. Rico and Nanaba were screaming and begging Felix to follow. But he completely ignored them. Even Hange.
"FELIX! PLEASE!"
" THIS IS REALLY THE ONE TIME YOU WANT TO BE STUPID!"
" THIS ISN'T FAIR I DONT WANT ALL OF YOU TO DIE"
"YOU BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"
Hange was cry screaming at him. She herself was shocked at how easily she let Henry go. She took a leadership role to protect her comrades but failed when it came to her friend's. She also felt responsible for Henry because she believed she too should have been near him. She didn't love him like Felix but she till pained for him.
She wasn't going to lose Felix too.
Hange fought and fought against Mike, still he used his remaining strength to fully pick her up and throw her in the cart with the other girls and got in himself. Hange looked back at Felix only able to see the back of him. He continued doing CPR the back of his green coat was the only thing she was able to get a good look at. The wings of freedom clear as ever. He stoped stood up and put his hood on. Titans from every direction coming at him. He pulled out his blades.
The cart was getting further and further from the trees, plus there was so many titans hange couldn't see Felix and Henry anymore. She had a shocked face, no way he just did that, she thought to herself.
"Its Felix... he's smart maybe he can get high in the trees. Henry tho.... There's so many... how can I be sure tha-"
Hange's train of thought was stop by something incredibly terrifying.
Remarkable.
Sad.
She gasped.
It was a 46-50 feet tall Titan with a big smile and blonde hair. It was way taller then any tree in the area so it didn't matter if Felix went in the trees or not. If there were Ranks for Titan this one would definitely be S. Hange stared back at the scene. She knew Felix and Henry were goners. She pulled her glasses up because of the tears in her eyes. She put her hands over her mouth trying not to cry. Everyone was quiet. Nanaba was laying on Mike's shoulder and on the other side in a corner Rico was curled up in a ball.
Hange's went Silent. She made a fist and it started shaking uncontrollably. She bared her teeth. She notice a small titan trying to chase them from a distance. She stood up.
"That was honestly impressive what you guys were able to do back there, I barely escaped with my life".
" But since you went first it's my turn now."
" I'll tell you this....if you can remember faces then make sure you run when you see mine. Make sure to tell your friends".
Her mouth trembled.
"Until we meet again". And then she flopped on the floor of the cart with one hand in her hair.
"How naive can I get? Why would we have any reason to look at these monsters differently"?
The scouts were closer and closer to get back inside the walls. Everybody around Hange was quiet including herself. It's not like Mike always had a lot to say but the other girls were quietly sitting with their eyes closed. Hange still had one hand in her hair still think about her friends, why she joined, her hate for titans and her what could have been. Erwin slowed down his horse so he was close enough to talk to them. He stared quietly for a second and then broke the silence.
"Mike your probably the most talented soldier I have ever met. If you still want to be a scout then I would love to talk."
"Sure, and I hear your as smart as they come, I'll do whatever to help humanity".
" That's great to hear, and bring all of your lady friends with you."
He looked at Hange for a moment, who was not paying attention and looking down. He wanted to say so much to her, He honestly couldn't tell if she had blamed him for joining the scouts and seeing all of this gruesome activity. He made the decision to address it later because she probably wasn't in the mood.
The scouts arrived back with many injured soldiers and corpses. People in crowded demanding if it was worth it, calling them stupid. This was the scout most devastating blow in many years. They already weren't that funded but this was the last straw for many so the scout expedition were put on hold for many months.