So, we're against humams now, huh..?
"They were passing these out..." I glanced up as Jean spoke, having just returned from a quick survey. Armin inspected the flier he was handed, a grim look overcoming his face.
"This means the survey corps is dissolved..." He murmured as Jean leaned against a nearby stable post.
"Yeah, it feels like it's all over, just in general..." He sighed, tipping the wide-brimmed hat he wore as part of his disguise. We had been laying even lower since we had handed the real Eren and Historia over to the Reeves company, especially when our plan seemed to backfire. Dimo was dead, and we were worse off than expected.
Doesn't look good for any of us...
I stared at the ground whilst the others spoke among themselves, the edge of my hood tickling my forehead. We had a lead, after staking out the Stohess district. An undertaker, staying at an inn with two coffins. Unusual, to say the least, if not blaringly obvious.
"If you're going to kill other humans, you can count me out. Even if the captain ordered me to kill, I still doubt I'd be able to do it..." I tuned back in to Jean, whose voice had taken another grim drop.
"Me too." Connie added, using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Captain Levi thinks he can use violence to make people do as he says, just like he did to Historia!"
"Yet he acted to humble with the Reeves Company! Threatening Historia when she was practically a husk of her old self...He probably did that to make her easier to control when she becomes queen!" Sasha growled, adding to the growing tension. They were pissing me off, the lot of them. None of them seemed to understand.
"Don't you get it..? Are you all seriously that dense..?" My voice was calm as I piped up, and their eyes all focused on me.
"What the hell do you mean?! Don't tell me you're actually trying to justify murder..?!" Jean barked, taking a step towards me.
"I'm trying to justify survival. Nobody totally deserves to die, but you can't tell me that some people don't deserve to live more than others..." I remained seated, one leg arched close to my chest as the others stood around me. "When they come for us, are you going to let them kill you? Or will you fight back? Reiss, the MPs...You'll happily let them kill Eren..?" Glancing over to Mikasa, I knew my words would at least reach her.
"I always thought there was something off about that shorty..." She started, pursing her lips. "...but I think we should follow Captain Levi's orders, at least for now..." Grunting, I stood up, flipping my hood back and leaning against the wall, casting my eyes back to the earth.
"You all need to decide what you're gonna do. Now. Just know that there's no turning back once you do..."
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"That's gunfire! Multiple shots!"
Dread swelled in my guts as we rode along, trying to keep our panic to a minimum. There was no doubt that they had located Levi. Whether he had escaped or not, that was completely unknown.
None of us hesitated to become airborne, heading directly towards the echoed sounds of gunfire. I could understand the squad's reservations. Killing humans was different to killing titans. I wasn't sure I had it in me either, but I had to do what was called for.
"Look..! There they are!" Connie called out, and I followed his gaze to the road. there was the cart alright, but it wasn't the driver we had left it with. It was a woman, and rattling around in the back were the unconscious bodies of Eren and Historia.
As we changed course to follow, another figure caught my eye, not far off from the cart.
"Levi..?!" It was him alright, and he didn't look like he was doing too well. Even from a distance, his injuries were apparent, and I became all the more tense.
He was being chased, amd compared to the gun wielding soldier he was up against, it looked like a predator versus prey situation.
"What the hell is that..?!" Jean gasped, voicing what we were all thinking. It was a lot different to the usual guns we had seen, and when it blasted, I recoiled instantly.
Dodging the bullet, Levi sent an anchor out towards his pursuer, impaling his side and dragging him in. There was a strange, silenced shock among us as he sliced through the solider without so much as a moment of hesitation, and my throat grew dry.
So, we're really doing this..?!
Grappling the nearest residential building, Levi came to a temporary stop, looking back towards us as he tried to catch his breath.
"Follow the wagon!" He ordered loudly, the blood that had drizzled down over his lips spittling out.
"Right..!" Both Mikasa and I were the only two to outwardly respond, but the others followed us. It took a lot to fly after Levi without checking up on him, but we had no choice. We were in a dire situation, and it seemed that we had a higher chance of dying today. People were far more unpredictable than titans.
"Listen up..! These soldiers were trained to fight other people..! They've already taken out three of ours!" Levi explained, trying to catch us up to speed. "If you hesitate for so much as a second, you'll be dead! The moment you see an opening, go for the kill!"
So, I gotta be like my old man, do I..? Do I really have it in me..? Somehow I doubt it...So much for talking big back there...
A quick glance to my side, and I knew Jean was close to having some kind of panic attack. I could understand why, but he had to make the choice. Kill or be killed. I desperately hoped that he, and the rest of our squad, chose the former.
Jetting ahead of us, Levi used the canopy of a nearby merchant stall to bounce himself towards the runaway cart, shooting one of his grapples directly into the ribs of the man standing in the back. Dragging him out and down onto the road, he was immediately chased off by another soldier, leaving us behind.
"Armin! Jean! Take control of the wagon! We'll keep you two covered!" He barked his orders like any other day, except there was no missing the rise of panic in his tone. It was new, and downright unnerving.
"S..Sir!" Armin gasped as he began to obey his captian's orders, but Jean hesitated.
"H..he killed him..." He murmured in disbelief, his hitching breath barely audible over the commotion before he finally followed.
"Come on, spread out..! Eyes open!" It was more of a reminder than an order, but I still hated the way my voice snapped out as I kept myself above and behind the wagon.
Mikasa was quick in her actions, knocking the woman at the reigns over, into the tray, but I could tell things would turn. Jean hesitated.
"D..don't move..!" His nerves, or rather his morals, got the better of him as he held his blade, tip quivering as he tried to get her to stay put. Even as she rolled herself over, he didn't even try to put a stop to it. "Stop..!"
My heart leapt into my throat as the woman used her gun to knock his weapon right from his hands, and he stumbled backwards, completely losing his footing. For me, there was no hesitation. My grapple was hooked and dragging me in before she was even halfway to her feet, but she saw me coming. Of course she did. It was what she was trained for.
Over Jean's head, grazing his now flyaway hair I came, blade in swing. I recieved the same attack he had, but directly to the shoulder. The pain from my old injuries streaked from the source, and my weapon fell from my hands, falling out of reach despite being connected by cables.
There was no time to make a grab for it. As we both regained our footing, I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed her wrist.
"You little b..bitch..!" The woman hissed, trying to pivot the barrel of the gun in my direction. She was strong, but I was determined. Determined to not lose anyone else, which also included myself.
I pushed myself up against her, trying to avoid giving her enough room to turn it on me, teeth gritted together in lasting pain. The movement of the wagon was making it all the more difficult. It seemed to last a lifetime, that struggle, but in reality, it may have only been a few short seconds.
Face barely an inch or so away from hers, I released an audible snarl, my other hand clawing up towards the trigger as we fought for our lives. With each quarter breath, the barrel tilted in either direction. A serious roulette.
I promised...All of them...I'm not dying today..!
I wasn't sure whether the scream I released could actually be heard or not. Not above the echoing sounds of a gunshot. The pain in my shoulder was quickly forgotten by the agonozing ring of my ears, and I was certain I was living my last moments. Even as I looked into those wide, terrified eyes as they blew out in an explosion of blood and flesh, all over my face.
Stumbling backwards, I landed against soft heat, unable to tear my eyes away. It seemed to take an age for the woman's body to fall, but when it did, I realised what I had done. Crimson seeped and stained the wood of the wagon, rippling with each bump and rock. Scraps of what used to make up her face stuck against the sides, slowly sliding down, leaving gorey trails in their wake.
It was all over me. A whole new perspective of death, dripping down from my face, already beginning to dry thanks to the rushes of wind. Both Jean and Armin were trying to speak to me, the former holding me in his arms, but I couldn't quite hear them. The ringing was deafening.
The realisation of what I had just done was deafening...
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***Hurr durr writing with writer's block is painful.
Anyway, I've watched the new episode like 10 times over and I'm in love with how well they animated my chicky nuggy man.
Also, Armin and Jean didn't help because all of that was literally only like, 10 - 15 seconds. Had to drag it out. Y'know.
✨Drama✨
Next Time: The Gravity***