Wings of Freedom. Part 4

      You watched in speechless horror at the titan that towered over the wall, its teeth exposed through its lack of skin. You could only stare as the gate to the district exploded inwards, crushing those unfortunate enough to be in the way. The town was instantly swarming with motion as people screamed and fled. As the dust cleared from the opening, you could see why.


      “The titans are inside the walls!”


      Your head snapped down to the street where a small group of children had gathered, all watching the terror taking place. Several had broken down sobbing on the ground. They looked to be only a few years younger than you. After a moment’s hesitation you slid down the roof, jumping off as you reached the end. You managed to land on your feet, your ankle temporarily flaring with pain as you hit the ground. You brushed it off, now wasn’t the time to worry about it.


      “Hey, kids! You all need to move!” They turned to look at you, some still with tears in their eyes.


      You stood as tall as you could, trying to hide the shaking in your voice, you needed to be confident for them, “Get going to the boats at the back of the district, you all need to evacuate.”


      “B-But what about our parents?” One of the older boys asked.


      “I’m sure they’re heading there too, just hurry and get to the boats.” You attempted to reassure him.


      As they slowly picked themselves up and started to move, you tried to keep a calm face. You knew they probably wouldn’t meet their parents there. Their families would probably be roaming the streets trying to find them, up until they were found by titans that is. At least this way the kids would survive. As you saw them rush down the street, you felt your heart drop to your stomach. You remembered one person who would no doubt be making his way back to his house for his parents, no matter what he was told.


      “Eren…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


      You ran through the streets, shoving your way past panicked townspeople. They paid you no mind, and you barely avoided being trampled several times. You pressed yourself up against the wall, taking a moment to catch your breath. As your eyes scanned over the crowd, you caught sight of a familiar tuft of blond hair. He looked absolutely terrified, and was shaking violently.


      “Armin!” You gasped as you sprinted over to him, placing your hands on his shoulders, “Are you okay?”


      He gave a slight nod. You sighed in relief, relaxing your grip on him as his trembling calmed slightly.


      “Where are Eren and Mikasa?” He instantly tensed up again, and you felt fear take hold of you.


      ‘Oh no.’


      “T-They went back to their house. I’m s-sorry. I couldn’t stop them.” Tears began to build in his eyes, and you quickly pulled him in for a hug.


      “It’s alright, I’ll bring them back.” You said, the slight shaking in your voice betraying your emotions, “Just head to the boats, we’ll be with you soon.”


      You gently released him, giving him one last smile before sprinting away.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


      The roads had become eerily empty, with only the occasional scream in the distance reminding you that you weren’t alone. You gained a burst of speed when you recognized the street to Eren’s house. You were so close now.


      “Eren! Mikasa! Where are y-”


      You froze as you took in the scene in front of you. The house had completely collapsed, and there was blood scattered on the ground. You fell to your knees. Eren would never leave his parents, and Mikasa would never leave Eren. That could only mean that… You curled in on yourself, unable to hold in the sobs. Your eyes fell upon a pool of blood, and you tensed when you saw another pair looking at you. You slowly raised your head, tightening your grip around yourself. The titan’s eyes bore down upon you, an inhuman grin plastered on its face. You couldn’t even scream as it bent down over you, its hand extending to pick you up. It slowly raised you up to its face, its grip making it a struggle to breathe.


      ‘But why should I bother breathing. They’re gone. He’s gone. I can’t face Armin like this. I promised I would bring them back.’


      The titan raised you to its mouth, its jaws opened impossibly wide. Your eyes were wide with terror, but you still couldn’t find the voice to scream. You forced your eyes to close, you didn’t want to see the end when it came. The titan’s breath washed over you, and you held back the urge to vomit from the smell of death that came with it. Its hand stopped, and you could practically feel the teeth beginning to close.


      “Titan up ahead!”


      Your eyes snapped open to the sounds of wires around you. You saw a flash of blood, and suddenly you were falling through the air. Before you could hit the ground though, you felt two arms grab you. You slowly looked up to see a soldier dressed in the uniform of the Garrison, his red hair flying behind him as you shot across the rooftops. You glanced over his shoulder to see two other soldiers flying close behind. Stunned, you looked back to the face of the soldier carrying you. It took a moment for you to realize he was speaking to you.


      “Hey, kid, you alright?” He asked, eyes full of concern. You nodded in response.


      “Good, I’m going to drop you off near the boats, but you need to hurry. They’re almost full.”


      You again nodded, still in shock about what happened. The soldier slowly lowered the two of you to the ground. He placed you on the stones of the street, steadying you for a moment when your legs threatened to give out.


      “Alright, just turn behind you and head straight down the road, you’ll find the plaza where the evacuation is taking place.” He gave you a sad smile, “I don’t know who you lost back there, but I know you can stay strong. Just focus on making it to the boats for right now.”


      With that he shot his wires into the towers above, joining his comrades and quickly disappearing from your sight. You turned around, a new sense of purpose instilled in you. He was right, you needed to stay strong. Even if you lost the others, Armin still needed you. And at the current moment, you certainly needed him. You slowly placed one foot in front of the other, building up speed until you found yourself running down the streets again.


      ‘Running, that’s all I’m good at. Yet I still couldn’t run fast enough to save them.’


      You shook your head, clearing your mind of those thoughts. You just needed to focus on getting to the boats. On finding Armin. On surviving. Up ahead you could see the huge crowd of refugees boarding the boats. Or at least they were supposed to be boarding them.


      ‘Why aren’t they moving?’


      Your eyes drifted over to the boats in question, and you soon found your answer. The last of the boats were leaving as people desperately threw themselves at them trying to escape. You had finally made it to your goal, and it was too late. You fell against the wall behind you, too stunned to fully support yourself. Did Armin make it? Or had he waited for you in the plaza? Did he even make it that far? Seeing as you couldn’t find him in the rioting crowd, you sincerely hoped it was the former. That he had made it to safety beyond the titans. Oddly satisfied with that wish, you sank to the ground, your eyes closing from exhaustion. Before you could drift off, you felt someone kick your folded leg.


      “Oi, get up.” You blinked your eyes open, only to see two members of the Garrison staring back down at you. One of them grabbed your arm, hoisting you to your feet.


      He glanced over you, turning to his comrade after a moment, “She looks young enough.”


      The other looked back at him with an expression of horror, “You mean you’re actually considering their plan?”


      “It’s the only way this one will survive. There’s no way these people will make it.”


      “At least let her decide for herself, we aren’t traffickers.”


      They turned back to you, meeting your puzzled expression. What were they talking about? What plan?


      “Look, you heard what we said about you surviving, but there’s a group of scientists who need a test subject. They have a plan for a more effective way of battling titans, but they need someone around your age to use with it. I can’t give you the details, only a few people in the Recon Corps know exactly what it is.” He paused, and the other soldier took the moment to interject.


      “All we know is that it’s risky for the subject, with a high rate of death. In the end it’s up to you, we’re not going to force you to be a lab rat.”


      You cast your eyes to the ground, taking in everything they said. Were you willing to give everything up on a slim chance of survival? The only person you knew who even had a chance of still being alive was Armin, and he was already long gone on those boats. He probably thought you were dead by now, along with Eren and Mikasa. You had nothing left, no one there waiting for you.


      ‘It’s my parents all over again.’


      But this time was going to be different. No more running from the titans who took everything from you. You were sick and tired of those damn monsters. You weren’t just going to wait here and be eaten. This time you were going to fight back. You looked the soldiers dead in the eye, all traces of fear gone.


      “What do I need to do?”