I threw my shoulder under the beam alongside Eren and Mikasa, straining with everything I had. The wood was far heavier than the combined weight of the three of us.
"Sandra… listen to me!" Carla's voice rang out—frantic, desperate.
"No…! I won't!"
It was the first time I had ever rebelled against her.
The first time I ever defied that gentle woman.
Tears streamed down my face. My hands trembled as I pushed against the unmoving timber.
"Yeah! I'm going to get Mom out! I'm going to save you!"
Eren's voice cracked as he cried, his small hands shaking with effort.
"It's… it's no use… The Titans made it inside, didn't they? My leg is crushed under the stones… Even if you get me out… I can't run… Eren, you know that…"
Carla's tears trickled down her cheeks, despair seeping into her voice.
Her words hit me like a blade.
She… she really couldn't escape.
"No! I'll carry you! I'll carry you, I swear!" Eren sobbed, choking on his own breath.
"Why… why won't you ever listen to your mother? For once, just listen…! Sandra… Mikasa…"
Her voice wavered.
Those final words… they made my heart split open.
"No… I don't want to…"
Mikasa's voice broke. Even she refused to accept this. She pushed so hard her arms trembled violently.
"If you keep this up… all four of us will…"
Carla's speech dissolved into sobs.
Not far away, a ten‑meter Titan stomped toward us.
Then—
A sharp whir cut through the air. The sound of cables snapping taut.
I turned and saw Hannes—reeking of alcohol but full of grim determination—flying toward us with the omni-directional gear.
"Hannes…! Please! Take the children and run!" Carla pleaded, her voice almost gone. She knew her fate. She knew her time was up.
Hannes landed beside us, panting.
"Don't underestimate me so much, Carla… I'm going to kill that Titan and save all four of you."
He spoke bravely. Like a hero.
Then he charged.
"No! Hannes!" Carla screamed.
She grabbed my arm—her hand shaking, weak, but warm.
"Sandra… you've always been such a good girl… Please… listen to me… just this once…"
Her tears returned. Her lips trembled.
And in her eyes… I saw something I didn't want to understand.
I heard her voice echo from my memories:
"Sandra… if you ever want to call me Mom… you can."
Those words wrapped around my heart like a noose.
"No… Mrs. Yeager…"
My voice cracked.
I pushed harder against the beam—but it didn't move.
The word I wanted to say…
The word burning in my chest for years…
It stayed trapped in my throat.
Hannes sprinted toward the Titan—but the moment he locked eyes with it… everything changed.
He froze.
A suffocating fear crushed him.
His legs shook.
The Titan's towering form, its mindless hunger, its overwhelming presence—
Humans were insects before them.
He felt it.
The same truth that would break anyone: humans were prey.
Slowly… Hannes retracted his blades.
He turned pale.
Unable to fight.
He stumbled back toward us with empty, terrified eyes.
"What are you doing?! Hannes?!" Eren screamed.
Hannes didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed Eren under his arm, hauled him onto his shoulder, then seized Mikasa's arm with his free hand.
"Mikasa… grab Sandra!" he ordered.
"No!" I cried, trying to pull away.
"Sandra! Living… living is what matters most!"
Hannes hooked his leg behind mine and swept me off balance.
I fell, unable to resist.
"Mikasa! Hurry!" he yelled.
Mikasa looked toward the incoming Titan—toward Carla—toward me.
She clenched her teeth… and grabbed me from behind, her arms locking around my waist with terrifying strength.
"Mikasa…! Mrs. Yeager…!" I screamed as she lifted me.
Hannes ran.
We were carried away—Eren over his shoulder, Mikasa dragging me close, clutching me so tightly I could feel her trembling.
"Eren, Mikasa, Sandra… live. Please… live…"
Carla's voice reached us.
Her final wish.
The Titan's shadow loomed over her.
"STOP!!!" Eren shrieked, his face red with rage and grief. "LET HER GO!!!"
We could only watch.
Carla thrashed weakly in the Titan's grasp, her body limp and broken.
"Sandra… if you ever want to call me Mom…"
Her voice replayed in my head like a curse.
The Titan lifted her high.
Its empty eyes focused on her.
I watched—helpless—as its fingers tightened.
Her neck snapped.
Her body went still.
No more warmth.
No more voice.
No more gentle scolding.
No more comforting hands.
The Titan lifted her lifeless form to its mouth.
Snap.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The sound of bones crushed between its jaws—
I felt my breathing stop.
The world muted.
The colors dimmed to ash.
My heart curled in on itself.
The word I never said spilled out in a broken whisper:
"Mo… Mother…"
And on that day—
Humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by Titans.
And the humiliation of living inside cages.
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