Countless Titans roamed freely through the streets of Shiganshina.
"AAAHHH! NO! PLEASE, NO!"
"Have mercy! I'm begging you—NOOOOO!!"
The cries of the people—their screams, their begging, their hopeless despair—filled the town like a suffocating fog.
Through it all, Hannes didn't let go of us. Step by step, he ran straight ahead, clutching Eren on his back while guiding us forward with grim determination.
But that image…
That image of Carla Yeager—bloody, broken, devoured…
The woman who had given me kindness and warmth like a mother…
It kept looping endlessly in my mind.
She was gone.
Taken by pain.
Consumed by fear.
Torn from our lives only moments ago.
"Gah!"
Eren suddenly snapped out of his stunned state and began pounding his fists against Hannes's back in a fury.
"What are you doing?!"
Hannes skidded to a halt.
Mikasa, who still clung tightly to my hand, didn't loosen her grip for a second. She could still feel how much I was shaking. How I trembled with every step.
"We almost had her…! If you hadn't interfered, we could've saved Mom! She might still be—!"
Eren's rage boiled over, and he kept slamming his fists into the back of Hannes's head.
"Enough! Are you done throwing your tantrum?!"
Hannes had reached his limit. With a growl, he grabbed Eren and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground.
"Eren!"
Mikasa gasped and finally let go of my hand, running over to him.
I slowly stood upright. My entire body felt drained.
Empty.
I looked down at my hands—the hands Carla had once held with such warmth.
And now…
Never again.
"Eren…"
Hannes walked over to the boy lying on the ground and knelt beside him.
"Your mother wasn't saved… because you didn't have the strength."
It sounded cruel.
But it wasn't meant to be.
Eren's eyes flared in rage.
He lunged to punch Hannes again—only to have his fist caught mid-air.
"And me… I didn't face the Titan… because I didn't have the courage."
For the first time, Hannes—this grown man—let tears fall in front of us kids. He couldn't hold them back.
"I'm sorry…"
He stood up slowly, reached down, and took Eren's hand.
Eren didn't resist.
He didn't lash out again.
He only cried.
Soft, broken sobs.
Mikasa walked back to me.
I could hear her breathing—uneven, trembling—just like mine.
I looked at her face. Her familiar face.
She said nothing…
Just held both my hands gently.
Her hands were warm.
My fingers, cold as they were, felt just a little less frozen in hers.
She let go of one, only to tighten her grip on my right hand.
Hannes looked back at me, his expression filled with guilt.
He extended his free hand.
An invitation.
I stared at his rough, calloused palm.
I didn't take it.
I lowered my gaze.
He paused—surprised—but then nodded silently.
With a faint, bitter smile, he turned and led Eren forward.
"…Keep up," he muttered, voice heavy.
Mikasa didn't tug me along.
She waited for me.
"Let's go," I whispered softly. My face was blank, my voice hollow, as I held Mikasa's hand and followed the two ahead of us.
Mikasa leaned close beside me.
We held each other up without words—leaning on trust alone.
[Carla's gone.
The one I loved most in this world…
Only Mikasa and Eren are left now…
And Mr. Yeager… who knows where…]
Step by step, I dragged my feet forward.
Our group trudged toward the riverboats that would take us to the inner gate.
This was the world of three walls.
And Shiganshina—where we lived—was an outer district of Wall Maria, protruding outward like bait.
Bait for Titans.
It was designed that way, to save resources and reduce the manpower needed for patrols.
The residents of Shiganshina only had one escape route:
The inner gate, leading back behind Wall Maria.
"Hurry! Everyone to the inner gate!"
"Quickly! Board the ships! Get out of Shiganshina!"
Soldiers shouted as they directed the crowd.
They stood strong in the face of chaos, herding the panicked masses with hardened resolve.
The elderly, the sick, and the children were prioritized for evacuation.
Thanks to Hannes's help, the three of us—Eren, Mikasa, and I—managed to get onto a boat.
Packed tightly in the crowd, we huddled on a narrow space on the deck.
Mikasa still held my hand tight.
She could still feel it.
The trembling.
The fear I hadn't been able to shake.
The ramp was pulled up.
Cries rang out behind us.
"Wait! I'm not on yet!"
"We're full! Launch the boat!" a soldier shouted back.
"No, please—at least take the children!" someone pleaded.
There were still children left behind…
But the boat was already overloaded.
"I'm sorry! We can't take any more! We're at full capacity—launching now!"
I curled in on myself.
The boat wasn't fast—but it was enough to slowly carry us away from the screams of Shiganshina.
We were headed toward the inner gate.
We were safe.
No Titans.
No threat—at least for the moment.
And yet, my heart wouldn't calm down.
Something in me stayed on edge.
BOOM!
Cannon fire.
Multiple blasts echoed behind us.
The garrison must have been putting up a fight.
But that meant the Titans… had already broken further in.
I heard more than just cannon fire.
Heavy, fast footfalls.
The rhythmic thunder of something massive.
And fast.
Too fast for a normal Titan.
Titans were usually sluggish. Clumsy.
But this—this was different.
I'd heard stories before.
Of a special type of Titan.
An Abnormal.
And the footsteps were getting closer.
Everyone on the boat went silent.
They heard it too.
We had already drifted some distance from the inner gate…
And then—
In the distance—
Something exploded.
A massive Titan—covered head to toe in armor—came barreling toward the wall and smashed through the gate that was supposed to be shut tight.
The Armored Titan.
It destroyed the barrier between Shiganshina and the inner district.
And with it—
It opened the floodgates.
Now, not just Shiganshina…
But all of Wall Maria was exposed.
To the Titans.
To their hunger.
"It's over… The Titans are going to eat all of humanity…"
"There's no hope left…"
The people who had finally found a sliver of hope aboard the ships…
Now found only despair once more.
"Set course for Wall Rose!" one of the crew shouted.
They had planned to drop us at the inner gate—but now…
There was no point.
The Armored Titan had destroyed it.
We were redirected to the next wall.
To Wall Rose.
I slowly lowered my head.
I understood this hopelessness.
This was a moment where humanity itself might vanish in the blink of an eye.
Then—
I felt someone stand beside me.
Eren.
He had gotten up, like he suddenly understood something.
"Eren?"
Armin had boarded the ship too.
He came over, worried, and reached for Eren's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Eren shoved his hand away.
His voice was low. Firm.
"Drive them out…
Wipe them out…
Every single one of them… from this world."
It wasn't a wish.
It was a vow.
Carla's death had ignited a fire inside him.
A fire that would never burn out.
--------------
Access Advance Chapters on my Patreon : patreon .com / MPHFics