You're Not Alone

•52•

My eyes flutter open and take in the setting sun. I let out a strained cough as I'm being held tightly in Reiners hand.

I'm roughly tossed around as he runs, his arms swinging back in forth. I hear the faint chime of a blade hitting something.

I focus my eyes on where it came from. Below me Hannes is trying to cut at Reiners legs. My body stains to get free from the armored Titans grasp.

All around us, Scouts are trying to take down the armored Titan. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of Mikasa above me.

"Reiner, protect us!" Bertholdt yells.

Reiners hands come up quickly and I'm pressed against his neck with Bertholdt and Eren. I cough and sudden impact and then look down at my leg, relaxing It's almost done healing.

Through the small space in between Reiners hand, I can see Mikasa staring down Bertholdt. I want to move, but my hands are tied... literally.

I look over at Eren who is being carried on Bertholdts back, he has a gag in his mouth. If I were kidnapping Eren, I would do that too. My brother really does like to talk.

"Mikasa no!" I hear Christa scream. When did she get here? "You're not going to kill Ymir!"

"That all depends on her," I head my friend hiss. "What will it be Ymir?"

"That's not fair!" Christa retorts. "She'll die if she doesn't go along with what Reiner and Bertholdt tell her to do. She's screwed either way!"

"Listen, there's only so many lives I give a damn about. Cruel, but that's the world our enemies gave us six years ago. Sorry. I don't have any heartstrings left for you to tug on. If you want compassion, move on. You want fair, tough shit. Times wasting. Pick your side, Christa." Mikasa voice comes out vicious. "The twins? Or the bitch I'm gonna kill?"

I hear Ymir's Titan let out a screech. My muscles freeze as I wait to hear what happens. I can't see what's going on, so I have to rely on my hearing.

"Ymir. Stop!" Christa screams. "Look at her face! She means it! Don't make a move!"

I look over at my brother who is trying to push Reiners hands away, using Bertholdt to lean against. I glance at the black haired boy whose face is being smooshed against the neck of Reiner.

"Stop struggling!" Bertholdt begs.

"Good luck talking sense into that one, Bertholdt."

That's voice... It's Jeans. Suddenly I relax at the sound of his familiar voice, leaning my head against Reiners neck and smiling.

"When something lights a fire under him, that's it. Getting Eren to calm down is a lost cause. Take my word for it. I've been on the receiving end more than you have. Whaddya say we teach him some patience? Come on, show yourself."

I toss my head to the side and let out a sigh of relief. He's here to save us... I glance down at my leg and see it's healed completely now. I have hope again.

"Give them back! Right now!" Mikasa beats at Reiners hand.

"Guys, really?" Connies voice appears. "This is some kind of joke, right? No way this is you. You've been lying to us this whole time? We were supposed to be comrades!"

"They still are!" I hear Sasha. "This is just a misunderstanding!"

"I'm sorry Sasha... but it's not! This is them and it's always been who they are. Murderers." I raise my voice so the others can hear.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jean questions the enemy Titans. "You can't keep running forever. We're not gonna let that happen. You have some important people to us. Rat bastards. Through thick and thin we slept under the same roof as soldiers for three years. Matter of fact, the positions you would sleep in were an art from, Bertholdt. I'm not kidding! We all loved waking up to see your contortions in the morning. Used to predict the weather with 'em."