A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

Retrieval Mission II

"ERWIN!"

The titan crunched on Erwin's arm, lifting him right off his horse and lumbered forward, dragging the commander in its jaw.

It happened in a flash, but in Isanna's eyes, it was like time slowed down for her.

It was probably because of the stress from the recent events combined with the exhaustion and the fact that her commander was quite literally ripped off from right in front of her face after saving her, but there were black spots blurring her vision.

The ringing in her ears was deafening, like a sound grenade had been shot mere inches from her; she even vaguely heard a soldier yelling for Erwin, but she was too preoccupied with the sudden surge of anxiety to care.

Isanna was aware her mind was becoming a whirring mess, and she recognized this feeling—it was the same emotion she'd felt back during her first expedition, when she saw her friends being devoured, rendering her in a haze.

A million thoughts ran through her head, as she dropped to the ground in a grunt and rolled away.

So many yelling.

"Shit—the Commander!"

"Isanna-san!"

"The Sergeant fell!"

"Advance! Eren is right in front of you!"

More screams.

It was probably just five seconds at most, but Isanna felt like she was lying on the grass for hours.

Her entire body was sore. Isanna sat up, and she had to remind herself where she was and what she was doing.

The whinnying of a horse grounded her back to reality. Fish was okay—thankfully—and came back for her. Isanna forced herself to stand, jaw clenched, and hoisted herself back on her saddle. The anxiety was ever-growing. Fuck—because of me, Erwin's—

She debated going back, but Erwin's orders rang loud and clear in her ears; a loud "Advance!" repeating over and over.

She looked at her hands and realized they were shaking. She cursed. Grabbing her reigns, she threw away all logic and headed back. There was a literal pandemonium happening ahead, but securing the commander's safety was her current priority.

She cursed a thousand times, over and over, while fighting back the shaking of her hands. With a fierce glare, she leaped off her horse and shot a hook at the nape of the titan that was lumbering away on all fours like a dog.

The moment she propelled herself, her muscles screamed in protest. The wind slapped her skin and whistled in her ears as she zipped through the air and swiped her blades across the titan's nape.

"Let go !" she snarled, a gurgle threat rippling from her throat. The titan's jaw slackened and released its hold on Erwin's arm.

Isanna lunged to catch him, the both of them crash landing. She'd made sure to twist her body so that her back received the brunt of the fall. A pained grunt fell from her as the wind got knocked out of her lungs.

Unfortunately, she had no time to wallow in her pain when she heard him groaning.

"Erwin—" she gasped and hastily sat up, helping him in a sitting position— "your arm—" she had to stop herself from continuing, feeling a sinking churn in the pits of her stomach when her eyes scanned the mangled mess of his limb.