Sillage

Chapter 24: Power. Change.

TW BLOOD/MEDICAL PROCEDURE/INJURY

The first time Peter Simmonds saw a gun, its silvery glint made his bowels turn watery.

Just like at this moment.

Flecks of dust flying in the feeble ribbons of light seeping through the windows and sweat gathering at his temples, the sounds of the people of Stohess waking up and preparing themselves for another ordinary day almost make Simmonds chuckle at the irony.

No one, not even a single one, has any idea what is happening around them. They do not know that in a matter of seconds, or maybe minutes at best, if Kenny Ackerman is somehow hit by a burst of mercy, an old doctor will have his life cut short right next to them. Right next to the houses they sleep in, right next to the playground their children play on, and right next to the churches they pray in.

Indeed, what an irony.

Gaze locked on the gun, Ackerman's bloodcurdling, piercing eyes greet him from the other end of the weapon.

Time slows down, thoughts racing and pulse thudding madly in his ears. Simmonds wonders if he's going to feel his heart giving its last lurch when the old gunman finally fires his shot.

But then his thoughts drift in other directions, a beloved face appearing and lighting the haze enveloping his mind. A fog of a memory creeps over, as he tries to blink the sudden moisture at the corners of his wrinkled, grey eyes away.

He remembers how scared he was that Kenny Ackerman would blow out his brains that day one year ago, and his little girl would have to be the one to clean after him. He was getting too old, that's what Ackerman said. The royal family would need a new doctor soon enough, Frieda's 13 years almost over.

And who would be better for the job, other than the child Simmonds had been spending all this time teaching her everything he knew and more?

However, what the assembly didn't know, and still doesn't, is the fact that Frieda Reiss is long dead, and Simmonds knows the cause of her death very well. He was there to witness everything, pleas of mercy and cries of horror still haunting his mind. He still wonders how much time will pass until Rod's lies finally catch up to him.

But Simmonds has no right to judge. After all, he, too, is nothing but a shameless liar.

Luckily for him, Simmonds managed to change Kenny's mind that day. He still doesn't know how he did that, the gleam inside the brute's eyes announcing anything but good news for him. Kenny Ackerman is no idiot, no matter how intelligent Peter Simmonds considers himself to be.

That fateful visit resulted in the young woman overhearing him spewing bullshit out of his mouth to slander her true abilities, and thus protect her, but it doesn't matter. He can take her wrath, that's how she's always been after all. That girl has a temper and a mouth too sharp for her own good, and so she packed her belongings and she was out the door sooner than Simmonds could even realize.

But it's alright.

Despite the acute sensation of a sword painfully plunging into his heart every single time he thinks about her, it doesn't matter as long as he can keep her safe. Living in Wall Rose, closer to the titans, is actually safer than living with him inside Wall Sina.

That's the difference sometimes between the outer and the inner walls.

In the outer walls, the sole enemies are the titans, but the closer you get to the core of humanity's rotten existence, the enemies are the people surrounding you. The same people who swore to govern and protect humanity. And he, too, could be considered an enemy. Because he would gladly watch the world burn to ashes if that meant keeping his little girl safe.