The Walls We've Built - ◈ ARMIN ARLERT X OC ◈

Prologue

The forceful blast throws me to the ground shattering the windows of our home. The sound of screams and cries fills the air. The earth rumbles under me, I hug my body into my knees as the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. I hear Nick yelling my name but the high pitch ringing drains him out as the world around me goes dark, I'm not ready to die. 

"Zariya! Get up! Come on! We don't have time for this!" Nick screams as he shakes me back to consciousness, our mother and father by his sides. Mum is crying hysterically, why? I am her daughter, but she doesn't even know who I am. Why cry for someone you never bothered to know? 

Tears streaming down his face Nick pulls me into his chest, "I knew you weren't dead," he sobs "You're too stubborn to die, not until see what pasted those dammed walls that is." A smile creeps across his face, I smile into his neck and hug him tighter. At the end of the day, it is always Nick who is there to save me. "Stop suffocating the child, if we waste any more time here we will all be dead" dad's steady voice states as he stands, pulling Nicolas and me up with him.

Our home is now barely a house now, with glass everywhere, and half of the building feallen. What is going on? I look around, my eyes still adjusting to the hot morning sun beaming down on us, usually, there is a roof there to prevent that from happening. Still unaware of why everything is destroyed my eyes follow the stone wall, well where there usually is.

Now instead there is a huge hole, I look up, up, up. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I fall back onto the ground frantically crawling away from the ginormous; thing? skinless human? No, titan. That's what they must look like, those monsters that have claimed our world. Nick picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, I am frozen, unable to move or speak like a lifeless corpse that is still able to breathe.

We run and keep running away from the giant titan that is still peering over the wall that was built to protect us. Guess they didn't think there were titans that big, otherwise those walls would be even taller, blocking out more of the world beyond. "Stay in the Shadows and keep to small laneways! It will be harder for them to get us that way!" Dad yells as we continue to run, others? There are more? How long was I passed out? Surely more titans haven't come through the hole.

People everywhere, we all sprit for our lives, hand in hand with Nick I run and don't look back. Dad guides us through the streets of shiganshina, we are far past the part of town I know. I feel the distant footsteps of something behind us shake the ground, not needing to look I know we have met our end there, is no way we will be able to outrun a titan.

Tears blur my vision as I feel myself slowing down, Nick pulls me forward "There is no way I am going to let us die! We will be able to survive you just have to keep running." I nod as he continues "If mum and dad can keep running then so can you, ok?" I try to stop crying, but the tears continue to roll down my face. "Ok," I say quietly. The footsteps get louder but I don't stop, they get closer and closer until they stop with a loud thud.

I look up and see the familiar uniform of the stationary guard, they swing from the buildings finally giving use to their ODM gear. That's when I slip, on the ground the people around me continue to move, people stomping all over me, "Hey! Stop can't you see there is a kid down there! Mum, Dad!" Nick screams trying to get back to me. I feel pain all over as the people continue running, stomping on my fragile body. I see mum turn around she looks at my bloody face and we make eye contact while she still runs. She looks at the ground, back at me, and turns to keep running with my dad, away from the danger of the titans, away from me and Nick.

Finally, I feel an arm wrap around my waist pulling me back up even though I am barely strong enough to walk, the man has blonde hair and a scruffy beard, "Keep running kid, you will be ok, find your family and make your way to the river, there are people who will be able to help you there." He tells me before zipping off to the rooftops.

Nicolas takes my hand and we continue to run, the buildings around us continue to collapse sending us into a cloud of smoke and dust. The river comes into view, there are faeries taking people into wall Maria, we are going to be ok. Nick's hand slips out of my own but I keep running, I turn around expecting to see him behind me but he isn't. In a flustered panic I trace my steps back trying to find him in the ocean of people, that's when I spot him, his dusty brown hair attached to a lifeless body under a mountain of rubble, no.

Sprinting toward him I see that he is still breathing, "NICK!" I scream reaching his crushed body. I begin removing the smaller pieces of rubble and bricks from around his body. "Zariya, you have to go, quickly before..." he weakly whispers, "Before what Nick! I am not going to leave you here to die, I will get help it's going to be ok." I reply before giving him a chance to respond.

In a blur of tears and emotions, I run back into the sea of people, tugging at their jackets begging them to help me, screaming as loud as I can to try to get their attention, but nothing works. I am a 10-year-old girl, who is going to listen to my cries in this chaotic mess? Running back to Nicolas I freeze, no. No, no?

His body lies in the rubble, same as before, but this time there is no air in his lungs to make his chest rise and fall. I fall to his side checking his pulse on his neck and wrist, but nothing. I shake his body trying to get a response, the same as he'd done to me no more than 20 minutes ago.

"Nick? Please, Nicolas, don't leave me, without you I have nothing" I sob at his side, and hug him as tightly as I can "Nick...please?" I creak out resting my face on his chest looking into his lifeless blue eyes that stare into the sky. I don't know how long I stayed like that in complete silence hugging my brother, it felt like 2 minutes and 2 years at the same time.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here? The last faeries are about to leave, you need to get on one of them if you planning of living to see tomorrow." I look up to see another guard staring down at me, he crouches by my side staring at Nick's dead body, dead that's really what he is. "Did you know this person?" He asks in a quiet tone. I nod my head unable to speak. "He was my brother, but now he is dead," I say with a wobbly voice, he looks at Nick and stares back at me.

He stands and holds out his hand "I'm sorry kid but if you want to live we have to go now, lots of people have died today but we have to keep moving forward. I know you must be in a lot of pain but don't let his death mean nothing. By staying here with him you are going to end up the same." Tears rolling down my face, I take his hand looking down at Nick's face for the last time. Before I can take my eyes off him I notice a small book resting in his hand. I bend down to grab it, hugging him one last time "Goodbye Nick, thank you for loving me." I whisper standing up. I follow the guard to the ships, not looking back.