Mask-An Attack on Titan Fan Fiction

Chapter Twenty-Five

The journey to the Survey Corps headquarters was long and cramped. Traveling in two carriages with about fifteen people was not fun. Reiner stoically offered to ride with the driver, so there were seven people squeezed into each carriage. I was with Connie, Sasha, Mikasa, Ymir, Krista, and En.

The ride started off with some forced small talk, but that attempt at tension breaking soon died away. The rest of the ride was spent in silence. We all were trying to prepare ourselves for whatever lay ahead.

I was scared out of my wits. Throughout the whole trip, I stared out the window of the coach, trying to convince myself that I was dreaming.

It nearly worked, except for the fact that by the time I thought I could wake myself from this soon-to-be nightmare, we arrived at the headquarters.

Connie was the first to speak.

"Well, here we go, guys." His voice, usually upbeat, was dripping with unsteadiness, as if he might have begun crying at any moment.

We all exited the carriages, weak-kneed from our prolonged sitting positions.

I stretched, taking in the stone fortress before me. Though still showing signs of neglect and weathering, the castle simply radiated an aura of security and safety.

A man wearing a bandana around his head introduced himself as Dita Ness, our instructor and squad leader. He lead us to the stables, where we each received training on horseback.

My horse was a brown stallion named Destrier, and he proved to be cooperative. We learned how to trot, canter, and gallop, though most of us could hardly manage to stay on. After dismounting the horses for the first time, we all walked with sore legs.

That night, we dined well on a meal of hearty soup and warm bread, and went to sleep in our rooms. I shared a room with Mikasa, but we hardly had time to talk before we fell asleep.

I heard Mikasa mutter something about not getting to see Eren, but I whisked off to dreamland before she even finished.

The next day, we were given our assignments for the upcoming mission. We would be delivering messages throughout the outer ring of the formation. We took copious notes before going outside to practice with horses again.

On our way to lunch, I heard a familiar voice calling out behind us.

Mikasa and Armin spun around instantly and ran towards Eren, and we all followed eagerly. Mikasa had instantly started fussing over Eren, questioning him about his treatment, while he smiled and assured us he was fine. Then, he looked over us all.

"I can't believe you all joined!" he said in amazement.

We all forced smiles.

"So only Annie, Jean, and Marco joined the Military Police?"

The mention of Marco wiped the pathetic smiles off of our faces. However, I frowned in confusion. Why was Eren under the impression that Jean also joined the Military Police?

I looked behind me, where Jean had been minutes before. He was gone.

Then, I caught sight of Jean heading toward us from the opposite direction. From the look on his face, it was clear that he had heard everything.

Eren turned around and saw Jean. "You, too?"

"Marco's dead, Eren."

Eren's face froze. "What?"

We all were silent, not sure what to say.

"Marco's dead?"

"Not everyone gets a dramatic death, Eren," Jean said, and it was hard not to hear the bitterness in his voice, "I don't even know how he died. He died alone, without anyone knowing or seeing."